Core Keeper News

Get ready for spring, as Core Keeper’s Cherry Blossom Event is now live! This mini-event sees the addition of trees inspired by the Shidarezakura Weeping Cherry and Yoshino Cherry to the game, along with pink and white Cherry Flowers, and a brand-new achievement for you to uncover.

The Cherry Blossom mini-event will run from today until the 31st of March. Will you try your hand at creating a minimalist base? Maybe you’re working on a beautiful garden? No matter what biome you’re building in, it’ll look a whole lot nicer with a Cherry Tree or two. Don’t believe us? Here’s something we whipped up right by The Core!



We hope you enjoy decorating your world with Cherry Trees and that you’re also looking forward to our upcoming Easter Seasonal Event! We’ll be sharing more information on the dates for that in a Steam post tomorrow, so keep an eye out!

We’re always keen to see your screenshots and videos, and you’re welcome to share them with us over on the official Core Keeper Discord server. Make sure you’re keeping up with us on Twitter and over in the Steam Discussions too for more news, information, and announcements.

[h2]New items: [/h2]

• Added the White Cherry Blossom, which can now be found randomly spawning in the world.
  
• Introduced the White Cherry Tree, which can be crafted by combining White Cherry Blossoms.
  
• Added the Pink Cherry Blossom, which can now be found randomly spawning in the world.
  
• Introduced the Pink Cherry Tree, which can be crafted by combining Pink Cherry Blossoms.

[h2]New Achievements: [/h2]

• Added a new achievement for players to unlock.

[h2]Balancing: [/h2]

• Adjusted the spawn rate of Love Letters during Valentine's Day to improve game balance.

[h2] Bug Fixes: [/h2]

• Fixed a bug with the background write thread and other threads using the incorrect thread priority.
  
• Fixed an issue with missing text when the Cheat Death talent is triggered.

[h2]Other: [/h2]

• Improved stability by preventing bosses from being affected by slippery movement effects, such as those caused by the Bubble Gun.

As we make our way into spring, flowers are blooming all over the world, but the Yoshino cherry blossoms that bloom this time of year in Japan have always held a special place in our hearts.

We wanted to share our love for Cherry Blossoms and show our appreciation for our growing Japanese community with our very own Cherry Blossom mini-event in Core Keeper – running from the 22nd until the 31st of March. It’s a small token of our love, and we hope it makes your games a little bit brighter this spring.

It’s no secret by now that the Pugstorm team shares a love of Japanese culture, you’ll even spot references to some of our favourite pieces of Japanese media in Core Keeper. Well, we thought the launch of our Cherry Blossom mini-event would be the perfect opportunity to share some more information about our experiences with Japanese culture and how they have influenced the game.

Our chairman, David Wallsten studied and worked in Japan and has fond memories of taking part in the custom of Hanami (花見) AKA "flower viewing". He enjoyed the social element of Hanami, and recalls meeting with lots of different groups of friends for picnics underneath the cherry trees every year.



CEO, Fredrik Präntare has visited Japan several times over the years, soaking up the culture in places like Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Fukuoka. On his many visits he has met with Japanese creatives and attended artificial intelligence conferences, immersing himself in a culture of innovation. While Fredrik is a big fan of exploring the city and enjoying the delicious cuisine on offer (he's a big fan of ramen and udon!), his favourite thing about Japan is the amazing people he's met on his journeys.

If you've spotted any Legend of Zelda references in Core Keeper, you can bet Fredrik had a hand in them! He's a huge fan of the franchise and has even hinted that we can expect more of these references in future, so keep an eye out! Alongside Fredrik's Zelda references, you'll come across some nods to Japanese media such as Made in Abyss, Studio Ghibli movies, and more.

We hope you’re looking forward to Core Keeper’s Cherry Blossom mini event – perhaps you’ll get some friends together and take part in a Hanami of your own? In the meantime, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or join the discussions on the official Core Keeper Discord!

This time last year, Core Keeper launched in Early Access – happy birthday to us! It goes without saying (but we’re gonna say it anyway) that we wouldn’t be where we are now without our awesome community, and we wanted to celebrate and show our thanks by adding some birthday-themed goodies to the game.

[h2]Light the candles, grab yourself a slice of cake, and let's party! Our Anniversary Update is live and running until the 20th of March.[/h2]

We’ve released a list of patch notes that you can take a look at, but since this is a mini-update, we can walk you through the new content right here. Expect new stock (and a new look) for the Seasonal Merchant, including colourful party hats, new “Happy Birthday” sheet music, and a very special birthday cake (or should we say buff-day cake?) that grants players a permanent boost to their maximum health! Indie gaming fans will also spot a nod to our friends over at ReLogic with our new playable sheet music for the “Journey’s Beginning” track from Terraria, which they can pick up by defeating a certain royal slime.



When it comes to things like our Anniversary and Cherry Blossom mini-updates, we certainly love having the opportunity to share a little specialised content with our community while we work towards our next major content drops. That way you get a little something in between updates and we get to crack on with the big stuff. If our seasonal events are appetisers and our major updates are the main course, we like to think of our mini-updates as amuse-bouches – little bite-sized pieces of content to enjoy before you tuck into the Animal Update and Crystal Biome (names TBC). We’ll stop it with the food analogies now…never write a Steam post before lunch!

We hope you throw some wicked parties in the underground this week and, if you do, you should definitely share your screenshots over on the official Core Keeper Discord! It’s been an absolutely amazing year in Early Access, and we can’t wait to work our way down our 2023 roadmap and bring you lots more Core Keeper content on the road to 1.0.

[h2]Gameplay:[/h2]

• The Seasonal Merchant has a new skin and new items to sell for the new season. The skin will change back after the season ends but the items can still be bought.
  
• Anniversary Cake: Topped with Glow Tulip glaze. When eaten, it emits a strong glow around the player and also gives a permanent health increase. Sold by the Seasonal Merchant.
  
• Four festive birthday hats sold by the Seasonal Merchant.
  
• New “Happy Birthday” music sheet. Sold by the Seasonal Merchant.
  
• Terraria “Journey's Beginning” music sheet. Drops from the King Slime boss.
  
• New hidden achievement.
  

[h2]Graphics:[/h2]

• Updated the Flower Crown sprites to better fit all hairstyles.
  

[h2]BUG FIXES[/h2]

• Corrected sorting order of stone platforms in front of the Core.
  
• Fixed an issue where Ore Boulder shadows would sometimes flicker.
  
• Fixed Hive Larva Fish not being able to be fished in regular water in the Clay Caves biome.
  

[h2]OTHER[/h2]

• Changed Twisted Agate sprite to not be mistaken for a seed.
  
• Changed input backend on Linux to avoid issues when running the game with Steam Input enabled for some controllers.