Examples of screen split usage in games

Expert (71)

19-06-2018, 20:27

I'm learning to program the Yamaha 9938, now i'm doing some screen splits. I notice there are several games that use them, for instance:

- Aleste II uses scroll split + page split to display the score board and fix it on top of the screen.
- Illusion City uses palette split to display colorful characters faces during dialogs.

I wonder if there are other kinds of usage of palette, scroll and page split.

I also wonder if there are games that use sprite split. Maybe Aleste II and similar shooters use hardware sprite instead of bitmap pictures to quickly update the score counter?

By ARTRAG

Enlighted (6935)

19-06-2018, 20:50

Here you will find all you are asking for

https://github.com/Maneldemo

sources included

By NYYRIKKI

Enlighted (6067)

19-06-2018, 23:59

snake wrote:

I wonder if there are other kinds of usage of palette, scroll and page split.

I also wonder if there are games that use sprite split. Maybe Aleste II and similar shooters use hardware sprite instead of bitmap pictures to quickly update the score counter?

One option is to do a screen mode split. This way you can have score counter etc ie. in SCREEN 1 while rest of the game works ie. in SCREEN 5. In this kind of arrangement some attention to copy timings is anyway required.

I don't think sprite splits are very popular... We have anyway already 32 sprites and the limitation that first tends to hit us is the 8 sprites / line. IIRC ie. Space Manbow uses sprite splits.

EDIT: BTW I've made a 10min tutorial video to screen splits, if someone is interested about how to get started with the subject.

By Grauw

Ascended (10772)

20-06-2018, 00:34

Multi-plex for turboR uses splits extensively and impressively.

The Guru Logic demo version (never completed) uses screen 4 but does (three iirc) sprite splits to give extra details to the graphics, overcoming part of the screen mode's limitations. Another interesting application you may not have immediately considered.

In my game in development I use splits for the dialogue box to give it its own palette as well as its animations, and also I use it to enable the overscan mode.

And in VGMPlay I use line interrupts not for visual purposes but to get a 300 Hz timer.

By igal

Master (217)

20-06-2018, 07:53

In Basic, you can make this...It's a "pseudo interrupt".
It's shurt example with multiple scroll paralax, multiaxe, Paralax+Multiaxe, all bombinations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45ueWHQkbI0

i search the BASIC line command for make a real "Split Screen"...
Théorical because if the effect dont work correctly, it's not a problème.. I need just the "Complète command line in Basic" after i search an "unexpected solution"

By NYYRIKKI

Enlighted (6067)

20-06-2018, 09:24

igal wrote:

Any BASIC that I know is not up to the task because all of them lack commands to handle custom interrupts. Because MSX-BASIC is interpreted during runtime, it is also way too slow to handle the minimum of 100 events in a second in any really meaningful way. The example you posted is pretty much maximum you can do and it is not usable for any real purpose since it already uses 100% of CPU time.

After saying that, you can almost do it in X-BASIC... I say almost because although the example works there are still few bytes of ML needed and there are still DI/EI & speed problems that render the example almost useless (although it serves as general explanation of how line interrupts work.) Since BASIC does not have any native support, it is also extremely easy to crash the computer while experimenting.

Anyway... after all these warnings... Here you go: https://www.msx.org/forum/development/msx-development/how-li...

By DarkSchneider

Paladin (1021)

20-06-2018, 10:18

Any game with pixel scroll and fixed layout part (score, items...) uses it.

By friguron

Master (188)

27-06-2018, 17:13

I can remember Psycho World showing amazing scrolling scenarios (top) vs fixed score (bottom) all of it with diferentiated multicolor split screen/palettes.

By inchl

Expert (83)

25-05-2021, 15:49

Does anyone ever tried a screensplit between screen 4 and 7.... I'm trying to do so for a while now and for some strange reason the entire screen remains in low-res.....

Is it even possible?

By MsxKun

Paragon (1124)

25-05-2021, 16:06

snake wrote:

I also wonder if there are games that use sprite split. Maybe Aleste II and similar shooters use hardware sprite instead of bitmap pictures to quickly update the score counter?

Yes, you can have one set of sprites for the score and other for the game. I think I did that on Pengo.
You can change pretty much everything before the split. SapphiRe had a working thing with split that used Screen 4 and Screen 5 (if i remember well).
That's way better than using sprites for the score.

By inchl

Expert (83)

25-05-2021, 16:16

I know,... but I wonder if its possible to mix lowres with hi-res? (screen 4 and 7)