TUTORIAL #21 – SHAPES/TILE GRAPHCS

 TUTORIAL #21 – SHAPES/TILE GRAPHCS “Is used to define all the bit information for each 16 x 14 sized SHAPE/TILE GRAPHICS used on the world map”. 

 

All the graphic-tiles/shapes in Ultima 1 are made up of bits that are drawn on the screen.  Each individual bit in a two byte wide shape is either shown ON or OFF to help represent the design of each shape displayed.

For this tutorial I need to go back in the blog a bit and explain how the actual shape is created.  Below is a photo of a MOUNTAIN shape with its shape table byte references marked out.

 

 

You can see that the shape is created from [2] bytes laid side by side.  They are stacked 16 high, which make a shape 14x16.

 

In the data reference for a MOUNTAIN shape, which you will see within the assembly code, you will see the following information:

 

 

You will notice that after the DFB you can see the first two bytes in the data file that are the same as the first two byte in the previous image of the mountain shape.  This is how each shape/graphic tile is referenced in a data file so it can be drawn to the screen.  Remember that one byte is made up of the two bits.  So for example:  HEX $08 is made up of two nibbles or four bits values.  The [0] is basically 0000 and the [8] is 1000, which means the byte is 00001000.  This is the same as $08!  Each byte that is referenced on the shape will be placed in a graphic resolution byte that makes up the Hi-Res graphics screen.   So to get the shape of the mountain drawn to the screen you have to draw each of the two bytes side by side and 16 rows deep.   This is done 200 times to eventually create the entire world map section of the screen.

 

This is probably the coolest part of the Ultima game because once you realize how to create shapes/graphic tiles; you can make any type of shape you want just by following the example above.   This is how Richard created all the cool objects in the later Ultima’s, he used the 14x16 bits process and came up with some really cool shapes.  It is really only limited to your imagination and the 14x16 grid!  Remember that you are not limited to one shape, you could make an object that is comprised of 2 shapes or 4 shapes or even an entire grid of shapes, the sky is the limit!

 

I will be going through the subroutine SHAPE/TILE GRAPHICS line-by-line and explaining what each line of code is doing and how it affects the outcome of the program.

 

753  **********************************

 

This is just a comment line to separate each subroutine and helps to define the start of the subroutine. 

 

754  ****** SHIP TILE ****************

 

Line 754 is a comment line which tells the user that the SHIP TILE shape data will be referenced below. 

 

755  SHAPE1               DFB   $00,$00,$40,$00,$40,$07,$40,$03,$40,$00,

$44,$09,$4C,$1B,$5C,$3B,$5C,$3B,$4C,$19,$44,$08,$7E,$7F,$6F,$36,$7E,$1F,$7C,$0F,$00,$00

 

Line 755 is used to “[D]e[F]ine [B]ype” of SHAPE1 data.  Each SHAPE is defined by 14 bits wide and 16 bits deep, which give it a distinct shape style.  This gives a shape/graphic tile a two byte wide appearance.  Each byte is referenced one after the other and when read from data it will read each shape in two byte increments or 16 times.  Since four bytes make up a shape then a loop will be used to read all 32 lines of the two bytes.

 

Also, line 755 has a header titled SHAPE1, which is referenced from the SHPADR data subroutine and is defined by the two HI and LOW bytes for the location where SHAPE1 will reside and start its shape table in memory.

 

756  ****** RAFT TILE ****************

 

Line 756 is a comment line which tells the user that the RAFT TILE shape data will be referenced below. 

 

757  SHAPE2               DFB   $00,$00,$00,$00,$40,$00,$40,$01,$40,$03,

$40,$06,$40,$04,$40,$04,$40,$06,$40,$03,$40,$01,$40,$00,$7C,$1F,$78,$3F,$00,$00,$00,$00

 

Line 757 is used to “[D]e[F]ine [B]ype” of SHAPE2 data.  Each SHAPE is defined by 14 bits wide and 16 bits deep.  This gives a shape/graphic tile a two byte wide appearance.  Each byte is referenced one after the other and when read from data it will read each shape in two byte increments or 16 times.  Since four bytes make up a shape then a loop will be used to read all 32 lines of the two bytes.

