MSXDev'07 specs - discussion

it's odd !

*if* rules state that 1M ROM is allowed .. then what's the point of bonuspoints in case a product requires less ROM ?

We suggested:

MSXdev'07:
48kb ROM - 16kb RAM

more ROM = penalty points (perhaps this would make the comparision small v.s. big fair-er)
more RAM = penalty points (easier for developers but less MSX1 compatible.)

And if we want to give it a positive touch we don't give penalties for exeeding these limits. But bonus points for all that did not exeed. It will give the same results.

Ehmmm ... when I have said that 64 Kb RAM could be 'the reference', I had 2 ideas in my mind :

- for MSX1 games, it should be the maximum RAM and bonus points could be given for games that can be runned on MSX1 with 32 kb RAM or 16 Kb RAM

- for eventual MSX2/2+ games, it should be the minimum RAM (as it's the case of many Japanese machines)

But that's only a step in my thinking ... note also that minimum RAM for Turbo-R is 256 kb ....

So an eventual MSX2 (and higher) contest could be based on 64 kb RAM minimum and 256 Kb RAM maximum with bonus points if the game can be runned on machines with 128 or 64 kb RAM.

.......and bonus points could be given for games that can be runned on MSX1 with 32 kb RAM or 16 Kb RAMI like the idea of bonus points vs penalty points indeed. Penalty points are kind of harsh. "Oooh, your smooth scrolling never-seen-before-mega-RPG uses 32kB RAM, now you don't win anymore!" just doesn't really cut it. It's much nicer to award bonus points for 'very efficient memory usage'. To make YabYum on a 16kB machine doesn't take much effort. To make UU on a 16kB machine does. Just reward games which manage to accomplish a lot using little hardware, that way everyone's happy. Same could apply for ROM size, tho perhaps with an upper limit so people don't get too ambitious in their projects. We don't want people trying to make sample-playing-rotating-sprites-animating-background Gradius IV clones either!

I think it is a bit funny how some feel that 16kb of RAM is too little... I'm used to code for the NES/Famicom, and it has only 2kb of RAM. Sure, later games could have 8kb more on the cart, but many many good games only use the standard 2kb. These 2kb have proved to be enough for most of my designs, and that included some pretty big complex games (unfortunately never finished any!). So, the 16kb on the MSX are a world to me. I can't even imagine how to use all of it.

The only clear advantage of using more RAM is compression. If the level maps in a game are compressed in ROM, you'll surelly be able to squeeze a lot more of them in the same cart. But if ROM size isn't an issue, RAM use can be minimal.

Theres not a person who could say that '16kb ought to be enough for everyone' .. the biggest computer-industrial tried something similar in the 80's.. he failed deeply.

If 32kb would be allowed, some ppl *are* going to use it. In the most likely case, games get bigger. Ppl use whatever there is to use... beit 16kb or 32kb. 32kb is ideal for compressed games. Typically compressed games also tend to be the somewhat larger games. Now, if dev6 would be aimed at small MSX1 games, like dev3/4 en perhaps dev5, then 16kb would prolly be enough..

But! Guess what..! dev6 has increased ROM specs up to the MegaROM.. ideal for bigger games! So on one point they increased the ROM specs for bigger games, but at the same time limit the RAM usage. It's a little bit of a contradiction.

And yes: about Konami games running with 8kb.. those games couldn't been bigger if better compression would be used. But.. we seem to run in circles .. I think the dev organisers have seen enough motivations to form an opinion.