Mauro Xavier

Retro developer and old game enthusiast.

[Mauro Xavier @MXRetroDev]

@modollars78 I am using a quite different technique, and I do not intend to mirror the textures, as I will likely need to incorporate some details later on. I find it highly improbable that I will reach that level of technical quality.

[Mauro Xavier @MXRetroDev]

Into the Darkness – SEGA Mega Drive / Genesis
A new gameplay test of my first-person raycasting game, inspired by Heretic and Hexen!
Still a work in progress, with plenty of bugs and features yet to be implemented. I'm focusing on performance for now, but there's much more to come!
https://t.co/Dub5KT7wBF
#SGDK #MegaDrive #SEGAGenesis

[Mauro Xavier @MXRetroDev]

The textures are not mirrored, but unfortunately, they have a very low resolution; they might be 16x16 or 32x32, though I rarely use 32x32 because it consumes too much space due to the lookup tables.

I created a script that scans the combinations of each vertical line of the textures to capture every possible color combination within an 8x8-pixel tile. These are divided into 4x2 blocks; they are generated, and a lookup table is created in a .h file. The advantage here is that the other horizontal portion of the 4x2 block is always black, and the tiles are mirrored horizontally on the second plane. Essentially, two planes are used, one for each block of four horizontal rows (a technique devised by Anael). Furthermore, the game relies heavily on lookup tables, primarily for calculations, and the vast majority of these sprites are pre-rendered; there is no real-time zooming taking place.

I am doing my best to make the effect convincing and achieve good performance, even if it means compromising a significant portion of the graphical quality.

It’s nothing as brilliant as Gasega68k’s work, or your truly absurd feats. In my case, I even needed a nudge from an AI to help translate the mathematical routines from C into assembly. I’d like to go further, but given my own capabilities, I think I’m nearing my limit. I don’t intend to use AI to push past that, as I like knowing exactly what every line of code on the screen does; plus, I’ve been carefully studying the generated assembly to see if I can pick up a few things.

[Mauro Xavier @MXRetroDev]

I felt this today while programming "Into the Darkness." Sure, AI helped me convert the heavy mathematical parts into assembly (I don’t know assembly well enough to do that, and I no longer have the patience to learn), and it even built a tool for editing maps, another task I lacked the patience to tackle... But that’s where it ended. I spent the entire day working on the code, refining it, testing it, designing, creating sound effects (some using distorted recordings of my children’s voices), adding new features, and so on. It was magical; I felt truly alive while doing it. No "vibe code" gives me this.

[Mauro Xavier @MXRetroDev]

@last_life_left @matteusbeus I'm understand your feeling. I'm the same about FFMD. I will provide the source someday, but not now, not before reach a stable 1.0 version. Because after launch the source, probably I will never touch it gain.

[Mauro Xavier @MXRetroDev]

@abaroners @last_life_left Very well said!

[Mauro Xavier @MXRetroDev]

@spacebruce I'm had some similar tests using textured raycasting (from Into the Darkness) with 90 degree rotates axys, it's also CPU intensive, but is so cool effect.

[Mauro Xavier @MXRetroDev]

I agree that the Neo Geo isn’t strictly superior in every way, but it certainly could have received a port of Final Fight. I should also point out that it would be wise to adjust the *entire game* from 384 to 320 horizontal pixels; if anyone just let an AI handle everything, the graphics would end up looking terrible. To get a good result, it would have to be done manually... Since I managed to do that for the Mega Drive, the Neo Geo could have been given the same level of care with a much better result.

[Mauro Xavier @MXRetroDev]

@Megadrive4ever8 Neo Geo puede con Final Fight sin despeinarse; si funcionó de manera satisfactoria en una Mega Drive estándar (Final Fight MD), ¡ni hablar de lo que podrá hacer en una Neo Geo!

[Mauro Xavier @MXRetroDev]

I don’t actually prefer "vibe coding"; I’m working on Alone in the Dark purely for fun and to prove a point I’d already discussed with a few friends. And, naturally, I’d still choose to program directly 1,000 times over; for my projects, AI currently serves as a tester. It hunts for bugs and runs the game thousands of times across various emulators to flag addressing errors or other silly mistakes I might make, which is a huge help.
I’ve also found the AI ​​useful for handling heavy mathematical tasks, specifically when it comes to porting those sections into assembly.
For everything else, I love getting my "hands dirty."

