NebulaCore

> A frenetic vertical shoot'em up where no two runs are ever the same.

Dive deep into a living alien nebula. Every wave you survive, you grow stronger. Every run, your ship becomes something entirely new.

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How it plays

NebulaCore is an arcade vertical shooter with roguelite DNA. Blast through 5 sectors of increasingly chaotic alien organisms, choosing weapon upgrades between every wave. Your single forward cannon evolves over a run — stacking and synergizing upgrades into emergent builds that feel completely different each time.

Each sector contains 3 waves, a challenge gauntlet, and a boss fight. Choose 1 of 3 random upgrades after each wave, and a special module after each boss.

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 Features

- 19 stackable upgrades — 15 standard (offered between waves) and 4 special modules (offered after bosses), from Continuous Laser and Autoseek missiles to Electric Chain and Plasma Mirror

- 6 playable ships, each with a distinct playstyle — balanced, high-risk, heavy, salvage-focused, laser-specialized, or aggressive interceptor

- 6 bosses with named multi-phase attack patterns, including one that copies your exact firing pattern and turns it against you

- Core Burst — a charged special that releases a circular energy explosion; builds up as you kill enemies

- Graze system — brush past bullets at the edge of your hitbox for bonus score and faster charge buildup; graze multiplier stacks up to 4×

- Focus mode — hold to slow your ship and reveal your true hitbox for tight dodges

- Shield system — absorbs one hit before you lose a life; restored by collecting green repair cores

- Combo multiplier — kill chains stack a score bonus; losing it resets your momentum

- Score extends — earn an extra life at 20,000 points, then every 40,000 after that

- Fleet Garage — spend credits earned between runs to unlock new ships and 4 permanent hangar upgrades that carry across playthroughs

- 5 difficulties: Easy · Normal · Frenetic · Abyssal · Lunatic — each unlocked by clearing the previous one. Lunatic gives you a single life, no shield, and no special modules

- 7 achievements and best score tracking per difficulty

- Attract mode — idle on the menu long enough and a demo run plays automatically

- Full English and Brazilian Portuguese support

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 Controls

`WASD` / arrows to move · `Space` or `Z` to fire · `Left Shift` to dodge · `C` / `Ctrl` to focus · `X` for Core Burst · `P` to pause · `1` / `2` / `3` to choose an upgrade

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 About

A solo project built in C with SDL3. Psychedelic space opera aesthetic — scrolling nebula backgrounds in purples and pinks, enemies that look like bioluminescent sea creatures, and particle explosions that reward every kill with a burst of color. No external font dependencies; no internet required.

Good luck, pilot. AION is waiting.