Elite with flicker-free planets (BBC Micro, BBC Master, 6502SP)

[MarkMoxon]

Time for another Elite-related present.

I have extended the flicker-free routines in the BBC Master version of Elite to remove flicker from the planets too. The planets are in a totally separate part of the codebase to the ship-drawing routines, and their flicker wasn't fixed in the original 1986 release. This irked me, so I've taken the same algorithm and applied it to the planets, and have added some further logic to reduce flicker even further.

The results are pretty satisfying!

• You can play this version in your browser here: https://bbc.godbolt.org/?model=Master&a ... -sng47.ssd

• For more information, including videos, see: https://www.bbcelite.com/hacks/flicker-free_elite.html

• For information on how it works, see: https://www.bbcelite.com/hacks/flicker- ... ation.html

I'm hoping to port this hack to other versions of Elite - 6502SP and Teletext Elite certainly, and the original BBC disc Elite when running on the Master, and maybe even the original disc version, though that's a tough one memory-wise. I'm also planning to port it to the Commodore platform. I'm afraid there is no room in the Electron version; sorry about that.

I hope you like it. Right on Commanders!

Mark

[TobyLobster]

The flicker free planets look great!

[Yrrah2]

Very Nice!

[mike12f]

Great work again, Mark! I see another benefit is that the countdown timer on the hyperspace jump is much faster now, when a planet is in view.

[NickLuvsRetro]

This is fantastic, outstanding work!

[bob147]

Well done again Mark, inching ever closer to the ultimate enhanced version. Every time I start thinking "right, I'm actually going to try and do a real playthrough with this one", you come up with something else!

[MarkMoxon]

Thanks for all the nice comments! Glad you like those flicker-free planets.

You may be interested to know that I have now released a version of the original 1984 BBC Micro Elite, with flicker-free ships and planets. It runs on a BBC Master, as there just isn't enough memory to squeeze the planet code into the original, but it's still the original, classic Beeb version.

• Play in your browser: https://bbc.godbolt.org/?model=Master&a ... ee-sth.ssd

• Download from my bbcelite site: https://www.bbcelite.com/hacks/flicker- ... loads.html

Enjoy!

Mark

[MarkMoxon]

The final entry in this saga is for the 6502 Second Processor version, which now contains flicker-free planets too.

Download links are here: https://www.bbcelite.com/hacks/flicker- ... loads.html

And for completeness, Teletext Elite also has flicker-free planets; for details, see https://www.bbcelite.com/hacks/teletext_elite.html

I might look at trying to improve planet flicker in the standard BBC Micro version at some point, but RAM is an issue with that one, so no promises. It might need sideways RAM, but I guess that's always an option...

Mark

[Yrrah2]

[mike12f]

And for completeness, Teletext Elite also has flicker-free planets; for details, see https://www.bbcelite.com/hacks/teletext_elite.html

Mark

Great. This means we can actually take screenshots of the planet. Previously I think the screenshots nearly always used to capture just a fragment of a curve.

[MarkMoxon]

Memory is tight, but I've managed to shoehorn the core flicker-free planet routine into the original disc version of BBC Micro Elite. The planets still shimmer slightly, but it's way better than the original strobing. The previous version needed a Master to run, but this one runs on the standard BBC Micro.

Here are the links:

• Play in browser: https://bbc.godbolt.org/?autoboot&disc= ... ee-sth.ssd

• Downloads: https://bbcelite.com/hacks/flicker-free ... loads.html

• Info: https://bbcelite.com/hacks/flicker-free_elite.html

• Tech info: https://bbcelite.com/hacks/flicker-free ... ation.html

So that's flicker-free planets done in all versions of Elite bar BBC Micro cassette and Elite-A - and there's definitely no room in there. Time for a break, I think!

Mark

[paulb]

Time for a break, I think!

You've definitely earned it, although with the above reminder about the Teletext version, I can imagine people (not me, however) wanting you to do a port to the Commodore PET.

[MarkMoxon]

Time for a break, I think!

You've definitely earned it, although with the above reminder about the Teletext version, I can imagine people (not me, however) wanting you to do a port to the Commodore PET.

Petsciilite. Has a nice ring to it!

Though yeah, maybe that's one for someone else to run with. I know of a couple of other platforms that are getting conversions, so I'm sure there's a taker out there somewhere...

Mark

[MarkMoxon]

Update time!

For those playing flicker-free Elite on the 6502 Second Processor, I've just released a new version that makes enemy lasers red. For some of us (like me!), this small change makes a big difference.

The original release of 6502 Second Processor Elite draws enemy laser fire in red. The BBC Master, however, draws enemy lasers in the same colour as the enemy ship, so most laser shots are shown in cyan. This is a consequence of the way that the flicker-free ship-drawing algorithm works, so when I ported the Master's flicker-free code to the 6502 Second Processor, the cyan lasers came with it.

I much prefer the red lasers of the original, so I've rewritten the flicker-free routines to bring them back (the solution was to draw the laser line separately to the ship's wireframe, rather than bundling all lines together in the same heap like the original BBC Master algorithm).

You can download this updated version from the usual place, where you can also find links to play it online:

https://www.bbcelite.com/hacks/flicker- ... loads.html

It doesn't make this crazy-fast version any easier to play, but it sure looks good!

Mark