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Re: gtBASIC

Posted: 22 Feb 2023, 20:47
by at67
The limit is 128.

Manic Miner Port

Posted: 23 Feb 2023, 20:19
by wbushby
Well Manic Miner has been coded with 4 levels. There is some sound but more effects are needed now.
I need to optimise the level construction code as well to obtain more spare memory.

I hope to release the game next week.

Re: gtBASIC

Posted: 24 Feb 2023, 05:01
by at67
Looks great, congratulations!

Manic Miner Game Release 1

Posted: 25 Feb 2023, 08:38
by wbushby
Here is the first release of Manic Miner written by Mathew Smith in 1983 for the Spectrum.
It requires a 64k Gigatron.

It is written in Basic ROMvX0 which is working pretty good

NOTE: It is controlled by a keyboard. There is no joystick control yet.

I have tried to keep it as close to the original as I can although working with 160 X 120 pixels limits level graphics somewhat.
There are 4 levels of the original 20 levels. I have enough space at the moment to add 1 more level but I will try and make the graphics more efficient to gain more remaining memory.

I am not happy with the sound at moment. This is something I will work on over the next while. I need to work out a frequency table and experiment with sound routines.

I have tested and completed all levels individually but have not finished the whole game yet myself.

Please play and test the game and send me all bugs/errors so I can improve it before releasing the source code.

Re: gtBASIC

Posted: 26 Feb 2023, 20:06
by wbushby
I was wondering what the character limit is for variable names in GTBasic ?

Re: gtBASIC

Posted: 27 Feb 2023, 02:00
by at67
For normal strings, max is 94 chars, 1 is used for length and 1 for terminator which allows strings to fit efficiently in offscreen areas on 32k RAM Gigatron's. All normal strings allocate the full 94 space even if they use less.

There is unfinished code to allow you to change the max size from 1 to 254, (like Atari BASIC allowed), but, well, it's not finished :)

CONST strings and CONST string arrays always use exactly the amount of chars they require, no more or no less; so they are the most efficient way to store strings. Usually as read only, but you can modify or write to them as long as you don't exceed their initial starting length.

*Edit:1*
OOOF mis-read your question, I'd have to check but it's something like 24-32 chars long, once they get too long they get truncated at the assembler.

*Edit:2*
It's 34, but I would stick to 32 to be safe.

Re: Manic Miner Game Release 1

Posted: 28 Feb 2023, 18:33
by walter
wbushby wrote: 25 Feb 2023, 08:38 Here is the first release of Manic Miner written by Mathew Smith in 1983 for the Spectrum.
It requires a 64k Gigatron.
Wonderful! Many congrats, it's been a journey I believe :-)

Unfortunately I haven't got a Gigatron here with the correct specs. Maybe somebody can upload a video of the gameplay?

Re: gtBASIC

Posted: 28 Feb 2023, 20:30
by Hans61
I have looked at it. It requires ROMvX0. It can be played in the emulator (at67emu). But it reacts very sluggish on keystrokes.
On real hardware I couldn't get it to run. The game control does not react. The graphics look good.
@wbushby Thanks for the enthusiasm, stay tuned. I'm glad about all and everyone who keeps the Gigatron alive.

PS I'm also still thinking about making a game.

Re: gtBASIC

Posted: 28 Feb 2023, 21:16
by wbushby
Hans61. Thank you for the info on how it runs on real hardware. I recently moved house and am living in an ongoing renovation so my Gigatron real hardware is packed in a box somewhere. So I haven't been able to try it on a real Gigatron.
I will add in a joystick option as well as the keyboard for the next release.

I have made a slight tweak to the control code. Try this and see if it is less sluggish for you.

Re: gtBASIC

Posted: 01 Mar 2023, 01:41
by bmwtcu
Sorry for the crappy video. Still trying to figure out my new (to me) camera in low light settings. I don't have the latest ROMvX0 loaded (mine is probably from ~May 2022?) and I'm definitely not running it on a traditional hardware setup, but I'm seeing it lose sync once the music starts playing. Will try again once I get the chance to update to the latest ROMvX0. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbMHC32owhQ