Magellan

[sometimes99er]

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Edited April 6, 2015 by sometimes99er

[artrag]

 

I second this. To work with multiple images I have to set up a different map project for each one.

 

You can add multiple maps in the same project, only you have to plot it manually and you cannot import images without disrupting the tiles you have already for previous maps

[+OLD CS1]

 

You can add multiple maps in the same project, only you have to plot it manually and you cannot import images without disrupting the tiles you have already for previous maps

 

Which is what I was attempting to do and the results. I want to also convert some screens to full TI bitmap screens (like title and load screens, etc.) but I believe there is another utility which will do this.

 

Stepping over to the bitmap mode conversation for a second, one thing I could really use full bitmap for my current project is for shadowing. Given a background pattern of medium blue on black background, to make a shadowy appearance I could just put dark blue on black on that color table entry. In a half-bitmap mode I would need separate patterns for a shadow on the background. I am thinking that even with the waste of VDP RAM I will opt for full bitmap mode just for the ease of doing this. I do not see me using VDP RAM for much else.

Edited September 19, 2014 by OLD CS1

[+OLD CS1]

I am working in Convert9918 to capture some of the bitmap images I will want for title and loader screens, etc. Between Magellan and Convert9918, I think I have what I need to get started with the graphics. Now I just need better ASM-Fu

[+OLD CS1]

I am trying to import a 2-bit GIF (B&W) image, but no matter what options I set Magellan keeps starting at character 0. I want it to start at 32 so I can export into BASIC or XB. Any idea what is causing this.

[Asmusr]

I am trying to import a 2-bit GIF (B&W) image, but no matter what options I set Magellan keeps starting at character 0. I want it to start at 32 so I can export into BASIC or XB. Any idea what is causing this.

 

Perhaps you can use Tools/Replace Characters to move the characters from 0 to 32?

 

Replace this: 32

With this: 0

Tick all boxes

Repeat for next N-1 characters.

 

If you have more than 32 characters so you have an overlap, you have to move them in two steps.

[+OLD CS1]

I am having another issue with a lot of graphics. If there is a block with nothing in it -- in the case of a two-color the block is filled with the background color - Magellan defines the block as all >FF then consumes an entire character set for just that block. Any way I can prevent this from happening? I tried setting the screen background to the same color as the graphic image background with no positive result.

[+OLD CS1]

Another question: in the assembly export, Magellan generated this map:

MD0    DATA >8080,>8080,>8080,>8182    ;
       DATA >8380,>8080,>8485,>8680    ;
       DATA >8080,>8788,>898A,>8B8C    ;
       DATA >8D8E,>8E8E,>8FXX          ;
* -- Map Row 1 --                       
       DATA >8080,>8080,>9091,>9293    ;
       DATA >8080,>8094,>9596,>9798    ;
       DATA >999A,>9B9C,>9D9E,>9FA0    ;
       DATA >A1A2,>A380,>80XX          ;
* -- Map Row 2 --                       
       DATA >808A,>A4A5,>A6A7,>A8A9    ;
       DATA >AAAB,>ACAD,>AEAF,>B0B1    ;
       DATA >B2B3,>B4B5,>B6B7,>B8B9    ;
       DATA >BABB,>BCBD,>80XX          ;
* -- Map Row 3 --                       
       DATA >BEBF,>C080,>8080,>8080    ;
       DATA >8080,>8080,>C1C2,>C3C4    ;
       DATA >C5C6,>C780,>8080,>8080    ;
       DATA >8080,>8080,>80XX          ;

What does the XX at the end of each set do? Is it an assembler place-holder of some sort? (obviously I have not tried to assemble, yet, as I am still building the program.)

[Asmusr]

Another question: in the assembly export, Magellan generated this map:

MD0    DATA >8080,>8080,>8080,>8182    ;
       DATA >8380,>8080,>8485,>8680    ;
       DATA >8080,>8788,>898A,>8B8C    ;
       DATA >8D8E,>8E8E,>8FXX          ;
* -- Map Row 1 --                       
       DATA >8080,>8080,>9091,>9293    ;
       DATA >8080,>8094,>9596,>9798    ;
       DATA >999A,>9B9C,>9D9E,>9FA0    ;
       DATA >A1A2,>A380,>80XX          ;
* -- Map Row 2 --                       
       DATA >808A,>A4A5,>A6A7,>A8A9    ;
       DATA >AAAB,>ACAD,>AEAF,>B0B1    ;
       DATA >B2B3,>B4B5,>B6B7,>B8B9    ;
       DATA >BABB,>BCBD,>80XX          ;
* -- Map Row 3 --                       
       DATA >BEBF,>C080,>8080,>8080    ;
       DATA >8080,>8080,>C1C2,>C3C4    ;
       DATA >C5C6,>C780,>8080,>8080    ;
       DATA >8080,>8080,>80XX          ;

What does the XX at the end of each set do? Is it an assembler place-holder of some sort? (obviously I have not tried to assemble, yet, as I am still building the program.)

