6 ms·

I have moved to the negative zone after trying the B button. :) http://i.imgur.com/pkZhTCJ.jpg http://i.imgur.com/pkZhTCJ.jpg The screens are positioned corre

I have moved to the negative zone after trying the B button. :) http://i.imgur.com/pkZhTCJ.jpg http://i.imgur.com/pkZhTCJ.jpg The screens are positioned correctly next to each other. ---- Are you writing this in assembly?!

BonsaiDen 12y ago
Yes, it's all written in z80 assembly, although the GameBoy CPU really uses a mix of i8080 and z80 instructions, the mnemonics are all z80. I've also written my own assembler just recently, to have more control over the output and more easily generate debugging information: https://github.com/BonsaiDen/gbasm https://github.com/BonsaiDen/gbasm
- glhaynes 12y ago
  although the GameBoy CPU really uses a mix of i8080 and z80 instructions, the mnemonics are all z80. I'd love to hear more about this if anybody knows and feels like telling about it...
  - userbinator 12y ago
    It's a Z80-like core with some modifications; not all the Z80 instructions and registers are present and some instructions are completely different. Most instructions are the same as the 8080, but all 3 CPUs are not completely binary-compatible. It's neither truly an 8080 with added instructions, nor a Z80 with omitted ones. For comparison: http://pastraiser.com/cpu/gameboy/gameboy_opcodes.html http://pastraiser.com/cpu/gameboy/gameboy_opcodes.html http://pastraiser.com/cpu/i8080/i8080_opcodes.html http://pastraiser.com/cpu/i8080/i8080_opcodes.html
- harwoodr 12y ago
  "my own assembler" - now you're just showing off. :)
  - BonsaiDen 12y ago
    Nah' I would only be showing off if I were to put it onto a real cartrdige and GameBoy, wouldn't I? ;) - https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2332843/tuff.cartridge.jpg https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2332843/tuff.cartridge.j... - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXNEeld8Lq8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXNEeld8Lq8
    - stevelosh 12y ago
      If folks want to try it on a real Gameboy without all the wires, the Drag'n'Derp works pretty well. It's a Gameboy cart with a USB port for easy writing: http://derpcart.com/ http://derpcart.com/
      - BonsaiDen 12y ago
        I was looking at these option initially too, but ended up going for the challenge since, both I read some not-so-good reviews and shipping the thing to germany would probably ended up being at least as expensive as buying the soldering equipment :) Building one of those custom GamePaks takes about ~4 hours once you have all the materials prepared (you really need very, very thin wires!) and putting it together for the first time is one of those finger crossing moments which you'll remember for a really long time :)
        DanBC 12y ago
        I took a cart, removed the game IC, and soldered in a ZIF socket for eproms. And I'm a klutz so it's easy enough. http://www.devrs.com/gb/files/faq.html http://www.devrs.com/gb/files/faq.html
        voltagex_ 12y ago
        Am I right in thinking that GameBoy carts are now a precious resource? We'll run out one day?
        12y ago
- tete 12y ago
  Nice! Also nice that these days Assemblers get written in JavaScript. ;)
  - pjmlp 12y ago
    Well, they used to be written in Basic as well, so given that JavaScript has apparently taken Basic's role....
- jldugger 12y ago
  When I was tinkering with gbdev 15 years ago, we had lcc targetting z80. It seems far less painful to write in C than asm.
  - vegedor 12y ago
    C is just an advanced macro-assembler anyway. Would seem painful enough as soon as speed or size became limited. C then was not as optimized as today. Old games used to be written in assembler, now the eeproms are bigger, the compilers are faster and portable.
harwoodr 12y ago
Holy carp - he is writing it in assembly. https://github.com/BonsaiDen/Tuff.gb/blob/master/src/core/core.gb.s https://github.com/BonsaiDen/Tuff.gb/blob/master/src/core/co... Nice.
- pjmlp 12y ago
  In what language do you imagine GameBoy games were written?
  - adamman 12y ago
    Maybe C? http://gbdk.sourceforge.net/#Highlights http://gbdk.sourceforge.net/#Highlights http://gbdk.sourceforge.net/examples.html http://gbdk.sourceforge.net/examples.html
    - BonsaiDen 12y ago
      That's a "recent" development though :) The original title back in the day were all written in assembly, you really have to squeeze out every single byte and cycle for something like Pokemon or Kirby.
      - judk 12y ago
        Pokemon is turn based with no AI, why would it need cycles?
        arcatek 12y ago
        Because softwares are not the only one to use cycles. For example, in the GB, some memory space is only adressable during a few cycles, and so you have to optimize your code when you wish to update the video ram. If you miss the window, too bad.
    - pjmlp 12y ago
      C was a bloated language for targeting the Gameboy[0]. Only slowly after the 32bit became mainstream, did professional game developers started adopting C. In the 8 and 16 bit days, C (and Pascal dialects) were viewed as C# and Java are nowadays for game development. [0]Using my 80's developer hat.
joshu 12y ago
I got there too.
araes 12y ago
Cool, came here to report the exact same bug. Twitching, and doing the down smash eventually caused me to warp through the floor and initiate an endless fall into white nothingness. [Edit] After exploring some more, the extents of completeness are more obvious. I like the design style, and the art is very evocative. In terms of gameplay, there's a lot of blind jumps that basically end in death (spike and lava rooms to lower right). While I like the quick save mechanic with the light pillars, telegraphing those rapidly changing hazards might be less frustrating. Also, is it currently possible to get to the stuff up to the left?
- BonsaiDen 12y ago
  It's probably not possible at this time. The whole map is just a giant demo level which evolved (and still is) along with the gameplay and other features (like spikes and lava). I've got some rough sketches for the final world as well as the powerup placement, since there are no text boxes in the game, everything will be explained through level design or other hints like enemies or neutral creatures performing certain maneuvers for the player to imitate.

