Software Installation¶
This guide assumes that you are familiar with running MicroPython on an ESP32 as detailed in the official MicroPython documentation. In particular, you need to know how to transfer files to the board using WebREPL, pyboard.py, or third-party tools such as rshell or ampy. Unlike other PewPew devices using a SAMD microcontroller, PicoPew cannot appear as a USB drive.
Firmware¶
No special firmware is needed to run PewPew programs. The stock MicroPython firmware that TinyPICOs ship with works fine, as do the official MicroPython releases.
Libraries¶
Download the PicoPew software from GitHub. If you are familiar with Git, you may clone it, otherwise use the Download ZIP option under the Code button.
Copy the files from the lib folder (pew.py, random.py, time.py) to the /lib/ folder on the TinyPICO. (You may need to create it using import os; os.mkdir('/lib') on the REPL, and if you are using the HTML WebREPL client, change to it using os.chdir('/lib').)
pew.py is the Pew library, the other two files are CircuitPython compatibility libraries that add some functions commonly used by PewPew games that are not present in MicroPython.
Programs and Games¶
The PicoPew software includes some optional programs in the programs folder:
circles.py,roll.py: Non-interactive demos of the 256-color capability of the PicoPew display.tint.py: Lets you choose a color scheme for 4-color PewPew programs – either red-green as on a PewPew Lite FeatherWing or shades of one color as on a PewPew Standalone.
It is recommended to install main.py from the game-menu repository. Place it in the root of the filesystem. It will present you a menu of all .py files in the filesystem root when the device is turned on. Use the up and down buttons to move, O to select, and left and right to adjust the display brightness.
Several example games are available in the game- repositories, often both fun to play and instructive to read. Start with snake, which is particularly simple. Maze3D is one of the first to take advantage of the 256-color display.
To manage WiFi networks, you may find Network Setup useful.
Any PewPew program should work on PicoPew as long as it is written in the common subset of CircuitPython and MicroPython. Programs that use CircuitPython-specific functionality, in particular GPIOs or other hardware access, will require some porting or additions to the compatibility libraries.