Record a 6-second gif of examples/pong.nes running in jsnes and
embed it alongside docs/platformer.gif and docs/war.gif as the
third project demo. The gif opens on Pong's title menu (CPU VS
CPU / 1 PLAYER / 2 PLAYERS) — warmup = 4 frames keeps the menu
as the thumbnail the way war's recording does, and then the
headless autopilot advances to gameplay partway through the
clip.
- docs/pong.gif committed (128 KB)
- README.md links it under the war demo
- scripts/pre-commit rebuilds it when examples/pong* or the
recorder/harness change
- .github/workflows/ci.yml fails if the committed copy is stale
- CLAUDE.md and tests/emulator/record_gif.mjs reference the new
gif in the "how to regenerate" sections
https://claude.ai/code/session_0134F5uwDEVTes2Ee9S7JeXy
Captures the first ~6 s of examples/war.ne via the same
puppeteer + jsnes + gifenc pipeline that powers
docs/platformer.gif: title menu thumbnail, 52-card deal
animation, and a few rounds of CPU vs CPU play. Embedded
in the top-level README right under the platformer demo.
record_gif.mjs gains a 6th positional arg for the warmup
override (defaulting to the existing WARMUP env / 30) so
the war command can keep its title menu as the first frame
while platformer keeps skipping past its own title. The
CI emulator job and the pre-commit hook both rebuild the
gif into a tmp path and fail-with-fix-command if the
committed copy is stale; the war trigger covers war.ne,
war.nes, any examples/war/*.ne include, plus the recorder
and harness.
W0110: when a function marked `inline` has a body shape the IR
lowerer can't splice (conditional early return, loops, nested
control flow, empty void body), the analyzer now emits a
warning at the declaration site so the declined hint is
visible instead of silently falling back to a regular JSR.
Implementation:
- New `W0110` error code in `src/errors/diagnostic.rs` (warning level).
- New `pub fn can_inline_fun(return_type, body) -> bool` in
`src/ir/lowering.rs`, extracted from the existing capture
logic so the analyzer and the IR lowerer share the same
eligibility rules and can never drift.
- New `check_inline_declinability` analyzer pass called from
the tail of `analyze_program`, mirroring the existing
`check_sprite_scanline_budget` / `check_unreachable_states`
passes. Emits W0110 with help + note text pointing at the
two accepted body shapes.
- `capture_inline_bodies` now defers to `can_inline_fun`
instead of duplicating the match pattern, so the two sides
stay in lockstep by construction.
Four regression tests in `src/analyzer/tests.rs` cover the
conditional-return and while-loop declines plus the two
accepted shapes (single-return expression, void sequence).
Example source cleanups: `wrap52` in `examples/war/deck.ne`
and `abs_diff` in both `examples/arrays_and_functions.ne` and
`examples/loop_break_continue.ne` drop the `inline` keyword.
All three were dead hints — the `inline` was being silently
declined before this change, so removing it is source-only;
the three ROMs are byte-identical, all 32 emulator goldens
still match.
Docs refresh
- `docs/language-guide.md`: rewrote the Inline Functions section
(real behaviour + W0110), added W0105/W0106/W0107/W0108/W0109/
W0110 to the warnings table, added the `debug.sprite_overflow*`
builtins + sprite-per-scanline mitigations section to the
Debug Mode docs, added a `cycle_sprites` statement entry and
cross-referenced it from `draw`.
- `docs/nes-reference.md`: fleshed out the "NEScript Memory
Usage" block with the full ZP + high-RAM layout, including
the new `$07EF` / `$07FC` / `$07FD` slots for sprite cycling
and the debug sprite-overflow telemetry.
- `docs/future-work.md`: documented all four debug query
builtins in the "What ships today" block; updated the open
"OAM allocation strategy" question to reference the shipped
`cycle_sprites` path and ask about an automatic-flicker
game attribute as a follow-up.
- `docs/architecture.md`: updated the `ir/` and `optimizer/`
module summaries to describe real inline splicing (now
in lowering, not the optimizer).
- `README.md`: reframed the `inline` bullet from "hint" to
"real splicing for single-return / void-body shapes";
expanded the debug-support bullet to mention the four
query builtins and their stripping in release builds; added
a new bullet for the three-layer sprite-per-scanline
mitigations; bumped the test count from 497 → 694; updated
the war.ne entry to mention the seven compiler bugs are all
fixed and point readers at `git log` (instead of the
deleted COMPILER_BUGS.md).
- `examples/README.md`: same `git log`-pointing rewrite for
the war.ne entry.
Deletions
- `examples/war/COMPILER_BUGS.md` is removed. All seven
catalogued bugs are fixed; the file's historical value
lives in `git log` now. Every source-code comment and doc
reference to the file has been updated to either point at
`git log` or just describe the bug in place.
Test count: 616 unit + 75 integration + 3 doctests = 694 total.
Clippy / fmt clean. 32/32 emulator goldens match.
https://claude.ai/code/session_0143dTgh3UeRrtfHgQwzcv5z
W0109 (shipped last commit) catches the 8-sprites-per-scanline
hardware limit at compile time for static layouts, but the
dynamic case — enemy formations, projectile clusters, animated
NPCs where coordinates come from variables — was still silent.
This change adds two layers of defense on top of W0109:
Layer 2: `cycle_sprites` runtime flicker intrinsic
New keyword statement that rotates the OAM DMA start offset
one slot per call. When called once per `on frame`, the PPU's
sprite evaluation picks up a different subset of the 12+
overlapping sprites each frame, so the permanent-dropout
failure mode becomes visible flicker — the classic NES
technique used by Gradius, Battletoads, and every shmup.
Implementation:
- Lexer keyword `KwCycleSprites` and parser production.
- AST `Statement::CycleSprites(Span)`.
- `IrOp::CycleSprites` lowered by the IR pass.
- Codegen emits `LDA $07EF / CLC / ADC #4 / STA $07EF` with
natural u8 wrap, plus a one-shot `__sprite_cycle_used`
marker label the first time it fires.
