This is a simple BASIC program I wrote to select and load some of my favorite PMODE3 CoCo 1&2 games for play on my CoCo3 and enhancing the 4 colors used by replacing them with colors chosen from the CoCo3's 64 color palette.
It does not modify the game but merely redefines the color palette slots of the CoCo3 BEFORE the game is executed.
Note that the border color of Green or White cannot be changed for the PMODE3 graphics modes.
I also added a selection for
choosing to play these games in the higher 1.79MHZ speed of the CoCo3.
Some games may be too fast to play while others can benefit from the speed boost.
To finalise the program, I also
allowed support for people with a Composite NTSC monitor and the
program will convert the RGB chosen colors to reasonably accurate CMP
colors. This conversion is based on Erik Gavriluk's conversion
calculations which he used in MAME.
Many thanks to L. Curtis Boyle for spending time with me to work out the best (to our tastes) color choices for each game.
To
add games to the menu and configure your preferred color selections,
you can EDIT or insert DATA lines into the BASIC program. The
last DATA line must have an "*" to indicate the end of the list. A
maximum of 9 game entries can be displayed on the screen.
These lines are at the beginning of the program listing. Each line
contains the <FULL NAME> of the game, followed by the
<FILENAME> used to load the game (.BIN is assumed) then the 4 x
<RGB> values of the new colors. If Composite Color is chosen, the RGB values are substituted during run
time by the program.
SAMPLE GAME SCREENSHOTS
Lunar Rover Patrol
Standard PMODE3 colors
Lunar Rover Patrol
Enhanced CoCo3 colors
Blue sky and green mountains on the moon?!! Change those colors and make the moon great again!
Pooyan
Standard PMODE3 colors
Pooyan
Enhanced CoCo3 colors
Magenta (pink!) sky and cyan tree?!! What were the programmers smoking?!
Baseball Standard PMODE3 colors
Baseball
Enhanced CoCo3 colors
Not too bad but we can reduce the excessive "nuclear green" by using a darker green for the grass.
Phantom Slayer
Standard PMODE3 colors
Phantom Slayer
Enhanced CoCo3 colors
A bit too bright and cheerful for a scary game. Added some mood by reducing the colors.
This is a simple BASIC program I wrote to select and load some of my favorite PMODE3 CoCo 1&2 games for play on my CoCo3 and enhancing the 4 colors used
To
add games to the menu and configure your preferred color selections,
you can EDIT or insert DATA lines into the BASIC program. The
last DATA line must have an "*" to indicate the end of the list. A
maximum of 9 game entries can be displayed on the screen.
