GlitchyGames Engine

Development

It's recommended to use pyenv or a venv for development.

To set up a local development environment:

Linux/macOS Virtual Environment

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/scripts/activate

Windows Virtual Environment

python3 -m venv venv
venv/Scripts/activate

Install Development Package

Once you have an environment created, link the local source tree with pip.

pip install -e .

High-resolution draw-loop timers

The engine supports two pacing backends for the render loop:

• pygame (default): uses pygame.time.delay/get_ticks.
• fast: uses time.perf_counter_ns() with a sleep+spin hybrid for tighter pacing.

CLI options (inherited by all games):

• --timer-backend=pygame|fast
  • Selects the pacing backend (default: pygame).
• --sleep-granularity-ns=<int>
  • Minimum sleep granularity in nanoseconds for the fast backend.
  • Default: 1000000 (1 ms). Set to 0 to uncap (spin-only last mile).
• --windows-timer-1ms
  • On Windows, request 1 ms system timer resolution via WinMM while running (power impact; off by default).
• --log-timer-jitter
  • Periodically logs jitter statistics (p50/p95/p99/max) for the last frames.

Examples:

# Default behavior (pygame backend)
python -m glitchygames.tools.bitmappy --timer-backend=pygame

# High-precision pacing with 1 ms granularity
python -m glitchygames.tools.bitmappy --timer-backend=fast --sleep-granularity-ns=1000000

# Fully uncap (no pacing) – combine with target fps 0
python -m glitchygames.tools.bitmappy --target-fps=0

# Windows: enable 1 ms resolution
python -m glitchygames.tools.bitmappy --timer-backend=fast --windows-timer-1ms

# Debug jitter stats
python -m glitchygames.tools.bitmappy --timer-backend=fast --log-timer-jitter