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[Locomotive BASIC]

#1

Applications (CPC and CPC-related) / Re: Which would be your desire...

Last post by lightforce6128 - Today at 01:57

Locomotive BASIC is a quite good BASIC, although some more modern features like functions and procedures with parameters, blocks of code for structured programming, as well as scoped variables would help. At least "DEF FN" is a beginning.

Assembler is required for many things that needs to be fast. I'm used to the MAXAM assembler as provided also in WinAPE. Again, something like namespaces would be of help here. I know there are other, more modern assemblers that provide more features.

For quite a long time I'm working with C++. The language was developed more or less at the same time the CPC got into appearance. But it has developed from there in several iterations. Modern C++ looks quite different than the older versions. You can see that the language has a longer history: it is far from being monolithic, although there are efforts to clean up the language. I read somewhere that the memory model of C++ and its classes is not well suited for the Z80. The index registers IX and IY would help to build up something, but it will be slower than something optimized for the Z80.

I also I got to know Swift. This is more modern and more monolithic than C++. Its syntax can be surprisingly compact, still providing full type checking.

Finally many compromises would be necessary. The memory is limited. Long source codes with neat formatting as well as descriptive identifiers and comments are maybe too modern for the CPC. On the other hand: Who knows what can be done if the online compression of source code as used by Locomotive BASIC by tokenization is extended to more modern data structures?

#2

Applications (CPC and CPC-related) / Re: Which would be your desire...

Last post by GUNHED - Yesterday at 21:58

LUA looks interesting. Would be nice to have a way (either PC or CPC) to work with it on CPC too. 

#3

Games / Re: Enter the contest for the ...

Last post by BZHGames - Yesterday at 21:35

Hi all,

Here are the latest games added on https://bzhgames.xyz/amstrad.php:

- Moon Buggy
- Trakers
- Satan - Part 1
- Zub
- Defend Or Die
- Ye Wizard s Lair
- Ranarama
- Krakout
- Roland On The Ropes
- Silkworm
- Total Eclipse
- Dark Side
- Salamander
- Enduro Racer
- Mata Hari
- Double Dragon
- Super Robin Hood
- Super Sprint
- Bobsleigh
- Driller




Have fun!

#4

R

Applications (CPC and CPC-related) / Re: Which would be your desire...

Last post by retro space - Yesterday at 21:13

I was thinking in 16 colour mode the pixels are rectangular like 2x1, but if you put two of the same colour on two scanlines, you get like 128x128 pixels effectively, in 16 colours.
LUA is a language used by Pico-8, but also by Roblox. It is a bit like BASIC with the structure of Pascal/C

Code Select Expand

FUNCTION _INIT()
  CLS(0)
END
FUNCTION _UPDATE()
END
FUNCTION _DRAW()
  FOR N=0,15 DO
    SPR(N,N*8,0)
  END
END


#5

Applications (CPC and CPC-related) / Re: Which would be your desire...

Last post by GUNHED - Yesterday at 21:01

A LUA pico-8 like mode...
I think you could even do the Pico-8 graphics, expand the Gate Array limits to drive the screen 256x256 with 2x2 blocky pixels in 16 colours.

Using the CPC in 256x256 pixel mode and four colors can be done by just adapting some CRTC registers. 

But which programming language do you mean?

#6

Applications (CPC and CPC-related) / Re: Which would be your desire...

Last post by GUNHED - Yesterday at 20:59

What do you mean by "ported"? Generate code for CPC or to program inside the CPC?

I like the thread about porting small smalltalk, even if did not succeed.. it is really a language I like. Maybe "abusing" extended ram there may be a chance.

Well, either port it from some system or do a rewrite. Or so something completely new.

The question is which language would be desirable?

[REVOLUTION]

#7

Games / Re: Converted GX4000 .cpr - Th...

Last post by iXien - Yesterday at 18:17

Ok dudes, after 2 weeks playing Obsidian all night long  , this time a more "mainstream" game we all played at least one time, for the most part without understand what the hell we had to do:

REVOLUTION from U.S. Gold

Controls:
d-pad = Move the ball
J1B1 = Bouncing level
J1B2 = Map
Pause button = Pause (Pause button = uUpause game, J1B2 = quit game)

Modifications for the GX4000 version:
    - Wait for fire on title screen,
    - Unuseful options removed from main screen,
    - All game keys patched,
    - Pokes: Unlimited lives and time.

Cheers everyone!   

#8

A

Longplays, reviews and other gaming vids / Re: The Making Of CRYSTAL KING...

Last post by andycadley - Yesterday at 14:41

Spellbound did end up getting an individual release later on if memory serves me well. It's somewhat of a rarity now to find it, and when you do find it, it costs a pretty penny.

Yeah but as a massive Dizzy fan at the time, I definitely wasn't waiting till they released it separately to buy it. And it also had Prince of the Yolkfolk on it, which was labelled as an exclusive (although I think it did eventually get a separate release too).

Two new Dizzy games in one box! Surely the peak of human existence right there! 

Initially I hated both Spellbound and CKD. The former for being way too large and the backing and forthing and stashing rocks in the clouds drove me spare.
CKD just looked messy. Mode 0 did not work for this at all, although they tried, but it was still too easy to get through the levels.

Fair comment in both cases, though I don't think "too big" was in my Dizzy game lexicon at the time, I could happily wander around for hours and more screens just made that more fun, even if the backtracking was actually kind of a pain in the butt in retrospect.

CKD got beautifully remade on the Speccy a few years ago, would love to see an Amstrad port of it some day.

I've always been tempted to write a Dizzy engine for the Plus machines. The ability to have a full colour background but use higher resolution sprites for Dizzy could open up some interesting possibilities. Finding time to actually sit down and code is a bit challenging, although the code for the the Amstrad Fantasy World is out there these days which could make the process easier.

#9

Longplays, reviews and other gaming vids / Re: The Making Of CRYSTAL KING...

Last post by Shaun M. Neary - Yesterday at 13:44

Yeah, will definitely be watching this one, even though I was very disappointed with CKD when it came out - it felt much smaller and easier than Spellbound, despite costing quite a bit more (well sort of given Spellbound was part of a compilation)

Spellbound did end up getting an individual release later on if memory serves me well. It's somewhat of a rarity now to find it, and when you do find it, it costs a pretty penny.

Initially I hated both Spellbound and CKD. The former for being way too large and the backing and forthing and stashing rocks in the clouds drove me spare.
CKD just looked messy. Mode 0 did not work for this at all, although they tried, but it was still too easy to get through the levels.

Now I have a fondness for both. At Play Expo in Glasgow last year I finished all 7 adventures on the 464 there over the course of two days. Even managed to one-life Spellbound Dizzy which shocked me.

CKD got beautifully remade on the Speccy a few years ago, would love to see an Amstrad port of it some day.

#10

R

Applications (CPC and CPC-related) / Re: Which would be your desire...

Last post by retro space - Yesterday at 12:41

A LUA pico-8 like mode...
I think you could even do the Pico-8 graphics, expand the Gate Array limits to drive the screen 256x256 with 2x2 blocky pixels in 16 colours.