IDEGFX alpha version available

MSX coder flyguille from Argentina has been working on a graphics and game map creator for the past few months. IDEGFX is a tool that runs on any MSX2 with floppy and at least 128kB of RAM and allows you to create graphics and maps for MSX1 games. An alpha version has been made available for download a few weeks ago for you to try out and play with.

Main features:

Create tiles for screen 2, as for screen 5 and screen 8 encoding.
Create game maps of any size; the game map is encoded using blocksIDs, each block can be a group of 2x2y, 2x4y, 4x2y, 4x4y tiles. So, obviously it allows you to create the blocks chart and to export all that information.
Create palette sets that can be linked to your graphics and exported to your source code.
You can use all the main or external RAM available, so, your maps are not limited by the RAM page size.
Support for the Playsoniq with its 16MB & 16bit mapper. So, your game map can get incredibly huge (up to the logical size of 65535 blocks X * 65535 blocks Y).

All development can be followed in the forum topic right here on MRC. As flyguille is still actively developing and rethinking the program, he welcomes your questions and ideas in our forum!

Relevant link: IDEGFX

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Comments (18)

By mars2000you

Enlighted (6442)

27-12-2013, 14:16

The good link seems to be

http://www.flulpycrea.com.ar/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/G...

By Jorito

Mr. Ambassadors (1788)

27-12-2013, 14:21

Thanks; fixed. Apparently he submitted a wrong link in the first place

By DrWh0

Paladin (839)

27-12-2013, 15:05

Wonderful, is a pleasure see things like this for MSX nowadays

By NYYRIKKI

Enlighted (6033)

27-12-2013, 16:49

Looks pretty interesting although I got seriously lost already in Common examples of "chaining bunches"-puzzle... I think I have to try again when I have more time. How ever I managed to get in to palette editor and got curious.

By jltursan

Prophet (2619)

27-12-2013, 17:58

Nice development indeed!. Users who love to develop in his MSX will also going to love this.

By flyguille

Prophet (3031)

27-12-2013, 19:12

NYYRIKKI wrote:

The old versions, didn't support bigger tiles like 16x16 or 32x32 pixels, so puzzling 8x8 tiles into bigger metatiles was a middle-step, that if you will use SCREEN 2 in your game, is a mandatory feature (because it will needs to fill up the SCREEN2 NAME TABLE aswell.

Later, the program supported 16x16 and 32x32 tiles, thinking in BITMAP modes, so that means that we can remove ANY middle-step like the puzzling, and using the tiles directly to build up the MAP.

By NYYRIKKI

Enlighted (6033)

28-12-2013, 00:12

It seems we are not on a same page... Help me out here: I want to make a new project...

I select Project / New... / Map scene {ret} {ret} {ret} test1.mp
- Error: Linkage is mandatory
I select Project / New... / Metatiling map chart {ret} {ret} {ret} test1.mi
- Error: Linkage is mandatory
I select Project / Set Bunch Link: TEST1.MI, TEST1.MP
- Error: Formats mismatch no linkables.

???

Did I understood something wrong from the "How to use?"-section?

By flyguille

Prophet (3031)

28-12-2013, 00:09

I select Project / Set Bunch Link: TEST1.MP, TEST1.MI (the other way)

By NYYRIKKI

Enlighted (6033)

28-12-2013, 00:16

flyguille wrote:

I select Project / Set Bunch Link: TEST1.MP, TEST1.MI (the other way)

Changing the order changes the error from "Linkage is mandatory" to "Formats mismatch, no linkables" or other way around. Still I can't get any further...

By flyguille

Prophet (3031)

28-12-2013, 00:18

ok, what metatiling chart is you wanting to link? up to 256 metatiles or more than 256 metatiles?

if more than 256 metatiles will be in the metatile chart , your MAP must be 16bits encoded.

Checks the Project information what you has.

By NYYRIKKI

Enlighted (6033)

28-12-2013, 00:30

flyguille wrote:

ok, what metatiling chart is you wanting to link? up to 256 metatiles or more than 256 metatiles?

if more than 256 metatiles will be in the metatile chart , your MAP must be 16bits encoded.

Checks the Project information what you has.

As far as I know I've used only 256-tile mode... In fact I have used only the default values offered by the software. I was wondering if you could give step by step instructions, how to get to edit tiles starting from the boot of MSX and inserting the disk. I know this might sound very stupid, but I think I can figure out things after that. At the moment I just feel I'm totally lost and I can't find help from readme.txt

By flyguille

Prophet (3031)

28-12-2013, 00:38

you are wanting for screen2?

The tileset must be just 256 tiles, in sc2 format.

the metatiling chart, I recommend grouping 2x2 tiles, so each map block will be of 4 characters.

The metatiling chart can be all in 8 bits,

so, in your game engine you only needs to do:

LOCATE X,Y: PRINT CHR$(PEEK(MT CHART BASE ADDRESS+ METATILE NUMBER * 4))
LOCATE X+1,Y: PRINT CHR$(PEEK(MT CHART BASE ADDRESS+ METATILE NUMBER * 4 + 1))
LOCATE X,Y+1: PRINT CHR$(PEEK(MT CHART BASE ADDRESS+ METATILE NUMBER * 4 + 2))
LOCATE X+1,Y+1: PRINT CHR$(PEEK(MT CHART BASE ADDRESS+ METATILE NUMBER * 4 + 3))

OR just use the 4 equivalent VPOKEs formula.

And if your map is enconded in 8 bits,

it will be

METATILE NUMBER = PEEK(MAP BASE ADDRESS + MAPY * MAPWIDTH + MAPX)

if it is a game like ZANAC where you has a lot of fast scroll, I recomend metatiles of 4x4 characters.

By flyguille

Prophet (3031)

28-12-2013, 00:43

NYYRIKKI wrote:

flyguille wrote:

ok, what metatiling chart is you wanting to link? up to 256 metatiles or more than 256 metatiles?

if more than 256 metatiles will be in the metatile chart , your MAP must be 16bits encoded.

Checks the Project information what you has.

you got the fixed version?, because 2 old versions has a linkage bug somewhere. But I don't remember if is related to map -> metatiling linkage.

By flyguille

Prophet (3031)

29-12-2013, 23:49

NYYRIKKI, you not confirmed that are using the FIXED version from 30th November.

By NYYRIKKI

Enlighted (6033)

30-12-2013, 00:19

Yes, I use the version mentioned in "Relevant link"... Says FIXED in the package name.

By flyguille

Prophet (3031)

30-12-2013, 00:46

NYYRIKKI wrote:

Yes, I use the version mentioned in "Relevant link"... Says FIXED in the package name.

Ok, I will check it for screen 2 format? right?

By flyguille

Prophet (3031)

04-01-2014, 06:57

NYRIKKI, here the youtube vid with the test. Can you replicate it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsT1ogqhXT4&feature=youtu.be

I did all with default settings. for screen2.

By flyguille

Prophet (3031)

05-01-2014, 03:07

NYYRIKKI, just by what IF, I just checked everything, that the downloadable ZIP from this newspost matchs with the last version that I had. The one used to make the above video. And it matchs.

The one thing that maybe you are mistaking, that I can thinks about.

There is two LINKAGES

one from the MAP bunch to the metatiling chart. That is one.

The other is:

from the metatiling chart to the TILESET. That is the other. It is like a linkage chain.

Maybe you tried to link directly the MAP to TILESET, that is not supported if the tiles are 8x8 size.

Tellme if it worked out.

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