G2F Chars

[José Pereira]

Hello all around here.

 

Probably for many it isn't new, but can help others.

 

On G2F on the Menu:

A.)- 1-Choose "OPTIONS".

2-Put on "Standard".

You'll get 1Charset in each 3Lines (1Screen High is 10Charsets). The good is that we each char a number. The same shape in different places of screen have diffrent chars nºs.

 

 

 

 

B.)- 1-Choose "OPTIONS".

2-Put on "Optimizing"

G2F puts the same chars shapes with the same nºs. Ideal to create Fonts.

 

 

 

You can also change the nº of chars in each Charset on the "Chars limit" (let's think we want to have some chars for SoftSprite or other Objects).

 

 

 

 

 

But what I want to show with this (or ask with this). Simple! What is the best I have to choose that my screens of LastNinja can be more usefull if a coder wants to see use them in the game?

 

 

Anybody can help?

Thanks.

Greetings.

José Pereira.

 

 

 

(P.S.- By the way: What is the way (better) of doing to get all the chars from a GameMap, in Games like multiscreens platformming like ManicMiner,Jet Set Willy, Monty Mole, Saboteur)? I want to create in Free-Time (outside LN Screens redone) some Charsets of this Hi-Resol. and try to see how they will look with all the PMs. to colour enhancements.)

[Tezz]

Remember Jose that the screen map layouts are simply tables of chars so you can create these manually very easily. You can also just create your font (or fonts) by using G2F to generate them for you after creating a screen with all your chars laid out together in a bitmap. For example in a 32 byte wide screen (in standard mode) the first four rows is font #1, the next 4 rows are font #2 etc. You can use "edit charset" from the edit menu to save your font/s file/s with which to make the screen layouts from.

[José Pereira]

Remember Jose that the screen map layouts are simply tables of chars so you can create these manually very easily. You can also just create your font (or fonts) by using G2F to generate them for you after creating a screen with all your chars laid out together in a bitmap. For example in a 32 byte wide screen (in standard mode) the first four rows is font #1, the next 4 rows are font #2 etc. You can use "edit charset" from the edit menu to save your font/s file/s with which to make the screen layouts from.

 

 

Thanks Tezz. But that's takink Fonts from a simple GameScreen.

 

 

I am at this moment with on of the Monty Series GameMap.

Level1 for example have 22Screens. All this 22Screens have more or less the same Graphic Chars. In G2F I get Chars screen by screen. What I want is to put the Level1 Map into a Program and get all the chars (same shapes have same nº,...). Forget A8 and G2D here. When I have the Fonts than I'll get an A8 Screen constructer Program (like Programmer's Development from Tiger Developments on the "OldDays").

At this time it could be direct port (on a P.C->A8 font/Screen Maker) or even Pixel by Pixel (like with Joystick, again on the "OldDays").

 

Understand now what I want?

 

Thanks.

José Pereira.

[José Pereira]

That at the Top is a Player. I've tried many different Lumin. but always affects PF1&PF2.

I want this on the walls, good. But for example if Monty Mole is PF1-White and he overlaps, as ex., the Flower, some Green Player here, it will turn White Monty into the Lumin. of the Green Flower (Monty turns into a Gray).

Is there any PM./Lumin. for the Objects Monty overlaps and that it can still be White-PF1?

 

And why G2F only have 1Priority Mode in Hi-Resol.? It doesn't seem to be anything to be about PRIOR1!...Where are the PRIOR Modes in Hi-Resol.?

 

 

 

Any help welcome.

Thanks again.

José Pereira.

[Tezz]

Thanks Tezz. But that's takink Fonts from a simple GameScreen.

 

 

I am at this moment with on of the Monty Series GameMap.

Level1 for example have 22Screens. All this 22Screens have more or less the same Graphic Chars. In G2F I get Chars screen by screen. What I want is to put the Level1 Map into a Program and get all the chars (same shapes have same nº,...). Forget A8 and G2D here. When I have the Fonts than I'll get an A8 Screen constructer Program (like Programmer's Development from Tiger Developments on the "OldDays").

At this time it could be direct port (on a P.C->A8 font/Screen Maker) or even Pixel by Pixel (like with Joystick, again on the "OldDays").

 

Understand now what I want?

 

Thanks.

José Pereira.

Yes, this is what I meant you would first create your font or fonts by taking all of the various char definitions used in the 22 screens (leaving space in each font for your software sprites which you will have determined in advance) and you will make a screen with all of the chars lined up together so you are able to make the fonts which you will use to create your screen maps from just like the original games do. Some people use a c64 screen mapper pc utility to make the maps (I forget the name of this now) I prefer just to create them manually. You can do this easily with a basic program but there are screen mapping utilities that you can use.

