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2022-08-28
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L O A D S T A R 1 2 8 F O R U M
Compiled by Fender Tucker
Dear LOADSTAR 128,
I am sure that a lot of people have the same problems with drawing
sprites as I do, so I would like to propose an idea that may help. My idea
is to use sprites from games that normally run in the 64 mode. I originally
got this idea while using Barbara Schulak's excellent LABEL DESIGNER from
LOADSTAR #4, which allows the use of sprites, as well as Print Shop
graphics. Here's what you do.
LOAD and RUN the game with the sprites in the 64 mode and then reset
the computer, holding the CMDR key down so you'll stay in the 64 mode. The
sprite pointers are usually at 2040 so peek that location and multiply the
result by 64 to get the decimal address where they reside. Now reset again
to go back to the 128 mode. Press the F8 key to go to the monitor.
On the 128 we want the sprite to be in location $0E00 or 3584 decimal.
Use the transfer command to move it there. Let's say that the number you
PEEKed was 224, which means that the sprite is in location $3800 (14336 or
224*64) in the 64 mode. Use this to move it.
T 3800 3A00 0E00
Then go back to BASIC and type SPRDEF to go the sprite designer. Now you
can modify the sprite or return to BASIC and save it with a
BSAVE"name",B0,P3584 TO P3584+63 command.
There may be more than one sprite. If so they are offset from each
other by 64 bytes. I hope this may be of some use to your readers. I buy
LOADSTAR off the shelf and enjoy it very much.
Klaus Beier
Orono, Ontario
LS: Thanks for the tip on where to find sprites and how to use them, Klaus.
The sprite pointers are usually at 2040 through 2047 on the C-64, but they
may also be at 36856 - 36863 in BANK 2 or 53240 - 53247 in BANK 3. Check
these locations, too.
Also, I'm afraid that LOADSTAR is no longer sold in stores. To get LOADSTAR
64 or 128, you have to subscribe, but it's cheaper that way.
Dear LOADSTAR 128,
What gives? The last couple of issues didn't auto-boot when I turned
on my computer. Is this the wave of the future, or what?
Denny Fletch
Souix City, IA
LS: Not necessarily, Denny. On the first few issues of LOADSTAR 128 I put
the auto boot sector on early in the compilation process and found myself
cursing it whenever I'd reset my computer. I'm a 64 programmer and I expect
to find BASIC memory essentially unchanged when I reset. Personally, I
don't like auto-booting. I don't like my computer doing anything unless I
tell it to.
I asked the LOADSTAR 128 beta-testers what they preferred and about half
liked auto-booting and the other half said they could take it or leave it.
So I'll make this issue auto-boot -- AFTER it's all done and ready to put to
bed.
Dear LOADSTAR 128,
You mentioned on a past issue that you'd be coming up with a program
that would copy an issue of LOADSTAR 128 over to a double-sided disk for
those of us who have 1571 drives. Is that program any closer to fruition?
Dotty Reston
Buffalo, NY
LS: Well, Dotty, it's like this. Scott Resh was working for LOADSTAR when
that idea was being tossed around, and I figured that he had the expertise
and the time to do it. Now he's gone to Macintosh heaven and Jeff and I are
not up on fast-copying techniques. Our Copy It copier will copy the
programs over to a 1571-formatted disk, but it won't handle the system files
and the articles that don't have a Copy It option. It also doesn't use the
ultra-fast copying techniques used by MAVERICK, SNAPSHOT, WARPSPEED,
JiffyDOS, Explode!, etc.
Here's what I did. I used the HEADER command to format a disk, which took
about a minute. Then I used MAVERICK 5.0 to copy all of the files from Side
One over to the formatted disk. That took about three minutes. Then I
copied all of the files below the first --------------- divider line (except
for the divider lines) onto the disk. This took a couple of minutes. I
tried it and everything worked fine. The thing you don't want to do is to
try to copy files with the same name onto the disk. Our system files (the
ones at the top of the directory) and the divider lines are the only files
that should have the same name on both sides of the disk.
This is so much better than anything we could come up with that I recommend
it to anyone who hates to flip a disk over. Personally, I discourage every
programmer I am in contact with from sending me any double-sided disks
because we have more 1541's around here than 1571's.
Dear LOADSTAR 128,
Why haven't you published any 80-column programs that use graphics? It
seems like your 80-column stuff is all text-oriented.
Harv Spelking
Phoenix, AZ
LS: You couldn't have asked at a better time, Harv. Check out the latter
pages of this issue's Diskovery and you'll see that we will be publishing
some tools for programmers who want to work in 80-columns. The programs may
still be in the text mode, but you'd never know it, since the 512 characters
available in the 80-column mode allow a lot of customization. As for
programs in the hi-res 80-column mode, I'm still looking.
Dear LOADSTAR 128,
I don't have an RGB monitor but I do have a pretty good monochrome
monitor. I've been using a cable like the one described in your first two
issues so I can still use the 80-column programs, even though everything is
either black, white or grey. What am I going to do when you switch over to
an 80-column system? Cancel my subscription?
Chris Mauldoon
Trenton, NJ
LS: Now don't do anything drastic, Chris. I just received a product that
may solve your problems, not only with LOADSTAR 128, but with any 80-column
software. It's a Grayscaler converter from AVOCADO Computers. You plug
this tiny unit into the RGB port on your C-128 and it accepts a standard RCA
phono plug from your monochrome monitor. Now your monitor has 16 different
brightnesses, corresponding to the 16 colors you get from the computer. The
Grayscaler is not too expensive ($39.95) and lets you keep the crispness you
have become used to. Because our new menu system is so colorful, the
three-tone cable you've been using probably won't cut it any more. You can
write or call
AVOCADO Computer
P. O. Box 1655
Silver Spring, MD 20919
(301) 593-5586
for more information. The Grayscaler also works with IBM's and clones.
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