🚀 go-pugleaf

To: coco@pucc.princeton.edu
Reply-To: knudsen@ihades.att.com


>Mike K ... DINO WARS would have made a great CoCo 3 conversion.  The way
>they did software "scaling" was amazing - scaling is something big game
>consoles brag about, but DW did it quite easily, being able to let you walk
>to the far horizon and get so tiny.  Imazine it with CoCo 3 graphics, better
>sound, and better background - it woulda been a BIG hit with Jurassic Park!
>                Allen

Yeah.  I remember those dinos turning into just a few big square pixels
as the loser wandered off into the horizon, crying his heart out...
I always wondered if the game recalculated the shapes from a big
dino image, or were the various sizes prestored.  Given the 4K
(8K?) ROM limit, probably DID calculate 'em on the fly.  And why
not, since OUR micro has a Multiply instruction?!?

And remember how the score number would show up big, then scale
down to tiny corner of the screen, like some modern TVs?  Scaling again.

I forgot -- another great game idea, but damaged by coarse 4K grafix,
was "Skiing."  True 3D projection, and hidden-line clipping --
some distant scenery would disappear when you went down into valley,
and reappear when you crested the hill.  I used to get dizzy
playing that thing.

Both DinoWars and Skiing would really benefit from even mid-res
Coco 1/2 grafix, but yeah, let's see 'em in 320x16 colors like
Rescue on Fractalus.

Speaking of 6809 scaling, I still have 3 Vectrex machines -- now
there was a terrific game system.  Totally smooth scaling as
objects came and went, and brightness changed too.  If only they'd
had a decent joystick, and stayed in biz longer...
--mike k

PS: I still have all those Coco game carts, tapes, and disks.
Haven't used the rec-room Coco in a year or so, but may decide to
revisit my [son's] childhood over TG weekend.

PPS: Knowing what dinos evolved into, see JP and when you carve up
that big critter Thursday, get revenge!  And give thanks them
suckers really are extinct.