Current Limitations¶

The Naucto Lua API is focused and growing. Here are the current limitations to be aware of when designing your games, along with recommended workarounds.

No collision queries¶

There are no built-in collision detection functions. You must implement overlap checks yourself. Use mget() and fget() when you want those checks to be driven by the tilemap and sprite flags.

Workaround: Use a simple AABB (axis-aligned bounding box) overlap function:

function overlaps(ax, ay, aw, ah, bx, by, bw, bh)
  return ax < bx + bw
     and ax + aw > bx
     and ay < by + bh
     and ay + ah > by
end

No delta time¶

The engine does not expose a delta time value. The game loop runs at a fixed frame rate, so movement values are per-frame rather than per-second.

Workaround: Tune your movement speeds, gravity, and jump forces as per-frame values. The platformer tutorial demonstrates this approach with values like speed = 1.8 and gravity = 0.30.

What works well today¶

Despite these limitations, the current API supports a wide range of games:

Sprite-based characters with animation
Arcade-style movement
Basic platformers
Top-down adventure games
Puzzle games
Simple action games
HUDs and debug overlays with rectangles and lines
Palette swap effects for visual variety
Tilemap-driven logic with mget() and sprite flags
Music playback from Sound Editor slots