dmb@wam.umd.edu (David M. Baggett) (03/09/90)
In article <1111.25f63c10@miavx1.acs.muohio.edu> tmwhitehead@miavx1.acs.muohio.edu writes: >I'm trying to write some arcade-quality graphics and sound routines on my ST. >Are there any GOOD books that talk about how to do this? I mean, how do people >write things like Dungeon Master if there is no information on how to do this? > I don't want to sound negative, but NO, they're aren't any good books about this written specifically for the Atari. The folks who write games professionally have (I would guess in general) lots of experience with other machines that are well-documented, so they know what kinds of techniques to use. Much of the info on the nitty-gritty details about the ST is posted here and on the online services (e.g., GEnie), so keep reading. >What I'd really like is "Mapping the Atari, REvised and Updated for the ST!" That wouldn't be very useful, and even if it existed Allan Pratt would (I bet) personally hunt down all the copies and burn them. Unlike programming 8bit machines, you can't just poke all around an ST. Applications have to be well-behaved; i.e., they can't whomp all over memory, the Bios, etc. Most importantly, the OS in the ST changes from time to time, and undocumented "poke" locations change. You don't want programs that rely on fixed locations in the Bios code, since such programs would not work with all version of TOS. What would be useful: "De Re ST". Unfortunately, no one's interested enough or willing to write a book like "De Re Atari" for the ST. >... >I dont CARE what language I need to use it. I'll buy a new language if I need >to. > Well, if you really want to write professional quality routines, you will have no choice but to use assembly language. Nothing else is up to snuff. Dave Baggett dmb@cscwam.umd.edu