Timecrest 2.9.9 Update

We've updated Timecrest to version 2.9.9 with the following changes:

  • Riley's theme has been added to Timecrest 1 & 2. We hope you enjoy this track on your next playthrough the game.

  • Pronunciation mode has been brought back for VoiceOver. We worked on trying to get IPA attribution working to make pronunciation perfect, however, there were too many bugs and issues with this feature. So we're going back to the tried and true pronunciation mode.

  • In VoiceOver, music now follows the accessibility cursor. We've changed it so that the song that plays matches the line of text that your cursor is currently reading. It makes the experience much more immersive and we hope you like it! This feature can be disabled in the settings menu.

Thank you for playing Timecrest!

Timecrest 2.9.8 Update

Previously, we released Timecrest 2.9.8 fixing the following three issues:

  • When completing the game, the "Play Timecrest 1" button does not work properly.

  • In VoiceOver, the selected option that appears at the top erroneously would read with "Space Dimmed" always appended.

  • A lot of crashes have been fixed.

Timecrest 2.9.7 Update

Previously, we released Timecrest 2.9.7 fixing the following three issues:

  • Changed the first screen to have less confusing buttons - "Continue", "New Game", "Load Completed Game".

  • Refreshed the UI for Load Completed Game selection and confirmation screens. This should be cleaner and easier to read.

  • Adjusted several timers in Timecrest 1 for better story flow - most were reduced, one was increased.

  • Timecrest now requires Internet when you open the app. It used to only check for some scenarios like collecting Morty and TOD Generator, but we need a more stable time check. This bug was causing lost progress, time desync errors and sync errors with the Apple Watch, so we're now synchronizing the time more aggressively.

  • Spelling and grammar fixes.

Summer Roadmap

We hope everyone has been healthy and safe, and appreciate the kind words and feedback you continue to pass along our way. We wanted to give you an update on what we plan to do this summer with Timecrest.

Timecrest 2.9.7

In the next few days, we plan to release an update to Timecrest with the following changes:

  • Changed the first screen to have less confusing buttons - "Continue", "New Game", "Load Completed Game".

  • Refreshed the UI for Load Completed Game selection and confirmation screens. This should be cleaner and easier to read.

  • Adjusted several timers in Timecrest 1 for better story flow - most were reduced, one was increased.

  • Timecrest now requires Internet when you open the app. It used to only check for some scenarios like collecting Morty and TOD Generator, but we need a more stable time check. This bug was causing lost progress, time desync errors and sync errors with the Apple Watch, so we're now synchronizing the time more aggressively.

  • Spelling and grammar fixes

Upcoming Features

There are a few minor and major features we want to introduce this summer in updates after Timecrest 2.9.7. We want to give you an early peek on what we're planning. Since it is early any of this could still change but we'll be sure to let you know if we do.

  • NEW SHOP - We're doing a major redesign of the shop. Today you can buy Time Crystals and Memory Oracle components. In a future update, we will have a new shop with beautiful art. A few new features are coming–simplified Skip Crystal system, double relationship gained pack. We're excited for the Master of Time weekly pack. The pack will automatically skip all timers less than 6 hours, and the effect will last for one week.

  • PRONUNCIATION MODE RETURNS - For VoiceOver users, we replaced pronunciation mode with IPA attribution which, when it works, really smoothes out the reading experience. However, we've realized that this feature does not work correctly for all voices, so we want to bring back the pronunciation mode option. When enabled, pronunciation mode changes the actual text to improve VoiceOver's pronunciation of magical words like Alyncia or Levitas.

  • RILEY TRACK - We have another beautiful track written by Dibur Music for Princess Riley Valdor and we'd like to add this track to scenes with her in Timecrest 1 and 2.

Timecrest 3

None of the above has slowed us down from delivering Timecrest 3. The story is amazing, and we've written several hundred thousand words to give you the true story of what really happened to young Luthor Timecrest. You'll also learn about Julius, Helena, and Luthor's sidekick robot named ‘Model 1’. You may learn more about Sol and Scarlet Ignis, depending on the choices you make! And who is the person that has been writing in creepy red text to you? Make the right choices and you might learn more!

