It happened.
SBTGA mode G0, 114x81 @ 3-trit RGB, (27 colors) |
SBTCVM, for the longest time, has had no framebuffered displays. and while the 9x9 and 27x27 plotters have proved functional, the time has come.
SBTGA currently has a standby mode (default), and Graphics Mode 0 (G0, shown). While its indeed colorful, SBTGA has more features planned: such as formatted text modes, and a new, high-resolution plotter mode to replace the old 9x9 and 27x27 plotters that have proven quite useful.
Under the hood, SBTGA is SBTCVM's first complex IObus device, (unless you consider a basic psudo-random number generator or scratch memory, complex)
it works via a pointer address that points to a portion of Memory Bank A (the first memory bank), that tells SBTGA where its DMA-based framebuffer is.
Naturally this lets programs have precomputed framebuffer memory ranges.In fact, this is the first job of the new MK2-GAT.py utility (GAT meaning Graphics Adapter Toolkit): To convert 114x81 binary images, to SBTGA Mode G0 framebuffer maps.
And while for the moment, SBTGA lacks even sprites, Its a definite start to a new chapter in SBTCVM's development.
Yay! I love the framebuffer demos, they remind me of having fun with 8-bit computers. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm finally running SBTCVM on a screen big enough for my old eyes. It's good, and all the extra UI bits are nice too.
-- eekee