Poryscript

Use the online Poryscript Playground to test it out.

Poryscript is a higher-level scripting language that compiles into the scripting language used in pokeemerald, pokefirered, and pokeruby. It makes scripting faster and easier. Some advantages of using Poryscript are:

1. Branching control flow with if, elif, else, while, do...while, and switch statements.
2. Inline text
3. Auto-formatting text to fit within the in-game text box
4. Better map script organization

View the Changelog to see what's new, and download the latest version from the Releases.

Table of Contents

• Usage
  • Convert Existing Scripts
• Poryscript Syntax (How to Write Scripts)
  • script Statement
    • Boolean Expressions
    • while and do...while Loops
    • Conditional Operators
    • Regular Commands
    • Early-Exiting a Script
    • switch Statement
    • Labels
  • text Statement
    • Automatic Text Formatting
    • Custom Text Encoding
  • movement Statement
  • mart Statement
  • mapscripts Statement
  • raw Statement
  • Comments
  • Constants
  • Scope Modifiers
  • Compile-Time Switches
  • Optimization
• Local Development
  • Building from Source
  • Running the tests
• Versioning
• License
• Acknowledgments

Usage

Poryscript is a command-line program. It reads an input script and outputs the resulting compiled bytecode script. You can either feed it the input script from a file or from stdin. Similarly, Poryscript can output a file or to stdout.

> ./poryscript -h
Usage of poryscript:
  -f string
        set default font id (leave empty to use default defined in font config file)
  -fc string
        font config JSON file (default "font_config.json")
  -h    show poryscript help information
  -i string
        input poryscript file (leave empty to read from standard input)
  -l int
        set default line length in pixels for formatted text (uses font config file for default)
  -o string
        output script file (leave empty to write to standard output)
  -optimize
        optimize compiled script size (To disable, use '-optimize=false') (default true)
  -s value
        set a compile-time switch. Multiple -s options can be set. Example: -s VERSION=RUBY -s LANGUAGE=GERMAN
  -v    show version of poryscript

Convert a .pory script to a compiled .inc script, which can be directly included in a decompilation project:

./poryscript -i data/scripts/myscript.pory -o data/scripts/myscript.inc

To automatically convert your Poryscript scripts when compiling a decomp project, perform these two steps:

1. Create a new tools/poryscript/ directory, and add the poryscript command-line executable tool to it. Also copy font_config.json to the same location.

# For example, on Windows, place the files here.
pokeemerald/tools/poryscript/poryscript.exe
pokeemerald/tools/poryscript/font_config.json

It's also a good idea to add tools/poryscript to your .gitignore before your next commit.

2. Update the Makefile with these changes (Note, don't add the + symbol at the start of the lines. That's just to show the line is being added.):

FIX := tools/gbafix/gbafix$(EXE)
MAPJSON := tools/mapjson/mapjson$(EXE)
JSONPROC := tools/jsonproc/jsonproc$(EXE)
+ SCRIPT := tools/poryscript/poryscript$(EXE)

mostlyclean: tidynonmodern tidymodern
	...
	rm -f $(AUTO_GEN_TARGETS)
	@$(MAKE) clean -C libagbsyscall
+	rm -f $(patsubst %.pory,%.inc,$(shell find data/ -type f -name '*.pory'))

%.s: ;
%.png: ;
%.pal: ;
%.aif: ;
+ %.pory: ;

sound/%.bin: sound/%.aif ; $(AIF) $< $@
+ data/%.inc: data/%.pory; $(SCRIPT) -i $< -o $@ -fc tools/poryscript/font_config.json

Convert Existing Scripts

If you're working on a large project, you may want to convert all of the existing scripts.inc files to their scripts.pory equivalents. Since there are a large number of script files in the Gen 3 projects, you can save yourself a lot of time by following these instructions. Again, this is completely optional, and you would only want to perform this bulk conversion if you're emabarking on large project where it would be useful to have all the existing scripts setup as Poryscript files.

