2024
Keyboard handling (2)
Sun 18th February 2024
Arrows and space bar are sufficient for most games, but sometimes you need to access the complete keyboard.
In this article we expand on the earlier project by adding support for the entire keyboard while keeping the possibility to check multiple simultaneous key-presses.
2023
Flood Fill
Sat 4th November 2023
Today we will see how to convert a complicated algorithm from BASIC to C, then to 6502 assembler, and the optimization process involved.
It all started when Goyo asked in September 2021 if anyone had a fast floodfill routine to share.
It all started when Goyo asked in September 2021 if anyone had a fast floodfill routine to share.
2022
Efficient rasterization
Wed 2nd February 2022
I was writing an article about how to create an efficient Flood Fill routine on the Oric, but then I realized that many of the optimizations were generic and could be part of a dedicated article about how to write efficient rasterization code.
2021
Joysticks
Sat 2nd January 2021
Many of the 80ies micro computers had dedicated connectors for joystick controllers, but unfortunately the Oric were not one of these.
As a result, joystick interfaces appeared on the market as accessories you could buy, but unfortunately they had all to be programmed differently, and as a result most games don't support any joystick interface, or only some very specific models.
As a result, joystick interfaces appeared on the market as accessories you could buy, but unfortunately they had all to be programmed differently, and as a result most games don't support any joystick interface, or only some very specific models.
2020
Keyboard handling (1)
Sat 22nd August 2020
When people decide to make a game on the Oric, on of the first issue they stumble upon is how to deal with keyboard input.
There are many different ways, some are simple but only allow to check for one key at a time, while some other allow to test for multiple key presses.
Dungeon Master intro
Wed 20th May 2020
In 1996 I released a small prototype of what could be Dungeon Master on the Oric.
People being people, they kept bugging me about when I would finish it, so 24 years later I decided to take a look at it.
People being people, they kept bugging me about when I would finish it, so 24 years later I decided to take a look at it.
Optimizing Buggy Boy (2)
Wed 13th May 2020
Now that the final scroller is finally running at an acceptable speed, the second most pressing issue is the Mandelbrot fractal part.
Optimizing a scroller is just a matter of finding a fast way to copy things around, but optimizing a fractal is much more complicated due to the limitations of the 6502 processor regarding doing mathematics.
Optimizing a scroller is just a matter of finding a fast way to copy things around, but optimizing a fractal is much more complicated due to the limitations of the 6502 processor regarding doing mathematics.
Overlay Memory
Sun 10th May 2020
A commonly misunderstood element of Oric computers is the actual memory layout and amount: Does the Oric has 48KB or RAM, as the Atmos label says, or 64KB as claims the Oric Nova 64?
The actual truth is somewhat in-between!
The actual truth is somewhat in-between!
2019
The Oric Tape Nightmare
Sat 23rd November 2019
Let's talk about tapes, more specifically "Oric Computer Programs Stored on Tapes".
If you follow my Youtube channel, you know that I do have a significant amount of original Oric software on tapes, and that I've been buying tape players.
If you follow my Youtube channel, you know that I do have a significant amount of original Oric software on tapes, and that I've been buying tape players.
2018
Optimizing Buggy Boy (1)
Thu 15th November 2018
On the weekend of 2-3 November 2018 the Demosplash party was held at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
There are not many demo parties in the USA, and even less of these showing Oric demos running on the actual Oric hardware specially with a Cumulus device!
There are not many demo parties in the USA, and even less of these showing Oric demos running on the actual Oric hardware specially with a Cumulus device!
Performance Profiling
Sun 11th November 2018
A few weeks ago NekoNoNiaow asked on the Defence Force forums if there was any profiling tools available for Oric programs "aside from the reliable but quite basic OSDK clock() function".
I had already worked on the topic, but no actual official release came out of it: Time to fix that!
I had already worked on the topic, but no actual official release came out of it: Time to fix that!