I know this is really sad, but I've looked for things like "3D programming basics" and they usually don't go more in depth than saying that you have to work on a 3 coordinate plane and then they call it a day, sometimes showing you some java code or something that doesn't help in the slightest. The only potentially useful thing I ever found was this:
which at least helps with registers and some hardware information, but it isn't nearly as straightforward as "BG 2 X Scrolling Position". I think I also read something about how you actually need to program the video chip, and this is the supposed "microcode" I've always heard about? I don't even understand how that works. another thing is how do you write the coordinates for points and then fill it in with even just a simple color? Is there something like a giant space of memory the video chip uses that's kind of like OAM on the SNES, in that there are some thousands of slots for points that contain registers for their X, a Y, and a Z, coordinates? Also, how does the "frame buffer" have any relation to this? I though frame buffers were only useful for software rendering, like if you look at vram in a Super FX game. Is it like the video chip has a frame buffer, but you don't need to mess with it because it puts everything there? Can you even directly access the frame buffer for drawing over the picture I guess? Sorry if this sounds terribly uneducated, I just haven't found a single useful thing.
Edit: I actually found this http://n64.icequake.net/doc/n64intro/ka ... 2/4-3.html and it says this:
Can you essentially turn the N64 into a 2D machine, where it accepts tiles and whatnot? (Again, I have no 3D hardware experience.)
Edit 2: How does resolution (or frame buffer size here, I'd imagine) affect performance?
Attachment:
which at least helps with registers and some hardware information, but it isn't nearly as straightforward as "BG 2 X Scrolling Position". I think I also read something about how you actually need to program the video chip, and this is the supposed "microcode" I've always heard about? I don't even understand how that works. another thing is how do you write the coordinates for points and then fill it in with even just a simple color? Is there something like a giant space of memory the video chip uses that's kind of like OAM on the SNES, in that there are some thousands of slots for points that contain registers for their X, a Y, and a Z, coordinates? Also, how does the "frame buffer" have any relation to this? I though frame buffers were only useful for software rendering, like if you look at vram in a Super FX game. Is it like the video chip has a frame buffer, but you don't need to mess with it because it puts everything there? Can you even directly access the frame buffer for drawing over the picture I guess? Sorry if this sounds terribly uneducated, I just haven't found a single useful thing.
Edit: I actually found this http://n64.icequake.net/doc/n64intro/ka ... 2/4-3.html and it says this:
Quote:
Sprite Microcode
•S2DEX is the microcode that makes it possible to use sprites in N64 development. This microcode makes it possible for you to manage drawn objects using the separate concepts of the sprite and the BG. This makes it easy for you to get used to the usual sprite game development methods.
•S2DEX is the microcode that makes it possible to use sprites in N64 development. This microcode makes it possible for you to manage drawn objects using the separate concepts of the sprite and the BG. This makes it easy for you to get used to the usual sprite game development methods.
Can you essentially turn the N64 into a 2D machine, where it accepts tiles and whatnot? (Again, I have no 3D hardware experience.)
Edit 2: How does resolution (or frame buffer size here, I'd imagine) affect performance?