| 07-Aug-06 |
Atari XL/XE Space Harrier Conversion Project
| Latest | Mar-07 | Aug-06 | May-05 | Feb-05 | Oct-04 | Aug-04 |
| Dec-03 | Mar-03 | Jan-03 | Dec-02 | Jun-02 | Apr-02 |
7th August 2006
I'm sorry to say that there has not been much progress to show for many months. The project is not dead, but I do get tired with work pressures and real life, and am not able to give the attention to the game that it needs to get it done.
Lately I have been working on improving the tools for converting the redrawn sprites in the game to 6502 code. The demo doesn't do it, but embedding the graphic data into code is probably the fastest way of drawing complex objects without hardware support (yes, even self modifying code is usually slower). The downside is that this takes more memory than other methods (hence the use of a large cartridge format for the game). I'd been optimising the sprites for data size, but sometimes that would mean they'd be a couple of hundred cycles slower at being drawn, and slowdown is still an issue. The tools help find a sensible compromise, as even with the largest 8Mbit cartridges, the space will soon be eaten up.
I want to make some better music for the game. I plan on trying to use RMT for sound effects and music, as it is much better at making interesting instruments and playing music than my own very simplistic routines. I'd be very interested if anyone can make fairly close versions of the main themes or the boss jingles with two or three channels (at least one channel is needed for sound effects). I am a (not very good!) musician, and I would eventually get round to it myself, but if your work is a good approximation of the original that you want to share, I might be able to use it (and give credit, of course).
Stage 4
