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Text File | 1989-03-31 | 33KB | 791 lines

10.7.1990 IMAGE PROUDLY PRESENTS ANOTHER STUNNING RELEASE: AAAA MMMM MMMM OOOOOOOO SSSSSS AAAAAA MMMMMM MMMMMM OOOO OOOO SSSS SSSS AAAAAAAA MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM OOOO OOOO SSSS SSS AAAA AAAA MMMM MMMMM MMMM OOOO OOOO SSSSSSS ---- ---- ---- - ---- ---- ---- ------ -------------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- AAAA AAAA MMMM MMMM OOOOOOOO SSSSSSSSS T H E C R E A T O R Thanx to Mr.Spaghetto/Accession for the typin' work! (Using CygnusEd Professional Release II) Without the great help of Stranger/Image you woudn't have this File/Print in your hands. He delivered me the original manual, and promised to spread the Final Version of this file all around the world. -- Try the NO.1 BBS in Finland, give a call to IMAGE HQ -- -- Pirates Cove at: +358-0-802 4389 (HST DS, 121MB, 24H)-- How was it all done? ==================== AMOS Basic was designed and progrqammed by François Lionet. His clever ideas and inspirational work have produced what we feel to be by far the best high-level programming language available on the amiga to date. AMOS was developed using the following programs: DEVPAC II Assembler - HiSoft Deluxe Paint III - Electronic Arts Pix Mate - Progressive Peripherals & Software Cross-Dos - Consultron Mini Office Professional Communications - Database Software Mandarin Software would like to thank the following people for their kind help during the development of AMOS: Allistair Brimble, Aaron and Adam Fothergill of Shadow Software, Peter Hickman, Rico Holmes, Commodre UK for the international keyboard layouts (an the Amiga), Commodore France for the help with the A1000 problem, 17-Bit Software for samples and demos, Martyn Brown for fonts and support, Virus Free PD for Soundtracker, Simon Cook for his constructive comments and bugfinding, Lee, Alex, all other AMOS developers for their kind help and all of you who have waited patienly for this software. We hope, like us, you feel it was well worth the wait. This manual (the original , not this ASCII file) was written using WriteNow on the Apple Macintosh and paged up with Page Maker. Copyright Notice ================ Amos will enable you to create some very impressive software. It is very important that you acknowledge AMOS in your programs using a phrase such as "Written by John Smith using AMOS", and, where possible, include the AMOS Sprite. If your program is released commercially, the words " AMOS © 1990 Mandarin/Jawx " must be included on the back of the packaging and in the printer instructions. CONTENTS ------------------------------ 1: INTRODUCTION Dedication ..................................... 2 Foreword ....................................... 2 2: GETTING STARTED Backup AMOS now ................................ 3 Installing AMOS on a single floppy system ...... 3 Installing AMOS on a double floppy system ...... 4 Installing AMOS onto a hard disc ............... 4 Loading AMOS Basic ............................. 4 AMOS tutorial .................................. 5 Loading a program ............................ 5 Deleting a program ........................... 6 Direct mode .................................. 6 Animation! ................................... 7 Listing the sprite files ..................... 7 Loading a sprite file ........................ 7 Setting the sprite colours ................... 8 Displaying a sprite .......................... 8 Animating a sprite ........................... 8 Moving a sprite .............................. 8 Music maestro! ............................... 9 The journey continues .......................... 9 Hints and tips ................................. 9 3: THE EDITOR The menu window ................................ 11 The information line ........................... 11 The editor window .............................. 12 An introduction to direct mode ................. 13 Loading a program .............................. 14 The AMOS file selector ......................... 14 Saving a Basic program ......................... 15 Scrolling thourgh your files ................... 15 Changing the current drive ..................... 15 Changing the directory ......................... 15 Setting the search path ........................ 15 Using the file selector ........................ 16 Editor tutorial ................................ 16 Scrolling through a listing .................. 16 Label/Procedure searches ..................... 17 Folding a procedure definition ............... 18 Search/Replace ............................... 18 Finding an item .............................. 18 Replace ...................................... 18 Cut and Paste ................................ 19 Multiple programs and accessories ............ 19 Multiple programs .......................... 19 Accessories ................................ 20 Direct Mode .................................... 21 Direct mode editor keys ...................... 21 The menu window ................................ 22 Default menu ................................. 22 The system menu .............................. 