Poryscript Syntax (How to Write Scripts)

A single .pory file is composed of many top-level statements. The valid top-level statements are script, text, movement, mart, mapscripts, and raw.

mapscripts MyMap_MapScripts {
    ...
}

script MyScript {
    ...
}

text MyText {
    "Hi, I'm some text.\n"
    "I'm global and can be accessed in C code."
}

movement MyMovement {
    walk_left
    walk_right * 3
}

mart MyMart {
    ITEM_POTION
    ITEM_POKEBALL
}

raw `
MyLocalText:
    .string "I'm directly included.$"
`

script Statement

The script statement creates a global script containing script commands and control flow logic. Here is an example:

script MyScript {
    # Show a different message, depending on the state of different flags.
    lock
    faceplayer
    if (flag(FLAG_RECEIVED_TOP_PRIZE)) {
        msgbox("You received the best prize!")
    } elif (flag(FLAG_RECEIVED_WORST_PRIZE)) {
        msgbox("Ouch, you received the worst prize.")
    } else {
        msgbox("Hmm, you didn't receive anything.")
    }
    release
    end
}

As you can see, using if statements greatly simplifies writing scripts because it does not require the author to manually define new sub-labels with goto statements everywhere.

if statements can be nested inside each other, as you would expect.

    if (flag(FLAG_TEMP) == true) {
        if (var(VAR_BADGES) < 8) {
            ...
        } else {
            ...
        }
    }

Note the special keyword elif. This is just the way Poryscript specifies an "else if". Many elif statements can be chained together.

Boolean Expressions

Compound boolean expressions are also supported. This means you can use the AND (&&) and OR (||) logical operators to combine expressions. For example:

    # Basic AND of two conditions.
    if (!defeated(TRAINER_MISTY) && var(VAR_TIME) != DAY) {
        msgbox("The Cerulean Gym's doors don't\n"
               "open until morning.")
    }
    ...
    # Group nested conditions together with another set of parentheses.
    if (flag(FLAG_IS_CHAMPION) && !(flag(FLAG_SYS_TOWER_GOLD) || flag(FLAG_SYS_DOME_GOLD))) {
        msgbox("You should try to beat the\n"
               "Battle Tower or Battle Dome!")
    }

while and do...while Loops

while statements are used to do loops. They can be nested inside each or inside if statements, as one would expect.

    # Force player to answer "Yes" to NPC question.
    msgbox("Do you agree to the quest?", MSGBOX_YESNO)
    while (var(VAR_RESULT) != 1) {
        msgbox("...How about now?", MSGBOX_YESNO)
    }
    setvar(VAR_QUEST_ACCEPTED, 1)

The while statement can also be written as an infinite loop by omitting the boolean expression. This would be equivalent to while(true) in typical programming languages. (Of course, you'll want to break out of the infinite loop, or hard-stop the script.)

    while {
        msgbox("Want to see this message again?", MSGBOX_YESNO)
        if (var(VAR_RESULT) != 1) {
            break
        }
    }

do...while statements are very similar to while statements. The only difference is that they always execute their body once before checking the condition.

    # Force player to answer "Yes" to NPC question.
    do {
        msgbox("Can you help me solve the puzzle?", MSGBOX_YESNO)
    } while (var(VAR_RESULT) == 0)

break can be used to break out of a loop, like many programming languages. Similary, continue returns to the start of the loop.

Conditional Operators

The condition operators have strict rules about what conditions they accept. The operand on the left side of the condition must be a flag(), var(), or defeated() check. They each have a different set of valid comparison operators, described below.

All operators support implicit truthiness, which means you don't have to specify any of the above operators in a condition. Below are some examples of equivalent conditions:

# Check if the flag is set.
if (flag(FLAG_1))
if (flag(FLAG_1) == true)

# Check if the flag is cleared.
if (!flag(FLAG_1))
if (flag(FLAG_1) == false)

# Check if the var is not equal to 0.
if (var(VAR_1))
if (var(VAR_1) != 0)

#Check if the var is equal to 0.
if (!var(VAR_1))
if (var(VAR_1) == 0)

# Check if the trainer has been defeated.
if (defeated(TRAINER_GARY))
if (defeated(TRAINER_GARY) == true)

# Check if the trainer hasn't been defeated.
if (!defeated(TRAINER_GARY))
if (defeated(TRAINER_GARY) == false)

When not using implicit truthiness, like in the above examples, they each have different valid comparison values on the right-hand side of the condition.

