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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Prince of
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| matherp Guru  Joined: 11/12/2012 Location: United KingdomPosts: 12034 |
Full details in the zip file. Needs 6.03.02b12 or later and RP2350 HDMI or VGA build with PSRAM PrinceOfPico.zip  Level 1 screens  |
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Martin H. Guru Joined: 04/06/2022 Location: GermanyPosts: 1570 |
First Impression: Great, that worked.  Some Points of criticism (not directed at you, I guess that's because of the source files): The playing field is narrower, so you can't see the paths on the left side, and the graphics are far below what they could be on the Pico, but the gameplay itself looks good. Edited 2026-09-21 20:47 by Martin H. 'no comment |
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| matherp Guru Joined: 11/12/2012 Location: United KingdomPosts: 12034 |
It is a direct convert of the BBC version. If you want to have a play with colours or graphics then please do hopefully the game engine itself should allow for it. |
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| Martin H. Guru Joined: 04/06/2022 Location: GermanyPosts: 1570 |
Yes, I found the BMP files where the tiles are stored. I'll take a look to see if and how I can edit them. But the game is running just fine  —I just keep dying way too early to make it through the level.  'no comment |
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| matherp Guru Joined: 11/12/2012 Location: United KingdomPosts: 12034 |
A big improvement would be to update the sprites which I think are all in one file. You would then need to look at the use of the map statement in the program. The transparent colour is currently 11 so you have the other 15 to play with. |
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| Martin H. Guru Joined: 04/06/2022 Location: GermanyPosts: 1570 |
One problem, among others, is that the Apple II generated some of its colors using the NTSC error, which is why some colors are stored as vertical lines in the source files. This results in only half the horizontal resolution and is difficult to convert. Here are two examples: the Apple graphic and my adaptation: On the left is CUTROOM.BMP from the Apple II; on the right is my version. Below that is the sprite sheet “sheet4.bmp,” and next to it is my initial attempt to improve the sprites for RGB 121. I keep the sprites in the same position and at the same size so that no adjustments to the program code are necessary; the only thing that’s omitted is the “MAP” command. The corresponding lines can then be REMed out.  I'm using the Sega Genesis version as a guide, but I'm not just copying the images as they are. I still have quite a bit of work ahead of me, but I'm already looking forward to the result Cheers Martin 'no comment |
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Volhout Guru Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 6184 |
Wauw Martin, This is going to be beautiful. Can't wait to play it with your upgraded tiles. Volhout PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
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| Martin H. Guru Joined: 04/06/2022 Location: GermanyPosts: 1570 |
So, here's a quick update: I've now customized about 90% of the Prince animation sprites and some parts of the environment; next up are the enemies. The program has been modified so that it no longer executes the MAP commands. PoPico  cheers Martin Edited 2026-10-03 19:34 by Martin H. 'no comment |
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Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 9220 |
I think you need a few changes to make the game very slightly different and give Ubisoft's lawyers a giggle. Prince of Preston - The search for the Holy Beard Trimmer Although I don't remember Preston being quite so rocky and I believe they have installed electric lighting now. :) (Lovely work, Martin!) . Edited 2026-10-03 20:01 by Mixtel90 Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini |
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| matherp Guru Joined: 11/12/2012 Location: United KingdomPosts: 12034 |
In my thread title I called it Prince of Pico but somehow that went missing. I think perhaps I put a quote in the line. The same happened to the thread title of V7.00.00 which should have had "Scotty: I need more power" after the colon. Martin: looks great! Edited 2026-10-03 20:06 by matherp |
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| Volhout Guru Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 6184 |
Nice work Martin !! Please notice Peters comment that the PoPico core does not run on V7 b3 and b4, you need b5 to run it. Volhout Edited 2026-10-05 17:14 by Volhout PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
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| Martin H. Guru Joined: 04/06/2022 Location: GermanyPosts: 1570 |
Volhout I haven't done an update yet. Right now I'm still using 6.02.03b12. I'm only working on the pixel graphics, not the program. That's enough to keep me busy for now. To adjust the graphics, I’ll of course have to change a few lines in the program as well... Comment out the MAP SET, decrease the player’s sprite-position by 6 pixels (so it does no longer run along the edge of the corridors , as seen in the video)... etc. So just minor adjustments. The only problem I'm having is that while I can save the Basic file, I can't load it anymore (out of memory). You can see that at the beginning of the video, too... The Pico stores 152,235 bytes. However, the program is only 144 KB (147,456 bytes) long. That just barely fits. If I edit and save it in Notepad++, this “mysterious memory expansion” doesn’t happen. Now I have to move a few more pixels. 'no comment |
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| matherp Guru Joined: 11/12/2012 Location: United KingdomPosts: 12034 |
Martin, if you upgrade to V7.00.00b5 you will have more memory available |
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| Martin H. Guru Joined: 04/06/2022 Location: GermanyPosts: 1570 |
Peter, I updated to V7.00.00b6 and it works.. thank you PoPico.zip The file contains the modified graphic files Sheet1-4, the “Title.bmp” file appropriate for the resolution, and the program with the minor changes mentioned above. The design was inspired by the Mac Version and the Sega Genesis version. Procedure: Run the Python installation scripts as described by Peter. Then copy the files from the ZIP file into the newly created “board” folder. Copy everything to the Pico SD Card and run PoPico.bas. (If you already have the program on the Pico, you can also use XModem to copy the files from the ZIP folder onto it.) I'm still a long way from finishing all the sprites, but our hero's sprites have all been updated. Some of the level graphics have been updated as well; I'll be working on the enemy sprites little by little. Edited 2026-10-07 00:48 by Martin H. 'no comment |
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| Martin H. Guru Joined: 04/06/2022 Location: GermanyPosts: 1570 |
Just so it doesn't look like I'm sitting around doing nothing—it just takes a while  Just as an example—one of four sprite sheets I'm working on at the same time. Cheers Martin 'no comment |
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| Volhout Guru Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 6184 |
Hi Martin, Since you are re-doing all the artwork, would you (legally) be able to distribute the complete game as a zip? Or does it still require to get the assets from various websites (as Peter inidcated). Regards, Volhout PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
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| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 9220 |
Hmmm... Even with all the artwork changed to look completely different and re-written in a different language there is still the issue of copyright on the "concept" and "gameplay" - the famous "look and feel". I don't think I'd like to argue any of this in court. :) I doubt very much if anyone actually will object as the 6502 source code has been released, but you never know. Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini |
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| Martin H. Guru Joined: 04/06/2022 Location: GermanyPosts: 1570 |
My pension is too small to spend on copyright lawsuits. In light of the uncertain legal situation, No, I definitely won't publish a summary of that, even if there are POP clones on GitHub . But Peter's Python script already generates the appropriate program from the original source code and creates the graphics. My suggestion is to replace the generated sprite sheets with the ones I drew to achieve a better overall result.  Edited 2026-10-21 02:35 by Martin H. 'no comment |
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homa Guru Joined: 05/11/2021 Location: GermanyPosts: 715 |
Maybe you should just ask him? He has a contact form on his website. https://www.jordanmechner.com/en/about/ How Prince of Persia began https://www.jordanmechner.com/en/books/journals/ Apparently, he has a sense of humor—otherwise, he wouldn't have pointed out an old, playable DOS version on his own website: https://archive.org/details/msdos_Prince_of_Persia_1990 Plus, he published the original source code himself, as well as this PDF: https://www.jordanmechner.com/downloads/popsource.pdf I could imagine that he'd give his consent for a project like this. P.S. Why is the grid missing from the Apple version, anyway?  |
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