Walrii6510 - The walrii game on the C64

u/Dream of Omnimaga January 06, 2016, 06:40:48 PM

Yeah, good idea. A lot of people in contests in the past started their entry at the very last minute.

I hope the language isn't too complicated for the C64 >.<

u/DarkestEx January 06, 2016, 06:45:12 PM

Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on January 06, 2016, 06:40:48 PM
Yeah, good idea. A lot of people in contests in the past started their entry at the very last minute. I hope the language isn't too complicated for the C64 >.<

Yea.
About the language, considering that the C64 can actually run Java (yes, somebody ported the VM), it runs C fine.

u/Dream of Omnimaga January 06, 2016, 07:34:30 PM

Rally?

It must be ultra slow compared to C, though.

u/novenary January 06, 2016, 08:50:12 PM

Depends, if it's well optimized and the standard library is lightweight enough it can be decently fast. That machine runs BASIC after all.

u/Dream of Omnimaga January 06, 2016, 08:50:57 PM

True, but isn't BASIC from back in the days much more primitive than Java these days? Java was designed for modern platforms, right?

u/novenary January 06, 2016, 08:58:49 PM

Well Java is a virtual machine, which makes it inherently simpler than an interpreter since there's a lot less parsing to do.

u/p4nix January 06, 2016, 09:00:31 PM

Also a thing to consider: Imagine how fast our computers nowadays would be if they where optimized like those machines back then.

u/novenary January 06, 2016, 09:06:23 PM

Well believe it or not, compilers are so good at optimizing nowadays that they can beat humans at it. That said, you still have to write efficient algorithm, otherwise the compiler's effort is void. Also there are some things to keep in mind with modern architectures.See this for a great example: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11227809/why-is-processing-a-sorted-array-faster-than-an-unsorted-array.

u/DarkestEx January 06, 2016, 09:51:35 PM

Quote from: Streetwalrus on January 06, 2016, 09:06:23 PM
Well believe it or not, compilers are so good at optimizing nowadays that they can beat humans at it. That said, you still have to write efficient algorithm, otherwise the compiler's effort is void. Also there are some things to keep in mind with modern architectures.See this for a great example: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11227809/why-is-processing-a-sorted-array-faster-than-an-unsorted-array.

Where have we gone to?!
The C64 is such an awesome machine. Yes it is slow and old and has no web browser, but it is relatively easy to program and you can use POKE's and PEEK's to do all sorts of wired and wonderful things. And it is so much less complex.

u/p4nix January 06, 2016, 10:01:02 PM

Yeah, that might be true. But I'm always impressed how people solved problems on such limited platforms

u/Dream of Omnimaga January 10, 2016, 08:47:33 AM

This is why so many people loved programming calculators in the past and perhaps why they could become vintage platforms like the C64 in the future. People did not code much for the Nspire because they either wanted to push outdated platforms to their limits, which was more entertaining on the 83+/84+/89 series, or they wanted full-scale power, such as smartphones and computers.

@DarkestEx have you gotten any luck with C64 developement so far?

u/DarkestEx January 10, 2016, 12:01:43 PM

Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on January 10, 2016, 08:47:33 AM
This is why so many people loved programming calculators in the past and perhaps why they could become vintage platforms like the C64 in the future. People did not code much for the Nspire because they either wanted to push outdated platforms to their limits, which was more entertaining on the 83+/84+/89 series, or they wanted full-scale power, such as smartphones and computers.

@DarkestEx have you gotten any luck with C64 developement so far?

Yes indeed.

Well about the development, I haven't made any progress yet. I had to learn how everything works and I am still not done with that part. Also had I to buy some devices to be able to play my games from SD card on the actual C64 that I own. For development I use an emulator but I really like testing my progress on an actual device too.
Then school starts for me tomorrow again

u/Dream of Omnimaga January 10, 2016, 07:38:18 PM

You might want to develop the game on PC instead for now, using Commodore graphics and palettes, scaling up the sprites and keeping gameplay simple, such as a puzzle exploration game, then once the contest is over, re-use the idea for an actual C64 game.

u/DarkestEx January 25, 2016, 11:24:49 PM

Hmm, I should work on the or any C64 game again. My dad even bought me old assembler tutorial books from 1986. I should look through them and also try to get C working.