Would a simple F18A palette tweaking tool be a cool tool to have?

[+pixelpedant]

Here's what I was thinking:

 

In F18A programs which modify the palette, this can have the entertaining consequence of displaying standard graphics in whatever modified palette for subsequent purposes, if reset during display of the modified palette. 

 

So for example, this is the start screen and this is TI-Writer, after resetting from Super TI-99 Bros:

 

 

 

So my question is - particularly with the help of the FinalGROM's ability to select any new cart without powering off the system - wouldn't it be cool to have a palette tweaking tool which effectively allows you to modify the palette before going into Multiplan, or TI-Writer, or E/A, or whatever. 

 

So that if your favourite application uses Grey on Blue, but you'd rather it used Black on Cyan, you can modify the palette accordingly, from a simple menu. 

 

There are so many programs which really only use a text color and background color that giving them alternate two-color palettes in this way would be pretty simple. 

 

 

 

[Asmusr]

I have often thought about making an OSD palette tool using the F18A bitmap overlay triggered by a key press, but unfortunately it would be wiped out by most software. Maybe if it was loaded from Force Command's autoexec?

[+retroclouds]

14 hours ago, pixelpedant said:

Here's what I was thinking:

 

In F18A programs which modify the palette, this can have the entertaining consequence of displaying standard graphics in whatever modified palette for subsequent purposes, if reset during display of the modified palette. 

 

So for example, this is the start screen and this is TI-Writer, after resetting from Super TI-99 Bros:

 

 

 

So my question is - particularly with the help of the FinalGROM's ability to select any new cart without powering off the system - wouldn't it be cool to have a palette tweaking tool which effectively allows you to modify the palette before going into Multiplan, or TI-Writer, or E/A, or whatever. 

 

So that if your favourite application uses Grey on Blue, but you'd rather it used Black on Cyan, you can modify the palette accordingly, from a simple menu. 

 

There are so many programs which really only use a text color and background color that giving them alternate two-color palettes in this way would be pretty simple. 

 

 

 

I think that is a very cool idea!

[Tursi]

I thought someone wrote such a tool already for Omega? Or did that just load a fixed palette?

 

[+pixelpedant]

Well, a tool which you created, Tursi, and which I think Omega asked for, serves as a roundabout way to access this behaviour, since Slideshow99 can load custom F18A palette values based on user-generated content.  Don't know of anything more specific, but am naturally interested. 

[Tursi]

5 hours ago, pixelpedant said:

Well, a tool which you created, Tursi, and which I think Omega asked for, serves as a roundabout way to access this behaviour, since Slideshow99 can load custom F18A palette values based on user-generated content.  Don't know of anything more specific, but am naturally interested. 

Yeah, but at some point he was talking about a tool that specifically changed the palette. I guess since nobody is speaking up it was nobody who is still here, or I dimension hopped again.

 

Slideshow99 is supposed to restore the palette when you exit

 

[+pixelpedant]

But same as I did for the Super TI Bros palette switch up there, that doesn't happen if I use a FinalGROM reset button as a restart mechanism. 

 

And I can get a "lovely" naturalistic TI-99 palette, out of resetting from a paletted F18A slide of photo

 

[+OLD CS1]

2 hours ago, Tursi said:

I dimension hopped again.

Stop that, unless you are going to bring back trinkets.

[+jedimatt42]

There was this tool from @Asmusr called PALEA5 : 

 

I'll see if I can provide a ForceCommand tool for arbitrary palette manipulation. I've been needing to add the default palette reset feature on startup anyway.  ( borrowing the default palette declared as PALT in slideshow99 )

 

Edited June 13, 2021 by jedimatt42

[Tursi]

9 hours ago, OLD CS1 said:

Stop that, unless you are going to bring back trinkets.

NOW you're talking!

[Tursi]

8 hours ago, jedimatt42 said:

I'll see if I can provide a ForceCommand tool for arbitrary palette manipulation. I've been needing to add the default palette reset feature on startup anyway.  ( borrowing the default palette declared as PALT in slideshow99 )

That should have come from Matt, so it should be valid

 

[+jedimatt42]

 

Palette tweaking tool built into Force Command 1.21

 

Playing parsec with a white on black palette changes gameplay, as you cannot tell if you've hit enemies once already... 

 

PALETTE 0 0 FFF FFF FFF FFF FFF FFF FFF FFF FFF FFF FFF FFF FFF FFF

 

[+pixelpedant]

Extremely cool. Thanks for adding this!

 

I had been trying to come up with all sorts of practical applications for palette changes (I really like coding on a black background in my day-to-day, so it'd be nice to try that on TI-99).

 

But if I'm being honest, this is mostly going to be endless entertainment screwing around with stupid and impractical palettes.  And I shall enjoy every minute of it.