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David Williams
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Re: GFXLIB
« Reply #95 on: Feb 6th, 2010, 10:01am » |
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Thought I'd post this as it looks quite pretty (and uses not much CPU bandwidth):
http://www.bb4w-games.com/bb4wprogs/plotpixellist3_ex4.zip
Yes, OK, the Bézier curves are precalculated, but only because if they had to be calcluated in real time (in BASIC), the CPU usage would shoot right up (to ~50% on my laptop). The actual plotting of the curves takes next-to-no time.
What's supposed to be being demonstrated here is a new (but not terribly exciting) GFXLIB routine PlotPixelList3, which is faster and more flexible than the first two.
Interested folks might like to keep an eye on this page over the coming weeks:
http://www.bb4w-games.com/gfxlib2/gfxlib2page.html
Regards,
David.
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81RED
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Re: GFXLIB
« Reply #96 on: Feb 6th, 2010, 10:34am » |
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on Feb 6th, 2010, 10:01am, David Williams wrote:
Yay!
Any benefits to be gained from recoding my stuff to use the new version (other than smaller code, which does not bother me), or is that better left off until my next project actually happens?
Simon
P.S. Weren't you supposed to be in rehab? 
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David Williams
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Re: GFXLIB
« Reply #97 on: Feb 6th, 2010, 11:29am » |
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on Feb 6th, 2010, 10:34am, Simon Mathiassen wrote:Yay!
Any benefits to be gained from recoding my stuff to use the new version (other than smaller code, which does not bother me), or is that better left off until my next project actually happens?
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Not really. The routines may have been 'modularized', but they haven't (yet) been optimized or improved in any other way.
A multicore version of the 'workhorse' routine BPlot - the one you'd normally use to draw backgrounds - may be in the pipeline. Whilst I doubt that four cores would necessarily translate to "four times faster" (which would be nice), BPlot (and Plot, as it happens) are such frequently used routines that it may be worthwhile trying to produce multicore/multithreading versions of them. The skills of Michael Hutton and/or Richard may (or rather, will) be indispensable here.
(Not that I would ever take either of them for granted, let me just say.)
on Feb 6th, 2010, 10:34am, Simon Mathiassen wrote:| P.S. Weren't you supposed to be in rehab? |
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I evidently appear to be slipping.
Regards,
David.
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David Williams
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Re: GFXLIB
« Reply #98 on: Feb 11th, 2010, 9:49pm » |
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Here is a simple demo of a new routine called DrawTileMap:
(Use the arrow keys to move around)
http://www.bb4w-games.com/bb4wprogs/tilemapdemo1.zip
Using DrawTileMap is simplicity itself. First you need a set of tile bitmaps (all of the same dimensions - 64x64 is quite typical). Then you create a tile map using a map editor (a simple one will ship with GFXLIB 2). Then once you've installed and initialised GFXLIB 2, DrawTileMap and TileMapFunctions, and loaded the tile map with PROCLoadTileMap, you draw the portion of the map you wish to display using:
Code:SYS GFXLIB_DrawTileMap%, dispVars{}, mapInfo{}, x%, y%
Simple as that.
Something to look forward to, right?
Regards,
David.
PS. There will be a number of routines for converting between screen and map world coordinates, and routines intended for the purposes of collision detection. In fact, the following routines are already in place (with lots more to come):
Code:GFXLIB_TMConvertScrCoordsToWorldCoords% | *mapInfoStruc{}, scrX%, scrY%, *worldX%, *worldY%
GFXLIB_TMConvertWorldCoordsToScrCoords% | *mapInfoStruc{}, worldX%, worldY%, *scrX%, *scrY%
GFXLIB_TMConvertScrCoordsToWorldCoordsF64% | *mapInfoStruc{}, *scrX#, *scrY#, *worldX%, *worldY%
GFXLIB_TMConvertWorldCoordsToScrCoordsF64% | *mapInfoStruc{}, *worldX#, *worldY#, *scrX%, *scrY%
GFXLIB_TMGetTileIndexAtWorldPos% | *mapInfoStruc{}, worldX%, worldY% (returns tile index in EAX)
GFXLIB_TMGetTileIndexAtScrPos% | *mapInfoStruc{}, scrX%, scrY% (returns tile index in EAX)
GFXLIB_TMGetPixelAtWorldPos% | *mapInfoStruc{}, worldX%, worldY% (returns 32-bit ARGB pixel in EAX)
GFXLIB_TMGetPixelAlphaValueAtWorldPos% | *mapInfoStruc{}, worldX%, worldY% (returns 8-bit alpha value in EAX)
GFXLIB_TMTestPixelAlphaBitAtWorldPos% | *mapInfoStruc{}, worldX%, worldY%, testBit% (returns 0 or 1 in EAX)
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Michael Hutton
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Re: GFXLIB
« Reply #99 on: Feb 12th, 2010, 02:12am » |
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Very nifty piece of work!
