>
> I think this sort of thing (people helping out) is a normal part of the
> operation of the [stella] list. I, personally, don't feel the need to claim
> a T-shirt
Well, fine you guys...you can gracefully decline T-shirts,
but I'm *not* revising the dang manual to only thank Stella
as a whole, rather than also some of the individuals who
really put some time in. (I mean, at this point especially,
Paul Slocum is really the step-parent of JoustPong; he
constructed a clever proof of concept, but then he made
a real live kernal, which he then revised and tweaked fo r
me...I don't think I could have made half the edits to it
he did, it just gets a bit over my head. Maybe next time
I'd be better and cleverer in the flickerfree kernal dep't :-)
And just so you know, the T-shirts weren't meant as payment
or anything, just a gift of thanks. (And anyone who I mentioned
who would still like one, please don't be shy because of these
modest gentlemen...after all, a fun t-shirt is still a fun
t-shirt :-)
> - just knowing that in some way I contributed is satisfaction
> enough. It shows, I think, that those who are brave enough to come to the
> list members for help and then actually listen to suggestions, pretty much
> always end up with a much better product.
And true confession, there were times when I really had to force
myself to take it to the next level. Honest critique when you're
hoping for praise can be tough medicine sometimes!
I think "bravery" is the correct word for it. You really have to
get up the courage to think "I *can* take this next step...
Stella's there to help me, and if it somehow proves 'impossible'
for me, I can go back to what I had anyway...failure won't kill
me." rather than just saying "what I have now is pretty much good
enough." (Actually, the whole "better to not try very hard then
to give it your all and risk failing and knowing your limitations"
issue is a more general problem for me...)
Subpixel Joust Pong comes to mind. Everyone on the group said it
was the right thing to do, and it made all the difference in
the world, but 16 bit math still makes me go crosseyed sometimes.
(I understand why you clear the carry before addition, but owe
it to myself to spend some time w/ the 6502 emulator and figure
out why you need to set the carry before subtraction.)
So for next projects for me, I'd really like to make a followup
to 2600 101, as well as improve the original, like my suggesting
use of a 6502 emulator, which really proved invaluable to me
when I needed a testbed for some 6507 math. I can't decide
whether the sequel is more properly "2600 102" or "2600 110"...
(or, come to think of it, if the 'joke' of the title, 101 being
the canonical name for an intro class, works well for the non-USA
contigent on this list.)
The other idea I have is for a simple semi-original game.
Though come to think of it, just like JoustPong it would be
another port from a Visual Basic version I made years ago.
InterGalactic SpaceMan BlastFest, http://alienbill.com/abp/
One thought I had was to make 2600 102 a walkthrough of building
a playable demo of that game, but I think that might be
too confining, and make it harder to isolate some of the
sublessons, reducing the "snippets" like approach I was planning
on taking.
I don't know how hungry I am for IgSmBf right now...I really
am looking forward to getting to some higher-level-language
projects that I've been neglecting because I knew my comfort
with them relative to 6507 code might mean JoustPong would
end up even more delayed. Also, I have a house to sell. But
I would like to do 2600 110 while some of the concepts are
fresh in my mind, and also maybe see if I can drum up support
for a semi-official reference page for this list. But
the Tutorial is my way of trying to add to Stella list culture,
since I'm usually not one of the brighter lights at answering
6507 or TIA queries. (I was really flattered to hear one
guy at New England Classic Gamers, a higher level language
programmer like myself, saying that the tutorials were his
starting point. Hopefully we'll hear from him soon...)
And of course, I'm definately looking forward to showing off
JoustPong at PhillyClassic.
You know, I'm surprised no one came up with one variation
of JoustPong....1 player JoustBreakOut. I don't think it's
that compelling of an idea, so I don't mind not having thought
of it in time, but I'm surprised this is the first I or,
I guess anyone in the group, thought of it, esp. after "poorlords"
--
KirkIsrael@xxxxxxxxxxxxx http://kisrael.com
"Whoa, like, lay off my headbone, daddy-o."
The Onion's Our Dumb Century, "Area Beat Beaten"
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