#subpixels

it's make a terrible comic day! maybe i can't tell if it's today or yesterday

[Image ID: A screenshot of a room in Greenpath with several walls and floors highlighted. The wall directly to the left of the player is marked yellow, and the floor they are standing on is marked red. Below the red platform and leading to the right are two floors in a staircase shape. The one that is higher up is marked in blue, and the one that is lower is marked in green. /End ID]

You’re partway there–I use a simple lerp in mine! But there’s a few extra bits you’ll need.

I only know how to do this in GMS2 (though I’m certain you can do it in GMS1–it might be similar), so that’s what I’ll be talking about!

Smooth camera movement can be tricky in low-res games, and the reason is because it can’t go “in between” pixels. It will always round to the nearest pixel.

You’ll need two things:

1. Set up your game to use subpixels. 

Subpixels mean each of your in-game pixels will be made up of multiple pixels. You’ll need to enable the ability for at least your camera to move in between pixels.

2. Manually move the camera/view. 

If your camera is set to follow an object, it won’t take advantage of subpixels (even if the object itself does). You’ll need to set the view manually each step. 

This is actually not as hard as it sounds. I could write up a whole thing on how I do this in GMS2, but I’m just using PixelatedPope’s method… so best watch his video instead:

Note: if you’re using GMS1, OR if you want to understand resolution in GameMaker in general, check this playlist out, also from Pixelated Pope:

something stupid

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// ------ transcript ------

- tco is alone, sitting on the windows 10 taskbar. their spine ruffles in an absent breeze.

- the cursor is empty, for now, high above.

inspo & elements from: