ArkanDOS

Post by **MrFlibble** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 10:15 am

tienkhoanguyen wrote:I do not know how I even got the demo working.

I think this is normal for computer-related stuff

But the thing is, it works and you can improve later on if you want to.

tienkhoanguyen wrote:It just means I have been told my programming is poor structure. However it is the only way I know how to make it work.

Again, if it works then it's fine IMO. I know that some people have released the source code for their games with warnings that the code is messy. But the games themselves are cool and the players are unlikely to notice anything.

For example, Steffen Gerlach (author of C-evo) says:

The Delphi 4 source code of version 1.2.0. This is just for the sake of completeness. Frankly, I advise against dealing with that. Don't waste your time. I was young and had funny ideas of what makes a good code.

C-evo is an excellent game, and it's free so try it out

Ed T. Toton III about Stellar Conquest III:

Also, SC3 is now OPEN SOURCE. Since it was written in Turbo Pascal 6, it may be hard to do much of anything with it. But the source code is available here: sc3-105-tpsource.zip (478k). It's not for the faint of heart. Nearly 10,000 lines of uncommented code.

Other game authors might have made similar statements, but I can't remember more examples ATM.

tienkhoanguyen · Post by **tienkhoanguyen** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 10:23 am

Well, I do not like using anything except the official Borland manuals. It is there stuffs so they have the source code for it. They built their famous Borland Graphics Interface even though many complain. Hey when you are the best, you just have deal with their way haha

tienkhoanguyen · Post by **tienkhoanguyen** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 10:26 am

I believe that is how you activate 256 mode with one of there graphics card. There is nowhere in the manual that is higher color yet?

tienkhoanguyen · Post by **tienkhoanguyen** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 10:29 am

Thank you for the source code and both your generous#!!

Anyways, I am disconnected from the Internet because I reverted to vista. I like the classic shell look under DOSBox. Full screen mode makes it look like back in the days with just the dos prompt.

No driver for vista.

tienkhoanguyen · Post by **tienkhoanguyen** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 10:51 am

If you need the complete source code for ArkanDOS, please toto WWW.PLAYDOSGAMES.COM

You can download the zipfile under the Ball&Paddle category.

tienkhoanguyen · Post by **tienkhoanguyen** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 10:53 am

I actually make people search for my source code. Haha. It is hard won. I cried many nights working on it!!!!!!!!!!!!

tienkhoanguyen · Post by **tienkhoanguyen** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 10:56 am

Actually for my friends and family if you do not see a source code it is usually only after extraction of the Windows version. You really have to look hard however, it is there. Believe in Romeo and Juliette being together forever.

Quadko · Post by **Quadko** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 12:50 pm

Yes, fix one thing and something else comes up as a problem! Always the way it goes.

I don't know much about higher than 256 colors, I never did it in dos, only windows. But the basics are you need an SVGA or VESA mode. The link I gave above has a section on "Third-party BGI drivers" with discussion about it in there. It looks like there are some BGI drivers that will allow it, but you'll have to track them down them and they may be buggy in dos. Of course, they may work fine in DOSBox, so that may not bother anyone too much.

The biggest problem with higher color modes is DOS didn't have enough "video memory space" in DOS's 640k/1MB memory limitation to do more colors/resolution that the 320x200x256 and 640x400x16 (or was it 480? Don't recall) without starting to do "Bank switching". All that means is a command to the video card to "work on" different parts of the screen when writing to memory at 0xA0000 - bank 0 is the top of the screen, bank 1 is the next part, and so forth. But it's a new level of pain to figure out and track. The sprite or line might start on one bank and overlap another, so you have to have the code to figure that out correctly.

And newer operating systems that don't have the DOS memory limitation don't have that problem, of course.

On the whole, that's why DOS games stuck with 320x200x256 or less except for a very few games from big companies - Crusader: No Remorse and Ultima 8 on the same game engine from Origin Systems, for example. Then Windows games took over because it was easier to do higher resolutions and faster computers and so forth.

Post by **MrFlibble** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 3:13 pm

tienkhoanguyen wrote:If you need the complete source code for ArkanDOS, please toto WWW.PLAYDOSGAMES.COM

You can download the zipfile under the Ball&Paddle category.

Cool, the downloads are fixed now!

(there were some issues a while ago)

Quadko wrote:The biggest problem with higher color modes is DOS didn't have enough "video memory space" in DOS's 640k/1MB memory limitation to do more colors/resolution that the 320x200x256 and 640x400x16 (or was it 480? Don't recall)

Yup I think it's 640x400x16 for those old EGA ("high-res" games). Some of them have quite nice graphics BTW.

Quadko wrote:On the whole, that's why DOS games stuck with 320x200x256 or less except for a very few games from big companies - Crusader: No Remorse and Ultima 8 on the same game engine from Origin Systems, for example. Then Windows games took over because it was easier to do higher resolutions and faster computers and so forth.

