Publishing Your Game

This guide covers everything you need to know about packaging and publishing your Nethercore game.

Overview

The publishing process:

1. Build your game (compile to WASM)
2. Pack assets into a ROM file (optional)
3. Test the final build
4. Upload to nethercore.systems
5. Share with the world

Building for Release

Using nether-cli (Recommended)

The nether CLI handles compilation and packaging:

# Build WASM
nether build

# Package into ROM
nether pack

# Or do both
nether build && nether pack

Manual Build

If you prefer manual control:

# Build optimized WASM
cargo build --target wasm32-unknown-unknown --release

# Your WASM file
ls target/wasm32-unknown-unknown/release/your_game.wasm

Game Manifest (nether.toml)

Create nether.toml in your project root:

[game]
id = "my-game"              # Unique identifier (lowercase, hyphens ok)
title = "My Game"           # Display name
author = "Your Name"        # Creator credit
version = "1.0.0"           # Semantic version
description = "A fun game"  # Short description

[build]
script = "cargo build --target wasm32-unknown-unknown --release"
wasm = "target/wasm32-unknown-unknown/release/my_game.wasm"

# Optional: Assets to include in ROM
[[assets.textures]]
id = "player"
path = "assets/player.png"

[[assets.meshes]]
id = "level"
path = "assets/level.nczxmesh"

[[assets.sounds]]
id = "jump"
path = "assets/jump.wav"

ROM File Format

Nethercore ROMs (.nczx files) bundle:

• Your compiled WASM game
• Pre-processed assets (textures, meshes, sounds)
• Game metadata

Benefits of ROM packaging:

• Faster loading - Assets are already GPU-ready
• Single file - Easy to distribute
• Verified - Content integrity checked

Texture Compression

ZX supports BC7 texture compression (4:1 ratio) for render modes 1-3 (Matcap/PBR/Hybrid).

Enabling Compression

Add to your nether.toml:

[game]
# ... other fields ...
compress_textures = true  # Enable BC7 compression (default: false)

When to Use Compression

✅ Use compression when:

• Using Matcap (mode 1), PBR (mode 2), or Hybrid (mode 3) render modes
• ROM size is a concern (compression reduces size by ~75%)
• Shipping production builds

❌ Don’t use compression when:

• Using Lambert (mode 0) render mode - works best with RGBA8
• Rapid prototyping (faster build times without compression)
• You need pixel-perfect uncompressed textures

Note: The packer will warn you if your compress_textures setting doesn’t match your render mode.

Testing Your Build

Always test the final build:

# Test the WASM directly
nether run target/wasm32-unknown-unknown/release/my_game.wasm

# Or test the packed ROM
nether run my_game.nczx

Verify:

• Game starts correctly
• All assets load
• No console errors
• Multiplayer works (test with two controllers)

Upload Requirements

Required Files

Optional Files

Metadata

• Title - Your game’s name
• Description - What your game is about (Markdown supported)
• Category - Arcade, Puzzle, Action, etc.
• Tags - Searchable keywords

Publishing Process

1. Create Developer Account

Visit nethercore.systems/register

2. Access Dashboard

Log in and go to nethercore.systems/dashboard

3. Upload Game

1. Click “Upload New Game”
2. Fill in title and description
3. Select category and tags
4. Upload your game file
5. Upload icon (required) and screenshots (optional)
6. Click “Publish”

4. Game Page

Your game gets a public page:

nethercore.systems/game/your-game-id

Updating Your Game

To release an update:

1. Bump version in nether.toml
2. Build and test new version
3. Go to Dashboard → Your Game → Edit
4. Upload new game file
5. Update version number
6. Save changes

Players with old versions will be prompted to update.

Content Guidelines

Games must:

• Be appropriate for all ages
• Not contain malware or harmful code
• Not violate copyright
• Actually be playable

Games must NOT:

• Contain excessive violence or adult content
• Harvest user data
• Attempt to break out of the sandbox
• Impersonate other developers’ games

Troubleshooting

“WASM validation failed”

Your WASM file may be corrupted or built incorrectly.

Fix:

# Clean build
cargo clean
cargo build --target wasm32-unknown-unknown --release

“Asset not found”

Asset paths in nether.toml are relative to the project root.

Verify:

# Check if file exists
ls assets/player.png

“ROM too large”

Nethercore has size limits for fair distribution.

Reduce size:

• Compress textures - Add compress_textures = true to nether.toml (see Texture Compression section)
• Use smaller audio sample rates
• Remove unused assets

“Game crashes on load”

Usually a panic in init().

Debug:

1. Test locally first
2. Check console for error messages
3. Simplify init() to isolate the issue

Best Practices

1. Test thoroughly before publishing
2. Write a good description - help players find your game
3. Create an appealing icon - first impressions matter
4. Include screenshots - show off your game
5. Respond to feedback - engage with players
6. Update regularly - fix bugs, add features

Distribution Alternatives

Besides nethercore.systems, you can distribute:

Direct Download

Share the .wasm or .nczx file directly. Players load it in the Nethercore player.

GitHub Releases

Host on GitHub as release artifacts.

itch.io

Upload as a downloadable file with instructions.

Ready to publish? Head to nethercore.systems and share your creation with the world!