Cat Art

[EgoTrip]

How do you do it? Does it have something to do with editing the directory on the disk, so when a CAT is issued it executes machine code?

[tastefulmrship]

Pull up a bean-bag and read this; Les sucres en Morceaux
It will introduce you to the techniques required to write CATart. I don't understand French, but I have been told it's the CATart Bible!

But, basically it uses the ASCII (&20 to &7F) and control codes (&00 to &1F) to display text on the screen instead of a list of filenames. No m/c or BASIC can be run using CATart. It's more of an artform, rather than a programming language.

[EgoTrip]

That makes sense, thanks

[TFM]

How do you do it? Does it have something to do with editing the directory on the disk, so when a CAT is issued it executes machine code?

Well, I do it probably not in the most effizient way, but it works.
1. I take the CPCs handbook, it has a list of all control codes, that's what you need first.
2. I take a disc, read in the DIRectory under FutureOS, then I use the Edit memory function to alter the DIRectory by hand. Finally I use the REName function to write the DIR back to disc, that's it.

[robcfg]

It would be nice if you could do a small video tutorial of it, so the people who is still not familiar with FutureOS could follow it and create some nice CATart

[fano]

How do you do it? Does it have something to do with editing the directory on the disk, so when a CAT is issued it executes machine code?

I use a text editor to create CAT and compile it as binary with Winape.I write this binary directly to the disc with a program (usualy i compile CAT and program together to test directly in Winape)

[GFXOR]

My prefered way to work is on the real CPC, more simple according to me, and my tool is Doscology that doesn't work on Winape.

I am using the Disco Editor in ROM version Chany (click on "Editeur de discologie" in the green frame). It loads the 1st sector of the track 00 when it starts, and the options are put at its best config for the CATart work.

When I want to test, I push the reset button, and type CAT, or MODE x:CAT

If I work on something complicated (AE05 was the worse), I have several discs in front of me where I COPY the 1st track. I sometimes test the CAT on Winape when I want to test it on 464 (more easy in my small home).

For this job, the PC never has helped me.

[tastefulmrship]

my tool is Doscology that doesn't work on Winape.

I use Discology all of the time for CATartz and it works fine for me on WinAPE2A18.

EDIT: You have to make sure Fast Disc Emulation is switched off in the General Tab of the Settings menu.

[freemac]

Can this stuff inserted in a msdos chain tool ? (a set of msdos commands targeting a .dsk)

Example of chain tool (SDCC+CPCDiskXP) making a dsk from source code :
https://github.com/renaudhelias/RubikCubePaletteCPC/blob/master/JDVPA%234_test/_compil.bat

[Targhan]

If you're talking about writing a CATart into a DSK, yes it's possible and quite easy. I did that for Orion Prime. I had a file of 512 * 4 bytes on PC, which contained the first four sectors of the track 0 (where the CAT is encoded) and overwrote the sectors of my generated DSK. Now you need the right tool, I used the Ramlaid's ones (available in the Arkos website, in my signature). But the hardest part is making the CATart...

[Brundij]

I'm trying to do this but it's more complicated than I expected. I don't have any knowledge on the matter and never tinkered with dsk sectors and stuff.
I made some ASCII Art with Playscii, and I'm able to export it as a BIN that runs on a CPC or a TXT file. Can I use that BIN and copy/paste it in the dsk directly as Fano suggested? Which sectors/tracks are the ones that I can/should rewrite? Thanks in advance.