24 The blocks menu .............................. 25 The search menu .............................. 26 Keyboard macros ................................ 28 Conserving memory .............................. 30 Inside accessories ............................. 30 The HELP accessory ............................. 32 The editor control keys ........................ 32 Special keys ................................. 33 Editing keys ................................. 33 The cursor arrows ............................ 33 Program control .............................. 33 Cut and Paste ................................ 34 Marks ........................................ 34 Search/Replace ............................... 34 Tabs ......................................... 34 4: BASIC PRINCIPLES Variables ...................................... 35 Types of variables ............................. 35 Integers ..................................... 35 Real numbers ................................. 36 String variables ............................. 36 Giving a variable a value ...................... 36 Arrays ......................................... 36 Constants ...................................... 37 Arithmetic operations .......................... 38 String operations .............................. 40 Parameters ..................................... 41 Line numbers and labels ........................ 41 Labels ....................................... 41 Procedures ..................................... 42 Local and global variables ................... 43 Parameters and procedures .................... 44 Shared variables ............................. 45 Returning values from a procedure ............ 46 Leaving a procedure .......................... 47 Local DATA statements ........................ 47 Hints and tips ............................... 47 Memory Banks ................................... 48 Types of memory bank ......................... 48 Deleting banks ............................... 50 Bank parameter functions ..................... 50 Loading and saving banks ..................... 51 Memory fragmentation ........................... 52 Finding space for your variables ............... 53 5: STRING FUNCTIONS Array operations ............................... 59 6: GRAPHICS Colour ......................................... 61 Line drawing commands .......................... 63 Line types ................................... 67 Filled shapes .................................. 67 Fill types ................................... 68 Writing styles ............................... 70 Advanced techniques .......................... 71 7: CONTROL STRUCTURES Jumps, Tests etc.................................73 Error handling ................................. 83 8: TEXT & WINDOWS Text attributes ................................ 87 Cursor functions ............................... 89 Conversion functions ........................... 91 Cursor commands ................................ 92 Text input/output .............................. 96 Advanced text commands ......................... 98 Windows ........................................ 99 Slider bars .................................... 104 Fonts .......................................... 105 Graphic text ................................. 105 Installing new fonts ......................... 109 Trouble shooting ............................. 109 9: MATHS COMMANDS Trigonometric functions ........................ 111 Standard mathematical functions ................ 114 Creating random sequences ...................... 115 Manupulating numbers ........................... 116 10: SCREENS The default screen ............................. 119 Defining a screen .............................. 119 Special screen modes ........................... 121 Extra half-bright mode (EHB) ................... 122 Hold and modigy mode (HAM) ..................... 122 Loading a screen ............................... 124 Saving a screen ................................ 124 Moving a screen ................................ 125 Screen control commands ........................ 127 Defining the screen colours .................... 131 Clearing the screen ............................ 131 Manupulating the contents of a screen .......... 132 Scrolling the screen ........................... 133 Screen switching ............................... 134 Screen Synchronization ......................... 136 Special effects ................................ 136 Changing the copper list ....................... 142 Hints and tips ................................. 144 11: HARDWARE SPRITES The sprite commands ............................ 145 Computed sprites ............................... 146 Creating an individual hardware sprite ......... 149 The sprite palette ............................. 150 Controlling sprites ............................ 151 Conversion functions ........................... 153 12: BLITTER OBJECTS The bob control commands ....................... 161 13: OBJECT CONTROL The mouse pointer .............................. 165 Reading the joystick ........................... 167 Deleting collisions ............................ 169 with a sprite ................................ 