romdevtools 0.28.0 → 0.30.0

package/examples/gb/templates/platformer.c

@@ -1,204 +1,866 @@
-/* ── platformer.c — Game Boy SIDE-SCROLLING platformer scaffold ─────
+/* ── platformer.c — Game Boy side-scrolling platformer (complete example game)
  *
- * A horizontally scrolling platformer: the world is 256 px wide (the
- * full wrapping BG map), a camera follows the player and scrolls the BG
- * via the SCX register. Gravity + jump + land-on-top collision against
- * a static platform list in WORLD coords.
+ * GULLY GALLOP — a COMPLETE, working game: title screen, gravity + jump
+ * physics with sub-pixel precision, one-way platforms, pits and spikes,
+ * coins + distance scoring, persistent hi-score (battery cart RAM), music
+ * + SFX, and the Game Boy's signature WINDOW-LAYER HUD: a fixed score/
+ * lives strip that the SCX-scrolling level slides beneath, with zero
+ * mid-frame raster tricks.
  *
- * Subpixel state (x/y in 1/16-pixel units) for fine acceleration. The
- * player sprite draws at SCREEN x = (worldX>>4) - camX.
+ * THIS FILE IS MEANT TO BE FORKED AND MODIFIED into your own game — even a
+ * very different one. The markers tell you what's what:
+ *   HARDWARE IDIOM (load-bearing) — dodges a documented GB footgun; reshape
+ *     your gameplay around it (see TROUBLESHOOTING before changing).
+ *   GAME LOGIC (clay) — level layout, physics tuning, scoring, art: reshape
+ *     freely.
  *
- * The world here is one BG map (256 px) so plain SCX scrolls it with no
- * streaming. For a WIDER world, stream the next BG-map column each time
- * camX crosses an 8-px boundary — see the GB MENTAL_MODEL.md.
+ * SINGLE-PLAYER BY DESIGN (the honest handheld story): the Game Boy has ONE
+ * controller. Multiplayer on real hardware means the link cable, and a
+ * single emulator instance cannot emulate a second Game Boy on the other
+ * end of that cable — so this game ships 1P only instead of faking a 2P
+ * mode the platform can't deliver. (Consoles' examples have real 2P.)
+ *
+ * What depends on what:
+ *   gb_hardware.h — register names (LCDC/WX/WY/NRxx/...) + LCDC bit masks.
+ *   gb_runtime.{h,c} — vblank wait (HALT-driven), joypad, shadow OAM +
+ *     the OAM-DMA-from-HRAM routine, VRAM-safe memcpy, APU helpers.
+ *   gb_crt0.s — boot + interrupt vectors + the cartridge header window.
+ *     It DECLARES the cart as MBC1+RAM+BATTERY ($0147=$03, $0149=$02) —
+ *     that declaration is what makes hiscore_save() below persist (the
+ *     emulator sizes battery SAVE_RAM from those two header bytes).
+ *     Load-bearing; edit with TROUBLESHOOTING open.
+ *
+ * The level: a 256-px-wide COLUMN MAP (ground height + one-way platforms +
+ * pits) painted once into the wrapping 32-wide BG map, so the uint8 SCX
+ * scroll wraps PERFECTLY seamless — an endless looping run of pits,
+ * platforms, coins and spikes. Coins/spikes are sprites that drift with
+ * the scroll (world-anchored while on screen, respawning at the right
+ * edge). The camera is one-way (the classic runner camera): past the
+ * scroll wall the world scrolls instead of the player.
+ *
+ * Frame budget (59.7 fps, ~17 556 machine cycles/frame, vblank = 10 of 154
+ * lines ≈ 1 140 cycles): everything VRAM/OAM-touching below happens in the
+ * vblank slice (OAM DMA ~165 cycles + ≤ 11 queued HUD/map bytes + one SCX
+ * write); game logic (player physics, a two-column landing probe, 3 coins
+ * + 2 spikes of AABB, staging 6 OAM slots) runs in the other 144 lines.
+ * Comfortable.
  */
 
 #include "gb_hardware.h"
 #include "gb_runtime.h"
 
+/* The title screen renders this — examples({op:'fork'}) stamps your game's
+ * name here automatically. Keep it ≤16 chars of A-Z 0-9 space dash. */
+#define GAME_TITLE "GULLY GALLOP"
+
+/* ── GAME LOGIC (clay — reshape freely) ──────────────────────────────────────
+ * Tile inventory. GB tiles are 16 bytes: 8 rows × [low-plane byte,
+ * high-plane byte]. Pixel colour index = (hi_bit << 1) | lo_bit.
+ *   lo only  = colour 1     hi only = colour 2     both = colour 3
+ * With BGP = $E4 below the BG reads 0 = white (sky), 1 = light grey,
+ * 2 = dark grey (dirt), 3 = black (text/grass tops). */
 static const uint8_t tile_blank[16] = { 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 };
-static const uint8_t tile_player[16] = {
-    0x18,0x18, 0x3C,0x3C, 0x7E,0x7E, 0xFF,0xFF,
-    0xFF,0xFF, 0x7E,0x7E, 0x3C,0x3C, 0x18,0x18,
+static const uint8_t tile_player[16] = {         /* round body + legs */
+    0x3C,0x00, 0x7E,0x24, 0xFF,0x24, 0xFF,0x00,  /* body c1, eyes c3  */
+    0xFF,0x00, 0x7E,0x00, 0x66,0x00, 0x66,0x00,
 };
-static const uint8_t tile_platform[16] = {
-    0xFF,0xFF, 0x80,0x80, 0x80,0x80, 0x80,0x80,
-    0x80,0x80, 0x80,0x80, 0x80,0x80, 0xFF,0xFF,
+static const uint8_t tile_player_jump[16] = {    /* arms up           */
+    0x18,0x00, 0x7E,0x24, 0xFF,0x24, 0xFF,0x00,
+    0xE7,0x00, 0xC3,0x00, 0x81,0x00, 0x00,0x00,
 };
-/* ── Backdrop tiles ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
- * Fill the whole world so the screen is never one flat colour (the #1 GB
- * "why is it blank" footgun). tile_sky is a sparse dot pattern over the
- * sky; tile_ground is a textured dirt fill under the floor line. */
-static const uint8_t tile_sky[16] = {
-    0x00,0x00, 0x00,0x00, 0x00,0x00, 0x20,0x20,
-    0x00,0x00, 0x00,0x00, 0x02,0x02, 0x00,0x00,
+static const uint8_t tile_coin[16] = {           /* disc c1, ring c3  */
+    0x3C,0x00, 0x7E,0x3C, 0xFF,0x66, 0xFF,0x5A,
+    0xFF,0x5A, 0xFF,0x66, 0x7E,0x3C, 0x3C,0x00,
 };
-static const uint8_t tile_ground[16] = {
-    0xFF,0x00, 0xDB,0x24, 0xFF,0x00, 0x6D,0x92,
-    0xFF,0x00, 0xDB,0x24, 0xFF,0x00, 0x6D,0x92,
+static const uint8_t tile_spike[16] = {          /* solid c3 spike    */
