4 ms·

Coding Tricks Used in the C64 Game Seawolves (2025)

142 points by atan2 8mo ago

dorianmariecom 8mo ago
https://archive.is/CvXXP https://archive.is/CvXXP
diydsp 8mo ago
Ah so with splites you can have a 24 pix wide column of arbitrary data that can be slid around left to right....and may act as an "echo" of the players movement like in this game...or possibly even different physics... I love the stacking of boolean ops before branches, too.
Luc 8mo ago
> However, you can save 1 byte of RAM by using the branch instructions instead, as long as you know which flag(s), if any, are guaranteed to be on or off at the jump point. > For example, if you know the carry flag will always be clear at the jump point, and if the jump distance is within branching range, you can replace JMP with BCC. However if the BCC crosses a page boundary it'll take 4 cycles, one cycle longer than a JMP.
empressplay 8mo ago
Interesting stuff! Regarding game sales, other developers have had more success putting their games on physical media (particularly cartridges).
LocalH 8mo ago
From another post on their blog: > having tried to sabotage its Kickstarter campaign back in 2018 by viciously attacking me and attempting to have me "cancelled" for opposing his hysterical far-left views supporting the LGBT agenda and the degenerate filth of unfathomably evil "trans people" aka demonic monsters (views which, for the record as a conservative Christian, I unapologetically find utterly vile and abominable). Flagged because people like this don't need attention
- UI_at_80x24 8mo ago
  This comment does not deserve to be flagged. It is worth knowing the bias of the source as it taints everything it touches.
  - tom_ 8mo ago
    A link to the comment in question would be good. I had a quick go at finding it, but couldn't (though not to say I spent a huge amount of effort on this project). But I agree that it's useful to highlight this kind of thing. If you disagree with the author, you probably won't then want to give them your time and attention, let alone your money. But, on the other hand, if you agree, maybe you'll feel the other way! Which is a roundabout way of describing my favourite thing about the internet, since I'm old enough to remember what it was like Before: whoever your people are, for good or for ill, you'll be able to find them.
    - egypturnash 8mo ago
      yeah, I am a trans lady who was kinda tempted to give this guy six bucks for this insanely overproduced version of a primitive video game, and now I am not gonna do that. <3 > I'm old enough to remember what it was like Before: whoever your people are, for good or for ill, you'll be able to find them. it's still like this, you just have to look a little harder, and be more wary of nazi recruiters than you used to.
    - UI_at_80x24 8mo ago
      Here is the comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47077285 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47077285
      - tom_ 8mo ago
        I meant a link to the blog post including the comment quoted. (I suppose "comment" vs "post" could be a bit ambiguous. Sorry about that.) Anyway, for the record, it's here: https://kodiak64.co.uk/microblog/Parallaxian_Cancelled https://kodiak64.co.uk/microblog/Parallaxian_Cancelled
solarisos 8mo ago
There is something incredibly refreshing about looking at C64 optimizations. Today we throw gigabytes of RAM at simple CRUD apps, while these developers were counting every single cycle and byte. It’s a good reminder that 'efficiency' used to be a core requirement, not an afterthought.
- publicdebates 8mo ago
  And starting fires or making coats used to be forms of art, now we just buy a Zippo and a London Fog and call it an afternoon. Jobs evolve to specialize. I call that progress.
  - kleiba 8mo ago
    And yet there's a difference between a cheaply made coat from an Asian sweat shop and one made with quality materials by a skilled tailor.
    - solarisos 8mo ago
      Exactly. The 'Asian sweat shop' vs. 'skilled tailor' is a perfect analogy for the state of software today. We’ve optimized for speed of delivery (Zippos and fast fashion) but we’ve lost the durability and resource-efficiency that comes from a tailor-made approach. It’s fascinating that in 2026, we’re needing more and more powerful hardware just to keep up with the bloat of basic applications, whereas the Seawolves devs were finding ways to squeeze 'art' out of 64 kilobytes.
      - monkpit 8mo ago
        You’re absolutely right!
    - publicdebates 8mo ago
      And a difference in price that amortizes about the same.

