86 replies to this topic

[jacquesg]

I have continued to run each of the demo disks. I have RXB installed in the second bank of my HSGPL card and REA2012 installed in bank 10.

The RXB XB Programs files runs OK from DSK1.LOAD

The RXB BATCH DEMO eventually ran OK from DSK1.BATCH. After I corrected the FCOPY item for reasons unknown I had to split the BATCH file into two parts. Then BATCH ran to its completion and then I ran BATCH1.

Initially i could not run any of the 3 programs on the RXB AMS DEMO disk from DSK1. The TI would either indicate file not found or lock up the computer. I tried this from RXB and from both REA . I added LOAD to this disk by using the LOADER program and now I can run the AMSTEST and the AMSLDRDEMO programs. However I cannot run the BLOADDEMO program. The program loads but it seems it cannot find the SCRN1 etc files.

In what may be a related problem choosing 7 DIRECTORY from either REA modules will not read the two floppy drives DSK1 and DSK2 but will read all the other HRD drives from DSK3 to DSK9 and DSKA. I have a BwG disk controller.

[RXB]

I had a disk controller long ago that I borrowed for testing and I think it was the BwG Disk Controller. It did have some very odd behaviour.

But it did work. So looking at RXB 2112 I found I made a bad copy of BLOADDEMO somehow and it is a bad file?

Here is the Bload program you can type in:

100 FOR Z=1 TO 20
110 CALL BLOAD("DSK#.SCRN"&STR$(Z))
120 CALL MOVES("RV",2079,8192,0)
130 NEXT Z
140 GOTO 100

The # means any disk will work or you could use "SCS1.XB.RXB.DEMO.SCRN"&STR$(Z)

So the meat of the program is the BLOAD and MOVES as you need to move the loaded lower 8K copy from RAM to VDP screen.

Here is a much faster AMS version:

100 CALL AMSINIT
110 FOR Z=1 TO 20
120 CALL BLOAD("DSK#.SCRN"&STR$(Z))
130 CALL AMSBANK(Z,Z+20)
140 NEXT Z
150 FOR Z=1 TO 20
160 CALL AMSBANK(Z,Z+20)
170 CALL MOVES("RV",2079,8192,0)
180 NEXT Z
190 GOTO 150

(I am noting errors you find and will fix them in a update to RXB 2012A as soon as I am sure that is the end of my screwups)

Edited by RXB, Fri Nov 18, 2011 3:00 PM.

[jacquesg]

I entered your BLOAD program and it ran as expected. Earlier I had run the AMS version and it was much faster. There is another difference between the two BLOAD demos. In some screens the AMS version shows a black background that prevents some of the text from showing.This was most apparent in the bones display. I found this puzzling because neither of the BLOAD demo programs contain anything that would change screen colour and both programs use the same set of SCRN# programs.

My problem with accessing floppy drives from my BwG DC seems to go away provided I enter a space after entering a 1 to catalog DSK1.

After I entered the changed BLOAD program I did a SAVE and the program was saved as an XB and not as a IV254 program. I think that I would have gotten a IV254 program had I first run the IV254ONLY program.

Would you explain the rationale for having a IV254 style XB program file. Perhaps then I will be able to decide which format I want to use with RXB. I sure do not want to be switching back and forth.

BTW for anyone who likes to use Funnelweb (like I do) and who also has a HSGPL card, there is a nice little program named GL (for gram loader) on Thierry's site. I have this GL program on my FW menu and from it I can access any of the modules on my HSGPL card including RXB and REA.

I still am not yet comfortable with all the options of RXB but slowly I feel that I am getting there. My main interest is to use BATCH files and to access the SAMS memory card.

[RXB]

You know you can from REA just type 1 in Directory and it knows you mean DSK1.?
Or in RXB if you Type: CALL CAT(1) it will catalog DSK1. as it knows what you mean.
Or Type: CALL CAT(49) and it knows that is also DSK1. as it knows what you mean.

If you have a black screen then put a CALL SCREEN(color) to fix it.
The RXB command CALL MOVES copies then entire VDP memory from 0 to 2079 (0 to >081F)

All my XB programs are saved as Internal Variable 254 as when I catalog a drive I can instantly tell what is XB and what is EA.
Except for my BSAVE programs but they are all 32 sector files.

As for options the whole point of RXB was to add as many options as could fit into XB.

An example is I can write stuff in RXB that would required Assembly or C to pull off. XB is much more easy to write in and debug then these.

Edited by RXB, Fri Nov 18, 2011 7:10 PM.

[RXB]

_{I thought another RXB demo was due and it seems to apply to some peoples problems with space, memory and speed.}

[RXB]

RXBDEMOA features demo on GKXB and all the features it added including the GKXB Editor features.

[TEXAS_JOE]

I've just started using RXB 2012 this morning (UK) and I must say, it's put a big smile on my face! I love this!

Why did TI not make XB like this, I mean, a CALL COINC command really should have been multiple parenthesis from the get-go.
I think the speed increase in the CALL MOTION as well as other commands is astounding, and kind of almost makes you forget the TI is bottlenecked.

Fun question: If TI made a V8 saloon car, would they bottleneck the engine to run on 4 cylinders?!

I love this program Rich, I've just been through the demo's , it's excellent.

[TEXAS_JOE]

YES you've included character sets 15 & 16!


The missus just rang, she's coming home in 5 minutes ... but I swear to God as soon as she pisses off to bed I'm making an RXB game!

Edited by TEXAS_JOE, Tue Apr 3, 2012 4:17 AM.

[RXB]

TEXAS_JOE, on Tue Apr 3, 2012 4:01 AM, said:

YES you've included character sets 15 & 16!


The missus just rang, she's coming home in 5 minutes ... but I swear to God as soon as she pisses off to bed I'm making an RXB game!

Thanks, not much talk of RXB with everyone focused on Forth lately.

[TEXAS_JOE]

Well, I've given Forth a try .... and I failed. It completely discombobulated me.

So I wanted to stick to familiar grounds but try something new too, and you're Extended Basic is just the thing I needed.

Now, unfortunately my time is a little compromised with the woman ... but I've got so many ideas spinning around in my head for new games based around RXB.

One thing I do want to do is re-write Arlington Horse Racing. The sprite motion in RXB is the main reason, I want to make the horses move in 2-cell animation like before, with they're drop shadows included, and also this time have something scrolling at the bottom of the screen, like a fence or maybe advertising boards, just to make the animation look a little more awesome. All of this is possible in RXB. I have to bear in mind the 4-sprite glitch so people with the real metal can play it too.

See, the way I see it , I like to use Harry Wilhelm's compiler but we can't do sprites, there's another compiler out there that does sprites but doesn't do sound. RXB is going to give me an edge because of the improvements. It's doing for XB for XB did for TI Basic. It's going to take me a while to get to grips with different methods of coding, but I'll get there and eventually there's gonna be a good few games getting put out that are RXB specific.

Good work man. I'm going to enjoy using this new programming environment.

[rocky007]

...

TEXAS_JOE, on Wed Apr 4, 2012 6:22 AM, said:

See, the way I see it , I like to use Harry Wilhelm's compiler but we can't do sprites, there's another compiler out there that does sprites but doesn't do sound. RXB is going to give me an edge because of the improvements.

i vote for a RXB compiler

[TEXAS_JOE]

Agreed. That get's my vote too.