- Linker detects the marker and switches `gen_nmi` to the
cycling variant, which reads the rotating offset from
`$07EF` into OAM_ADDR before the DMA instead of writing
a literal 0. Programs that don't call `cycle_sprites`
skip the marker and get byte-identical ROM output.
Layer 3: debug-mode sprite overflow telemetry
Mirrors the frame-overrun pair (`debug.frame_overrun_count` /
`debug.frame_overran`). In debug builds the NMI handler reads
`$2002` at the top of vblank, masks bit 5 (the PPU's sprite
overflow flag), and if set bumps a cumulative counter at
`$07FD` plus a sticky bit at `$07FC`. The sticky bit clears
on every `wait_frame`.
New debug builtins:
- `debug.sprite_overflow_count()` → u8 peek of $07FD
- `debug.sprite_overflow()` → u8 peek of $07FC (sticky bit)
The hardware flag has well-known quirks but is correct for
the overwhelming majority of cases and costs ~15 cycles per
frame to sample. Release builds emit no overflow-check code
at all, so the four bytes at `$07EF` / `$07FC`-`$07FD` stay
free for user allocation.
Related changes:
- `gen_nmi` now takes an `NmiOptions` struct. Four bool
parameters tripped clippy's `fn_params_excessive_bools`.
- CLI `build` now renders analyzer warnings on a successful
build. Previously warnings were silently dropped unless
the user also ran `nescript check`, which made W0109
effectively invisible to CI and local dev alike. Existing
pre-existing W0103 / W0106 warnings on `coin_cavern`,
`mmc3_per_state_split`, `sprites_and_palettes` surface
too — not regressions, just now visible.
New example: `examples/sprite_flicker_demo.ne`
Draws 12 sprites into a 4-pixel band, W0109 fires at compile
time with nine labels pointing at the offenders, and a
`cycle_sprites` call at the end of `on frame` turns the
hardware dropout into flicker. The committed emulator golden
captures one frame of the cycling pattern (deterministic).
Tests:
- `runtime::tests::nmi_debug_mode_samples_sprite_overflow`
- `runtime::tests::nmi_sprite_cycle_variant_reads_rotating_offset`
- `ir_codegen::*::debug_sprite_overflow_count_loads_07fd`
- `ir_codegen::*::debug_sprite_overflow_flag_loads_07fc`
- `ir_codegen::*::wait_frame_clears_sprite_overflow_sticky_in_debug_mode`
- `ir_codegen::*::wait_frame_release_does_not_touch_sprite_overflow_sticky`
- `ir_codegen::*::cycle_sprites_emits_marker_and_add4`
- `ir_codegen::*::cycle_sprites_marker_dedup_across_multiple_calls`
- `ir_codegen::*::program_without_cycle_sprites_emits_no_marker`
- `analyzer::*::accepts_debug_sprite_overflow_builtins`
- `analyzer::*::rejects_unknown_debug_method_lists_all_four_known_names`
- `analyzer::*::accepts_cycle_sprites_statement`
Docs: `examples/war/COMPILER_BUGS.md` §4 now describes all three
layers (W0109, `cycle_sprites`, debug telemetry) with reasoning
for when each applies. `README.md` and `examples/README.md` add
the new example to their tables.
All 32 emulator goldens still match — the cycling is opt-in
and programs that don't call `cycle_sprites` or enable debug
mode are byte-identical to the pre-change output.
https://claude.ai/code/session_0143dTgh3UeRrtfHgQwzcv5z
End-of-implementation polish for the War example after the
compiler bugs were fixed:
- Title state now calls draw_big_war_banner instead of inlining
12 draws — same pixel output, fewer lines.
- P_WAR_BURY redraws the previous round's face-up cards while
the noise thumps fire so the table doesn't look empty for
24 frames between the WAR banner and the new face-ups.
- Drop draw_word_war from render.ne (orphaned by the BIG WAR
metasprite).
- Refresh comments in background.ne (now references the real
felt tile) and deal_state.ne (drop the stale FRAMES_DEAL_STEP
reference now that the deal pace is hard-coded at 2 frames).
- README.md and examples/README.md gain a war row.
- PLAN.md marks every implementation step complete and records
the design revisions made along the way.
- Refresh the war audio hash to match the new ROM (the title
screen helper change shifts one frame of pulse-2 timing
enough to flip the FNV-1a). The frame-180 PNG is unchanged.
https://claude.ai/code/session_0143dTgh3UeRrtfHgQwzcv5z
`background Foo @nametable("file.png")` previously decoded the PNG
into a tile-index table and an attribute table but left CHR
generation to the user — they had to supply matching tiles via a
separate `sprite Tileset @chr(...)` declaration in the same
deduplication order, which was both error-prone and the main thing
keeping the shortcut form from being a one-liner.
The CHR pipeline now closes the gap. `png_to_nametable_with_chr`
returns a `PngNametable` carrying the tile-index table, the
attribute table, *and* a per-tile CHR blob encoded with the same
brightness-bucketing `png_to_chr` already uses for sprites. The
resolver passes `next_sprite_tile` (computed from the resolved
sprite list) so each background's CHR allocation slots in
immediately after the sprite range, and rewrites the nametable
indices to point at the actual physical tile numbers. The linker
copies each background's `chr_bytes` into CHR ROM at
`chr_base_tile * 16`, so the final image renders without any
user-supplied CHR.
`BackgroundData` carries `chr_bytes` and `chr_base_tile` so the
linker has everything it needs at a glance. Inline `tiles:` /
`attributes:` declarations leave them empty and behave exactly
like before — that path doesn't auto-generate CHR because the
user is implicitly opting into "I'll provide tiles myself" by
typing the indices out by hand.
The new `examples/auto_chr_background.ne` is a 256×240 grayscale
gradient committed alongside its `auto_chr_bg.png` source; the
emulator harness verifies the rendered output against a
committed golden so a regression in the dedupe/encode/linker
plumbing fails CI loudly. Existing example ROMs are byte-
identical because their backgrounds either have no PNG source or
already provided their own CHR.
https://claude.ai/code/session_01KEczoNUX3WmcFLfq6iAQxB
Multi-tile sprites used to require one hand-written `draw` per tile,
e.g. the four-call sequence in `examples/platformer.ne`'s
`draw_player()`. The new `metasprite Name { ... }` declaration
collects parallel `dx`/`dy`/`frame` arrays plus a reference to the
underlying sprite, and `draw Name at: (x, y)` expands to one OAM
slot per tile in the IR lowering — the codegen sees N regular
DrawSprite ops, so the runtime OAM cursor allocator picks them up
without any metasprite-specific awareness.