 

Also, line 757 has a header titled SHAPE2, which is referenced from the SHPADR data subroutine and is defined by the two HI and LOW bytes for the location where SHAPE2 will reside and start its shape table in memory.

 

758  ****** PLAINS TILE ****************

 

Line 758 is a comment line which tells the user that the PLAINS TILE shape data will be referenced below. 

 

759  SHAPE3               DFB   $00,$00,$02,$00,$00,$04,$02,$00,$00,$00,

$08,$00,$00,$10,$00,$00,$00,$00,$20,$00,$00,$10,$00,$01,$00,$00,$00,$00,$00,$04,$08,$00

 

Line 759 is used to “[D]e[F]ine [B]ype” of SHAPE3 data.  Each SHAPE is defined by 14 bits wide and 16 bits deep.  This gives a shape/graphic tile a two byte wide appearance.  Each byte is referenced one after the other and when read from data it will read each shape in two byte increments or 16 times.  Since four bytes make up a shape then a loop will be used to read all 32 lines of the two bytes.

 

760  ****** TREES TILE ****************

 

Line 760 is a comment line which tells the user that the TREES TILE shape data will be referenced below. 

 

761  SHAPE4               DFB   $28,$00,$2A,$01,$2A,$01,$2A,$01,$28,

$00,$00,$14,$00,$55,$00,$55,$00,$55,$00,$14,$28,$00,$2A,$01,$2A,$01,$2A,$01,$28,$00,$00,$00

 

Line 761 is used to “[D]e[F]ine [B]ype” of SHAPE4 data. 

 

762  ****** CASTLE TILE ****************

 

Line 762 is a comment line which tells the user that the CASTLE TILE shape data will be referenced below. 

 

763  SHAPE5               DFB   $03,$60,$7F,$7F,$7E,3F,$06,$30,$06,

$30,$06,$30,$06,$30,$06,$30,$06,$30,$06,$30,$06,$30,$06,$30,$06,$30,$3E,$3E,$3F,$7E,$03,$60

 

Line 763 is used to “[D]e[F]ine [B]ype” of SHAPE5 data. 

 

764  ****** TOWN TILE ****************

 

Line 764 is a comment line which tells the user that the TOWN TILE shape data will be referenced below. 

 

765  SHAPE6               DFB   $00,$00,$3E,$3E,$22,$22,$22,$22,$22,

$22,$22,$22,$7E,$3F,$20,$02,$20,$02,$7E,$3F,$22,$22,$22,$22,$22,$22,$22,$22,$3E,$3E,$00,$00

 

Line 765 is used to “[D]e[F]ine [B]ype” of SHAPE6 data. 

 

766  ****** SIGNPOST TILE ****************

 

Line 766 is a comment line which tells the user that the SIGNPOST TILE shape data will be referenced below. 

 

767  SHAPE7               DFB   $00,$00,$40,$01,$40,$01,$78,$0F,$78,

$0F,$78,$0F,$78,$0F,$78,$0F,$78,$0F,$40,$01,$40,$01,$40,$01,$40,$01,$78,$1F,$7E,$7F,$00,$00

 

Line 767 is used to “[D]e[F]ine [B]ype” of SHAPE7 data. 

 

768  ****** CHARACTER TILE ****************

 

Line 768 is a comment line which tells the user that the CHARACTER TILE shape data will be referenced below. 

 

769  SHAPE8               DFB   $00,$00,$60,$01,$60,$01,$60,$01,$40,

$00,$78,$07,$7C,$0F,$62,$11,$44,$08,$78,$07,$60,$01,$70,$03,$10,$02,$10,$02,$18,$06,$00,$00

 

Line 769 is used to “[D]e[F]ine [B]ype” of SHAPE8 data. 

 

770  ****** TROLL TILE ****************

 

Line 770 is a comment line which tells the user that the TROLL TILE shape data will be referenced below. 

 

771  SHAPE9               DFB   $00,$00,$10,$04,$70,$07,$60,$03,$40,

$01,$78,$0F,$7C,$1F,$66,$33,$66,$33,$7E,$3F,$30,$06,$30,$06,$30,$06,$30,$06,$38,$0E,$00,$00

 

Line 771 is used to “[D]e[F]ine [B]ype” of SHAPE9 data. 

