I apologize I have no code snippets here, it's actually a question about code.
Reading the specs for pico8, there's a 32kb limit. Is this for JUST code? I know that obviously the cart cover shouldn't be counted against any actual program/graphic/sound data, it's just for decoration and distribution, but I am working on a program at the moment, I only have 800 tokens, have used about 1/4 of the sprite sheet, no audio/sound data, and about 64 lines of text in the code...
But I'm reading 15kb already and that seems a little excessive and it's got me spooked in terms of how much further I can take this even though I'm barely using any of the resources.
Is the 32kb for JUST code? Is it 16kb for 'built in data' i.e. graphic memory and 16kb for code?
I'm curious what the actual structure is because I feel like as little data as I have thus far (no cart image taken for this program thus far) is far below 15kb.
Thanks for any help on clarification.
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I recently made a little 3D thing and after it took off on twitter I was asked to write up how it was done.
Please note though, that this was basically my first 3d-thing, so I'm likely not using all the right words. :) I started by jamming around with Zep's 3d dot party template and ended up with the above.
Anyway, as most things - it is not as complicated as it looks. It grew quite organically, but it boils down to these steps.
First I made sure I had a working grid.
I wanted to have a height map, so I used the sprite sheet to draw a very simple repeatable map.
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This is an old cartridge my brother and I never quite finished because we hit the token limit. I am not very pleased about how it came out, as I don't have much skill in level design.
The name is a play on the Nighthawk, a version of the Blackhawk helicopter for the Navy. My dad flew them, so I went with that as the name.
Knighthawk's theme was inspired by a board game called Scythe. Scythe had great artwork, and I believe the game was based on the art. All the art in Scythe was painted by Jakub Rozalski. I loosely tried to follow the theme of the art. If anyone wants to know why I chose an orinthopter, it was because it seemed to fit this theme. I hadn't read the Dune books at the time, though I have started reading them last week.
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"Oh My Blob!" is a turn-based puzzle action game where you play a knight fighting against a horde of different kinds of blobs.
Controls:
Arrow keys: Move/Attack
Z/X: Skip a turn (or "start game" in the menu)
Levels 1-28 are complete, 29 needs a bit of adjusting, after that it just ends unceremoniously with a glitchy screen.
I'd love to get some feedback on how it feels, if you get stuck anywhere, if you feel like you're learning how the different blobs work and so on.
Thanks for looking!
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My Father died nearly 20-years ago from today. Outside of my Sister and my Step-Mom, they are the only family I have now.
I remember my Step-Mom sending me the classic poem from Robert Frost.
And I remembered ... I remember when I was young.
https://www.writerscafe.org/writing/dw817/1260511/
So ... in tribute, I have two programs. One is to try and recreate that very program for the TRS-80 I typed in those so many years ago - and to have it run at the same speed.
The other is something a bit more magical. A year after the funeral I wanted to make SNOW, real snow, on the computer, and as accurately as I could. A majestic tribute to my Dad and that program typed in from so many years ago.
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I have never really liked to write code in BlitzMAX despite the fact it can work with a screen of 1980x1080 with true 64-million color pixels for a very simple reason. It takes time to compile the code and test it.
About 5-seconds to be precise, and that includes finding errors, even for a 2-line program.
My programming style if you are curious is a little like a rabid rabbit. It's like I take a cracker, nibble on it, look at it, nibble on it, look at it again, and nibble a little bit more.
That is - I write a bit of code, run it, add a bit more, run it again, then add a bit more.
My Dad was the opposite in that he could sit down and write a flawless program from beginning to end and NEVER have to run it once until he knew it was completely done. I can't do that.
So ... Pico-8 is a bit of my friend now for as you know when you RUN or press CTRL+R the language is already off like a shot and running.
Therefore I decided I could use it to write my Pico-8 website of favorite games.
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Here's my first video game with Pico8!
I know it's not very impressive but I hope
you'll have fun playing !
Defend the hen house from foxes
Edit 11/03/19:
Update I made for the game:
- New music
- Menu changes
- Bug fixing that occured explosions on the player
- Bug fixing that changed text color
- (TEMPORARY) Different enemy system: a fox attack every 30s
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im noticing as i import 3d file (magicavoxel to qb) the white is missing- i wonder if there is a way to fix this/import the white areas of the model...
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Controls
up arrow/down arrow: zoom in/zoom out
left arrow: show/hide debug information
z: multiply gravity by 10
x: turn off gravitational influence on player
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So, this is my second post. This time I'm posting some WIP of a gravity simulation I'm writing.
I'm not sure if this will ever turn into a game, maybe I'll just keep it as a "toy".
If you read "The Three Body Problem" by Cixin Liu and ever wondered how the trisolaran solar system worked, then take a look at the orbit of the planet in this simulation and imagine what it would be like, living on this planet. ;)
This cartridge implements a gravity simulation using a kind of modified newtonian gravity to make the simulation more stable for a simple toy like this.
