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Graphics > Training for GBA

#3783 - Deion - Sat Mar 08, 2003 8:50 pm

How and where can I get training for the gba ?
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Deion Allison

#3795 - Daikath - Sun Mar 09, 2003 5:53 am

Training for programming graphics or drawing graphics?

You look like you are a beginner so Im gonna start explaining everything to make sure you understand, sorry if you already knew those things.

Well there are several things you could do, but these are the options
the number x number bitd are how much pixels (dots on the computer screen) take up each graphical option for the GBA.

Sprites (if you don;t know this, a sprite is a object on screen, like Mario and toads were Sprites in Super Mario Bros).

Square Sprites.
8 by 8.
16 by 16.
32 by 32.
64 by 64.

Horizontal Sprites.
16 by 8.
32 by 8.
32 by 16.
64 by 32.

Vertical Sprites.
8 by 16.
8 by 32.
16 by 32.
32 by 64.


And we have tile backgrounds, these are backgrounds made of a number of tiles we already have but them together make the eventual picture you see on your screen. All these tiles are 8 by 8 pixels. You can have objects bigger then that but then you must use several tiles for one object wich pracitcally all poeple do.

I am myself am almost beginning on a game on wich i would need some graphics, the game is just an excersize for me and I wont try to send it to a publisher or something. It will just become avaible on GBAdev.org.

If you want to make those sprites you could make these for me, if you dont want to you obviously dont have to :).

A red button of the A button on the Game Boy Advance.
A blue button of the B button on the Game Boy advance.
A yellow button of the L button on the Game Boy Advance.
A green button of the R button on the Game Boy Advance.

And arrows for the 4 direction of the D-pad. (up, down, left, right).

If you could do it I would like round buttons resembling the actual buttons for A and B and other sprites resembling the shoulder buttons for L and R.

If you dont want to make those sprites its ok, maybe im repeating myself here but no harm in saying it again to mak sure. I had the 64 by 64 format in mind for the round buttons, maybe you need other dimensiosn for the shoulder buttons but your the artist now ;).
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?There are no stupid questions but there are a LOT of inquisitive idiots.?

#3801 - ampz - Sun Mar 09, 2003 12:15 pm

Tip: for the round buttons... just make one button, and use some palette magic to change the color of it... That would save quite some VideoRAM.
Same thing goes for the shoulder and arrow-buttons... create one and use hardware palettes and rotations to make the other.

#3805 - Daikath - Sun Mar 09, 2003 4:28 pm

Is changing the palette is going to give it a B or a A on it? ;) they need to say A and B and stuff.
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?There are no stupid questions but there are a LOT of inquisitive idiots.?

#3826 - ampz - Mon Mar 10, 2003 2:10 am

With some really good palette magic it is possible to change the A and B chars, yes. It will consume a few colors though.

#3836 - Daikath - Mon Mar 10, 2003 8:47 am

Could you explain how? I aint too experienced of a programmer :).
_________________
?There are no stupid questions but there are a LOT of inquisitive idiots.?

#3843 - ampz - Mon Mar 10, 2003 1:22 pm

Lesson #1 in palette magic: :-)

sprite "A":
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0
0,0,1,0,1,0,0,0
0,1,0,0,0,1,0,0
0,1,1,1,1,1,0,0
0,1,0,0,0,1,0,0
0,1,0,0,0,1,0,0
0,1,0,0,0,1,0,0

sprite "B":
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,1,1,1,0,0,0,0
0,1,0,0,1,0,0,0
0,1,0,0,1,0,0,0
0,1,1,1,0,0,0,0
0,1,0,0,1,0,0,0
0,1,0,0,1,0,0,0
0,1,1,1,0,0,0,0

sprite "A or B":
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,2,2,1,0,0,0,0
0,2,3,0,1,0,0,0
0,1,0,0,2,3,0,0
0,1,1,1,3,3,0,0
0,1,0,0,2,3,0,0
0,1,0,0,2,3,0,0
0,1,2,2,0,3,0,0

This third sprite will become a "A" if you use this palette:
0,0xFFFF,0,0xFFFF
It will become a "B" if you use this palette:
0,0xFFFF,0xFFFF,0