+    0x00,0x00, 0x18,0x18, 0x18,0x18, 0x3C,0x3C,
+    0x3C,0x3C, 0x7E,0x7E, 0x7E,0x7E, 0xFF,0xFF,
 };
-#define T_BLANK    0
-#define T_PLATFORM 2
-#define T_SKY      3
-#define T_GROUND   4
-
-static const uint16_t obj_palette[4] = { 0x7FFF, 0x001F, 0x03E0, 0x7C00 };
-/* BG palette: 0 sky-blue, 1 mid, 2 dirt-dark, 3 near-black detail. */
-static const uint16_t bg_palette[4]  = { 0x7E10, 0x5294, 0x114A, 0x0000 };
-
-typedef struct { int16_t x, y, w, h; } Rect;
-
-#define WORLD_W  256
-#define SCREEN_W 160
-
-/* Platforms in WORLD coords, spread across the 256-px world. */
-static const Rect platforms[] = {
-    {   0, 128, 256,  16 }, /* floor spans the world */
-    {  16, 100,  40,   8 },
-    {  96,  96,  32,   8 },
-    { 168,  80,  40,   8 },
-    {  56,  64,  32,   8 },
-    { 200, 110,  40,   8 },
-    { 130,  48,  40,   8 },
+/* Backdrop tiles. tile_sky carries two colour-1 dot pixels so even "empty"
+ * sky is never one flat colour (the render-health floor every example
+ * keeps), and the dots make horizontal scroll motion visible everywhere. */
+static const uint8_t tile_sky[16] = {            /* white + c1 specks */
+    0x00,0x00, 0x20,0x00, 0x00,0x00, 0x00,0x00,
+    0x02,0x00, 0x00,0x00, 0x08,0x00, 0x00,0x00,
 };
-#define N_PLATFORMS (sizeof(platforms)/sizeof(platforms[0]))
-
-static uint8_t on_platform(int16_t px, int16_t py) {
-    uint8_t i;
-    const Rect *p;
-    for (i = 0; i < N_PLATFORMS; i++) {
-        p = &platforms[i];
-        if (py + 8 == p->y && px + 8 > p->x && px < p->x + p->w) return 1;
-    }
-    return 0;
+static const uint8_t tile_cloud[16] = {          /* c1 puff           */
+    0x00,0x00, 0x18,0x00, 0x3C,0x00, 0x7E,0x00,
+    0x7E,0x00, 0x00,0x00, 0x00,0x00, 0x00,0x00,
+};
+static const uint8_t tile_dirt[16] = {           /* c2 fill, c0 pores */
+    0x00,0xFF, 0x00,0xEF, 0x00,0xFF, 0x00,0xFE,
+    0x00,0xFF, 0x00,0xDF, 0x00,0xFF, 0x00,0xFB,
+};
+static const uint8_t tile_grass[16] = {          /* c3 turf over dirt */
+    0xFF,0xFF, 0xFF,0xFF, 0x00,0xFF, 0x00,0xEF,
+    0x00,0xFF, 0x00,0xFE, 0x00,0xFF, 0x00,0xFF,
+};
+static const uint8_t tile_plat[16] = {           /* one-way slab      */
+    0xFF,0xFF, 0xFF,0xFF, 0x00,0xFF, 0x00,0xDB,
+    0x00,0xFF, 0x00,0x00, 0x00,0x00, 0x00,0x00,
+};
+static const uint8_t tile_hudbar[16] = {         /* solid colour 2    */
+    0x00,0xFF, 0x00,0xFF, 0x00,0xFF, 0x00,0xFF,
+    0x00,0xFF, 0x00,0xFF, 0x00,0xFF, 0x00,0xFF,
+};
+
+/* Tile indices ($8000 unsigned addressing — LCDC bit 4 set below). Sprites
+ * and BG share the $8000 table in this layout, so one upload serves both. */
+#define T_PLAYER  1
+#define T_JUMP    2
+#define T_COIN    3
+#define T_SPIKE   4
+#define T_SKY     5
+#define T_CLOUD   6
+#define T_DIRT    7
+#define T_GRASS   8
+#define T_PLAT    9
+#define T_HUDBAR  10
+/* Font: '0'-'9' → 16..25, 'A'-'Z' → 26..51, '-' → 52 (see char_tile). */
+#define T_DIGIT0  16
+#define T_ALPHA   26
+#define T_DASH    52
+
+/* 1bpp font (same glyph set as the NES/SMS examples — 0-9, A-Z, '-').
+ * Stored 8 bytes/glyph and expanded to 2bpp colour 3 at upload time, so
+ * the ROM carries 296 bytes of font instead of 592. */
+static const uint8_t font8[37][8] = {
+  /* 0-9 */
+  {0x3C,0x66,0x6E,0x76,0x66,0x66,0x3C,0x00}, {0x18,0x38,0x18,0x18,0x18,0x18,0x7E,0x00},
+  {0x3C,0x66,0x06,0x0C,0x18,0x30,0x7E,0x00}, {0x3C,0x66,0x06,0x1C,0x06,0x66,0x3C,0x00},
+  {0x0C,0x1C,0x3C,0x6C,0x7E,0x0C,0x0C,0x00}, {0x7E,0x60,0x7C,0x06,0x06,0x66,0x3C,0x00},
+  {0x1C,0x30,0x60,0x7C,0x66,0x66,0x3C,0x00}, {0x7E,0x06,0x0C,0x18,0x30,0x30,0x30,0x00},
+  {0x3C,0x66,0x66,0x3C,0x66,0x66,0x3C,0x00}, {0x3C,0x66,0x66,0x3E,0x06,0x0C,0x38,0x00},
+  /* A-Z */
+  {0x18,0x3C,0x66,0x66,0x7E,0x66,0x66,0x00}, {0x7C,0x66,0x66,0x7C,0x66,0x66,0x7C,0x00},
+  {0x3C,0x66,0x60,0x60,0x60,0x66,0x3C,0x00}, {0x78,0x6C,0x66,0x66,0x66,0x6C,0x78,0x00},
+  {0x7E,0x60,0x60,0x7C,0x60,0x60,0x7E,0x00}, {0x7E,0x60,0x60,0x7C,0x60,0x60,0x60,0x00},
+  {0x3C,0x66,0x60,0x6E,0x66,0x66,0x3E,0x00}, {0x66,0x66,0x66,0x7E,0x66,0x66,0x66,0x00},
+  {0x7E,0x18,0x18,0x18,0x18,0x18,0x7E,0x00}, {0x06,0x06,0x06,0x06,0x66,0x66,0x3C,0x00},
+  {0x66,0x6C,0x78,0x70,0x78,0x6C,0x66,0x00}, {0x60,0x60,0x60,0x60,0x60,0x60,0x7E,0x00},
+  {0x63,0x77,0x7F,0x6B,0x63,0x63,0x63,0x00}, {0x66,0x76,0x7E,0x7E,0x6E,0x66,0x66,0x00},
+  {0x3C,0x66,0x66,0x66,0x66,0x66,0x3C,0x00}, {0x7C,0x66,0x66,0x7C,0x60,0x60,0x60,0x00},
+  {0x3C,0x66,0x66,0x66,0x6A,0x6C,0x36,0x00}, {0x7C,0x66,0x66,0x7C,0x6C,0x66,0x66,0x00},
+  {0x3C,0x66,0x60,0x3C,0x06,0x66,0x3C,0x00}, {0x7E,0x18,0x18,0x18,0x18,0x18,0x18,0x00},
+  {0x66,0x66,0x66,0x66,0x66,0x66,0x3C,0x00}, {0x66,0x66,0x66,0x66,0x66,0x3C,0x18,0x00},
+  {0x63,0x63,0x63,0x6B,0x7F,0x77,0x63,0x00}, {0x66,0x66,0x3C,0x18,0x3C,0x66,0x66,0x00},
+  {0x66,0x66,0x66,0x3C,0x18,0x18,0x18,0x00}, {0x7E,0x06,0x0C,0x18,0x30,0x60,0x7E,0x00},
+  /* '-' */
+  {0x00,0x00,0x00,0x7E,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00},
+};
+
+/* ── HARDWARE IDIOM (load-bearing — reshape gameplay around this; see TROUBLESHOOTING) ──
+ * THE WINDOW-LAYER HUD — the Game Boy's signature "fixed HUD over a
+ * scrolling world" technique. The window is a second BG plane with its own
+ * 32×32 tile map and NO scroll registers: it always draws its map from
+ * (0,0), pinned to the screen, on top of the BG. So the HUD lives in the
+ * window and the playfield lives in the BG — SCY/SCX scroll the world all
+ * they like and the HUD never moves. No raster splits, no IRQ timing (the
+ * NES needs a sprite-0 polling dance for this exact effect; on GB it's
+ * three register writes). This game scrolls SCX (horizontal runner); the
+ * shmup example scrolls SCY — same idiom, either axis.
