Around The Core

Hi Guys! This isn't a massive content update, but after receiving feedback and spending more time with the demo, I noticed several areas that could use some attention. As a result, I've made a variety of fixes, improvements, and optimization changes to help create a smoother experience.Here’s what changed:Improved Drop Colors and Effect MaterialsDrops are easier to identify and stand out more clearly during combat. Less squinting at the screen, more collecting shiny things.Improved skill names and descriptionsSome grammar mistakes slipped into the Skill Detail View descriptions. They've now been corrected because getting criticized by my grammar teacher is a completely different boss fight.Improved Build Profiles and General Build OptimizationSince the demo launch, I had noticed occasional lag spikes but couldn't figure out where they were coming from. After watching feedback videos and gameplay footage from YouTubers, I finally discovered the culprit.The reason was the music.After some investigation, I found an audio-related issue that was causing performance drops in certain situations. The problem has now been addressed, and the game should run much more smoothly.Updated Button Visual and Settings PanelA few button colors were bothering me, so I adjusted them for better visual consistency. I also fixed an issue where text in the Settings panel could overflow its designated area in certain languages.Adjusted Bloom, Camera Zoom, and Visual EffectsVisual effects have been rebalanced to improve readability during intense moments. The game should now be a little less "flashbang simulator" while still looking shiny.New Capsule ArtI refreshed the Steam capsule art to make the game stand out a bit more. If you clicked on the game because of it, then the plan worked perfectly.Hope to see you soon!

Hi Everyone!First of all, thank you so much for all the feedback, bug reports, videos, balancing suggestions, and kind messages.I’ve been reading everything and working on improvements every single day!This update focused mostly on polishing the demo experience, improving game feel, visual feedback, balancing, and overall presentation.Here’s what changed:Added the demo completion sequence Defeating the boss now triggers a proper ending sequence where all remaining enemies are destroyed.Expanded localization supportReworked the skill treeRadiation was causing some confusion, so I replaced its upgrade with a new skill and improved the overall skill tree layout.Added new effect for skill nodesUnlocking skills now sends energy through their paths, making newly unlocked skills much clearer.Rebalanced reload speed and overall early-game pacingReload speed is now fixed, so you can stack projectile upgrades much more freely!Boss balance improvements, including spawn pacing and progression tuningThe boss has been nerfed and the game’s pacing is now less overwhelming.Updated laser systemsThe laser is now fully automatic - your own little combat robot.Updated enemy/drop visuals, colors, scaling and readabilityLarge amounts of enemy drops were hurting screen readability, so I made several visual adjustments to clean things up.Reworked Yellow/Blue drop behavior and visualsReduced screen shake for a more controlled gameplay feelScreen shake has been toned down and feels much smoother now.Enhanced nebula background visibility...so you can actually enjoy the nebulas now.Updated cursor visualsThe cursor is now thicker and easier to track during combat.Added a cleaner/noise-reduced version of some soundtracksSome players found the lo-fi white noise a bit distracting, so I reduced it while trying to preserve the original vibe of the track.General sound effect polish and balancingSounds were cluttering the audio mix during intense moments. It’s much less exhausting now, and I’m still a...

Hi everyone!First of all, thank you to everyone who has played the demo, shared feedback, and supported Around The Core so far.I have been continuing development on Around The Core and improving the experience based on player feedback and internal testing.Recent work has focused on:Language improvements:I found a few translation issues and confusing wording in some languages, so I'm going through the localization and cleaning things up.Balancing upgrades and progressionA lot of players mentioned that the “Patron” boss felt a bit too punishing compared to the rest of the game’s pacing. I'm currently tweaking its difficulty and experimenting with changes to how the boss is summoned.Visual clarity during intense momentsOne issue I learned is that the laser currently visually dominates the screen too much, often making regular projectiles harder to notice. Another issue we noticed was that keeping the mouse very close to the center could sometimes lead to strange laser behavior, so we’re working on making the system more stable overall.Overall gameplay pacingIn some situations, enemy density can become overwhelming, filling the screen too aggressively and leaving players with very little room to maneuver.I'm also experimenting with new upgrade interactions, enemy ideas, and additional gameplay mechanics for future updates.Thank you to everyone who has tried the demo and shared feedback so far - it genuinely helps shape the game.More updates soon, see you!