Just like the lady says, this program is ready to smash some bytes !!
Or to be more technical, DWORDS, where a single numeric value is saved in 4-bytes.
from the lab of dw817 comes a
new way of storing sram instead
of just with dget() and dset().
not all data that is recorded
needs to take 4-bytes per
variable leaving you only room
to store 64-numbers.
introducing "sram smasher."
a set of useful routines that
will squeeze your data into a
series of micro bits instead of
single fat 4-byte values.
safeguard ensures sram not
written to unless completely
without user errors.
(Demo values to test the functions is included)
I'm working on a utility to help other programmers at the moment (including myself). I am using the compressor my "Image Compressor" uses for raw data but think I can do better.
Didn't someone make a compression program in PICO earlier that used the same fundamentals as PKZIP ?
And if so, does anyone remember where it went ?




A simulation of the Galton board. Press Z to reset.
At each step, each bean will randomly move left or right. The distribution of the beans when they reach the floor is given by the binomial distribution, which is an approximation of the normal distribution for large values of n (central limit theorem).

UPDATE 2: I went in and added parallax scrolling! I'm very pleased with how it turned out. This will probably be the final update to the game, as I've now completed everything I was interested in doing.
UPDATE: Based on feedback, I've added the option to add a border or background around the minimap. The option can be seen in the pause menu (press []). I also added a sash that shows what level you're about to begin.
My first real Pico-8 game! It's a clone of the classic arcade game Bosconian, which has always been a favorite of mine. I'm really happy with how it turned out. There's a few things that I might eventually revisit, and the music is sort of terrible, but all and all not bad for my first fully fledged game.
X to shoot,






I am definitely seeing a way to store more than 256-bytes at a time.
cartdata("mister_1") for i=0,63 do dset(0,i) end cartdata("mister_2") for i=0,63 do dset(0,i) end |
And then I'm greeted with this message:
CARTDATA() CAN ONLY BE CALLED ONCE |
Really ... really ? I mean if you could have multiple Cartdata() commands you could save, well, gee, I don't know, 8192 bytes perhaps ??
Good grief. There's one things in setting limitations in a programming language for nostalgic purposes and then there's just outright imprisoning your data ... 😨


Novice coder, so sorry if I'm making a dumb mistake lol.
Wanted to make a platformer where the player can shoot and detonate bullets to create platforms that the player can then jump on. However, when that platform is created, using map, the player doesn't collide with it.
I'm using the Advanced Micro Platformer template from mhughson (https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=28793), so I don't really understand where to even start to try to figure this out.
-- config -------------------------------- --sfx snd= { } --music tracks mus= { } --math -------------------------------- --point to box intersection. function intersects_point_box(px,py,x,y,w,h) if flr(px)>=flr(x) and flr(px)<flr(x+w) and flr(py)>=flr(y) and flr(py)<flr(y+h) then return true else return false end end --box to box intersection function intersects_box_box( x1,y1, w1,h1, x2,y2, w2,h2) local xd=x1-x2 local xs=w1*0.5+w2*0.5 if abs(xd)>=xs then return false end local yd=y1-y2 local ys=h1*0.5+h2*0.5 if abs(yd)>=ys then return false end return true end --check if pushing into side tile and resolve. --requires self.dx,self.x,self.y, and --assumes tile flag 0 == solid --assumes sprite size of 8x8 function collide_side(self) local offset=self.w/3 for i=-(self.w/3),(self.w/3),2 do --if self.dx>0 then if fget(mget((self.x+(offset))/8,(self.y+i)/8),0) then self.dx=0 self.x=(flr(((self.x+(offset))/8))*8)-(offset) return true end --elseif self.dx<0 then if fget(mget((self.x-(offset))/8,(self.y+i)/8),0) then