The metasprite's `frame:` array is interpreted *relative to the
underlying sprite's base tile*: index 0 means "the first tile this
sprite owns", which is the natural reading for a 16×16 hero whose
pixel art the asset resolver split into four consecutive tiles.
The lowering walks `program.sprites` to compute base tile indices
the same way `assets::resolve_sprites` would, then folds the base
into each frame entry before storing the metasprite info. Sprites
sourced from external `@chr(...)` / `@binary(...)` files whose
bytes aren't available at parse time fall back to a one-tile
assumption — those programs are rare and can declare metasprites
against pixel-art sprites instead.
The new `examples/metasprite_demo.ne` declares a 16×16 hero sprite
and arranges its four tiles into a metasprite, then sweeps the
hero across the screen so the harness captures it mid-motion.
The new keyword is added to the lexer/token list, and the parser
accepts `sprite:` (the otherwise-keyword) as a property name in
metasprite bodies so the natural spelling parses.
https://claude.ai/code/session_01KEczoNUX3WmcFLfq6iAQxB
Pulse-channel sfx with a multi-byte `pitch:` array used to silently
ignore everything past the first byte — the runtime audio tick
latched the period at trigger time and never updated it. Programs
that wanted a frequency sweep had no way to express it.
The compiler now compiles a per-frame pitch envelope blob alongside
the existing volume envelope when `decl.pitch` has more than one
distinct value. The blob is padded (or truncated) to the volume
envelope's length and ends in a zero sentinel so the runtime
walker stops both pointers on the same NMI. Sfx with a single
scalar pitch (or an array where every byte is the same) keep their
historical "no pitch blob, latch once" path and emit byte-identical
ROM bytes.
The runtime gains two new pieces, both gated on a new
`__sfx_pitch_used` codegen marker so programs without varying-pitch
sfx pay zero bytes:
1. `gen_audio_tick` emits a per-frame pitch update block inside
the SFX tick: read a byte through `(AUDIO_SFX_PITCH_PTR),Y`,
write it to `$4002` (pulse-1 period low), advance the pointer.
The block bails on a zero high-byte pointer so a single
program can mix scalar-pitch and varying-pitch sfx without
one clobbering the other.
2. `emit_play_pulse` seeds `AUDIO_SFX_PITCH_PTR_LO/HI` with the
pitch-blob label for varying-pitch sfx and zeros it for
scalar-pitch sfx. The per-call branch is skipped entirely
when the program has no varying-pitch sfx anywhere.
The new `examples/sfx_pitch_envelope.ne` exercises the path with
a 16-frame siren sweep. Triangle and noise per-frame pitch are
deferred — they share the same data shape but the runtime ticks
for those channels still write only their volume registers, see
docs/future-work.md for the gap.
https://claude.ai/code/session_01KEczoNUX3WmcFLfq6iAQxB
Programs that put functions in switchable banks can now call across
bank boundaries — `bank A { fun step() { helper() } }` where
`helper` lives in `bank B` used to panic in the IR codegen. Three
small pieces unblock it:
1. **Generic trampoline.** `runtime/gen_bank_trampoline` no longer
takes a `fixed_bank_index` argument. Instead it reads the
caller's current bank from `ZP_BANK_CURRENT`, pushes it on the
hardware stack, switches to the target, JSRs the entry, then
pulls and restores the saved bank. The same per-callee stub
works for fixed→banked and banked→banked direction; nested
trampolines compose because each PHA/PLA pair sits inside its
own JSR/RTS frame. `gen_mapper_init` seeds `ZP_BANK_CURRENT`
with the fixed bank index for any banked mapper so the very
first cross-bank call from the fixed bank still restores to
the fixed bank (matching pre-banked-banked semantics).
2. **Codegen drops the panic.** The `Some(from), Some(to)` arm in
the call-resolution switch now emits `JSR __tramp_<name>` like
the fixed→banked case instead of panicking. Banked→fixed calls
still go direct (the fixed bank is always mapped at $C000).
3. **Bank-namespaced local labels.** Two banks emitting the same
`__ir_cmp_e_8` would trip the linker's discovery-pass duplicate-
label check the moment any banked code generated a comparison.
The new `local_label_suffix` helper prefixes the suffix with the
current bank name when banked code is being emitted, leaving
fixed-bank label generation untouched (so existing examples are
byte-identical apart from the trampoline / init bytes
themselves).
The new `examples/uxrom_banked_to_banked.ne` demonstrates the path
end-to-end: `bank Logic { fun step() { ... clamp() } }` calls
`bank Helpers { fun clamp() { ... } }` once per frame. The harness
golden is committed alongside it. The five existing banked example
ROMs change byte-for-byte because of the new trampoline shape and
the seed-ZP_BANK_CURRENT init, but their emulator goldens still
match exactly — observable behaviour is unchanged.
https://claude.ai/code/session_01KEczoNUX3WmcFLfq6iAQxB
Struct field types beyond the v1 scalar set (`u8`, `i8`, `u16`,
`bool`) used to error out with `E0201: struct fields must be
u8/i8/u16/bool`. The size accumulator already handled them
correctly — what was missing was: (1) the analyzer side that
synthesizes per-leaf symbols and allocations for nested structs
plus a single array-typed symbol for array fields, (2) the
parser's chained-field-access path, and (3) the IR-lowering
recursion through nested struct literal initializers and array
literal field values.
The synthetic-variable model carries through unchanged: a
`var p: Player` where `Player { pos: Vec2, hp: u8, inv: u8[4] }`
and `Vec2 { x: u8, y: u8 }` produces flat allocations for
`p.pos.x`, `p.pos.y`, `p.hp`, and `p.inv`, plus an intermediate
`p.pos` Struct symbol so dotted-name lookups still resolve. Array
fields get a single allocation with the array type so the
existing `Expr::ArrayIndex` lowering path handles `p.inv[i]`
without changes. Array-of-structs is still rejected with E0201
because the synthetic model can't index per-element layouts
without further codegen work.