My question is: What do the * mean in
*mapInfoStruc{}, *worldX#, *worldY#, *scrX%, *scrY%
I presume they are not C++ pointers?! Or is this a new type of BB4W addressing mode I haven't come accross?
Michael
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David Williams
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Re: GFXLIB
« Reply #100 on: Feb 12th, 2010, 02:49am » |
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on Feb 12th, 2010, 02:12am, Michael Hutton wrote:My question is: What do the * mean in
*mapInfoStruc{}, *worldX#, *worldY#, *scrX%, *scrY%
I presume they are not C++ pointers?! Or is this a new type of BB4W addressing mode I haven't come accross?
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Actually, I don't think it was correct of me to prefix mapInfoStruc{} with an asterisk.
Yes, an asterisk indicates that the parameter is a pointer to a memory location that contains (or is to contain) either an integer or a 64-bit float.
I realise that 32-bit floats can be supplied 'directly' using FN_f4, but it's probably not suitable for heavy use within a game loop.
By the way, those comments are really just notes to myself. I don't normally use asterisks to indicate pointer variables! I might from now on, though.
Regards,
David.
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Richard Russell
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Re: GFXLIB
« Reply #101 on: Feb 12th, 2010, 08:11am » |
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on Feb 12th, 2010, 02:49am, David Williams wrote:| I don't normally use asterisks to indicate pointer variables! I might from now on, though. |
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Is there a particular reason why you don't use ^, to reflect the syntax you'd use if calling the routine from BASIC?
Richard.
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David Williams
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Re: GFXLIB
« Reply #102 on: Feb 12th, 2010, 3:05pm » |
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on Feb 12th, 2010, 08:11am, Guest-Richard Russell wrote:Is there a particular reason why you don't use ^, to reflect the syntax you'd use if calling the routine from BASIC?
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Perhaps I suffered a momentary lapse of common sense.
David.
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81RED
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Re: GFXLIB
« Reply #103 on: Feb 14th, 2010, 7:19pm » |
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on Feb 11th, 2010, 9:49pm, David Williams wrote: Code:SYS GFXLIB_DrawTileMap%, dispVars{}, mapInfo{}, x%, y%
Simple as that.
Something to look forward to, right?
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Bloody hell! That looks VERY useful indeed.
Am I correct in guessing your experiences coding Crystal Hunter II had something to do with it?
Simon
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David Williams
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Re: GFXLIB
« Reply #104 on: Feb 15th, 2010, 01:36am » |
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on Feb 14th, 2010, 7:19pm, Simon Mathiassen wrote:Bloody hell! That looks VERY useful indeed.
Am I correct in guessing your experiences coding Crystal Hunter II had something to do with it?
Simon |
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No, I don't think so.
In addition to those tile map-related routines, I've started work on a new library called GAMEOBJLIB (Game Object Library), although don't be too surprised if the final release version is called something else. It's aim (whether it'll be achieved or not) is to simplify and speed up the development of 2D games, especially ones with extended 'worlds' - such as scrolling platformers, shoot-'em-ups, etc. I'll probably have some demos of it in action soon.
Regards,
David.
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David Williams
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Re: GFXLIB
« Reply #105 on: Jun 27th, 2010, 02:33am » |
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I've uploaded GFXLIB version 2.00 to my website's FTP area, although I don't yet have a separate web page dedicated to it. That'll come in a few days.
Download link
http://www.bb4wgames.com/progs/zip/gfxlib2.zip [3.93 MB]
Quick Start Guide
http://www.bb4wgames.com/misc/GFXLIB2QuickStartGuide.pdf
There is plenty of documentation in the form of example programs (at least one example program and Info.TXT file for almost every GFXLIB routine).
Also included in the package are dozens of demo programs originally written for GFXLIB 1, but which have since been modified to work with GFXLIB 2. I apologise in advance for the fact that the program code for some of the demos is rather cryptic and poorly commented.
