20x30, 40x15, 20x15 text mode

[TomXP411]

3 hours ago, paulscottrobson said:

This is as you say easy enough. The problem seems to be getting back again. It's fine if you crossdevelop as most people are doing, but if it's supposed to work as a standalone system it's a bit ropey.

The intent is not to go back again... the point was to test this configuration and suggest it to Michael as the default state of the machine, not to use it on an ad-hoc basis.

 

[James Anders Banks]

Can anyone give up to date info on the likely size of the text modes if (or when!) the X16C comes into existence (I realise it may be the same on all machines)?

Last I saw, I believe in one of the two "dream computer" videos, they would likely be:

80 columns by 60 rows

80 x 30

40 x 60

40 x 30

20 x 30

20 x 15

I'm sure this is discussed in documentation somewhere but I think posting on here is the only way to ensure I get up to date info as someone will know if the docs online are out of date in this regard.

Thanks for any help.

 

[SlithyMatt]

On 8/27/2021 at 2:52 PM, James Anders Banks said:

Can anyone give up to date info on the likely size of the text modes if (or when!) the X16C comes into existence (I realise it may be the same on all machines)?

There are really only two text modes, both of them 80x60, with the default being 16 colors for any character's background and foreground, and the other being a fixed background color with 256 foreground colors. You can then adjust the vertical and horizontal scales if the display. Pixel-for-pixel scaling means setting each scale value to 128, which is the default. You can double up the pixels in both dimensions by setting them to 64, which gives you 40x30, and so on. 

Also, the text layer can be scrolled around, and and the default tile map is actually 128x64, so there are a bunch of characters off screen. Scaling up allows you to make the tile map smaller, giving you more VRAM for other things, like a second layer or sprites.

[TomXP411]

1 hour ago, SlithyMatt said:

There are really only two text modes, both of them 80x60, with the default being 16 colors for any character's background and foreground, and the other being a fixed background color with 256 foreground colors. You can then adjust the vertical and horizontal scales if the display. Pixel-for-pixel scaling means setting each scale value to 128, which is the default. You can double up the pixels in both dimensions by setting them to 64, which gives you 40x30, and so on. 

You can set the screen to 40x30 characters with the F4 key or SCREEN 0 

This (probably) still uses the same memory layout as 80x60, which is actually 128 columns and 60 rows. Regardless, it would be nice for the KERNAL to support 80x30 mode.

I don't particularly care about 20 column modes (although I guess some people might want 22 column modes to make it easier to port VIC-20 games), but I really do want something that resembles the standard of 80x25 for ANSI terminal emulation. 80x30 is close enough: I can use the lower 5 rows for status information, but not having an actual 80x25 (or 80x30) mode supported by the KERNAL is annoying. 

[Michael Steil]

This is implemented now. https://github.com/commanderx16/x16-rom/commit/674f6e036463f1af09be3a38298d2e04f4cdab08

The new screen modes are documented here: https://github.com/commanderx16/x16-docs/blob/master/Commander X16 Programmer's Reference Guide.md#screen

[kelli217]

On 3/28/2022 at 4:23 PM, Michael Steil said:

This is implemented now. https://github.com/commanderx16/x16-rom/commit/674f6e036463f1af09be3a38298d2e04f4cdab08



The new screen modes are documented here: https://github.com/commanderx16/x16-docs/blob/master/Commander X16 Programmer's Reference Guide.md#screen

You are a total rockstar!

[TomXP411]

On 3/28/2022 at 2:23 PM, Michael Steil said:

This is implemented now. https://github.com/commanderx16/x16-rom/commit/674f6e036463f1af09be3a38298d2e04f4cdab08



The new screen modes are documented here: https://github.com/commanderx16/x16-docs/blob/master/Commander X16 Programmer's Reference Guide.md#screen

First - thank you. The 80x30 mode is really needed, and the other modes will be nice for tile based games and programs, too.

On that topic... what are your thoughts about changing the default text mode to screen 1 (80x30)? This would look a lot more like the "professional" computers of the 80s, which usually had an 80x25 display. I do like the 60 row screen for editing, but for general use and most text-based software, 80x30 really does look better and is more readable. 

 

[SlithyMatt]

I like the 80x30 mode. I use it for the Patreon screen on my videos, and it looks better than the stubby 80x60 square characters, at least in that case. It would be nice if that was supported with a proper screen mode so that BASIC scrolling works properly.

[JimmyDansbo]

On 4/6/2022 at 9:50 PM, SlithyMatt said:

I like the 80x30 mode. I use it for the Patreon screen on my videos, and it looks better than the stubby 80x60 square characters, at least in that case. It would be nice if that was supported with a proper screen mode so that BASIC scrolling works properly.

I see no problem with scrolling in mode $01 (80x30) with R39?

[SlithyMatt]

On 4/7/2022 at 1:33 AM, JimmyDansbo said:

I see no problem with scrolling in mode $01 (80x30) with R39?

I haven't tried it yet, I guess!