Hello,
I'm emulating a old DOS computer(16-Bits), then I want to know what are the must-have tools for tiles and backgrounds for it and where can I get them?
Best Regards,
Nathan Paulino Campos
What host platform are you running the emulator on? Are you trying to emulate 8088 (original PC), 8086 (XT), or 80286 (AT)? MDA, Hercules, CGA, EGA, or VGA?
Windows CE 3(HPC 2000), emulating a 8086(XT), it's called
PocketDOS.
Sorry, I forgot to say this.
From the PocketDOS page, it appears you're emulating an XT with a VGA card. For "text mode" apps, the VGA tile formats are 8x8, 8x14, and 8x16 pixel 1-bit tiles. Almost any tile editor can edit 8x8 pixel tiles, and those supporting metatiles can edit the 8x16 ones. But most graphical apps (other than oddball things like MS-DOS 6 Defrag) use a frame buffer mode, and image formats popular in the DOS era include PCX, BMP, and several company-specific formats.
You might want to ask developers of
DSx86 and
DOSBox for help on this project.
Windows CE 3 come with a Paint Brush application that save to BMP and PocketDOS can access the Compact Flash card as a HD. Then I just need a application that can convert from BMP to tiles, backgrounds and sprites format.
There is any kind of this to 16-Bit?
DOS games don't necessarily use a well-known format for tiles, backgrounds, and sprites because most games don't run in text mode but instead a frame buffer mode. You don't need to understand the text mode to run applications that use the graphical mode, nor do you need to understand games' private graphics formats. You just have to understand writing 2-bit packed pixels (CGA), 4-bit planar pixels (EGA/VGA), and 8-bit packed pixels (VGA mode 13h). Did you want to run DOS games, or did you want to hack them?
I want to develop for NES using MS-DOS 6.22
You haven't saw this?
I didn't know why some moderator moved the thread to here, because I thought I posted on the correct place.
I'd use TASM 3.1, some kind of text editor, LoopyNES, and Tile Layer for graphics if I had to make NES stuff on a dos machine.
Then I'd get QBASIC to make any other random tools I need.
But the hardest part is the input devices. How would you program on a PocketPC's keyboard?
List the tile tools please(because it's what I need).
I'm on a HPC not a PPC. A Jornada 720: *facepalm*
nathanpc wrote:
You haven't saw this?
I didn't know why some moderator moved the thread to here
I moved it because I thought you wanted to emulate MS-DOS, not emulate the NES or code for the NES. But it appears you already have the emulator, and you're looking for NES development tools that run inside that emulator.
That said, the NES homebrew scene didn't materialize until even DOS was 32-bit. For example, Tile Layer is a 32-bit DOS application; your emulator probably can't run it. And unfortunately,
my own DOS-based tools are also 32-bit. if you want to code for the NES on a device smaller than a standard PC, a 9" netbook is worth the money. You can run the tools on either Linux or Windows.
I use a Eee PC 904HD for NES development, but now I want to get all on the Jornada, that I took 2 years to prepare to move all my tasks for it.
There is any other tile applications that can run on 16-Bits?
Hmm,
tepples your code have Windows API calls on it? Because if not we can try to cross-compile it using gcc... Also, could you please move it to the correct place(NES Development Forum)?
My code has
Allegro API calls. Allegro is supposed to be a portable wrapper around multiple operating systems' graphics, sound, and input layers. It works on DOS, Windows, and some versions of Linux, but it doesn't appear to be ported to Windows CE 3 yet. And with Microsoft deprecating CE and PDAs without a mobile data plan in favor of Windows Phone 7 Series whose apps are 100% Pure .NET code, it doesn't look likely that someone else will make such a port.
TASM is an assembler which runs on 16-bit DOS. It covers a lot of different processors. You need to tell it you want 6502 mode with the -t65 switch, and make it output binary files with the -b switch.
You may need a hex editor, like Hexit. Not sure if it's 16-bit compatible or not.
Tile Layer is 32-bit dos only.
I don't know of any good 16-bit NES emulators for DOS, I think they're all 32-bit. I know that NO$GMB is 286 compatible, but that's a Gameboy emulator.
I did a lot of NES development in DOS, some of it on a 386 and 486, but never 16-bit. Maybe you could try NESA by Paul Robson. I don't think it used an extender (maybe it did though?), but I believe it was the very first NES emulator released for DOS! I couldn't test it now since XP doesn't like it. There's no sound emulation but it seemed to work, I remember playing Megaman on it in slow motion (heh, I was downloading .NES files before there was an emulator I could use, I never had win95).
