On Sat, 8 Mar 1997, Nick S Bensema wrote:
> Huh? Uh, WHY? I'm just interested in which value makes a good yellow,
> or a good blue. There's not much else to it.
For you maybe.
As someone who has done my share of computer graphics, knowing the actual
RGB value of a color vs. a subjective name for that color is useful (as
well as vice-versa).
Just as graphic arts professionals know the difference between how colors
look on a computer monitor vs. the printed page, developers should know
the difference between a computer monitor and composite video.
> The truth about Atari hue-luminance video is that the luminance controls
> saturation, not brilliance. $20 makes a deep red, which could easily
> fade to white by incrementing to $2E and shifting to $0E. But you cannot
> fade to black from it.
Okay, but it would be just as useful to have a table of the 128 color
values the 2600 can produce just as it is useful to have a table of notes
and their cent values.
If anyone is going to write a game exclusively on an emulator, for
instance, get ready for a shock when your colors come out oversaturated
and washed out on a real 2600 when they looked fine on your PCs monitor.
That's why it is important to know the difference in look between an
internal HSV or RGB value when sent to a composite or Y/C monitor and an
RGB computer monitor.
Ultimately developers should pick colors based on how they look on a
composite system. Knowing beforehand what it's going to look like without
trial and error is useful.
I know I have yet to see a 2600 emulator where the colors truly looked
_right_.
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