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emkay

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I'm not sure about this picture...

 

 

I tried to keep the color usage (which I don't like very much) of the AMIGA & did a combination with some XL/XE GFX... I even think I managed the image recognizable enough.

 

 

 

916466[/snapback]

 

It's just outstanding, Emkay!

 

I think you need some positive feedback as it seems to me that nobody is going to praise you for your utiring effort to create something new for our beloved A8 machines.

 

F.

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I'm not sure about this picture...

 

 

I tried to keep the color usage (which I don't like very much) of the AMIGA & did a combination with some XL/XE GFX... I even think I managed the image recognizable enough.

 

 

 

916466[/snapback]

 

WOOOW!! :lust:

 

not only great pic, but beautiful too.

 

;) when will emkay create a new game ??

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Just getting in to this and had a question on two terms I saw in threads -

 

What is MCS (saw it in relation to scrolling) and what is RLE?

 

 

Thanks!

917925[/snapback]

 

 

 

MCS was an "idea" of mine in the late 80's.

 

It stood for "Multi Colour Screen" & "Multi Colour Sound"

 

 

In the graphics part, there were plans to have a balanced colour (PM overlay/underlay & charmode for graphics) usage with a reliable speed as the A8 HW is capable of.

 

In the sound part it was the idea of using all POKEY features instead of using the full cpu speed for samples.

 

While graphics "MCS" is a part of "G2F", there is still no chance until today, to have the same possibilities for the Sound.

 

 

Have a look at the images of this very old thread ;)

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...ic=18251&hl=mcs

 

 

Well... Graph 2 Font is a very powerful tool, as you can edit the graphics by machine code with cycle exact colour changes if you want.

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In the graphics part, there were plans to have a balanced colour (PM overlay/underlay & charmode for graphics) usage with a reliable speed as the A8 HW is capable of.

 

PM?

 

So basicly it's an overlay process? I was looking at some of the graphics included with Graph2fnt and it looks like one layer is B&W the other is a color layer. How much does that actually speed up the rendering process?

 

While graphics "MCS" is a part of "G2F",  there is still no chance until today, to have the same possibilities for the Sound.

 

So there is something available for sound now as well?

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While graphics "MCS" is a part of "G2F",  there is still no chance until today, to have the same possibilities for the Sound.

 

So there is something available for sound now as well?

918024[/snapback]

 

Have a look at this PC tool: for music creation for pokey on a8

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=75010

 

...and some things done with that tool...:

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...opic=68283&st=0

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Just getting in to this and had a question on two terms I saw in threads -

 

What is MCS (saw it in relation to scrolling) and what is RLE?

 

 

Thanks!

917925[/snapback]

 

have a look here if you want to see MCS screens in combination with scrolling:

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...43&hl=scrolling

918377[/snapback]

 

Thanks, I had already looked at that thread. My question is still the same though - what is the MCS technique? It looks like it's a method of layering, but I haven't seen it actually laid out in an actual specification or someone saying "MCS is the technique of......and is done by....."

 

I'm not a novice programmer, but I am new to A8 programming. So I'm not used to a lot of the terms that are being thrown around either (PM, Gprior?). I realize English is not Em's first language, so if anyone else can answer my question to I'd appreciate it.

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I'm not a novice programmer, but I am new to A8 programming.  So I'm not used to a lot of the terms that are being thrown around either (PM, Gprior?).  I realize English is not Em's first language, so if anyone else can answer my question to I'd appreciate it.

919003[/snapback]

 

English isn't my first language, but I'm online ;)

 

If you have tried the tool G2F, you simply can have a look at the used technique.

On the right side of the tool's window you can switch the "preview" between PMG, GFX & ALL.

 

Have a look at this:

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...ic=66811&st=25#

 

 

On the left side you see the Player-Missile-Graphics to be moved in blocks.

To the right you see the bitmap graphics.

The overlay results in a green "hero", some "fire" shots, and some pink bats.

(sadly, the original picture isn't available anymore)

Edited by emkay
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I'm not a novice programmer, but I am new to A8 programming.  So I'm not used to a lot of the terms that are being thrown around either (PM, Gprior?).

 

A PM or PMG is a Player/Missile Graphic, the name for the hardware sprites. Gprior is the priority register for those sprites, the Atari hardware has a cool but initially confusing way of handling sprite to background priorities and some quirks to the system to boot. =-) i can't answer the question about the MCS format because i've never actually used it myself and can't run the tool on my PC, i've just done some PM overlay previously and i'm experimenting with PM underlay right now.

 

Oh, and RLE is Run-Length Encoding, a relatively simple compression technique that, generally speaking, reduces long strings of a single byte to a token, the byte in question and a length byte to say how long to run with it.

 

Oh, excuse any wibbly bits in this post, still waking up right now. =-)

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and yes... it's kind of "layering"... you have the "standard" bitmap background and you actually putting sprites on top or "behind" this bitmap...so actually from "standard" 5 colour screen you can spice that up to 9 colours (5 + 4 colours of the sprites). and when using raster interrupts you can alter position/colour registers/shapes etc while the graphic chip is drawing the screen on your monitor/tv...

 

and as this must be done in the past "by assembler" hence by hand... we now have the G2F-tool on PC which does this "automaticly"... so you don't have to be a coder to enhance your gfx...

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Thanks guys, I appreciate the help and you taking the time to explain it.

 

 

The question that comes to mind is if you're using up the sprites to add the extra colors, what do you do for the actual characters in the games themselve then?

 

Or are you swapping back and forth between character and background sprites?

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The question that comes to mind is if you're using up the sprites to add the extra colors, what do you do for the actual characters in the games themselve then?

 

In my case software sprites with a player or two to add extra colour but it varies from project to project and indeed coder to coder; the idea doesn't suit every type of game t'be honest... (Oh, i'm new to the Atari hardware too by the way, C64 coder who decided to spread out and find new platforms to be a nuisance on... =-)

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The question that comes to mind is if you're using up the sprites to add the extra colors, what do you do for the actual characters in the games themselve then?

 

In my case software sprites with a player or two to add extra colour but it varies from project to project and indeed coder to coder; the idea doesn't suit every type of game t'be honest... (Oh, i'm new to the Atari hardware too by the way, C64 coder who decided to spread out and find new platforms to be a nuisance on... =-)

919358[/snapback]

 

 

Ok. So I'm assuming it's not much different theoretically than Kevin Horton's process described here? (forgetting about the CV's need to stagger sprites).

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  • 5 weeks later...

Hi,

 

while working with the actual version (3.8.3.7), I have encountered

the problem that accessing the 5th color in 2x1 mode seems very

difficult when not impossible. While trying to access the inversion of

characters in screen mode, G2F only supplies an 8x8 character area

for inversion (the yellow rectangular cursor). Is this a bug or can

anybody give me a hint to access a more particular area (tebe?)?

 

Any suggestions?

 

Beside this I think, that support for the GITA - basic graphics 10 look

alike character mode would be a very nice enhancement (access to

all 9 native colors without PM-graphics)...

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Hi,

 

while working with the actual version (3.8.3.7), I have encountered

the problem that accessing the 5th color in 2x1 mode seems very

difficult when not impossible. While trying to access the inversion of

characters in screen mode, G2F only supplies an 8x8 character area

for inversion (the yellow rectangular cursor). Is this a bug or can

anybody give me a hint to access a more particular area (tebe?)?

 

Any suggestions?

 

 

 

The size can be adjusted by using the cursor keys.

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