I wouldn't use an old emulator to write the part of your game that touches the NES/PPU registers, the regular program logic should be fine, but you can't trust the PPU input or output the way it was emulated at the time.
I've used TASM before and it was pretty decent. IIRC, it didn't have an .INCBIN command, so you have to convert binaries to text format to include it, that's my only complaint.
- Right, it might be interesting and perhaps a good exercise but... I don't see the point of such effort, man.
Why not a "netbook" with latest technology?
tepples wrote:
My code has
Allegro API calls. Allegro is supposed to be a portable wrapper around multiple operating systems' graphics, sound, and input layers. It works on DOS, Windows, and some versions of Linux, but it doesn't appear to be ported to Windows CE 3 yet. And with Microsoft deprecating CE and PDAs without a mobile data plan in favor of Windows Phone 7 Series whose apps are 100% Pure .NET code, it doesn't look likely that someone else will make such a port.
I'm using DOS emulated on a Windows CE machine, then every 16-Bits Compactiible DOS application will run.
Zepper wrote:
- Right, it might be interesting and perhaps a good exercise but... I don't see the point of such effort, man.
Why not a "netbook" with latest technology?
Aleluia. Mais um brazuca!
Because I love HPCs.
Dwedit wrote:
TASM is an assembler which runs on 16-bit DOS. It covers a lot of different processors. You need to tell it you want 6502 mode with the -t65 switch, and make it output binary files with the -b switch.
You may need a hex editor, like Hexit. Not sure if it's 16-bit compatible or not.
Tile Layer is 32-bit dos only.
I don't know of any good 16-bit NES emulators for DOS, I think they're all 32-bit. I know that NO$GMB is 286 compatible, but that's a Gameboy emulator.
I'm going to take a look on these tools.
Thanks very much.
<my2cents>TASM is your best bet for compiling 6502, but it's a somewhat generic compiler, and you'll still need to run a tool like cajones or make some batch scripts to make .nes files with it.
I remember writing software in basic pds that'd convert bitmaps into nes tile format (of course that was a over a decade ago on my pentium 75MHz laptop, so it's long gone.)
Not too sure about how you'd achieve NES emulation...I'm certain that the WinCE machine could run somthing made for WinCE on it's architecture though.</my2cents>
I don't know what the OP's addiction with "16-bit" is. That PocketDOS thing looks like a pile of junk; no 386 emulation? Screw it. No, seriously: screw it. Non-linear (segmented) memory models on original x86 really sucked -- there's all sorts of complexities you never think of until you actually run into them. Have you actually tried using XMS and EMS? They suck -- XMS is easier to use, but there's added complexities with it. And ;et's not forget that 640KBytes is enough for anyone... *sigh*
Otherwise, if the OP is at least willing to go 386, he can generate a DOS MZ binary (16-bit) which then makes use of something called a "DOS extender" (which transparently provides setup and functions for full 32-bit protected mode) -- like DOS32 or DOS4GW. I'm familiar with DOS32. Trust me, it's easy to use and it's a blessing.
koitsu wrote:
I don't know what the OP's addiction with "16-bit" is.
A 16-bit program runs in the available PC emulators that run on old-skool smartbooks from before Windows CE was called Windows Mobile. A 32-bit program does not. So the choices are to write native NES development tools for Windows CE or write a 386 PC emulator for Windows CE; both are highly complicated projects.
It will be hard to find tool since the device seems quite old.
If the form factor is the reason behind keeping it, you could go for something
like this. The only problem is the price.. They don't give them. Very small thought. I tried at one store on the way back to work. It came out recently. WinXP, 512meg ram, atom z515, 32 gig ssd, touch screen. I wouldn't mind having one for the (literally) "crush" on the morning train.
That or a Pandora PDA, if it ever comes out.
Quote:
That or a Pandora PDA, if it ever comes out.
It already has afaik. But only in small quantities so far.
I have what I think is the first model of the Powermate portable computer by NEC, because someone threw it out a while back. It's not a laptop only because it would break your lap, heheh. It has a 286, 640kB of RAM, VGA monochrome LCD, 3.5" floppy, dead internal HD, it's pretty nice. I don't think I'll be using it anytime soon for development though. QBASIC worked fine on it, I was going to to try CopyNES on it one time, but it couldn't be arsed to boot. 16-bit PCs are dead, heheh.