Version 1.01.DONE - board-tested on the Tang Primer 20K Dock + 5" LCD. Final release for this FPGA (chip is full).
This is my very first FPGA design, and I built it in just a few days.
AI helped with Verilog edits and GitHub updates. I owned the architecture, bring-up plan, game rules, trade-offs, and the call to stop at 1.01.DONE when the chip was full.
There were many trade-offs in this design, and these choices led to the path I took.
I drew inspiration from the classic, without copying it, to bring a modern FPGA take into the light.
Original HDL game inspired by the 1977 Space Wars arcade (sun, thrust, shots) - not a ROM dump.
You fly the diamond-shaped ship (green) and AI flies a wedge-shaped ship (yellow).
AI hunts and shoots at you, and is more aggressive as time goes on.
Vector outlines, orange sun / black hole, bounce walls, scores, fuel, and a countdown.
Play now (web)
Launch the playable web version
Open that link to run the game in your browser (no install, no FPGA board).
Attract demo starts on load - press Fire (Space / K) for a 1:30 match.
Ships
On the LCD, outlines match these roles:
| Ship | Who | Outline on LCD |
|---|---|---|
| Diamond | Player | Bright green |
| Wedge | AI | Bright yellow |
Left: Diamond (you). Right: Wedge (AI). Thrust flame is drawn from mid-hull in-game.
Hyperspace flashes the Diamond red/green for about 1.5 s. Shots render white.
Hardware
| Item | Used here |
|---|---|
| Board | Sipeed Tang Primer 20K Dock |
| FPGA | Gowin GW2A-LV18PG256C8/I7 (GW2A-18C), 46 BSRAM |
| Display | 5" 800x480 RGB LCD (RGB565; 5 px rim - black normally, red in black-hole mode) |
| Clock | 27 MHz on H11 -> rPLL 33 MHz pixel clock |
| Tools | Gowin FPGA Designer (synthesize / program) |
DIP1 down enables the core (required for flash / run).
DIP5 up = normal attract; DIP5 down = attract test mode
You fly the Diamond; the AI Wedge is frozen, but you can still fly and shoot.
Keys are active-low. Dock buttons and DIP2-5 use a 1.5 V bank (LVCMOS15); LCD, clock, and reset use 3.3 V (LVCMOS33).
| Control | Pin | Action |
|---|---|---|
| S0 | T10 | Hyperspace |
| S1 | T3 | Rotate left |
| S2 | T2 | Rotate right |
| S3 | D7 | Thrust |
| S4 | C7 | Fire / start match |
| DIP5 | T5 | Attract test when down (up = normal) |
FPGA reset is PLL lock only (no button reset).
Hyperspace: vanish ~1 s -> random warp -> ~1.5 s red/green flash at ~10 Hz with spawn invulnerability.
Board bring-up / debug
I brought this up in steps on the Tang Primer 20K Dock + LCD.
I started from a color-bar test on the LCD and drew a 5-pixel box around the active area.
Once pixel timing was solid, I designed a ship, moved it on screen, and found I needed a framebuffer to hold the playfield.
As the game grew, I added test points and wrote checks in the HDL to catch broken behavior early.
To validate game rules without a full fight, I needed the AI off my back - DIP5 down freezes the AI Wedge so I can fly, shoot, and exercise hyperspace alone; DIP5 up restores normal attract / match AI.
When the LCD looks wrong, I still debug by layer: timing and video first, then motion/buffer, then rules and AI, then HUD/scanout.
Known-good savepoints and Gowin util / timing reports are the budget check.
This release is board-validated even though static timing does not close at 33 MHz.