169 with a bob ................................... 170 between sprites and bobs ..................... 170 with retangular blocks ....................... 172 Bob priority ................................... 174 Miscellaneous commands ......................... 175 14: AMAL AMAL principles ................................ 176 AMAL tutorial .................................. 177 Moving an object ............................. 177 Animation .................................... 179 Simple loops ................................. 180 Variables and expressions .................... 181 Internal registers ......................... 181 External registers ......................... 181 Special registers .......................... 182 Operators .................................. 182 Making decisions ............................. 183 Generating an attack wave for a game ......... 184 Recording a complex movement sequence ........ 185 AMAL commands .................................. 187 AMAL functions ................................. 191 Controlling AMAL programs from Basic ........... 193 AMAL errors .................................... 195 Error messages ............................... 196 Animation channels ............................. 197 Animating a computed sprite .................. 197 Animating a bob .............................. 197 Moving a screen .............................. 198 Hardware scrolling ........................... 198 Changing the screen size ..................... 199 Rainbows ..................................... 199 Advancee techniques ............................ 199 The Autotest system .......................... 199 Autotest commands ............................ 200 Inside Autotest .............................. 201 Timing considerations .......................... 201 Beating the 16 object limit .................... 202 STOS compatible animation commands ............. 202 15: BACKGROUND GRAPHICS Icons .......................................... 207 Screen blocks .................................. 209 16: MENUS Using a menu ................................... 212 Creating a simple menu ......................... 212 Setting the title line ....................... 212 Reading a simple menu ........................ 214 Advanced menues features ....................... 214 The menu hierarchy ........................... 215 Keyboard shortcuts ........................... 219 Menu control commands ........................ 220 Embedded menu commands ......................... 222 Alternative menu styles ........................ 227 Moveable menus ................................. 229 Moving a menu within a program ............... 231 Displaying a menu at the cursor position ..... 232 17: SOUND AND MUSIC Simple sound effects ........................... 233 Sound channels ................................. 234 Sampled sound .................................. 235 Creating a sample bank ....................... 237 Music .......................................... 238 Playing a note ............................... 240 Waveforms and envelopes ...................... 241 Speech ......................................... 246 Filter effects ................................. 248 18: THE KEYBOARD Input/Output ................................... 252 19: OTHER COMMANDS ............................... 254 20: DISC ACCESS Drives and volumes ............................. 260 Drives ....................................... 260 Volumes ...................................... 260 Logical devices .............................. 261 Cross Dos .................................... 261 Dir changing ................................... 262 Common disc operations ......................... 265 Selecting a file ............................... 266 Running an AMOS program from disc .............. 266 Checking for the existence of a file ........... 267 Disc files ..................................... 268 Sequential files ............................. 268 Random access files .......................... 271 The printer .................................... 274 External devices ............................... 274 21: SCREEN COMPACTION ............................ 276 22: MACIHNE LEVEL INSTRUCTIONS Number conversion .............................. 279 Memory manipulation ............................ 279 Bitwise operations ............................. 282 Using assembly language ........................ 285 Accessing the system libraries ................. 287 Inside AMOS Basic .............................. 288 23: COMMAND INDEX ................................ 