Calculator Core

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~ originator

Calculator Core is a 2.1 Extreme Demon mega-collaboration hosted and published by Walroose and verified by Crazen. It is a rebirth and extension of Artificial Ideology. In the words of Walroose, it was "designed to capture the feeling of the old level, while still being detailed and visually pleasing."

History

Calculator Core was first revealed to the community when Walroose released a preview of it on December 11, 2018, showcasing the basic gameplay and extension.

After a long period of inactivity surrounding the level, on February 29, 2019, Walroose uploaded an update video on all her upcoming projects, mainly Forever Asleep. Around halfway into the video, she stated that she had decided to turn Calculator Core into a mega-collaboration.

On March 2, 2019, Walroose uploaded a video showcasing her part in the level. The next day on March 3, 2019, Zest uploaded a video showcasing his part in the level. In the video description, he stated that his part uses about 14,400 objects and that his part is the second-to-last one in the level.

On March 27, 2019, Cytokinesis uploaded a video showcasing a transition for the buildup to her part in the level. Three days later on March 30, 2019, Spectex uploaded a video showcasing his part in the level as well as the end logo. In the video description, he stated that there will be a preview on Walroose's YouTube channel very soon.

After about a month of inactivity, on April 21, 2019, Chuckgamer1 uploaded a video showcasing his part in the level. The next day on April 22, 2019, Isane uploaded a video revealing his part in the level. In the video description, he stated that it took him two weeks to complete.

About a week later on April 27, 2019, Walroose released the first preview of the level, showcasing 10 out of 22 finished parts. In the comments section, she revealed that it is currently set to be verified by Zagros.

On May 17, 2019, Walroose released a video showcasing her other part in the level, which subsequently replaced Hadeon. About two months later on July 20, 2019, she uploaded a video showing the full level with the completed decoration. In the video description, she stated that it is now set to be verified by Crazen and is expected to be Top 10, maybe even Top 5.

On July 29, 2019, Crazen began to progress on Calculator Core and achieved a start position run of 46-81%. Over a month later on September 9, 2019, he achieved a new best of 67%.

On November 23, 2019, Crazen finally verified Calculator Core for his first-ever verification project (besides Twisted Tranquility). In the video description, he stated that he found this to be the most enjoyable XL Extreme Demon he had played to date.

On December 7, 2019, Calculator Core received its first victor, Swiborg. Swiborg managed to beat the level in 16,312 attempts and said that the level is perhaps one of the most fun XL Extreme Demons ever, rating its enjoyment as 91/100.

On December 18, 2019, Calculator Core was rated and featured about 3 weeks after it was released. It got rated at the same time as two other levels of similar difficulties, Renevant and Cognition, as well as another Extreme, called TM18.

