2 replies to this topic

[Random Terrain]

I almost forgot about bit operations. Besides turning a variable into 8 mini-variables, we can use bit operations to mess with the playfield variables and turn specific pixels on or off. I think that's pretty cool. Seems like batari Basic is more fun to use than some other BASIC-like languages I have tried. I keep discovering and rediscovering all kinds of cool stuff.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Welcome to the "real" coder's world.

[MausGames]

Using bit operations to manipulate the playfield can be superior to using playfield commands in a lot of situations. Looking back on old code, I wish I had learned more about this when I started. Most of the ASM programmers around here who would grasp most aspects of bB immediately seem to have little or no interest in it. For me, it's taken something like two years to even get close to being able to program something I would be satisfied with, but I agree with you that it is more fun than most other BASICs. Most games I wrote when I was a kid were very heavy on text, so I've been forced to learn how to create games that depend almost completely on graphics, with incomparably limited resources.