self.dx=0 self.x=(flr((self.x-(offset))/8)*8)+8+(offset) return true end -- end end --didn't hit a solid tile. return false end --check if pushing into floor tile and resolve. --requires self.dx,self.x,self.y,self.grounded,self.airtime and --assumes tile flag 0 or 1 == solid function collide_floor(self) --only check for ground when falling. if self.dy<0 then return false end local landed=false --check for collision at multiple points along the bottom --of the sprite: left, center, and right. for i=-(self.w/3),(self.w/3),2 do local tile=mget((self.x+i)/8,(self.y+(self.h/2))/8) if fget(tile,0) or (fget(tile,1) and self.dy>=0) then self.dy=0 self.y=(flr((self.y+(self.h/2))/8)*8)-(self.h/2) self.grounded=true self.airtime=0 landed=true end end return landed end --check if pushing into roof tile and resolve. --requires self.dy,self.x,self.y, and --assumes tile flag 0 == solid function collide_roof(self) --check for collision at multiple points along the top --of the sprite: left, center, and right. for i=-(self.w/3),(self.w/3),2 do if fget(mget((self.x+i)/8,(self.y-(self.h/2))/8),0) then self.dy=0 self.y=flr((self.y-(self.h/2))/8)*8+8+(self.h/2) self.jump_hold_time=0 end end end --make 2d vector function m_vec(x,y) local v= { x=x, y=y, --get the length of the vector get_length=function(self) return sqrt(self.x^2+self.y^2) end, --get the normal of the vector get_norm=function(self) local l = self:get_length() return m_vec(self.x / l, self.y / l),l; end, } return v end --square root. function sqr(a) return a*a end --round to the nearest whole number. function round(a) return flr(a+0.5) end --utils -------------------------------- --print string with outline. function printo(str,startx, starty,col, col_bg) print(str,startx+1,starty,col_bg) print(str,startx-1,starty,col_bg) print(str,startx,starty+1,col_bg) print(str,startx,starty-1,col_bg) print(str,startx+1,starty-1,col_bg) print(str,startx-1,starty-1,col_bg) print(str,startx-1,starty+1,col_bg) print(str,startx+1,starty+1,col_bg) print(str,startx,starty,col) end --print string centered with --outline. function printc( str,x,y, col,col_bg, special_chars) local len=(#str*4)+(special_chars*3) local startx=x-(len/2) local starty=y-2 printo(str,startx,starty,col,col_bg) end --objects -------------------------------- --make the player function m_player(x,y) --todo: refactor with m_vec. local p= { x=x, y=y, dx=0, dy=0, w=8, h=8, max_dx=1,--max x speed max_dy=2,--max y speed jump_speed=-1.75,--jump veloclity acc=0.05,--acceleration dcc=0.8,--decceleration air_dcc=1,--air decceleration grav=0.15, --helper for more complex --button press tracking. --todo: generalize button index. jump_button= { update=function(self) --start with assumption --that not a new press. self.is_pressed=false if btn(2) then if not self.is_down then self.is_pressed=true end self.is_down=true self.ticks_down+=1 else self.is_down=false self.is_pressed=false self.ticks_down=0 end end, --state is_pressed=false,--pressed this frame is_down=false,--currently down ticks_down=0,--how long down }, jump_hold_time=0,--how long jump is held min_jump_press=5,--min time jump can be held max_jump_press=15,--max time jump can be held jump_btn_released=true,--can we jump again? grounded=false,--on ground airtime=0,--time since grounded --animation definitions. --use with set_anim() anims= { ["stand"]= { ticks=1,--how long is each frame shown. frames={1},--what frames are shown. }, ["walk"]= { ticks=5, frames={1,2,3,4,5}, }, ["jump"]= { ticks=1, frames={1}, }, ["slide"]= { ticks=1, frames={6}, }, }, curanim="walk",--currently playing animation curframe=1,--curent frame of animation. animtick=0,--ticks until next frame should show. flipx=false,--show sprite be flipped. --request new animation to play. set_anim=function(self,anim) if(anim==self.curanim)return--early out. local a=self.anims[anim] self.animtick=a.ticks--ticks count down. self.curanim=anim self.curframe=1 end, --call once per tick. update=function(self) --todo: kill enemies. --track button presses local bl=btn(0) --left