289 1: INTRODUCTION 1 ----------------------------- WELCOME to the exciting world of AMOS - The Creator! As you know, the Amiga is a truly amazing computer. For the first time, all that power is at your fingertips. In Septemper 1988, Mandarin Software released STOS Basic for ST. This made history as the first programming language to reach number one in the ST Gallup games charts! Now STOS has been rewritten from the gound up to produce AMOS Basic for the Amiga. AMOS Basic includes a vast range of over 500 commands - many of which are staggeringly powerful. You can, for instance, bounce a screen, or animate a sprite using just a single Basic instruction. AMOS is not just another version of Basic - it's a dedicated games creation system which comes with its own built-in Animation Language (AMAL). AMAL programs are executed 50 times a second using a powerful interrupt system. They can be used to generate anything from the attack waves in an arcade game, to a silky-smooth hardware scrolling efect. At the same time, your Basic program can be doing something completely different! Whatever you knowledge of programming, AMOS has something to offer you. If you have newer written a game before, the prospect of creating your first game may be quite daunting. But do bear in mind that many of the all-time classics are uncomplicated programs with one or two original features - just look at Tetris for example. The strength of your game will depend on the quality of your ideas, and not just your programming skill. With a little help from AMOS, you'll be able to produce professional-looking games with just a fraction of the normal effort. All you really need is imagination. If you've written a game in AMOS basic, don't keep it to yourself. Mandarin Software is very keen to publish any program written using AMOS. Don't worry if your programming is a little rough. If your ideas are good enough, you could have a real future as a professional games writer. So please send us your programs. Mandarin would also be delighted to hear your comments or suggestions for the AMOS system. Several features in AMOS were taken directly from the ideas which were sent to us from existing STOS users. Address your correspondence for the attention of Richard Vanner, Development Manager, Mandarin Software, Adlington Park, Adlington, Macclesfield SK10 4NP. 2: GETTING STARTED 3 ----------------------------- AMOS Basic is a truly remarkable package, capable of creating games which were previously beyond your wildest dreams. All this powerful features which make the Amiga so irresistible have been incorporated into this amazing system. With help of AMOS Basic you can develop programs which would tax the skills of even the most expert assembly language programmer. You can for instance, effortlessly animate up to 56 hardware sprites simultaneously! This is a real achievement, especially when you consider that the Amiga's hardware only actually provides you with eight. If you need even more action on the screen, you can use the Amiga's blitter chip as well. Blitter objects can be created in any graphics mode you like, including HAM! The only limit to the number of bobs on the screen is the amount of available memory. Any combination of the Amiga's graphics modes can be displayed on the screen at once. Hardware scrolling isn't jsut possible, it's easy! There's a built-in SCREEN OFFSET command which allows you to perform the entire process directly. In fact, the only hard part of AMOS Basic is knowing where to start! AMOS supports over 500 Basic commands, and if you're never used Basic before, you may feel a little overawed by the sheer scale of this system. When you're in unfamiliar territory, it's always useful to have a *GUIDE* (Thanks to me!, Mr.Spaghetto ;-) to show you around and point out some of the notable landmarks. That's the purpose of this chapter. Backup AMOS *now* ! =================== Before continuing however, it's vital that you back up the entire AMOS Basic package on fresh discs. This will safeguard your copy of AMOS against accidental mistakes. You'll now be able to play around with the system as much as you like, without the risk of destroying something important. If the worst comes to the worst, we at Mandarin will be happy to replace your disc for a nominal handing charge. But you'll obviously be deprived of AMOS Basic while it's being re-duplicated. The installation procedure varies depending on your precies set-up, but it can usually be accomplished in a matter of minutes. How to backup? -------------- If you have got this Ascii file into your hands, you propably also have some cool copy-prog, for example; X-Copy, D-Copy or other... Place the originals into a safe place and use the fresh copies now. Loading AMOS Basic 4 ================== As you might expect, AMOS Basic can be executed in a variety of different ways. You can, for instance, load AMOS directly from the Workbench by selecting its icon with the left mouse button. Once you've entered AMOS in this way, you will be able to flick back and foth to the Workbench by pressing the Amiga and A keys from the keyboard. In practive however, the Workbench consumes valuable memory which would be better used to hold your Basic programs. So if you're a serious user, you'll propably prefer to boot up AMOS as part of your normal start-up sequence. This will allow you to achieve the maximum possible results from the AMOS system. To load AMOS Basic: * Turn off your Amiga and wait for about ten secs. * Place a backup of the AMOS program disc (disc 1) into DF0: * Now switch on your Amiga. AMOS will load into memory automatically. * Hit a key to remove the information box and thus enter the AMOS system. AMOS tutorial 5 ============= The first thing you'll see when you enter AMOS Basic is the editor