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avatar_Jean-Marie

Green Beret : faster scrolling

Started by Jean-Marie, 14:55, 24 December 22

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Jean-Marie

I've managed to speed up the scrolling of Green Beret through various code optimizations.
It's still slow, but less painful to watch I guess.  My timing show the following results, measured from offsets 23E8h and 2450h (beginning & end of scrolling routine) : 
regular version : 1589 milliseconds
overhauled version : 836 milliseconds.
Results vary depending on number of enemies on screen, tiles set to move, and whatnot.
I had to sacrifice the music to gain a few cycles.You can set it back by pressing ESC to pause, then M.
It will still be turned off during scrolling though.
You can use a 2 buttons joystick by pressing FIRE2 on the main menu.
Merry Christmas!




Gryzor

Oh! It's actually rather respectable now! 

Mr. DVG

With a graphic restyling and non-retractable scrolling it could even become a decent game! ;D

Seriously, great job indeed! Happy Christmas! :-*

ervin

Really great job.
The game is much more playable now!

WacKEDmaN

oh wow i was playing the original the other night..i forgot how bad it was!...
this looks like quite the speedup! good job!

Gryzor

Was really disappointed by the original after having played the msx version first... 

ukmarkh

Well done! This has made it quite playable. Since this is a Kevin Wilson game, can Yie Ar Kung Fu get similar treatment next :D

Rity

Rity

Jean-Marie

Thank you all for your enthusiasm! I've managed to find a few more optimization. Nothing breathtaking though : it still scrolls between 830/850 milliseconds. 

Quote from: ukmarkh on 16:02, 26 December 22Since this is a Kevin Wilson game, can Yie Ar Kung Fu get similar treatment next 
There's nothing wrong with Yie Ar Kung Fu.;D It would be a desecration!
I'd like to see a faster OutRun, but that's more that I can chew. And it would still be ugly anyway...


ukmarkh

Quote from: Jean-Marie on 19:26, 26 December 22Thank you all for your enthusiasm! I've managed to find a few more optimization. Nothing breathtaking though : it still scrolls between 830/850 milliseconds.

Quote from: ukmarkh on 16:02, 26 December 22Since this is a Kevin Wilson game, can Yie Ar Kung Fu get similar treatment next
There's nothing wrong with Yie Ar Kung Fu.;D It would be a desecration!
I'd like to see a faster OutRun, but that's more that I can chew. And it would still be ugly anyway...

At this rate, before the new year you will have it scrolling  :laugh:

ukmarkh

Can we get this one working in .CPR format? 

Jean-Marie

Quote from: ukmarkh on 21:28, 26 December 22Can we get this one working in .CPR format?
I've used NOCART to carry out the conversion. I tested quickly under Caprice64 and it's looking good.
Remember to press FIRE2 on the main menu to use the second button.
However, GX4000 users will be stuck on the high score table after a game over I guess:/
I'll see if I can work this out...

Jean-Marie

This is a specific release for GX4000 which skips the high-score table after a game over.

iXien

Quote from: Jean-Marie on 23:20, 27 December 22This is a specific release for GX4000 which skips the high-score table after a game over.
Impressive upgrade :o 

Many thanks for the GX4000 users. What would be perfect would be to move the pause mode to the P key (corresponding to the Pause button) and that we can activate the music when pressing the fire button 2 on joypad while the game is in pause. Ultimately, a wait for fire to skip the title screen would be great too as on cartridge the loading is very fast 8)  There the game would be 100% GX4000 friendly !

Once again, well done for this performance!
http://homebrew.amstradtoday.com, the only website dedicated to CPC homebrew games.

OneVision

Congrats on the improvements! 

TotO

Quote from: iXien on 11:34, 28 December 22What would be perfect would be to move the pause mode to the P key and that we can activate the music when pressing the fire button 2 on joypad while the game is in pause.
What is the usage of the fire 1 button during the pause? Resume the game?
"You make one mistake in your life and the internet will never let you live it down" (Keith Goodyer)

iXien

Quote from: TotO on 15:28, 28 December 22
Quote from: iXien on 11:34, 28 December 22What would be perfect would be to move the pause mode to the P key and that we can activate the music when pressing the fire button 2 on joypad while the game is in pause.
What is the usage of the fire 1 button during the pause? Resume the game?
Indeed, it would be a nice opportunity to resume game. And in that case Pause button while in pause mode could replace DEL to quit game rather than resuming it if @Jean-Marie is ok for this kind of modification ;) 
http://homebrew.amstradtoday.com, the only website dedicated to CPC homebrew games.

Jean-Marie

You're welcome! This version changes the Pause button from ESC to P.
During the pause, pressing FIRE2 will turn the music on/off. The drawback is that it will also fire the flamethrower if you've got one ;D.
Quote from: iXien on 11:34, 28 December 22a wait for fire to skip the title screen would be great too
You can skip the loading screen entirely by zeroing the 3 bytes displayed on the enclosed snapshot.
As for waiting for a keypress, I'll see if I can add up a patch-routine, but I'm getting low on memory!
Presently, I'm working on a patch which would allow you to enter your name in the high-score table.
But I promise you nothing  :).
By the way, fell free to modify this version as you see fit. There is a few RAM left at 2743H, and 1BABH.

ukmarkh

Quote from: Jean-Marie on 19:26, 26 December 22Thank you all for your enthusiasm! I've managed to find a few more optimization. Nothing breathtaking though : it still scrolls between 830/850 milliseconds.

Quote from: ukmarkh on 16:02, 26 December 22Since this is a Kevin Wilson game, can Yie Ar Kung Fu get similar treatment next
There's nothing wrong with Yie Ar Kung Fu.;D It would be a desecration!
I'd like to see a faster OutRun, but that's more that I can chew. And it would still be ugly anyway...

I agree, but more speed would be interesting and less of a pause after contact would be a good thing. Outrun isn't ugly, just moves ugly. With speed, things would play out much better impo. But seriously, great work. Green Beret is now one of my favourite CPC games. 

Carnivius

I still kinda hate this game but it's a bit more bearable here. Thanks!
Favorite CPC games: Count Duckula 3, Oh Mummy Returns, RoboCop Resurrection, Tankbusters Afterlife

Jean-Marie

Improved version for GX4000! Names can now be entered in the high-score table. Use directional keys to scroll the blue letter on the bottom, then FIRE1 to validate chosen letter. Use FIRE2 to exit.
A bit cheap-looking, but that's all I could do with a minimum memory !
Also, on the main menu, FIRE1 starts the game, and FIRE2 shows up the high-score table.


iXien

Whaoooo, it's a very nice version  :D

If I dared  :P All that is missing imo would be to replace all these useless informations on main menu just by :

FIRE1... START GAME
FIRE2... SEE HI-SCORES

And it would be P E R F E C T  8)
http://homebrew.amstradtoday.com, the only website dedicated to CPC homebrew games.

Jean-Marie

I'l see what I can do  ;)

Jean-Marie


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