Tip for the creation of top-quailty new games for MSX

Paladin (955)

20-10-2004, 22:19

Hello guys,

I know something about game programming, but I do not know anything about Assembly language, so I started to think...

Around the world, many people know a lot about the MSX architecture. But there are even more people just like me that do know about programming logics but really do not know anything about Assembly language, so...

Why don´t MSX lovers try to create a BASIC compiler (it could even be a cross-compiler, to run in a PC) to generate MSX compiled ROMs?

A compiler with the basic structures, such as while, if, for, case, goto, simple graphics commands (just like vpeek and vpoke), and commands for sound, timer, and keyboard and joystick input would be great to create most kind of games...

If that existed, my first program would be a Wolf-3D clone for the MSX... Honest...

Por Grauw

Ascended (10174)

20-10-2004, 22:45

There are several Basic-compilers already:

- KUN-Basic / XBasic
- NestorBasic
- MCBC
- BASCOM
- MBASIC

The latter two produce .COM files iirc, MCBC can produce BIN files, and KUN/X/NestorBasic do on-the-fly-compilation.

All have their limits though. If you were to ask me, I'd say KUN-Basic (or rather, NestorBasic which I have heard a lot of great things about but never used myself) is the best option.

Wolf-3D though... well, all I can say is good luck ;p. No-one has been able to pull it off in assembly so... ^_^.

~Grauw

Por snout

Ascended (15184)

20-10-2004, 22:47

Robsy created a BASIC to .ROM compiler. Perhaps a NestorBasic to .ROM compiler can be made as well?

Por LeandroCorreia

Paladin (955)

20-10-2004, 22:50

Nobody did a Wolf 3D? Weird... The original ran in a 286... Considering that my clone should work in a 4x1 pixels base, the engine should render 64 stripes of screen... Doesn´t seem so hard to do...

Por anonymous

incognito ergo sum (116)

20-10-2004, 23:32

Robsy created a BASIC to .ROM compiler. Perhaps a NestorBasic to .ROM compiler can be made as well?
Yes, that should be easy.

Por Sonic_aka_T

Enlighted (4130)

21-10-2004, 03:23

Robsy created a BASIC to .ROM compiler. Perhaps a NestorBasic to .ROM compiler can be made as well?Are we talking about a BASIC to ROM compiler or a program that allows you to make BASIC ROMs? Big difference between the two...

Por anonymous

incognito ergo sum (116)

21-10-2004, 04:21

The latter... a BASIC program in a ROM.

Some people like to call everything a 'compiler'... right snout? *nudge*

Por viejo_archivero

Paragon (1395)

21-10-2004, 06:51

Hey I'm just starting to code in assembler, and is not that hard . Why don't you give it a try?

Por BiFi

Enlighted (4348)

21-10-2004, 07:28

Part of NestorBasic is actually KUN-Basic.

Since the MSX-BASIC to ROM conversion tool made by Robsy has some disadvantages, a bug (it's still a miracle ROM images made with this tool actually work with that bug) and for my personal learning process I decided to make one as well. Still working on one minor issue which seems to be pretty hard to determine and maybe I'll release it one day.

Por NYYRIKKI

Enlighted (5889)

21-10-2004, 08:11

- KUN-Basic / XBasic
- NestorBasic

Those should be all you need. X-Basic is 95% compatible with native MSX-BASIC. JIT Compiler is fast to use and produces very fast code. NestorBasic is Extended version of X-Basic (kind of library of routines), that adds all kind of nice things from music replayer to TCP/IP support. These extended features work on MSX-BASIC and X-BASIC.

- BASCOM

This is not a compiler. This is a few bytes long program, that uses BASIC ROM to execute a single BASIC command from MSX-DOS.

- MBASIC

I thought this was interpreter, but I might be wrong. There is also compiler named Mozart, but I think we can forget these already.

Perhaps a NestorBasic to .ROM compiler can be made as well?

Should not be extremely hard... I remember, that I tried to make a X-BASIC compiler. It did compile to defined address and did not need original BASIC source, but I remember I had some serious troubles with initing variables correctly. That was anyway very very long time ago, maybe I should take a second look...

I think, you can also use same method that is used to make BASIC ROM's, so that you don't need to compile the code.

Por Sama

Ambassador (2061)

21-10-2004, 09:47

KUN Basic does weird stuff with (I think) the memory, which is why some extensions (e.g. MoonBlaster support) cause trouble when using them with a KUN Basic programme.

I, too, would really like to see a compiler that makes as clear machine language out of a BASIC programme as possible and puts that in a file that can be run without that compiler.