local br=btn(1) --right --move left/right if bl==true then self.dx-=self.acc br=false--handle double press elseif br==true then self.dx+=self.acc else if self.grounded then self.dx*=self.dcc else self.dx*=self.air_dcc end end --limit walk speed self.dx=mid(-self.max_dx,self.dx,self.max_dx) --move in x self.x+=self.dx --hit walls collide_side(self) --jump buttons self.jump_button:update() --jump is complex. --we allow jump if: -- on ground -- recently on ground -- pressed btn right before landing --also, jump velocity is --not instant. it applies over --multiple frames. if self.jump_button.is_down then --is player on ground recently. --allow for jump right after --walking off ledge. local on_ground=(self.grounded or self.airtime<5) --was btn presses recently? --allow for pressing right before --hitting ground. local new_jump_btn=self.jump_button.ticks_down<10 --is player continuing a jump --or starting a new one? if self.jump_hold_time>0 or (on_ground and new_jump_btn) then if(self.jump_hold_time==0)sfx(snd.jump)--new jump snd self.jump_hold_time+=1 --keep applying jump velocity --until max jump time. if self.jump_hold_time<self.max_jump_press then self.dy=self.jump_speed--keep going up while held end end else self.jump_hold_time=0 end --move in y self.dy+=self.grav self.dy=mid(-self.max_dy,self.dy,self.max_dy) self.y+=self.dy --floor if not collide_floor(self) then self:set_anim("jump") self.grounded=false self.airtime+=1 end --roof collide_roof(self) --handle playing correct animation when --on the ground. if self.grounded then if br then if self.dx<0 then --pressing right but still moving left. self:set_anim("slide") else self:set_anim("walk") end elseif bl then if self.dx>0 then --pressing left but still moving right. self:set_anim("slide") else self:set_anim("walk") end else self:set_anim("stand") end end --flip if br then self.flipx=false elseif bl then self.flipx=true end --anim tick self.animtick-=1 if self.animtick<=0 then self.curframe+=1 local a=self.anims[self.curanim] self.animtick=a.ticks--reset timer if self.curframe>#a.frames then self.curframe=1--loop end end end, --draw the player draw=function(self) local a=self.anims[self.curanim] local frame=a.frames[self.curframe] spr(frame, self.x-(self.w/2), self.y-(self.h/2), self.w/8,self.h/8, self.flipx, false) end, } return p end --make the camera. function m_cam(target) local c= { tar=target,--target to follow. pos=m_vec(target.x,target.y), --how far from center of screen target must --be before camera starts following. --allows for movement in center without camera --constantly moving. pull_threshold=16, --min and max positions of camera --the edges of the level. pos_min=m_vec(64,64), pos_max=m_vec(320,64), shake_remaining=0, shake_force=0, update=function(self) self.shake_remaining=max(0,self.shake_remaining-1) --follow target outside of --pull range. if self:pull_max_x()<self.tar.x then self.pos.x+=min(self.tar.x-self:pull_max_x(),4) end if self:pull_min_x()>self.tar.x then self.pos.x+=min((self.tar.x-self:pull_min_x()),4) end if self:pull_max_y()<self.tar.y then self.pos.y+=min(self.tar.y-self:pull_max_y(),4) end if self:pull_min_y()>self.tar.y then self.pos.y+=min((self.tar.y-self:pull_min_y()),4) end --lock to edge if(self.pos.x<self.pos_min.x)self.pos.x=self.pos_min.x if(self.pos.x>self.pos_max.x)self.pos.x=self.pos_max.x if(self.pos.y<self.pos_min.y)self.pos.y=self.pos_min.y if(self.pos.y>self.pos_max.y)self.pos.y=self.pos_max.y end, cam_pos=function(self) --calculate camera shake. local shk=m_vec(0,0) if self.shake_remaining>0 then shk.x=rnd(self.shake_force)-(self.shake_force/2) shk.y=rnd(self.shake_force)-(self.shake_force/2) end return self.pos.x-64+shk.x,self.pos.y-64+shk.y end, pull_max_x=function(self) return self.pos.x+self.pull_threshold end, pull_min_x=function(self) return self.pos.x-self.pull_threshold end, pull_max_y=function(self) return self.pos.y+self.pull_threshold end, pull_min_y=function(self) return self.pos.y-self.pull_threshold end, shake=function(self,ticks,force) self.shake_remaining=ticks