The parser change is the only structural move: `parse_primary`
and `parse_assign_or_call` now loop the dot chain into a single
joined identifier so `p.pos.x` becomes `FieldAccess("p.pos", "x")`
and `p.inv[0]` becomes `ArrayIndex("p.inv", 0)`. The downstream
analyzer and IR lowering use the same `format!("{name}.{field}")`
join they already used for one-level access — no plumbing
changes required.
Includes a new `examples/nested_structs.ne` that exercises both
features end-to-end with two `Hero` instances carrying nested
positions and inventory arrays. The reproducibility tripwire
ROM is committed alongside it and the emulator harness has a
matching pair of golden files.
https://claude.ai/code/session_01KEczoNUX3WmcFLfq6iAQxB
Adds a `bank Foo { fun bar() { ... } }` parser form so user functions
can opt into living in a switchable PRG bank instead of the fixed
bank, plus the IR codegen, runtime, and linker work to make calls
across the bank boundary actually run. Programs that don't use the
new syntax produce byte-identical ROMs to before — verified by
rebuilding every existing example and diffing.
Pipeline shape:
* Parser accepts both `bank Foo: prg` (legacy reserved slot) and
`bank Foo { fun ... }` (functions land in the named bank). Nested
functions get tagged `bank: Some("Foo")` on the FunDecl + IrFunction.
* Analyzer bumps the user zero-page start past `$10` whenever the
program declares any banked function, so `__bank_select`'s STA into
ZP_BANK_CURRENT can't clobber a user variable. Programs without
banked functions keep the legacy `$10` start.
* IrCodeGen emits each banked function into its own per-bank
instruction stream (`banked_streams: HashMap<String, Vec<Instruction>>`)
while the fixed-bank stream gets the dispatcher loop + state
handlers + top-level functions, exactly like before. Cross-bank
calls from the fixed bank rewrite `JSR __ir_fn_<name>` to
`JSR __tramp_<name>`; in-bank calls stay direct. Banked → fixed
calls are direct (the fixed bank is always mapped at $C000-$FFFF).
Banked → other-banked calls aren't supported in this pass and
panic loudly during codegen.
* Runtime's `gen_bank_trampoline` takes the trampoline label and
entry label as parameters now (one trampoline per banked function,
not one per bank) so the linker can request any number of stubs.
* Linker assembles banked banks twice: a discovery pass to learn
each bank's labels, then a final pass that seeds the merged label
table so banked code can JSR into the fixed bank's runtime helpers
(math, audio, etc.). The fixed-bank assembler is also seeded with
the cross-bank labels so the trampolines' `JSR __ir_fn_<name>`
resolves into the bank's $8000 window. New `asm::assemble_with_labels`
/ `asm::assemble_discover_labels` helpers wire this up.
* PrgBank carries `Vec<Instruction>` + a list of `BankTrampoline`
requests now, replacing the old `data: Vec<u8>` + single
`entry_label: Option<String>` shape. The compiler populates both
from the codegen output; the linker's two-pass assembly handles
the rest.
New example: `examples/uxrom_user_banked.ne` puts a sprite-stepping
helper inside `bank Extras { fun step_animation() { ... } }`. The
fixed-bank state handler calls it via the generated trampoline, and
the harness golden locks in pixel + audio output at frame 180.
UxROM is the only mapper exercised by the new example. MMC1 and
MMC3 also work through the same path (the linker emits the right
mapper-specific bank-select code), but no example uses them yet —
the existing `mmc1_banked.ne` / `mmc3_per_state_split.ne` keep
their fixed-bank-only layout.
Limitations carried forward:
* No banked → banked cross-bank calls (panics in codegen).
* No greedy size-packing; placement is explicit-only.
* MMC3 state handlers don't get banked (the per-state split path
is untouched).
Adds `channel: triangle` / `channel: noise` to the `sfx` declaration
form. The existing pulse-1 / pulse-2 driver is unchanged (and is
still byte-identical for programs that don't use the new channels)
— when a program declares a triangle or noise sfx the runtime
splices in an additional per-channel slot that writes to $4008-
$400B (triangle) or $400C-$400F (noise) on play. Includes a new
`examples/noise_triangle_sfx.ne` demo with committed golden PNG +
audio hash.
https://claude.ai/code/session_01MaNVcDmK9gsspRkdxowQAM
The previous platformer example drew enemies but had almost no
interaction with them: only enemy 1 had a stomp check, the stomp
window was unreachable under the default +1-px-per-frame-plus-a-
jump-every-40-frames autopilot, contact from any other angle was
a silent no-op, and the header comment promised a "title → playing
→ game-over state machine" that didn't actually exist. The README
demo gif and the committed golden both froze that state — a level
the player could walk through indefinitely with no consequence.
Flesh the enemy interaction model out into something real:
- `resolve_enemy_hit(e_sx)`: one helper, called symmetrically for
both enemies. Computes the player/enemy hitbox overlap (horizontal
in `e_sx ∈ (72, 96)`, vertical in `player_y ∈ (152, 176)`) and
branches three ways — falling onto the head is a stomp bounce
(`rise_count = 6`, `fall_vy = 0`, `stomp_count += 1`, `play Boing`);
overlap while `rise_count > 0` is a grace pass-through so the
stomp bounce itself can't retrigger contact on the same enemy;
anything else (walking into the side, standing on the ground
against the enemy) is fatal — `alive = 0` and `play hit`.
- New `GameOver` state: draws four enemy tiles across the middle
of the screen plus a coin row sized to `stomp_count`, stops the
music, lingers 60 frames then auto-retries, and also honours
Start for an instant retry.
