2008-09-06T04:26:34Z Andrea Rossetti Copyright 2008, Andrea Rossetti SPHPBLOG
Integrating Eclipse and the SDCC Z80 cross compiler would be a nice experiment; if I try, of course you'll be kept informed :)]]> http://andrear.altervista.org/home/index.php?entry=entry080726-125046 2008-07-26T00:00:00Z 2008-07-26T00:00:00Z http://andrear.altervista.org/home/index.php?entry=entry080627-181658 2008-06-27T00:00:00Z 2008-06-27T00:00:00Z
They now restored their power systems, but I can't refrain from saying the silly thing:

"... bzz bzz... Houston ... bzz... we have a problem..."]]> http://andrear.altervista.org/home/index.php?entry=entry080606-211021 2008-06-06T00:00:00Z 2008-06-06T00:00:00Z
I know that the flex/bison tools aim to mantain a wide compatibility range, but I wouldn't have bet that bison parsers could work on sdcc; but surprise, I now have my small parser in an MSX ROM file...



Together with the ROM, I want to share with you the sources and a small HOWTO describing the procedure I followed; in the MSX Software section on the right, look for the Bison Grammar on MSX entry.

(by the way, bison output ran rather straightforward on sdcc, but I could not get the same results (not yet :) with the flex tool)]]> http://andrear.altervista.org/home/index.php?entry=entry080518-231353 2008-05-18T00:00:00Z 2008-05-18T00:00:00Z MSX Software section you'll find a new version of iMsx, the game launcher created by our friend Aci.



Main changes are in the game search/filter procedure, and only involve the main executable, so you don't really need to reinstall this new version, you may just replace the old iMsx.exe file with the new one.

Hope you enjoy Aci's efforts and have fun with his product, my best regards to you all!

Andrea]]> http://andrear.altervista.org/home/index.php?entry=entry080504-194816 2008-05-04T00:00:00Z 2008-05-04T00:00:00Z
1) some small errors fixed in img2spr, latest version is now 1.2
2) some errors fixed in MSX Sprite Editor 16x16, latest version is now 3.1]]> http://andrear.altervista.org/home/index.php?entry=entry080421-230041 2008-04-21T00:00:00Z 2008-04-21T00:00:00Z
Please check the "MSX Software" section menu on the right, I also changed the screenshot example, should be explicative enough.]]> http://andrear.altervista.org/home/index.php?entry=entry080330-193731 2008-03-30T00:00:00Z 2008-03-30T00:00:00Z icon: it's the img2spr utility.

Draw a 16x16x24bit image using whatever program you wish, then convert it to our familiar 32-byte sprite pattern format; sprite is now ready to be included in your game source.

The utility is small and rough: that was enough for me, but it might be of help to you developers, so why not to share it? Hope you enjoy!]]> http://andrear.altervista.org/home/index.php?entry=entry080329-213226 2008-03-29T00:00:00Z 2008-03-29T00:00:00Z http://andrear.altervista.org/home/index.php?entry=entry080325-094923 2008-03-25T00:00:00Z 2008-03-25T00:00:00Z


It's a pretty simple fractal, and it was the ideal candidate to convert it to 3D; after some simple adjusting, here's the final results:



If you have 3D red/blue glasses and want to take a 3D look, please follow the related link below (it's also available under the "PC Software" menu.]]> http://andrear.altervista.org/home/index.php?entry=entry080323-123839 2008-03-23T00:00:00Z 2008-03-23T00:00:00Z
About MSX: recently I tried the Karoshi's Caruso PSG Tracker, that's an interesting tool for MSX developers, have a look if you never did.

Bye, Andrea.]]> http://andrear.altervista.org/home/index.php?entry=entry080314-121142 2008-03-14T00:00:00Z 2008-03-14T00:00:00Z
On a similar spirit, Karoshi website announced the 2KBOS contest; the proposed rules promote very compatible and BLOADable games, even with 16K RAM, and that's good news for my old dusty 32KRAM MSX.

Another mini-contest has started: it's the 25th anniversary MSX-BASIC competition at Konamito.com.

Finally, let's remember that MSXDev'08 is approaching, wow it's three contests at the same time!

Well, I hope this event concurrency not to be counterproductive (contest offer is probably higher than contest demand now...), we'll follow these events carefully. Stay tuned. ]]> http://andrear.altervista.org/home/index.php?entry=entry080307-235215 2008-03-07T00:00:00Z 2008-03-07T00:00:00Z : it's the nice Snowclimber demo, recompiled to be BLOADed on your real MSX!

You will find a short explanation, game download both in .BIN and .WAV format, and the modified source code (published here by courtesy of the original version author, Vincent Van Dam).

Hope you enjoy, and let me know if it worked...]]> http://andrear.altervista.org/home/index.php?entry=entry080301-184032 2008-03-01T00:00:00Z 2008-03-01T00:00:00Z
Related news:
MSX developers, why don't you relocate? Part II
MSX developers, why don't you relocate? Part I
Read some old Snowclimber news on msx.org]]> http://andrear.altervista.org/home/index.php?entry=entry080223-212414 2008-02-23T00:00:00Z 2008-02-23T00:00:00Z
The top entries' quality is becoming impressive and professional (well done guys), and surely choosing a winner wasn't easy: we could say that many entries win, each in a different aspect.

Here's my favourites' list:







"Caos Begins" has very accurate graphics, music and a true epic atmosphere, though I agree with the general feeling that some minor aspects may improve the game a lot (for example, a savestate and non-respawning monsters)







I'm still laughing for "Txupinazo" 's humorous style! A simple game logic is wisely embodied into funny and clean SFX/GFX







Some deeper reasoning over "Lotus F3": it has a somewhat simpler and more serious aspect, but the game has some great hidden qualities and may have a long life. There are many technical experimentations concerning graphics (a soft scroll engine), sound (SCC/PSG mixing level), logic (3 computer-driven opponents, the "ghost car" feature), and organization (dvik&joyrex built a dedicated website to the game). Way to go.







A special mention goes to "Night Driver" conversion: faithful, at least in the best aspects of the game, very compact in size (8K ROM), and suitable for BLOADing even on non-64K MSXes (ROM loads at address 8000h), so I will be able to play it on my real MSX.




Thanks contestants, my best regards!]]> http://andrear.altervista.org/home/index.php?entry=entry080205-134627 2008-02-05T00:00:00Z 2008-02-05T00:00:00Z Chaos begins by Hikaru Games.

I didn't play this year's entries yet (I will), but I guess the first 4 games are really above average. I also feel the relative position between them is really a matter of personal taste, so try them and choose your personal favourite entry...

I also strongly hope that the contest may go on through years. In my opinion, producing new games is the most valuable service for the MSX community. MSXDev'08 is already under construction, so please keep up coding!]]> http://andrear.altervista.org/home/index.php?entry=entry080204-113916 2008-02-04T00:00:00Z 2008-02-04T00:00:00Z