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 tile lookup from the map¶

The Lua API cannot read individual tile values from the map editor. You cannot query “what tile is at position (x, y)?” from your Lua code.

Workaround: Maintain a Lua table that mirrors your map layout for collision and gameplay queries. See the Build a Platformer Game tutorial for a complete example.

-- Mirror your map tiles as collision rectangles
platforms = {
  { x = 0, y = 168, w = 320, h = 8 },
  { x = 72, y = 136, w = 40, h = 8 },
}

No collision queries¶

There are no built-in collision detection functions. You must implement overlap checks yourself.

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 sound playback from Lua¶

The Sound Editor exists in the interface, but there are no Lua functions to trigger sound effects or music playback during gameplay.

Status: Sound playback functions are planned for a future update.

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