retrotechnology Tag Posts Index

Vision BASIC - A New C64 BASIC Compiler

Vision BASIC is the latest in a long, long line of tools intended to speed up the execution of C64 BASIC code. Seems odd in 2022 to be talking about C64 programming

Atari ST STOS Programming: Exploring the ST Filesystem

So far in our Atari ST text adventure using STOS, we have been loading test data via inline data statements. There are some advantages to that, which we can discuss,

Prepare It To Remake It: Cooking Old Magnetic Tape To Recover Data

​ Any of us mature enough might recollect the prime of the text experience game type from the initial time around. London-based Magnetic Scrolls was an early

Retro Computer Adventures with Atari ST

I thought I would cover the upgrades I have been making to my Atari ST machines. Well, I say machine(s) plural, but lately I have been focusing on my Atari 520STFM,

Creating a STOS Text Adventure: Adding Objects and Inventory

Before in our Atari ST text adventure, all we could do is walk around a hastily thrown-together map. We check for a limited set of directional commands, and we then

Atari ST Programming: STOS Text Adventure Engine

While so far in our STOS programming journey we looked at sprites and graphics, it is quite possible to have a fun game experience with only (or mostly) text, so

Atari ST Programming: A Simple Game in STOS

Now we can move sprites in STOS we need to put things together to see how we can actually begin creating playable games. Along the way we will look at some more

Atari ST Programming: STOS BASIC Sprite Movement

In the last part of this STOS BASIC Tutorial we loaded a sprite but it just sat there, let's fix that ... One of the ways that STOS BASIC helps us to build interactive

Atari ST Graphics Programming with STOS BASIC

So far in our STOS Programming Tutorial we have focused on text so now we should really exploit the graphical capabilities, STOS is a game programming language after

Atari ST Programming: Getting Started with STOS BASIC

Now we have our development environment set up let's write some STOS BASIC code. To help us out and save lots of googling, download the STOS manual here and I have

Atari ST Programming: Cross-Development with Modern IDEs

Previously we installed an Atari ST emulator and STOS/Pure C. Today, as well as looking at those, I want to show you a cross-development approach so you can use

Atari ST Programming: STOS and Turbo C

Previously I got my MiSTer set up afresh, and I mentioned part of the motivation was to get back into retro programming. One of the systems closest to my heart is

Retro Computer Development in 2022: Bringing My Retro Dev Machines Up to Date

While on unexpected leave from work due to a bereavement, I found myself with time on my hands but not the emotional capacity to do anything challenging. This meant

Remember Sports Games? (The First Home Video Game System I Ever Played)

While I am delighted with my retro computer and console collection, there is one item missing that causes me sadness. My childhood "TV Sports System" Video

Character Cell to Tiles and Back Again Algorithm

Thankfully, I managed to get the C64 side (and PET and Vic 20!) loading the tiles and maps without having to change too much but it did come down to a lot of scribbled

QB64 Programming - Loading and Saving Binary Files

Following on from my recent articles about my Commodore 64 (and others) Dungeon Delve game that I am building with TRSE. I started work on my level/tile editor using

C64 Tilemap/Level Editor - My First QB64 Project

This weekend I mostly spent my time learning a new-ish version of a programming language from the 1960s I am a big fan of using project ideas as motivation for learning

Working on Dungeons and Dragons in Digital Form

How is gameplay changed when you don't physically roll the dice? Can roleplay even be part of it when you don't have a flesh and blood game master? Since I was a