One of the most important differences between this version (2.00) and previous beta versions of GFXLIB 2 is that the name of the display variables structure (dispVars{}) must now be declared when initialising GFXLIB 2:
Code:
INSTALL @lib$ + "GFXLIB2"
PROCInitGFXLIB( dispVars{}, 0 )
Happy game writing ?
Regards,
David.
http://www.bb4wgames.com
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81RED
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Re: GFXLIB
« Reply #106 on: Jun 27th, 2010, 09:44am » |
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Congratulations! Wow, that was a LONG and difficult birth – glad you got there in the end. 
EDIT: Has dibSectionaddr% simply been replaced by dibs%, or is there more to it than that?
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David Williams
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Re: GFXLIB
« Reply #107 on: Jun 27th, 2010, 1:26pm » |
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on Jun 27th, 2010, 09:44am, Simon Mathiassen wrote:| Congratulations! Wow, that was a LONG and difficult birth – glad you got there in the end. |
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Thanks. Things are still far from ideal, though.
on Jun 27th, 2010, 09:44am, Simon Mathiassen wrote:| EDIT: Has dibSectionaddr% simply been replaced by dibs%, or is there more to it than that? |
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The global variable dibs% has simply replaced dibSectionAddr%, although they did exist concurrently for a while.
Perhaps the global variables declared upon initialising GFXLIB will disappear altogether in subsequent versions. Their fate depends on how much hassle this would cause the end-user (and myself!).
Regards,
David.
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admin
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Re: GFXLIB
« Reply #108 on: Jun 27th, 2010, 5:57pm » |
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on Jun 27th, 2010, 1:26pm, David Williams wrote:| Perhaps the global variables declared upon initialising GFXLIB will disappear altogether in subsequent versions. |
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Am I right in thinking that none of these 'global variables' are actually needed by the user's program, but are provided only as an 'optional extra' to save him some effort (for example the predefined bitmap bm32%)? I understood that all the 'essential' shared variables are stored in dispVars{} and therefore not actually 'global'.
Richard.
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David Williams
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Re: GFXLIB
« Reply #109 on: Jun 27th, 2010, 7:00pm » |
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on Jun 27th, 2010, 5:57pm, Richard Russell wrote:Am I right in thinking that none of these 'global variables' are actually needed by the user's program, but are provided only as an 'optional extra' to save him some effort (for example the predefined bitmap bm32%)? I understood that all the 'essential' shared variables are stored in dispVars{} and therefore not actually 'global'.
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A number of basic 'core' routines are assembled in GFXLIB2.BBC, including Plot, BPlot, and Clr. The addresses of these 'workhorse' routines are stored in global variables (GFXLIB_Plot%, GFXLIB_BPlot%, GFXLIB_Clr%, etc.). Which is why a user of GFXLIB 2 can simply do this to get a bitmap plotted:
Code:REM. Display a pre-defined 64x64 bitmap
MODE 8
INSTALL @lib$ + "GFXLIB2"
PROCInitGFXLIB( dispVars{}, 0 )
SYS GFXLIB_Plot%, dispVars{}, bm32%, 64, 64, 320, 256
PROCdisplay
(Yes, PROCdisplay is defined in GFXLIB2.BBC).
A few other global variables are created in GFXLIB2.BBC as well, including those containing the address of some trigonometric and division tables required by some of the external GFXLIB modules.
For every external GFXLIB module that the user INSTALLs, another global variable is created. For example, the external module PlotBlend creates a new global called GFXLIB_PlotBlend%:
Code:
MODE 8
INSTALL @lib$ + "GFXLIB2" : PROCInitGFXLIB( dispVars{}, 0 )
INSTALL @lib$ + "GFXLIB_modules\PlotBlend.BBC" : PROCInitModule
SYS GFXLIB_PlotBlend%, dispVars{}, bm32%, 64, 64, 320, 256, 80
PROCdisplay
I was going to have the user initialise the module using something like (for example):
Code:INSTALL @lib$ + "GFXLIB_modules\PlotBlend.BBC"
plotblend% = FNInitModule
Which would at least have the global created within the user's program, rather than in the module.
But I'd completely forgotten about implementing this idea until about er... 15 seconds ago.
Not to mention the considerable extra work that would be involved.
Regards,
David.
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