[PeteD]

I think it's another case of let the coder worry about it. The more important factor in LN at least is the fact that it IS possible to make the screens from chars + PMGs, there are many possibilities for how that's actually done and it would be something a coder would decide on whilst writing the game after analysing ram usage etc.

 

For something like Monty that doesn't use many chars for the background it still needs to be decided how many sprites there are and if the space for bg + sprites is bigger than 128 you need to split the screen again. Really another thing to be done at game dev time not while actually redoing the levels.

 

If it was an original game I'd say it's more relevant to work it out from the start, can you fit a level + sprite chars into 128 chars? if not where/how often do you split charsets, are the chars the same in each section? etc

 

 

Pete

[José Pereira]

I'll get only 59chars in a single screen.

José Pereira.

[PeteD]

I'll get only 59chars in a single screen.

José Pereira.

 

It should be fine without any splits then. Say 4x4 for the sprite (I'm not sure if it takes up a whole c64 sprite so it might be less). Depending on the number of other moving objects it might be possible to store those pre-shifted (horizontally or vertically) and just draw them by moving a few chars around. Some of them even seem to move a char at a time.

 

 

Pete

Edited January 9, 2010 by PeteD

[Tezz]

That at the Top is a Player. I've tried many different Lumin. but always affects PF1&PF2.

I want this on the walls, good. But for example if Monty Mole is PF1-White and he overlaps, as ex., the Flower, some Green Player here, it will turn White Monty into the Lumin. of the Green Flower (Monty turns into a Gray).

Is there any PM./Lumin. for the Objects Monty overlaps and that it can still be White-PF1?

 

And why G2F only have 1Priority Mode in Hi-Resol.? It doesn't seem to be anything to be about PRIOR1!...Where are the PRIOR Modes in Hi-Resol.?

 

 

 

Any help welcome.

Thanks again.

José Pereira.

There is no priority in this mode, to put it in simple terms, the players simply change the background colour where they are placed and the colours of chars in that region will be in that colour with whatever separate luminance is set in register 709 (color1) This is the way the mode works, it's not possible for the chars to be another colour unless they themselves are underlayed with another free player.

So if your player is colour $20 and you have register 709 set to $0E then the chars that appear over that player will be $2E because they take the colour of the player. You can have more control if you make your screens inversed and swap the colour values so that it appears as normal, this way the sprites are effectively controlling the luminance instead and you can have some more options.

[José Pereira]

That at the Top is a Player. I've tried many different Lumin. but always affects PF1&PF2.

I want this on the walls, good. But for example if Monty Mole is PF1-White and he overlaps, as ex., the Flower, some Green Player here, it will turn White Monty into the Lumin. of the Green Flower (Monty turns into a Gray).

Is there any PM./Lumin. for the Objects Monty overlaps and that it can still be White-PF1?

 

And why G2F only have 1Priority Mode in Hi-Resol.? It doesn't seem to be anything to be about PRIOR1!...Where are the PRIOR Modes in Hi-Resol.?

 

 

 

Any help welcome.

Thanks again.

José Pereira.

There is no priority in this mode, to put it in simple terms, the players simply change the background colour where they are placed and the colours of chars in that region will be in that colour with whatever separate luminance is set in register 709 (color1) This is the way the mode works, it's not possible for the chars to be another colour unless they themselves are underlayed with another free player.

So if your player is colour $20 and you have register 709 set to $0E then the chars that appear over that player will be $2E because they take the colour of the player. You can have more control if you make your screens inversed and swap the colour values so that it appears as normal, this way the sprites are effectively controlling the luminance instead and you can have some more options.

 

 

 

I was thinking that Hi-Resol. modes uses PF1/2, right. On G2F I have PRIOR 1 that is: All PMs. above all PFs. and that's really what we get there.

- PRIOR 4 no use because all PMs. bellow PF1/2.

- PRIOR 2: PM0&1->All PFs.->PM2&3 (Only shows PM0&1, but you can have PM2&3and changing Lines and/or Priority nº they can be in front or behind PF1&2.

- PRIOR 8: PF0&1->All PMs.->PF2&3 (Shows all PMs. above PF2 and PF1 covers them)

- PRIOR 0: PM0&1/PF0&1 ored->PM2&3/PF2/3 ored (PM0&1 above PF1&2 and PM2&3 only in front of PF2).

 

 

This is thinking in Logic according to PF1/2 in all the PRIOR Modes.

Another thing, if this could be true, in the way we see on PRIOR1 on G2F in all this modes the PMs. get the colour of PF2, but because PRIOR1 is all PMs. above all PFs. PMs covers all.

Other PRIOR like 0 or 8 some or all PMs could be behind PF1. In this case we don't get the other 2nd PMs. colour.

 

The pratical thing I want is to move the "Monty man" above the Backgr. If it is White, than, wich PF is have to be to go above PF1&2 with PMs. on it? And don't change from White to another colour/lumin.?

