Ms Pacman conversion WIP - Page 5

mrv2k · 20 November 2021, 19:27

There's a WHDLoad version in Retroplay's collection on the EAB file server...

/Retroplay WHDLoad Packs/Commodore_Amiga_-_WHDLoad_-_Games_-_Beta_&_Unreleased/M/MsPacMan_v1.0.lha

alkis21 · 20 November 2021, 21:09

Found them, thank you very much. I was looking in WHDLoad_-_Games instead.

jotd · 21 November 2021, 11:04

itch.io contains the .adf with the latest executable and the .slave. I do not distribute the whdload version as lha, that's true

redblade · 21 November 2021, 21:13

JOTD: Excellent work on the port.

How much of the A500 does it use 80-90% ??

How many raster lines for frame update?

jotd · 21 November 2021, 21:59

I haven't measured it but I have tested it on my real A500, I had to find an external drive (that I had in store and which worked perfectly) to write a floppy for it on my A1200 (which has CF IDE but the internal floppy drive was dead) so my A500 could boot the game (the A500 drive still works perfectly, after I replaced it by a newer A1200 board drive 25 years ago).

But it uses sprites for ghosts, and is pretty much optimized in assembly, with lookup tables for multiplications & squaring.

I don't even need double buffering (which is somehow painful to do anyway)

Besides, the blitter objects aren't blitted in all planes when possible, using well-thought palette ordering. For instance MsPacman has only 4 colors, and doesn't intersect with the maze ever, so it's blitted on 2 bitplanes only and doesn't use cookie cut blitting

Only moving fruit uses all 4 planes blit and cookie cut to avoid destroying the maze.

I can only imagine how hard it must be to create a 32 color game with blits everywhere, and that is fast enough on a A500...

redblade · 22 November 2021, 21:27

Thanks for the explanation, and yeah Disks and floppy drives are becoming quite rare and troublesome.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jotd

I can only imagine how hard it must be to create a 32 color game with blits everywhere, and that is fast enough on a A500...

Wasn't that when the coders stopped checking for wait blits?

jotd · 22 November 2021, 21:45

yes, some games know the blit is finished... And saves cycles not checking it. But it's stupid.

Better check for blits BEFORE the next blit operation, and before that (while the blitter is working) prepare all data so writing to blitter registers is very fast

21 November 2021, 21:59	#85
jotd This cat is no more Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: FRANCE Age: 52 Posts: 8,161	I haven't measured it but I have tested it on my real A500, I had to find an external drive (that I had in store and which worked perfectly) to write a floppy for it on my A1200 (which has CF IDE but the internal floppy drive was dead) so my A500 could boot the game (the A500 drive still works perfectly, after I replaced it by a newer A1200 board drive 25 years ago). But it uses sprites for ghosts, and is pretty much optimized in assembly, with lookup tables for multiplications & squaring. I don't even need double buffering (which is somehow painful to do anyway) Besides, the blitter objects aren't blitted in all planes when possible, using well-thought palette ordering. For instance MsPacman has only 4 colors, and doesn't intersect with the maze ever, so it's blitted on 2 bitplanes only and doesn't use cookie cut blitting Only moving fruit uses all 4 planes blit and cookie cut to avoid destroying the maze. I can only imagine how hard it must be to create a 32 color game with blits everywhere, and that is fast enough on a A500... Last edited by jotd; 21 November 2021 at 22:04.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Pacman - the Amiga conversion from the arcade game	jotd	Retrogaming General Discussion	204	11 April 2023 10:03
Ms Pacman	alkis	Coders. General	55	03 August 2021 01:00
[WIP] Gloom Total Conversion for ZDoom	Cherno	Nostalgia & memories	5	01 October 2017 04:37
PacMan'96	fc.studio	request.Old Rare Games	12	13 November 2015 12:55

20 November 2021, 19:27	#81
mrv2k Registered User Join Date: Apr 2020 Location: England Age: 53 Posts: 431	There's a WHDLoad version in Retroplay's collection on the EAB file server... /Retroplay WHDLoad Packs/Commodore_Amiga_-_WHDLoad_-_Games_-_Beta_&_Unreleased/M/MsPacMan_v1.0.lha

20 November 2021, 21:09	#82
alkis21 Zone Friend Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Athens, Greece Age: 49 Posts: 1,408	Found them, thank you very much. I was looking in WHDLoad_-_Games instead.

21 November 2021, 11:04	#83
jotd This cat is no more Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: FRANCE Age: 52 Posts: 8,161	itch.io contains the .adf with the latest executable and the .slave. I do not distribute the whdload version as lha, that's true

21 November 2021, 21:13	#84
redblade Zone Friend Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Middle Earth Age: 40 Posts: 2,127	JOTD: Excellent work on the port. How much of the A500 does it use 80-90% ?? How many raster lines for frame update?

22 November 2021, 21:45	#87
jotd This cat is no more Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: FRANCE Age: 52 Posts: 8,161	yes, some games know the blit is finished... And saves cycles not checking it. But it's stupid. Better check for blits BEFORE the next blit operation, and before that (while the blitter is working) prepare all data so writing to blitter registers is very fast

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)