The Colecovision Programmers Manual

[Captain Cozmos]

From Richard Drushel has parts that are really unreadable, especially in the Graphics Generation areas and appendices.

If anyone has an enhanced copy can you please share it.

I've been attempting to use Adobe but maybe it's my limited knowledge for enhancing 30 year old scanned documents that have major issues.

So far, what I have been able to do is convert as much to text, copy and paste then fill in the broken portions.

Although this kind of works I am finding that it may be easier and faster just to rewrite the paragraphs entirely while using Adobe to posibly enhance the text to a readable format in order to transcribe it.

This is a portion.

 

OLD_SCREEN is a buffer for saving the pattern names which are
overwritten in the process of displaying an object. These names
constitute a "background frame" which has the same X and Y_EXTENTs as
the frame of the object which is currently being displayed. The data
structure within OLD_SCREEN is the same as the data structure for a
frame with two extra bytes tacked on at the beginning. These bytes,
X_PAT_POS and Y_PAT_POS, indicate where in the pattern plane this
background frame belongs and are expressed in terms of pattern plane
positions. The next time the position or frame of this object is
changed PUT_OBJECT will restore the background frame to the display
and save a "new" background frame before placing the object on the
pattern plane.

 

You could barely read what it was before that.

So, I may redo the entire manual, put it into a PDF set then give it back to the community when it's completed.
So, if anyone wants to share what they have as long as it's better than the current archived version then please share to make it easier to complete the task.

This is how I got from A to B.
I started to work on Shamus DX.

I needed better pattern routines.
I could not find the info or read it from this book.  No one has examples.
I made my own routines but they are lacking in some features.

I disassemble games to find pattern routines.

Now I am enhancing the original book to understand the routines I found.

At this rate, I will never get anything completed.

 

O3 Cozmos

[Captain Cozmos]

Update....
I found a tool that is not ADOBE and converts these documents, at a slow pace, but recovers most everything that I need to fix the errors.
I have recovered a large portion of the graphics routines and how to use them.
I am starting with that first and you would be surprised how powerful they really are.

I have no idea how or why their use has been lost over time but I am bringing them back for everyone to use.

Edited September 16, 2023 by Captain Cozmos

[TimWallace]

I would love to get a copy of this document. Are you making it available for others to use to forward the hobby?

[NIAD]

5 hours ago, TimWallace said:

I would love to get a copy of this document. Are you making it available for others to use to forward the hobby?

You can find it here: (AdamArchive.Org) - The home for everything ADAM

 

I can not attest to the quality throughout, but what I looked at was very legible. I have two versions of this manual and will have to check the zip file on the ADAM Archive to see which one I uploaded or if I included both on the zip file.

 

EDIT: just checked, the original and updated scans are included in the zip file, but again, you'll have to download and look thru the pages to see if there are any issues with quality.

 

Edited October 11, 2023 by NIAD

[Captain Cozmos]

49 minutes ago, NIAD said:

You can find it here: (AdamArchive.Org) - The home for everything ADAM

 

I can not attest to the quality throughout, but what I looked at was very legible. I have two versions of this manual and will have to check the zip file on the ADAM Archive to see which one I uploaded or if I included both on the zip file.

 

EDIT: just checked, the original and updated scans are included in the zip file, but again, you'll have to download and look thru the pages to see if there are any issues with quality.

 

After 40 years the quality should have been redone.
I was keeping this under wraps until it was complete but here is a portion of the graphics I've been working on.

It's the 21st century.  Enough with the old world, blurred out pages and dos hacks.
 

The Colecovision PGM.pdf

Edited October 11, 2023 by Captain Cozmos

[+dhe]

Nice work Captain!

[Captain Cozmos]

8 minutes ago, dhe said:

Nice work Captain!

There's more to come.
I plan to restore, re-edit, the entire manual.
I do not mean change it in a re-edit but to have it clear, proper font, a proper table of contents, that kind of thing.
No charge, no publishing, just update it for the community.

If someone wants to complain then there is always the original.  Uncut and blurry.

I am also working on a proper ADAM manual with the updated EOS 7 disassembly.

Edited October 12, 2023 by Captain Cozmos

[zyzzle]

That will be a very welcomed and appreciate contribution! It's good to have readable documents in the 21st century, I agree!

[+dhe]

One area that I really appreciate when manuals are redone, is screen shots.

 

A color screen capture from MAME or other emulators, sure beats a fuzzy black and white, postage stamp size picture taken of a screen with a camera back during the 80's! 😃