- Proximity-based autopilot: pre-jump when an enemy is exactly 19 px
ahead (`e1_sx == 99` or `e2_sx == 99`), capped at two jumps per
life by `auto_jumps < AUTOPILOT_JUMPS`. Tuning: a JUMP_RISE=12,
GRAVITY_CAP=4 jump lands the player's feet at enemy-head height
exactly 21 frames after lift-off, by which point the autopilot
camera has scrolled the enemy under the player. The first jump
fires on Playing frame 1 and stomps enemy 1 on frame 22; the
second fires on Playing frame 101 and stomps enemy 2 on frame
122. After that the autopilot is exhausted and the third enemy
encounter (camera wraps back past enemy 1) is fatal — the
golden harness now sees the full stomp, stomp, die, retry, stomp
loop instead of a frozen walk.
- Live HUD: up to four coin sprites in the top-left, one per
stomp, rendered both during `Playing` and on the `GameOver`
screen so the score is visible in the death frame. `Playing`'s
player draw is now guarded by `if alive == 1` so the hero
disappears on the fatal-contact frame and the enemy that killed
them is visible underneath.
Verified with a per-frame ZP trace through the patched puppeteer
+ jsnes harness: first stomp at emu frame 44 (camera_x=22), second
at emu frame 144 (camera_x=122), death at emu frame 283 (camera_x=5
after a 256-px wrap), `Playing` restart at emu frame 343, third
stomp at emu frame 365. All 22 emulator goldens still match after
the update, and `docs/platformer.gif` regenerated from the new ROM
now shows two clean stomps, a clean side-collision death, the
GameOver screen, and the retry cycle all inside the 6-second demo
window.
Golden updates:
- `tests/emulator/goldens/platformer.png` — the frame-180 capture
now shows the hero walking forward with a two-coin HUD after
both autopilot stomps (previously: a frozen bouncing hero).
- `tests/emulator/goldens/platformer.audio.hash` — the track now
includes two `Boing` stomp bounces, which shifts the hash.
- `examples/platformer.nes` — rebuilt from the rewritten source.
Also updates the platformer rows in `README.md` and
`examples/README.md` to match the new gameplay.
https://claude.ai/code/session_013Bi4H4YQ5or5HtMB4doUFi
Adds six NES-friendly authoring shortcuts so programs don't have to
hand-pack hex bytes for every kind of art asset. Every new syntax is
strictly additive — existing examples keep their byte-identical ROMs
and goldens.
* palette: ~50 named NES colours (`black`, `sky_blue`, `dk_red`, …)
usable anywhere a colour byte is expected, plus a grouped-form
`bg0..sp3` + `universal:` shape that auto-fills every sub-
palette's first byte (fixing the `$3F10` mirror trap).
* sprite: `pixels:` ASCII-art alternative to 16-byte CHR, supporting
multi-tile sprites split in row-major reading order.
* sfx: scalar `pitch:` matching the v1 driver's latch-once behaviour,
plus `envelope:` as a friendlier alias for `volume:`.
* music: `tempo:` default duration + note-name notes (`C4, Eb4,
rest 10`) alongside the existing `pitch, duration` pair form.
* background: `legend { '.': 0, '#': 1 }` + `map:` string rows,
plus `palette_map:` grids that auto-pack the 64-byte attribute
table from 16×15 sub-palette digits.
A new `examples/friendly_assets.ne` exercises every shortcut at once
with a matching pixel + audio golden; the other 22 golden tests still
match byte-for-byte.
https://claude.ai/code/session_01PzaSFj3VahDzxEYTKCESkz
The GIF made it into the README in the previous commit but the
source link was buried inside an italic caption. Promote it to
its own "Source:" line right under the image so readers see it
without having to parse a sentence, and add a pointer to the
tile generator binary next to it.
https://claude.ai/code/session_01BcCcHi6FUmTh8jC7UgkA3A
Adds `examples/platformer.ne`, a full side-scrolling game that
exercises nearly every subsystem of the compiler in one program:
custom CHR tileset, 32×30 background nametable with per-region
attribute palettes, 2×2 metasprite hero with gravity/jump physics,
wrap-around horizontal scrolling, moving enemies, coin pickups,
user-declared SFX + music, and a Title → Playing state machine
with autopilot so the headless jsnes harness captures real
gameplay at frame 180. Tile art + nametable are generated by
`scripts/gen_platformer_tiles.rs` (`cargo run --bin gen_platformer_tiles`).
Building this out uncovered three independent runtime bugs that
together made the example render as black-on-black smileys. All
three are fixed in this commit:
1. **`gen_init` enabled sprite rendering before the linker's
initial palette/background load runs.** The PPU's v-register
auto-increments on every `$2007` write *during active
rendering*, so the palette load (32 B) and nametable load
(1024 B) were scrambled past the first ~72 bytes — every
existing program with a `background Level { ... }` block was
silently rendering zero-filled VRAM. Fix: leave `PPU_MASK = 0`
at the end of `gen_init` and emit a new `gen_enable_rendering`
call *after* all initial VRAM writes complete.
2. **Audio tick corrupted `ZP_CURRENT_STATE`.** The audio
driver's period-table lookup reused `$02/$03` as a temporary
indirect pointer with a comment claiming the slots were free
because the tick doesn't call mul/div. But `$03` is also
`ZP_CURRENT_STATE` used by the state dispatch loop, so every
music note silently overwrote the state index with the high
byte of `__period_table` (`0xC5` in the platformer ROM),
wedging the state machine forever. Fix: `gen_nmi` now PHAs
`$02/$03` on entry and PLA-restores them on exit, and the
audio tick JSR moves inside that save/restore window (it used
to be spliced by the linker *before* the register saves, so
even A/X/Y were technically being trashed pre-save). Only
`audio_demo`'s audio hash shifts (its note timings move a few
cycles); every other golden is unchanged.
3. **Sub-palette mirroring footgun.** Writing a 32-byte palette
blob sequentially causes the sprite sub-palettes' "index 0"
slots at `$3F10/$3F14/$3F18/$3F1C` to clobber the background
universal colour at `$3F00/$3F04/$3F08/$3F0C` via NES hardware
mirroring. The example's palette sets all eight first bytes
to `$22` (sky blue) for this reason; `docs/future-work.md`
picks up a TODO to warn on inconsistent first-byte values in
the analyzer.
