Re: More thoughts about Lode Runner & other multiload games...

[BLuRry <brendan.robert@gmail.com>]

The levels have a lot of repetition and blank space -- I imagine that RLE might be very successful if you want to try squeezing things in.  You might only get a 10-20% savings for the effort though.  Would that be enough?

-B

On Wednesday, September 26, 2012 11:35:57 PM UTC-5, Steve Nickolas wrote:
> I still haven't found what I'm looking for (apologies to U2)
> 
> 
> 
> The necessary parts are "read level", "read score table" and "write score 
> 
> table".  Once these can be located, I can work on the file cracks.  I 
> 
> still have a copy of the work I've done so far, including a copy of the 
> 
> partially disassembled code at http://1.buric.co/lrdas1.txt
> 
> 
> 
> An actual level is 224 bytes, but is stored as 256.  I could use the video 
> 
> memory ($2000-5FFF), as I probably mentioned before, to hold anything 
> 
> bound for the language card, as it is the same amount of memory. 
> 
> Relocation code would replace RWTS.
> 
> 
> 
> Lode Runner is 150 levels, and Championship Lode Runner is 50 levels.
> 
> 
> 
> 12K (D000-FFFF) and 256 byte levels .................................  47
> 
> 12K (D000-FFFF) and 224 byte levels .................................  53
> 
> 16K (D000-FFFF+D000-DFFF) and 256 byte levels .......................  63
> 
> 16K (D000-FFFF+D000-DFFF) and 224 byte levels .......................  72
> 
> 20K (D000-FFFF+D000-DFFF+B000-BFFF) and 256 byte levels .............  79
> 
> 20K (D000-FFFF+D000-DFFF+B000-BFFF) and 224 byte levels .............  90
> 
> 24K (D000-FFFF+D000-DFFF+0400-07FF+A400-BFFF) and 256 byte levels ...  95
> 
> 24K (D000-FFFF+D000-DFFF+0400-07FF+A400-BFFF) and 224 byte levels ... 108
> 
> 
> 
> At any rate I can't fit the whole game.  I could take two approaches here.
> 
> 
> 
> 1. 20/256 - split the original Lode Runner in half (75/75) - and 16/256
> 
>     for Championship Lode Runner.
> 
> 2. 12/224 - split the original Lode Runner in thirds (50/50/50) and use
> 
>     the same format for Championship Lode Runner.
> 
> 
> 
> Either way, I intend to compress the files.  Most likely I'll make a 
> 
> special "Apple Crunch Lode Runner Edition" with Lode Runner Part I, Lode 
> 
> Runner Part II, (Lode Runner Part III) and Championship Lode Runner.
> 
> 
> 
> Now, other games... is anything other than the screens loaded off the disk 
> 
> with Donkey Kong?  Might it be possible to use a small RLE packer, then 
> 
> ram the screens (they won't fit in 16K uncompressed but I bet they 
> 
> compress well even with RLE) onto the language card?  A depacker might 
> 
> even fit in place of the load code?
> 
> 
> 
> Karateka is a 48K multiload, is it possible to stuff extra code in the LC 
> 
> for that too?
> 
> 
> 
> -uso.