+ *
+ * The three registers, and their two famous footguns:
+ *   WY ($FF4A) — first screen LINE the window covers. We use 128: lines
+ *     0-127 are playfield, 128-143 (two tile rows) are HUD.
+ *   WX ($FF4B) — screen column PLUS SEVEN. WX=7 means "left edge". The
+ *     -7 offset is hardware fact, not a library quirk: WX=0..6 glitches
+ *     (real DMG pixel pipeline artifacts), WX≥167 pushes it off-screen.
+ *   LCDC bit 5 — window enable; bit 6 — which map it reads ($9800/$9C00).
+ *
+ * FOOTGUN 1 — "the window ate the bottom of my screen": once the window
+ * starts on a line it covers EVERY line from there DOWN, full width from
+ * WX to the right edge. There is no window height register. That is why
+ * GB HUDs sit at the BOTTOM of the screen (this game, and most of the
+ * classic library). A TOP HUD needs a mid-frame trick — STAT-interrupt on
+ * LYC, flip LCDC bit 5 off after the HUD rows — which is a different,
+ * fragile idiom; don't drift into it by accident by setting WY=0.
+ *
+ * FOOTGUN 2 — sprites are NOT clipped by the window. OBJs draw on top of
+ * it (priority bits notwithstanding), so a sprite that wanders below
+ * line 128 sits ON the HUD. Gameplay keeps every object above PLAY_H
+ * (spikes stand on the ground, coins float, and a player falling into a
+ * pit dies at PLAY_H-8 — the frame before the sprite would touch the HUD).
+ *
+ * Requires: window map at $9C00 (LCDC bit 6 set — keeps it separate from
+ * the BG's $9800 map), tile data at $8000 (LCDC bit 4), WX=7, WY=PLAY_H,
+ * LCDC bit 5 set during play (title turns the window off — LCDC bit
+ * discipline lives in the two LCDC_* values below, poke those, not LCDC). */
+#define PLAY_H   128                       /* first HUD line = window top */
+#define WIN_MAP  ((uint8_t *)0x9C00)       /* window's 32×32 tile map */
+#define LCDC_TITLE (LCDC_LCD_ON | LCDC_BG_ON | LCDC_OBJ_ON | LCDC_TILE_DATA_LO)
+#define LCDC_PLAY  (LCDC_TITLE | LCDC_WINDOW_ON | LCDC_WINDOW_MAP_HI)
+
+/* ── HARDWARE IDIOM (load-bearing — reshape gameplay around this; see TROUBLESHOOTING) ──
+ * BATTERY SRAM — persistent hi-score. MBC1 cart RAM is 8KB at $A000-$BFFF,
+ * but it boots DISABLED and writes to a disabled bank are silently
+ * discarded (reads float). The gate is the MBC's RAM-enable register: any
+ * WRITE to ROM space $0000-$1FFF with $0A in the low nibble enables the
+ * RAM; writing $00 disables it again. (Writing "into ROM" feels wrong the
+ * first time — ROM-area writes never touch ROM, they're how you talk to
+ * the mapper chip.) Leaving RAM enabled all the time "works" in emulators
+ * but on real hardware risks corruption at power-off — battery carts since
+ * forever do enable → touch → disable, so we do too.
+ *
+ * The record is magic 'H','S' + score lo,hi + a checksum byte, so a
+ * first-boot cart full of $FF garbage reads as "no record" instead of a
+ * 65535 hi-score.
+ *
+ * Requires: gb_crt0.s declaring $0147=$03 (MBC1+RAM+BATTERY) + $0149=$02
+ * (8KB) — those header bytes are how the emulator knows to allocate and
+ * persist SAVE_RAM. Verify headlessly: play, game over, then
+ * memory({op:'read', region:'save_ram'}) shows the block, and the
+ * hi-score survives host.hardReset(). */
+#define MBC_RAM_ENABLE  (*(volatile uint8_t *)0x0000)
+#define SRAM            ((volatile uint8_t *)0xA000)
+
+static uint16_t hiscore_load(void) {
+  uint16_t v = 0;
+  MBC_RAM_ENABLE = 0x0A;                       /* unlock cart RAM */
+  if (SRAM[0] == 'H' && SRAM[1] == 'S' &&
+      SRAM[4] == (uint8_t)(SRAM[2] ^ SRAM[3] ^ 0xA5)) {
+    v = (uint16_t)(SRAM[2] | ((uint16_t)SRAM[3] << 8));
+  }
+  MBC_RAM_ENABLE = 0x00;                       /* re-lock (battery hygiene) */
+  return v;
+}
+
+static void hiscore_save(uint16_t v) {
+  uint8_t lo = (uint8_t)(v & 0xFF), hi = (uint8_t)(v >> 8);
+  MBC_RAM_ENABLE = 0x0A;
+  SRAM[0] = 'H'; SRAM[1] = 'S';
+  SRAM[2] = lo;  SRAM[3] = hi;
+  SRAM[4] = (uint8_t)(lo ^ hi ^ 0xA5);
+  MBC_RAM_ENABLE = 0x00;
+}
+
+/* ── GAME LOGIC (clay — reshape freely) ──────────────────────────────────────
+ * The level — a 32-column map; world x = (screen x + scroll_x) mod 256.
+ *   ground_row[c] — BG-map row of the ground's grass top, 0xFF = pit.
+ *   plat_row[c]   — row of a one-way floating platform, 0 = none.
