Mechanic · combat · run and gun, shoot 'em up

Weapon pickup

An item that changes the player's gun when touched.

stubAlso: weapon item, power-up, falcon, weapon capsuleUpdated 2026-10-21
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A weapon pickup changes the gun the player fires. In Contra and Super C a touched item dispatches on its type: four guns replace the one held, R adds rapid fire, B gives a spell of invincibility, and the falcon destroys the enemies on screen1,2. The two differ on rapid fire. Contra keeps it when the new gun is the one already held, and Super C drops it on any gun2. Quake II keeps every gun taken, adding its ammo, and switches to a new one only the first time3.

  • ReplaceContra (1987). Falcons carry M, F, S, L, R, B, or a screen-clearing falcon; a new gun drops rapid fire unless it's the one held.1Super C (1990). Contra's seven item types, but a new gun always drops rapid fire.2
  • InventoryQuake II (1997). Every weapon taken stays in the inventory with its ammo; the player switches only to a new one, and in deathmatch only from the blaster.3

See also

Mentioned in

Games

GameYearHowNote
Contra1987Replacefalcons carry M, F, S, L, R, B, or a screen-clearing falcon; a new gun drops rapid fire unless it's the one held
Super C1990ReplaceContra's seven item types, but a new gun always drops rapid fire
Quake II1997Inventoryevery weapon taken stays in the inventory with its ammo; the player switches only to a new one, and in deathmatch only from the blaster
Every claim about this mechanic, by game (3)
Contra 1987Touching a weapon item in the US NES Contra adds 1,000 points and dispatches on the item's type: R sets the rapid-fire bit, M, F, S, and L replace the gun (keeping rapid fire only when the new gun is the one held), B starts an invincibility timer at $80 ($90 on level 7), and the falcon destroys the enemies on screen. A death resets the gun to the default.Code
Super C 1990The US NES Super C dispatches a weapon item on its type: M, S, L, and F replace the gun, R sets rapid fire, B sets an invincibility timer to $80, and the falcon destroys the enemies. A new gun drops rapid fire even when it's the gun already held, where Contra keeps it for the same gun.Code
Quake II 1997A Quake II weapon pickup adds the weapon to the player's inventory, which keeps every weapon taken, and gives that weapon's ammo with it unless the item carries the DROPPED_ITEM flag. The player switches to it only when it is the first of its kind carried, and in deathmatch only while the blaster is in hand. In coop, or in deathmatch with weapons-stay set, a player who already has the weapon can't take a placed one. A placed weapon picked up in deathmatch stays where it is with weapons-stay set and otherwise respawns after 30 seconds, and in coop it stays; a weapon flagged DROPPED_PLAYER_ITEM, which a dying player's weapon is, gives its ammo but neither stays nor respawns.Code

References

  1. ^ abTouching a weapon item in the US NES Contra adds 1,000 points and dispatches on the item's type: R sets the rapid-fire bit, M, F, S, and L replace the gun (keeping rapid fire only when the new gun is the one held), B starts an invincibility timer at $80 ($90 on level 7), and the falcon destroys the enemies on screen. A death resets the gun to the default.Codevermiceli/nes-contra-us
    How we know
    6884pick_up_weapon_item:
⋮
6886    lda #$0a                     ; a = #$0a
6887    sta $00                      ; set score to add to player as #$0a (1,000 points)
⋮
6895    lda ENEMY_ATTRIBUTES,y       ; get weapon item attributes
6896    and #$07                     ; keep bits 0-2 (attributes)
6897    beq @set_rapid_flag          ; set rapid flag for weapon if attribute is #$00
6898    cmp #$05                     ; check for b weapon (barrier). Gives invincibility
6899    bcc @compare_and_set_weapon  ; branch if less than #$05 (MFSL)
6900    beq @set_invincibility_timer ; branch for barrier weapon
6901    jsr destroy_all_enemies      ; falcon weapon effect - destroy all enemies
⋮
6912@set_invincibility_timer:
6913    lda #$80          ; set duration of the b weapon effect
⋮
    src/bank7.asm lines 6884–6955 at 687d651 · upstream ↗
    5150init_player_dec_num_lives:
5151    jsr init_player_and_weapon ; initialize player variables to 0
    src/bank7.asm lines 5150–5151 at 687d651 · upstream ↗
    5338init_player_and_weapon:
5339    lda #$00                ; a = #$00
5340    sta P1_CURRENT_WEAPON,x ; reset current player's weapon
    src/bank7.asm lines 5338–5340 at 687d651 · upstream ↗

    Checked against the evidence by its author, an AI model, 2026-10-21.

