Topics

1

General Jo Engine Help / Trouble with 4 Bits CLUT conversion header image

« on: July 31, 2018, 11:03:40 pm »

I was wondering what graphics program people use with XL2's converter program? I tried Pixelmator, which is what I normally use. However, that automatically uses RLE compression. I then used Gimp, which says it is exporting the TGA file without RLE. When I do the conversion in the program, it comes up as RLE: 2, and in the H file, the string numbers start with 0 and and end with 0. In my game, the H file graphic either shows up as a black, transparent, or non-existent square.

2

General Jo Engine Help / How to autoload game after video

« on: July 09, 2018, 09:02:04 pm »

I'm not sure if this is straight forward or not. I'm trying to figure out if there needs to be a jump from one C file to the main or running a header file from the main file. Should the video C or header file be in a separate directory? Right now, I keep running out of memory due to all the assets being loaded at the same time. I want to run the video, clear that, and then load the game assets.

3

General discussion about the Sega Saturn / Polygon Interview with PDS Creators

« on: July 08, 2018, 03:37:15 pm »

I wanted to share this incredible interview with the Panzer Dragoon Saga developers for the 20th anniversary of the game's release: Panzer Dragoon Saga: an oral history https://www.polygon.com/2018/4/30/17286042/panzer-dragoon-saga-sega-saturn-oral-history.

4

Share your code / Ship shadow for shooter demo

« on: July 06, 2018, 12:39:32 am »

I wanted to share how to set up the shadow for the main ship in the shooter demo. You'll go under draw_ship in your main C file and enter in the following code under the code that's already there:

Code: [Select]

    // SHIP SHADOW
    jo_sprite_enable_shadow_filter();
    jo_sprite_change_sprite_scale(-2.5);
    if (ship.move == RIGHT)
        jo_sprite_enable_horizontal_flip();
    jo_sprite_draw3D(ship.reverse_animation ? jo_get_anim_sprite_reverse(ship.anim_id) : jo_get_anim_sprite(ship.anim_id), ship.x +5, ship.y -25, 800);
    if (ship.move == RIGHT)
        jo_sprite_disable_horizontal_flip();
    jo_sprite_restore_sprite_scale();
    jo_sprite_disable_shadow_filter();

So I've set the trailing shadow scale to 2.5x less than the actual ship size, in order to present the appearance of distance. At the ship's coordinates (ship.x and ship.y), I've shifted the shadow so it is visible, due to not being directly underneath the ship. You'll have to change the numbers based on your specific game. The Z coordinate of 800 is lower than the coordinate for the ship. This technique can be applied to other craft, too.

5

General Jo Engine Help / SOLVED: Run Storyboard demo externally inside my game?

« on: July 04, 2018, 02:26:21 am »

I am trying to run the Storyboard demo from the C file with an attached header file, by linking the header file inside my game's main file. The name on both files matches. I added the external C file to the makefile. In the end, I'm trying to get it to work so I can gut it and make my own storyboard code. For the most part, it seems to be set up correctly, but I'm getting some errors.

Here is my header file code:

Code: [Select]

#ifndef __CLOUDS_H__
# define __CLOUDS_H__

void    my_draw(void);
void    my_gamepad(void);
void    animate_circular_saws(void);
void    animate_drone(void);
void    animate_sentry(void);
void    init_circular_saw_sprite_and_position(void);
void    init_drone_sprite_and_position(void);
void    init_sentry_sprite_and_position(void);
//void    jo_main(void);

#endif /* !__CLOUDS_H__ */

/*
** END OF FILE
*/

I commented out the jo_main section here and in the C file, because I assumed I needed to initialize the functions inside of jo_main in the main C file. I included the header file at the top of the external C file. Here is what I added in my main C file:

Code: [Select]

#include "clouds.h"

void			    jo_main(void)
{
	init_circular_saw_sprite_and_position();
	init_drone_sprite_and_position();
	init_sentry_sprite_and_position();
	animate_circular_saws();
	animate_drone();
	animate_sentry();
}

When I try to compile the project, I get an error on the storyboard C file that "static jo_storyboard    *drone_storyboard;" has a syntax error before the * token. I get warnings on that part that the "type defaults to 'int' in declaration of 'drone_storyboard'", and that "data definition has no type or storage class". I also get a warning in the storyboard C file of "implicit declaration of function 'jo_storyboard_toggle'". Additionally, I get errors from the same file saying, "'jo_storyboard', 'storyboard', 'animation', 'jo_animation' undeclared". There are other related warnings, but I don't think I need to list all of them here. I haven't changed the code in the demo, other than commenting out the jo_main section and bringing up the same items inside of the jo_main in my main game file. I know this isn't super complicated, but I haven't tried doing this before. My main C file is getting too cluttered.

6

Jo Engine Wish List / Expansion of Shooter Demo

« on: July 03, 2018, 12:12:09 am »

I would like to request an enemy ship explosion feature, so that we can have an explosion animation happen when the laser hits the enemy ship. I have been trying to implement this, but have not figured it out. For now, I am going to work on other aspects of my game. Thank you.