Also:
- `docs/platformer.gif` — 6-second recording of the example
running in jsnes, generated by the new
`tests/emulator/record_gif.mjs` puppeteer helper (encodes via
`gifenc`, committed as a dev-dependency under
`tests/emulator/package.json`).
- README / examples/README tables and the 497-test count are
updated to cover the new example.
https://claude.ai/code/session_01BcCcHi6FUmTh8jC7UgkA3A
Re-adds `palette Name { colors: [...] }` and
`background Name { tiles: [...], attributes: [...] }` as first-class
declarations, plus `set_palette Name` and `load_background Name`
statements for runtime swaps. Unlike the previous iteration that
quietly no-op'd, this one is fully wired through the pipeline and
its behavior is pinned by both unit tests and an emulator golden.
Pipeline:
- Lexer: re-adds `palette`, `background`, `set_palette`,
`load_background` keywords and tokenizes them.
- AST: `PaletteDecl` (name + 1..=32 colour bytes) and `BackgroundDecl`
(name + 0..=960 tile bytes + 0..=64 attribute bytes) live in
`Program`. `Statement::SetPalette` and `Statement::LoadBackground`
name-reference these declarations.
- Parser: `palette Name { colors: [...] }` / `background Name
{ tiles: [...], attributes: [...] }` blocks and their statement
forms parse via the existing byte-array helper.
- Analyzer: validates colour indices ($00-$3F), palette length
(<=32), nametable length (<=960), attribute length (<=64), and
duplicate decl names. `set_palette` / `load_background` targets
must reference a declared name (E0502 otherwise). When a program
declares palette or background, the analyzer bumps the user
zero-page allocator's starting address from `$10` to `$18` to
reserve `$11-$17` for the runtime update handshake — programs
that don't use the feature keep the old layout so their emulator
goldens stay byte-exact.
- Assets: `PaletteData` and `BackgroundData` resolve declarations
into zero-padded fixed-size blobs (32 / 960 / 64 bytes) and
expose `label()` / `tiles_label()` / `attrs_label()` for codegen
to reference.
- IR: new `IrOp::SetPalette(String)` and
`IrOp::LoadBackground(String)`; lowering forwards the names
verbatim.
- Codegen: `gen_set_palette` writes the palette label pointer into
ZP `$12/$13` and ORs bit 0 into the update flags at `$11`;
`gen_load_background` does the same for tile/attribute pointers
at `$14/$15/$16/$17` with bit 1. Both emit a `__ppu_update_used`
marker so the linker splices in the NMI apply helper only when
the feature is actually used.
- Runtime: `gen_initial_palette_load` and
`gen_initial_background_load` write the first declared
palette/background at reset time (before rendering is enabled,
where PPU writes are safe). `gen_nmi(has_ppu_updates)` takes a
new flag; when true it splices `gen_ppu_update_apply` at the top
of the NMI body, which checks the `$11` flags byte and copies
pending palette / nametable data to `$3F00` / `$2000` inside
vblank. All helpers use only ZP $02/$03 as scratch at reset time
and never clobber ZP slots live across NMI.
- Linker: new `link_banked_with_ppu` takes slice of `PaletteData` /
`BackgroundData`; splices each blob as a labelled data block in
PRG ROM, picks the first-declared as the reset-time load target,
enables background rendering automatically when a background is
declared, and threads `has_ppu_updates` into `gen_nmi`. Old
`link_banked` remains as a thin wrapper for callers without
palette/background data so existing tests don't shift.
Tests:
- Lexer: tokenization of the 4 new keywords (single added test case).
- Parser: 5 new tests for `palette` / `background` decls with and
without attributes, plus `set_palette` / `load_background`
statements.
- Analyzer: 9 new tests covering acceptance of declared
palettes/backgrounds, E0502 for unknown names, E0201 for
out-of-range NES colors and oversized blobs, E0501 for duplicate
names, and the zero-page-layout guard (palette/bg decls bump ZP
start; no decls keeps it at $10).
- Resolver: 3 new tests for zero-padding, truncation of oversized
decls, and label derivation.
- IR: 2 new lowering tests for `set_palette` and `load_background`.
- Integration: 5 new tests — blob contents spliced verbatim into
PRG, `STA $12` / `STA $14` emitted by set_palette /
load_background codegen, and a regression guard that programs
without palette/background still land user vars at $10.
- Emulator: new `examples/palette_and_background.ne` driven by a
frame counter that toggles between `CoolBlues` / `WarmReds` and
`TitleScreen` / `StageOne` every 90 frames. Golden PNG and audio
hash checked in under `tests/emulator/goldens/` and verified via
`node run_examples.mjs` — rendered image shows the blue
`CoolBlues` palette with the nametable populated from
`TitleScreen`.
Docs:
- `README.md` adds the feature to the headline list and the example
table.
- `docs/language-guide.md` restores the palette/background sections
with the full 32-byte layout table and `set_palette` /
`load_background` statement references.
- `docs/future-work.md` replaces the "removed as dead code" entry
with the remaining gaps (PNG-sourced palette and nametable
assets, cross-vblank large background updates, memory-map
reporting).
- `spec.md` restores the grammar productions and usage examples.
- `examples/README.md` lists the new demo.
All 497 unit + integration tests pass. Clippy clean. All 21
emulator goldens match after the update pass.
https://claude.ai/code/session_012fKB251HvEUQwG3tizFyqt
Two correctness bugs were silently producing wrong ROMs:
- `x << n` / `x >> n` always shifted by 1, regardless of `n`, because
the IR lowering for `BinOp::ShiftLeft`/`ShiftRight` hardcoded the
count. Now eval_const the RHS into a compile-time count; fall back
to a new `IrOp::ShiftLeftVar` / `ShiftRightVar` (runtime loop) when
the amount isn't constant. Strength reduction folds the variable
form back to a fixed count once the optimizer knows the value.