    Checked by a second AI model, 2026-10-21.

    In the claim ledger

  2. ^ abcThe US NES Super C dispatches a weapon item on its type: M, S, L, and F replace the gun, R sets rapid fire, B sets an invincibility timer to $80, and the falcon destroys the enemies. A new gun drops rapid fire even when it's the gun already held, where Contra keeps it for the same gun.Codevermiceli/nes-super-c · vermiceli/nes-contra-usrevised
    How we know
    411weapon_item_pickup_tbl:
412    .addr weapon_item_pickup        ; machine (M)
413    .addr weapon_item_pickup        ; spray (S)
414    .addr weapon_item_pickup        ; laser (L)
415    .addr weapon_item_pickup        ; flame (F)
416    .addr r_weapon_item_pickup      ; rapid fire (R)
417    .addr b_weapon_item_pickup      ; barrier (B)
418    .addr falcon_weapon_item_pickup ; falcon
⋮
422    lda #$80
423    sta INVINCIBILITY_TIMER,y ; set player invincible timer to #$80 frames
⋮
428    jsr destroy_all_enemies ; destroy all appropriate enemies
⋮
431r_weapon_item_pickup:
⋮
    src/bank-3.asm lines 411–445 at be6ccce · upstream ↗
    6933@compare_and_set_weapon:
6934    ldy #$f0                ; y = #$f0 (keep rapid fire flag)
⋮
6938    beq @set_player_weapon  ; keep rapid fire flag (if set) when picking up same weapon
6939    ldy #$e0                ; remove rapid fire flag since picking up different weapon
⋮
6943    and P1_CURRENT_WEAPON,x ; strip/set rapid fire flag
6944    ora $08                 ; merge in rapid fire flag with weapon being picked up
6945    sta P1_CURRENT_WEAPON,x ; set current player's weapon
    src/bank7.asm lines 6933–6945 at 687d651 · upstream ↗

    Checked against the evidence by its author, an AI model, 2026-10-21.

    Revised after a check by a second AI model, 2026-10-21.

    In the claim ledger

  3. ^ abA Quake II weapon pickup adds the weapon to the player's inventory, which keeps every weapon taken, and gives that weapon's ammo with it unless the item carries the DROPPED_ITEM flag. The player switches to it only when it is the first of its kind carried, and in deathmatch only while the blaster is in hand. In coop, or in deathmatch with weapons-stay set, a player who already has the weapon can't take a placed one. A placed weapon picked up in deathmatch stays where it is with weapons-stay set and otherwise respawns after 30 seconds, and in coop it stays; a weapon flagged DROPPED_PLAYER_ITEM, which a dying player's weapon is, gives its ammo but neither stays nor respawns.Codeid-Software/Quake-2revised
    How we know
    125	if ( ( ((int)(dmflags->value) & DF_WEAPONS_STAY) || coop->value) 
126		&& other->client->pers.inventory[index])
⋮
128		if (!(ent->spawnflags & (DROPPED_ITEM | DROPPED_PLAYER_ITEM) ) )
129			return false;	// leave the weapon for others to pickup
⋮
132	other->client->pers.inventory[index]++;
⋮
134	if (!(ent->spawnflags & DROPPED_ITEM) )
⋮
136		// give them some ammo with it
137		ammo = FindItem (ent->item->ammo);
⋮
140		else
141			Add_Ammo (other, ammo, ammo->quantity);
⋮
143		if (! (ent->spawnflags & DROPPED_PLAYER_ITEM) )
⋮
145			if (deathmatch->value)
⋮
    game/p_weapon.c lines 125–160 at 372afde · upstream ↗
    814	if (!((coop->value) &&  (ent->item->flags & IT_STAY_COOP)) || (ent->spawnflags & (DROPPED_ITEM | DROPPED_PLAYER_ITEM)))
⋮
816		if (ent->flags & FL_RESPAWN)
817			ent->flags &= ~FL_RESPAWN;
818		else
819			G_FreeEdict (ent);
    game/g_items.c lines 814–819 at 372afde · upstream ↗
    439		drop = Drop_Item (self, item);
⋮
441		drop->spawnflags = DROPPED_PLAYER_ITEM;
    game/p_client.c lines 439–441 at 372afde · upstream ↗

    Checked against the evidence by its author, an AI model, 2026-10-22.

    Revised after a check by a second AI model, 2026-10-22.

    In the claim ledger

Sources

Code