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docs + example: HUD demo and language-guide VRAM buffer section
Follow-up to 807c9c7 (the VRAM update buffer core). Adds the
realistic-HUD example the core was missing, plus a language-guide
section that explains when and how to use the three buffer
intrinsics.
**examples/hud_demo.ne**
A bouncing-ball playfield with a classic status bar across the
top:
- 5-cell lives indicator that ticks down once per second and
resets at zero, drawn via `nt_fill_h` (plus a second
`nt_fill_h` to erase the stale tail).
- Score counter at the right edge that bumps on every wall
bounce, drawn via `nt_set`.
- One-shot `nt_attr` call on the first frame flipping the
top-left metatile group to sub-palette 1 (the red HUD
palette) so the UI chrome reads as distinct from the
playfield.
The demo's point is the `last_score != score` / `last_lives !=
lives` shadow-compare pattern: on the ~58-of-60 frames where
nothing changed, the buffer stays empty and drain work is zero.
That's the whole reason the VRAM buffer exists — per-frame cost
scales with what moved, not with HUD complexity. Committed
`.nes` + pixel/audio goldens.
**docs/language-guide.md**
New "VRAM Update Buffer" section between "Hardware Intrinsics"
and "Inline Assembly". Covers:
- Why user code can't just poke `$2006` / `$2007` directly.
- The three intrinsics + their coordinate systems (cell, not
pixel).
- The HUD pattern with a ready-to-paste code snippet and a
pointer at `examples/hud_demo.ne`.
- A per-entry budget table + worked 1000-cycle drain example
against the ~2273-cycle vblank budget.
- Known limits: horizontal-only, no overflow check,
no coalescing — all already tracked under `future-work.md` §G.
**examples/README.md**
`vram_buffer_demo.ne` reframed as the minimal test-case exercise
it actually is, with a pointer at `hud_demo.ne` for the realistic
pattern. New table row for `hud_demo.ne`.
All 758 tests pass. Clippy clean. 48/48 emulator goldens match.
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examples/hud_demo.ne
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examples/hud_demo.ne
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// HUD demo — the VRAM update buffer driving a classic status-bar
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// layout above a scrolling playfield.
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//
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// The playfield shows a ball bouncing back and forth; every wall
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// hit bumps a score counter that the HUD renders at the top of
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// the screen. A "lives" indicator to the left ticks down
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// periodically and resets, demonstrating both `nt_set` (for
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// single-cell updates when state changes) and `nt_fill_h` (for
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// repeatedly painting a multi-cell indicator bar). An `nt_attr`
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// call at reset gives the HUD row a distinct colour palette so
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// it reads as "UI chrome" instead of "gameplay background".
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//
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// The HUD never touches `$2006` / `$2007` directly — user code
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// just appends records to the 256-byte ring at `$0400-$04FF`
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// and the NMI handler drains them during vblank. `nt_attr` / `nt_set`
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// / `nt_fill_h` each cost one buffer entry (4..19 bytes); the
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// ~2273-cycle vblank budget drains ~200 single-cell writes, so a
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// full HUD refresh fits comfortably.
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//
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// Only cells that *change* need a buffer entry: the demo tracks
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// `last_score` and `last_lives` so the common "state didn't
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// change this frame" path appends nothing. That's the whole
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// point of the update buffer — per-frame cost scales with what
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// actually changed, not with HUD complexity.
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game "HUD Demo" {
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mapper: NROM
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mirroring: horizontal
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}
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palette GameColors {
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universal: black
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bg0: [dk_blue, blue, sky_blue] // playfield background
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bg1: [dk_red, red, lt_red] // HUD row
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bg2: [dk_green, green, lt_green]
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bg3: [dk_gray, lt_gray, white]
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sp0: [dk_blue, blue, sky_blue]
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sp1: [red, orange, white]
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sp2: [dk_teal, teal, lt_teal]
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sp3: [dk_olive, olive, yellow]
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}
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background Playfield {
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legend { ".": 0 }
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// Fill the nametable with tile 0 so sprite-0 hit plumbing
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// works and the HUD cells have opaque source pixels when we
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// overwrite them. The map's three rows zero-pad to the
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// full 30-row nametable automatically.
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map: [
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"................................",
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"................................",
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"................................"
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]
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}
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// Ball position + velocity.
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var bx: u8 = 64
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var by: u8 = 100
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var dx: u8 = 1 // 1 = moving right, 0 = moving left
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var dy: u8 = 1 // 1 = moving down, 0 = moving up
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// HUD state. `score` increments on each wall bounce; `lives`
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// ticks down once a second and resets from 5 when it hits zero.
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// The `last_*` shadows let us skip the HUD write when nothing
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// has changed this frame.
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var score: u8 = 0
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var lives: u8 = 5
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var last_score: u8 = 255 // 255 forces an initial paint on frame 0
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var last_lives: u8 = 255
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var life_tick: u8 = 0
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var attr_set: u8 = 0 // 1 once the HUD attribute has been painted
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on frame {
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// ── One-shot: paint the HUD attribute byte on the first
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// frame only. The top metatile group picks up sub-palette
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// 1 (the red HUD palette) instead of sub-palette 0 (the
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// blue playfield). `0b01010101` means all four 16×16
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// quadrants of the metatile use sub-palette 1.
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if attr_set == 0 {
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nt_attr(0, 0, 0b01010101)
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attr_set = 1
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}
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// ── Playfield: bounce the ball, count bounces as score. ──
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if dx == 1 {
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bx += 1
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if bx >= 240 {
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dx = 0
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score += 1
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}
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} else {
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bx -= 1
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if bx == 16 {
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dx = 1
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score += 1
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}
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}
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if dy == 1 {
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by += 1
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if by >= 200 { dy = 0 }
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} else {
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by -= 1
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if by == 32 { dy = 1 }
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}
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draw Ball at: (bx, by)
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// ── HUD: tick the lives timer. One "life" ticks every 60
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// frames (~1 sec); at zero, reset to 5. ──
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life_tick += 1
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if life_tick >= 60 {
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life_tick = 0
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if lives == 0 {
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lives = 5
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} else {
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lives -= 1
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}
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}
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// ── HUD: rewrite only the cells whose backing state changed.
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// When `score` ticks, update the single-digit cell at
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// (28, 1) via `nt_set`. When `lives` ticks, repaint
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// the whole lives bar via `nt_fill_h` (5 cells
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// starting at column 2 of row 1, filled with tile 0
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// for "alive"). A pre-flight shadow-compare keeps
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// the buffer empty on the ~58 of 60 frames when
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// nothing changed.
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if score != last_score {
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last_score = score
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// Low nibble of score → tile index 0..15. A production
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// HUD would use CHR-authored digit glyphs; this demo
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// relies on the fact that whatever tiles happen to live
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// at CHR indices 0..15 will render as *visible* changes
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// frame-to-frame, making the update mechanism obvious.
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var digit: u8 = score & 0x0F
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nt_set(28, 1, digit)
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}
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if lives != last_lives {
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last_lives = lives
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// Fill `lives` cells at (2, 1) with the smiley tile, then
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// clear the stale tail with a second fill of blank cells.
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// `nt_fill_h` emits one buffer entry per call, so the
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// two-step "draw, then erase" pattern costs two entries
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// (~22 bytes) only on the frame the value changes.
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nt_fill_h(2, 1, lives, 0)
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if lives < 5 {
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var blanks: u8 = 5 - lives
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nt_fill_h(2 + lives, 1, blanks, 1)
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}
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}
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}
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start Main
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