window. This is extremely easy to use, and if you've a little previous experience with computers it should be self-explanatory. Feel free to experiment as much as you like. The AMOS editor is quite intelligent, and you are unlikely to make any serious mistakes. Now you've seen the editor window, It's time to explore some of the features that make AMOS Basic really stand out from the crowd. Loading a program ----------------- We'll start off by showing you how you can load one of the terrific games from the AMOS data disc. We'll take the Number Leap game as an example: * Insert the AMOS_DATA disc into drive DF0: * Hold down an Amiga key on the keyboard and press "L". This will bring up a standard file selector on the screen. * Click on the disc drice label DF0 to inform AMOS that you have changed the disc. * At the centre of the file selector there will be a list of programs which can be loaded into AMOS Basic. * To select the Number Leap program, just position the mouse pointer over the file: Number_Leap.AMOS The file you have chosen will be highlighted accordingly. * Once you've chosen your file, you can load it by clicking twice on the left mouse button. Your game will now be entered from the AMOS DATA disc and you will be returned to the original editor screen. The contents of this window will be updated to display your new program listing. * You can run this program by selecting the RUN button from the main menu area (or hit F1 if you're feeling lazy). The editor screen will now disappear completely and Number_Leap will be executed in front of your eyes. After you've played with this game to your satisfaction, you can exit to AMOS Basic by pressing the CTRL and C simultaneously. CTRL+C provides an effective way of breaking into the vast majority of AMOS programs. It can be disabled from within your program using a BREAK OFF command for extra security. When the program has been broken into yu can flick straight back to the editor by pressing the Spacebar key from the keyboard. Deleting a program 6 ------------------ Now that we've finished with the Number Leap program, we can erase it from memory with the NEW command. You won't find this option on the main menu, as it's been placed in a separate SYSTEM menu. This can be brought into view by moving the mouse pointer over the menu window and holding down the right mouse button. To delete a program: * Ensure the mouse pointer is over is over the menu area. * Hold the Right mouse button down to bring up the SYSTEM menu. * While the button is depressed, move the pointer over the NEW option and select it with the Left mouse key. Alternatively, you can execute this option directly from the keyboard by pressing Shift+F9. * Type Y to confirm the operation or N to abort. * If the current program hasn't been saved, you'll been asked whether to store it onto the disc. If you select the YES option, you'll be presented with an AMOS file selector. Otherwise your program will be totally erased. Direct mode =========== We'll now have a quick look at the direct mode. This forms the centre of the AMOS Basic package and allows you to experiment with your routines and immediately observe the effects. It's important to recognize that all the screens, sprites, and music defined in your program are completely separate from the Editor window. So no matter what you do in direct mode, you'll be able to return to your listing with just a single keypress. * Enter direct mode by pressing ESCape. The editor window will slide away and you'll be presented with the main program display. Towards the bottom of this area will be a small screen which can be used to enter your direct mode commands. Try typing the following line, pressing Return to "execute". Print "Your name" Insert your name between the quotes to print your names on the Amiga's screen. Now press the UP and DOWN arrows from the keyboard to move the window around the display area. As you can see, the Direct mode window is totally independent of the main program screen. Animation! 7 ========== So much for the Direct mode. Let's experiment with some of the AMOS Basic sprite instructions. Before we can use these commands, we'll need to load a set of sprite images into memory. Stay in direct mode and enter the indented lines in bold as you come to them. Listing the sprite files ------------------------ We'll begin by listing all the available sprite files to the Amiga's screen. * Ensure that the AMOS DATA disc is still in the DF0: * Display the disc file directory with the line: Dir "AMOS_DATA:Sprites/" This will display the sprite files we've supplied on the AMOS data disc. These files contain all the images which are used in the various example programs. You can create your own images using the Sprite definer accessory on the AMOS Program disc. The sprite definer incorporates a host of powerful drawing features which make it extremely easy to generate professional-quality animation sequences in your games. Loading a sprite file --------------------- We can now load these sprites using the LOAD command. The sprites will load into a special memory bank so don't except to see any sprites to appear yet! Let's enter the sprites used by the Number Leap game