[Mauro Xavier @MXRetroDev]

I used a rather "raw" turn of phrase; I’m well aware of the differences, which is why I put it in quotation marks. I’m familiar with the VDP1 and VDP2, the bus architecture, and so on, and I know the Saturn has a limited architecture, but you all understood what I meant.
Furthermore, I don’t consider creating an inferior port a "futile exercise." We’re talking about fun and challenges here, and in that regard, it’s become clear what the 32X is capable of, especially since a skilled programmer (even he is calling himself average) has already demonstrated this through a masterful proof of concept.
To sum up my point: I’ve been programming for years, and in just the last six months, at the same company where I’ve worked for about 13 years, I’ve noticed a stark leap in the advancement of AI. I can hardly fathom the exponential growth that might unfold over the coming months, let alone a full year from now.

[Mauro Xavier @MXRetroDev]

If you consider the 32X to be "almost a Saturn," it does have the capability to handle polygonal, textured models. However, I see AI advancing so rapidly that, before long, there won't be anything that a combination of reverse engineering and tools like Ghidra couldn't handle, potentially allowing for the porting of the Saturn version to the 32X.
In any case, I love seeing human effort in every field... I really miss the good old days (just a few months ago!!), and I suspect things are unlikely to ever be the same again. It is hard to row against such an inevitable tide.

[Mauro Xavier @MXRetroDev]

@naomequestione Para as telas estou usando 2 backgrounds e 3 paletas; uso a prioridade para fazer o clipping e, às vezes, sprites adicionais.

[Mauro Xavier @MXRetroDev]

Alone in the Dark for Mega Drive - First Video
#SGDK #MegaDrive #SEGAGenesis
https://t.co/CmSICIeXMm

[Mauro Xavier @MXRetroDev]

@EduSpol Eu não tenho dúvidas de que o Virtua Fighter daria pra ser feito, desde que usando o SVP (o mesmo chip do Virtua Racing).

[Mauro Xavier @MXRetroDev]

@Genesis8141 @Andorgenesis_ Já, mas com certeza alguém vai fazer antes. Já decidi que vou me dedicar aos "ports impossíveis" só pra testar minha sanidade kkkk.

[Mauro Xavier @MXRetroDev]

@Genesis8141 @Andorgenesis_ É porque usa a mesma placa do Rally-X.

[Mauro Xavier @MXRetroDev]

Na boa, já nem ligo mais pra isso, desde que o port seja BEM POLIDO e digno do material original. Se for pra portar por IA e fazer coisa tosca pra ganhar hype, nem perco meu tempo. A pessoa pode ir mostrando vídeos para vermos a evolução, mas na hora de lançar uma ROM precisa estar bem testada.

[Shannon Birt @birt_shannon]

** SEGA GENESIS - MEGA VALKYRIE **

Formerly the 3D engine- now becoming a game !

Since last showing :

Back face culling of objects added - increase performance by 15% !! Basically we don't draw what gets overdrawn which saves performance - Some scripting helped to sort models into cullable ones and ones that weren't and also analysed co-planer triangles and reworked those to quads for the engine ( a quad is faster vs 2 triangles ) .

Optimised quad drawing ~ 2% gain, saved some resetting of the DDA points amongst shared sections.

Optimised joypad reading ~ 0.8% speedup every cycle counts haha.

Added dither patterns to the renderer so dithered surfaces can be used - only a slight hit to draw speed.

Modified the vblank dma timing to allow XGM2 driver to run at full speed without lagging , so now we can switch from XGM1 to XGM2 and gained 5% cpu performance.

Added a basic Enemy - much more complex ones to come , hes using the same movement logic as the player attract mode before. No destruction or collision checking yet .

Added player attacks - nothing final but a good start.

Reworked the camera to keep a constant background load on here so its indicative of a real stage. Maintaining a solid 20 FPS in this demo.

@TonimanGalvez is doing great work on map layout and huds, hes made some very nice internal renders of how the game will look once fully populated. Music is a placeholder for now, kindly provided by @laurent_crouzet so we can model music load in the game.

#SGDK #SegaMegadriver #SegaGenesis

[Mauro Xavier @MXRetroDev]

@naomequestione Lembrando que desta vez a IA reinou quase que absolutamente e sem ela eu sozinho não conseguiria tirar este jogo do papel.

[Mauro Xavier @MXRetroDev]

@santikapowski The game can already be completed, but its performance makes for an unpleasant experience. I intend to fix bugs and push the console to its absolute limit, then polish things as much as possible before making the ROM available to everyone.