Cart Intro PNG

The cart_intro_png variable is used to specify what image to draw as the intro when entering a cartridge level, as well as the graphic used in the cartridge menu; this can be any graphic in the textures\ folder, even newly added ones. When specifying the filename, the ".png" file extension does not need to be specified and adding it will result in the game crashing when it attempts to load the the tileset. Furthermore, unlike other variable values in the tilesets file, the intro PNG filename is not case-sensitive. If no value is specified the game will default to using textures\titlecart.png as the intro graphic and textures\emptycart.png as the cartridge menu graphic.

The existing cartridge graphics are 160x90 pixels in size, scaled up to use a resolution of 1280x720 (a 16:9 aspect ratio). Cartridge graphics can be any size, but if they do not match the 16:9 aspect ratio, then the graphic will be displayed stretched and distorted. Furthermore, any number of colours is allowed in the PNG graphic, however, when rendered in-game the graphic will be limited to the colours in the chosen cart_intro_palette. Examples of both of these limitations can be seen below (the retro filter was disabled for easier and clearer viewing):

Cart Intro Colour Limitation The title background image used here has far fewer colours than the original PNG.

Cart Intro Size Limitation The square trophy image is stretched and distorted to fit the aspect ratio.

When creating new cart intro graphics, it is best to use similar greyscale colours to those used in the original cart graphics. This will allow for more accurate control over what pixels map to what palette colours. Below is a useful palette to use when drawing cart intros, with each colour mapping one-to-one with the respective columns of the palette that will be used for rendering the PNG:

Cart Intro Palette