Re: How much RAM is used for game?

[The Wizard of Oz <wizard@emeraldcity.gov>]

On Fri, 24 Dec 2004 18:36:26 +0000, Bryan Parkoff wrote:

>     Is it true that all games using high resolution (6 colors) are written 
> in assembly language that takes only 32K RAM?  If some games use double high 
> resolution (16 colors), will they be still using 32K RAM in one or both 
> banks?

	Issue 1... Games using high resolution graphics can be written in most
programming languages on the Apple//. This would include various BASICs,
Pascal, FORTRAN, FORTH, and so on.

	Issue 2... Games do not have to be 32K in size. They can be less or they
can be more depending on the size of the game.

>     It looks like $2000-$5FFF are being used for page one and page two as 
> the animation.  Do you think that 32K RAM is enough for all games?

	Issue 1... Half right. Those are the location for high resolution
graphics memory. Depending on the game the whole address space need not be
used. The technique you are referring to is called page switching. This is
because there is a flicker if the programmer tries to replace graphics on
the currently displayed page. Sometimes this is acceptable and other times
it isn't.

	Issue 2... The *logic* behind most games should be able to fit in 32K of
memory. The problem with most modern games is the graphics and sound take
up more than that amount of memory.

>     If you want to develop 256 colors for 280x192, can it be developed using 
> slot 7 controller card?  Do you think that new softswitch will be added from 
> $C700 to $C7FF?  It looks like 26,880 bytes (280x192x256) in main bank and 
> another 26,880 bytes (28x192x256) in aux bank.

	Issue 1... Are you referring to a graphics card? If so then the answer is
it all depends on how much memory is on the card. There have been a few
attempts at this. The only one I recall which worked on both the GS and
//e was the Second Sight card. We are able to get 256 colours at 1024X768.
The recommended slot for this card is slot 3.

	Issue 2... The GS has a whole bunch of new soft switches. Unless someone
decides to update the hardware then the answer is no.

>     New games using 256 colors for Apple II may only take 21.75K RAM.  Do 
> you think that it is not very worth to write games that ony takes 21.75K RAM 
> while others take 32K RAM.  It looks like that it has to depend on 5.25" 
> disk for loading / reloading graphic often.

	Issue 1... Given the current built in hardware 256 colours is not
possible. Of course the GS has the capability of displaying 3200 colours
with a couple of tweaks.

	Issue 2... Games can vary in size.

	Issue 3... If a game is really good it doesn't matter how large it is.
The only thing is will the game fit into the computer...

	Issue 4... 5.25, 3.5, or a harddrive doesn't matter. If a game swaps
information to and from external storage it usually means either the
programmer wants to keep some information around or parts of the program
are too large to keep in RAM all the time.

>     Please state your opinion.

	Just did...

> Bryan Parkoff

				Later
				Mike