ColecoVision BASIC?

[drfloyd]

arf, it's a bad new.

[Kiwi]

I would recommend going for C programming with SDCC for Colecovision programming if you're familiar with BASIC stuff.

You have delay(1); as wait or vsync, It is required in gameloop while the NMI is on. Otherwise, you'll probably why the graphic is being corrupted.

You can load ICVGM rle'd graphics by using

 

rle2vram(Tileset1pattern,chrgen);

Duplicate_pattern();

rle2vram(Tileset1color,coltab);

rle2vram(Tileset1name,chrtab);

 

I preferred

rle2vram(Tileset1pattern,0x0000);

Duplicate_pattern();

rle2vram(Tileset1color,0x2000);

rle2vram(Tileset1name,0x1800);

 

because I memorized the vram memory map and don't have to remember how to spell chrgen.

 

I assume if ColecoBASIC exist, they would look like..

 

rle2vram Tileset1pattern,chrgen

duplicate_pattern

rle2vram Tileset1color.coltab

rle2vram Tileset1name,chrtab

 

Just make sure that your data have 'const' flag in front of byte because ICVGM don't add that for you. Otherwise the compile would think, oh this must be RAM data and map the data to RAM.

 

The downside of C are the brackets and the ; Notepad++ really helps me to see which cases is missing a {}. I will try to help you if you have any question about C language and stuff.

 

[nitrofurano]

I remember hearing someone (PixelBoy?) mention that he was making a version of BASIC for ColecoVision game development. Did anything come of that?

 

Alternately, I certainly wouldn't mind if the dialect of PASCAL used to design the ColecoVision launch titles surfaced somewhere...

 

don’t forget seeing that i tried to do something with Boriel’s ZX-Basic Compiler ( some stuff you can find at http://www.boriel.com/wiki/en/index.php/ZX_BASIC:Released_Programs_-_ColecoVision )and it was quite neat for me (neat enough for trying to do something for a bunch of other z80-based consoles and computers, and almost 80 arcade machines - yes, quite fun and joyful trying to do that! )

 

the only issue is that i only tried that on GNU/Linux (i used a bash script for compiling and patching the compiled binary into a cartridge image), i never tested it on other Unix-based or non-Unix operating systems yet

 

btw, BasicVision developers, be welcome on using this humble effort if needed!

[NIAD]

2 hours ago, Milli Vee said:

What happened with this compiler for the Adam?

Dale Wick (hardhat) hasn’t been on AA in 4 1/2 years and I haven’t seen him post anywhere else for years.

 

Best chance to get in touch with Dale is thru Bob Slopsema (adamcon) or his son, Doug.

Edited December 14, 2021 by NIAD

[carlsson]

I just read that ugBASIC in the latest release adds support for MSX. I asked how far it would be to add ColecoVision support too. Perhaps memory constrains could be a limiting factor, depending on how much workspace the runtime needs.

[jltursan]

The Pencil II runs its own BASIC in a cloned Colecovision hardware. This machine has very little RAM, so maybe the BASIC interpreter is mostly compatible with the Colecovision...

[carlsson]

The Soundic/Hanimex Pencil II seems to have 2K RAM + 16K VRAM. It has SD-Basic 2.0 on cartridge, as well as 16K and 64K (!) RAM expansion cartridges that go into the side (same slot as the Colecovision cartridge adapter). Per the MAME driver, the SD-Basic cartridge contains one 2732 and one 2764 EPROM, but no extra RAM so yes, it probably offers the user a program size equal to the ZX-81 if you don't add a memory expansion.

 

Since the Colecovision only has 1K RAM and surely the interpreter and rest of the system needs some workspace, I doubt you could fit any program at all unless of course the cartridge has onboard RAM just like e.g. Sord M5 and I think Sega SC-3000 BASIC cartridges work.

 

 

Yet I'm not sure this matches what people are asking for, as they would like to make games (in a BASIC like language, supposedly easier to learn than e.g. C though the differences are marginal) that can be compiled and run on stock Colecovision hardware, not so much a BASIC development environment running natively on the console. For the latter purpose, you could as well get a MSX1 or something else...

[carlsson]

True. I know that several VDP based machines use VRAM for BASIC programs, meaning that you give up some of the graphics capacities. I don't know if the Pencil II uses that trick, but then again it would indicate that the SD Basic can both operate on external CPU RAM (16K or 64K) and internal VRAM (16K).

[+Gemintronic]

I think some older Jaguar programming tools used BCX to translate BASIC into C.  Maybe a way forward would be to get SDCC working with BCX.

 

https://www.bcxbasiccoders.com/

[drfloyd]

On 1/5/2022 at 4:38 PM, carlsson said:

I just read that ugBASIC in the latest release adds support for MSX. I asked how far it would be to add ColecoVision support too. Perhaps memory constrains could be a limiting factor, depending on how much workspace the runtime needs.

 

I am in contact with the dev of UGBasic. Yes, they will add Colecovision soon.

[jltursan]

3 hours ago, carlsson said:

The Soundic/Hanimex Pencil II seems to have 2K RAM + 16K VRAM. It has SD-Basic 2.0 on cartridge, as well as 16K and 64K (!) RAM expansion cartridges that go into the side (same slot as the Colecovision cartridge adapter). Per the MAME driver, the SD-Basic cartridge contains one 2732 and one 2764 EPROM, but no extra RAM so yes, it probably offers the user a program size equal to the ZX-81 if you don't add a memory expansion.

