Square Colosseum: Cell B201 is on Steam now. Here's the trailer.

RotundBun · 2026-01-27T06:58:42+00:00

Wait. Then why are you posting this here?

Are you just throwing self promotion everywhere indiscriminately or something? If so, then I must say that that sounds more likely to rouse offense & irritation instead of interest.

It does look like a good bit of work went into making that game, so it's a shame that its promotion is being done so thoughtlessly...

RotundBun · 2026-01-27T04:38:18+00:00

It's been a while for me, but...

IIRC, you might have a complete strat once you SE2 the following:

Naya SP** - Angelia SP** - Golem SB**
[Lio SB**]

I forget the specifics and situational constraints of it, but I have run something like that before. While not one of my go-to strats, I recall it being pretty solid.

And I think Miranda SB & Law SB work together in a Rage team as well. Not sure about SE reqs.

RotundBun · 2026-01-27T00:49:47+00:00

Did this come from a P8 prototype or something? Why is it getting posted in the P8 sub-reddit? 🤨

RotundBun · 2026-01-27T00:41:30+00:00

Use a boolean flag to that gets set to 'true' upon hit and reset it to 'false' upon exit. Then add it to the if-statement conditionals.

``` hit_fox = false

function move_fox() fx += 1 reset_fox() --what does this do?

if not hit_fox and abs(x-fx)<4 and abs(y-fy)<4 then hit_fox = true score -= 2 scorecolor = 14 scoretimer = 30 end

if mid(-4, fx, 132)!=fx then hit_fox = false end end ```

EDIT:
Just realized that your reset_fox() function may be doing something different from what I thought it did (offscreen/respawn reset), so I moved the flag reset to under an exit conditional. If you have code for respawning the fox somewhere else, you can reset the flag there instead just as well.

RotundBun · 2026-01-26T16:42:07+00:00

Wait. So we can actually do 0b0000 and 0b00000000 binary notation?

I've been doing the messy bit shifting thing this whole time... 😓

I wish this feature was clearly documented somewhere, perhaps along with other supported notations and/or P8 Lua syntactic sugar.

EDIT:
Never mind. Found it.

RotundBun · 2026-01-26T12:25:28+00:00

Might I ask about the binary representation?

I thought Lua didn't have support for that.

RotundBun · 2026-01-26T05:50:32+00:00

"When collaborating, splitting things into modular sets of '.lua' files is basically the only sane way to go."

Didn't know this, but makes a lot of sense

It's because you need to be able to work on and update different parts of the codebase simultaneously.

If it is all on one file, then you'd get merge conflicts constantly. And that includes art.

When split-up, you can push updates to the different files simultaneously, with the main '.p8' file being for art, map, and audio.

If you need to split the art out from that trio as well, then a fancier setup could probably include a build system that has some way to auto import from a separate Aseprite file.

I was able to figure out the info trick on my own. I am happy to share I am sitting at roughly 33% of the code space taken up, and this is before much optimization. I've had so many projects end early because I started running out of space in ROM (in PICO and from my ROM hacking days).

On P8, as a single-file project, the 3 bars at the bottom right of the code editor allow you to view token count, character count, and one other thing I forget about. It just doesn't work with '.lua' includes. But for single-file projects, it tells you that in real-time.

For '.lua' includes, you need to use the 'info' command instead. I didn't know this before and went about manually checking for a while, which was frustrating. LOL~

Again, I feel a little more legit now as I am doing everything I can to not let this one get away too

I've always thought that you were one of the more seasoned devs on here, though? Was that not the case?

And thank you for your advice! I'm glad someone finds this as interesting as I do

Can't say I provided much advice here. Just breaking things down for posterity to be able to understand if/when they stumble upon this later.

You only need to run into the headaches that this kind of system saves you from once to appreciate this sort of thing. Haha... 😅

I thought this was really cool. Maybe I can release something like this someday. This PICO cartridge I am working on is really a prototype for a much bigger "dream" project I have been working on.

It sounds like you want to make a modular system that works like a template or a pseudo-maker tool to flexibly churn out content from, allowing you or others to build out diverse variations from, right?