self.shake_force=force end } return c end function fire(direc) local b = { sp=16, x = p1.x - 4, y = p1.y - 16, dx = direc, dy = 0 } add (bullets, b) isdetonate = false end function detonate(x,y) local d = { x = x + 4, y = y + 4, t = 0, timer = 0, } add(det, d) detx = d.x dety = d.y for b in all (bullets) do del(bullets, b) end isdetonate = true; end function draw_bullets() if(p1.flipx == false) then direction = 1 end if(p1.flipx == true) then direction = -1 end for b in all (bullets) do spr(b.sp, b.x, b.y) end for d in all (det) do circ(d.x, d.y, d.timer/2, d.t) circ(d.x, d.y, d.timer/2 - 4, d.t) end end function draw_clouds() map(0,62,detx - 8,dety - 4,2,2) end function update_bullets() for b in all (bullets) do b.x += b.dx b.y += b.dy end if(btnp(4) and isdetonate) then fire(direction) end if(btnp(5) and isdetonate == false) then for b in all (bullets) do detonate(b.x, b.y) end end for d in all (det) do randcol = flr(rnd(2)) if(randcol == 0) then d.t = 14 end if(randcol == 1) then d.t = 7 end d.timer += 1 if (d.timer == 20) then del(det, d) end end end function delete_bullets() for b in all (bullets) do if(b.x > cam.pos.x + 64 or b.x < cam.pos.x - 64) then del(bullets, b) isdetonate = true; end end end --game flow -------------------------------- --reset the game to its initial --state. use this instead of --_init() function reset() ticks=0 p1=m_player(64,40) p1:set_anim("walk") cam=m_cam(p1) bullets = {} isdetonate = true det = {} randcol = 0 playerx = 0 playery = 0 direction = 1 detx = 500 dety = 500 end --p8 functions -------------------------------- function _init() reset() end function _update60() ticks+=1 p1:update() cam:update() --demo camera shake update_bullets() delete_bullets() end function _draw() cls(0) camera(cam:cam_pos()) map(0,0,0,0,128,128) p1:draw() draw_bullets() draw_clouds() -- debug -- camera(0,0) -- circ(cam.pos.x, cam.pos.y, 2,7) -- printc("adv. micro platformer",64,4,7,0,0) -- print(cam.pos.x) end |

Description
Death is not the end of this knight's quest. This is a short demo of a game I've been working on for a bit now.
Instructions
Directional Keys move your character.
Hold the O Key to charge up, release the O Key to attack.
Hold the X Key to use your shield. The shield recharges when not in use.
Version
The current version is 1.0 and features the following changes:
+release
Thank you for playing my game!


--[[ a pressing problem. many of you have played various games in pico and have come across that one game with the dreaded btnp() function used instead of btn(). for action games like platformers or shooters, you should =never= use btnp() and i can think of a few shooters i've played that use btnp() making it difficult to maintain auto-fire and movement at the same time. what's the difference ? btn() reads a raw keystroke, it does not wait for key repeat and is perfect for action games. btnp() reads like a standard keyboard. it will allow one press, then nothing, then slowly repeat the stroke. so btn() is good for action games, and btnp() is better for thinking puzzle games. hope this helps ! ]]-- m=0 x=60 y=60 repeat cls() t="off" if (m==1) t="on" print("raw key="..t) print("press ❎ to swap") circfill(x,y,8) if ((btn(⬆️) and m==1) or btnp(⬆️)) y-=1 if ((btn(⬇️) and m==1) or btnp(⬇️)) y+=1 if ((btn(⬅️) and m==1) or btnp(⬅️)) x-=1 if ((btn(➡️) and m==1) or btnp(➡️)) x+=1 if (btnp(❎)) m=1-m flip() until forever |
Despite being the third PICO-8 game I've made and obviously the first I'm posting here, this began as my first project. It's also the first project I've ever completed outside of a jam setting. I enjoyed discovering and becoming acquainted with PICO-8's limitations, and I accomplished a lot more than I expected I would when I first started on Cake Quest back in December. If you're interested, you can read about its inception here and about its development here.
I learned a lot, and I hope others can learn from it as well.
EDIT: Modified vertical camera tracking
EDIT 2: Made further adjustments to vertical camera tracking

