[runawayprisoner]

I'm finally confident enough to release the very first Chip-8/SuperChip interpreter that has color support (random for now until a palette is implemented). So... here you go. Both the interpreter and the source code for further study.

Most people would stop after getting Space Invaders to work, but I really think that if that is the case, then my interpreter compared to the 1000+ Chip-8 emulators out there would be... mmm... too generic, and not really worth a release. I wanted to make something different... something that would set itself apart from the pool. Also because I was bored.

Anyway, I think this is about as many improvements as I can make to this emulator of mine. If anything, next version might be in C, and the one after might be in ASM because I can only think of performance enhancements right now. The interpreter works well for any game I've tried, and I've fixed what I think could be the last game to ever need a fix: Spacefight 2019

Look, Ma! No ghost ship!!

So... enjoy, folks. Controls are any random button from 1 2 3 4 to Q W E R to A S D F to Z X C V. Each game has a specific set of controls, and the rest of the buttons might be useless or... not, but anyway, try those buttons and see which one is right.

Colors will be automatically generated every time you restart the interpreter (as in... you close it and start it up again). Restarting within the interpreter won't re-generate the color palette. I'll implement a way for you to pick specific colors once I've found the time, or someone else can try that using the source code I've provided.

More about the fix for Spacefight 2019 can be found inside the source code. I left nothing out. If you need more explanation, you can hit the Programming forum's Chip-8 thread. I offered a written explanation (in English :lol there. Last but not least, source code does not have a license so feel free to do whatever with it, but please don't use it to cheat on your Java final exam. ;p

 

[Hard core Rikki]

Looking nice and original. Internet demands quadcore optimizations btw.

Less jokingly, thought of adding stereoscopy to the processed output as an added feature?

 

[runawayprisoner]

Quad-core optimization seems a bit moot for this... but I'll try anyway just for kicks. Maybe in the next version where you can have a Wii-channel-like interface with all these games running all at once. Now... who did I just steal that idea from? Hmm...

Anyway, the stereoscopic output wouldn't be too hard to implement, I think. I'll get a stereoscope and try that this weekend. Ought to be fun.

 

[Hard core Rikki]

I meant just making each objects have a slightly translated projection with clear outlines and maybe a different or fixed color, so that they look like 3d objects looked up from atop (duplicating the framebuffer but per object, not as a whole).

 

[runawayprisoner]

Ohh... that. Well, that's a whole different thing as the way Chip-8 originally works is by XORing each bit onto the screen, and thus... you don't really get to know when something is a sprite or not. You just know when a pixel was "hit".

Then again, since I implemented the coloring system, it's about half-way there to sprite detection, and yeah, I think it'll be possible to implement something like this... at some point. I'll try it this weekend and see if it's a plausible idea. Chances are, though, that it'll look quite flat without some kind of shadowing going on, so even if the sprites are slightly offset, it won't give the illusion. But I get what you're saying now.

Fortunately, since Chip-8 is such a simple system, there's no need to worry about performance and stuffs like this can be experimented on for free...