gamedev: Sharp mz700 limitations seems somehow close to Aquarius

[nitrofurano]

for my surprise, during youtube searches, i got amazed on how similar seems Sharp mz700 to Aquarius

 

as far i could see, mz700 only displays simultaneously 8 colours (#000000, #0000FF, #00FF00, #00FFFF, #FF0000, #FF00FF, #FFFF00 and #FFFFFF), and uses one bit from the atribute area to switch between 2 uneditable character maps, which provides, theorically, simultaneously, 512 characters, in this text mode (40x25 instead of the 40x24 of the Aquarius)

 

if anyone (or any group) is skilled enough to share some similar gamedev experiences, be welcome!

[Rev]

for my surprise, during youtube searches, i got amazed on how similar seems Sharp mz700 to Aquarius

 

as far i could see, mz700 only displays simultaneously 8 colours (#000000, #0000FF, #00FF00, #00FFFF, #FF0000, #FF00FF, #FFFF00 and #FFFFFF), and uses one bit from the atribute area to switch between 2 uneditable character maps, which provides, theorically, simultaneously, 512 characters, in this text mode (40x25 instead of the 40x24 of the Aquarius)

 

if anyone (or any group) is skilled enough to share some similar gamedev experiences, be welcome!

 

Very interesting.

[nitrofurano]

for my surprise, during youtube searches, i got amazed on how similar seems Sharp mz700 to Aquarius

 

as far i could see, mz700 only displays simultaneously 8 colours (#000000, #0000FF, #00FF00, #00FFFF, #FF0000, #FF00FF, #FFFF00 and #FFFFFF), and uses one bit from the atribute area to switch between 2 uneditable character maps, which provides, theorically, simultaneously, 512 characters, in this text mode (40x25 instead of the 40x24 of the Aquarius)

 

if anyone (or any group) is skilled enough to share some similar gamedev experiences, be welcome!

 

Very interesting.

 

the idea is, since zx-spectrum (

) is as similar to msx1 ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDFLT_nBUjs ) (yes, the game were downgrade-cloned from msx1 to zx-spectrum!) , as Mattel Aquarius is from Sharp mz700 - i think it's fairly possible to hack Sharp-mz700 games to Mattel Aquarius - the only limitations are mz700 uses 512 characters instead of 256 (and somehow different character set), 8 colours instead of 16, and 24 lines instead of 25 - and the Sharp mz700 games and productions can be hugely inspiring for Aquarius retro developers, i think

[jaybird3rd]

the idea is, since zx-spectrum (

) is as similar to msx1 ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDFLT_nBUjs ) (yes, the game were downgrade-cloned from msx1 to zx-spectrum!) , as Mattel Aquarius is from Sharp mz700 - i think it's fairly possible to hack Sharp-mz700 games to Mattel Aquarius - the only limitations are mz700 uses 512 characters instead of 256 (and somehow different character set), 8 colours instead of 16, and 24 lines instead of 25 - and the Sharp mz700 games and productions can be hugely inspiring for Aquarius retro developers, i think

I think so, too. Many of us in the States are not as familiar with the Spectrum and some of the other machines you mentioned, but they all share certain similarities to the Aquarius (Z80 processor, character-based graphics, limited palette, etc.), and those of us who are interested in creating new games for the Aquarius would certainly do well to investigate them further. Even if you never port or remake the games directly, seeing the methods other game designers used to create popular games on limited hardware can be instructive. At some point, I want to get an MSX or Spectrum emulator running so I can play some of these games myself, for just that reason.

 

By the way: the Aquarius actually does have 25 usable rows of text. You just have to be careful not to put any characters or colors in the upper-left cell, since this is what determines the color/character which fills the unprintable screen border. This certainly limits your options for the topmost screen row, but it is still usable for score indicators and other purposes. I use it in the Aquaricart's game manual viewer for "chapter headings" and page indicators, for example.

 

EDIT: I just looked at the videos, and while it's interesting to see what the programmers were able to pull off, Xevious and Space Harrier are games that probably should not have been attempted on such limited hardware. For my own projects, I'd prefer to choose game ideas that are more appropriate for the Aquarius (that is, within the range of what the hardware can do well, or can be made to do with some modest upgrades).

[doctorclu]

EDIT: I just looked at the videos, and while it's interesting to see what the programmers were able to pull off, Xevious and Space Harrier are games that probably should not have been attempted on such limited hardware. For my own projects, I'd prefer to choose game ideas that are more appropriate for the Aquarius (that is, within the range of what the hardware can do well, or can be made to do with some modest upgrades).

 

Aquarius "Ascii" pong?

[+MattelAquarius]

EDIT: I just looked at the videos, and while it's interesting to see what the programmers were able to pull off, Xevious and Space Harrier are games that probably should not have been attempted on such limited hardware. For my own projects, I'd prefer to choose game ideas that are more appropriate for the Aquarius (that is, within the range of what the hardware can do well, or can be made to do with some modest upgrades).

 

Aquarius "Ascii" pong?

 

 

I think we could port some Jaguar "64-bit" games to the Aquarius, for fun. Bubsy looks "64-bit", doesn't it?

[+MattelAquarius]

Thanks for linking the videos and informing us (me) about the Sharp. I definitely see the prompts for comparison.

 

It's amazing to see Xevious and Space Harrier ported to such a machine. Crazy, but amazing.

[jaybird3rd]

Aquarius "Ascii" pong?

Well, it wouldn't be that bad. I already plan on doing a Tetris-like game (see here for some static mockups), and looking at some of the character-oriented games for the TI 99/4A, such as Tombstone City or Sneggit (two old favorites of mine), I can also see how decent versions of those could be done on the Aquarius. Imagine an Aquarius game like Tunnels of Doom that supported storing games or characters to a flash cartridge!

 

Some of those MZ-700 screens (which I posted in another thread) could also be done on the Aquarius quite easily, even with the default character set:

 

 

So there are many possibilities. The Aquarius is capable of a lot more than most people think, especially now that we can have very large cartridges to play with.

[mäsäxi]

the idea is, since zx-spectrum (

) is as similar to msx1

 

Hello Intellivision fans!

 

I had to write this as you made me laugh!!!!!

 

Sure, MSX SCREEN 1 screenmode *LOOKS* similar to Sinclair ZX Spectrum, IF sprites and possibility to cheat MSX thinking it uses SCREEN 2 colours and different hardware are not counted. (Yeah, both computers do share a Z80A, but otherwise....)

 

Yeah, Commodore 64 too is similar to ZX Spectrum then.

 

I just had to write these lines, as it is possible, that someone without MSX knowledge may really believe it is true.......

 

 

Kind Regards,

MäSäXi