 

I think it must be because you have an odd number of rows.

[Asmusr]

I am having another issue with a lot of graphics. If there is a block with nothing in it -- in the case of a two-color the block is filled with the background color - Magellan defines the block as all >FF then consumes an entire character set for just that block. Any way I can prevent this from happening? I tried setting the screen background to the same color as the graphic image background with no positive result.

 

I you send me an example I will take a look at it. Perhaps it's not a bad idea to use the current background color to indicate then background in the imported image?

[Asmusr]

I am having another issue with a lot of graphics. If there is a block with nothing in it -- in the case of a two-color the block is filled with the background color - Magellan defines the block as all >FF then consumes an entire character set for just that block. Any way I can prevent this from happening? I tried setting the screen background to the same color as the graphic image background with no positive result.

 

Here's the latest version with a few improvements to the Import Map Image function:

• Graphics 1 color mode has been improved to better fit characters to color sets.
• In bitmap color mode you can indicate the desired character background color by setting the screen background color. I have also fixed a major bug in the color matching.
• In all color modes you can choose at which character index to start importing (multiples of 8 only).

Magellan_windows-x64_2_1_2.zip

Magellan_windows_2_1_2.zip

magellan-2.1.2.zip

[+OLD CS1]

Hot damn! Thank you, sir!

[+InsaneMultitasker]

Rasmus - a few questions/thoughts on this great tool:

 

1. Is there a way to quickly clone an entire map to a new map, aside from selecting a region to clone?

 

2. When I use the "look at character" tool, I see the associated decimal/hex character number displayed but I have trouble finding the character set it belongs to. It might help to display the set name and offset similar to how you show the character numbers? I know there is a light red square around the character but it is tough to discern and disappears if you move the mouse to edit the character

 

3. Is there a way to adjust the character set grid colors? For certain color combinations, like dark yellow on light yellow, the light grid outline/background makes it tough to see the contrast to tell what the character looks like.

 

My comments are based on using Magellan to create a graphics mode 1 screen. Thanks

 

Edit: Is there a way to inhibit closing Magellan if you haven't saved your project? I made the mistake of closing the program and just now realized there was nothing saved

Edited March 28, 2015 by InsaneMultitasker

[Asmusr]

Re 1: No, but it's not very difficult to do using the clone tool if you zoom to Mag 1 or 2 first,

Re 2: I agree it can be difficult to see the red border. This could probably be improved simply by changing the color and width of the border.

Re 3: There is not way to do this at the moment, sorry.

Re saving: I agree this would be a good feature, and this is indeed the behavior of most programs.

 

There seems to be a renewed interest in Magellan, so I might look into making some improvements. I would also like to add a sprite editor with support for sprite overlays (as Retroclouds once suggested).

[Opry99er]

Excellent!!! Thank you for the responses and your continued support of Magellan!

 

 

Rasmus, perhaps a simple message "Would You Like To Save?" when the X is clicked at the top of the program window?

 

@Insane: I click "SAVE" just about every time I make a change I like. I do the same in Notepad++. You just never know.....

[+InsaneMultitasker]

Re 1: No, but it's not very difficult to do using the clone tool if you zoom to Mag 1 or 2 first,

Re 2: I agree it can be difficult to see the red border. This could probably be improved simply by changing the color and width of the border.

Re 3: There is not way to do this at the moment, sorry.

Re saving: I agree this would be a good feature, and this is indeed the behavior of most programs.

 

There seems to be a renewed interest in Magellan, so I might look into making some improvements. I would also like to add a sprite editor with support for sprite overlays (as Retroclouds once suggested).

The zooming idea made a big difference. I also discovered I had v1.9beta, which was slower and seemed to mess up my mouse clicks.

 

Like Owen, I started saving more frequently and have been using additional maps when I want to test something.

 

Thanks for the ideas and responses for this great tool!

[+InsaneMultitasker]

Re 3: There is not way to do this at the moment, sorry.

I was reading Owen's Magellan baby steps thread and noticed a snapshot where his character grid had black border/background. I tried to figure out the difference and realized that his SCREEN color was set to black where mine was still set to the default of transparent.

 

I flipped the screen color to black and it gave me some nice contrast in the character sets. However, if the color is different between maps, changing to the next map results in a character-by-character sloooow reset of each character's background. Kinda strange. I'll keep learning

[Asmusr]

Here's the first beta version with support for sprite editing. It *is* a beta version, and I haven't tested it much, so be prepared to run into some bugs. I'm releasing it now because I would like your input on the functionality.