One quirk of the Gen 3 decomp scripting engine is that using the compare scripting command with a value in the range 0x4000 <= x <= 0x40FF or 0x8000 <= x <= 0x8015 will result in comparing against a var, rather than the raw value. To force the comparison against a raw value, like 0x4000, use the value() operator. For example:

if (var(VAR_DAMAGE_DEALT) >= value(0x4000))

The resulting script use the compare_var_to_value command, rather than the usual compare command.

Regular Commands

Regular non-branching commands that take arguments, such as msgbox, must wrap their arguments in parentheses. For example:

    lock
    faceplayer
    addvar(VAR_TALKED_COUNT, 1)
    msgbox("Hello.")
    release
    end

Early-Exiting a Script

Use end or return to early-exit out of a script.

script MyScript {
    if (flag(FLAG_WON) == true) {
        end
    }
    ...
}

switch Statement

A switch statement is an easy way to separate different logic for a set of concrete values. Poryscript switch statements behave similarly to other languages. However, the cases break implicitly. It is not possible to "fall through" to the next case by omitting a break at the end of a case, like in C. You can use break to break out of a case, though--it's just not required. Multiple cases can be designated by listing them immediately after another without a body. Finally, an optional default case will take over if none of the provided case values are met. A switch statement's comparison value must always be a var() operator. Of course, switch statements can appear anywhere in the script's logic, such as inside while loops, or even other switch statements.

    switch (var(VAR_NUM_THINGS)) {
        case 0:
            msgbox("You have 0 things.")
        case 1:
        case 2:
            msgbox("You have 1 or 2 things.")
        default:
            msgbox("You have at least 3 things.")
    }

Labels

Labels can be defined inside a script, and they are very similar to C's goto labels. A label isn't usually desired or needed when writing Poryscript scripts, but it can be useful and in certain situations where you might want to jump to a common part of your script from several different places. To write a label, simply add a colon (:) after a name anywhere inside a script. Labels are rendered as regular assembly labels, and they can be marked as local or global. By default, labels have local scope, but they can be changed to global scope using the same syntax as other statements (e.g. MyLabel(global):).

Label Example:

// Note, this is a bad example of where a
// label would be useful.
script MyScript {
    lockall
    if (flag(FLAG_TEST)) {
        goto(MyScript_End)
    } elif (flag(FLAG_OTHER_TEST)) {
        addvar(VAR_SCORE, 1)
        goto(MyScript_End)
    }

MyScript_End:
    releaseall
}

text Statement

Use text to include text that's intended to be shared between multiple scripts or in C code. The text statement is just a convenient way to write chunks of text, and it exports the text globally, so it is accessible in C code. Currently, there isn't much of a reason to use text, but it will be more useful in future updates of Poryscript.

script MyScript {
    msgbox(MyText)
}

text MyText {
    "Hello, there.\p"
    "You can refer to me in scripts or C code."
}

A small quality-of-life feature is that Poryscript automatically adds the $ terminator character to text, so the user doesn't need to manually type it all the time.

Automatic Text Formatting

Text auto-formatting is also supported by Poryscript. The format() function can be wrapped around any text, either inline or text, and Poryscript will automatically fit the text to the size of the in-game text window by inserting automatic line breaks. A simple example:

msgbox(format("Hello, this is some long text that I want Poryscript to automatically format for me."))

