Re: [stella] Aspiring 2600 developer

Subject: Re: [stella] Aspiring 2600 developer
From: Pete Holland <petehollandjr@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 15:51:39 -0700 (PDT)
--- Erik Mooney <emooney@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > I'm a new STELLAlist subscriber.  I am very
> > interested in designing and programming my own
2600
> > I've spent the past month overloading myself with
> > info from all over the 'net reading anything I can
> > on the 6500 series processor. 
> > 
> > The main problem is that I don't have a background
> > in computer programming, and I want to know if it
> > would be easier to learn assembly by writing a few
> > games/demos for the C64, Apple II, or other 6502
> > based systems before getting started on the 2600?

First, welcome to the group.  My personal answer to
the above is, "No."  The basic 6502 commands seem to
be pretty straightforward, and they can be grasped
with just a little experimentation.

The pain in the butt is learning those commands
peculiar only to the 2600.  I glanced through a C64
programming book, and saw no reference to WSYNC
commands or cycle counting.  Those are the commands
you really need to learn, since that is where you are
going to get strung up.  The best approach is to
practice with the 2600 stuff, methinks.

> > I also would like to know what tools/information
> > other list users found most useful to them when
> > they first started programming.  Any
> > recommendations would be very helpful.

Well, I don't know about the others.  My first
programming experience was on a Timex/Sinclair 1000. 
It was $30 and my parents didn't want to buy a real
computer until they knew if I was serious about
computers.  When I made about twelve games in one year
and a news display program similar to Keyfax on it, my
parents broke down and bought an IBM PCjr.  (I can
hear you snickering.  Stop it, it's not funny.)

The Timex's BASIC was almost as bad as assembler
simply because the instruction manual made no sense. 
It told either stuff any novice can figure out ("PRINT
will add if you don't put quotation marks around an
equation.") or it assumed you were a Level 18
programmer.  I would up using the BREAK key at
strategic moments in games and sorting through the
instructions, some in assembly, some in BASIC, and
variables until I got the gist.  The IBM?  Never
bothered, because everyone in school had Apples or
C64s.  Another golden opportunity bit the dust.

> Well, when I first started programming was with
> stuff like "Teach Yourself BASIC on Your TI-99" in
> something like third grade :) ... you may want
> something more recent, though that really isn't a
> bad place to start.  If you mean for the 2600, all I
> needed was a 6502 reference card and the
> system's memory map and Stella docs and ran with it
> from there. 

Good suggestion, I would get those anyway, even if you
do find a book on 6502 programming.  Those different
commands, you know.  I would lean more towards a book
about C64 for the basics, though.  The Apple writers,
in the books I've seen, are more confusing than
helpful.

> > I'll try to get up to speed as quickly as I can. 

I'd like to add a couple more things to your approach
to learn.

First, expect this to take a while, depending on what
you have going on in your life.  Besides my 9 to 5,
I'm also an aspiring writer who is constantly trying
to break in, which is almost a full-time job itself,
and my dad wants to remodel his house and wants my
help, reducing my time greatly.  So if you don't
complete your first program in, say, two weeks, don't
take it hard.

Second, alter your perceptions of what games can do. 
Remember, you only have 4K for commands, and 128 bytes
of RAM to work with.  This is why games are usually so
simplistic for the 2600.  It's like building with only
a partial set of Lego blocks.  If you want to
accomplish more with your programs, be prepared to get
very creative.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you do.

Dobre utka,
Pete Holland Jr.


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