Use 4 color registers with punctuation

[pmgraphics]

My basic games redefine characters to create the graphics in graphics mode 1. If I define 4 letters to be my game graphics, I can use color registers 0 - 3 to set the color of each, so I have a different color for each character by using, upper case, lower case, or inverse upper case and inverse lower case. Letter 'Z' can be poked as 58, 180, 122, or 250 to display it in color register 0, 1, 2, or 3 (as you probably all know).

 

If I define punctuation as my graphics for the game, I am limited to just two colors (register 0 and 2). Is there a way to use punctuation and set the color using registers 1 and 3 as well, to have 4 characters on the screen at one time each with their own color?

[vitoco]

Control (graphics chars) are used for the other 2 colors for the number and punctuation. Just add or substract 32 in your pokes for punctuation ATASCII codes.

[pmgraphics]

Using the asterisk with this in place: POKE 756,CH/256:SCREEN=PEEK(88)+256*PEEK(89):ME=SCREEN+5+20*8

POKE(ME),10 uses color reg 0 and displays my graphics

POKE(ME),138 uses color reg 2 and displays my graphics (inverse)

 

Adding 32 and POKE(me),42 it displays a J.

Subtracting 32 gives me a negative number thus an error.

 

I'm missing something.

[vitoco]

Sorry, that was a very quick response from me... my fault.

 

When you POKE values into screen memory area, you should use Internal Codes, not ATASCII codes.

 

To get internal codes, you should use range 0 to 63 to get the first set of ATASCII codes 32 to 95, so for that range, you must substract 32 and you'll get the first color.

 

For the second set (color), you should POKE the range 64 to 127, which represents the ATASCII codes 0 to 31 (control chars) and 96 to 127 (lowercase letters), so for the first half (numbers and punctuation), you should add 64, but use the same ATASCII code of lower case letters to get the uppper case.

 

Use the previous but add 128 for inverse video and you'll get the other 2 colors of graphics mode 1 and 2 (ANTIC mode 5 and 6) .

 

Better?

[vitoco]

BTW, in my Atari page I have an ATASCII table you can print.

 

For internal codes, you must reorder character columns in this way: 2, 3, 1 and 4. Or just check the Internal Code table I just made for you (and everyone else).

 

[pmgraphics]

Thanks. I got it figured out.