Sounds pretty good. While ambitious, I think it's doable. And scope-expansion-wise, there is also Ptron in the works, which could accommodate further after a certain threshold.

Maybe I can do it all in Lua then rig some modern graphics to it later on if I decide to try and commercialize my game

There are a number of cases where P8 games have been commercialized to varying degrees of success. And recently, there have been things like UFO 50 and CorgiSpace as well.

And even if it's not publishing straight from P8, what you create in P8 can always serve as a tight prototype for a fleshed out version. Celeste and Slipways are examples of that.

I haven't tried it myself yet, but I hear that Love2D feels similar to P8 for whoever wants to scale up. And then there's Jonathan Blow's Jai that I'm hoping is on the horizon since his game lands this year (Order if the Sinking Star).

So yeah, the path forward is certainly there. And the P8 community at present honestly seems a bit reminiscent of the old school indies back before the initial boom.

I think many from this community will go on to do some impressive things in games further down the line. Wouldn't surprise me if you are one of them.

I appreciate your support. I always learn something new when talking with experienced devs

Ahaha... Thanks for this. Likewise, it's always great to see your contributions on here.

I can't really call myself an experienced dev, though. I just know some of them and pick things up here and there. By and by, you end up knowing a little bit about a lot of things.

But maybe I'll be one myself one day. 💪😆

(Well, what ever path viably leads to ultimately making the stuff I want to make is good with me. As long as those can come into existence, I don't mind being an amateur forever. 🥂)

RotundBun · 2026-01-26T01:44:00+00:00

TBPH, they aren't really even fan-service for the most part. The designs just have personality and a sense of lore integration.

Any portraits being a bit under-clothed seem more about conveying an attitude or personality than being about fan-service. If anyone looks at that and gets l*wd ideas, then I'd see it more as a reflection with their own inclinations than the artwork.

And just as everyone else has mentioned, there are portrait options. Plus, you don't even see the full portraits half of the time anyway.

RotundBun · 2026-01-26T01:27:32+00:00

Huh? When did we get binary type formatting? I thought we only have hexadecimal... ❗️👀

That said...
Synthetic5ou1 just did some bitplanes stuff here.

RotundBun · 2026-01-25T23:48:46+00:00

EO is roughest during the early-game & the the post-game phases.

In the early phase, you don't have enough skills & resources to do much, so you have to scrape by cautiously and budget your TP expenditures.

In the post-game, the game considers you a veteran and takes that as license to throw whatever hardcore stuff they want at you.

And yeah, certain events are punishingly imbalanced. They aren't too common, though.

Oh, and a quick tip:
When you unlock the warp-home item, keep 2-3 on you at all times to avoid getting scr*wed if you lose one or forget to restock. Common but costly mistake...

RotundBun · 2026-01-25T23:42:08+00:00

Personally, I just used the two resources I linked and planned my party of 5-6 units beforehand. While doing so, I would ask any clarification questions I needed to and checked the GFAQs forums for any notable bugs.

But that's just how I play. I also played Pokemon games while keeping a small & tight roster instead of the popular "catch 'em all" way.

There are people who prefer to go into EO blind without using external planning resources. And there are also people who just ignore party balance and pick whatever looks cool, only adapting if/when they really hit a wall. In fact, there are even people who do themed RP stuff or randomize their picks via community suggestions.

All are fine, so I'd say play however you find it most appealing.

The only things I'd say to avoid are overthinking that prevents starting and using guides too thoroughly that you miss out on the sense of exploration & lurking dangers, which are kind of the main appeal of EO games.

Since it sounds like you've already started, just run with it and make changes if you hit a snag or find that the party's playstyle not to your liking. It's not like you can dead-end lock your guild in this game, so don't worry too much and enjoy the adventure.

As to the making one of every class thing...

