Re: [stella] Using DiStella and figuring out the "tricks"

Subject: Re: [stella] Using DiStella and figuring out the "tricks"
From: Piero Cavina <p.cavina@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2000 23:08:05 +0200
At 09.02 15/04/00 -0700, you wrote:

>At 07:55 PM 4/14/00 -0400, you wrote:
>>Remember that just because something's done in an official 2600 game doesn't
>>mean that it's the best way to do anything.  I'd guess it's mostly just a
>>function of how the programmer likes to do things.
>
>Just because the code is hard to read doesn't necessarily mean it's done 
>the wrong way, does it?  It could be that some of the techniques employed 
>were related to 2600 kernel timing issues, or trying to cram the code into
4K?
>
>Code crunching can really change the way the code runs, don't you think?

2600 code looks like that (spaghetti-lasagne-fettuccine :-) because of the
heavy optimization needed to squeeze many features and complex graphics
into 4K. When it was just a multi-sprite demo, Oystron source code was very
straight and clear. It didn't last for a long time..
Simpler games usually have a cleaner code. There's a commented Adventure
source around, that's a very good starting point for a beginner.

(BTW.. sometimes I think that the list has died, instead you're always
around.. :-)


Ciao,
 P.


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