Thankfully, there are enough SVGA mode DOS games out there still

And come to think of it, thanks to DOSBox DOS games are more "cross-platform" these days than the early Win32 titles which are sometimes hard to run even with all legacy support on modern Windows systems.

tienkhoanguyen · Post by **tienkhoanguyen** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 3:32 pm

That BGI read is interesting. If it is possible to do true colors in DOS that is my main goal. However, I am still trying to figure out how engines like QuakeOne redraws an entire screen so fast. Anyways, first it is probably assembly language comes to mind.

tienkhoanguyen · Post by **tienkhoanguyen** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 3:36 pm

Actually I want to be Borland Turbo C 2.01 itself haha. To actually know the language that good that anything is possible. I did find out inline assembly is included and can include the joystick routine with the registers being programmed. I am still new to the manual however it is 500 pages each. The reference guide for the command and the users guide for the inline assembly and advance programming ect

tienkhoanguyen · Post by **tienkhoanguyen** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 3:40 pm

I guess inserting a new graphics card adds new memory locations to program. I am still new. Catching up to NVIDIA and ATI is something I probably won't get to. However, I guess that is the one saying life is an infinite mystery. You can never reach the end.

tienkhoanguyen · Post by **tienkhoanguyen** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 3:42 pm

At least the book of wisdom says knowledge is so deep you can never finish it!

Quadko · Post by **Quadko** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 4:35 pm

thanks to DOSBox DOS games are more "cross-platform" these days

Hear, hear. I've seen reference to at least one indie new game released in dosbox for purposes of cross platform support, though I don't have a link. That's one reason I'm playing with some code in DOSBox, beyond just the fun. Potentially it could be run on Win, Linux, Mac, and even consoles / phones / tablets.

...QuakeOne redraws an entire screen so fast.

Yes, good question! Parts of the answer are fast computers, accelerated graphics, and assembly code, but a lot if it is just setting up graphics so they are very fast memory copies for everything. BGI is easy to use but known to be quite slow, more for business graphics than games, so usually figuring out the few features you need and rewriting them is the place to start. Like, line drawing code, video mode code, text display code, and you already have sprite code. Once you have what you need (and there's lots of such code on the internet), what more do you need BGI for?

C code can be very quick, so even professional game companies don't really have to write inline assembly except for the most crucial inner loops.

...you can never finish it!

though some argue it can be completed

tienkhoanguyen · Post by **tienkhoanguyen** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 4:58 pm

Jesus Christ!hehe. If this is true then that is amazing.

However, I always have a nonstick agreement with Borland.

They gave to me first so that is why I am so grateful.

Even though I could leave my own copyright sign, I am using Borland.

So to be fair. Could I have done it with other languages? Maybe. There was a time in school when I programmed in other languages.

However none of my dozen languages have been proven efficient in DOS such as Borland.

Did you know Borland boasts close to eight thousand line compiled per minute!

So I am a happy camper.

Between you and me, something just clicks with me and this language.

I have FORTRAN90, COBOL, Pascal, C++, Commodore 64 basic and Assembly, RFO-BASIC, mainframe, database, DOS, and probably three more. However, of my 40 years, I found my dream woman, "Borland Turbo C 2.01"

Quadko · Post by **Quadko** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 5:54 pm

Just to be clear, you would still be using your dear Borland Turbo C even if you stopped using the BGI feature because you wrote some better game display code. You can have both Borland Turbo C and custom fast graphics code together.

tienkhoanguyen · Post by **tienkhoanguyen** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 6:05 pm

Jesus Christ!hehe.

I remember a time when I programmed direct to video memory.

So thinking back to those days, I should be able to theoretically tap into my Intel video card.

The card is up to 24 bit true color.

However, I just do not know how to do it yet.

I have been reading Borland's guide that you can access the potential 64 bit addresses even in the 16 bit compiler however don't quote me on that.

tienkhoanguyen · Post by **tienkhoanguyen** » Thu Sep 25, 2014 3:35 am

I have done it#!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been able to combine enough internet resources to put together my own routine accessing 255 colors or so. haha

Praise and all glory to Jesus Christ from now on without gap forever forward without gap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(so to summarize, Borland Turbo C 2.01 used to have a limit of 15 colors and now it has been broken even though it is a 15 bit compiler haha - do not blame me that I use 15 instead of 16 - I just think 0 is a background color haha - okay you got me - I said the word color haha)

Anyways here is my secret underground from a far reaching planet source code that does work on my machine hehe

Enjoy as the pirates say it - or share and share alike - or what ever hehe

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=6 ... t=file%2cC

To the moderators - I get extra bonus credits and leeway for sharing my secret code that nobody else has haha

j/k

tienkhoanguyen · Post by **tienkhoanguyen** » Thu Sep 25, 2014 3:38 am

Jesus Christ!hehe You might have to copy the whole entire link since it seems only part of the super size link were hypered. haha

Thanks mod for putting up with me, the mad scientist who has succeeded in the question for more colors than Borland Turbo C 2.01 should have been able to handle#!!

Quadko · Post by **Quadko** » Thu Sep 25, 2014 9:47 am

Haha! Triumph! Celebratory drinks all around. Nice job.

DOS Games Discussion

ArkanDOS

Complete source code

God, Jesus Christ, is number one!