Revision (current)
Last Updated by feos on 4/4/2024 5:48 PM
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[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PICO-8|PICO-8] is a virtual machine and game engine created by Lexaloffle Games. It is a [https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php?page=faq|fantasy video game console] that mimics the limited graphical and sound capabilities of 8-bit systems of the 1980s.
PICO-8 application can run games and it can convert them to a standalone executable, whose Linux version works well in [EmulatorResources/LibTAS|libTAS]. Some developers release executable files for each platform, and some games you have to convert yourself.
! How to generate the executable file
# Open the PICO-8 client
# Type {{FOLDER}}
# Drop the {{gamename.p8.png}} file for the game on this folder (replace {{gamename}} with what your game is actually called) and close the dialog
# Type {{LOAD gamename.p8.png}}
# Type {{EXPORT gamename.bin}} to generate the standalone executables
# Launch {{gamename.bin/linux/gamename}} from libTAS
Config path, in case you need it, is {{~/.lexaloffle/pico-8/config.txt}}.
! Movie submissions
We allow submissions using PICO-8 with libTAS. Please follow these guidelines to ensure your movie is acceptable and can be synced:
* Follow all rules already in place for [EmulatorResources/LibTAS#MovieSubmissions|submitting libTAS movies].
* __Make sure you use the latest version of PICO-8!__ This a commercial software with closed source code. Only the latest version is available for download for license holders and older ones are not officially archived. Failure to do so could render your movie forever impossible to sync.
* __Make sure your movie starts with no save data!__ Having your own save data present may cause desyncs when other people try to run your movie. To delete your save data, clear the {{~/.lexaloffle/pico-8/cdata/}} directory.
* When making a libTAS movie that you plan to submit to TASVideos or upload it to userfiles, put {{Platform: PICO8}} (no hyphen) at the very start of the movie annotations, that way the site will recognize your platform properly.
* In your description or movie annotations, please provide the following:
** libTAS version
** PICO-8 version
** Filename and MD5 hash of your {{.png}} (use {{md5sum yourgame.png}} in a terminal)
** Config variable {{foreground_sleep_ms}} can cause desyncs if the value doesn't match on different machines, so provide it as a part of sync info to be safe.