+ * Rows are BG-map rows (y = row*8). The playfield is rows 0..15 (128 px,
+ * everything below is under the window HUD). Pits are 4+ columns wide on
+ * purpose: at this gravity a 2 px/frame run skims anything narrower (the
+ * landing probe's +4 px catch window forgives small sink — see land_top). */
+#define NO_GROUND 0xFF
+#define GROUND 13                           /* grass-top row, y = 104     */
+static const uint8_t ground_row[32] = {
+  GROUND, GROUND, GROUND, GROUND, GROUND, GROUND, GROUND, GROUND, /* runway */
+  NO_GROUND, NO_GROUND, NO_GROUND, NO_GROUND,                     /* pit 1  */
+  GROUND, GROUND, GROUND, GROUND, GROUND, GROUND, GROUND,
+  NO_GROUND, NO_GROUND, NO_GROUND, NO_GROUND,                     /* pit 2  */
+  GROUND, GROUND, GROUND, GROUND, GROUND, GROUND, GROUND, GROUND, GROUND,
+};
+static const uint8_t plat_row[32] = {
+  0, 0, 0, 0, 10, 10, 10, 0,                /* slab on the runway          */
+  0, 9, 9, 0, 0, 0, 10, 10,                 /* stepping stone over pit 1   */
+  10, 0, 0, 0, 9, 9, 0, 0,                  /* stone over pit 2            */
+  0, 0, 10, 10, 10, 0, 0, 0,                /* slab before the loop seam   */
+};
+
+/* ── GAME LOGIC (clay) — physics + tuning (Q4.4 fixed point) ── */
+#define GRAVITY_Q44    2    /* +1/8 px per frame per frame                 */
+#define JUMP_VEL_Q44 (-52)  /* launch vy → ~42 px apex (~5 tile rows)      */
+#define MAX_VY_Q44    80    /* terminal velocity, 5 px/frame — MUST stay   *
+                             * under 6: the landing probe's 6-px window    *
+                             * can't catch a faster fall (tunnelling)      */
+#define MOVE_SPEED     2    /* px/frame walk + scroll speed                */
+#define SCROLL_WALL   72    /* px: past this the world scrolls, not you    */
+#define GROUND_TOP   104    /* GROUND row * 8                              */
+#define SPIKE_Y       96    /* spikes stand on the ground                  */
+#define NUM_COINS      3
+#define NUM_SPIKES     2
+#define START_LIVES    3
+
+static uint8_t  px;                 /* player screen x                     */
+static uint16_t py_q44;             /* player y, Q4.4 fixed point — gravity
+                                     * adds <1 px/frame near the jump apex,
+                                     * so we need sub-pixel precision      */
+static int8_t   vy_q44;
+static uint8_t  on_ground;
+static uint8_t  scroll_x;           /* level scroll — uint8 wraps at 256 = *
+                                     * exactly one level loop (seamless)   */
+static uint8_t  dist_sub;           /* sub-counter: 64 px scrolled = +1 pt */
+static uint8_t  coin_x[NUM_COINS], coin_y[NUM_COINS];
+static uint8_t  spike_x[NUM_SPIKES], spike_active[NUM_SPIKES];
+static uint8_t  lives;
+static uint16_t score;
+static uint16_t hiscore;          /* live HUD readout: max(score, record) */
+static uint16_t record;           /* what the battery SRAM actually holds */
+static uint8_t  respawn_pause;    /* freeze + blink frames after a death  */
+static uint8_t  prev_pad;
+static uint8_t  hud_dirty;        /* queue VRAM writes; vblank commits them */
+static uint8_t  msg_stage;        /* game-over text: 2 = line 1 pending, 1 = line 2 */
+static uint8_t  msg_col;          /* BG map col for GAME OVER (scroll-aware) */
+
+/* Game states — the shell every example shares: title → play → game over.
+ * (Handheld adaptation: title is press-start; consoles add a 1P/2P pick.) */
+#define ST_TITLE 0
+#define ST_PLAY  1
+#define ST_OVER  2
+static uint8_t state;
+
+/* ── GAME LOGIC (clay) — Galois LFSR (taps $B8), period 255 ── */
+static uint8_t rng_state = 0xA5;
+static uint8_t rand8(void) {
+  uint8_t lsb = (uint8_t)(rng_state & 1);
+  rng_state >>= 1;
+  if (lsb) rng_state ^= 0xB8;
+  return rng_state;
 }
 
+static uint8_t dist8(uint8_t a, uint8_t b) {
+  return (a > b) ? (uint8_t)(a - b) : (uint8_t)(b - a);
+}
+
+/* ── GAME LOGIC (clay) — VRAM upload + text helpers ──────────────────────────
+ * All of these write VRAM, so they run with the LCD OFF (boot/repaints) or
+ * inside vblank (the HUD digit commits). Note every loop walks a pointer
+ * (*dst++ = v) instead of indexing dst[i] — SDCC's sm83 port miscompiles
+ * indexed stores through VRAM-pointing pointers (the documented
+ * memcpy_vram footgun; see gb_runtime.c). */
 static void upload_tile(uint8_t slot, const uint8_t *src) {
-    uint8_t *dst = (uint8_t *)(0x8000 + slot * 16);
-    /* memcpy_vram (pointer-walk) — NOT an indexed dst[i]=src[i] loop, which
-     * SDCC sm83 miscompiles when dst points into VRAM ($8000-$9FFF). */
-    memcpy_vram(dst, src, 16);
-}
-
-static void paint_platforms(void) {
-    /* Each cell of the BG map is 8×8, BG map base $9800. */
-    uint8_t *map = (uint8_t *)0x9800;
-    uint8_t i, j;
-    uint16_t k;
-    int16_t cx, cy, cw, ch;
-    const Rect *p;
-    /* k MUST be uint16_t: 32*18 = 576 > 255, so a uint8_t counter would
-     * never reach the bound and this loop would spin forever (the BG map
-     * never clears, main() never starts). Classic SDCC limited-range trap.
