pionner plague how they did it 4096 colors ?

turrican3 · 17 November 2013, 03:10

what's the tricks to have a game likt this in 4096 colors ???
look at the video : [ Show youtube player ]
It's not just intro screen...
From a technical pov how they did it ?

Mrs Beanbag · 17 November 2013, 13:10

a HAM game! a novelty.

At a first guess, the scrolling background only uses the 16 palette colours, with the HAM RGB values only used by the bobs, so fringing will only happen when/if bobs overlap. The main player object could be made out of sprites.

Mrs Beanbag · 17 November 2013, 15:24

actually I'm thinking about all sorts of ways a HAM game could be possible, now.

If the RGB pixels were set continuously in turn instead of just once, fringing could be reduced to 2 pixels no matter what is drawn on top. And by keeping a 16-colour version of the background image that uses just the palette entries, you could copy it down the right hand edges of bobs to eliminate fringing altogether. The bobs themselves just need to use palette entries down their left hand edges.

commodorejohn · 17 November 2013, 15:55

That's what I've been considering for a project - keeping an extra 16-color version of the backdrop seems wasteful, but it would be neat to be able to have HAM with full-fledged BOBs atop it.

Lord Riton · 17 November 2013, 23:26

I don't see 4096 colors, beside the fixed screens and the interface. And if it is, then it's poorly done.

s2325 · 17 November 2013, 23:34

IrfanView see 174 colors on HOL screenshots (without watermark).

Codetapper · 18 November 2013, 01:28

A good artist can make a 32 colour palette look far better than some shitty HAM hack for 4096 colours. I seriously wouldn't bother!

commodorejohn · 18 November 2013, 02:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Codetapper

A good artist can make a 32 colour palette look far better than some shitty HAM hack for 4096 colours. I seriously wouldn't bother!

Oh pshaw. 32-color and HAM are both just tools; the fact that HAM can be poorly used doesn't make it shitty.

Amiga1992 · 18 November 2013, 12:27

That game looks horrible anyway

Mrs Beanbag · 18 November 2013, 13:51

The coloured ball thing the player ship comes out of (1:06 in the video) looks like HAM, but it really doesn't look very good. In fact most of the colourful bits of graphics just look like a rainbow exploded.

In this case, HAM was probably not the best tool for the job. They were trying to use it for its own sake.

khph_re · 18 November 2013, 18:14

it's quite an early game, show some pity!
was it a one man effort? if so he should have stuck to code ( may he rest in piece).
using ham is cool though, but perhaps not that clever?, just draw your background in base colours, and make sure your bobs colour stepping doesn't cause fringing.

Galahad/FLT · 19 November 2013, 00:04

HAM mode was used simply as a marketing gimmick, a boast. Dynamite Debugger lived off it for years before they realised it was unworkable.

TjLaZer · 26 November 2013, 22:15

Check out Evil Garden, another HAM game.

desiv · 05 December 2013, 01:37

It was a fun game..
Control seemed good to me..
It looked good, at least for an early-ish Amiga game... (1988)
Maybe they could have done the same or better without the use of HAM; maybe it was the "Blast Processing" of the Amiga.. ;-)

Also, it was Bill Williams, who is tied to Mindwalker and a BUNCH of the great Cinemaware games...

It didn't necessarily prove a game would be better with HAM, but it showed it could be done without hideous fringing..

desiv

turrican3 · 05 December 2013, 10:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by TjLaZer

Check out Evil Garden, another HAM game.

where did you read that this a ham game ?
Or how did you find this is an ham game ?

17 November 2013, 03:10	#1
turrican3 Moon 1969 = amiga 1985 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: belgium Age: 48 Posts: 3,914	pionner plague how they did it 4096 colors ? what's the tricks to have a game likt this in 4096 colors ??? look at the video : [ Show youtube player ] It's not just intro screen... From a technical pov how they did it ?

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17 November 2013, 13:10	#2
Mrs Beanbag Glastonbridge Software Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Edinburgh/Scotland Posts: 2,243	a HAM game! a novelty. At a first guess, the scrolling background only uses the 16 palette colours, with the HAM RGB values only used by the bobs, so fringing will only happen when/if bobs overlap. The main player object could be made out of sprites.

17 November 2013, 15:24	#3
Mrs Beanbag Glastonbridge Software Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Edinburgh/Scotland Posts: 2,243	actually I'm thinking about all sorts of ways a HAM game could be possible, now. If the RGB pixels were set continuously in turn instead of just once, fringing could be reduced to 2 pixels no matter what is drawn on top. And by keeping a 16-colour version of the background image that uses just the palette entries, you could copy it down the right hand edges of bobs to eliminate fringing altogether. The bobs themselves just need to use palette entries down their left hand edges.

17 November 2013, 15:55	#4
commodorejohn Shameless recidivist Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Duluth, Minnesota (USA) Age: 38 Posts: 266	That's what I've been considering for a project - keeping an extra 16-color version of the backdrop seems wasteful, but it would be neat to be able to have HAM with full-fledged BOBs atop it.

17 November 2013, 23:26	#5
Lord Riton Registered User Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: France Age: 52 Posts: 507	I don't see 4096 colors, beside the fixed screens and the interface. And if it is, then it's poorly done.

17 November 2013, 23:34	#6
s2325 Zone Friend Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Gargore Age: 44 Posts: 17,789	IrfanView see 174 colors on HOL screenshots (without watermark).

18 November 2013, 01:28	#7
Codetapper 2 contact me: email only! Join Date: May 2001 Location: Auckland / New Zealand Posts: 3,187	A good artist can make a 32 colour palette look far better than some shitty HAM hack for 4096 colours. I seriously wouldn't bother!

18 November 2013, 12:27	#9
Amiga1992 Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: ? Posts: 19,658	That game looks horrible anyway

18 November 2013, 13:51	#10
Mrs Beanbag Glastonbridge Software Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Edinburgh/Scotland Posts: 2,243	The coloured ball thing the player ship comes out of (1:06 in the video) looks like HAM, but it really doesn't look very good. In fact most of the colourful bits of graphics just look like a rainbow exploded. In this case, HAM was probably not the best tool for the job. They were trying to use it for its own sake.

18 November 2013, 18:14	#11
khph_re Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Northampton/UK Posts: 531	it's quite an early game, show some pity! was it a one man effort? if so he should have stuck to code ( may he rest in piece). using ham is cool though, but perhaps not that clever?, just draw your background in base colours, and make sure your bobs colour stepping doesn't cause fringing.

19 November 2013, 00:04	#12
Galahad/FLT Going nowhere Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: United Kingdom Age: 50 Posts: 9,018	HAM mode was used simply as a marketing gimmick, a boast. Dynamite Debugger lived off it for years before they realised it was unworkable.

26 November 2013, 22:15	#13
TjLaZer Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Tacoma, WA USA Age: 52 Posts: 1,932	Check out Evil Garden, another HAM game.

05 December 2013, 01:37	#14
desiv Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Salem, OR Posts: 1,770	It was a fun game.. Control seemed good to me.. It looked good, at least for an early-ish Amiga game... (1988) Maybe they could have done the same or better without the use of HAM; maybe it was the "Blast Processing" of the Amiga.. ;-) Also, it was Bill Williams, who is tied to Mindwalker and a BUNCH of the great Cinemaware games... It didn't necessarily prove a game would be better with HAM, but it showed it could be done without hideous fringing.. desiv

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