Becomes:

.string "Hello, this is some long text that I\n"
.string "want Poryscript to automatically\l"
.string "format for me.$"

Like other text, formatted text can span multiple lines if you use a new set of quotes for each line. You can also manually add your own line breaks (\p, \n, \l), and it will still work as expected.

text MyText {
    format("Hello, are you the real-live legendary {PLAYER} that everyone talks about?\p"
           "Amazing!\pSo glad to meet you!")
}

Becomes:

.string "Hello, are you the real-live legendary\n"
.string "{PLAYER} that everyone talks about?\p"
.string "Amazing!\p"
.string "So glad to meet you!$"

The font id can optionally be specified as the second parameter to format().

text MyText {
    format("Hello, are you the real-live legendary {PLAYER} that everyone talks about?\pAmazing!\pSo glad to meet you!", "1_latin_rse")
}

Becomes:

.string "Hello, are you the real-live legendary\n"
.string "{PLAYER} that everyone talks about?\p"
.string "Amazing!\p"
.string "So glad to meet you!$"

The font configuration JSON file informs Poryscript how many pixels wide each character in the message is, as well as setting a default maximum line length. Fonts have different character widths, and games have different text box sizes. For convenience, Poryscript comes with font_config.json, which contains the configuration for pokeemerald's 1_latin font as 1_latin_rse, as well as pokefirered's equivalent as 1_latin_frlg. More fonts can be added to this file by simply creating anothing font id node under the fonts key in font_config.json.

The length of a line can optionally be specified as the third parameter to format() if a font id was specified as the second parameter.

text MyText {
    format("Hello, are you the real-live legendary {PLAYER} that everyone talks about?\pAmazing!\pSo glad to meet you!", "1_latin_rse", 100)
}

Becomes:

.string "Hello, are you the\n"
.string "real-live\l"
.string "legendary\l"
.string "{PLAYER} that\l"
.string "everyone talks\l"
.string "about?\p"
.string "Amazing!\p"
.string "So glad to meet\n"
.string "you!$"

Custom Text Encoding

When Poryscript compiles text, the resulting text content is rendered using the .string assembler directive. The decomp projects' build process then processes those .string directives and substituted the string characters with the game-specific text representation. It can be useful to specify different types of strings, though. For example, implementing print-debugging commands might make use of ASCII text. Poryscript allows you to specify which assembler directive to use for text. Simply add the directive as a prefix to the string content like this:

ascii"My ASCII string."
custom"My Custom string."

// compiles to...
.ascii "My ASCII string.\0"
.custom "My Custom string."

Note that Poryscript will automatically add the \0 suffix character to ASCII strings. It will not add suffix to any other directives.

movement Statement

Use movement statements to conveniently define movement data that is typically used with the applymovement command. * can be used as a shortcut to repeat a single command many times. Data defined with movement is created with local scope, not global.

script MyScript {
    lock
    applymovement(2, MyMovement)
    waitmovement(0)
    release
}
movement MyMovement {
    walk_left
    walk_up * 5
    face_down
}

Becomes:

MyScript::
	lock
	applymovement 2, MyMovement
	waitmovement 0
	release
	return

MyMovement:
	walk_left
	walk_up
	walk_up
	walk_up
	walk_up
	walk_up
	face_down
	step_end

mart Statement

Use mart statements to define a list of items for use with the pokemart command. Data defined with the mart statement is created with local scope by default. It is not neccesary to add ITEM_NONE to the end of the list, but if Poryscript encounters it, any items after it will be ignored.

script ScriptWithPokemart {
	lock
	message("Welcome to my store.")
	waitmessage
	pokemart(MyMartItems)
	msgbox("Come again soon.")
	release
}

mart MyMartItems {
	ITEM_LAVA_COOKIE
	ITEM_MOOMOO_MILK
	ITEM_RARE_CANDY
	ITEM_LEMONADE
	ITEM_BERRY_JUICE
}

Becomes:

ScriptWithPokemart::
	lock
	message ScriptWithPokemart_Text_0
	waitmessage
	pokemart MyMartItems
	msgbox ScriptWithPokemart_Text_1
	release
	return

	.align 2
MyMartItems:
	.2byte ITEM_LAVA_COOKIE
	.2byte ITEM_MOOMOO_MILK
	.2byte ITEM_RARE_CANDY
	.2byte ITEM_LEMONADE
	.2byte ITEM_BERRY_JUICE
	.2byte ITEM_NONE

ScriptWithPokemart_Text_0:
	.string "Welcome to my store.$"