7

General Jo Engine Help / SOLVED: Can't get Every Day Cute copy to work

« on: July 02, 2018, 07:05:51 pm »

This is such a frustrating problem. I copied the demo, and switched out the 4 TGA files with my own. I copied the TEX file and altered the file names inside. In the C file, i just changed the animation name. I kept the exact same structure. It just isn't working. I am getting an error in Yabause that it can't find the TGA files. The only thing that might be different about them is that they have a blue transparency background. Is there another way to create a TEX file other than copying it? It seems like it's just the names of the TGA files one after the other: "1.TGA2.TGA3.TGA4.TGA". I have never found any documentation or posts about making a TEX file, so I just assumed people created it in Notepad. Also, unlike my game project, when I try to compile this demo in Code Blocks, it returns an error saying it needs Visual Studio C++? I can still save the project. I don't have Visual Studio. I don't get what the problem is. Any help would be greatly appreciated. UPDATE: I tried copying the original demo TGAs into my copied folder and changing the TEX file back to how it was, but I am still getting an error saying it can't find the files. This makes me think that there is another way to create a TEX file.

8

General Jo Engine Help / Trouble trying to set explosions in shooter game

« on: June 26, 2018, 11:32:58 pm »

I have been trying to figure out how to tie in an explosion that is linked to an enemy ship being destroyed by the laser. I have been working on it for a while, looking through the code sections in the shooter demo. It's obvious where the enemy ships come in and the detection of whether an enemy ship has been hit and deleted, but I can't figure out how to input an explosion image to replace the enemy ship just vanishing into thin air. The closest I got was with adding an inline void and trying to tie it in with enemies being destroyed. It made it through the compiler, but nothing happened. I'm wondering if I need to create a header file for the enemy ship. I don't know if anyone can give me a hint. I know that Johannes considered this, because he left an explosion image in the directory.

9

General Jo Engine Help / Broken Demo

« on: June 18, 2018, 08:23:52 pm »

I updated the engine and noticed that the Shooter Demo is broken. It has to do with the introduction of Storyboard code into it. I was able to transplant the old demo into the new engine, but there are errors when compiling. Specifically, the errors are related to lines 9 and 10 in ship.h and lines 58 and 139 in main.c. Apparently, it has to do with definitions in the engine's type.h file. By commenting out lines 9 and 10, I can get the demo to run.

10

General Jo Engine Help / Can't Get Jo_VDP2 to Work Properly

« on: November 15, 2017, 07:56:08 pm »

I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction. I've researched the Jo_VDP2 entries and associated files. I can get my project to appear in Yabause as 480p, but there are a number of problems. I'm not clear as to how to fully implement this. Can I do this without using the Sega code found in the FPS demo, in the C and header files? Based on the engine code I've looked at, it seems like I should be able to. Yabause says that VDP2 is being used. However, I'm getting black artifacts all over the screen. I can't figure out how to use a TGA bitmap at 1024x512, without it being too large of a file. If I export it from the map editor, it's over 1MB, no matter what the image is. If I try to import a TGA that's 16-bit from a different program, Yabause just gives me a blue screen. I tried converting the BG to a C file, but that crashed Yabause. Do I need to use a tile set background? Even then, wouldn't the total image need to be under 512KB? In Yabause, the 480p works if the background is the normal resolution, but it gets displayed 4x in 4 separate tiles. The polygon/sprite layer is mostly hidden behind the black artifacts that appear to be on the NBG0 layer. If I disable the NGB0 layer display in Yabause, most of the screen clears up. I'm also not clear on what Yabause is doing with the interlacing. I believe it has trouble with that, but I had difficulty finding info on that. I'll be grateful for any help. Thanks.

11

General discussion about the Sega Saturn / My huge guide to taping model 80000 switch and flashing P.S. Kai to ARP!

« on: November 12, 2017, 08:24:38 am »

I just wanted to post a link to my newly published "Ultimate Guide: Tape CD Switch & Flash Pseudo Saturn Kai to ARP on Model 1 (80000)". I couldn't find a guide like this for this specific model's switch, so I made my own. This is for the original N. American model.

12

Share your code / Tutorial: Artificial sun lighting for outside 3D world

« on: November 07, 2017, 06:50:59 pm »

This tutorial is for 3D first-person, third-person, or top-down games. This will emulate the sun. It will get the job done, but not look as nice as current-generation game engines. The effect should be used on a decently-sized 3D map, as the light is bright at the source.

Part 1: Add global float variable underneath the includes.

Code: [Select]

static float        use_light = true;

Part 2: Add apply_effect function.

Code: [Select]

void        apply_effect(void)

    jo_3d_set_mesh_light(&MeshCube, use_light); /* Collada or Wavefront model */
    if (use_texture)
        jo_3d_set_mesh_texture(&MeshCube, 0);

    jo_3d_set_light(&plane, use_light); /* Ground/Floor flat double-sided texture */
    if (use_texture)
        jo_3d_set_texture(&plane, 1);

Part 3: In the jo_main function, we will add the light source variable and the executable line.

Code: [Select]

    jo_3d_light(1.0, 1.0, 1.0); /* Float integers (static seem to be too unwieldy). Change numbers to suit your game. */

    apply_effect(); /* add above jo_core_run(); */

Notes: This code is assuming that you've already placed your landscape items into your code, and have the textures listed in jo_main. Additionally, I came up with error-free code to shine light on a drawn cube, but, for some reason, it won't take effect. Perhaps, someone else will figure that one out.

13

General Jo Engine Help / Question about lighting

« on: November 02, 2017, 06:34:20 pm »

Is there a way to set a global light source (i.e. the sun), rather than having to set it for every object?
EDIT: Right now, I have the light source available globally, but I have to include every object in effects in order to make the light shine on them. It's three lines per item.
Should I just use gouraud shading?

14

Free talk / Favorite Dreamcast game?

« on: November 02, 2017, 02:33:55 am »

Mine is Phantasy Star Online.

15

General discussion about the Sega Saturn / Who has a VCD card?

« on: November 01, 2017, 06:43:15 pm »

I was just curious to see who has a VCD card. I have the final model. I've attached a pic of the box.