 

There are several sprite editors for the TI already, so the reason for making another one is to be able to use sprites as overlays to character/tile maps as a means to add more detail to the graphics. However, you don't have to use this functionality, you can also use the editor for normal sprites, and here the advantage is that you can keep maps and sprites together in one program. Finally, as the only program I'm aware of, Magellan supports F18A sprites with more colors (4-color ECM2 and 8-color ECM3).

 

It should be simple to use the sprite editor if you're accustomed to Magellan for tiles. You switch to the Sprites tab and click on one of the 64 sprite patterns to edit. The same editor functions as for tiles are now available. To add a sprite to a map, just click on the map and the selected sprite will be added. Use right-click to remove the top sprite from the map. The placement of sprites is limited to 8 pixel boundaries in the same way as for tiles. I think this is preferable to pixel precision, but let me know if you disagree. Note that all sprites are 16x16 pixels - I'm not planning to support 8x8 sprites.

 

You can set the color of a sprite pattern by clicking the palette. Here I ran into a small problem, because on the TI multiple sprites can share a pattern but have different colors. In Magellan you're editing the sprite *patterns*, and it is the placement of a sprite pattern on a map that corresponds to a sprite instance on the TI. So in reality you should be able to place the same pattern on the map in different colors, but that has not been implemented (not yet, at least).

 

Another issue that has been puzzling me is whether Magellan should try to deal with the limitations of sprites on the TI (you can only have 32 sprites on the screen and only 4 sprites visible on a given scanline). I decided not to deal with that, because Magellan cannot know how big a window of the map is going to be shown in the end product and whether a sprite rotating scheme is used etc. So any limitations on how many sprites you can place on a map and where you can place them is up to you .

 

It is possible to layer multiple sprites patterns on the map for a multicolor effect, but I have not implemented multicolor editing of single patterns in Graphics I color mode. However, you can switch to one of the F18A modes (ECM2 or ECM3) to produce multicolor sprites for the TI. Here you can choose the palette (of 4 or 8 colors) associated with each sprite and change the colors within the palettes (by double clicking). This is the same functionality as for tiles. Note that the ECM mode is the same in Magellan for tiles and sprites, but on the F18A the modes can be chosen independently.

 

The functionality that I have spent least time on in the beta version (and where I would like your input) is the export options. I have implemented an export format for Assembler Data, but I’m not sure which format would be best for exporting the sprite map overlay. Right now it’s a simple list of coordinates and pattern numbers. I guess the XB format should include at least the sprite patterns, but I’m not sure if sprite overlays would be useful at all in XB? I haven’t written more than a few lines XB since I returned to the TI, so I really don’t have a clue about the best format.

magellan-3.0.beta.zip

Magellan_windows_3_0_beta.zip

Magellan_windows-x64_3_0_beta.zip

[+retroclouds]

Thank you! Will play with it later. Magellan is coming along real nice! :-)

 

I used sprites in the Tuthankham bitmap title screen. Will try it out with Magellan.

Remember having troubles importing the bitmap in Magellan, but that was with an old version.

So will try again

[Asmusr]

Thank you! Will play with it later. Magellan is coming along real nice! :-)

 

I used sprites in the Tuthankham bitmap title screen. Will try it out with Magellan.

Remember having troubles importing the bitmap in Magellan, but that was with an old version.

So will try again

 

Beware that Magellan only supports one character set of 256 characters (aka half bitmap mode), so you can usually not import a full bitmap mode screen with up to 768 characters unless there's a lot of repetitions.

[sometimes99er]

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Edited April 6, 2015 by sometimes99er

[Asmusr]

Latest beta version with a few bugs fixes.

 

One thing I forgot to mention is that the Import VRAM Dump function now also works with sprites, so you can dump the VDP memory from Classic99 and import it into Magellan to see the sprite patterns. Try the attached dump from Road Hunter (color mode should be set to Graphics I). Note that the sprite patterns will only get the right colors if they are visible on screen.

 

Oh yes, I also added a very primitive function to import sprite patterns from a 16 color indexed image file.

magellan-3.0.beta2.zip

Magellan_windows_3_0_beta_2.zip

Magellan_windows-x64_3_0_beta_2.zip

VDPDUMP.BIN

[artrag]

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Edited April 15, 2015 by artrag

[artrag]

Very good! Any plan to support v9938 and its terrible multicolour sprites?

[Asmusr]

Very good! Any plan to support v9938 and its terrible multicolour sprites?

 

Sorry no, they are too terrible for my taste .