Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!pacbell.com!tandem!zorch!amiga0!mykes From: mykes@amiga0.SF-Bay.ORG (Mike Schwartz) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer Subject: Re: Lemmings - a tutorial Part V (last) Message-ID: Date: 1 Apr 91 02:02:24 GMT References: <781@tnc.UUCP> <2149@pdxgate.UUCP> <1991Mar31.144257.28633@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG> Organization: Amiga makes it possible Lines: 97 In article <1991Mar31.144257.28633@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG> xanthian@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG (Kent Paul Dolan) writes: >In article <2149@pdxgate.UUCP> bairds@eecs.cs.pdx.edu (Shawn L. Baird) writes: >mykes@amiga0.SF-Bay.ORG (Mike Schwartz) writes: > >In fact, I took his example game, stuck it in Rad:, and ran it from the >command line. It is a pretty impressive example of the "fly a spaceship >down a corridor and shoot at gobs of nasties who are busily shooting >back, grab the various fuel and other pods before they get by, etc." >variety. It is highlighted by amazing graphics, a scrolling starfield >below the platform over which you fly your ship, that is three layers >deep and gives the perspective of depth as it moves by, sparkling >graphic imagry, thanks to an artist friend of Mike's, things just >_flying_ around. It most reminded me of the old Apple ][+ game "AE" >in terms of the number and variety of nasties in sight. > >No sound, but I only uploaded 49K of program! It used the usual >misdirection to achieve the illusion of higher performance from my stock >processor A2000; probably two thirds of the screen area was a static >frame and status display; all the dynamic stuff was being done in the >other 1/3 of the screen. That translates into lots less pixels to move >about. Everything but the stars seemed to be built out of the 16x16 >tiles he described in a recent rec.games.programmer article. The tiles >that looked like open fretwork really were, you could watch the stars >slide by under them (more misdirection, but that's what I saw!) > Ahem, the program has 5 sound effects totalling exactly 24636 bytes of that 49K. You sound must have been turned down. >Eventually I managed, after losing a couple of dozen games in a row (I'm >47, fuzzy eyed, and have a gimp arm, I'm never going to be an arcade >champ again) to evoke a bug (it _was_ a beta, after all), one of the >sprites smeared itself over the screen two centimeters wide and screen >height. I followed the directions for exiting the program, (touch a >mouse button), and despite the bug, I was right back in the workbench >looking at the shell window from which I had evoked the game, with >normal operations, no problems. > Sorry, I know there is a wild store somewhere, but I used NO debugger to do the thing! I'll find it. >Just as he described, his game nuked multitasking while running, but >gave it back when done, good as new. > Didn't use a single OS call in the program. >The most impressive thing was that this is a game Mike cobbled together >from standard parts, some artwork by a friend, and his usual code, but >slewed clear out of its normal environment to coexist with the OS, it >fit in 50K of code, he got it running in three days, and it's >_addictive_; clean up the bug and he could be selling it in the stores. > Just wanted to show I could do it, but it doesn't mean I would sell a game done that way :( (frown, not smiley) Also, you overrate it. If I spent another 3+ months on it, expanded it to fill 512K, added music, a title screen, an attract mode, more levels, more enemies, more graphics... Maybe it would be a product. The best I'd ever hope for this game is PD. >I don't much care for Mike's nuking the OS, and coding primarily at the >assembler level, but lose the arguments that his development therefore >_necessarily_ has to take a long time or that the game's playability >_must_ get lost when he's fighting assembler. He's got a great toolbox >of tested code, and it is a productivity engine, even in assembler. > Remember, I didn't use a debugger even... It also helped that the artwork was given to me complete. >I may disagree with him a _lot_ (we just started talking again at all >after long silence), but he's damned good at what he does, it supports >him in the good life, and he has a lot to teach about programming the >way he likes to do it, and he deserves to be heard by those wanting to >get a start programming the bare metal to make the big bucks. > Just did it to prove a point. I know how to do it, know it can be done, but still would choose not to make products this way. I just want the *alternate* point of view to be heard. >Kent, the man from xanth. > >-- >"Now if he'd just let me multitask from the HD!" -- Mr. Incorrigible ;-) Give 'em an inch and they want a mile haha. -- ******************************************************** * Appendix A of the Amiga Hardware Manual tells you * * everything you need to know to take full advantage * * of the power of the Amiga. And it is only 10 pages! * ********************************************************