While the story is done, there is still a lot to do to polish, test, code, build, and ensure this is absolutely perfect, but nothing is going to stop us from getting Timecrest 3 our to you as soon as we possibly can. Expect our first trailer for Timecrest 3 by the end of the summer.

Timecrest 2.9.6 Update

We want to thank you all for the feedback we’ve received for Timecrest. The new soundtrack and UI changes have really resonated with you and we’re so happy to hear that you’re all enjoying the new changes. We really believe that this now represents the beauty and emotion of Alyncia.

We’re also delighted to receive your bug reports. We’re releasing Timecrest 2.9.6 which could only have been possible because of you! Every single feature and bugfix in this release comes from the wonderful people who took the time to email us. THANK YOU!

  • Added a Battery Saver feature. Enabling this in the Settings menu will make disable the Music Player's animations and have it fade to use less power.

  • Fixed a bug where the VoiceOver voice would pause between words frequently

  • Fixed a bug where Guild Rank was not visible on Morty's screen on several devices

  • Fixed a bug with VoiceOver where "period" and "space" was spoken in Inbox

  • Cleaned up accessibility labels in the Merchant screen

Tap here on your device to update today!

A gift of Time Crystals!

Phew! It's been a busy week of updates. Thanks to everyone who reported crashes, bugs, accessibility issues. Thanks to all of the incredible feedback-your feedback and reports is how we can make Timecrest even better for everyone!

We're sending a gift of 50 Time Crystals to all players to celebrate the release of Timecrest 2.9.4 which fixes all of the major issues with VoiceOver and the Inbox crashing. If you haven't already, please update today.

This gift should be available now in your Inbox. You can claim it from your Inbox until March 14th. If your gift isn't retrieved by that date it will be lost.

Thank you for playing Timecrest.

VoiceOver issues in Timecrest 2.9

We've received an incredible response and it looks like people are really enjoying the new update. Thank you so much for all of your support.

There have been several VoiceOver related issues reported by our community. We're currently working on a few updates to fix the issues. These are the currently reported issues that we are working on:

  • Volume is too low for music tracks

  • Music player has strange characters in song titles

  • Pronunciation issues, especially when using voice "Alex", for words like Chronos, Aion, Elise, etc.

  • Inbox descriptive help refers to Relationships

  • Inbox history items incorrectly are labeled as a button

We will be releasing updates to address these issues. If you find a problem that was not listed here, please go to Timecrest Settings -> Contact Support and let us know what you're experiencing.

Thank you so much for playing Timecrest. You are what makes all of this possible.

Preparing for the Timecrest 2.9 update

Timecrest 2.9 will be coming in early March. In order to support the latest features, Timecrest 2.9 requires iOS 13 for iPhones and iPods, iPadOS 13 for iPads and watchOS 6.1 for the Apple Watch.

Please make sure to update your devices so that you will be able to get the update as soon as it is released.

Here is a link to Apple’s instructions to update to the latest versions of the OSes for your devices.

There are the supported iPhones:

  • iPhone 6S

  • iPhone 6S Plus

  • iPhone SE

  • iPhone 7

  • iPhone 7 Plus 

  • iPhone 8

  • iPhone 8 Plus

  • iPhone X

  • iPhone XS

  • iPhone XS Max

  • iPhone XR

  • iPhone 11

  • iPhone 11 Pro

  • iPhone 11 Pro Max

  • iPod Touch seventh generation

These are the supported iPads:

  • iPad Pro 12.9 first generation

  • iPad Pro 12.9 second generation

  • iPad Pro 10.5

  • iPad Pro 9.7 

  • iPad Pro 11

  • iPad Air 2 

  • iPad Air 3 

  • iPad fifth generation

  • iPad sixth generation 

  • iPad seventh generation

  • iPad Mini 4

These are the supported Apple Watches:

  • Apple Watch Series 1

  • Apple Watch Series 2

  • Apple Watch Series 3

  • Apple Watch Series 4

  • Apple Watch Series 5

These are devices that are no longer supported:

  • iPhone 5S

  • iPhone 6

  • iPhone 6 Plus

  • iPad Mini 2

  • iPad Mini 3

  • iPad Air (2013)

Composing Magic: An Interview With Daryl Barnes

We’ve been delighted to collaborate with Daryl Barnes Music to bring an all-new soundtrack to Timecrest with 24 amazing new tracks as part of the Timecrest 2.9 update coming in early March. We sat down to understand the creative force behind the magical music of Timecrest.

