Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!visix!news
From: brett@visix.com (Brett Bourbin)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.hardware
Subject: Re: Hardware Idiots ?
Message-ID: <1991May28.165016.6656@visix.com>
Date: 28 May 91 16:50:16 GMT
References: <1991May22.193016.12202@lynx.CS.ORST.EDU> <21889@cbmvax.commodore.com> <1991May27.090523.8605@rulway.LeidenUniv.nl>
Sender: news@visix.com
Reply-To: brett@visix.com
Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.programmer
Organization: Visix Software Inc., Reston, Virginia
Lines: 36

In article <1991May27.090523.8605@rulway.LeidenUniv.nl>, breemen@rulcvx.LeidenUniv.nl (E. van Breemen) writes:
> In article <21889@cbmvax.commodore.com> daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) writes:
> 
> >I'm probably the one who used the term "idiots", and it certainly doesn't apply
> >to anyone who bangs the bits on these systems.  I meant it specifically to
> >apply to the people who go directly to the hardware for absolutely no good
> >reason, other than the fact that they don't like the way the OS does a thing,
> >or they think the Amiga is some big C64.  Or they're just plain lazy.  Or they
> 
> The Amiga IS a big C64 with lots of memory and nice custom chips. You only
> need an assembler to program those wonderfull games. A program like Shadow
> of the Beast can't be programmed using OS graphic calls.

Oh, Please. A Game like Beast CAN be programmed using the OS. You can setup
the display using graphic calls, create custom Copper list to do all our
fancy tricks, install them into your own personal View (User Copper Lists),
handle all mouse/joystick actions with the input.device (at a higher pri
than Intuition), etc...

This is not to say that you don't need to write high-performance code to
superseed some of the OS calls (Blitting, for example), but you don't need,
for the most part, to throw out the whole OS to do it.

I have written a program that treats the Amiga like a "Big C-64" and does
everything to the bare metal. Then I re-wrote it to use the OS, and guess
what, not much was lost (in terms of speed and special effects). This 
program did Copper tricks for color shading, 3d real-time rendering (well,
sort of) and full mouse control. It can be done. (IMHO)

This is really off the subject of hardware now, so I will direct followups
to the programming group.
--
                                __
  Brett Bourbin          \  / /(_  /\/   11440 Commerce Park Drive
    ..!uunet!visix!brett  \/ / __)/ /\   Reston, Virginia 22091
    brett@visix.com       Software Inc   (703) 758-2733