api max sprite count

The MaxSpriteCount() API returns a value representing the total number of sprites the SpriteChip can render in a single frame. You can use this value to alternate showing and hiding sprites based on hitting the total sprite count similar to the flicker effect you’d see in early 8-bit systems that tried to show more sprites than were allowed per frame. This is a read-only property at runtime.

Usage

MaxSpriteCount ( )

Returns

Value	Description
int	Returns an int representing the total number of sprites on the screen at once.

Example

In this example, we will display the maximum number of sprites and attempt to draw more sprites to the screen. For this example, the SpriteChip’s maxSpriteCount property was changed to 64 in the data.json. Running this code will output the following:

Lua

-- Store random integers for drawing a random character to the screen
local char, x, y, colorID = 0

-- Reference for the size of the display
local display = Display()

-- Total number of sprites to draw each frame
local sprites = 500

function Init()

  -- Display the text for the maximum and total number of sprites
  DrawText("Maximum Sprites " .. MaxSpriteCount(), 1, 1, DrawMode.Tile, "large", 15)
  DrawText("Total Sprites ", 1, 2, DrawMode.Tile, "large", 15)

end

function Draw()

  -- Redraw the display
  RedrawDisplay()

  -- Perform the next block of code 10 times
  for i = 1, sprites do

    -- Assign random values to each of these variable
    char = math.random(32, 126)
    x = math.random(0, display.x)
    y = math.random(32, display.y)
    colorID = math.random(1, 15)

    -- Draw a random character at a random position on the screen with a random color
    DrawText( string.char(char), x, y, DrawMode.Sprite, "large", colorID)

  end

  -- Draw the total number sprite on the display
  DrawText(ReadTotalSprites(), 15, 2, DrawMode.Tile, "large", 15)

end

C#

using System;

namespace PixelVision8.Player
{
    class MaxSpriteCountExample : GameChip
    {

        Random random = new Random();

        // Store random integers for drawing a random character to the screen
        private int charID, x, y, colorID = 0;

        // Reference for the size of the display
        private Point display;

        // Total number of sprites to draw each frame
        private int sprites = 500;

        public override void Init()
        {

            // Get the display size when the game loads up
            display = Display();

            // Display the text for the maximum and total number of sprites
            DrawText("Maximum Sprites " + MaxSpriteCount(), 1, 1, DrawMode.Tile, "large", 15);
            DrawText("Total Sprites ", 1, 2, DrawMode.Tile, "large", 15);

        }

        public override void Draw()
        {
            // Redraw the display
            RedrawDisplay();

            // Perform the next block of code 10 times
            for (int i = 0; i < sprites; i++)
            {

                // Assign random values to each of these variable
                charID = random.Next(32, 126);
                x = random.Next(0, display.X);
                y = random.Next(32, display.Y);
                colorID = random.Next(1, 15);

                // Draw a random character at a random position on the screen with a random color
                DrawText(Convert.ToChar(charID).ToString(), x, y, DrawMode.Sprite, "large", colorID);

            }

            // Draw the total number sprite on the display
            DrawText(CurrentSprites.ToString(), 15, 2, DrawMode.Tile, "large", 15);

        }

    }
}