Simple modes

Some have expressed the interest for simple modes for the Bitbox. An recent commit is providing such mode , on top of the standard kernel.

The so-called simple modes are called like this because they provide a frame buffer interface, so the application programmer will only have to write bits and bytes to the video memory - much like it's done on PC. So the interface is a vram buch of memory and a color palette (because the tradeoff is a reduced palette or resolution)

There are two examples in the bitbox SDK (one of them below), but generally you'll need to define a simple makefile variable VGA_SIMPLE_MODE=X with the given mode and include the bitbox.mk standard makefile.

(Yes it's currently defined at compile time - if your program needs to switch between two modes at runtime, it might be time to switch to a standard kernel / engine - it's not difficult !)

developing for bitbox under windows

Even if I'm personally working under linux, it is quite possible to develop for bitbox under windows.

The following article / page is a reference for it, and will be updated accordingly. Also, if there is any part missing, please tell it !

A very thorough reference can be found by example there : http://www.jann.cc/2013/10/10/embedded_development_with_open_source_tools_on_windows.html#install-the-gcc-arm-embedded-toolchain

Most of the current guide is taken from there.

It targets development on a cortex-m4 chip so it's quite similar and adds a ton of optional software which can be very useful. The proposed method is quite barebones (or light), because, well I tend to prefer lighter solutions, but integration with eclipse could be done I'm sure.

Alternatively, DIYDSP has an page with instructions to setup a linux virtual machine suitable for stm32 development, as well as various other tips.

Tutorial : blitting graphics

(this is the second part of the tutorial about making a Fire game for the bitbox)

If you need basic information about writing software for the bitbox console, please read this introductory tutorial 

Tutorial : Creating a small game from scratch : game logic

Hello all !

In order to let people know about the process of making a game for bitbox (or a toy 2D Game in general, this post will have very few specifics to bitbox, next ones will be more involved) , I'll blog a few times to show you that in detail.

The game will consist in a bunch of people jumping out of a building on fire, and a team of two firemen who will make them bounce to the ambulance. It'll be programmed in C99, without any complex techniques.

Sounds familiar ?

Tutorial : developing for Bitbox (the basics)

We're going over the course of this tutorial to program and build a simple program for the bitbox console on ubuntu. I'm trying it on a 13.04 Ubuntu, so adapt accordingly.

For windows, there is a small guide on the blog, you can use is in parallel with this page.