 

Since the Colecovision only has 1K RAM and surely the interpreter and rest of the system needs some workspace, I doubt you could fit any program at all unless of course the cartridge has onboard RAM just like e.g. Sord M5 and I think Sega SC-3000 BASIC cartridges work.

 

 

Yet I'm not sure this matches what people are asking for, as they would like to make games (in a BASIC like language, supposedly easier to learn than e.g. C though the differences are marginal) that can be compiled and run on stock Colecovision hardware, not so much a BASIC development environment running natively on the console. For the latter purpose, you could as well get a MSX1 or something else...

Basically that's why I'm saying "is mostly compatible" ?. I still believe that it's the already existing closest example to a Colecovision BASIC...if this is still the original topic, of course; if not, maybe an MPAGD port would be the best option IMHO.

[drfloyd]

Why ATARI2600 has got the powerfull BATARI basic, INTELLIVISION the ultra powerfull INTY Basic. There are lot a great commercial/homebrew games with these langages.

 

and nothing for COLECOVSION... Strange no ?

[Pixelboy]

23 minutes ago, drfloyd said:

Why ATARI2600 has got the powerfull BATARI basic, INTELLIVISION the ultra powerfull INTY Basic. There are lot a great commercial/homebrew games with these langages.

 

and nothing for COLECOVSION... Strange no ?

I'd say I'm partly to blame for this. I've been talking about doing BasicVision for several years now but never got around to it.

 

[artrag]

ugBasic is a compiled basic and can perfectly work on colecovision. 

You will have limited ram for variables but it can work. You should ask Marco Spedaletti to add colecovision to the supported list of machines. Once you have included msx adding the colecovision is a minor task 

Edited January 8, 2022 by artrag

[artrag]

https://github.com/spotlessmind1975/ugbasic/issues/312

 

UgBasic for colecovision is coming 

Marco says he has done a first version already able to run about the 50% of the examples in the release package 

Edited January 8, 2022 by artrag

[artrag]

ugbasic now supports Colecovision. In v 1.9 they have included support for hardware sprites on Coleco (and MSX) and threads for parallel tasks (on z80!)

 

https://github.com/spotlessmind1975/ugbasic/discussions/321

 

Edited August 1, 2022 by artrag

[jltursan]

Wow, ugBasic is evolving fast!. Need to check this, at first I have found the examples to be a bit confusing...

[rcamp48]

On 3/13/2016 at 11:09 AM, Pixelboy said:

Not from me, I won't have any time to work on BasicVision this year.

What ever happened to BasicVision, I would love to be a Beta tester on this project, I just got my Adam this week, and am excited to work on it a bit, once I finish some of my old projects. I basically have a habit of starting projects and not getting them finished, sigh : Don't we all.

Russ

 

[digress]

the adam has smart basic. try that out. not sure if it can be compiled or not.

[rcamp48]

6 hours ago, digress said:

the adam has smart basic. try that out. not sure if it can be compiled or not.

Yes I have smartBasic , don't know if it can be compiled or not either.

[+Gemintronic]

7 hours ago, rcamp48 said:

What ever happened to BasicVision, I would love to be a Beta tester on this project, I just got my Adam this week, and am excited to work on it a bit, once I finish some of my old projects. I basically have a habit of starting projects and not getting them finished, sigh : Don't we all.

Russ

 

 

As someone already linked you should take a look at ugBASIC.  The developer is friendly and open to improvements/feedback

https://ugbasic.iwashere.eu/

 

I got this far

 

 

[carlsson]

I was about to ask if anyone had gotten anywhere in 4 months. At least you did.

[+Gemintronic]

34 minutes ago, carlsson said:

I was about to ask if anyone had gotten anywhere in 4 months. At least you did.

 

The trouble with these multi system dev suites is always figuring out which commands are implemented on each console.  I got as far as that license disclaimer by reporting incomplete print screen features between the MSX and Coleco targets. 

 

That's why I hope people like rcamp48 get involved.  More feedback means higher chance of needed features being focused on.

[rcamp48]

3 hours ago, Gemintronic said:

 

The trouble with these multi system dev suites is always figuring out which commands are implemented on each console.  I got as far as that license disclaimer by reporting incomplete print screen features between the MSX and Coleco targets. 

 

That's why I hope people like rcamp48 get involved.  More feedback means higher chance of needed features being focused on.

Definitely, and I am a programmer too.....

[OriginalJohn]

On 1/16/2022 at 4:17 AM, artrag said:

ugbasic now supports Colecovision. In v 1.9 the have included support for hardware sprites on Coleco (and MSX) and threads for parallel tasks (on z80!)

 

https://github.com/spotlessmind1975/ugbasic/discussions/321

 

Has anyone attempted to do anything in this IDE?   

 

I attempted a simple menu and it appears to not read the joystick correctly.  For example there are the commands JUP(0), JDOWN(0), JLEFT(0), JRIGHT(0)... JFIRE(0) does nothing, when you read joy(0) the fire button returns a value of 64, but ahem... it never clears up and is like a reaaaly long button press.