Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!qucdn!leek
From: LEEK@QUCDN.QueensU.CA
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Game vs Multitasking
Message-ID: <90160.022356LEEK@QUCDN.BITNET>
Date: 9 Jun 90 06:23:55 GMT
References: <9006010158.AA01507@jade.berkeley.edu> <18302@well.sf.ca.us>
 <18368@well.sf.ca.us> <36361@sequent.UUCP>
Organization: Queen's University at Kingston
Lines: 34

I have seen  "stereo headphone on a BOING!" logo for some games that have
stereo output.  Now that the Bitnet people demand multitasking,
we might see an Amiga juggling tiny BOING! balls on a startup screen for
games  as a logo for the multitasking feature.

Adding the ability to exit to OS with rebooting shouldn't be hard at all.
I am wonder how the game programmer debug/test his/her games.  Do they
have to do a reboot every time they want to test out the cureent version of
the game and go back to edit-compile cycle ??  Doesn't sound too efficient
to me.  The way I see it, they could have made 2 versions of the games
- one for the 512K game machine option that take over the whole machine and
a version for expanded muscle machines with lots and lots of memory with
multitasking enable.  All the programmer have to do is to change some
codes and recompile - instant expanded market just like that.  Anyone with >
half a brain would be able to figure that out.  Even MS dos games can do
CGA /EGA (even VGA) graphics depending on the machine configuration.

On my 020 Amiga, all the system stuff like takes up 5% of the CPU time.  If
I run pm, the CPU idle line is always near the top and it does move at all
even if I move my mouse around/type/click in windows/download file at 2400 to
ram.  The weak excuse of system task eating up CPU cycles do not happen here.
I find it hard to believe that a game need to burn up all the extra 3-4 time
CPU cycles available.

K. C. Lee

   /
[\/ ]  Yes !  I want multitasking/OS friendly games

"Stereo wherever available" and "Multitasking wherever faster CPU is available"

Anyone is welcome to use the above lines & the juggling BOING! balls for part
of signature or part of startup screen/packaging for multitasking/OS friendly
games.  (It would be nice to toss me a free game or two for the idea. :)