Arjan Steenbergen wrote:
> Nope, the topic is the future of MSX.
> If that can't be discussed on an MSX mailinglist...
I think the future of MSX lies in high optimizing cross compilers
which will make it possible to write code on a pc, compile it for the
msx
and use every bit of cpu-time to the full extent without worrying
that the code could have been faster if you wrote it yourself in
assembly.
This way lots more projects would actiually make it to your homes
instead of being half finished and never reaching the public!
I'd swear that 90% of my games would have been finished by now
if I had half a decent ANSI-C compatible crosscompiler for MSX and
some decent libraries so you wouldn't have to invent the wheel over and
over again!
There are 2 MSX compatible C-compilers. Hi tech c 7 and softools c.
Both are more than $800,- (us dollars). How's that for a hobby!
Nobody is gonna pay such prices unless they have money to spare.
And msx-ers usually haven't or else they would have bought themselves
a sillicon graphics long ago ;)
The future of MSX lies in finishing your product en developing it
quicker and easier. So we need tools, tons of tools and info.
You guys are already talking about the next generation MSX while
we haven't even programmed all there is to program for the old ones.
Nobody has barely explored the possibilities of the gfx9000 and the
moonsound. Everybody who's got one want's to but they haven't got the
time. So again I say, we need tools! Even those of you who want
to reverse engineer roms like te bios and diskroms have difficulty
finding time to document and trace it al. But such tools exist! We use
them
at UvA (university). The problem is that everybody wants to write
everything themselves, preferably in assembly. But that's not the way.
When a gamesconsole hits the market the developers get tools to
streamline their games, they get whole devkits. Nobody has ever
developed
a complete devkit for the MSX. The closest thing we've got is ASCII-C
whith a few libraries, Compass, some kun basic and left over cpm
utilities.
I think we can use technology of today to make games and utilities for
the MSX and make things nobody's ever done before. Some of you
may have heard of WIOS. It's slow at the moment because it hasn't been
optimised
yet, but there aren't many projects of this magnitude that have
succeeded due
to lack of optimising high-end development tools. Big projects on msx
are stil a
problem.
When you develop tools for MSX on another platform, because that is the
easiest way,
I see no reason to discontinue my MSX hobby and development for, lets
say, another
5 years, and play those games everyone is looking forward to.
GS.
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