ScriptWithPokemart_Text_1:
	.string "Come again soon.$"

mapscripts Statement

Use mapscripts to define a set of map script definitions. Scripts can be inlined for convenience, or a label to another script can simply be specified. Some map script types, like MAP_SCRIPT_ON_FRAME_TABLE, require a list of comparison variables and scripts to execute when the variable's value is equal to some value. In these cases, you use brackets [] to specify that list of scripts. Below is a full example showing map script definitions for a new map called MyNewCity:

mapscripts MyNewCity_MapScripts {
    MAP_SCRIPT_ON_RESUME: MyNewCity_OnResume
    MAP_SCRIPT_ON_TRANSITION {
        random(2)
        switch (var(VAR_RESULT)) {
            case 0: setweather(WEATHER_ASH)
            case 1: setweather(WEATHER_RAIN_HEAVY)
        }
    }
    MAP_SCRIPT_ON_FRAME_TABLE [
        VAR_TEMP_0, 0: MyNewCity_OnFrame_0
        VAR_TEMP_0, 1 {
            lock
            msgbox("This script is inlined.")
            setvar(VAR_TEMP_0, 2)
            release
        }
    ]
}

script MyNewCity_OnResume {
    ...
}

script MyNewCity_OnFrame_0 {
    ...
}

For maps with no map scripts, simply make an empty mapscripts statement:

mapscripts MyNewCity_MapScripts {}

raw Statement

Use raw to include raw bytecode script. Anything in a raw statement will be directly included into the compiled script. This is useful for defining custom data, or data types not supported in regular Poryscript.

raw `
TestMap_MapScripts::
	.byte 0
`

script MyScript {
    lock
    faceplayer
    # Text can span multiple lines. Use a new set of quotes for each line.
    msgbox("This is shorter text,\n"
           "but we can still put it\l"
           "on multiple lines.")
    applymovement(OBJ_EVENT_ID_PLAYER, MyScript_Movement)
    waitmovement(0)
    msgbox(MyScript_LongText)
    release
    end
}

raw `
MyScript_Movement:
    walk_left
    walk_down
    step_end

MyScript_LongText:
    .string "Hi, there.\p"
    .string "This text is too long\n"
    .string "to inline above.\p"
    .string "We'll put it down here\n"
    .string "instead, so it's out of\l"
    .string "the way.$"
`

Comments

Use single-line comments with # or //. Everything after the # or // will be ignored. Comments cannot be placed in a raw statement. (Users who wish to run the C preprocessor on Poryscript files should use // comments to avoid conflict with C preprocessor directives that use the # character.)

# This script does some cool things.
script MyScript {
    // This is also a valid comment.
    ...
}

Constants

Use const to define constants that can be used in the current script. This is especially useful for giving human-friendly names to event object ids, or temporary flags. Constants must be defined before they are used. Constants can also be composed of previously-defined constants.

const PROF_BIRCH_ID = 3
const ASSISTANT_ID = PROF_BIRCH_ID + 1
const FLAG_GREETED_BIRCH = FLAG_TEMP_2

script ProfBirchScript {
    applymovement(PROF_BIRCH_ID, BirchMovementData)
    showobject(ASSISTANT_ID)
    setflag(FLAG_GREETED_BIRCH)
}

Note that these constants are not a general macro system. They can only be used in certain places in Poryscript syntax. Below is an example of all possible places where constants can be substituted into the script:

const CONSTANT = 1

mapscripts MyMapScripts {
    MAP_SCRIPT_ON_FRAME_TABLE [
        // The operand and comparison values can both use constants in a
        // table-based map script.
        CONSTANT, CONSTANT: MyOnFrameScript_0
    ]
}

script MyScript {
    // Any parameter of any command can use constants.
    somecommand(CONSTANT)

    // Any comparison operator can use constants, as well as their comparison values.
    if (flag(CONSTANT)) {}
    if (var(CONSTANT) == CONSTANT) {}
    if (defeated(CONSTANT)) {}

    // A switch var value can be a constant, as well as the individual cases.
    switch (var(CONSTANT)) {
        case CONSTANT: break
    }
}

Scope Modifiers

To control whether a script should be global or local, a scope modifier can be specified. This is supported for script, text, movement, and mapscripts. In this context, "global" means that the label will be defined with two colons ::. Local scopes means one colon :.

script(global) MyGlobalScript {
    ...
}
script(local) MyLocalScript {
    ...
}

Becomes:

MyGlobalScript::
    ...

