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Pico8 use 2 functions to update stuff at a regular basis. One _update() function called every 1/30s (or 1/60s since the 0.1.8 version) and one _draw() function that do the same thing.

That allow, for a project use that use the second as a time unit, to not slow down that unit.

From manual: _draw() is normally called at 30fps, but if it can not complete in time, PICO-8 will attempt to run at 15ps and call _update() twice per visible frame to compensate.

e.g., If I decide to make a sprite move from A to B in exactly 1 second but have a render process slower than 1/30s. I can put the move process in the _update function and the rendering in the _draw() function. The animation will not be smooth but the sprite will move from A to B in exactly 1 second.
This is true if the _update() function do not take more than 1/30s to execute.
This simple separation is only used for that purpose.

For my shmup project (bullet hell/danmaku) project, it's different.

The collisions are not physically computed because it will be too slow. It's a very simple collision system that use pixel color. At each frame, if a bullet is draw on the player ship, a collision will be produced.

Using a pixel-based collision system as a caveat: If a bullet move down at 3 pixel speed and the ship move up at 2 pixel speed. They can cross each other without generate collision. Why it is like it? Because the main purpose of a my shump is not about dodging a single bullets but a wall of hundreds. It will happen for a player to cross over a bullet without touching it but he will probably hit the following one. So it's ok.

That explained, It will be unfair to compute the collision and the rendering at two different speed using the two available functions _update() and _draw(), because player ship would collide with bullets that as not be rendered. To avoid that, everything related to the gameplay is in the _draw() function, collision and rendering.

What it change? It did not produce a time-based game but a frame-based game.

P#46003 2017-11-08 05:33 ( Edited 2017-11-08 10:33)


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