Controls and the screen
Controls
| Key / button | What it does |
|---|---|
| F5 / Run button | Run Poncho's program (works even while typing) |
| F6 / Stop button | Stop the program |
| Pause / Step / Continue buttons | Debug a running program: pause before the next line, run one line at a time, or run on to the next breakpoint (see Debugging) |
| Tab / Enter (while typing) | Accept the autocomplete suggestion. It pops up after 2 letters (or Ctrl+Space): commands Poncho knows with their inputs, constants like North and Corn, your own variables and functions, keywords. Greyed-out entries are commands he hasn't learned yet, with the manual or perk that teaches them |
| I | Bag and Shop |
| B | Workbench (install/remove hardware) |
| C | Crafting bench (salvage, craft, enchant) |
| P | Perk tree |
| N | Grandpa's Notebook (what to do next) |
| M | Soil map overlay: pH, N, P, K (Soil Science perk) |
| F2 | How-to-play quick reference |
| Esc | Close the open panel; otherwise the menu (Resume, Save, Load, Settings, Quit) |
| Mouse wheel or = / − | Zoom the map in / out |
| WASD / arrows, middle-drag | Look around the map (not while typing in the editor) |
| F | Camera follows Poncho (press again to go back to the full view) |
| L / Land button | Land map: see the valley and buy plots |
| H / Build button | Build mode: paths, fences, decorations (see Building) |
| Bike to the Ruins / Bike home | Travel. Pick a depth in the ruins. Stops the running program. |
| Pause, x1 x2 x4… (bottom-left) | Pause or speed up time (single-player only) |
| Click a tile in Poncho's sensor grid | Inserts move_by(dx, dy) to that tile into your program |
| Text / Blocks tabs (code panel) | Switch between typing code and drag-and-drop blocks (same program; Text unlocks with Grandpa's Typing Manual). In Blocks, whatever sits inside a loop or if hangs under it, joined by a coloured rail |
| Hover a bag slot | Item details; parts compare against what's installed |
| Click a Syntax Manual in the bag | Poncho reads it and learns new commands |
The game autosaves. Esc → Save / Load saves by hand.
Screen layout
- Top-left status bar: potatoes, seeds, CPU speed, Heat bar, Mood, game speed.
-
Right side: the code editor (with a
used / max linescounter) and the chat log, where Poncho talks,print()output appears, loot is announced and errors are explained. - While a program runs, the editor is locked and the line Poncho is running is highlighted.