Newcomer to NES programming

A place for your artistic side. Discuss techniques and tools for pixel art on the NES, GBC, or similar platforms.

Moderator: Moderators

User avatar
tokumaru
Posts: 12427
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 9:43 pm
Location: Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

Re: Newcomer to NES programming

Post by tokumaru »

I didn't see the soccer ball until it was mentioned, now I can't unsee it. :lol:
darryl.revok wrote:I'd personally try to get a color in the center of the flower in favor of the dark green or black. Getting rid of the black would also get rid of the whole soccer/football/futbol confusion if that's a concern.
Easier said than done when you have such limited palettes. As I see it, the flower is kind of a bonus, something you can use to break the monotony of the grass since you already have a suitable palette and it's only 1 tile.
User avatar
Alp
Posts: 223
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2014 12:37 am

Re: Newcomer to NES programming

Post by Alp »

Nameguy wrote:

Code: Select all

.db $14,$08,$23,$00,$31,$30,$00,$1E            ;00: Green Slime
;[prng(8)],[chg_dir(0)],[move(8)],[idle(5)]
I don't understand how this is formatted. The first two bytes seem to make sense if $14 represents a command, but the next two? Also, what exactly does prng do?
Basically, how does this work? :P
Oh, I didn't include the formatting, did I? Oops.
...and the current version of the format, isn't documented.

I'll just just explain it, I guess, it's very straight-forward, once you know what's going on.
Each action command consists of 2 bytes, one for the command, the other for timing.

The first byte contains 2, 4-bit commands, letting the engine know what to do.
Byte 1, Left Nibble: Next Action to Perform ($00,$02,$04,$06)
Byte 1, Right Nibble: Current Action State ($00-$0F)

The second byte contains an 8-bit frame timer, that I can also use as an integer, for special commands.
Byte 2, Action Timer (Optional: Integer)

...as for [prng]? That's just "pseudo-random number generation". Which, in this case, is pulling a number out of a look-up table, to simulate random numbers.

So, to break things down:
.db $14,$08,$23,$00,$31,$30,$00,$1E
[prng(8)],[chg_dir(0)],[move(8)],[idle(5)]

$14,$08
0: [Goto: 1], [Run: 4 (prng)], [Int: 08] ; Get a Random Number
$23,$00
1: [Goto: 2], [Run: 3 (chgdir)], [Int: 00] ; Change the Facing Direction TO the Number
$31,$30
2: [Goto: 3], [Run: 1 (move)], [Int: 30] ; Move 8 Pixels, in the Current Direction.
$00,$1E
3: [Goto: 0], [Run: 0 (idle)], [Int: 1E] ; Wait for 0.5 Seconds.

Some enemies are larger, and more complicated, making good use of the GOTO command, and some are smaller, and simplified.

That's an amazing start on the music!
calima
Posts: 1745
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2015 10:16 am

Re: Newcomer to NES programming

Post by calima »

@Espozo

Silly murican, that is a handegg, not a football :P
User avatar
Alp
Posts: 223
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2014 12:37 am

Re: Newcomer to NES programming

Post by Alp »

Oops. I killed the image links over here, too! Eh... whatever.

This news is 1 month late--
But this game, and all other game-related projects is CANCELLED.

As a consolation prize, have some box art:
Image

Sorry to anybody who wanted to see this game completed.
User avatar
dougeff
Posts: 3079
Joined: Fri May 08, 2015 7:17 pm

Re: Newcomer to NES programming

Post by dougeff »

Any chance you'd be willing to post the source code over at RHDN under 'abandoned' ? Assuming that your code is well labelled/commented.

Maybe someone in the community would complete it for you.
nesdoug.com -- blog/tutorial on programming for the NES
User avatar
tokumaru
Posts: 12427
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 9:43 pm
Location: Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

Re: Newcomer to NES programming

Post by tokumaru »

Alp wrote:But this game, and all other game-related projects is CANCELLED.
Why do something this drastic? If something is currently preventing you from working on it, why not just put it on hold for a while and resume working on it sometime in the future?

Anyway, the box art of really nice!
User avatar
rainwarrior
Posts: 8734
Joined: Sun Jan 22, 2012 12:03 pm
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: Newcomer to NES programming

Post by rainwarrior »

Just because you started something doesn't mean it has to be finished. If you know you're never going to finish it, there's no sense leading anyone on about it. There's honour in admitting this to yourself and others.

Most professional game projects get cancelled quietly, in the hopes that people will forget about it and it won't cause negative PR for the studio. This is necessary not just for public perception, but it's harder for a company to negotiate when everybody knows you've just suffered a big loss. For fans that were really excited, though, this is the worst. This is the break-up without even a phone call, just stop answering and hope to never see them again.

Better to know the truth.
User avatar
tokumaru
Posts: 12427
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 9:43 pm
Location: Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

Re: Newcomer to NES programming

Post by tokumaru »

I just think it's a bit harsh to go all "fuck all my projects" like this. It gives the impression you never cared about them from the beginning. Commercial games are different, since projects are most likely cancelled for business reasons (i.e. not enough time/money to fix whatever is wrong with them), but for something you love it would make more sense to delay development in the case of obstacles than to outright cancel them.

