[Coco] Phoenix IDE gaining sprite/tiles/map editor

[Roger Taylor]

At 07:34 AM 5/10/2011, you wrote:
>Back in the early day of creating computer games, we did include the 
>graphics data code as part of the source code.  There was no 
>graphics support programs and would hand code the data 
>statements.  (Well, there was not much graphics in those first games.)
>
>MicroPainter was first created to aid in the drawing the graphics 
>for the games.  Since I did not want to hand code the growing 
>graphics data, I wrote a program that convert into the data source 
>code. Remember, with the 4-color graphics mode of the CoCo 1/2 used 
>4 shifted images for every moving graphics.  This was starting to 
>become a great deal of data to assemble every time.
>
>The next step was to have my graphics utility built the reference 
>data (look-up tables) as part graphics data. (The game code only 
>needs to link into the tables to find the right graphic image to 
>draw.)  Even the graphic's object animation (walk left, stand, jump, 
>ect) was controlled by data tables inside this block of graphics 
>data.  Since all this data was self-contained, it could be a 
>standalone binary block of data to load and no longer part of the 
>source code.  This offloading of graphics data help speed up the 
>code writing cycle since most of the source had become mostly graphics data.
>
>In the final days of CoCo work, I was using PC for the graphics 
>(sprite, tile/map and fonts), the Amiga for sound and the CoCo for 
>creating the source code.  This IDE took 5 computers to get the job 
>done and boy did the office get warm.
>
>We can't use the graphic utility from when I was writing CoCo games.
>(It's too old and I can't find them.)  But a modern version could be 
>written.  While I could write it under windows, maybe a web app 
>could work in this modern day?  I will have to look into it.
>
>The bottom line, I need to come up with a modern graphics utility 
>before I can write a new game for the CoCo.
>
>Steve Bjork

Keep downloading the Phoenix updates (pre 1.0 test builds) and this 
next one will have a sprite/tile/map editor included although not yet 
fully integrated.  It's NICE!  Without a doubt, any new app or game I 
create in the future will be done in Phoenix and using the sprite and 
font editors.

The coder still has to use the data output by those tools, but then I 
can't make the IDE write *everything* for you.  :)  Maybe one day 
I'll get it to build the whole game template with sound, sprites, 
joystick/keyboard routines, and let the coder fill in the other 50%.  :)

We need templates for a graphics adventure, a Mario-style tile/map 
engine, and a sprite blaster engine like the one in Jeweled.  WIth 
just those 3 types of templates, I can see a lot of potential for 
many new CoCo games even by new or rusty programmers.


-- 
~ Roger Taylor