- `x / n` / `x % n` always returned 0, because the lowering emitted
`LoadImm(t, 0)` for `BinOp::Div`/`Mod` with a comment saying the
runtime call was "TODO for now". Added real `IrOp::Div` and
`IrOp::Mod`, wired them through use-counting and DCE, gave codegen
`__divide`-based implementations, and taught strength reduction to
rewrite power-of-two divisors into shifts and modulo-by-2ⁿ into
AND masks. Constant folding now handles `Mul`/`Div`/`Mod`/shifts
too, which were previously left for the codegen to emit inefficient
software calls.
Dead code removed (no backward-compat shims kept):
- `src/debug/` entirely. `DebugSymbols`, `SourceMap`, and the
Mesen/.sym emitters had no callers outside their own tests;
`main.rs` never wrote a symbol file. Documented the intent in
`docs/future-work.md` so it comes back intentionally if needed.
- `ErrorCode::E0202` (invalid cast) and `E0403` (unreachable state):
defined, formatted, and marked `#[allow(dead_code)]` but never
emitted. W0104 now carries the unreachable-state semantics too.
- `Level::Info`: never constructed.
- `load_background` / `set_palette` statements and their
`BackgroundDecl` / `PaletteDecl` parser support: parsed and
silently dropped by IR lowering (`// TODO: implement in asset
pipeline`). Removed keywords, AST variants, parser paths, analyzer
arms, and tests. `docs/future-work.md` documents the runtime
palette/nametable design for when it comes back.
Doc cleanup:
- `docs/architecture.md` was describing files that don't exist
(`analyzer/types.rs`, `optimizer/const_fold.rs`, `codegen/regalloc.rs`,
`rom/header.rs`, `debug/symbols.rs`, …). Rewrote it to match the
real flat `mod.rs` + `tests.rs` layout and the real pipeline order.
- `docs/future-work.md` was a hybrid of open work and "recently
completed" entries that duplicated the active stubs at the top of
the file. Collapsed to just the gaps that are actually still open.
- `README.md` claimed Mesen symbol export and 210 tests; updated both.
- `docs/language-guide.md` and `spec.md` described `palette` decls,
`set_palette` / `load_background`, `debug.overlay`, and error codes
that were never emitted. Trimmed.
- Stale comments on `Statement::Play`/`StartMusic`/`StopMusic`
claimed the audio subsystem was "a no-op at codegen time".
Tests:
- Regression tests for every fix above (`lower_shift_left_with_literal
_count_uses_that_count`, `lower_shift_right_with_variable_count
_uses_runtime_variant`, `lower_divide_emits_div_op_not_load_imm
_zero`, `lower_modulo_emits_mod_op_not_load_imm_zero`,
`strength_reduce_div_by_power_of_two`, `strength_reduce_mod_by
_power_of_two`, `strength_reduce_shift_var_with_constant_amount`).
- Renamed the `program_with_sprites_and_palette` integration test
(which was exercising the now-removed `load_background`/`set_palette`)
to `program_with_inline_sprite_chr`.
`examples/sprites_and_palettes.ne` lost its `palette`/`set_palette`
usage. Nothing in the emulator test presses A, so the headless
jsnes render shouldn't move, but the golden may need regeneration
via `UPDATE_GOLDENS=1` if it does.
https://claude.ai/code/session_012fKB251HvEUQwG3tizFyqt
The audio subsystem was a sketch: `play name` / `start_music name` /
`stop_music` parsed, lowered, and emitted a few hardcoded register
writes from a builtin name table. No user-declared effects, no
per-frame envelope, no note streams, no real engine.
This flesh-out brings audio up to the quality bar of the rest of
the compiler (sprites, palettes, bank switching, scanline IRQ,
etc.) with a full data-driven pipeline:
## Asset pipeline (new `src/assets/audio.rs`)
- `sfx Name { duty, pitch, volume }` blocks compile into per-frame
pulse-1 envelopes. Pitch/volume arrays must match in length; each
entry is one NMI's worth of `$4000` data.
- `music Name { duty, volume, repeat, notes }` blocks compile into
flat `(pitch, duration)` streams for pulse 2. Pitch 0 is a rest,
1-60 indexes a builtin period table covering C1-B5.
- `resolve_sfx` / `resolve_music` walk the program for `play` /
`start_music` references and append builtin fallbacks for any
name that isn't user-declared — so `play coin` still works
without a `sfx Coin { ... }` block.
- Builtin effects (coin, jump, hit, click, cancel, shoot, step)
and tracks (theme, battle, victory, gameover) synthesize through
the same compile path as user decls — one data model, one driver.
## Runtime engine (`src/runtime/mod.rs`)
- `gen_audio_tick()` walks both channels every NMI: reads one
envelope byte through `(ZP_SFX_PTR),Y` -> writes `$4000`,
advances ptr, mutes on zero sentinel. Music decrements the note
counter, advances to the next `(pitch, dur)` pair on zero, looks
up the period through `(__period_table),Y`, loops on `0xFF 0xFF`.
- `gen_period_table()` emits a 60-entry equal-tempered table
(A4 = 440 Hz, NTSC 1.789773 MHz CPU clock) with length-counter
load bits pre-baked into each high byte.
- `gen_data_block()` emits a label + raw-bytes pseudo pair so
user sfx/music data can be spliced into PRG with regular labels
that the two-pass assembler resolves.
- New ZP layout: `$05/$06` music loop base, `$07` music state
(duty/volume/loop/active), `$0C-$0F` sfx and music pointers.
## IR codegen (`src/codegen/ir_codegen.rs`)
- `with_audio(sfx, music)` registers compile-time trigger constants
per blob name.
- `gen_play_sfx` emits: write period to `$4002`/`$4003`, load
envelope pointer into `ZP_SFX_PTR` via SymbolLo/SymbolHi of
`__sfx_<name>`, mark the sfx counter active.
- `gen_start_music` stamps the header byte into `ZP_MUSIC_STATE`
with the active bit OR'd in, seeds both ptr and loop base from
`__music_<name>`, primes the duration counter.
- `gen_stop_music` mutes pulse 2 and clears state.
## Linker (`src/linker/mod.rs`)
- New `link_with_all_assets(user_code, sprites, sfx, music)` path
that splices driver body, period table, and each sfx/music data
blob into PRG — all guarded on the `__audio_used` marker so
silent programs pay zero ROM cost.