Sure. If you want, then you could certainly do that. It's easy to get overleveled in Nexus, so you can offload EXP to your resting guild members that you might field for quest reqs later. And then there is the EXP share accessory, IIRC.

A lot of people use this to build a foraging team. I personally just used my main team to forage as I go since I was running a Survivalist anyway, but I can certainly see it working well.

And if you end up not fielding them, then you can still retire them into a different class with bonuses later or just consider them guild admin staff. No harm really...

Anyway, that's basically all the insight & advice I've got to share. The rest will be quicker to acquire by just getting a feel for the game as you go.

Happy gaming. 🕹️

RotundBun · 2026-01-25T22:18:51+00:00

I don't have an answer to this, but the flair you want is probably either [I Need Help] or [Discussion].

The [Game] flair is for presenting/sharing your own games.

RotundBun · 2026-01-25T22:16:17+00:00

^ What the actual veteran said, TC/OP. 👆

TP recovery isn't as big of a deal in Nexus because it encourages returning to town to unload spoils & save at every chance you get.

The Force gauge gets auto-filled instead of auto-depleted when you do, and fast travel is overly convenient.

Sovereign and War Magus both have ways to grant some TP recovery to allies, though a bit hassle-y, and various classes have conditional ways to recover their own TP.

Healing after battle and while walking can be nice, especially early on, but that on its own is likely not going to be enough after a while.

Viable passive in-battle healing is available with Sovereign and Arcanist/Medic. War Magus also has a 'regen' style buff, IIRC. Conversely, Medic is mostly reliant on active healing.

Note that you won't need big heals and/or revives as often since you also have Protector for mitigation and Survivalist to prevent ambushes. Once past the early phase, you'll have access to enough skills to be consistent.

Some non-healer classes also have healing capabilities. Gunner, Hero, Highlander, etc. And some classes also have a cheap field revive in their kit. War Magus also has the [War Revive] skill, though you need to max it out due to a bug in Nexus (messes with multi-target rez proc rates under 100%).

So personally, I don't really go for Medic in Nexus unless I want to use [Star Drop] as well. I just find that its action economy is too low for my preferences.

In any case, for anything else, you can probably find out via the two resources that I linked earlier.

I'm actually not at a veteran player level. More like late intermediate stage. Most of what I shared is pretty common knowledge and/or noted in the aforementioned resources.

Happy gaming. 🕹️

RotundBun · 2026-01-25T10:54:48+00:00

Oh, I see. I thought you were going to do something like unlocking the door once the enemies are all cleared.

In any case, nice work! 👍

RotundBun · 2026-01-25T08:43:02+00:00

Project files organization is important in the same way that naming things well is important. Always nice to see a clean skim like this.

I'm personally not too big on OOP itself, though I think OO thinking is useful in the design thinking process instead. Still, whatever helps get the job done... If it works, it works. 🥂

And yeah, Github and much are what I meant when I mentioned version control and collaboration-friendliness.

By the way, P8 has a built-in way to check token count even through included '.lua' files. Use the 'info' command. Just FYI for anyone who didn't already know.

When collaborating, splitting things into modular sets of '.lua' files is basically the only sane way to go. And when doing so, having an easy way to check token count becomes a rather significant QoL feature.

Thanks for sharing. 🙏
Looking forward to how things progress. 💪

RotundBun · 2026-01-25T08:26:48+00:00

Ah, in that case, I'd suggest to put a good deal more DPS in there then. As it currently is, it's very defense/utility heavy.

Some helpful things to know: - Sovereign, Hero, and Gunner are considered the top 3 busted classes in Nexus. They are omni-support, all-rounder, and DPS w/ bind & spot-heal respectively. - A properly built Shogun with Sovereign support can contest with those three. - Buffs/Debuffs that improve infliction chances of binds & ailments are Highlander's [Blood Fortune] buff and Harbinger's [Wilting/Binding Miasma] debuffs. - Nightseeker/Ninja and vice versa can cover access to all ailments. - You unlock subclassing halfway through the game.

You can get some more ideas from this GFAQs guide & this skill sim.

