Re: A86: List / Challenge idea (was dismissal)

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Re: A86: List / Challenge idea (was dismissal)


Mario Paint for the SNES had some interesting ways to erase the canvas,
if I recall. One of my favorites was where the screen was divided into
vertical bars, and they started to move opposite ways, with one set
covering the other.

--James

On Wed, 10 Mar 1999 13:54:25 -0600 "David Phillips" <david@acz.org>
writes:
>
>I agree!  This list has little value as it is, without losing any more 
>good
>programmers!  I'm interested in seeing some graphics demos, is anyone 
>else?
>
>I think we should have some contests.  The game of life has been used 
>for
>many optimization challenges (this was Michael Abrash's first 
>challenge),
>but I doubt too many people are up to writing a full screen game of 
>life at
>30+ fps.  Besides, it would take too much time to write just for 
>something
>cool to look at.  Something useful would be better.
>
>I'm all for grayscale graphics.  I was scared of doing grayscale for 
>the
>longest time.  But once I started, I'm hooked!  There's nothing
>better...black and white just looks so plain!  So my two ideas are
>grayscale...
>
>First, screen transitions/effects.  There are all kinds of cool ways 
>to
>clear the screen.
>
>- One way that's very easy on the PC (one line in C!) but would take 
>a
>little more doing in asm is just filling the screen with black dots, 
>at
>random spots until it's (almost) cleared.  This was used in 
>Wolfenstein 3D
>(remember that game?!) when you died...the screen was filled with red 
>dots
>simulating blood.
>- Another way is sheers.  This is where the screen is cut away at 
>many
>places at the same time.  You might do it horizontally, where colums 
>in
>multiples of 8 are cleared.  Or it can be done at a 45 degree angle, 
>where
>say every 8x8 square is being rotated or swept away (hard to say, I 
>know,
>maybe a demo).
>- Doom had a cool transistion.  The screen was eaten away by a bunch 
>of
>"worms" that floated down the screen.   There are several ways to do 
>it.
>You can just have the columns filled in with black at different 
>intervals
>until it's cleared.  Or they can be shifted down.  I actually think 
>Doom
>scaled the strips down, but I don't remember (that'd take some 
>doing!).
>- I had an idea to do an explosion like effect.  There isn't enough 
>memory
>or time (processor-wise) to do all 8192 pixels (using all of page 1 
>and some
>_very_ clever coding might make it possible), but you could do it in 
>8x8
>blocks or so.  Each block would be given x and y velocities and the 
>screen
>would seem to "explode" with all of the blocks going in random 
>directions
>and speeds.
>
>We could come up with rules and see who could do the neatest looking 
>effect.
>Since there's no good way to time code, we'd need a judge to tell 
>who's
>looked the best.
>
>The other idea for a challenge is a fastest routine challenge.  The 
>two
>routines that come to mind are a grayscale PutSprite and a Line 
>routine.
>Both would be useful.  Since there are so many ways to do a putsprite, 
>we'd
>need a standard for it.  I suggest an 8x8, masked grayscale putsprite, 
>with
>clipping.  Background saving?  Interleaved or layered sprites?  
>Hmm....the
>same set of calling registers should be used.  "Standard" is BC for 
>x,y and
>HL for the sprite.  Should the buffers have to be contiguous?  For the 
>line
>routine, I think that Jimmy Mardell's FastLine routine would be 
>considered
>standard.  That routine would be tough to beat :)
>

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