-     * Fill sky above the floor line (row 16 = y 128) and textured ground
-     * at and below it, so the whole world is a real scene, not blank. */
-    for (k = 0; k < 32 * 18; k++) map[k] = (k >= 16 * 32) ? T_GROUND : T_SKY;
-    for (i = 0; i < N_PLATFORMS; i++) {
-        p = &platforms[i];
-        cx = p->x >> 3;
-        cy = p->y >> 3;
-        cw = (p->w + 7) >> 3;
-        ch = (p->h + 7) >> 3;
-        for (j = 0; j < cw; j++) {
-            if (cx + j < 32 && cy < 32)
-                map[cy * 32 + cx + j] = T_PLATFORM; /* platform top edge */
-        }
+  memcpy_vram((uint8_t *)(0x8000 + (uint16_t)slot * 16), src, 16);
+}
+
+static void upload_font(void) {
+  uint8_t *dst = (uint8_t *)(0x8000 + (uint16_t)T_DIGIT0 * 16);
+  uint8_t g, r, bits;
+  for (g = 0; g < 37; g++) {
+    for (r = 0; r < 8; r++) {
+      bits = font8[g][r];
+      *dst++ = bits;          /* low plane  ─┐ both set → colour 3 (black) */
+      *dst++ = bits;          /* high plane ─┘ */
     }
+  }
 }
 
-void main(void) {
-    int16_t px = 16 << 4, py = 60 << 4;
-    int16_t vx = 0,       vy = 0;
-    int16_t ipx, ipy, npy, camX = 0;
-    int32_t np;
-    uint8_t grounded;
-    uint8_t pad, prev = 0, i;
-    const Rect *p;
-    const int16_t GRAVITY = 10;
-    const int16_t MOVE    = 20;
-    const int16_t JUMP    = -140;  /* was -180: ~100px peak (most of the screen) — 'jumps a little too high' */
-    const int16_t MAXFALL = 280;
-
-    lcd_init_default();
-    sound_init();
-    enable_vblank_irq();   /* MANDATORY: HALT-driven wait_vblank. Without this,
-                            * busy-poll wait_vblank runs ~1/30 speed on the WASM
-                            * emulator and the game loop appears to hang. */
-    LCDC = 0;
-
-    upload_tile(0, tile_blank);
-    upload_tile(1, tile_player);
-    upload_tile(2, tile_platform);
-    upload_tile(T_SKY,    tile_sky);
-    upload_tile(T_GROUND, tile_ground);
-
-    OCPS = 0x80;
-    for (i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
-        OCPD = (uint8_t)(obj_palette[i] & 0xFF);
-        OCPD = (uint8_t)((obj_palette[i] >> 8) & 0xFF);
+static uint8_t char_tile(char ch) {
+  if (ch >= '0' && ch <= '9') return (uint8_t)(T_DIGIT0 + (ch - '0'));
+  if (ch >= 'A' && ch <= 'Z') return (uint8_t)(T_ALPHA + (ch - 'A'));
+  if (ch == '-') return T_DASH;
+  return 0;                                    /* space → blank tile */
+}
+
+/* Both 32×32 maps (BG $9800, window $9C00) take the same row/col math. */
+static void draw_text(uint8_t *map, uint8_t row, uint8_t col, const char *s) {
+  uint8_t *p = map + (uint16_t)row * 32 + col;
+  while (*s) *p++ = char_tile(*s++);
+}
+
+/* Decimal digits WITHOUT divide/modulo (the sm83 has neither — SDCC's
+ * software % costs ~700 cycles a call). Repeated power-of-ten subtraction
+ * caps at 36 SUBs for any u16. */
+static void u16_to_tiles(uint16_t v, uint8_t *out5) {
+  static const uint16_t pow10[4] = { 10000, 1000, 100, 10 };
+  uint8_t i, d;
+  for (i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
+    d = 0;
+    while (v >= pow10[i]) { v -= pow10[i]; ++d; }
+    *out5++ = (uint8_t)(T_DIGIT0 + d);
+  }
+  *out5 = (uint8_t)(T_DIGIT0 + (uint8_t)v);
+}
+
+static void draw_u16(uint8_t *map, uint8_t row, uint8_t col, uint16_t v) {
+  uint8_t d[5];
+  uint8_t i, *p = map + (uint16_t)row * 32 + col;
+  u16_to_tiles(v, d);
+  for (i = 0; i < 5; i++) *p++ = d[i];
+}
+
+/* Pre-convert a string to tile indices (full-frame time) so the vblank
+ * commit is a dumb byte copy. char_tile's compare chain per character is
+ * exactly the kind of work that blows the ~1140-cycle vblank budget —
+ * the shmup example's first cut called draw_text from the vblank slice and
+ * gambatte faithfully dropped the writes that slid into mode 3 (half the
+ * GAME OVER text simply missing — see the commit_vram budget note). */
+static uint8_t msg_q[20];                /* 9 "GAME OVER" + 11 "PRESS START" */
+static void stage_text(const char *s, uint8_t *out) {
+  while (*s) *out++ = char_tile(*s++);
+}
+
+/* ── GAME LOGIC (clay) — screen painters (LCD off = free VRAM access) ────────
+ * Paints the level scene from the column map into BG rows 0..17 (the SCY=0
+ * screen window; this game never scrolls vertically, so rows 18-31 stay
+ * untouched). Clouds use a running divide-free pattern counter — the sm83
+ * has no divide instruction; treat every / and % in a loop as a red flag
+ * (SDCC's software modulo is ~700 cycles a call). */
+static void paint_scene(uint8_t with_plats) {
+  uint8_t *p = BG_MAP_0;
+  uint8_t r, c, t, g;
+  uint8_t cl = 0;                        /* (r*7 + c*5) mod 13, incremental */
+  uint8_t clr = 0;
+  for (r = 0; r < 18; r++) {
+    cl = clr;
+    for (c = 0; c < 32; c++) {
+      g = ground_row[c];
+      t = T_SKY;
+      if (with_plats && r == plat_row[c]) t = T_PLAT;
+      else if (g != NO_GROUND) {
+        if (r == g) t = T_GRASS;
+        else if (r > g) t = T_DIRT;
+      } else if (r >= 16) {
+        t = T_DIRT;                      /* pit walls below the playfield */
+      }
+      if (t == T_SKY && r >= 2 && r <= 6 && cl == 0) t = T_CLOUD;
+      *p++ = t;
+      cl += 5; if (cl >= 13) cl -= 13;
     }
-    BCPS = 0x80;
-    for (i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
-        BCPD = (uint8_t)(bg_palette[i] & 0xFF);
-        BCPD = (uint8_t)((bg_palette[i] >> 8) & 0xFF);
+    clr += 7; if (clr >= 13) clr -= 13;
+  }
+}
+
+static void paint_title(void) {
+  paint_scene(0);                        /* plain scene — text owns the sky */
+  draw_text(BG_MAP_0, 3, (uint8_t)((20 - (sizeof(GAME_TITLE) - 1)) / 2), GAME_TITLE);
+  draw_text(BG_MAP_0, 6, 4, "PRESS START");
+  draw_text(BG_MAP_0, 8, 6, "HI");
+  draw_u16(BG_MAP_0, 8, 9, hiscore);
+  draw_text(BG_MAP_0, 11, 6, "1P ONLY");       /* see header: no link 2P */
+  SCX = 0; SCY = 0;
+  scroll_x = 0;
+}
+
+/* HUD strip = window rows 0-1: a solid divider bar, then the text row.
+ * Columns 0-19 are the visible 20 (WX=7 pins map col 0 to screen x 0). */
+static void paint_hud(void) {
+  uint8_t *p = WIN_MAP;
+  uint8_t c;
+  for (c = 0; c < 20; c++) *p++ = T_HUDBAR;
+  draw_text(WIN_MAP, 1, 0, "SC");
+  draw_u16(WIN_MAP, 1, 3, score);
+  draw_text(WIN_MAP, 1, 9, "HI");
+  draw_u16(WIN_MAP, 1, 12, hiscore);
+  draw_text(WIN_MAP, 1, 18, "L");
+  *(WIN_MAP + 32 + 19) = (uint8_t)(T_DIGIT0 + lives);
+}
+
+/* ── HARDWARE IDIOM (load-bearing — reshape gameplay around this; see TROUBLESHOOTING) ──
+ * LCD-off repaints. Bulk VRAM rewrites (full title/level repaints) happen
+ * with the LCD OFF — free access, no per-byte timing worries. The rule:
+ * only flip LCDC bit 7 to 0 DURING VBLANK. Killing the LCD mid-scanline
+ * is the classic "damages real DMG hardware" move; emulators shrug, real
+ * units can be permanently marked. wait_vblank() first, always.