with the following command: Load "AMOS_DATA:Sprites/Frog_Sprites.abk" If you make a mistake, hit F1 to get your previous line. This line can be then edited using the normal cursor keys and may be re-executed by pressing Return. Now let's also load up a music file using a similar load command: Load "AMOS_DATA_Sprites/Funkey.abk" In order to check whether the sprites and music have been succesfully loaded into memory, we'll call up the LISTBANK instruction like so: Listbank This prints a line like: 1 - Sprites S:$0682B0 L:000040 3 - Music S:$043878 L:0081FE Don't worry if the numbers do not correspond as they will change depending on the available memory. The number of sprites we've just loaded can be returned directly with the LENGTH function. Print Length(1) ( result: 64 ) Setting the sprite colours 8 -------------------------- Each set of sprite images has its own set of colour values stored on the disc. Since these can be very different from your current screen colours, it's useful to be able to GRAB the colours from the sprite bank and copy them into an existing screen. This can be accomplished with the GET SPRITE PALETTE command. Enter the line: Get Sprite Palette All the colours in the main program screen will change immediately, but the direct mode window will be completely unaffected because it's been assigned its own separate list of colour values by the AMOS system. Displaying a sprite ------------------- Sprites can be displayed anywhere on the screen using a simple AMOS Basic sprite command. Here's an example: Sprite 8,129,50,62 Animating a sprite ------------------ Let's animate this object using The "AMos Animation Language". AMAL is a unique animation system which can be used to move or animate your objects at incredible speed. Note that when you're entering the following example programs, it's essential to type each line *exactly* as its appreas in the listing, as otherwise you may get an unexpected syntax error. Sprite 8,129,150,62 Amal 8,"Anim 0,(62,5)(63,5)(64,5);" : Amal On The program above animates a small duck on the screen. Whilst it's being manupulated, the sprite cn be moved around using the SPRITE command. Example: Sprite 8,300,50, Moving a sprite --------------- Now for some movement! Sprite 8,129,150,62 : A$="Anim 0,(62,5)(63,5)(64,5);" A$=A$+"Loop: Move 320,0,100; Move -320,0,100; Jump Loop" Amal 8,A$ : Amal On This programs animates the duck and moves it back and forth across the screen, using just three lines! Although the instructions between the quotes may look like Basic, they're actually written in AMAL. All AMAL programs are executed 50 times a second and they can be exploited to produce silky smooth animation effects independently of your Basic programs. Just to prove how amazing AMAL really is, hit ESC to jump back to the Basic editor. After a few moments, return to direct mode. Your sprite will still be bouncing accross the screen as if nothing had happened! Music maestro! 9 -------------- For a finale, let's play the music! Ensure you're still in direct mode, turn up the volume on your monitor and start the music running the MUSIC command like so: Music 1 By the way, you can stop the music with the command: Music Off The joyrney continues ===================== Hopefully, you'll now have a pretty good idea of what AMOS Basic can achieve. But so fat we've only looked at a tiny fraction of AMOS Basic's power. As you experiment with the AMOS package, you'll quickly discover a whole new world, full of exciting possibilities. AMOS Basic can't, of course, transform you into an expert games programmer overnight. Like any programming language, it does take a little time to familiarise yourself with the entire repertoire of commands. We'll therefore end this section with a few guidelines to help you on your way. Hints and tips -------------- * The best way to learn about AMOS is to create small programs to animate sprites, scroll screens or generate hi-score tables. Once you've created a little confidence, you'll then be able to incorporate these routines into an actual game. * Don't be overawed by the sheer size of the AMOS Basic language. In practive, you can achieve terrific effects with only a tiny fraction of the 500 or so commands available from AMOS. Start by mastering just a couple of instructions such as SPRITE and BOB, and then work slowly through the various sections. As you progress, you'll gradually build-up a detailed knowledge of the AMOS system. * Although we've attempted to make this package as easy to use as possible, a thorough groundging of the general principles of Basic programming is invaluable. If you're new to Basic, you may find it helpful to purchase an introductory text such as "Alcock's Illustrating Basic. (Cambridge University Press.) * Plan your games carefully on paper. It's amazing how many problems 10 can be completely avoided at the early design stages. Never attempt to tackle really large projects without prior preparation. It's the easiest way to get permanently lost. * When you're writing a game, try to concentrate on the quality of the game play rather than the special effects. The graphics and music can always be added later if the idea's are good enough.