I’ve started on a game with both a c64 and c64 ultimate version right now I’m just exploring game mechanics and ergonomics plus some graphical possibilities but I think I should be able to have a finished and polished game in a few few months.
I think Ive got the examples and demos I want in place for the first version of ReadyBasic to be released with upcoming release of ReadyOS 0.5 , this example shows the build in graphics modes and commands, custom assembler modules , loading and playing relocated SID tunes and loading graphics resources and when on an ultimate a command to change the CPU speed as well as language features like repeat/until and functions and procedures. https://gist.github.com/klumsy/22c393e17c3e97e7e045addc97060e96
In anticipation of the next c64 - the Cyberpunk 77, I decided to make a custom charset and palette theme for ReadyOS that works in both VICE and on my Ultimate. Forgive my poor iPhone filming while typing though.
I haven’t implemented Gouraud shading since 1995 IN VGA ON PCs until now. , here another experiment with using the custom pallete on the c64u , but you can do custom palettes also in certain variants of VICE at least.
Back in DOS demos the ability to have gradient palletes opened up all sorts of fire and blur and zoomblur effects. I decided to try that on the c64u since you can configure it with a custom palette for the 16 colors. This is the first attempt. It’s a pity you can’t change the palette programmatically from with the c64 (you can with the rest api)
Got the first alpha version. IRC readyOS app for the c64u using the UCI network interface working. Probably won’t be in the next release, but I might break it out into a standalone app and release with my ultimate experiments.
ReadyBasic for ReadyOS is coming along quite well now. Got quite a few graphics and sounds and REU and memory commands , as well as easy ways to make new commands and to create assembler based modules of commands you can dynamically load. As for ReadyOS I’m just getting DMA loading of apps working for the ultimate and hopefully will do a new version release in a week or so.
Is it going to be c64 related or something else?
I made a little test app in basic. of using the UCI to load a minute song into the REU and play it in the background.
You can see the code in this gist
https://gist.github.com/klumsy/69866d191c9799457f81d99a7c13db8e
Then also get the PRG and audio files in a zip on my site.
https://readyos.notion.site/Ultimate-Experiments-36f0781f263180f4bc64ca7b5a136cd4
Here is one of a couple of small devices I programmed to control my ultimate over the REST API.
This one I haven’t pushed the code yet , as I want to round out some features , but for the small M5stick I have the code on GitHub.
When coding in basic or using apps others made in basic, do you ever or often get close to using the full 38Kish “basic bytes free”?
With an extended Basic / Basic Wedge
What you could want to give up 5K or 8K or even 10K?
Would being able to suspend and resume to REU and other apps in the meantime be enough?
Would being able to have 100s of commands that are implemented in assembler and be able to add 100s more without impacting that ram further be enough? (Including graphics and sound and file and image and network and even ultimate specific commands?)
Would be able to not just have line number gotos and gosubs but be able to make functions in your code that you can pass in parameters and get results and use them like any other function be enough ? eg
A% = abs(myfunc(2,”hey”,(b%*2))-10)
Would being able to allocate room in the REU for your own codes needs whether arrays. Large bits of text. Loading a file. Storing a network request , or having text/color or graphics mode screen buffers be enough? - 48K extra easily but also able to request and use 64K chunks up to many megabytes depending on the size of your REU (16MB in c64u)
Would be being able to choose to stash ranges of line numbers like “1000-2000” to REU or a list of functions , to give you some basic bytes free for a while then restore them
Back when needed later be enough?(eg you have 2KB of file handing code , but the user rarely saves or loads and when they do there is other code you could choose to swap out to swap that in )
Would being able to instantly swap out to a full editor experience then back again to the prompt to run be enough?
Would you give up 10K of basic bytes free to get all that ? Or is that too much.
I recently started a cross compiler based on a subset of zig (things like async and threads don’t make sense) plus a turbo pascal style inline assembler. It also has a full DLL system with code relocation , early and late binding , plugin style dynamic loading and preloading and caching code in REU. here is a video when I’d implemented about 27% of the intended surface area also showing the automated UI test automation in VICE since the “ proof is in the pudding”. Now at about 85%.
The c64u allows alternative palettes, unfortunately you can’t control them programmatically from within the UCI , but you can externally through the REST API. Here I’m automatically cycling through a bunch of themes, changing it every second just to demonstrate. With readyOS (and even as a general
Tool) I’m going to make a companion app that can run any computer on your local network that you will be able to do a network call from the c64U itself so can do a call
Back to the REST API to things that the UCI can’t. Anyway here is a bash script to upload and set a palette. https://github.com/ReadyOS-C64/ReadyOs/blob/main/apply\_readyos\_palette.sh
I recently built a new OS for the c64 released with about 16 apps including a new shell language with pipes and an object pipeline called ReadyShell. It works with any C64 with a 2MB REU including vice + the c64 mini etc. there is also a .CRT cartridge version to speed up the time it takes to load all the apps to REU. Once apps are in the REU you can instantly swap between them. https://github.com/ReadyOS-C64/ReadyOs/releases/tag/v0.2.3