Neon Core v0.3.0-alpha.1 — Progression, Polish & Expansion

Neon Core v0.3.0-alpha.1

Neon Core has received its biggest gameplay expansion yet.

This alpha release builds on the modular foundation introduced in v0.2.0-alpha.1 with major bug fixes, deeper progression, a second prestige layer, more achievements, expanded stats, cloud-free local save slots, and a procedural sound-design overhaul.

Play the latest build:
https://dawsoncodes.github.io/NeonCore/

Highlights

Major gameplay bug fixes

• Fixed the reactor-input multiplication bug that could grant far too much energy when clicking the core and pressing Space at nearly the same time.
• Added a canonical reactor-input pathway so pointer clicks, keyboard input, and touch interactions register consistently.
• Fixed floating energy numbers and particles occasionally appearing in incorrect areas of the screen during rapid clicking.
• Added coordinate validation, clamping, sensible fallback positioning, and effect limits.
• Fixed stale Buy 1 / Buy Max notifications during rapid toggling.
• Improved notification replacement, deduplication, priority handling, timer cleanup, and reset behavior.

Expanded upgrade system

• Expanded the shop to 14 upgrades across five categories.
• Preserved the original legacy upgrade IDs for save compatibility.
• Added progression-based upgrade unlocks.
• Added locked upgrade hints, category teasers, unlock notifications, and NEW badges.
• Added new upgrade paths for core output, passive generation, Neon Surge, economy, and Singularity-era progression.

Neon Surge rework

• Added upgradeable Surge charge speed.
• Added upgradeable Surge strength and duration.
• Added click-to-extend Surge momentum.
• Improved Surge-ready feedback and active-state presentation.
• Added Surge-related achievements and expanded tracking.

Event Horizon prestige layer

• Added Event Horizon, a new second prestige layer above Singularity.
• Event Horizon unlocks after sustained progression and multiple Singularities.
• Added persistent Horizon Shards.
• Added new permanent Horizon upgrades.
• Added a new collapse sequence and progression path for long-term runs.

Achievement and stat expansion

• Expanded the achievement catalog to 48 achievements across multiple categories.
• Preserved existing achievement unlock compatibility.
• Added collapsible achievement presentation on desktop.
• Kept the dedicated expanded mobile achievement view.
• Expanded stats to 22 tracked values, including critical hits, biggest click, best passive output, Surge usage, offline gains, lifetime collapse counts, and save-management activity.

Cloud-free local save slots

• Added three optional manual save slots stored entirely in the browser.
• Added save-slot naming, progress summaries, timestamps, overwrite confirmation, restore confirmation, and deletion confirmation.
• Added per-slot importing and exporting.
• Added automatic backups before restores and imports.
• Save slots survive normal progress resets.

Save-system upgrade

• Introduced save schema v4.
• Preserved automatic migration from prior save formats.
• Preserved compatibility with older exported saves.
• Added safer defaults for new fields.
• Added validation and safer import handling.

Procedural sound remaster

• Reworked the browser-based procedural audio system.
• Added improved sounds for clicking, critical hits, upgrades, achievements, milestones, Surge activation, Singularity, Event Horizon, saves, errors, and unlocks.
• Added a master volume slider.
• Added sound throttling to reduce harsh audio buildup during rapid clicking.
• Preserved mute behavior and audio-setting persistence.

UI, accessibility, and mobile improvements

• Improved the desktop dashboard layout.
• Added grouped upgrade categories.
• Added grouped stats.
• Improved the light-theme contrast pass.
• Improved settings organization.
• Added accessible dialogs and keyboard-friendly controls.
• Preserved reduced-motion support with a persistent in-game preference.
• Validated desktop, tablet, portrait-phone, and landscape-phone layouts.

Intentional balance changes

• Increased the base Singularity requirement from 100K to 500K.
• Added scaling Singularity requirements for repeated collapses.
• Increased the permanent Singularity reward from +10% to +25%.
• Rebalanced Neon Surge charge speed, duration, and multiplier behavior.
• Added minor upgrade growth-rate adjustments.
• Added new progression milestones.
• Preserved the base two-hour offline-progress cap, with later extensions available through progression.

Full balancing notes are included in docs/BALANCE.md.

Controls

• Click or tap the reactor to generate energy.
• Press Space to activate the reactor.
• Press B to toggle Buy 1 / Buy Max.
• Press S to save.
• Press Esc to close open panels and dialogs.

Validation

The update includes:

• 81 passing automated tests
• 102 passing browser validation checks
• Regression coverage for reactor input, particle positioning, notification replacement, save migration, save slots, progression systems, accessibility behaviors, and responsive layouts

Alpha status

This remains an early alpha release.

The underlying systems are much stronger, but the interface, visual hierarchy, animations, pacing, and long-term replayability still need additional refinement.

Known visual issue

• The settings volume slider can display an extra grey thumb-like element in some browser layouts. This is cosmetic and will be corrected during the next interface pass.

Coming next: v0.4 Interface Reboot

The next update will focus on a complete interface redesign and animation overhaul:

• Wider cockpit-style desktop dashboard
• Stronger reactor-centered visual hierarchy
• Rebuilt upgrade-shop presentation
• Cleaner achievements and stats access
• Refined settings drawer
• Fixed volume-slider styling
• Stronger reactor animations
• Improved click, critical-hit, Surge, Singularity, and Event Horizon effects
• More polished panel transitions
• Improved mobile presentation
• Reduced repetition through a cleaner gameplay flow

This release is marked as a pre-release while Neon Core continues to evolve.