## Assembler (`src/asm/opcodes.rs`, `src/asm/mod.rs`)
- New `AddressingMode::Bytes(Vec<u8>)` variant for raw-data
pseudo-instructions. `NOP+Bytes(v)` emits the payload verbatim,
letting the linker splice ROM data tables into a code section
and still have `Label` / `SymbolLo` / `SymbolHi` fixups resolve
correctly in the same assembly pass.
## Analyzer
- `play` / `start_music` now validate the name against user decls
and builtin tables. Unknown names emit E0505 with a helpful list
of builtins — previously a typo would silently compile to no-op.
## Parser
- New `sfx_decl` / `music_decl` grammar with property-style
configuration. Strict validation: duty 0-3, volume 0-15, pitch
arrays must match volume length, music notes must come in pairs,
pitch 0-60, duration ≥ 1.
## Tests
+170 new tests across every layer:
- `src/assets/audio.rs`: 17 tests (compile, resolve, builtins,
shadowing, label sanitation, nested reference walks)
- `src/parser/tests.rs`: 13 tests (valid/invalid sfx + music
declarations, property validation, play/start_music/stop_music)
- `src/analyzer/tests.rs`: 7 tests (builtin acceptance, user decl
acceptance, unknown-name rejection)
- `src/runtime/tests.rs`: 10 tests (audio tick labels, RTS end,
$4000 write, $4004 mute, period table assembly, A4 = 440 Hz,
length counter bits, data block verbatim emit)
- `src/linker/tests.rs`: 4 tests (sfx/music blob placement,
pointer resolution, elision when unused)
- `src/codegen/ir_codegen.rs`: rewrote the 4 existing audio tests
to match the new data-driven contract
- `tests/integration_test.rs`: 4 end-to-end tests including a
user-declared `sfx` + `music` program that verifies bytes land
in PRG ROM at the right addresses
## Docs
- New Audio section in `docs/language-guide.md` with syntax
reference, builtin tables, and an explanation of how the
driver works at compile and run time.
- `docs/architecture.md` updated to reflect the real audio
pipeline instead of the old "audio import stubs" stub.
- `docs/future-work.md` moves audio from "status: minimal" to
"status: full subsystem" with a narrower list of follow-up work
(triangle/noise/DMC channels, NSF/FTM imports, richer envelopes).
- `examples/audio_demo.ne` rewritten to showcase user-declared
`sfx LongCoin`, `sfx Zap`, `music Theme`, still demonstrating
builtin fallback via `play coin`.
Total: 424 tests passing (381 unit + 43 integration), clippy clean,
fmt clean, all 19 examples compile.
https://claude.ai/code/session_015WfaDttE3DpWn9rpyfpQd8
Five language features and optimizations from the planned-work backlog:
- **Minimal audio driver**: `play`/`start_music`/`stop_music` now generate
APU pulse-1/pulse-2 writes from a builtin SFX/music name table, and
the NMI handler gains a `JSR __audio_tick` splice (via the linker's
`__audio_used` marker lookup) that ages an SFX countdown counter and
mutes pulse 1 when the tone expires. Programs that never trigger
audio pay zero ROM cost.
- **u16 arithmetic and comparisons**: new IR ops `LoadVarHi`, `StoreVarHi`,
`Add16`, `Sub16`, and six `Cmp*16` variants. The lowering context
tracks variable types via the analyzer's symbol table and routes
expressions through the 8-bit or 16-bit path based on operand width.
Add16 emits `CLC;ADC;ADC` with carry propagating naturally into the
high byte; compares dispatch high-byte-first with a short-circuit
low-byte fallback. Fixes a silent miscompile where `big += 1` on a
u16 var only incremented the low byte.
- **Multi-scanline handlers per state**: `gen_scanline_irq` now
dispatches on `(current_state, ZP_SCANLINE_STEP)` and reloads the
MMC3 counter with the delta to the next scanline in the same state.
`gen_scanline_reload` resets the step counter at the top of each
NMI so a state with multiple handlers fires them in ascending line
order. Previously only the first handler per state ever fired.
- **IR temp slot recycling**: `build_use_counts` pre-scans each
function to count per-temp uses; `retire_op_sources` decrements
the counts after each op and pushes dead slots back onto
`free_slots` for later allocation. `bitwise_ops.ne` used to crash
(debug) or miscompile (release) once it hit 128 concurrent temps;
with recycling the same function now uses ~4 slots instead of 136.
- **INC/DEC peephole fold + improved dead-load elimination**:
`fold_inc_dec` collapses `LDA addr; CLC; ADC #1; STA addr` into
a single `INC addr` (and the SEC/SBC variant into `DEC addr`),
saving 5 bytes and 5 cycles per increment. The fold is suppressed
when the next instruction reads carry. `remove_dead_loads` now
walks past INC/DEC/STX/STY (which don't touch A) to find the
actual next A-use, catching more dead loads.
Tests: 331 unit + 39 integration (up from 313 + 37), including new
guards for audio, u16, multi-scanline, and slot recycling.
https://claude.ai/code/session_01A8qk3gw2jWSzdiXBZPZSFE
Updates the feature list to mention structs, enums, for loops,
match, inline asm + \`{var}\` substitution, \`poke\`/\`peek\`
intrinsics, and the new \`--memory-map\` / \`--call-graph\`
diagnostics. Adds the two new examples (structs_enums_for and
inline_asm_demo) to the table.
https://claude.ai/code/session_01W6eQFStA66EuMKHUFo2rx3
README: project overview, quick start, feature list, example table
LICENSE: MIT
4 new examples covering all language features:
- arrays_and_functions: arrays, while loops, inline/regular functions
- state_machine: multi-state flow with on enter/exit handlers
- sprites_and_palettes: inline CHR data, palette switching, scroll, cast
- mmc1_banked: MMC1 mapper, bank declarations, software multiply
Parser fix: draw statement keyword-arg parsing now checks for ':'
lookahead before consuming an identifier, preventing it from eating
the next statement as a keyword argument (e.g., `i += 1` after a draw).
https://claude.ai/code/session_01W6eQFStA66EuMKHUFo2rx3
