A downloadable game for Windows and Android

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■CORE CONCEPT

COREplus is a rhythm game taking inspiration from 2008-2012's indie classics, such as BIT.TRIP CORE, Audiosurf and many others.

■CORE GAMEPLAY

Play using either a keyboard or a controller.
Keyboard:
 - [A], [W] and [D] to select lanes
 - [ARROW LEFT], [ARROW RIGHT] to hit lanes
 - [LSHIFT] to hit scratch notes
Controller (default layout):
 - [DPAD LEFT], [UP], [RIGHT] to select lanes
 - [X], [B] to hit lanes
 - [Y], [A] to hit 2 selected lanes
 - [LB], [RB] to hit scratch notes
It is recommended to check out the `HOW TO PLAY` section in the main menu first.

■CORE IDEA

As humanity once again finds itself in a point of no return, they [seek guidance] from the [CORE] of the universe.
Being inactive for countless years, the [CORE] needs to be [revived].
[signals] must be used.

■CORE EDITOR

■To install a custom map: drag a .c+m file onto the game's executable

■To create a custom map: choose EDIT in the main menu and drag an audio file [and an existing .line map file to continue editing it] into the game's window.
Editor controls:
- [SPACE]: start/restart music
- [LEFT ALT]: pause/unpause music
- [TAB/~]: switch between editor/player
- [ARROW] keys: place notes at the last tick
- [W], [S]: rewind, FFWD
- [A], [D]: move the currently selected note[s]

■CORE REQUIREMENTS

PC:  Windows 7 (32-bit), any Linux that supports SDL2
Android: 4.4

■CORE CREATORS

Programming: cntrpl
Vector graphics design: cntrpl
Music: ZLD1
Spritework: ZLD1

StatusReleased
PlatformsWindows, Android
Rating
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
(2 total ratings)
Authorscntrpl, ZLD1
GenreRhythm
Made withPaint.net, SDL
TagsArcade, Difficult, Local multiplayer, Minimalist, sdl2, Singleplayer
Average sessionA few minutes
LanguagesEnglish
InputsKeyboard, Gamepad (any), Touchscreen
AccessibilityHigh-contrast
MultiplayerLocal multiplayer
Player count1 - 2

Download

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Click download now to get access to the following files:

Windows release - COREplus 1.0-h1.zip 22 MB
Android release - COREplus 1.0-h1.apk 25 MB
Early demo - demo-rc1.7z 6 MB

Comments

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I played through the OST side - while the vector graphic style can feel slightly non-uniform for 3D graphics with its varying widths coupled with lack of anti-aliasing, the core (ha) conceit of the gameplay itself is solid with a lot of potential, and the music is very atmospherically on-point. A few thoughts:

  • During play, lack of scroll-speed adjustment means it's often hard to get a personal level of comfort with higher density charts, especially with COREplus's style of notes slowing as they approach the judgment line.
  • The editor, as offered, is impractical to the point of near-impossibility without at least the ability to navigate by your selected snap - I was ready to attempt a workaround of placing as many notes as I might possibly need and selecting them to move them backwards, but I found you can't select individual notes if there are multiple at once on the same tick... I feel that first and foremost, the ability to scroll and iteratively edit according to your BPM and snap, without being locked to a hardcoded 500ms-step, would make the charting process fundamentally possible. After that, being able to select individual notes of groups would be much appreciated. (I understand there's the option of "play it to chart it", but the editor inputs are nothing like gameplay inputs, not to mention it runs counter to conscious design and experimentation, as well as takes so much time...)
    • (Further to that, LALT makes playback fire when alt-tabbing out of the window.)
  • There's also the hardcoded assumptions that beats only subdivide to powers of 2 (i.e. no compound time, triplets, etc.), BPM never changes, barlines align purely to 4/4, etc. - but I understand that those would necessarily come later.

As a fan of the BIT.TRIP series myself, it's extremely exciting to see a work take inspiration, and I think COREplus really achieves something of its own. I look forward to what comes, and to being able to work with it once charting is truly opened up.

(1 edit)

Thank you for your review!
I'm currently working on a 1.1 update which will add some quality of life improvements. Being honest I never thought that someone would actually try using the map editor; that's why it feels more like an internal tool than something that's meant to be user-friendly.
But what you might like is that in 1.1, the snap modes will no longer be limited to 2^s, and you'll be able to set it to 1/3, 1/4 and lower.
Additionally, scrolling with W/S/scroll wheel will now respect the current snap mode and BPM instead of the hardcoded 500ms.

I never fully explained all of the editor controls, again I never thought someone would use it, but with 1.1 I'll be sure to include some kind of help section.


(+1)

Thank you for the response! I'll be sure to look out for 1.1 when the time comes, and it'll be exciting to work with the editor and try my hand at some custom charts then. 1/n snapping should especially open up a lot at once...!