MsxStuff_050716.zip (162kb)
msx_borielszxbasiccompiler_experimentalsnippets_201308231105.zip (644kb)

2013jun28 - Paulo Silva (nitrofurano_at_gmail_dot_com)

(english grammar and vocabulary fixes and improvement are welcome =) )
This page is about some stuff i'm doing for MSX retrocoding development - not only for contribution, as well for learning it.


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The last update: Recently i got some successful results from the amazing (imho) Boriel's ZX-Basic Compiler. These experiments shows the potential it has for creating binary files for MSX, whatever .rom, msx-basic bloadable files or msx-dos executables. For now, the examples uses display modes from MSX1 and MSX2+ (and some frustrating unsuccessful attempts on v9990).

Updated an assembler example about coding games for 4 simultaneous players on one keyboard, which i got help from Dioniso and BifiMsx. This example is as well posted at Karoshi forum.

I also included on the downloadable zipped folder above some sdlBasic examples, in a retro-remaking way, simulating MSX limitations.

I'm still converting my picture converters from qBasic to sdlBasic. (MSX users, please help with the sdlBasic propaganda!!! - sdlBasic is excellent even on pre-coding MSX stuff (like Gyonin-sama used to do with HotSoupProcessor, like his Manesis and Knight games))

Soon i hope providing available here some stuff i think can be useful for the MSX development community.

The idea for the postscript example, is for displaying postscript drawings (.svg, .eps, .ai) made on apps like InkScape, Sodipodi, Macromedia Freehand, Adobe Illustrator, CorelDraw, etc - on machines like MSX, after some file conversion (the text coordinates and commands become bytes for file size reduction). - can be useful on stuff like demos and RPG games - i surelly will need an assembler version of the msx-basic code i coded (specially for the bezier lines, as well on laced-screen7, which i'm using pset(,) for drawing bezier and straight lines... )

CrackAttack and FrozenBubble on screenshots page are just drawings - Vroby (Roberto Viola, author of sdlBasic) ported CrackAttack to sdlBasic, and FrozenBubble is coded on sdlPerl (i think) - maybe these source-codes are not hard at all to convert to msx-assembler...

XBill i only get some display test (making it playable is still hard for me)

ChrSpr are just simple display tests i coded in msx-basic just for fun and in an experimental way for visual purpose.

The laced display tests are for future laced display games using screenmodes like 7, 10 or 12, specially for small games (like 8kb roms) since afaik no one did it yet (making MSX community survive with this kind of innovation (can we name this way?) is not bad idea at all...) - If MSX 2 (scr7), 2+ and Turbo-R has these phenomenal screenmodes (specially when laced), why not using it?

This personal webpage, recently started (this week), focusing MSX retrocoding (a bit empty for now), is just for trying to organize and share my ideas for just one webpage manifest like this one.

You can see some
screenshots of the above examples you can see from downloads above (i have a bit more to update soon).

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Help needed:

• MSX-assembler examples and tutorials (please!)
• Ideas, urls and projects i must know.


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Interesting links:

• http://www.boriel.com/wiki/en/index.php/ZXBasic
The amazing Boriel's ZX-Basic Compiler! Strongly reccomended, awesome for creating stuff for MSX!

• http://www.msxposse.com
Finally, a PhpBB MSX forum!

• http://karoshicorp.proboards40.com/
A PhpBB forum just about MSX development, specially assembler language - special attention for the snippets part.

• http://robsy.net/
Here you can get ASMSX, the very easiest MSX z80-assembler cross-compiler (i learned how to compile .asm MSX stuff with this one!). Is in this format the .asm sources i have downloadable above, and is the default format used on KaroshiCorp forum. (i hope soon Tni-asm will be so easy as this one, as having simple examples for newbies trying out what this can do)

• http://sdlbasic.sourceforge.net
A long-waited ansi-basic interpreter, using SDL libraries, open-source, and truly multiplatform - i got it as very useful for MSX retrocoding development (for coding utilities like picture converters and useful tools, like parsing binary files into compilable .asm db hex sequences) - if someone tell you sdlBasic is lots better than BlitzBasic and DarkBasic, don't doubt it...

• http://wxbasic.sourceforge.net
Where sdlBasic got its core.

• http://www15.brinkster.com/nitrofurano/sdlbasic
My personal web-page about sdlBasic (just like this one).

• http://www15.brinkster.com/nitrofurano/wxbasic
My personal web-page about wxBasic (just like this one).

• http://games.linux.sk
Repository of open-source games, like CrackAttack, FrozenBubble and others.
Who want to port these games to MSX? (i would do if i had more skills for it)


• http://proce55ing.net
Interesting project from MIT about simple and impressive open-source multimedia ideas (mainly Java). I don't know why i'm talking about this link in this page, but it's worth seeing. Well, i think the idea is about how visually interesting things we can get from coding.

• http://mograph.net
Also a PhpBB forum, more related to MotionGFX and graphic design, where MSX game and demo retrocoders can get lots of inspiration - btw, is the demoscene based on motiongfx, or vice-versa?

• http://www.alles.or.jp/~gyonin/
An interesting webpage about MSX retrocoding development - from the author of some interesting msx-konami clones to w32 like Manesis and Tokimeki Knightmare.

• http://www.demoscene.org/
Important reference for demo development - nice goal if MSX demos can be at this level (which i still only know from BandWagon and not much more)

• http://msxsolutions.msxblue.com/
A very interesting link for game remake coders, nostalgic MSX players and mappers, and an useful source for game map design inspiration.

• http://altervista.org
Altervista (free webhost, this one i'm using now)

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(This webpage is optimized for decent web browsers based on Gecko or Webkit, like Firefox, Icecat, Seamonkey, Iceape, Galeon, Kazehakase, Chrome, Chromium, etc. - mostly because the webfonts and css)
(If some link must be here above, please let me know)