Gameplay

• 0-3% (Isane): The level starts with a half-speed cube section with confusing obstacles with many fake jump orbs and gravity portals. The player will need to memorize which jump orbs to touch and not to touch. Next, the player enters a mini ball section with difficult timings, then switches to dual big-sized gravity balls with difficult timings that require the player to time right when the ball nearly reaches off the edge of the platform.
• 3-5% (Zylenox): Then, the player enters a difficult wave section with tight spaces and bright pulsing air decoration with very detailed blocks.
• 5-7% (Walroose) Afterward, the player changes into another dual ball section with hard timings. It changes into a very tight wave segment and into a big ship sequence which requires precise straight fly as the spikes start slowly closing in onto the player.
• 7-10% (Acnologia): This consists of a robot section with many timed jumps with many spinning gears that are difficult to see through the dark.
• 10-12% (Tolstyh): It changes into a mixed dual section, the top one being a mini-cube and the bottom one being a mini-ship. This part requires a high level of timing. The top one changes into a mini-ball while the bottom changes into a big wave. Then, later, the ball changes into a spider, and then the wave enters a teleportation portal that brings the player into the next part of the level.
• 12-15% (Sedgehog): Then, the player enters a ship sequence that has a moderately tight space and a mini-straight flying section which changes gravity as the player passes through. The player goes into a wave section which requires skilled timing of light-tapping and minor jitter-click.
• 15-21% (Cytokinesis): It turns into an auto segment with a giant red sign that reads, "Calc_Core Warning! Meltdown" corresponding to the build-up of the drop. Next, the player enters a half-speed auto wave section that quickly becomes triple-speed at the drop, with very tight wave spaces. It then transitions into a mini-wave segment, then to another big wave segment, and into a mini-ship segment with straight flying and gravity changes. It changes into a mini-wave that requires precision to fly through and it goes according to the melody of the song. It changes into a normal cube and a short straight flying segment with the big ship. Next, the player enters a simple cube section with slight timing and minor orb spam, along with a short spider segment in the middle. It changes into a big ship with moderately tight spaces as it changes its size and gravity. Then, the player enters an auto transition with huge text saying "ENTER THE MACHINE", and the player is transported to the next section.
• 22-26% (Chuckgamer1): Next, the player enters a half-speed wave segment with a very dark background that makes the part difficult to see, along with a set of fake obstacles, making it a difficult wave section. It changes into a triple-speed mini-ship sequence with numerous straight flying segments. Then, the player transitions to another half-speed wave segment with tight spaces and increasing speeds as the player fly through. Then, the player changes into a dual cube section with moderate timings. It changes into a mixed dual section, with the top one being a robot. It transitions into a single mini-ship with a short straight flying segment.
• 27-31% (Helpegasus): This part begins with a 4x speed mini-UFO section with many gravity portals, then transitions into a ship with one tricky orb timing and some straight fly. Then it goes into a very quick cube, then robot, then a ball, and finally ship before going into a dual mini-ball with some tough timings. The gameplay of the dual ball is the same as in the original Artificial Ideology.
• 32-38% (CrankyTheHuman): Almost all of the gameplay in this part is the same as in Artificial Ideology, with minor changes. Throughout the part, the screen flashes black which briefly obscures the player's vision. Unlike Artificial Ideology, the ship section does not have any keys, and instead, the moving blocks move on their own instead of needing to be activated by the keys. The cube and wave dual is the same, but the last dual in this part was changed to a swing copter that uses blue pads to change the player's gravity. Then, it goes into a precise straight-flying part, and then onto the next part.
• 39-42% (Walroose): Walroose's part starts with a ball with some orb mazes and some mild timing. Then, it transitions into a half-speed tight wave section, which halfway through changes into a mini-wave.
• 42-47% (Zero): Next, Zero's part has some straight fly which goes into a small corridor where the player needs to move up and down against two platforms, and then the player must use a blue orb on the ship so that the player will be the correct gravity when they go into the next cube. If the player does not hit the blue orb, they will be the wrong gravity for the next cube, and they will fall into the ceiling. Next is a triple-speed mini-cube and then a mini-ball with some tough timings in the cube, whereas the ball is fairly lenient in its timings. Then, the player gets launched into the next section, where a radiation symbol appears, which was made by Wazuuup.
• 47-51% (Voltrix): Voltrix's part is very vibrant and bright, and many people regard it to be one of the best-looking parts in the level. First, the player starts as a 4x speed UFO with frequently changing gravity, which transitions into a wave spamming segment. It briefly becomes normal speed, and then back to 4x speed when the wave transitions into a ship with gravity changes that sync to the music.
• 52-58% (StarkyTheSalad + YoonsrDynamix): StarkyTheSalad and YoonsrDynamix participated in the same part. This is the longest part of the level, and the way Starky and Yoonsr ordered their parts is Starky > Yoonsr > Starky > Yoonsr. It starts with a dual ball that has asymmetrical timings, which then transitions into a dual spider. The dual spider then goes into a single spider with some hard timings, followed by a short robot timing. The robot transitions into a wave, which goes into a dual mini-cube, and then into a ship, followed by a UFO where the player has to spam to get to the top in time to avoid the obstacles.
• 59-64% (Cryo): This part is one of the calmer parts. It starts as a mini-cube with some orb timings, which then goes into a mini-ship with precise flying. It then goes into a mini-cube with a jump that somewhat resembles a triple-spike timing, and then into a dash orb which takes the player into a long robot section. The robot section has many timings that utilize orbs and gravity changes. Some of these timings are very tough, so even though it is a calmer section, the player still needs to be on their toes.
• 65-67% (Xaren): This next part is almost entirely a dual section. It starts as a dual cube, where the top cube has to hit a pink orb while the bottom cube is suspended in the air. Next, the top becomes a UFO while the bottom becomes a ball, requiring a few timings before the top goes into a ship that the player has to control while making sure to also control the ball. Next, it goes into a very small straight-fly section, which goes into a dual with a ship and a cube. Both the ship and cube have to hit a yellow orb, making the ship go down into a straight-flying section while the cube goes upwards to land on some platforms. The ship continues straight-flying until it becomes a wave, and the bottom becomes a spider. After two timings where the wave has to release the button at the right time, it transitions into the next part.
• 68-71% (Sheep): This part is during the buildup to the third and final drop of the level, and is entirely a wave section. It starts as a 4x speed mini-wave that requires lots of button presses to stay away from obstacles, and then it goes into a normal wave. then back into a mini-wave with more fast button pressing. Then it transitions into an auto cube and the player must get ready for the third drop.
• 71-73% (Art made by Voltrix): This section contains art that is confirmed by Walroose to depict the city known as "Cycloid Citadel."
• 73-79% (RealVet): During the third drop, the player first has a black orb timing, which transitions into a ship with constantly vibrating spikes on the top and bottom in sync with the music. Next, it goes into a mini-ball with very tough timings, then to a short spider section with two small timings. It then goes into a mini-ship where the player must straight-fly, and then into a mini-wave where the player spams in sync to the music. After two orb timings with a mini-cube, the player becomes a ship where they need to straight-fly some more. Then the player transitions into a ball, where they must do some extremely tough ball timings which then go into a wave section where the player moves up and down twice, and then to a spider section with two timings. After this, it goes into an auto spider section where the player is prompted if they want to activate a low-detail mode for Spectex's part.
• 80-82% (Brittank88): Brittank88's part is regarded as one of the tougher parts of the level. It starts with a straight-flying segment with one orb timing, and then more straight-flying. It then goes into a wave section with periodic size changes and some strict timing. Finally, the player goes into a tight wave corridor with limited visibility that flashes onto the screen briefly.
• 82-84% (CairoX): CairoX's entire part is a dual section, and it is a dual from Walroose's abandoned project known as Robot Rock. It still syncs very well to this part of the song, however. The player starts as a dual mini-cube, jumping over some spikes. Then the player becomes a spider and a normal-sized cube, where they perform two timings before becoming a dual spider. Next, the player must straight fly with two ships of different sizes. Finally, the player becomes a dual ball, with a few strict timings, which then transition into Zest's part.
• 84-91% (Zest): This part begins with a 4x speed dual wave where both waves are the same gravity. The waves move up and down twice to the music, then become two mini-waves with different gravity and some tough wave timings. The waves then become normal sized and the player must navigate through a small wave corridor with frequently changing gravity. The player then becomes a ship where they must straight-fly and then do two orb timings before going into a spider with a few spider timings. It transitions into another dual, this time being a ball and a spider. It then goes into a symmetrical dual wave with a brief section in the middle where the waves are mini. Next, the player is a normal ship at triple speed, then they go back into 4x speed with gravity changes followed by another straight-fly with the mini-ship. A few mini-ball timings later, the level transitions into the last part of the level.
• 92-99% (Spectex): This part has the most objects of any other part of the level. It has so many objects that there is a separate low-detail mode option inside the level between Realvet's part and Brittank88's part. The entire part is a 4x speed dual, starting with a dual ball. The ball has some very tough timings, including one difficult pink orb timing. The ball then transitions into a symmetrical dual ship where the player must straight-fly and then hit some orbs to continue to the next dual, which is a dual UFO. One of the UFOs is mini while the other is normal-sized, and both must perform some timings to continue to the dual cube. The player's icons keep the same size as before, with one being mini and the other being normal. After some cube timings, the player then must make each cube jump while the other cube is still in the air. Then both cubes jump at the same time, making one of them become a wave. The wave moves down and becomes reverse-gravity while the other cube lands on some platforms and becomes mini. As the player moves through, the cube should automatically go through this section correctly as long as the player is operating the wave correctly. After this, the screen turns black, and the level is completed!
• 100% (CrankyTheHuman, End Screen): This end screen was made in Photoshop and then recreated in the level editor by CrankyTheHuman. It is very detailed and is a great end to the level. The credits can be seen scrolling on the left side of the screen, where all the builders, playtesters, dedications, host, and verifier are listed. Underneath all this, the credits also say "Buy From the Vault" which is referencing the online merch store that is run by Crazen, Spark, and a few others.

