pyxen.time

Access frame-based timing information from the engine.

See also: Game Loop.

time = pyxen.time

The time module provides:

• Current frame number
• Frames per second
• Delta time
• Elapsed time

All properties are read-only.

Properties

frame

current_frame = pyxen.time.frame

• Starts at 0
• Increments every frame
• Useful for frame-based logic

Example:

if pyxen.time.frame % 60 == 0:
    print("One second passed (at 60 FPS)")

fps

fps = pyxen.time.fps

Returns the engine’s frames per second.

Example:

print("Running at", pyxen.time.fps, "FPS")

dt (Delta Time)

delta = pyxen.time.dt

Equivalent to:

1.0 / pyxen.time.fps

Represents the duration of a single frame in seconds.

Useful for frame-rate independent movement:

player.x += speed * pyxen.time.dt

t (Elapsed Time)

elapsed = pyxen.time.t

Equivalent to:

pyxen.time.frame / pyxen.time.fps

Represents total time since the game started (in seconds).

Example:

if pyxen.time.t > 10:
    spawn_boss()

Frame-Based vs Time-Based Logic

Frame-Based

if pyxen.time.frame % 30 == 0:
    blink()

Predictable and deterministic.

Time-Based

player.x += velocity * pyxen.time.dt

Independent of FPS changes.

Common Patterns

Animation Timer

if pyxen.time.t % 1.0 < 0.5:
    sprite.visible = True
else:
    sprite.visible = False

Cooldown Timer

if pyxen.time.t - last_shot_time > 0.25:
    shoot()
    last_shot_time = pyxen.time.t

Delayed Action (Frame-Based)

if pyxen.time.frame == 120:
    start_level()

Read-Only Safety

All properties are read-only:

pyxen.time.frame = 10  # ❌ Raises ValueError

The engine manages time state internally.

For more on the game loop, see Game Loop.