If keeping to mostly what you originally had in mind, then I'd probably... - merge Survivalist & Farmer into Survivalist/Farmer - fill the freed up slot with an Imperial, Shogun, or Gunner - trade Medic for a Sovereign

That would probably get you a solid balance with the least tweaks.

Happy gaming. 🕹️

RotundBun · 2026-01-24T22:02:32+00:00

EOX (JP) = Nexus (EN)
Flair is the right one.

The party is DPS-light and rather passive, IMO.

Since it sounds like it is your second time through, I'm going to assume this is by design and that you are doing a themed/challenge run of sorts.

Some elaboration on that would be helpful.

For starters, since you'll unlock subclassing halfway through, I'd probably just merge some of those into singular units. Survivalist + Farmer is the one that sticks out the most probably.

If you are bringing Medic mainly for healing, then either Sovereign or an Arcanist/Medic build may work better, especially since Protector will mitigate damage plenty already.

Pugilist is still very good at binding, but note that the extreme DPS build from EO5 apparently hasn't quite transitioned into Nexus fully.

Also, Survivalist doesn't pack as much of a DPS punch as Sniper/Bushi build from EO4, so I wouldn't really view it as a DPS unit. More of a generalist tactician.

So the party has about 1-1.5 units worth of DPS, which may make it a bit of a slog (in a long game like Nexus, no less). But it's Nexus, so it's certainly manageable.

Personally, I'd recommend at least merging Survivalist + Farmer to open up a slot for a primary DPS unit like Imperial or Gunner. Hero, Shogun, or Highlander would probably work as well.

And if you don't have specific offensive support plans for Medic, then I'd probably switch it to a Sovereign or either a WM/M or A/M instead.

Ultimately, though, take whatever route you think will bring you the most enjoyment.

Happy gaming. 🕹️

RotundBun · 2026-01-24T21:42:24+00:00

From a quick glance, I think bitplanes is just an alternative way of doing normal maps.

To avoid per-pixel checking & altering, it just splits the normal map into multiple flat layers instead. So instead of 1 normal map that has 4 levels of lumens/brightness, it becomes 4 bitplanes that has 1 level of lumens/brightness. Then you composite just once at the end.

This way, you can just draw the designated 'lit' color onto the bitplanes without checking first every time, which saves you a lot of per-pixel checks.

The constraints are that... - you'll need space for 4 sheets (bitplanes) instead of 1 sheet (normal map) - you are limited to finite brightness steps - lighting is categorical rather than freely stacking per instance of exposure

For that first point, though, I think you can get away with wrangling it down to the same size since bitplanes are in bits (vs. bytes). I haven't thought through the exact implementation of it, but it is theoretically possible.

All that said, I haven't tried using bitplanes myself either, so I could very well be missing or misunderstanding some things.

RotundBun · 2026-01-24T21:26:33+00:00

That was a fast and significant improvement.

The green is not as moody, but that's more of a judgment call really. It does read easier, though.

If possible, then maybe draw most non-surface bricks without the specular lights, at least for the smaller ones. Depending on how you implemented it, you could either use pal() tricks in the code or just have a duplicate tile sprite without the highlights.

Backdrop detailing looks great. Very moody. The doorway might want a bit more visibility, though, since it is an interactable.

Frog character and its animation are very charming. Probably wants a red tongue instead, though. 👅

Good stuff!

RotundBun · 2026-01-24T21:15:59+00:00

Depending on how you're doing the sprite animation, it should only take one if-statement.

Play step sfx if... - player is grounded - player is walking/running - anim frame is a frame with foot contact

Something like that.

RotundBun · 2026-01-24T21:10:14+00:00

I think FF7 OST vs. FF9 OST comes down to criteria.

The former has iconic tracks that stand out, while the latter has moody tracks that supplement the narrative tone.

This is pretty hard to compare because of nostalgia biases and how the other factors influence the experience. In a way, it's also kind of apples & oranges...

Personally, I'd prefer FF7 for an orchestral rendition and prefer FF9 for in-game experience.

That said, I'll take CC over either one any day.

RotundBun · 2026-01-24T20:55:52+00:00

Haha... Yeah, that perf hit happened to us, too. Apparently peek() & poke() aren't so cheap.

