what programming was used to make PSIV?

[Saner]

just curious. was it C++ or something? and is programming a game like PSIV not even
something people would give a name to what methods they used? cause there's the programming, and then there's the tools they used to program and create the graphics,
sprites, effects, etc. etc.

[Ryna]

68000 Assembler was the primary choice for programming games on the Sega Genesis. I figure Phantasy Star IV used the same language.

[Saner]

okay thanks! :)

http://www.easy68k.com/index.html


http://www.atarimagazines.com/v4n1/68000.html

@_________@ how are videogames made with such a complex language??!!!!??
these people have to be freaking robots that work in teams to make them work, which
is a compliment to how smart and hardworking they are. o.o;

[Ryna]

okay thanks! :)

http://www.easy68k.com/index.html


http://www.atarimagazines.com/v4n1/68000.html

@_________@ how are videogames made with such a complex language??!!!!??
these people have to be freaking robots that work in teams to make them work, which
is a compliment to how smart and hardworking they are. o.o;

I used to write multi-thousand x86 Assember programs. It isn't a pleasant task, but certainly not as hard as you make it out to be. After looking over the instruction set for the 68000, it seems to be easier than x86.

[HUnewearl_Meira]

Assembly languages are actually the simplest of programming languages-- they do nothing automatically. The drawback to this utter simplicity is that they require the programmer to anticipate every individual step. This makes these languages exceptionally powerful; generally, a program written in an assembly language can run on hardware without an operating system, since they're made to manipulate the processor directly. I believe that the Dreamcast was the first console that didn't rely primarily on some manner of assembly language; it ran on a Windows CE-based operating system, thus providing a framework for DirectX-style, pre-compiled libraries that are accessible by languages such as C and C++.

[Akaimizu]

That's right about the Dreamcast, sort of. Actually, it was the developers choice whether to use the Windows CE libraries or not. Many of them didn't and went straight for libraries made to hit the Dreamcast directly. However, if a developer decided to code an entire project using libraries through Windows CE, they were allowed to have the Windows CE stamp placed on the product. You'll see the Windows CE stamp on those specific Dreamcast game-covers. Usually on the back. Oddly enough, even with the inclusion of the Windows CE libraries, those who used it were more of the exception than the norm.

It is known that the Dreamcast games using the Windows CE framework, did use languages like C and C++. The others ignored that and went to direct methods. That brought along other issues. Like the Dreamcast being able to use direct VGA connections and so forth. While most Dreamcast games could run with the VGA box, certain others hit the graphics routines so directly that could not work with anything other than TV signal output. However, if you saw the Windows CE stamp, that was pretty much a guarrantee that the game could work with VGA connections as the graphical framework itself was coded to be able to run with all known Dreamcast video connections.

And actually, to tell the truth. The assembly language is among some of the easiest languages to program in. The hard part is keeping track of your memory and what is stored where. In some cases, it's easier to write down what memory you intend to use, and what its address is, so you can always go back to it when you need it or need to change it. However, it is really basic. You have to dumb down everything to the simplest of steps to get to the same point. Thus why people say computers are really dumb. Yeah, you have to treat them kind of like a newborn infant that is much less likely to catch onto a pattern, or see where anything is going.

However, like everything else, you can save libraries of stuff to reuse. The trick is starting from scratch and building them up over time. However, don't forget your other hardware. Your graphics chip, your Sound chips, etc. All of these machines had them, and to trigger them was to trigger certain addresses with commands. Better yet, these chips were a lot smarter at what you needed to do with them. They may contain sprites, various routines, and such, which make your job a whole lot easier, provided that you have supplied those chips with the data they need to perform said duty.

[Saner]

ohhhh cool ^^

[Tummai]

Is there a community for homebrew Genesis games on the web somewhere? like nesdev.com, but for the Genesis/Megadrive?

[Kesubei]

Is there a community for homebrew Genesis games on the web somewhere? like nesdev.com, but for the Genesis/Megadrive?

Eidolon's Inn (http://www.eidolons-inn.net/tiki-index.php) is place dedicated to SEGA consoles. They also have a development community; in fact, this year the community revealed a new, original game for the SEGA CD, entitled Pier Solar (http://www.piersolar.com/).

[Tummai]

Eidolon's Inn (http://www.eidolons-inn.net/tiki-index.php) is place dedicated to SEGA consoles. They also have a development community; in fact, this year the community revealed a new, original game for the SEGA CD, entitled Pier Solar (http://www.piersolar.com/).

awesome. Thanks!