People have the right to do whatever they want with their own stuff, sure, I'm just pointing out that I find it a bit weird. Personally, I'd rather die an old man still dreaming I can finish every project I ever started. :lol:
User avatar
Macbee
Posts: 120
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2011 8:31 am
Location: Brazil
Contact:

Re: Newcomer to NES programming

Post by Macbee »

tokumaru wrote:
Alp wrote:But this game, and all other game-related projects is CANCELLED.
Why do something this drastic?
Apparently due to this: http://nintendoage.com/forum/messagevie ... did=153905
User avatar
Alp
Posts: 223
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2014 12:37 am

Re: Newcomer to NES programming

Post by Alp »

dougeff wrote:Any chance you'd be willing to post the source code over at RHDN under 'abandoned' ? Assuming that your code is well labelled/commented.

Maybe someone in the community would complete it for you.
That would be unwise, as the community is the reason that I'm quitting.
They are the LAST people that I would want to touch the code.
tokumaru wrote:
Alp wrote:But this game, and all other game-related projects is CANCELLED.
Why do something this drastic? If something is currently preventing you from working on it, why not just put it on hold for a while and resume working on it sometime in the future?

Anyway, the box art of really nice!

I just think it's a bit harsh to go all "fuck all my projects" like this. It gives the impression you never cared about them from the beginning. Commercial games are different, since projects are most likely cancelled for business reasons (i.e. not enough time/money to fix whatever is wrong with them), but for something you love it would make more sense to delay development in the case of obstacles than to outright cancel them.

People have the right to do whatever they want with their own stuff, sure, I'm just pointing out that I find it a bit weird. Personally, I'd rather die an old man still dreaming I can finish every project I ever started. :lol:
I made a post over at NintendoAge, expressing my disgust, at the idea of Cat Quest being put on KickStarter. (I consider it a tool for scammers to make easy money, or for developers to be lazy.) People were confused, and several community members attempted to antagonize me while I tried to explain my views on the subject, twisting my words around, and insulting me after each new post.

I soon announced the cancellation of my projects, and locked my threads.

The community member "Daria", was more down-to-earth after it all, and messaged me on Twitter, trying to get me to go back to the community after a few days. I returned to find that the thread had degenerated into bad-mouthing me, and making porn-shaming remarks about my job. Unacceptable.

It doesn't help that I've been receiving trolling e-mails ever since.
However the hell they managed to get that information.

...I could have sworn that it was under "private", but whatever.
No hobby is worth the stress.

http://nintendoage.com/forum/messagevie ... did=153905
User avatar
Drew Sebastino
Formerly Espozo
Posts: 3496
Joined: Mon Sep 15, 2014 4:35 pm
Location: Richmond, Virginia

Re: Newcomer to NES programming

Post by Drew Sebastino »

Alp wrote:KickStarter. (I consider it a tool for scammers to make easy money, or for developers to be lazy.)
I guess I'm not the only one who shares this opinion... It's fine for something like the Retro VGS where you need a lot of supplies, but not something like an NES game. If people really cared that bad about their game, I really feel they could make it without money, considering it's pretty much free to make one. Like I said, KickStarter is good for some things. I remember people giving James Rolfe a hard time having a KickStarter for the AVGN movie, but no matter how hard you're trying to work, that's most certainly going to involve money and not just time.
Alp wrote:porn-shaming
I can't help but feel it was justified after seeing you know what...
User avatar
tokumaru
Posts: 12427
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 9:43 pm
Location: Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

Re: Newcomer to NES programming

Post by tokumaru »

Espozo wrote:I really feel they could make it without money
You're still a teenager living with your family, aren't you? One day you'll realize that once you have to support your own family and pay all the bills, you really don't get much free time left for hobbies. If you can get enough people interested in your project that are willing to pay to see it completed, I don't see why you shouldn't go that route.

Developing a game isn't free. If you're a programmer, it's not wrong for you to be paid as such. Same thing if you're an artist, or a musician. Work costs money, which is why companies have to pay people to work for them. And if I am going to be paid for something I do well, I'd much rather be working on a game I'd like to play than developing some stupid company's website that won't be appreciated.

Crowd funding is a way to make viable something that couldn't become a reality otherwise. It's not pointing a gun to anyone's head and forcing them to pay you, and people who dislike that kind of funding are completely free to not participate. But if enough people are interested, everyone who does want to be involved wins.

BTW, I'm not even gonna read that thread because I hate drama. If you don't want to make the games anymore, too bad, the graphics were nice.
User avatar
Drew Sebastino
Formerly Espozo
Posts: 3496
Joined: Mon Sep 15, 2014 4:35 pm
Location: Richmond, Virginia

Re: Newcomer to NES programming

Post by Drew Sebastino »

tokumaru wrote:It's not pointing a gun to anyone's head and forcing them to pay you, and people who dislike that kind of funding are completely free to not participate.
That's true. I've just never been too keen on the idea that you can give the people your money, and that the project may not even get completed but you won't get your money back. I never thought that someone would ask for enough money to where they wouldn't still work though.
tokumaru wrote:BTW, I'm not even gonna read that thread because I hate drama.
Yeah, you're probably better off. :lol:
User avatar
rainwarrior
Posts: 8734
Joined: Sun Jan 22, 2012 12:03 pm
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: Newcomer to NES programming

Post by rainwarrior »

I never understand the strong feelings people seem to have about what other people do with their own money.
User avatar
Drew Sebastino
Formerly Espozo
Posts: 3496
Joined: Mon Sep 15, 2014 4:35 pm
Location: Richmond, Virginia

Re: Newcomer to NES programming

Post by Drew Sebastino »

For the same reason people care about others committing suicide.
Post Reply