----- Original Message -----
From: Glenn Saunders <cybpunks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <stella@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2000 3:27 PM
Subject: Re: [stella] Hardware comparisons
> At 12:09 PM 4/25/00 +0200, you wrote:
> >The Amiga actually is more comparable to the Atari 8-bits than to the
C-64
> >(because it was done by partly the same engineers). Downsides to the
8-bits
> >is that the "indirection level", which would create a character mode and
a
> >way of building up the screen of tiles, is gone now, so everything has to
be
>
> I'm not sure how many games on the 8-bit used character mode graphics.
The
> big advantage of doing this was speed. It was faster to blit a custom
> character set than update a true bitmap. I heard that Ballblazers used a
> character system, though.
Yow! Glenn, I'd say the VAST MAJORITY of 8-bit Atari games used character
mode graphics. Almost every game with scrolling (run 'n' jump, shoot 'em up,
etc...) used character mode. Some games even used dynamically redefined
characters as sprites! (Super Pac-Man for example) Aside from speed,
another huge advantage was memory savings... you could have an entire
hires-looking color screen in only 1K of RAM (well okay... 2K including the
char data).
Has anyone pointed out yet that C64 bitmap mode is laid out like custom
character set storage? It's really weird.
--
Clay Halliwell | ATARI XL/XE DO + THE
clay.FAKEMEAT.h@xxxxxxx | 8 - B I T S --------
e.halliwell@xxxxxxxxx | /////////// M A T H
Keeper of the Atari Jaguar Cheats and Codes FAQ. Request your copy today!
Editor, Jaguar Explorer Online - More Jaguar News Than Should Be Allowed!
http://www.atarihq.com/jeo/ "Where do you want to play Atari today?"
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