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Best cpc game

Started by steve, 02:42, 26 September 10

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MacDeath

#75
To work properly the CPC had to be designed as a more than 64K machine, but it was designed as a 64K machine, the extra RAM (and bank switches) were added a bit later but it was to late, the system was flawed.

Exemple : CPC 480... a CPC with 64K + 16k extra RAM for the video... this could have worked well IMO if the Video could display without putting the Z80 into Wait and could address any RAM bank (just get something to make sure the Z80's 64k are appart at the moment of the display...), not just the 4th central memory bank..

not sure such Hardware was easy to craft at the time...
But then Z80 would always process 64K while the Video displays.
(also this should make sure the various overscan trick (24K-32K display resolution) were also still available.

Sad it wasn't like this.

Would it be possible to modify a CPC to work like this ? erf...certainly not.

fano

Quote from: redbox on 14:28, 23 December 10
I still think this is the downfall of the CPC - the graphics can look amazing, but 16kb is a lot for the Z80 to cope with
I agree but for me 16K is not the problem , we just need a little helper like DMA transfer channel or blitter and some facilites like soft scroll  ;D
Don't forget video output of the CPC is configurable and this is not an obligation to use full 16K.
"NOP" is the perfect program : short , fast and (known) bug free

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MacDeath

#77
You are right : you can instead use 24K. :D

BTW, the shame is that a 256x240 mode is not bigger than a mundane 320x200... and get an almost full screen feeling...
but they kept into the 256x192 or even less...for a quite little gain, yet needed one as a 64K CPC is quite easily short of memory.

To me the good minimum config is 6128... not 464 at all.

http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Class

Class2...

redbox

Quote from: fano on 16:06, 23 December 10
Don't forget video output of the CPC is configurable and this is not an obligation to use full 16K.

Absolutely - the 256x256 is a very nice option, but when you scroll it all gets complicated again. 

However, I have read that a quick check routine is a good idea (i.e. does the address go beyond the boundry) so you can use fast routines most of the time and fall back to slower ones when needed.  This is something I am keen to test out in the future.

I wish the screen memory was linear though!  I have been playing around with writing routines which treat it as such (when compressing graphics etc) but you still have to convert it back again.

fano

#79
Yes MacDeath , the problem on CPC (like a lot of other machine) is the fixed pixel pitch.Counterpart is pixels will always have the same aspect ,whatever the resolution.

Quote from: redbox on 19:28, 23 December 10Absolutely - the 256x256 is a very nice option, but when you scroll it all gets complicated again.
There are no serious difficulty , instead of seeing Vram as large memory block , look at how CRTC see it and how you can divide it.

Quote from: redbox on 19:28, 23 December 10I wish the screen memory was linear though!
Don't wish too much , that could be faster to work with that interlaced layout  ;)

Sorry for out topic again , maybe that would be interesting to create a pined topic in programming sub forum to speak about this problem of Vram addressing as it is an often encountered problem.
"NOP" is the perfect program : short , fast and (known) bug free

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Axelay

Quote from: redbox on 14:28, 23 December 10
I still think this is the downfall of the CPC - the graphics can look amazing, but 16kb is a lot for the Z80 to cope with  :(


I dont think the CPC has any downfall, only challenges!  ;)

redbox

Quote from: fano on 19:57, 23 December 10
Sorry for out topic again , maybe that would be interesting to create a pined topic in programming sub forum to speak about this problem of Vram addressing as it is an often encountered problem.

I agree.  I want to build a library of routines (scrolling, sprites, collision detection) that all work together.

I will start on this in the new year and hopefully we can all work together to make a nice set available for all programmers to use as a starting point.

Gryzor

I can do that - not a sticky (not really a point in it) but split the thread, but from which post?

redbox

Quote from: Gryzor on 10:00, 24 December 10
I can do that - not a sticky (not really a point in it) but split the thread, but from which post?

I think it would be better to start a new one later for this purpose.

I know arnoldemu has been writing some great asm library routines, so we could do something similiar to his thread later. 

arnoldemu

Quote from: redbox on 10:01, 24 December 10

I think it would be better to start a new one later for this purpose.

