Modules
A NeroArcade game is ten slots, always in the same order. Each slot holds one module chip that decides one thing about the game; the Hazard and Pickup slots hold up to three chips each. A slot left empty uses its default. There are 43 chips in this version.
| Slot | Decides | Holds | Empty means | Ingredient | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arena | The board: size, walls, whether it scrolls or wraps | 1 | Grid 16 | glass pane | 4 |
| Pawn | What each player steers and how it moves | 1 | Cursor | Nero Alloy | 6 |
| Rule | How a match is won or lost | 1 | Survive (60 s, 1 life) | paper | 5 |
| Hazard | What threatens the pawns | up to 3 | no hazard | gunpowder | 5 |
| Pickup | What the pawns collect | up to 3 | no pickup | gold nugget | 4 |
| Control | How the buttons become movement | 1 | Four-way | lever | 4 |
| Pace | How fast the game runs, and whether that changes | 1 | Steady (full speed) | repeater | 3 |
| Modifier | One twist on the whole game | 1 | no modifier | amethyst shard | 4 |
| Multiplayer | How many play, together or against each other | 1 | Solo | copper ingot | 4 |
| Theme | Colours, sprites and sounds of the screen | 1 | Neon Void | pink dye | 4 |
Crafting chips
Every chip starts as a Blank Chip (copper ingot, redstone, copper ingot in a row; makes four). Craft a Blank Chip with its slot's ingredient (the table above) and, for every chip except the seven defaults, one more item that tells the chips of a slot apart. All chip recipes are shapeless. Each slot page lists the full recipe of every chip. Chips are never used up by the bench.
Settings
Most chips have settings, changed on the Game Bench by clicking the chip's row. A setting is always a whole number in a fixed range, an on/off switch, or a choice from a short list — never free text. The slot pages list every setting with its default and range. A cartridge from another server whose settings are out of range, or that uses a chip this server does not have, shows "UNREADABLE HERE" with the reason and cannot be played here.
Speeds are on a 1–5 scale. Times in ticks are game ticks: 20 ticks are one second.
Warnings
The bench shows a grey warning (▲) on a row when a combination is legal but odd. The game still plays. The warnings in this version:
| Warning | When |
|---|---|
| "Nothing can hurt the pawn, so this is won by waiting." | A Survive rule with no hazard that can hurt. |
| "This rule needs points, but no pickup gives any. The match can only end by lives or time." | Score Target, and no pickup, hazard or pawn that gives points. |
| "There is nothing to clear, so this plays as a survival game." | Clear Board with no clearable pickup. |
| "Nothing uses the key, so it counts as an orb worth 5 points." | A Key pickup without a Reach Exit rule that needs it. |
| "The pawn moves on one line, so the exit is placed at the far end of that line." | Reach Exit with a pawn that moves on one axis. |
| "This control aims, but the pawn cannot fire. Aim is ignored." | Twin stick with a pawn that cannot fire. |
| "This control moves on one axis, so the pawn will too." | Two-way with a free-moving pawn. |
| "With one button the pawn moves on its own: A reverses, B stops." | One button with a free-moving pawn. |
| "Three hazards on a small board with a moving pawn: expect short games." | Three hazard chips, a pawn that always moves, and a board of 16 by 16 or smaller. |
| "Needs 2 seats. Link another cabinet, or it plays solo." | A game that needs two players (Last Standing, or Turns) with no computer opponent to fill a seat. |
| "Some settings are not used by this server and will be removed when you save." | A loaded cartridge with a setting this server does not know. |
Some combinations are legal and the bench cannot warn about them; the slot pages note them under "Odd combinations".
The pages
Arena · Pawn · Rule · Hazard · Pickup · Control · Pace · Modifier · Multiplayer · Theme