Path: chuka.playstation.co.uk!news
From: robert_swan@playstation.sony.com (Robert Swan)
Newsgroups: scee.yaroze.programming.2d_graphics
Subject: Re: trouble with buffers...
Date: Mon, 07 Dec 1998 20:02:56 GMT
Organization: PlayStation Net Yaroze (SCEE)
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Message-ID: <366c3335.226728@www.netyaroze-europe.com>
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On Mon, 07 Dec 1998 20:37:31 +0100, cros <cros@club-internet.fr>
wrote:

>hi!
>i've trouble with the frame buffers...
>Imagine my game in 640*480 mode, 2 graphics, with ascrolling background,
>an aera of 1280*960, composed with a Tim image, in 16 bit color mode.
>The problem of this: I can't load this image into the buffer because
>it's to big...
>how can i do? I suppose there is a answer because if we can't do that,
>we can't do anything on the netyaroze system...
>
>(I don't try loading this image, it's just a suposition, of a game
>project in my mind...)
>sorry for my poor english, i'm french.
>
>thanks
>chris.
>
not sure I understand exactly what you are saying there, but it seems
that you want too much space, and Im afraid to say youre not likely to
get it.

First of all, about frame buffers, if you are using hires mode (which
640x480 is) then you only need the one buffer owing to the fact that
one frame it displays even lines and you draw on the odd lines and
vica versa (as opposed to normal double buffering where there are 2
distinct screens). Of course, that still doesnt leave you with enough
room for a 16bit image in vram that is the size of the buffer. You
can:

a) reduce the colour depth of your background. Honestly, if youre
careful you can make a 256 colour image look just as good as a 15bit
colour image. This would mean your tim is only half as wide in Vram.

b) load up your image piece by piece from main memory into vram and
copy them to your buffer one at a time. (Which will not work easily
for hires if you are using moveimage as it doesnt take into account it
should only draw on odd or even lines.)

c) cut down on your graphics, which I seriously suggest. You will get
extremely annoyed during development keep loading in 1280x480 pixels
worth of graphics every time you crash :) What could you want that
huge amount of graphics for?

Rob