Hi

Introduce yourself and reminisce
bxdanny
Posts: 311
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2015 2:27 pm
Location: Bronx, NY USA

Re: Hi

Post by bxdanny »

Monster Maze (the C2/C4 port) is in the ML-load subdirectory of the WinOSI emulator download (http://osi.marks-lab.com/OsiEmu13.zip). The filename is Monster-Maze.lod. Who did the porting and when, I don't know.
No current OSI hardware
Former programmer for Dwo Quong Fok Lok Sow and Orion Software Associates
Former owner of C1P MF (original version) and C2-8P DF (502-based)
dave
Site Admin
Posts: 710
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2008 5:24 am

Re: Hi

Post by dave »

Welcome to the board! I must admit, I didn't have many games back in the day--didn't buy much software in general in those days--but I am looking forward to playing some of them as I organize and the existing available software and put it online. Thanks for your blessing on posting your creations.

Dave
DaveEdson
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2015 3:24 am

Re: Hi

Post by DaveEdson »

FOUND IT. It was in the ML Load folder. The controls are actually QA, VB, QA or up/down, VB for left right. I must have done peek only, which is why other keys worked.

I also see interceptor in there. Gonna go load it and see if it's mine. COLOR ME EXCITED
DaveEdson
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2015 3:24 am

Re: Hi

Post by DaveEdson »

Yep, Interceptor was mine too. Wanted to clone Missile Command, but the lack of raster graphics and a trackball (and CPU power) required a little bit of imagination. So I combined Asteroids and Missile Command. Took me a while to remember the keys (Left Shift, Z for Rotate, / for Fire, Right Shift for thrust).

I remember the big deal about this game, and what we actually marketed were the multiple explosions. Oh, how times have changed.

And to think, if I only knew that this code:

DEY
CPY #0
BNE foo

Could have just been this:

DEY
BNE foo

I probably could have supported twice as much action in all my games. I learned everything by reading the 6502 reference manual or by disassembling BASIC in ROM and for some reason, the loop that I learned my pattern from did the CPY pattern.

I remembered getting a letter in the mail from someone telling me about this perf hit after they disassembled my code, but by then I had moved onto the CoCo and the 6809. So I was able to write faster CoCo code, but unfortunately all my OSI code was slower than it needed to be.

Another thing that I could have been done so differently had I not self taught myself at the tender age of 12....
I would literally have enemies scan the video memory in a loop in horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines looking for their targets. Never even occurred to me to store position as X,Y and map to display. I am not making this up.
bxdanny
Posts: 311
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2015 2:27 pm
Location: Bronx, NY USA

Re: Hi

Post by bxdanny »

Hi Dave,

So are Q/A and V/B the keys that you used in your original C1P version? That would mean that the use of A/Z and slash/right shift were changes that were entirely mine. Yes, you had all rows enabled, which I guess is what you mean by "Peek only", but the values being checked for in the version I have been playing were still different. I was about to post the C1P version (along with some other things), and was writing up a little description, when I realized that what I have may still not be quite what you originally wrote. (I know I didn't change anything other than what keys were looked for.)

--Danny
DaveEdson
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2015 3:24 am

Re: Hi

Post by DaveEdson »

I know when I wrote it, it was QA, VB. But I also remember having very, very spirited arguments with Rodger on the keys. I don't remember who won. QA/VB still works on the one up on the emulator now, so perhaps I won but using the peek only approach let him find keys he liked.

The flaming, frothing fight I had with Rodger was Interceptor. I wanted 1/2 for rotate, 8 for thrust, 9 for fire. JUST LIKE ASTEROIDS. The interceptor up on the emulator has thrust/fire backwards, using the shift keys and z,/. If you want to make my day, go fix that game for me :)

I had a great argument with some people at work today, some youngin's. They thought vector graphics were what we called raster graphics, and what we called vector graphics, they couldn't grok
bxdanny
Posts: 311
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2015 2:27 pm
Location: Bronx, NY USA

Re: Hi

Post by bxdanny »

Dave,

I restored your original key controls to the C1P Monster Maze, and uploaded it to the Forum as part of my "Enhanced Pico-Dos" package, which is now in the Files section. As per your idea, I suggested in the documentation alternate keys for left-right movement that can be used in place of V and B.

--Danny
No current OSI hardware
Former programmer for Dwo Quong Fok Lok Sow and Orion Software Associates
Former owner of C1P MF (original version) and C2-8P DF (502-based)
MK14HAK
Posts: 356
Joined: Wed Mar 16, 2011 1:49 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Hi

Post by MK14HAK »

Welcome to the forum Dave and Danny. I hope to get some game playing time soon. Great to have these games available and PicoDOS too. (Not up yet I see.)
The INY DEY is interesting. I have seen the comparisons done both ways in the same piece of OSI software. 6502 code keeps you on your toes with its quirks. Shame we don't have any source code for your games - or do we Dave ? I can see myself disassembling them sometime. I hope to teach my boys to write software. Was there any sound routines included?
Mike
600RevB:16K,2MHz,64x32,470,CEGMON
SuperKit:502,540B,542B,CEGMON, 8" and 5" FDDs
Cards:PE IO,6522 D-A-D, AY3-8910,ProgramGraphics,Color,UK101
WIP:HexDOS,FDD Emulator
dave
Site Admin
Posts: 710
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2008 5:24 am

Re: Hi

Post by dave »

@Mike: Danny posted the picodos image and notes in the Files section.

Shortly I will complete a reorganization of the disk image download section, and will add a bunch of new images, including this one, so hopefully things will be easier to find.

@Danny: If you have source code for your enhanced Picodos, would you be interested in contributing it, and some of your other work, to the OSI source code repository on github? ( https://github.com/osiweb )

@Dave: Same thing, if you are willing, it would be awesome to upload the source.

Dave
bxdanny
Posts: 311
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2015 2:27 pm
Location: Bronx, NY USA

Re: Hi

Post by bxdanny »

Hi Dave(s),

Sorry, I don't have source code for my changes to Pico-Dos, nor for the Gomoku game, as I did not use an assembler in creating them.

I will probably be posting more software soon. I do have source code for at least one thing, a version of the OSI editor (for Basic, similar to the one that is part of 65D 3.3) that works with 65D 3.2.
No current OSI hardware
Former programmer for Dwo Quong Fok Lok Sow and Orion Software Associates
Former owner of C1P MF (original version) and C2-8P DF (502-based)
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