Or use a PM. on it on on some object?s that only shows PM colour in the PF2 (the Backgr. in Hi-Resol. modes) and behind PF1(not shown, for ex. just fill the Plant,...).

 

 

Help me, please!...

Thanks.

greetings.

José Pereira

[José Pereira]

That at the Top is a Player. I've tried many different Lumin. but always affects PF1&PF2.

I want this on the walls, good. But for example if Monty Mole is PF1-White and he overlaps, as ex., the Flower, some Green Player here, it will turn White Monty into the Lumin. of the Green Flower (Monty turns into a Gray).

Is there any PM./Lumin. for the Objects Monty overlaps and that it can still be White-PF1?

 

And why G2F only have 1Priority Mode in Hi-Resol.? It doesn't seem to be anything to be about PRIOR1!...Where are the PRIOR Modes in Hi-Resol.?

 

 

 

Any help welcome.

Thanks again.

José Pereira.

There is no priority in this mode, to put it in simple terms, the players simply change the background colour where they are placed and the colours of chars in that region will be in that colour with whatever separate luminance is set in register 709 (color1) This is the way the mode works, it's not possible for the chars to be another colour unless they themselves are underlayed with another free player.

So if your player is colour $20 and you have register 709 set to $0E then the chars that appear over that player will be $2E because they take the colour of the player. You can have more control if you make your screens inversed and swap the colour values so that it appears as normal, this way the sprites are effectively controlling the luminance instead and you can have some more options.

 

 

 

I was thinking that Hi-Resol. modes uses PF1/2, right. On G2F I have PRIOR 1 that is: All PMs. above all PFs. and that's really what we get there.

- PRIOR 4 no use because all PMs. bellow PF1/2.

- PRIOR 2: PM0&1->All PFs.->PM2&3 (Only shows PM0&1, but you can have PM2&3and changing Lines and/or Priority nº they can be in front or behind PF1&2.

- PRIOR 8: PF0&1->All PMs.->PF2&3 (Shows all PMs. above PF2 and PF1 covers them)

- PRIOR 0: PM0&1/PF0&1 ored->PM2&3/PF2/3 ored (PM0&1 above PF1&2 and PM2&3 only in front of PF2).

 

 

This is thinking in Logic according to PF1/2 in all the PRIOR Modes.

Another thing, if this could be true, in the way we see on PRIOR1 on G2F in all this modes the PMs. get the colour of PF2, but because PRIOR1 is all PMs. above all PFs. PMs covers all.

Other PRIOR like 0 or 8 some or all PMs could be behind PF1. In this case we don't get the other 2nd PMs. colour.

 

The pratical thing I want is to move the "Monty man" above the Backgr. If it is White, than, wich PF is have to be to go above PF1&2 with PMs. on it? And don't change from White to another colour/lumin.?

Or use a PM. on it on on some object?s that only shows PM colour in the PF2 (the Backgr. in Hi-Resol. modes) and behind PF1(not shown, for ex. just fill the Plant,...).

 

 

Help me, please!...

Thanks.

greetings.

José Pereira

 

 

By the way, anyone tries to set different PRIOR nºs. in Hi-Resol. modes?

José Pereira.

[José Pereira]

Hello all.I've done this today, a Manic Miner Screen:

 

 

The PMs. are used like if it was on a real game:

P0-Our Miner

P1-That "Egg guy"

P2-The Toilets

P3-The Plants

Enabling 5th Player to get another colour (PF3) and put Missiles for the Gifts.

Does not do DLI in the PlayingArea, as this will affect Lumin. for the movement PMs. (Miner,Egg,... change Lines nºs.)

 

 

Many colours and I get some Errors that I'm try to fix them now, but you'll get the idea:

For better see and study here it his the .g2f&.xex files (help in erase the Errors welcome!...)

 

 

It is just for the fun, but I always want to see many of this Hi-Resol. platform Games in A8.

 

Greetings.

José Pereira.

showscreen.zip

[José Pereira]

Remember Jose that the screen map layouts are simply tables of chars so you can create these manually very easily. You can also just create your font (or fonts) by using G2F to generate them for you after creating a screen with all your chars laid out together in a bitmap. For example in a 32 byte wide screen (in standard mode) the first four rows is font #1, the next 4 rows are font #2 etc. You can use "edit charset" from the edit menu to save your font/s file/s with which to make the screen layouts from.

 

 

Hello all.

 

Particulary to Tezz. Yes I know and can build the Chars on G2F, but is possible to use this Fonts created in G2F in another Program to build the Screens? Or in some way create the Screens with this Fonts in the G2F program?

 

Thanks.

José Pereira.

[Tezz]

Jose, I'll PM some information better explaining font use and screen mapping in detail.