mirror of https://github.com/imjasonh/nescript synced 2026-07-08 17:06:04 +00:00

language: pleasant asset syntax for palettes, CHR, bg, sfx, music

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

2026-04-13 16:09:53 +00:00

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NEScript Examples

Quick Start

# Build the compiler
cargo build --release

# Compile all examples
for f in examples/*.ne; do cargo run -- build "$f"; done

# Or compile one
cargo run -- build examples/hello_sprite.ne

Open any .nes file in an NES emulator (Mesen, FCEUX, etc.)

Examples

File	Features	Description
`hello_sprite.ne`	input, draw	Move a sprite with the d-pad
`bouncing_ball.ne`	if/else, variables	Auto-bouncing sprite with edge detection
`coin_cavern.ne`	states, functions, constants	3-state game with gravity and coin collection
`arrays_and_functions.ne`	arrays, functions, while	Enemy array with collision detection
`state_machine.ne`	on enter/exit, transitions	Multi-state flow with timers
`sprites_and_palettes.ne`	sprites, scroll, cast	Inline CHR data, PPU scroll writes, type casting
`mmc1_banked.ne`	MMC1, banks, multiply	Banked mapper with software multiply
`palette_and_background.ne`	palette, background, set_palette, load_background	Reset-time initial load plus vblank-safe runtime swaps
`friendly_assets.ne`	named colours, grouped palette, pixel art, tilemap+legend, palette_map, scalar sfx pitch, note-name music	Exercises every "friendlier" asset syntax at once — the `palette` uses `bg0..sp3` + a shared `universal:`, the sprite is authored as ASCII pixel art, the background uses a `legend { ... } + map:` tilemap with a `palette_map:` for attributes, the sfx uses a scalar `pitch:` + `envelope:` alias, and the music uses note names (`C4, E4 40, rest 10`) with a `tempo:` default.
`platformer.ne`	every subsystem	End-to-end side-scrolling demo: custom CHR tileset, full 32×30 nametable with per-region attribute palettes, 2×2 metasprite hero with gravity/jump physics, wrap-around horizontal scrolling, enemies, coin pickups, user-declared SFX + music, and a Title → Playing state machine with an autopilot so the headless harness still hits interesting gameplay at frame 180. Regenerate the tile art with `cargo run --bin gen_platformer_tiles`.

Emulator Controls

NES Button	Typical Key
D-pad	Arrow keys
A	Z
B	X
Start	Enter
Select	Right Shift

About Sprites

Sprite names in draw Player at: (x, y) are parsed and recorded in the AST. You can define sprites with inline CHR tile data:

sprite Player {
    chr: [0x3C, 0x42, 0x81, 0x81, 0x81, 0x81, 0x42, 0x3C,
          0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00]
}

If no matching sprite declaration exists, the draw uses the built-in default tile (a smiley face). See sprites_and_palettes.ne for a full example.

Compiler Commands

# Compile to ROM
cargo run -- build game.ne

# Custom output path
cargo run -- build game.ne --output my_game.nes

# Type-check only
cargo run -- check game.ne

# View generated 6502 assembly
cargo run -- build game.ne --asm-dump

# Debug mode
cargo run -- build game.ne --debug

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