+ * Requires: enable_vblank_irq() already called (wait_vblank HALT path);
+ * lcd_off-safe runtime (gb_runtime's wait_vblank bails if LCD is off). */
+static void repaint_with_lcd_off(uint8_t to_title) {
+  msg_stage = 0;                /* a queued game-over line must not land on
+                                 * the freshly painted screen a frame later */
+  wait_vblank();                /* never cut the LCD outside vblank */
+  LCDC = 0;
+  if (to_title) {
+    paint_title();
+    oam_clear();                /* hide every sprite slot before re-enable */
+    LCDC = LCDC_TITLE;          /* window OFF on the title */
+  } else {
+    paint_scene(1);
+    paint_hud();
+    LCDC = LCDC_PLAY;           /* window ON below WY — the HUD appears */
+  }
+}
+
+/* ── GAME LOGIC (clay) — sound: frame-ticked tune + jump/coin/death SFX ──────
+ * Channel plan keeps SFX from cutting the music: ch2 = music (one
+ * sound_play_tone trigger per note, the APU sustains it), ch1 = jump and
+ * coin blips, ch4 = noise for deaths. music_tick() runs once per frame
+ * from the main loop; the APU needs no other upkeep. Periods are the
+ * 11-bit GB frequency code: 2048 - (131072 / Hz). 0 = rest. */
+static const uint16_t tune[16] = {
+  1714, 0, 1750, 0, 1783, 0, 1798, 0,     /* G4 A4 B4 C5 */
+  1825, 0, 1798, 0, 1783, 0, 1750, 0,     /* D5 C5 B4 A4 */
+};
+static uint8_t music_pos, music_timer;
+static void music_tick(void) {
+  uint16_t n;
+  if (++music_timer < 14) return;
+  music_timer = 0;
+  n = tune[music_pos];
+  music_pos = (uint8_t)((music_pos + 1) & 15);
+  if (n) sound_play_tone(2, n, 12);
+}
+
+/* ── GAME LOGIC (clay) — coins + spikes (sprite objects in the world) ────────
+ * Both live in SCREEN coords and drift left with the scroll delta (world-
+ * anchored while visible). Coins respawn at the right edge at a random
+ * height; spikes only spawn when the level column entering at the right
+ * edge has ground under it (never floating over a pit). */
+static const uint8_t coin_heights[4] = { 80, 64, 48, 72 };
+static void respawn_coin(uint8_t i) {
+  coin_x[i] = (uint8_t)(144 + (rand8() & 15));     /* enter at the right  */
+  coin_y[i] = coin_heights[rand8() & 3];
+}
+
+static void try_spawn_spike(uint8_t i) {
+  uint8_t c = (uint8_t)((uint8_t)(scroll_x + 160) >> 3);
+  if (ground_row[c] == NO_GROUND) return;
+  if (rand8() > 4) return;                         /* ~2% per frame */
+  spike_x[i] = 152;
+  spike_active[i] = 1;
+}
+
+/* ── GAME LOGIC (clay) — landing probe against the column map ────────────────
+ * One-way platforms, classic style: only catch the player while FALLING
+ * through a narrow window at the surface. The window is 6 px tall —
+ * top-1 (the standing snap parks feet at top, and gravity's sub-pixel
+ * trickle doesn't move the integer Y every frame; without the -1 slack the
+ * player "stands" with on_ground=0 most frames, so jumps only register on
+ * lucky frames and the idle/jump sprite flickers) through top+4 (so a
+ * 5 px/frame terminal-velocity fall can't step over it). */
+static uint8_t land_top(uint8_t c, uint8_t feet) {
+  uint8_t r, top;
+  r = plat_row[c];
+  if (r) {
+    top = (uint8_t)(r << 3);
+    if ((uint8_t)(feet + 1) >= top && feet <= (uint8_t)(top + 4)) return top;
+  }
+  r = ground_row[c];
+  if (r != NO_GROUND) {
+    top = (uint8_t)(r << 3);
+    if ((uint8_t)(feet + 1) >= top && feet <= (uint8_t)(top + 4)) return top;
+  }
+  return 0;
+}
+
+/* ── GAME LOGIC (clay) — state transitions ── */
+static void begin_life(void) {
+  uint8_t i;
+  px = 24;
+  py_q44 = (uint16_t)(GROUND_TOP - 8) << 4;
+  vy_q44 = 0;
+  on_ground = 1;
+  scroll_x = 0;
+  dist_sub = 0;
+  coin_x[0] =  88; coin_y[0] = 80;
+  coin_x[1] = 120; coin_y[1] = 64;
+  coin_x[2] = 144; coin_y[2] = 48;
+  for (i = 0; i < NUM_SPIKES; i++) spike_active[i] = 0;
+  respawn_pause = 48;            /* ready breather — player blinks */
+  prev_pad = 0xFF;               /* swallow held buttons across the reset */
+}
+
+static void start_game(void) {
+  lives = START_LIVES;
+  score = 0;
+  hud_dirty = 1;          /* restage hud_q — a stale game-over stage queued
+                           * before the repaint would overwrite the fresh
+                           * zeros next vblank otherwise */
+  begin_life();
+  state = ST_PLAY;
+  repaint_with_lcd_off(0);
+  sound_play_tone(1, 1798, 8);             /* start jingle (C5) */
+}
+
+static void game_over(void) {
+  /* Compare against the SAVED record, not the live `hiscore` readout —
+   * the scoring path already raised `hiscore` to track the run, so
+   * testing `score > hiscore` here would never fire (a bug the shmup
+   * example shipped with for an hour; verified-by-harness is the cure). */
+  if (score > record) {
+    record = score;
+    hiscore_save(record);       /* battery write — survives power-off */
+  }
+  state = ST_OVER;
+  /* The BG has scrolled: map col 0 is no longer screen col 0. Anchor the
+   * text relative to the CURRENT scroll so it lands mid-screen
+   * ((SCX/8 + screen_col) & 31 = the map col under that screen col; the
+   * commit handles the map's 32-col wrap). Convert the strings to tile
+   * indices HERE (full-frame time) and queue them — commit_vram() copies
+   * one line per vblank. */
+  msg_col = (uint8_t)(((scroll_x >> 3) + 5) & 31);
+  stage_text("GAME OVER", msg_q);
+  stage_text("PRESS START", msg_q + 9);
+  msg_stage = 2;
+}
+
+static void kill_player(void) {
+  sound_play_noise(20);
+  if (lives) --lives;
+  hud_dirty = 1;
+  if (lives == 0) { game_over(); return; }
+  begin_life();                  /* back to the runway, scroll rewinds */
+}
+
+/* ── GAME LOGIC (clay) — per-state update (runs OUTSIDE vblank) ── */
+static void update_play(uint8_t pad) {
+  uint8_t i, delta, y8, feet, c0, c1, top;
+
+  delta = 0;
+  if (pad & PAD_RIGHT) {
+    /* One-way camera: walk until the scroll wall, then the world moves. */
+    if (px < SCROLL_WALL) px += MOVE_SPEED;
+    else { scroll_x += MOVE_SPEED; delta = MOVE_SPEED; }
+  }
+  if ((pad & PAD_LEFT) && px > 8) px -= MOVE_SPEED;
+  if ((pad & PAD_A) && !(prev_pad & PAD_A) && on_ground) {
+    vy_q44 = JUMP_VEL_Q44;
+    on_ground = 0;
+    sound_play_tone(1, 1849, 6);                     /* jump whoop (E5) */
+  }
+
+  /* World objects drift left as the level scrolls (world-anchored). */
+  if (delta) {
+    dist_sub += delta;
+    if (dist_sub >= 64) {                            /* distance pay */
+      dist_sub -= 64;
+      if (score <= 65525u) ++score;
+      if (score > hiscore) hiscore = score;   /* live HI readout; SRAM
+                                               * write waits for game over */
+      hud_dirty = 1;
+    }
+    for (i = 0; i < NUM_COINS; i++) {
+      if (coin_x[i] < 8 + delta) respawn_coin(i);
+      else coin_x[i] -= delta;
     }
+    for (i = 0; i < NUM_SPIKES; i++) {
+      if (!spike_active[i]) continue;
+      if (spike_x[i] < 8 + delta) spike_active[i] = 0;
+      else spike_x[i] -= delta;
+    }
+  }
+  for (i = 0; i < NUM_SPIKES; i++)
+    if (!spike_active[i]) try_spawn_spike(i);
+
+  /* Physics: gravity + sub-pixel Y. */
+  if (vy_q44 < MAX_VY_Q44) vy_q44 += GRAVITY_Q44;
+  py_q44 += vy_q44;
+  y8 = (uint8_t)(py_q44 >> 4);
+
+  /* Fell into a pit — die at PLAY_H-8, the frame BEFORE the sprite would
+   * overlap the window HUD (footgun 2 above: OBJs draw over the window). */
+  if (y8 >= PLAY_H - 8) {
+    kill_player();
+    return;
+  }
 
-    paint_platforms();
-    oam_clear();
-    LCDC = LCDC_LCD_ON | LCDC_BG_ON | LCDC_OBJ_ON | LCDC_TILE_DATA_LO;
-
-    while (1) {
-        wait_vblank();
-
-        ipx = px >> 4;
-        ipy = py >> 4;
-
-        /* Camera follows the player, centered, clamped to the world.