I know arnoldemu has been writing some great asm library routines, so we could do something similiar to his thread later.
:)

I will continue to publish sources, and I plan to publish a few game related ones in the future too.
It all helps.
My games. My Games
My website with coding examples: Unofficial Amstrad WWW Resource

TMR

Quote from: fano on 13:37, 23 December 10
Not totaly false but as long that does not become stupid (mine is bigger than yours !).I am tired of thoses long flamewars between fans and to be honnest there are good and bad things on each machine (For example , i prefer AY sound but there are amazing sounds on SID or on Speccy buzzer !)
I'd say on CPC unlike Spectrum , we have choice between speed or graphics and sometimes we got speed and graphics  :)

There's a difference between being a fan and being a fanboy, it's like the difference between enjoying Star Trek and having all the models from season three and Patrick Stewart on speed dial despite the court order. Fans have a preference, fanboys have a burning hatred of anything that isn't their preference...

Personally, i love the conflict (i even have a forum dedicated to the "mine's bigger" battles although that hasn't really worked as expected... nobody wants a fight!) because it leads to all sorts of interesting information coming out; if it doesn't get totally out of hand, a discussion like that can lead to a greater understanding of machines people wouldn't previously have looked at and even to new games being written, getting them to prove a point is a good way to motivate a programmer - look at the minigame competition, that sprang up from a USENet flamewar a decade ago that i and at least one person here were in the thick of. At the very least, the "try doing this on Machine X" phase will produce a list of great games for each machine, some of which i haven't played before! =-)

khisanth

I tend to like the games that came out of France and then Spain. They really have a flair for excellent looking and playing games.


Someone mentioned preferring the AY sound to the SID, whilst the AY does sound good it lacks the "warmth" of the SID. The SID chip is an awesome chip that I wish had been in the CPC !

MacDeath

#87
QuoteThere's a difference between being a fan and being a fanboy, it's like   the difference between enjoying Star Trek and having all the models from   season three and Patrick Stewart on speed dial despite the court order.
:laugh:
I came !


Personnaly I would have choosen Jeri Ryan (7of9)... :-*

Stewart "french accent" is so wrong...

"jé-ann louck pi-ceurd"...wellwellwell. ::)

QuoteI tend to like the games that came out of France and then Spain. They   really have a flair for excellent looking and playing games.
Because Speccy didn't sold that well in France... ;)
It is fun to know that Infogrames (now called Atari) and UbiSoft...
Are amongst the biggest names in Game industry.

And UbiSoft very first game ever... was Zombi on Amstrad CPC.
After this they were a lot into adventure games and got a good mastering of the proper Mode1 use...

Infogrames was more into comics based (Bob Morane, Tintin on the moon...Iznogoud...North and South) or license based games (comics, Patrick Martin : dieux de la mer...awesome...) games though... also they were a lot into Thomson/Amstrad computer crossdev.

Bivouac or the Patrick MartinWaterskiing game were quite original sport simulation and got awesome graphics too.

But managed quite decent 8bit-16bit game such as Mystical...



Most real RPG games were French...(well quite few of them actually)

Mandragore, Witchblade ?


Spanish gamemakers were quite big names, and actually got their own flavour, but their history seems quite similar to France's companies...
Comix based games per exemple... and great use of CPC's graphics, and a strong local market.

But they didn't make it in long term, that's quite a shame, seems France took the european #1 place...


QuoteSomeone   mentioned preferring the AY sound to the SID, whilst the AY does sound   good it lacks the "warmth" of the SID. The SID chip is an awesome chip   that I wish had been in the CPC !                                                                                                                                                              
You can.
Sid can be implemented in VHDL/programable chips/FPGA...
So a good Devboard/protoboard 5V compatible can be pluged into the Extension port of any Amstrad, and a SOID or whatever old School PSG (even a second AY in order to get 6channel sounds/usic) be used...
Just need to put a jack connector on the Protoboard, perhaps a custom designed shield...

And get a pair of stereo speakers...


I'm planning to develop such stuff when I'll get hands on my Arduino mega128 protoboard... alongside internet solutions...

I am always a bit ashamed that Hardware-people tends to make custom boards featuring those FPGA/VHDL/etc... chips, but never actually use generic pre-made (often cheap too) existing cards.

I mean, those component can be reprogrammed, but you put them into cards with a preset function and no way to get them doing another...
No wonder too few Games support those.

khisanth

Let me know how you get on with the Arduino experimenting.

I am learning my Arduino board at the moment and having fun with it. I have a SID chip and some required chips (clock, oscillator etc) to get it going with the arduino. Once I work out how to get it running I plan to hook it up to the Hydra homebrew console (Propeller chip based) and then maybe try it with the Amstrad.

a lot of work,but it will be fun learning

Tim

Rock star ate my hamster for me, loved it!

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