Don't see much need for it and you could just write a tsr to change the colors of the cga modes after you let the bios set it up

Don't mind him. He doesn't see much reason for anything. Qbix'll probably implement it later. 😁

I doubt it since i don't see any reason to fill up the config file with some useless cga color shit.

See: My previous post.

*Agrees with Snover after reading the above posts*

Originally posted by Harekiet Don't see much need for it

For any and all CGA games (that don't have an alternate version) since the colors were obviously meant as an assault on the human eye. Actually, I had this same idea some time back, but figured it would be a low priority.

...and you could just write a tsr to change the colors of the cga modes after you let the bios set it up

Whatever works, works...

I think it would be good to allow setting of CGA colors. Sometimes they are terrible. I remember PC version of RPG game Bard's Tale (I *think* it is a CGA game): there is probably the ugliest thing I have ever met in any computer game - grass/ground in wilderness is RED.
I do not mind simple graphic, but to use red color for grass is just too much for me. If it would be possible to change it, it would quite improve the game.

Mirek

andrzejlisek, you're a genius.
I think this is a great idea!

andrzejlisek wrote:

Original CGA adapter had two palettes. Each palette had four colors:
First palette: black, pink, cyan, white
Second palette: black, red, green, yellow

Technically, I think it was more like:
black, magenta (bright pinkish-purple), cyan, white
black, red, green, amber (bright brownish-orange)

I think it's possible for games to change the RGB values of each color though, although not many did. All of them were designed to use the colors that they did though, so personally I wouldn't miss not being able to change them (although it would certainly be a fun thing to play with)

anyhow, it could be nice addon feature, even if implemented as a cgacol.cfg file in the game folder, loaded (if enabled) by dosbox when game launched...
It would be an easy way for people to provide others their own vision of the games' color schemes..

asking for too much ? =^__^=

I think DOSBOX programmers may have some higher priorities than further CGA implementation.

Like optimizing text-mode 😉

Text-mode?

A couple of things I would like to clear up. CGA has three palettes to choose from in the 320x200 graphic modes: palette 0, background/red/green/brown; palette 1, background/red/green/brown; and an unofficial palette of background/cyan/red/white. The background color defaults to black but can be changed to any of the 16 colors the CGA can produce. Also, the palettes can be set to high or low intensity. In the 640x200 mode, the CGA can change the foreground color to any of the 16 colors nut the background color cannot be changed from black. CGA can set the foreground and background of each character cell as well as the screen border to any of its 16 colors in its text modes. It can also change the character height from the standard 8 lines. My Geforce Ti 4200 8x AGP does everything I have described above without difficulty. There are games that use at least every one of the above described abilities.

DosBox only does palette 1 in high intensity and does not allow the background color to be changed. Not all CGA games use this.

Two corrections. First, The Bard's Tale I has EGA graphics as well separate options for composite CGA and RGB CGA graphics. Second, the palettes that people bandy about as being true CGA are usually wrong. The true palette I have attached, and the RGB values there are the best I have come across. remember that the default 16 color palette of the EGA is the same as the whole CGA color palette because the 200 line EGA modes could be used on CGA monitors without upgrading to 350 line monitors.

As for configuring the CGA colors, I don't believe this is really necessary unless DosBox is not showing the correct palette by default. A setting in the config file to override the CGA palette with four color values numbered 1-16 should not add too much clutter to the config file.

Btw, do you think its possible for the DoxBox programmers to implement the Tandy 1000 PSG's noise generator. If they could do this for the Game Blaster, then it couldn't be that hard for the Tandy chip, which was more widely used.

Originally posted by Great Hierophant As for configuring the CGA colors, I don't believe this is really necessary unless DosBox is not showing the correct palette by default.

While I'm sure all the technical data is appreciated, I think you missed the point here: CGA is an abomination unto the human eye. The idea is to replace individual colors in specific games...not so they can accurately reflect what they originally looked like...rather, it is to change them so they are "less nauseating".

Btw, do you think its possible for the DoxBox programmers to implement the Tandy 1000 PSG's noise generator. If they could do this for the Game Blaster, then it couldn't be that hard for the Tandy chip, which was more widely used.

Support is already there, but the Tandy video modes aren't. I believe you'll find it in your config file, under the [Speaker] group.

While I'm sure all the technical data is appreciated, I think you missed the point here: CGA is an abomination unto the human eye. The idea is to replace individual colors in specific games...not so they can accurately reflect what they originally looked like...rather, it is to change them so they are "less nauseating".

The CGA colors are less than ideal, but most computers at the time it was introduced (1981) did not use crisp RGB monitors but even crappier composite monitors. But I prefer that we get the colors and palettes accurate first, then worry about selecting colors. Remember that games in the first five years of the PC's life were almost exclusively CGA, and I'm do not expect CGA's composite color mode to be implemented until DosBox handles protected disk images. Perhaps we can change the EGA palette colors because it lacks a good flesh tone color.

Support is already there, but the Tandy video modes aren't. I believe you'll find it in your config file, under the [Speaker] group.

The Tandy 1000 PSG emulation is incomplete as of the public .58 release. The emulation can generate tones, but not noise that the Tandy's PSG can also do. A good example of noise is when the wave splashes against the rock in the first screen of King's Quest II (AGI). Perhaps they have implemented it in the CVS?

The CVS version's CGA supports switching between 2 palette's and changing of the background color. As far as i know setting the high intensity bit in some CGA register only sets the cga background color to high intensity and not the foreground colors.

As for changing CGA colors in the config file, lemme say again that won't happen since it would require nasty hacks in the bios which i don't see necessary since like i said before you can just write a normal tsr to do that.

Think i'll add the tandy sound emulation from MAME a bit to the CVS version, the current one is still my bored afternoon attempt of making some kind of tandy sound emulation.

You sound resistant to add MAME technology to DOSBox. Is there a particular reason for this? Just curious.

Harekiet: Before you go reinventing the wheel, please attempt to integrate Dean Beeler's (canadacow's) Tandy patch.
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func … 551&atid=467234
Bring him in on the work, if he can be arsed to leave his MT-32 alone for one minute. 😁

NOTE to Harekiet AND Canadacow:
MAME's emulation of the SN76496 chip changed as recently as May, so be sure to update your emulation of the chip to match MAME 0.74.
(while you're doing this, you could update fmopl.c from v0.60 to v0.70 included with the latest version of MAME, no YM3812 changes that I know of though)

Also NOTE this note in the file header:
"Noise emulation is not accurate due to lack of documentation. The noise generator uses a shift register with a XOR-feedback network, but the exact layout is unknown. It can be set for either period or white noise; again, the details are unknown."

Mr. Hierophant: See the following:
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func … 551&atid=467234
http://www.artworxinn.com/alex/dostandy.zip