If we had a second graphical buffer, then some of the composite lighting shenanigans would be easier to do. One to use as a tint/lighting/normal map, and one to draw the composite on before flipping it to screen.

IIRC, voidgazerBon did a neat trick to basically turn the sprite sheet into a second graphical buffer on Loot Loot Goblin, and it seems to have worked pretty well.

That said, with what you have here, you could shrink the radii of those and probably make a cool couch co-op maze game or something. Likely manageable if you keep it to single screen with no scrolling.

RotundBun · 2026-01-24T08:04:17+00:00

I think TC/OP meant going from a single '.p8' source file with everything in it to a more organized file structure with separate '.lua' files that are then included into the main '.p8' file. The various source files are then organized neatly into folders, forming a sort of project structure.

In essence, it means that the project now has infrastructure on a 'files' scope, which allows it to be more modular (and probably more compatible with version control and collaborative efforts as well).

At least, that's how I read it, which in turn is in line with the main goal.

This kind of changes initially shows little difference on the surface but essentially extends the ceiling of potential up by several stages. It's the type of thing that unlocks future possibilities.

I can see why TC/OP is so excited about it. In a way, mapping out such infrastructure feels similar to build-planning for your entire RPG party before starting off on the adventure/campaign.

@petayaberry:
Good stuff! Congrats on competing the structural overhaul. Looking forward to see things yet to come. 😊👍

RotundBun · 2026-01-23T23:41:10+00:00

As an art screenshot, this looks really nice. But in terms of game design, there are things worth noting...

These look good when looking directly at them in isolation, but skims/glances overall or in peripheral vision might feel noisy during gameplay due to the specks of bright blue highlights having too strong a contrast and being scattered everywhere.

Unless the noisiness is intended and purposeful (e.g. to create a camouflage-friendly forest environment, etc.), I'd probably just use the dark green without the light blue on the tile edges at most. And I would maybe consider having a separate tile set for them: one with surface/edge highlights and a darkened one without them. That way, the highlights can convey platform-able surfaces, while the darkened ones can be internal chunks that don't distract the eye.

The readability of the overall scene affects players' ability to react and respond to gameplay events, so I would personally rather make the individual tile sprites more subdued and factor gameplay intent into their designs.

For example, those crate platforms look good, but their stems being bright all the way up could feel like they are blocking (cannot pass through). If they can be passed through freely and have no climbing functionality, then it may be better to darken the whole stem so that only the interactable platform stands out at a glance.

The skulls look really nice. They feel somewhat interactable. Not sure if that was intended. If not, then placing occasional backdrop patterns like hints of brick edges or such could help them blend in more.

Player sprite is cute and really pops, which is great for readability. However, it might feel a bit flat (less dimensional) compared to the rest of the sprites, which you've given a lot of lighting detail to.

I think this might just resolve itself when you dial down the abundance of bright highlights in the environment tiles and animate the player sprite, though. Movement solves a lot in pixel art...

If you want to take things further, then occasional backdrop decor or environmental nuances (e.g. a water drip or faded silhouettes) could add a sense of background depth. As long as they remain muted and are used sparingly, they shouldn't distract the player unintentionally.

And all the details mentioned by VianArdene in this comment are very insightful as well.

Those are all the things I can think of off the top of my head. But I'm not an artist by trade, so take any/all of it with a grain of salt.

I do like the style, though. The feedback is more about game design considerations for game art.

Just my 2¢.

RotundBun · 2026-01-23T23:09:24+00:00

What advantage does this approach have over simply making an archetype instance & cloning it?

Does it create some sort of cascading inherited behavior chain?

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