-         * Write SCX so the BG scrolls; player is drawn in SCREEN space. */
-        camX = ipx - (SCREEN_W / 2 - 4);
-        if (camX < 0) camX = 0;
-        if (camX > WORLD_W - SCREEN_W) camX = WORLD_W - SCREEN_W;
-        SCX = (uint8_t)camX;
-
-        for (i = 0; i < 40; i++) oam_set(i, 0, 0, 0, 0);
-        oam_set(0, ipy + 16, (ipx - camX) + 8, 1, 0);  /* screen x = world - cam */
-        oam_dma_flush();
-
-        pad = joypad_read();
-        vx = 0;
-        if (pad & PAD_LEFT)  vx = -MOVE;
-        if (pad & PAD_RIGHT) vx =  MOVE;
-
-        grounded = on_platform(ipx, ipy);
-        if ((pad & PAD_A) && !(prev & PAD_A) && grounded) {
-            vy = JUMP;
-            sound_play_tone(1, 1750, 8);    /* jump blip (ch2 square) */
-        }
-        prev = pad;
-
-        vy += GRAVITY;
-        if (vy > MAXFALL) vy = MAXFALL;
-        if (grounded && vy > 0) vy = 0;
-
-        px += vx;
-        if (px < 0) px = 0;
-        if (px > (WORLD_W - 8) << 4) px = (WORLD_W - 8) << 4;
-
-        np = py + vy;
-        npy = np >> 4;
-        if (vy > 0) {
-            for (i = 0; i < N_PLATFORMS; i++) {
-                p = &platforms[i];
-                if (ipy + 8 <= p->y && npy + 8 >= p->y
-                    && ipx + 8 > p->x && ipx < p->x + p->w) {
-                    py = (p->y - 8) << 4;
-                    vy = 0;
-                    goto done;
-                }
-            }
-        }
-        py = np;
-        if (py > 144 << 4) { py = 0; vy = 0; }
-done:   ;
+  /* Landing — probe the two level columns under the player's feet.
+   * uint8 px+scroll_x wraps at 256 exactly like the level does. */
+  if (vy_q44 >= 0) {
+    feet = (uint8_t)(y8 + 8);
+    c0 = (uint8_t)((uint8_t)(px + scroll_x) >> 3);
+    c1 = (uint8_t)((uint8_t)(px + scroll_x + 7) >> 3);
+    top = land_top(c0, feet);
+    if (top == 0) top = land_top(c1, feet);
+    if (top) {
+      py_q44 = (uint16_t)(top - 8) << 4;
+      vy_q44 = 0;
+      if (!on_ground) sound_play_tone(1, 1602, 3);   /* landing thud */
+      on_ground = 1;
+    } else {
+      on_ground = 0;                                 /* walked off an edge */
     }
+  }
+
+  /* Coins (collect) + spikes (death). */
+  for (i = 0; i < NUM_COINS; i++) {
+    if (dist8(coin_x[i], px) < 8 && dist8(coin_y[i], y8) < 8) {
+      if (score <= 65525u) score += 10;
+      if (score > hiscore) hiscore = score;
+      sound_play_tone(1, 1923, 5);                   /* coin ping (C6) */
+      hud_dirty = 1;
+      respawn_coin(i);
+    }
+  }
+  for (i = 0; i < NUM_SPIKES; i++) {
+    if (!spike_active[i]) continue;
+    if (dist8(spike_x[i], px) < 7 && dist8(SPIKE_Y, y8) < 7) {
+      kill_player();
+      return;
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+/* ── GAME LOGIC (clay) — stage the shadow OAM for THIS frame ─────────────────
+ * Pure WRAM writes (shadow_oam at $C100) — safe any time; only the DMA
+ * flush is vblank-sensitive. OAM coords are hardware coords: +16 on Y,
+ * +8 on X (Y=0/X=0 park a sprite off-screen, which is what oam_clear's
+ * zero-fill does for every unused slot). Slot plan (40 hardware slots, we
+ * use 6): 0 = player, 1-3 coins, 4-5 spikes — well under the 10-OBJ/line
+ * hardware drop. */
+static void stage_sprites(void) {
+  uint8_t i, y8;
+  oam_clear();
+  if (state == ST_TITLE) {
+    /* Guaranteed-visible sprite from the first title frame — proof the
+     * whole OAM pipeline (shadow → HRAM DMA stub → OAM) is alive before
+     * any gameplay complicates the picture. */
+    oam_set(0, 96 + 16, 76 + 8, T_PLAYER, 0);
+    return;
+  }
+  y8 = (uint8_t)(py_q44 >> 4);
+  if (respawn_pause == 0 || (respawn_pause & 4))     /* ready-blink */
+    oam_set(0, (uint8_t)(y8 + 16), (uint8_t)(px + 8),
+            on_ground ? T_PLAYER : T_JUMP, 0);
+  for (i = 0; i < NUM_COINS; i++)
+    oam_set((uint8_t)(1 + i), (uint8_t)(coin_y[i] + 16),
+            (uint8_t)(coin_x[i] + 8), T_COIN, 0x10);  /* attr $10 → OBP1 */
+  for (i = 0; i < NUM_SPIKES; i++)
+    if (spike_active[i])
+      oam_set((uint8_t)(4 + i), SPIKE_Y + 16,
+              (uint8_t)(spike_x[i] + 8), T_SPIKE, 0x10);
+}
+
+/* ── GAME LOGIC (clay) — queued VRAM commits ─────────────────────────────────
+ * Two-phase update, mirroring the shadow-OAM discipline: game logic only
+ * sets hud_dirty / msg_stage. stage_hud() (full-frame time) does the digit
+ * math into hud_q; commit_vram() (vblank time) copies bytes — and commits
+ * AT MOST ONE queued item per vblank. The budget after the OAM DMA
+ * (~165 cycles of the ~1140) fits one item comfortably; committing
+ * everything at once on a busy frame (game over = lives digit + two text
+ * lines) overruns into mode 3, where the PPU locks VRAM and the writes
+ * are silently discarded — the shmup harness caught exactly that as
+ * half-missing GAME OVER text. One item per frame = zero dropped bytes,
+ * and a frame of HUD latency nobody can see. */
+static uint8_t hud_q[11];       /* 5 score digits, 5 hi digits, lives tile */
+static uint8_t hud_ready;
+
+static void stage_hud(void) {
+  if (!hud_dirty) return;
+  hud_dirty = 0;
+  u16_to_tiles(score, hud_q);
+  u16_to_tiles(hiscore, hud_q + 5);
+  hud_q[10] = (uint8_t)(T_DIGIT0 + lives);
+  hud_ready = 1;
+}
+
+/* Copy `len` tiles into BG-map `row` starting at `col`, wrapping at the
+ * map's 32-column seam (the game-over text is scroll-anchored, so it can
+ * straddle the wrap). Two straight pointer-walk runs — no dst[i] indexing
+ * through a VRAM pointer (the SDCC footgun, see the VRAM helpers note). */