MyLocalScript:
    ...

The top-level statements have different default scopes. They are as follows:

Compile-Time Switches

Use the poryswitch statement to change compiler behavior depending on custom switches. This makes it easy to make scripts behave different depending on, say, the GAME_VERSION or LANGUAGE. Any content that does not match the compile-time switch will not be included in the final output. To define custom switches, use the -s option when running poryscript. You can specify multiple switches, and each key/value pair must be separated by an equals sign. For example:

./poryscript -i script.pory -o script.inc -s GAME_VERSION=RUBY -s LANGUAGE=GERMAN

The poryswitch statement can be embedded into any script section, including text, movement, and mart statements. The underscore _ case is used as the fallback, if none of the other cases match. Cases that only contain a single statement or command can be started with a colon :. Otherwise, use curly braces to define the case's block.

Here are some examples of compile-time switches. This assumes that two compile-time switches are defined, GAME_VERSION and LANGUAGE.

script MyScript {
    lock
    faceplayer
    poryswitch(GAME_VERSION) {
        RUBY {
            msgbox("Here, take this Ruby Orb.")
            giveitem(ITEM_RUBY_ORB)
        }
        SAPPHIRE {
            msgbox("Here, take this Sapphire Orb.")
            giveitem(ITEM_SAPPHIRE_ORB)
        }
        _: msgbox(format("This case is used when GAME_VERSION doesn't match either of the above."))
    }
    release
}

text MyText {
    poryswitch(LANGUAGE) {
        GERMAN:  "Hallo. Ich spreche Deutsch."
        ENGLISH: "Hello. I speak English."
    }
}

movement MyMovement {
    face_player
    walk_down
    poryswitch(GAME_VERSION) {
        RUBY: walk_left * 2
        SAPPHIRE {
            walk_right * 2
            walk_left * 4
        }
    }
}

mart MyMart {
    ITEM_POTION
    ITEM_POKEBALL
    poryswitch(GAME_VERSION) {
        RUBY {
            ITEM_LAVA_COOKIE
            ITEM_RED_SCARF
        }
        SAPPHIRE {
            ITEM_FRESH_WATER
            ITEM_BLUE_SCARF
        }
    }
}

Note, poryswitch can also be embedded inside inlined mapscripts scripts.

Optimization

By default, Poryscript produces optimized output. It attempts to minimize the number of goto commands and unnecessary script labels. To disable optimizations, pass the -optimize=false option to poryscript.

Local Development

These instructions will get you setup and working with Poryscript's code. You can either build the Poryscript tool from source, or simply download the latest release from the Releases tab on GitHub.

Building from Source

First, install Go. Poryscript has no additional dependencies. It uses Go modules, so you shouldn't need to be located in a Go workspace.

Navigate to the Poryscript working directory, and build it:

cd your/path/to/poryscript
go build

This will create a poryscript executable binary in the same directory. Then you can simply install it into your project by running ./install.sh ../yourprojectname instead of manually copying the files over, similarly to how agbcc is installed into projects.

Running the tests

Poryscript has automated tests for its emitter, parser, and lexer packages. To run all of the tests from the base directory:

> go test ./...
?       github.com/huderlem/poryscript  [no test files]
?       github.com/huderlem/poryscript/ast      [no test files]
ok      github.com/huderlem/poryscript/emitter  0.523s
ok      github.com/huderlem/poryscript/lexer    0.273s
ok      github.com/huderlem/poryscript/parser   0.779s
?       github.com/huderlem/poryscript/token    [no test files]

Versioning

Poryscript uses Semantic Versioning. For the available versions, see the tags on this repository.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE.md file for details

Acknowledgments

• Thorsten Ball's Writing An Interpreter In Go helped bootstrap the lexer, AST, and parser for this project. A chunk of that code was derived and/or copied from that book, as I had never written something of this nature before.