Read this great interview, and be sure to check out a short sample of Ash’s Theme at the end!

When did you start composing and what or who are your biggest influences?

I started composing music when I was in high school, but it wasn't until after I graduated from college that I started studying it seriously by reading books and analyzing the works of my favorite composers. A couple of years later, in 2012, I started composing for games professionally.

I'm very much influenced and inspired by Japanese composers, most notably Hiroki Kikuta, Keiichi Okabe, and Yuki Kajiura. I've also taken some influence from a Korean pianist named Yiruma, and also from the film score of The Neverending Story - I'd say this movie was the first time I fell in love with a film soundtrack.


What’s your process like, and where do you start with a piece?

My process can be pretty different for each piece. For some tracks like "Ash" and "Timecrest Guild", I start with the melody, and build the rest of the song around it. With other tracks, like "Aurumhalla" and "Kingdom of Valdor", I start with a sort of repeating "riff" motif, and then construct the melody around that. Once this general direction is established, I usually draft a few different ideas for the various sections throughout a track. I often work out of order, writing different parts of the song, and eventually piecing it together in a way that flows well.

Which track are you most proud of on the Timecrest soundtrack?

I love each track so it's hard to say! But I think I'm most proud of Ash's theme - it's a track that is dear to me, and I think it reflects Ash's personality well. Or at least, my perception of Ash's personality!

Can you let us in on your creative intentions with some of the details in Ash's theme?

I see Ash as a very warm, genuine, and passionate person with big hopes and dreams. I wanted the theme to have a yearning feeling while also sounding bubbly. The motif in the first half of the track is played staccato (short and quick), and pauses a lot, which I felt reflected Ash's curious but sometimes indecisive nature. My favorite part of the track is the outro section - the melody keeps ascending, which I interpreted as Ash's yearning (as if the melody was trying to reach up for something). The melody here also has echoing callbacks, which I included to represent Ash's relationship with the player.

Were there any challenges or benefits to composing for a primarily text-based game?

This was my first time composing for a game that is almost completely text-based, so I actually wasn't sure what to expect, but I found that the absence of visuals (outside of the UI) allowed me to focus more intently on the story, character development, and narrative flow. I think that part of the charm of Timecrest is the room it leaves to the player's imagination - this was actually a bit of a challenge in and of itself, because while I had a lot of fun interpreting the narrative and characters in my own way, I didn't want the soundtrack to steer in a direction that might be too far removed from how longtime fans interpreted the story. Fortunately, you (Sneaky Crab) know the story and player base exceptionally well, and collaborating helped me nail the right sound and feeling for each track.


Timecrest started was originally scored with tracks from royalty-free music libraries. Did having that legacy pose any creative challenges for you?

I don't think it posed many challenges creatively, but I think it did put on a little pressure to make sure the new tracks would resonate with the fanbase.

Who’s your favorite Timecrest character and why?

I initially liked Riley and A.C. the most, but as of now, I think it's a tie between Elise and Ash, for opposite reasons. I'm drawn to mysterious and secretive characters like Elise, and I think that characters who harbor deep secrets are complex and interesting. On the other hand, I like Ash because Ash is such a genuine and vulnerable character, and Ash's friendship with the player feels so real that I actually find myself feeling worried for Ash whenever Ash gets into a precarious situation (which, as you know, is pretty often)!

What’s some advice you wish you got when you were starting out?

For composers starting out, I encourage experimenting in a lot of styles to build versatility but eventually settling on a niche that you're strong in. This niche could be a genre, but a niche built around a unique approach to composing will almost always be stronger than a niche built on a specific genre. Lastly, compose as much as you can, even if it isn't for any specific project - this is the only way to improve your craft.

Where can our audience find out more about you?

The best way to hear my latest work and get in touch is at my website, darylbarnes.moe I'm also active on Twitter (@StarlightDaryl) so feel free to say hi!

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