Super Magic 320 is a set of library routines specially designed for fast Apple IIGS animation. It can be used for demo or arcade game design. The demo included here demomstrates the power of Super Magic 320.
To run it, please copy tool 219 (by FTA) to your Tools folder.
The routines support gradient palette, full or partial colour cycling, screen fonts, shape plotting and animating, pixel plotting, line drawing, Sound Smith music playing, etc.
Super Magic 320 is designed for every Apple IIGS users who would like to do some programming, and have a little assembly knowledge (the assembly chosen is ORCA/M, and can be easily converted to be used under APW).
I designed Super Magic 320 with two aims in mind: It must not only be fast, it must also be easy to use.
Therefore, there are no special techniques like stack mapping used in Super Magic 320. But it is still very fast. No double buffering technique is used, and whole screen can be drawn. Super Magic 320 will allow the programmers to have flicker-free animation.
Besides, all the routines are safe. They will protect your X and Y registers, and they can be called from any routines, using variable parameters passing. In fact, using Super Magic 320 to program in assembly language, is almost as easy as programming in high level language.
This program is strictly for assembly programmers only. Source code is provided, and you should NOT modified it without informing me. Anyway, future enhancement will be added to Super Magic 320 in the future.
Super Magic 320 version 1 is also called Virtual Screen version, and it is written in 1990. It uses the standard technique called Virtual Screen (Double Buffering, or Offscreen) animation. The demo runs at about 12.5 frames per second.
Super Magic 320 version 2 is called Real Time version. It is written in 1991. It uses the shadowing features of GS to perform fast animation. The demo is 4 times faster than version 1.
Ver 2.1, adds Sound Smith music to Super Magic 320. Some codes have also been optimized.
There are a lot of new routines supported on version 2.2, the current version. And it is faster too due to more specialized and optimized codes.
Currently there is no documentation on Super Magic 320 routines. All routines are well documented and listed the input variables required. Just study the demo source codes to see how the routines calling are being done.
The program is free. You can distribute the software to anybody, any places, provided that nobody should change the source codes without telling me, or make money out of it. If anybody is using Super Magic 320 routines for any purposes, some credits should be given to me.
Better version of Super Magic 320, along with more demos and games based on it, will be released in the future, if you tell me that you like the program.
If you are interested in Super Magic 320, or some other programs for the Apple II and GS, please read on.
%% About Lim Thye Chean and the Apple II freeware (lots of them!) %%
Hi, I am Lim Thye Chean, a Malaysian working in Singapore as a Software Engineer on a Hypermedia project. Lim is my surname, Thye Chean is my name.
I have been programming on the Apple II computer for 8 years, and only recently, I am able to share my works with you.
All my programs are completely free. Most of them are not designed in a day or two, but months or even years. I program the Apple II because of love, not because of money. In fact, I am a very happy Apple II programmer.
But I only ask for one thing. I need the encouragement. If you really want to see me releasing my projects, or just want to get some free softwares, you have to send me a note. I will only publish my works if I am sure if enough people want the programs.
If nobody ever care to reply, I have nothing to lose. Below are the descriptions of part of my projects:
* Space Infiltrator 1990
An 8 bit arcade game with 4 levels. Complete with sound and voice. It is a fast pace background scrolling game and take me a year to complete.
* KeyWin
Window environment for the Applesoft programmers. It comes with menu and dialog managers, supports mouse and is easy to program. The interface is 80-column mousetext display and needs at least 128K to run. All my later programs are written in this environment.
* KeyWin Othello
3 levels, the computer is able to demonstrate or challenge the good othello players. The algorithm has been improved and speed has been optimized for the 8 bit Apple II for over two years.
* KeyWin Checkers
Asean edition with 3-D checker board. Supports demo or play a game with you.
* The Dream
A collection of 8 programs for graphics. Included are mathematical plotter, paint program, shape creater, slide show etc.
* Apple Spectrum
My earlier projects. Included Musical Land, a program which can play music on your 8 bit Apple II. A simple game called Nuclear War (my first game) is also included.
* Mandelbrot Set (8 bit)
See the pictures yourself. See where you can find the softwares to produce all these on your Apple II. This product is the answer to a professor who says, "Forget it. You can never done it on the II." Not only I did it, the program runs on all resolutions, and on all Apple II, 2-D and 3-D and feature-rich. All the graphics were done on an unaccelerated Apple //c.
* Mandelbrot GS
320 x 200 Mandelbrot generator for the IIGS. 2-D and 3-D, 4 overlays for fast previewing, autosaving, 8 palettes selection. Coming soon: a complete window-based 640 x 200 Mandelbrot II GS, which will be much better than this.
* Super Magic 320
320 x 200 mode graphics and animation routines for the GS. Including colour cycling, gradient fill, complete set of screen font (Not the ugly Mac fonts) and plotting routines. It comes complete with a demo that have 2 big sprites and scrolling stars, running at more than 50 frames per second.
%%% Problems are suggestion %%%
All my programs are freeware, but some of the files cannot be included on the disk, and that is the problems.
For example, to optimize the speed of my Apple II, I use Beagle Compiler, and the file Compiler.System cannot be distributed, unless I pay US$50 to Alan Bird. But I don't think I should pay the money to let you have my software.
So, you will have to own Beagle Compiler (or better still, Program Writer) to run some of my programs, including KeyWin series. Mandelbrot Set (8 bit) and Mandelbrot GS can be run without the compiler, but it will be about 2 to 15 times slower. Another product I use in Mandelbrot Set (8 bit) is Beagle Graphics (for Double Hires display), but since it is already available for free, I don't see any problem.
The second problem I have is: I now own an Apple IIGS, and I have converted, and store all my DOS 3.3 projects (including Space Infiltrator 1990) on a UniDOS-based 3.5" disk. My 5.25" drive has gone forever. So how do you all expect me to pass you the programs since ProDOS or even DOS 3.3 cannot read UniDOS?
The only way I can think of is I shrink it to a whole disk, and you can find a friend with a 3.5", unshrink it and use the UniDOS modified FID to copy the files to a 5.25". Will it be too difficult?
The third problem is, I write the program for myself. So some programs, like Mandelbrot Set (8 bit) and Mandelbrot GS, might be a little difficult to use. But I will be using my Apple II for a very long time, and I am helpful and easy to reach, if you have access to bitnet.
Anyway, tell me how you feel, or really want to see my programs. If you want to see some more programs from me and want to give some advice, or even offer some helps, can contact me. I will be working on an arcade game, based on Super Magic, called Infiltrator GS.
You can contact me at:
* BitNet: ISSLTC@NUSVM
* Info-Apple/comp.sys.apple
* mail: 11, Yeoh Guan Seok Road, 10350 Penang, Malaysia.