Trivia

• The level is free to copy.
• The level contains 345,110 objects.
• The level's duration is 3m 24s.
• The level was initially placed at #6 on the Demonlist on 8 January 2020, above Lucid Nightmares (#7), and below Bloodlust (#5).
  • This change pushed Erebus out of the Top 25, The Hell World into the Extended List, and Incipient into the Legacy List.
  • Both Calculator Core and Erebus ironically share the same song.
• "Calculator Core" was also a previous title for the original Artificial Ideology, but was never used.
• Some of the gameplay for Calculator Core is reused from an abandoned project by Walroose named "Robot Rock."
• On December 11, 2019, exactly one year after Calculator Core was initially previewed, Swiborg reached 1,000 subscribers, as Swiborg was the first victor of the level, and his subscriber growth was accelerated once he beat it.
• At 19%, there is an Easter egg of a calculator with the words "Divide Demon" next to it. It is also used in the title of Walroose's video showcasing the level.
• There is an upcoming sequel to the level named Cyber Centrifuge, and another sequel named Cycloid Citadel.
• The placement of Tunnel of Despair on September 31, 2022, pushed Calculator Core out of the Top 50 on the Demonlist.

Videos

File:-XBot- Calculator Core 100% (by Walroose)

The full walkthrough of Calculator Core. Note that this replay is hacked, and is for showcasing purposes only. Credits to Russian Geometry Dash Wiki.