reboot command makes 263 scanlines

[+atari2600land]

I don't know if anyone else is aware of this, but when I use the "reboot" command in bB, it always makes the number of scanlines go up to 263. I wonder if there's a way to fix this so it stays constant at 262.

[+Random Terrain]

I thought we avoided reboot anyway since it can screw up random numbers and you can't keep a high score if you use it?

[+atari2600land]

What if you're making a game with no random numbers or score?

[+Random Terrain]

What if you're making a game with no random numbers or score?

Then the game probably sucks.

[+atari2600land]

Somehow I knew you were gonna say that.

[+Random Terrain]

Somehow I knew you were gonna say that.

And I knew you were going to say that. Now that we are done being psychic, we can go back to making buggy, low-quality, unpolished games that even Mythicon wouldn't release.

[+atari2600land]

I bet you hate me and want me dead, RT, don't you?

[+Random Terrain]

I bet you hate me and want me dead, RT, don't you?

 

Don't blame your suicide fantasies on me. You might want to try a vitamin B complex and chill out. And I don't hate you, I hate the demon that lives under your bed.

[SeaGtGruff]

I don't know if anyone else is aware of this, but when I use the "reboot" command in bB, it always makes the number of scanlines go up to 263. I wonder if there's a way to fix this so it stays constant at 262.

I haven't looked at the reboot code yet, but if it jumps to the page-zero-clearing startup routine, then I'm surprised it stays so close to 262 lines when you use it. Personally, I expect the screen to jump or blink when I press the RESET console switch to reboot a game, due to either one short frame (fewer than 262 lines) or one long frame (more than 262 lines) at the moment of reset. But if it only goes up by 1 line, then maybe there *is* a way to keep it at a steady 262 lines? It's certainly worth a look. On the other hand, I wonder if it makes a difference where you put the reboot command? Are you using it right after a drawscreen command, or somewhere else?

 

Michael

[SeaGtGruff]

I just did a simple test program, and it does matter where you put it. When I tried it one way, the screen went to 264 lines. Another way, it went to 291 lines. Yet another way, it seems to flicker between two different line counts and I can't tell what they are.

 

  rem * this goes to 264 lines
loop
  drawscreen
  if switchreset then reboot
  goto loop

 

  rem * this goes to 291 lines
loop
  if switchreset then reboot
  drawscreen
  goto loop

 

  rem * this flickers between different counts
loop
  drawscreen
  if switchreset then drawscreen : reboot
  goto loop

Michael

 

 

 

[+atari2600land]

I did some more examining, and with the present code it's at now, when pressing F2 (reset in Stella), the screen count goes to 263 for one frame, then up to 277 for one frame, then back down to the standard 262. I use reboot in this code @ lines 232 and 338.

stacker2_121610_v3.bas.bin

[+atari2600land]

funny, I made the second scanline count reduce itself from 272 to 264 by putting "drawscreen" at the beginning of that program.