In this in-depth tutorial, Jeff from Programmer Vs World walks us through a practical and entertaining look at SuperBasic mouse support on the Foenix F256K2. This 8-bit-inspired powerhouse continues to surprise, especially when it comes to integrating modern peripherals like the humble PS/2 mouse.
The video explores exactly how to harness SuperBasic mouse support without touching assembly. Jeff demonstrates the native MOUSE and MDELTA commands, showing how to capture cursor positions, button clicks, and scroll wheel movement in real time. Whether you’re dabbling in GUI experiments or game input, this video makes it clear: SuperBasic is more capable than it lets on.
But that’s not all—Jeff goes deeper, uncovering memory addresses like D6E0, D6E2, and D6E4, which control the built-in mouse pointer. By poking values into these addresses, he activates and positions the hardware cursor, sidestepping the need to draw custom sprites for basic functionality. He even finds a clever workaround to manage 640×480 mouse input in a 320×240 video mode—just multiply by two!
One of the standout takeaways from this video is the balance Jeff strikes between fun experimentation and technical clarity. He doesn’t just show SuperBasic mouse support in action—he openly shares his thought process, mistakes, and fixes. It’s honest coding in real-time, and that’s what makes the tutorial so accessible.
You’ll also learn how to clean up your code using indirect memory references, smooth cursor updates with event timers, and enable click-based drawing routines. By the end, you’re not just watching a mouse move—you’re thinking about how you might implement your own interactive tools or games on the F256K2.
Whether you’re a retro dev, BASIC purist, or someone just curious about the F256K2’s modern flexibility, this video gives you the tools and ideas to get started. And if you’ve ever wanted a mouse to work on a system that looks like it belongs in 1984 but behaves like 2025… Jeff’s got your back.
