some keyboards have that issue, sadly, otherwise im unsure about the diagonal inputs! but yes, even with you completing it i take this input to heart! while personally i'm fond of the unclear way to go - (lorns lure style) most players struggled with this, i'll be trying in my future to improve flow and direction of levels so that it's easier to feel where to go next (and see things like which platforms you can and can't put the core better),
and as for the rods, while they were intended to be solved on a second playthrough after you learned some tech, or for less casual players, i did attempt to allow them to be completable without tricks, with the setback of needing to backtrack for them, even if it wasn't as clear how to do so- this could also be improved upon
thank you so much for playing and it's cool to see a 15 rod run with a decent time come out of it :)