| User | Post |
HyperLamer
Posts: 1625/8210 |
Originally posted by Coby
Please elaborate, why is the Z80 so w00t? Is it more powerful, easier to learn, ...?
Yes and yes. It's very powerful for an old 8-bit CPU, and has a nice, easy to work with instruction set. |
elixirnova
Posts: 57/177 |
if you have access to a compiler learn VB or C very high level if ya dont know it it'll give ya an idea how lower level things might run if ya figure the higher level languages run on a low level language in the end |
neotransotaku
Posts: 1365/4016 |
i'd have to say it is easier to learn. Register access is straightforward and it is fairly consistent, unlike it's x86 cousin which has all kinds of conventions  .
Anyways, a good warm up ASM language would be MIPS2000. 32 all-purpose registers of 32-bit wide. You can only access memory through loading and storing--which means that all arithmetic work must be done with registers. There are a few more qualities. A good simulator of MIPS2000 is called SPIM and there is enough documentation at this site |
Darth Coby
Posts: 821/1371 |
Originally posted by HyperHacker
Originally posted by Disch
SNES uses 65816 (I think?)
Yep.
Gameboy uses Z80
Modified Z80.
ASM is difficult for a first language, but some are easier than others. 6502 isn't too hard but it's pretty limited. Z80/Gameboy is all-around w00t. x86 (PC) is a nightmare. 
Please elaborate, why is the Z80 so w00t? Is it more powerful, easier to learn, ...? |
bbitmaster
Posts: 24/103 |
Originally posted by Kawa-oneechan
Commander Keen, being an iD game was without a doubt written in C. I'd love to get my hands on it.
Actually, the majority of it was probably written in C, but from reading about iD software and looking at some of their other source code, I have no doubt it was full of ASM optimizations. Probably a huge chunk of it was written in asm for speed. |
Kyoufu Kawa
Posts: 678/2481 |
Originally posted by Electric_Yellow
What about old games like King's Quest 6 or Comander Keen.
And now my two cents.
King's Quest VI (roman numerals for KQ dammit!) and all others like it were made in SCI, a complete virtual machine by itself, in a way with it's own bytecode language.
Commander Keen, being an iD game was without a doubt written in C. I'd love to get my hands on it. |
HyperLamer
Posts: 1544/8210 |
Originally posted by GB-K
Originally posted by elixirnova
ah your right i remember now what other systems used the z80 then??
Gamboy, Gameboy Color, Neo-Geo Pocket Color, Sega Gamegear (I think) and a bunch of others. Some other Sega systems have a z80 co-processor that helps it generate graphical effects and sound-related tidbits. I think they include the Master System, Genesis, 32x... yeah.
Ti-83 calculators and various old computers (such as TRS-80) also use them.
I feel I should emphasize that Gameboy does not use a real Z80, but rather a custom version of it. Some instructions have been removed, some have been added, and one (RETI) has been remapped. |
Parasyte
Posts: 149/514 |
Master System and GameGear are the same hardware, with exception of the screen. Both use a Zilog Z80 for the main CPU.
For 6502 tutorials, check out the DESnet documents page: http://desnet.fobby.net/index.php?page=documents
Keep in mind that these are actual tutorials. Not just a bunch of silly information slapped together with the generic term "tutorial" used in the title. Because they are tutorials, the main purpose is not to teach you assembly, but rather to teach you some ways to hack assembly.
The first tutorial in the series goes through a very limited amount of the basics of assembly, and directs you to the assembly documents on ZD and obelisk. That should be PLENTY to get you started on your way to ROM hacking freedom. |
Dylan
Posts: 881/1407 |
Originally posted by elixirnova
ah your right i remember now what other systems used the z80 then??
Gamboy, Gameboy Color, Neo-Geo Pocket Color, Sega Gamegear (I think) and a bunch of others. Some other Sega systems have a z80 co-processor that helps it generate graphical effects and sound-related tidbits. I think they include the Master System, Genesis, 32x... yeah. |
elixirnova
Posts: 42/177 |
ah your right i remember now what other systems used the z80 then?? |
Icy Guy
Posts: 30/36 |
I believe the Genesis' sound processor is a Z80, but I think the main CPU is a Motorola 68000.
And before anyone asks, here's a guide. |
elixirnova
Posts: 41/177 |
the few words of wisdom...: lissten UP!... note the 2 s's;;; anyhow doesnt sega genesis use the z80? |
Gavin
Posts: 166/799 |
*Gavin looks in wonder at the all-powerful non-three-character instructions* :o |
Dylan
Posts: 866/1407 |
Originally posted by HyperHacker
6502 isn't too hard but it's pretty limited. Z80/Gameboy is all-around w00t.
I concur fully.  If you know z80 assembly you've got a variety of consoles to choose from, among the Gameboy and GBC. 
Originally posted by Electric_Yellow
OK then I'l probably try 6502 nes, Does anyone know a good tutorial?
Start off with the z80. Its slightly more common, and erm, cooler. By learning this you'll know how to work with a handful of systems with the knowledge of 1 type of asm and its minorly tweaked variants. This is quite a comprehensive document discussing the z80 microproccessor, specifically dealing with the TI-83 calculator set. Other platforms using the z80 will have almost identical ASM. |
Electric_Yellow
Posts: 11/11 |
OK then I'l probably try 6502 nes, Does anyone know a good tutorial? |
HyperLamer
Posts: 1525/8210 |
Originally posted by Disch
SNES uses 65816 (I think?)
Yep.
Gameboy uses Z80
Modified Z80.
ASM is difficult for a first language, but some are easier than others. 6502 isn't too hard but it's pretty limited. Z80/Gameboy is all-around w00t. x86 (PC) is a nightmare. |
Electric_Yellow
Posts: 10/11 |
Where can I get a good doc for the 6502 nes? |
Dylan
Posts: 862/1407 |
Originally posted by Electric_Yellow
Yes they were computer games. Are like old SVGA and VGA games written is ASM?
Is ASM a difficult programing language to start with?
I want to first learn the basics of ASM so I could later learn NES ASM then SNES ASM. Where should I start?
Could someone send me a link to a good ASM tutorial for n00bs?
I really need this. Thanks!
Well, ASM is fairly complex and mathematical as it is very raw. You'll probably scratch your head a lot learning it, but if you're motivated, go for it! It would be wise to start off with the 6502 and z80 microprocessors since there are tons of docs out there for learning those. Here's a convo with Disch that might be a good way to start off with the 6502. |
Sokarhacd
Posts: 369/1757 |
you can learn nes asm, gba asm, x86 msdos asm, and n64 asm here: http://k2pts.home.comcast.net/gbaguy/index.htm |
Electric_Yellow
Posts: 9/11 |
Yes they were computer games. Are like old SVGA and VGA games written is ASM?
Is ASM a difficult programing language to start with?
I want to first learn the basics of ASM so I could later learn NES ASM then SNES ASM. Where should I start?
Could someone send me a link to a good ASM tutorial for n00bs?
I really need this. Thanks! |
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