As a newbie 2600 coder, something I would like to see/have is a document
that has, in one place, all the little-documented goofy quirks of TIA.
Like the quirk that doubled/quadrupled players are positioned one pixel to the right of single-width players.
That cost me like a week of fruitless bug-hunting.
And a quick explanation of the black HMOVE lines: what they are and how to avoid them.
And a detailed explanation of TIA timing: at exactly what cycles you need to write the PF registers for an asymmetrical playfield (for mirrored and non-mirrored PF), etc.
That kind of stuff had me tearing my hair out. I know that all that info is out there somewhere, either in AA's archives, [stella]'s archives, or floating on Kirk's site or somewhere, but a footnoted version of the Stella Guide would be awfully nice.
-bob
-----Original Message-----
From: Kirk Israel [mailto:kirkjerk@xxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Monday, May 16, 2005 9:16 AM
To: stella@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [stella] WIP: PlayerPal v2.0
On 5/16/05, Andrew Davie <atari2600@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > Speaking of work, once your boulderdash-esque game reaches some level
> > of completition, do you see yourself adding more tutorials?
> But also, I see many people have started programming since our tutorials. I
> think they give people the start they need, and more complex stuff may not
> be necessary anyway.
That could be. I'm always so giddy when I hear about some
up-and-come-er who mentions using 2600101 or one of my editors.
In terms of complex stuff, I see what you mean but I still think
there's a need for capturing some of the best practices that might be
buried in [stella] archives -- I was trying to do that with 2600
Cookbook,
http://alienbill.com/2600/cookbook/
I might try to engulf all the good stuff from Slocum's "Atari 2600
Advanced Programming Guide "
http://www.qotile.net/minidig/docs/2600_advanced_prog_guide.txt
Incidentally, the invitation is still open if anyone would like to add
articles to the cookbook.
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