142 points by atan2 8mo ago

https://archive.is/CvXXP https://archive.is/CvXXP

Ah so with splites you can have a 24 pix wide column of arbitrary data that can be slid around left to right....and may act as an "echo" of the players movement like in this game...or possibly even different physics... I love the stacking of boolean ops before branches, too.

Luc 8mo ago

> However, you can save 1 byte of RAM by using the branch instructions instead, as long as you know which flag(s), if any, are guaranteed to be on or off at the jump point. > For example, if you know the carry flag will always be clear at the jump point, and if the jump distance is within branching range, you can replace JMP with BCC. However if the BCC crosses a page boundary it'll take 4 cycles, one cycle longer than a JMP.

empressplay 8mo ago

Interesting stuff! Regarding game sales, other developers have had more success putting their games on physical media (particularly cartridges).

LocalH 8mo ago

From another post on their blog: > having tried to sabotage its Kickstarter campaign back in 2018 by viciously attacking me and attempting to have me "cancelled" for opposing his hysterical far-left views supporting the LGBT agenda and the degenerate filth of unfathomably evil "trans people" aka demonic monsters (views which, for the record as a conservative Christian, I unapologetically find utterly vile and abominable). Flagged because people like this don't need attention

UI_at_80x24 8mo ago
This comment does not deserve to be flagged. It is worth knowing the bias of the source as it taints everything it touches.
- tom_ 8mo ago
  A link to the comment in question would be good. I had a quick go at finding it, but couldn't (though not to say I spent a huge amount of effort on this project). But I agree that it's useful to highlight this kind of thing. If you disagree with the author, you probably won't then want to give them your time and attention, let alone your money. But, on the other hand, if you agree, maybe you'll feel the other way! Which is a roundabout way of describing my favourite thing about the internet, since I'm old enough to remember what it was like Before: whoever your people are, for good or for ill, you'll be able to find them.
  - egypturnash 8mo ago
    yeah, I am a trans lady who was kinda tempted to give this guy six bucks for this insanely overproduced version of a primitive video game, and now I am not gonna do that. <3 > I'm old enough to remember what it was like Before: whoever your people are, for good or for ill, you'll be able to find them. it's still like this, you just have to look a little harder, and be more wary of nazi recruiters than you used to.
  - UI_at_80x24 8mo ago
    Here is the comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47077285 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47077285
    - tom_ 8mo ago
      I meant a link to the blog post including the comment quoted. (I suppose "comment" vs "post" could be a bit ambiguous. Sorry about that.) Anyway, for the record, it's here: https://kodiak64.co.uk/microblog/Parallaxian_Cancelled https://kodiak64.co.uk/microblog/Parallaxian_Cancelled

solarisos 8mo ago

There is something incredibly refreshing about looking at C64 optimizations. Today we throw gigabytes of RAM at simple CRUD apps, while these developers were counting every single cycle and byte. It’s a good reminder that 'efficiency' used to be a core requirement, not an afterthought.

publicdebates 8mo ago
And starting fires or making coats used to be forms of art, now we just buy a Zippo and a London Fog and call it an afternoon. Jobs evolve to specialize. I call that progress.
- kleiba 8mo ago
  And yet there's a difference between a cheaply made coat from an Asian sweat shop and one made with quality materials by a skilled tailor.
  - solarisos 8mo ago
    Exactly. The 'Asian sweat shop' vs. 'skilled tailor' is a perfect analogy for the state of software today. We’ve optimized for speed of delivery (Zippos and fast fashion) but we’ve lost the durability and resource-efficiency that comes from a tailor-made approach. It’s fascinating that in 2026, we’re needing more and more powerful hardware just to keep up with the bloat of basic applications, whereas the Seawolves devs were finding ways to squeeze 'art' out of 64 kilobytes.
    - monkpit 8mo ago
      You’re absolutely right!
  - publicdebates 8mo ago
    And a difference in price that amortizes about the same.