> Hm, interesting about the font. I'll see if I can copy it to the VDP memory.
I suppose it will be very easy: you'll have to copy the data from the BIOS in place of your source code (which could be reduced in size).
> Of course you'll be in position to beta test, I don't know anyone else who might bother.
> Regarding the joysticks, Kurt described it in
this post from 2009.
> Actually there is a BIOS routine that is called as part of the regular interrupt routine.
> It reads the PIA and then stores decoded values into the zeropage addresses. What
> I added was that in my own interrupt routine, I add a counter and reads the already
> decoded values and store them at another position. The cursor moves one whole
> square at a time.
I played the game a little bit, and found some annoying things:
1. when I press the fire button to start game, the cpu starts with 4 squares and i start with 1. I suppose it's because when I press fire, the game gets the input TWICE, making me do a sort of "first move" - even though I didn't want to.
2. the flashing cursor moves too fast when pressing the joystick. a one-step per joystick tick would be more suitable, or eventually let the cursor move at half the speed
3. the flashing cursor hides the dots standing in his position. would you consider using a different kind of cursor, for example an empty square? eventually without making if flash
4. the AI algorythm computer is very fast, and this is great. but why not delaying by 1-2 seconds the CPU move? this would make the game look a little bit more "realistic"... it's not "fun" to see the cpu responding in half a while, after the player's move
(jusy my opinion heh!). eventually you could consider adding a short tune/jingle between player and cpu moves.
5. the game hangs at a certain point - this i already knew. but what is really annoying is that as the bug happens, the cursor can be moved all around screen, outside of the 8x8 playfield
6. when pressing "reset" (f3 on emulator)during a game, the cursor keeps on flashing. but you can't move (this is correct).
7. suggestion: using better colours. I mean: green, white and black are obvious. but i would love to see some "graphics" around the playfield, instead of the cyan dots. i can design you some graphics you if you want.
8. suggestion part two: why not using a "checkers"-style playground, with light green + dark green cells (or light green + cyan or... whatever you want heh), and remove the black square around them? the squares are fine, but as soon as you place a dot in a certain cell, the black square disappears there. not really what i expected :-/
9. suggestion part three: making 3d-like white/black dots, sort of "isometric" view
hope my report/ideas help
cant wait to see more!!