Configuring a Project

Amphora uses a combination of plain-text configuration files and headers to control game setup. These files can be found in config.

Config.h: Sets default window values, as well as the game name and author, and the API version.
Keymap.txt: Defines the default keymap for the game.
Colors.txt: Defines custom colors for use in your game.
Resources.txt: Defines the resources that will be loaded into the game.
SceneList.txt: Defines the scenes that will be loaded into the game.

The plain text files follow a simple macro-like syntax and are parsed at build time.

Default Keymap

To set your default keymap, define each key in the Keymap.txt file as follows:

KMAP(action, key, gamepad_button)

For each KMAP line, action is the name of the action being defined (ie. jump, dash, etc.). The key will be the name of the key as it exists in SDL's SDLK_* enum, without the SDLK_ prefix. The gamepad_button follows the same pattern as the key, but with SDL's SDL_CONTROLLER_BUTTON_* enum.

An example completed keymap section could look as follows:

KMAP(jump, SPACE, A)
KMAP(dash, LSHIFT, B)
KMAP(left, a, DPAD_LEFT)
KMAP(right, d, DPAD_RIGHT)
KMAP(up, w, DPAD_UP)
KMAP(down, s, DPAD_DOWN)

Note that this only sets the default keymap, it is possible to remap keys, and the procedure for doing so is documented later on in the manual.

Custom Colors

The Colors.txt file provides an easy place to define custom colors for use in your game. It follows a similar pattern as the keymap, where each color line looks as follows:

COLOR(name, red, green, blue)

A completed colors section could look like so:

COLOR(Black, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00)
COLOR(White, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff)
COLOR(Red, 0xff, 0x00, 0x00)
COLOR(Green, 0x00, 0xff, 0x00)
COLOR(Blue, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff)
COLOR(Sky, 0x87, 0xce, 0xeb)

These colors can then be referenced by name within the Amphora::Colors namespace anywhere in your game that calls for an AmphoraColor.

For example:

Amphora::SetBG(Amphora::Colors::Sky);

30 April 2025