Core Lords News

Hello everyone!

A bit longer on the update than I would usually like, got covid again this month (-.-). That and my wife is very very very pregnant with our first, lots to prepare!

So outside of the usual bug fixing, optimizing and tweaking, here is what is being worked on for Core Lords: A new biome and level!

[h2]The Canyon[/h2]


A gloomy fog and and driving rain hangs over this imposing gash in the earth. Slippery rocks and ledges create a sweaty-palmed climb to a great danger. An opportunity for more environmental puzzles, battles and even new powers await!


[h2]New Enemies[/h2]


A strange corruption has descended upon the land, and the canyon and it's local inhabitants are not immune. The first of the new enemy types for canyon zone, these little guys can really overwhelm in groups!


[h2]Building a boss arena and... well the boss.[/h2]


A messy sketch of what is being worked on in terms of a boss arena and hints at what the boss could be. I really hope to develop the world through environmental story telling - any theories?


All very work-in-progress, and as usual, let me know of any feedback/ideas you have!

Cheers,
Chris

Hi all,

A (long overdue) update to the demo has been released.

A huge list of updates, bugs fixes, QoL changes have been worked on, and I will be unable to list them all, but some major changes are as follows:

GAMEPLAY/AI

• More enemy behavior such as strafing, keeping distance and better line of sight calculations
  
• Vastly improved AI actions and decision making (though still needs work!)
  
• Enemy drops (combat drops and permanent upgrades)
  
• Improved jumping and falling behaviour
  

TUTORIAL STORY

• A huge amount of bug fixes
  
• Clearer tutorial hints
  
• Balanced delays and pacing of tutorial information
  
• Visual and camera tweaks
  
• Fixes for puzzles
  

QoL

• Visual indication of enemy and player health and action points in combat
  
• More indicators and affordance for what actions you take will result in, especially with Core interactions
  
• Smoother movement behavior, such as better navmesh, hold-to-move and click-to-move, move-to and climb etc.
  

LEVEL DESIGN

• Better interaction with water and lava
  
• Better procedural generation for Quick Battle
  
• Gaps, holes and other kinds of collider fixes
  
• Lots of general bug fixes
  

ANIMATION

• Smoother animations, especially with running and other movement (less janky and staggered, but still working on it)
  
• New animations for the player character
  

UI

• Cleaner and more consistent design
  
• UI interaction fixes, such as toggling and buttons
  
• General visual UI improvements and fixes
  

VFX/SFX

• Improvements and adjustments to visual and sound effects, such as performance tweaks, visual clarity and consistency
  

If you give the demo a go, please let me know what you think!

Cheers,
Chris

Core Lords has a new trailer out!

Focusing in a lot more on gameplay, it showcases the tactical turn-based combat, enemies and environmental arenas that combat and puzzles take place in. Give it a looksy:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Let me know what you think of the trailer or the game itself, I would be interested to hear about any confusion from what you see, or anything that catches your eye that looks particularly cool.

Thanks for the continued support!

Cheers,
Chris

Hello! I hope everyone is having a good 2024 so far! An update on a more intricate combat system from Core Lords below.

[h2]How Orange, Red, Action! (ORA) Works[/h2]

Cores Lords has a turn-based combat system, but also has a minor twist on "you move I move".

In Core Lords, Many actions such as attacking, moving and falling may have a kind of "wind up" before the action is triggered.

This is called ORA, or Orange > Red > Action!

Each action can be ORA or an instant effect and takes an Action Point per stage. Objects that don’t have Action Points are likely to progress a stage after each player turn ends.

ORA can also skip the “Orange” stage, meaning the trigger will happen after only one stage of wind-up.

ORA is represented by orange or red outlines on enemies, cores and objects.

We can see the enemies are at different stages in their ORA, one in "Orange" and one in "Red". Our player better move!


[h3]Enemy ORA[/h3]

You can see this enemy with two stage ORA, attacking after “Red”.

Above you can see the enemy used a total of 3 actions points in this sequence. It used it's 4th point to start the wind-up again, going to "Orange".


[h3]Core ORA[/h3]

Cores also can use ORA. Use this knowledge to strategize placement and moves!

Watercores "Pop" after a certain amount of time/turns.


[h3]Puzzle ORA[/h3]

Puzzles may also have situational ORA, adding timing and planning challenges.

The floating cores are going to drop very soon!


Hopefully ORA is not too complicated! It is all fairly intuitive in game. Let me know what you think about it!

Also, as always, give the demo a go and give me some feedback for that too!

Cheers,
Chris

Hello and Happy New Year! Back to it with an update on how the Cores interact with each other in game!

[h2]What the Cores can do[/h2]

Below we can see the basic functions of each of the Cores that you can control in Core Lords:

Stonecores are, just like all Cores, part of the natural world, but their cube-like shape allows you to manipulate them. These stones can be moved, pulled, pushed, dropped and set up for a variety of uses in exploration, puzzle solving and battle.



Windcores use concentrated gusts of wind to push other Cores around the environment, often to create paths and attack offensively.



Watercores are controlled water sources and are used to bounce Stonecores and Flamecores in directions controlled by the player. Characters moving through Watercores are also slowed down.



Flamecores are flame and lava in a controllable form. They can be quite destructive and do more damage than Stonecores. They also leave a pool of lava where they land, acting as an dangerous obstacle for any nearby.




[h2]Interactions with other Cores[/h2]

What happens when two cores interact?

Stonecore + Windcore
A Windcore can be formed near a Stonecore, which will push it in the direction of the facing of the Windcore.




Stonecore + Watercore
A Stonecore will bounce in the direction of the Watercore facing when being pushed or falling into a one of more of them.




Stonecore + Flamecore
A Stonecore will pop a Flamecore’s form and remove it.


Windcore + Flamecore
A Flamecore can be pushed by a Windcore, the same as a Windcore and Stonecore interaction.


Windcore + Watercore
We cannot push a Watercore, as the form of the Watercore is too fragile when moving.


Watercore + Flamecore
A Flamecore coming into contact with a Watercore will have the unique effect of cooling off the lava and flame, creating a new Stonecore.




Again, these are the basic ways to use each Core, with more strategies and customization of the behaviour to come!

As always, give the demo a go and give me some more feedback if you can!

Cheers,
Chris