Attack of the PETSCII Robots

[algenon_iii]

Attack of the PETSCII Robots by The 8-bit Guy has been ported from the Commodore PET to C64, VIC-20, Apple II and now to the Atari 8-bit computers. The BBC Micro (and I guess electron) was mentioned at 16:56 as one of the 6502 systems that doesn't have a port if anyone wants to accept the challenge of porting it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9J64LgG5p0

[rmbrowngr]

I saw this in his latest YouTube video about possible platforms to port to. It’ll only happen if someone volunteers to do it with his agreement I understand.

I do think he missed a platform, e.g. Acorn Electron.

[lovebug]

I give up !

twice ive posted a comment on that youtube video saying that I might be able to work on the bbc micro conversion and twice my comment has been deleted

the only comment i have that stays is the one where i ask "are my comments being deleted?"

[davidb]

Well, if anyone gets hold of an original release of the game, I'm sure it could be disassembled and reassembled. Maybe that would be more interesting for some people.

[marcusjambler]

I might be able to work on the bbc micro conversion

Would be great if you did lovebug... looks like an interesting game

[egel]

Well, if anyone gets hold of an original release of the game, I'm sure it could be disassembled and reassembled. Maybe that would be more interesting for some people.

If you ask nicely you can get the source code.

[davidb]

Go for it!

[elk1984]

I've dropped David an email. For interest it reads

I’m a big fan of your channel and love your content – especially restorations and game creation.

Your recent video Petscii Robots Part 4 - Atari and X16 listed the BBC Micro as one of the platforms missing a conversion, and a number of people in the Stardot forums which are dedicated to the Acorn range of computers have shown an interest in attempting a conversion.

Would you be prepared to share the source code with us, to be used privately (of course), and what rights / conditions would be attached?


Regards


Trevor Boys

P.S. Here’s the forum thread if you’re interested: viewtopic.php?p=333143#p333143

[elk1984]

Wow. A mega quick reply from David with the PET code attached!

He mentioned a couple of others on here had asked and also got the code, are people interested in catching up and doing a shared effort?

[lovebug]

i am one of the others , david sent me the original pet code too

ive had a quick flick through the code but have yet to map out what it all does

[jms2]

I’m not one of that group, but having seen the game in 8 bit guy’s videos I am intrigued to know about how it works and how it might be ported to the BBC. The BBC doesn’t really lend itself to this kind of text based graphics, and Mode 7 isn’t really an option. Are people thinking of hardware scrolling Mode 4 (or mode 1)?

Also I’m interested in how the map is stored. It doesn’t look like a Repton map (a continuous matrix of a limited selection of blocks) so I wonder how it’s done.

[rmbrowngr]

I’m not one of that group, but having seen the game in 8 bit guy’s videos I am intrigued to know about how it works and how it might be ported to the BBC. The BBC doesn’t really lend itself to this kind of text based graphics, and Mode 7 isn’t really an option. Are people thinking of hardware scrolling Mode 4 (or mode 1)?

Also I’m interested in how the map is stored. It doesn’t look like a Repton map (a continuous matrix of a limited selection of blocks) so I wonder how it’s done.

If it's any help, the Apple 2 version has bitmap graphics.

[jms2]

Yes I just noticed that, which suggests the BBC can do the same.

I also noticed that actually the maps probably are stored in a big fixed matrix, it’s just not so obvious because of three things: the pseudo 3D, the clever tile design and the way that the tiles don’t fit exactly on the screen so you get a partial tile showing at the edges. Also there are a lot of tiles - I’m guessing 128 maybe?

[Ronin47]

Be really good to see a BBC B version, I have the Atari and Apple II versions, very addictive and has that 'just one more go' feel to it of the good games back in the day.

Since the game is on $10 for a digital download I'd happily pay another $10 for a Beeb version.

[oss003]

Is the source code available somewhere?

Greetings
Kees

[lovebug]

im thinking mode 1 or 2 with hardware scrolling and sideways ram because theres a lot of data

[rmbrowngr]

Is the source code available somewhere?

Just reach out to Dave.

[danielj]

Is the source code available somewhere?

Kees - can the characters be redefined on an atom?

d.

[oss003]

Kees - can the characters be redefined on an atom?

d.

No, not on a standard Atom but it's possible in the Godil. I want to test how fast it is in graphic mode and in Godil mode.

Greetings
Kees

[elk1984]

Is the thinking to start off with a Beeb version of the PETSCII character set and work in a text mode then move over to sprites? Should we ask for a seaparate thread on the Stardot server?

[stephen_usher]

Yes I just noticed that, which suggests the BBC can do the same.

I also noticed that actually the maps probably are stored in a big fixed matrix, it’s just not so obvious because of three things: the pseudo 3D, the clever tile design and the way that the tiles don’t fit exactly on the screen so you get a partial tile showing at the edges. Also there are a lot of tiles - I’m guessing 128 maybe?

In the latest video he says that it uses all 255 on the PET

[rmbrowngr]

In the latest video he says that it uses all 255 on the PET

I think Dave said on the Atari the character set is more restricted and half of the characters are inversed. It's the way the character set works on the Atari.

[jms2]

I wasn’t referring to the character set, I meant the 3x3 tiles that make up the map. There seems to be a lot of them so I’m guessing 128, with a bit flag to indicate if you can walk through them. Maybe 64 with two bits, but surely not fewer.

[Elminster]

I think the first thing you need to do is work out how you are going to collaborate on the Beeb version, otherwise, you will end up with 4 Beeb versions. Obviously, it can't be on a public git repo, but I guess it could be on a private repo, did Dave give instructions on how the code was to be handled?

I am not volunteering to help, just an interested long time viewer (seen all of them) of 8bit guy. Plus new Beeb games are always good.

[elk1984]

There were no restrictions in the mail David sent to me with the code, but I'm assuming it's to be kept private (otherwise it would have already been shared elsewhere). Getting heads together and a shared repo is a good idea, and possibly some kind of separate / private discord channel (assuming the Stardot channels wouldn't want to get clogged with loads of development related stuff?

There is an upcoming A-Bug Dev night. Maybe it would be a good thing to discuss there for everyone interested?

[BigEd]

It would be ideal if David could declare that a port to the beeb could be open source, even if the original code isn't. Development in the open is a great thing.

[oss003]

Hi guys,

did you see this .... https://www.facebook.com/1108771044/vid ... 278410010/

Looks like someone is working on a BBC port.

Greetings
Kees

[oss003]

If the BBC Petscii link doesn't work, here's a screenshot.

Greetings
Keed

[JohnH]

You might need to join the group for the above link to work...it didn't work for me until I joined.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/975620876261750

[egel]

Petscii Robots invade the C128, Amiga, NES and more!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXWqZtBwdjA