MeowL vs Excel
Press ▶, then Space (or tap the drawing) to flap. MeowL dodges spreadsheet errors; every frame is calculated by the same engine as a beam.
How it is calculated
Time plays from 0 s (▶); each press of Space, ↑ or a tap on the drawing records the moment as a flap. A flap sets the climb speed to ; between flaps MeowL falls with gravity , so with the last flap and the height there, . The heights at the flaps add up in closed form: over the intervals between flaps. Columns of spreadsheet errors move past at ; MeowL crashes when it is within of a column outside its gap, or of the ground or the sky.
Assumptions
A cat-owl is a circle of radius r_c with wings. No air drag. Excel errors do not move up or down, and do not get fixed either.
Where it applies
0 ≤ t ≤ 120 s. The play stops at a crash (stops when: crash); the score counts the columns passed until then.
References
- Flappy Bird (2013), for the genre
- Any spreadsheet, for the obstacles
Inputs
| Input | Symbol | Unit | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | t | s | 0 |
| Flaps The moments MeowL flapped its wings. | flaps |
Checked against sources
Each case below was calculated by this calc and agrees with the value from its source (within the tolerance where one is shown).
No flap: half a second after the start
Source: By hand: y = y0 + v_flap·t − g·t²/2 = 25 + 13.5 − 10 = 28.5 u
Inputs: Time = 0.5 s; the others as above.
| Result | Source | This calc |
|---|---|---|
| Height of MeowL | 28.5 u | 28.5 u |
A flap at 0.5 s restores the climb speed
Source: By hand: 28.5 at the flap, then 28.5 + 27·0.1 − 40·0.01 = 30.8 u, and 27 − 80·0.1 = 19 u/s
Inputs: Time = 0.6 s; Flaps = 0.5; the others as above.
| Result | Source | This calc |
|---|---|---|
| Height of MeowL | 30.8 u | 30.8 u |
| Vertical speed | 19 u/s | 19 u/s |
Without flaps a cat-owl falls (it is not a pure owl)
Source: By hand: 25 + 27·1.3 − 40·1.69 = −7.5 u, below the ground: a crash
Inputs: Time = 1.3 s; the others as above.
| Result | Source | This calc |
|---|---|---|
| Height of MeowL | -7.5 u | -7.5 u |







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