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So, there is a parsing bug with the unique "+=", "-=", "*=", "/=", and "%=" PICO-8 flavored lua syntax. In normal lua, something like this:
b=odds[2]b=b-1 |
is valid syntax, treated as two separate expressions. That works in PICO-8, but this:
b=odds[2]b-=1 |
throws a syntax error. It's odd because this:
odds={1,3,5}b-=1 |
does not throw a syntax error. It seems to be only with the unique PICO-8 equals operators and directly after square brackets.
Fixing this could benefit people working on tweet carts as well as carts that are token & character/compression sensitive.
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how to play
Use z to accelerate and the arrow keys to turn.
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Hey everyone,
this is my first post here, so hopefully I'm doing everything correct.
I discovered PICO-8 around two weeks ago and was intrigued by its design philosophy. As someone who is only interested in Game development as a hobby, I love that basically all tools needed for developing a small game.
So I've been playing around with the program for the last two weeks and decided that the best way to learn how to use PICO-8 (and Lua, as I never used that language before) was to develop a small game.
The result is this small racing game against the time (as I don't have any idea how to write an AI for a racing game) with two tracks. The gameplay is nothing to write home about but I'm still quite fond of the end result.
In principle it's pretty easy to add more tracks, just "draw" them on the map screen with the sprites. However, I didn't bother to write a code that automates the finish-line or the creation of checkpoints along the track, so those have to be set in code.
Some small things I personally find neat:
Animated audience
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Made this little cart as I was working through coding a look-at type function. Wanted to post it in case it's helpful for someone.
This type of functionality is useful for all sorts of things. Maybe you just want one character to look at another or a gun barrel to follow the cursor etc.
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The more I've been experimenting with the #INCLUDE command, the more I'm realizing that when you compile to an executable that - well ... you're not.
You can test this quite easily by using my homebrew Pico-8 compiler.
It's very simple.
-- external p8 compiler -- written by dw817 -- note: you must compile this -- program to exe in order to -- use it cls() repeat flip() until forever |
First, type out this code in the P8 source-code editor. Don't add anything else.
Save it. Run it. Press F7 for a screenshot even though nothing is there.
Now remove those 3-lines of repeat, flip, and until forever.
Go to sprites, mapper, sound, add stuff if you want. You don't have to.
When you're done with that, return to the sourcecode and add just below cls() the line:
#include source.txt |
Now save this to a filename as a normal .P8 first. You'll get a warning that "could not #include file: source.txt". But don't worry about that. It worked. Then export as an EXE.
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I wanted to share a little work-in-progress I've been tinkering on.
Dungeon guy doesn't know what he's searching for. Maybe treasure? Maybe a way out? Maybe dungeon girl?
All he knows is to keep searching.
Levels are randomly generated and get progressively larger.
The only objective so far is to find the key and the exit door.
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Nibble in Cyberspace: #Digipres Adventures, Volume 1
Nibble lives in cyberspace but their very reality is crumbling before them. Help Nibble fight entropy itself by following good #digipres practice - collect strategy and policy to actively tackle the degradation of the digital world around them. Along the way, avoid all the risks, viruses, physical damage, power surges; and try and get your score high enough to avoid the complete collapse of cyberspace.
Nibble is an infinity game. The game will eventually self-destruct, but can you prolong its existence by following good practice?
Nibble in Cyberspace teaches players that good digital preservation will help our digital materials last longer, but there is a cost to inaction as well. Players are invited to get the highest score they can before the eventual collapse of everything around.
After all, you can't beat entropy, but you can fight it as long as you try.
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Zep, your front page HERE:
https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php
When I click on any of the games, the middle screen stays dark and does not load any game as intended.
I'm using Windows 10, 64-bit, Firefox Quantum v69.0.
If it doesn't work here chances are it doesn't work there for someone else. Thought I'd let you know ...
. . .
Solved. Just needed to clean the internet cookies for Firefox. Runs well here now.
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Hello.
Now that I've learned where the files are located, I've started to put together a little engine for myself that can create a nice list of Pico-8 games.
Here is what I've done so far:
https://dw-817-blog.tumblr.com/
sorry, had to shift some things around.
Hover over the cart to get a brief description and list the author.
Unlike embedding once you click the game it goes straight to the post in Lexaloffle where the game was released so not only can you play the game but read the author's comments, comments and questions from others, if you're logged in get a chance to add your own comments.
Special thanks to kittenm4ster and BoneVolt for their excellent programming and carts in the current list.
If it all looks okay, feel free to reply and post your game information and I'll add it to the list.
All I need is the URL address of where your game is (in Lexaloffle), it will look like this:
http: // www . lexaloffle.com / bbs / ?tid=00000
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This one is an oldie that some may remember. Wasn't the greatest of arcade games but for a time as a youth it was the arcade game I had the most access too.
Tried to make this pretty faithful to the original although I think it is too easy. Per the original there are two alien deployment patterns that alternate on levels. The large yellow UFO's also deploy as in the original. And the point value for the UFO's changes depending on the shot number you are on. Hint: 16th shot for max value.
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