3071 - 8bit-wars comp entry

Started by iWasAdam, January 29, 2019, 08:45:01

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iWasAdam

It looks like I'm going for the spectrum version with enhanced 128k sound  ::)

First off is to attempt some (2 color per 8x8) images - which is a lot (bloody) harder then I thought...

Steve Elliott

#1
Quote
First off is to attempt some (2 color per 8x8) images - which is a lot (bloody) harder then I thought...

As far as I can see that technical restriction is optional.  Just the look and feel of games produced by the computer chosen, with a fixed palette of colours.
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Qube

Quote from: iWasAdam on January 29, 2019, 08:45:01
First off is to attempt some (2 color per 8x8) images - which is a lot (bloody) harder then I thought...
Yeah, not easy or easy to do it fast :P - but as Steve says, it's not a requirement to emulate the hardware but just the overall look and feel :)
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iWasAdam

Yep. I know, but I like a bit of a challenge :)
And I always wanted to make a Spectrum game, but never finished anything. Back in the day I was working on a machine code sprite system - then I had to leave home and that was it...

So this could be my nod back in time   8)

iWasAdam

yay a logo (and a bit of the title screen):

Qube

I guess you're not going down the route of max 2 colours in an 8x8 grid?.
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Xerra

Quote from: Qube on January 29, 2019, 18:13:02
I guess you're not going down the route of max 2 colours in an 8x8 grid?.

Looking at that logo, I think he actually is. It's possibly made up of 8*8 pixel UDG's - user defined graphics. If you laid it on grid paper then I don't think he's broken the 2 colour rule.
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Qube

QuoteLooking at that logo, I think he actually is. It's possibly made up of 8*8 pixel UDG's - user defined graphics. If you laid it on grid paper then I don't think he's broken the 2 colour rule.
I did overlay an 8x8 grid and tried different pixels as origin but it didn't appear to be that way. Not that it matters as it's not a requirement anyway :P
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iWasAdam

#8
8x8 2 color. all checked and present  :P the pic above was just a snip - so not starting at the 0,0 origin.

Here's the same with the 8x8 grid overlay showing:


Its the top right bit of the screen. Can you find the (current) mistake in it though?

And todays head-scratcher is how do I load and display a modern png with loading bars using the spectrum mono interleaved bitmap reveal and separate color attributes?

Holzchopf

Quote from: iWasAdam on January 30, 2019, 06:20:31Can you find the (current) mistake in it though?

Assuming the tile in the top left, that is half cut, marks (0,0), then one mistake is at (3,3) and one at (5,4) :P

Just a thought: If only two colours are used and one of them is black, wouldn't it be reasonably fast to first draw the sprites in black/white and then multiply blend overlay the 8x8 pixels coloured blocks? I mean "reasonably fast" for the ultimate retro feeling.

DaiHard

There's also a problem with the knotwork: two consecutive underpasses in the top right!
;)
D

Qube

Quote from: iWasAdam on January 30, 2019, 06:20:31
Its the top right bit of the screen. Can you find the (current) mistake in it though?
As Holzchopf points out a couple in the grid have more than two colours :o - Also some of the simulated pixels are different heights. Not that it really matters :P
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Until the next time.

Steve Elliott

#12
Quote
As Holzchopf points out a couple in the grid have more than two colours :o - Also some of the simulated pixels are different heights. Not that it really matters :P

I predict Adam ends up rocking back n forth in a corner after a mental breakdown.   ;)

Simple 'look and feel' for the win \o/
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iWasAdam

#13
sub pixel stretching (where some lines of pixels up/down maybe slightly different sizes) is something I'm not going to bang my head about. It's something that can be fixed by exact window sizes / 8, but the sacrifices user ability to stretch the window how they want.  ;D

The key thing is the actual pixel resolution is EXACT, just the scaling that brings artefacts - lol. Yep I'm waiting for Derron to start picking on the pixel differences...

I've got the initial loading stuff sorted now. Next up is finishing some sound stuff - I don't have load save routines written yet, so I need to get them sorted, or it's gonna be very quiet!

For Qube (who was interested to see what I would come up with)
Sound will be provided by the QasarBeach Sound sub-system. This is the first public outing of the sound system |I was working on last year.

The sound will replicate the AY-3-8912A (the TI sound chip the 128k used). This was a 3 voice chip with ability to mix a noise channel into the 3 voices. So all sounds will be 3 voice only with envelope and base waveforms (pulse, triangle, sawtooth - these will be loaded as predefined waveforms).

I've been doing some research on the capabilities of the sound chip and also how it directly sounds in games and (yes there was one for the spectrum) a sound tracker - no samples, just the ability to modify the sounds playing live.

So there wont be any samples of sounds, just the QasarBeach doing it all live - yikes!

Currently I'm looking at replicating the loading and data sounds from the data cassettes. fun fun fun....!

And for Qube... Here's QasarBeach UI for creating a single waveform (this is the UI, QasarBeach is sitting underneath all of this)


Big prize for anyone who can work out what QasarBeach is replicating.... (hint: It all began in 1978)

Qube

Nah,no point in going all mad getting exact pixel madness. QasarBeach UI looks funky spectrum retro :P does it plugin to DAW's like a VST or have you coded your own music maker?
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Until the next time.