BonsaiDen 12y ago

Yes, it's all written in z80 assembly, although the GameBoy CPU really uses a mix of i8080 and z80 instructions, the mnemonics are all z80. I've also written my own assembler just recently, to have more control over the output and more easily generate debugging information: https://github.com/BonsaiDen/gbasm https://github.com/BonsaiDen/gbasm

glhaynes 12y ago
although the GameBoy CPU really uses a mix of i8080 and z80 instructions, the mnemonics are all z80. I'd love to hear more about this if anybody knows and feels like telling about it...
- userbinator 12y ago
  It's a Z80-like core with some modifications; not all the Z80 instructions and registers are present and some instructions are completely different. Most instructions are the same as the 8080, but all 3 CPUs are not completely binary-compatible. It's neither truly an 8080 with added instructions, nor a Z80 with omitted ones. For comparison: http://pastraiser.com/cpu/gameboy/gameboy_opcodes.html http://pastraiser.com/cpu/gameboy/gameboy_opcodes.html http://pastraiser.com/cpu/i8080/i8080_opcodes.html http://pastraiser.com/cpu/i8080/i8080_opcodes.html
harwoodr 12y ago
"my own assembler" - now you're just showing off. :)
- BonsaiDen 12y ago
  Nah' I would only be showing off if I were to put it onto a real cartrdige and GameBoy, wouldn't I? ;) - https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2332843/tuff.cartridge.jpg https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2332843/tuff.cartridge.j... - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXNEeld8Lq8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXNEeld8Lq8
  - stevelosh 12y ago
    If folks want to try it on a real Gameboy without all the wires, the Drag'n'Derp works pretty well. It's a Gameboy cart with a USB port for easy writing: http://derpcart.com/ http://derpcart.com/
    - BonsaiDen 12y ago
      I was looking at these option initially too, but ended up going for the challenge since, both I read some not-so-good reviews and shipping the thing to germany would probably ended up being at least as expensive as buying the soldering equipment :) Building one of those custom GamePaks takes about ~4 hours once you have all the materials prepared (you really need very, very thin wires!) and putting it together for the first time is one of those finger crossing moments which you'll remember for a really long time :)
      - DanBC 12y ago
        I took a cart, removed the game IC, and soldered in a ZIF socket for eproms. And I'm a klutz so it's easy enough. http://www.devrs.com/gb/files/faq.html http://www.devrs.com/gb/files/faq.html
        voltagex_ 12y ago
        Am I right in thinking that GameBoy carts are now a precious resource? We'll run out one day?
        12y ago
tete 12y ago
Nice! Also nice that these days Assemblers get written in JavaScript. ;)
- pjmlp 12y ago
  Well, they used to be written in Basic as well, so given that JavaScript has apparently taken Basic's role....
jldugger 12y ago
When I was tinkering with gbdev 15 years ago, we had lcc targetting z80. It seems far less painful to write in C than asm.
- vegedor 12y ago
  C is just an advanced macro-assembler anyway. Would seem painful enough as soon as speed or size became limited. C then was not as optimized as today. Old games used to be written in assembler, now the eeproms are bigger, the compilers are faster and portable.

harwoodr 12y ago

Holy carp - he is writing it in assembly. https://github.com/BonsaiDen/Tuff.gb/blob/master/src/core/core.gb.s https://github.com/BonsaiDen/Tuff.gb/blob/master/src/core/co... Nice.

pjmlp 12y ago
In what language do you imagine GameBoy games were written?
- adamman 12y ago
  Maybe C? http://gbdk.sourceforge.net/#Highlights http://gbdk.sourceforge.net/#Highlights http://gbdk.sourceforge.net/examples.html http://gbdk.sourceforge.net/examples.html
  - BonsaiDen 12y ago
    That's a "recent" development though :) The original title back in the day were all written in assembly, you really have to squeeze out every single byte and cycle for something like Pokemon or Kirby.
    - judk 12y ago
      Pokemon is turn based with no AI, why would it need cycles?
      - arcatek 12y ago
        Because softwares are not the only one to use cycles. For example, in the GB, some memory space is only adressable during a few cycles, and so you have to optimize your code when you wish to update the video ram. If you miss the window, too bad.
  - pjmlp 12y ago
    C was a bloated language for targeting the Gameboy[0]. Only slowly after the 32bit became mainstream, did professional game developers started adopting C. In the 8 and 16 bit days, C (and Pascal dialects) were viewed as C# and Java are nowadays for game development. [0]Using my 80's developer hat.

joshu 12y ago

I got there too.

araes 12y ago

Cool, came here to report the exact same bug. Twitching, and doing the down smash eventually caused me to warp through the floor and initiate an endless fall into white nothingness. [Edit] After exploring some more, the extents of completeness are more obvious. I like the design style, and the art is very evocative. In terms of gameplay, there's a lot of blind jumps that basically end in death (spike and lava rooms to lower right). While I like the quick save mechanic with the light pillars, telegraphing those rapidly changing hazards might be less frustrating. Also, is it currently possible to get to the stuff up to the left?

BonsaiDen 12y ago
It's probably not possible at this time. The whole map is just a giant demo level which evolved (and still is) along with the gameplay and other features (like spikes and lava). I've got some rough sketches for the final world as well as the powerup placement, since there are no text boxes in the game, everything will be explained through level design or other hints like enemies or neutral creatures performing certain maneuvers for the player to imitate.