+static void commit_row_wrapped(uint8_t row, uint8_t col, const uint8_t *q, uint8_t len) {
+  uint8_t *base = BG_MAP_0 + (uint16_t)row * 32;
+  uint8_t *p = base + col;
+  uint8_t n = (uint8_t)(32 - col);
+  if (n > len) n = len;
+  len -= n;
+  while (n--) *p++ = *q++;
+  p = base;
+  while (len--) *p++ = *q++;
+}
+
+static void commit_vram(void) {
+  uint8_t i;
+  uint8_t *p;
+  const uint8_t *q;
+  if (hud_ready) {                            /* item 1: HUD digits */
+    hud_ready = 0;
+    p = WIN_MAP + 32 + 3;  q = hud_q;      for (i = 0; i < 5; i++) *p++ = *q++;
+    p = WIN_MAP + 32 + 12; q = hud_q + 5;  for (i = 0; i < 5; i++) *p++ = *q++;
+    *(WIN_MAP + 32 + 19) = hud_q[10];
+    return;
+  }
+  if (msg_stage == 2) {                       /* item 2: GAME OVER line */
+    msg_stage = 1;
+    commit_row_wrapped(5, msg_col, msg_q, 9);
+    return;
+  }
+  if (msg_stage == 1) {                       /* item 3: PRESS START line */
+    msg_stage = 0;
+    commit_row_wrapped(7, (uint8_t)((msg_col + 31) & 31), msg_q + 9, 11);
+  }
+}
+
+void main(void) {
+  uint8_t pad;
+
+  /* ── HARDWARE IDIOM (load-bearing — reshape gameplay around this; see TROUBLESHOOTING) ──
+   * Boot order. Three load-bearing calls, in this order:
+   *   1. lcd_init_default() — sane LCD state AND it installs the OAM-DMA
+   *      stub into HRAM ($FF80). During OAM DMA the CPU can only fetch
+   *      from HRAM; the broken alternative (spinning in ROM) fetches $FF
+   *      = rst $38 and corrupts the stack — the classic "sprites never
+   *      show / game dies after a while" GB death. Every oam_dma_flush()
+   *      below depends on this stub existing.
+   *   2. enable_vblank_irq() — flips wait_vblank() from LY-polling to
+   *      HALT-until-vblank-IRQ. The polling fallback runs at ~1/30 speed
+   *      on the WASM emulator; the HALT path is full speed everywhere.
+   *   3. LCD off (inside vblank) for the bulk VRAM uploads — tiles, font,
+   *      first screen — then back on. VRAM is only freely writable with
+   *      the LCD off or during vblank/hblank windows. */
+  lcd_init_default();
+  enable_vblank_irq();
+  sound_init();
+
+  wait_vblank();
+  LCDC = 0;                     /* LCD off — free VRAM access from here */
+
+  upload_tile(0, tile_blank);
+  upload_tile(T_PLAYER, tile_player);
+  upload_tile(T_JUMP,   tile_player_jump);
+  upload_tile(T_COIN,   tile_coin);
+  upload_tile(T_SPIKE,  tile_spike);
+  upload_tile(T_SKY,    tile_sky);
+  upload_tile(T_CLOUD,  tile_cloud);
+  upload_tile(T_DIRT,   tile_dirt);
+  upload_tile(T_GRASS,  tile_grass);
+  upload_tile(T_PLAT,   tile_plat);
+  upload_tile(T_HUDBAR, tile_hudbar);
+  upload_font();
+
+  /* DMG palettes (2 bits per colour index, low bits = index 0):
+   * BGP $E4 → 0=white (sky) 1=light 2=dark (dirt) 3=black (text/turf).
+   * OBP0 $1C → player: body black, eyes white.
+   * OBP1 $C4 → coins light grey with black ring; spikes black. */
+  BGP  = 0xE4;
+  OBP0 = 0x1C;
+  OBP1 = 0xC4;
+
+  /* Window position — set once; LCDC bit 5 decides if it shows. */
+  WX = 7;                       /* the +7 quirk: 7 = screen left edge */
+  WY = PLAY_H;                  /* HUD owns lines 128-143 */
+
+  record = hiscore_load();      /* battery SRAM — 0 on first boot */
+  hiscore = record;
+  state = ST_TITLE;
+  paint_title();
+  oam_clear();
+  LCDC = LCDC_TITLE;
+
+  for (;;) {
+    /* ── full-frame work: input, game state, shadow-OAM staging ── */
+    pad = joypad_read();
+
+    if (state == ST_TITLE) {
+      if ((pad & PAD_START) && !(prev_pad & PAD_START)) start_game();
+      else if ((pad & PAD_A) && !(prev_pad & PAD_A))    start_game();
+      prev_pad = pad;
+    } else if (state == ST_PLAY) {
+      if (respawn_pause) {       /* ready-blink: freeze gameplay, stay honest */
+        --respawn_pause;
+        prev_pad = pad;
+      } else {
+        update_play(pad);
+        prev_pad = pad;
+      }
+    } else { /* ST_OVER — freeze the field; START/A returns to title */
+      if ((pad & (PAD_START | PAD_A)) && !(prev_pad & (PAD_START | PAD_A))) {
+        state = ST_TITLE;
+        repaint_with_lcd_off(1);
+      }
+      prev_pad = pad;
+    }
+    stage_sprites();
+    stage_hud();                /* digit math out here, not in vblank */
+
+    /* ── HARDWARE IDIOM (load-bearing — reshape gameplay around this; see TROUBLESHOOTING) ──
+     * The vblank slice. wait_vblank() wakes at the START of vblank
+     * (~1140 cycles of safe OAM/VRAM access). Order is everything:
+     *   oam_dma_flush() FIRST — the DMA takes ~165 cycles and MUST finish
+     *     inside vblank; pushing it later (after VRAM writes that grow
+     *     over time) slides it into active display, where the PPU is
+     *     reading OAM = one frame of torn/invisible sprites, intermittent
+     *     and miserable to debug.
+     *   commit_vram() second — the few queued HUD/map bytes.
+     *   SCX last — scroll latches per-scanline, so writing it during
+     *     vblank (before line 0 renders) moves the WHOLE next frame
+     *     consistently; the window ignores it by design (the HUD idiom).
+     * Game logic above NEVER touches VRAM directly — it sets the dirty
+     * flags and shadow OAM, and this slice commits them. Keep that split
+     * when you reshape the game. */
+    wait_vblank();
+    oam_dma_flush();
+    commit_vram();
+    SCX = scroll_x;             /* title resets scroll_x to 0; over freezes it */
+    music_tick();
+  }
 }