Stars, Wonders of the 256 by Craw Productions
STARS: Wonders of the 256, by PsychoMan / Craw Productions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Influx raves: "Looks like crap."
LakEEE exclaims: "Is that all?"
Matju e-mails: "I have stuff much better than that."
AliX says: "That's nice, can I play Wacky Wheels?"
Requirements: - Computer with VGA (MCGA) card, monitor, and keyboard
- DOS 1.0 or higher (or Win95 DOS-box)
- One cluster of free disk space
- At least 256 bytes of free conventional memory
Features: - Full 3D space simulation engine
- Theoretically infinite number of stars
- Both solid AND flickering stars
- Stars elongate at high speeds
- Advanced pseudo-random number generator
- Full framerate (depending on speed)
Credits:
Concept - PsychoMan
Art/Design - PsychoMan
Code - PsychoMan
Greets:
Matju - For talking me into entering this contest
King Influx - For letting me use my computer
LakEEE - For not being impressed with this demo
AliX - For leaving me in the dust in Wacky Wheels
Disclaimer:
Run this demo at your own risk! I will not be responsible for
any damage caused to your hardware or software as a result of
running this demo.
This demo may not be exchanged for money, goods, or services
without permission from the author.
This demo does not contain any animations. All effects were
calculated in real time by your computer while you watched.
About this demo:
I got the idea for the "infinite starfield" from a Win95 screen
saver which used a palette cycling method. I had wanted to try
out my idea but didn't really have an excuse until Matju e-mailed
me the rules for this contest and asked me to enter. I figured,
"Hey, I bet I can jam that infinite starfield into 256 bytes!"
My first attempt was 262 bytes, and that was before I added the
random number generator! After converting my 3D system to 16-bit
instead of 32-bit (don't ask why it was 32-bit) and realizing that
I wasn't using any of the segment registers, I got it down to
238 bytes. Then I went on an optimizing rampage and got it down
to 198 bytes. It can probably get even smaller, but who cares.
Having so much space left, I decided to throw in some text at the
end. All-in-all, I'm pretty happy with it. I still claim it's an
"infinite" starfield, but because of the low resolution, you can only
see a few hundred stars at a time and there is a lot of flickering.
If the stars go too slow (or too fast), you may want to try changing
the speed. This can be done by changing the word at offset 39 in
stars.com. I compiled with a speed of 400. If the speed is less,
the stars will go faster, and vice-versa. If the maximum framerate
is reached, then the speed will not change, but the rate at which
new stars appear will be reduced. That's just a side-effect... :)
About the author:
PsychoMan is a member of the super-duo known as Craw Productions.
This was my first attempt at a demo under 256 bytes.
Actually, it was my first attempt at a demo under 500k. :)
If you want to give me feedback about this demo or just say hi, you
can contact me by e-mail to manttila@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca.
If you want to know more about my not-so-personal life and my other
interests (like I have any other interests), feel free to visit my
web page at http://www.undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca/~manttila/
About Craw Productions:
This is not an official Craw Productions release, merely one of
PsychoMan's many small side projects.
However, if you want to know more about Craw Productions, please
visit our newly-renovated web site at http://www.magi.com/~craw/
or e-mail to craw@magi.com.
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