 

772  ****** DUNGEON TILE ****************

 

Line 772 is a comment line which tells the user that the DUNGEON TILE shape data will be referenced below. 

 

773  SHAPE10             DFB   $08,$04,$1F,$0E,$62,$71,$41,$20,$20,

$40,$10,$00,$08,$41,$46,$23,$03,$10,$64,$03,$30,$76,$17,$24,$12,$14,$1C,$1C,$10,$04,$10,$04

 

Line 773 is used to “[D]e[F]ine [B]ype” of SHAPE10 data. 

 

774  ****** CART TILE ****************

 

Line 774 is a comment line which tells the user that the CART TILE shape data will be referenced below. 

 

775  SHAPE11             DFB   $00,$00,$00,$00,$00,$00,$00,$00,$00,

$00,$03,$00,$0E,$00,$78,$7F,$78,$7F,$78,$78,$30,$70,$20,$12,$20,$10,$40,$08,$00,$07,$00,$00

 

Line 775 is used to “[D]e[F]ine [B]ype” of SHAPE11 data. 

 

776  ****** HORSE TILE ****************

 

Line 776 is a comment line which tells the user that the HORSE TILE shape data will be referenced below. 

 

777  SHAPE12             DFB   $00,$00,$00,$00,$00,$00,$00,$00,$0C,

$00,$1E,$00,$3F,$00,$7C,$3F,$70,$7F,$78,$7F,$78,$3F,$1C,$7C,$12,$48,$12,$48,$08,$24,$00,$00

 

Line 777 is used to “[D]e[F]ine [B]ype” of SHAPE12 data. 

 

778  ****** SPEEDER TILE ****************

 

Line 778 is a comment line which tells the user that the SPEEDER TILE shape data will be referenced below. 

 

779  SHAPE13             DFB   $00,$00,$00,$00,$00,$00,$00,$00,$00,

$00,$00,$00,$00,$00,$3F,$00,$18,$00,$7C,$0C,$7E,$3F,$7E,$3F,$00,$00,$00,$00,$00,$00,$00,$00

 

Line 779 is used to “[D]e[F]ine [B]ype” of SHAPE13 data. 

 

780  ****** SPACE TILE ****************

 

Line 780 is a comment line which tells the user that the SPACE TILE shape data will be referenced below. 

 

781  SHAPE14             DFB   $40,$00,$60,$01,$10,$02,$70,$03,$70,

$03,$70,$03,$70,$03,$70,$03,$70,$03,$78,$07,$78,$07,$7C,$0F,$7E,$1F,$7F,$3F,$7F,$3F,$70,$03

 

Line 781 is used to “[D]e[F]ine [B]ype” of SHAPE14 data. 

 

782  ****** OCEAN TILE ****************

 

Line 782 is a comment line which tells the user that the OCEAN TILE shape data will be referenced below. 

 

783  SHAPE15             DFB   $80,$8A,$80,$A0,$85,$80,$D0,$80,$80,

$8A,$80,$A0,$85,$80,$D0,$80,$80,$8A,$80,$A0,$85,$80,$D0,$80,$80,$8A,$80,$A0,$85,$80,$D0,$80

 

Line 783 is used to “[D]e[F]ine [B]ype” of SHAPE15 data. 

 

784  ****** MOUNTAIN TILE ****************

 

Line 784 is a comment line which tells the user that the MOUNTAIN TILE shape data will be referenced below. 

 

784  SHAPE16             DFB   $08,$04,$1F,$0E,$62,$71,$41,$20,$20,

$40,$10,$00,$08,$41,$46,$23,$23,$1C,$1C,$08,$08,$07,$07,$20,$02,$10,$44,$08,$78,$07,$10,$02

 

Line 784 is used to “[D]e[F]ine [B]ype” of SHAPE16 data. 

 

These are all the shapes/graphic tiles represented on the world map.  There are more shapes in Ultima 1 but they represent the monsters and are generated from a different binary file.

 

As always, if you have any questions please email me

Joe “Kingspud”