Bring your game
1. Open Snake Core on GOG in your owned library and download the full Windows offline backup installer for the supported build (1.6.1). Download every accompanying .bin part, if listed, and keep them beside the .exe. Use the full installer, not a patch or the Galaxy installer. 2. Run the installer on Windows and open the installed game directory. Find Snake Core.jar beside the game executable. Enable file extensions in Explorer so its name is visible. 3. Copy that file unchanged into the installed port at <ports directory>/snakecore/Snake Core.jar. Keep its exact name, capitalization and spaces. The Windows EXE and bundled Windows Java runtime are not needed.
Alternatively, extract your full offline installer using innoextract. Run innoextract -d extracted "your-full-offline-installer.exe", then locate Snake Core.jar inside the extracted files (usually extracted/app/) and copy it to the same destination. Installer layouts vary; use Windows installation if your extractor cannot read that installer. Do not unpack or rename the game archive itself.
No game-data conversion is required on a PC or handheld. The handheld verifies the supplied archive and creates its save folders. It cannot generate the purchased game data from nothing.
Supported archive SHA-256 (Snake Core.jar):
2c12f9aa1cbf875afb4266086c651b625d99ae1a99155820e3107839ca99bb3cCompare it with Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 "Snake Core.jar" in PowerShell, or sha256sum "Snake Core.jar" on Linux. A different build needs a compatibility check.
Install the port
- Update PortMaster. Copy SnakeCore.zip into its
autoinstall/folder and open PortMaster. - Allow PortMaster to download Westonpack and Java 17. An internet connection is needed if these runtimes are not installed.
- Copy the owned game files into
snakecore/as described above. Launch Snake Core from your ports menu.
Manual installation paths
1. Update PortMaster. Put SnakeCore.zip in PortMaster's autoinstall/ directory, then open PortMaster to install it. Connect to the network to download Java 17 and Westonpack if they are not installed yet. 2. Copy the owned file to <ports directory>/snakecore/Snake Core.jar. 3. Launch Snake Core from your firmware's ports menu.
For manual installation on muOS, extract the ZIP on your computer and copy Snake Core.sh to <SD card>/roms/PORTS/, and the snakecore/ folder to <SD card>/ports/ on the card configured as the firmware's ports location. The required file is <SD card>/ports/snakecore/Snake Core.jar.
For ArkOS/dArkOS and standard ports layouts, extract the ZIP into your configured ports directory (for example /roms/ports/ or /roms2/ports/) so Snake Core.sh and snakecore/ are beside each other. Use the firmware's configured ports location; the launcher uses PortMaster's directory value. Avoid creating an extra SnakeCore/ wrapper folder.
Handheld controls
| Control | Action |
|---|---|
| D-pad up | UP / Up / navigate |
| D-pad down | DOWN / Down / navigate |
| D-pad left | LEFT / Left / navigate |
| D-pad right | RIGHT / Right / navigate |
| A | X / Action / confirm |
| B | ESC / Back / pause |
| X | X / Action / confirm |
| Y | O / Options |
| L1 | X / Action / confirm |
| R1 | X / Action / confirm |
| L2 | ESC / Back / pause |
| R2 | O / Options |
| Start | O / Options |
| Select | ESC / Back / pause |
| Left stick | Same directions as the D-pad |
| Select + Start | Exit; save through the game first |
Use the game's default keyboard bindings. Start sends O for options.
Saves & troubleshooting
Back up snakecore/saves/ before updates. Read snakecore/log.txt if startup fails. Report your device, exact firmware version, resolution and steps to reproduce, and attach the log. Test menu navigation, gameplay, audio, game speed, save/reload, suspend/resume and clean exit. Keep purchased game files private.
