Getting familiar with C64 graphics converting tools

Like I told in my previous post I wanted to enter one of the graphics competitions in this year’s Alternative Party. I wanted to make my picture using C64 graphics formats, but I wasn’t planning to pixel the picture in native formats in the first place. Instead, I was planning to draw the picture using modern tools and then convert it! Shocking!

I already had a concept in my mind that I wanted to try out: to combine and use different screen modes for different parts of the picture. Of course it wasn’t possible to actually use different screen modes with the picture, especially with my non-existing programming skills. So the road I had to take was to draw the picture elements separately which I then converted to different graphics modes. The parts would have to be combined, and then finally, converted into final picture.

This gave me a good reason to start checking out the different graphics converting tools.

Alternative Party 2011

So, I went and joined the communist party!

I’m talking about Alternative Party 2011 – Red Machine, held at the end of October in Helsinki. This year’s theme was, well, anything soviet. This was also the last Altparty for the time being – at least in its current form. The end of an era was somehow present in the overall atmosphere in my opinion. Even though this year was not special in any way, I think it’s a great shame that this tradition of the untraditional event will end.

The theme was taken into account by the organizers rather nicely. Before getting to the event area, or before receiving the ticket, you had to queue. Several times in different lines. Asking for stamps and presenting documents which were rejected in the previous queue. A fun but slightly annoying number I say!

Queuing is important! (Video in Finnish)

When finally entering the area, you were presented with world’s largest collection as an exhibition. A collection consisting of items from former Soviet Union.

PRESS PLAY ON TAPE gig at Assembly 2011

Last weekend I bought perhaps my most expensive concert ticket so far when I had to buy the Assembly weekend ticket just to see PRESS PLAY ON TAPE live gig. Yep, I got there about half an hour before PPOT started the gig and left right after it. Neither did I return the party place the next day due to other activities. Despite that I really wanted to see the band play live since they were playing here in Finland.

So that was rather brief visit to Assembly. But the time spent there was good – PPOT didn’t dissappoint me at all!

Music podcasts of my choise

Something about music for a change.

Many times I prefer music podcasts over Internet radio. Instead of listening to seemingly random tunes it’s nice to listen music that has been selected around some theme. Or even better – mixed together. One important thing for me is also that it’s not allowed to stress the network with streamed music at my workplace. So music podcasts and arranged sets come handy for me.

These podcasts and other shows have helped me along the day countless hours and I’m glad to promote them a bit.
 

BitJam Podcast

This has been a very regular scene music podcast by BitFellas. There’s well over hundred podcasts online. All done over a certain theme or topic. Have a look – I’m surprised if there is nothing that catches your interest!

 
 

Hardread Podcast

Another scene music podcast. BitJam’s roots comes from Hardread but Hardread is still living on its own. Too bad te activity has been dropping lately.

Zagreb street art

I’m back from a refreshing holiday in Croatia! In Zagreb there was a cool, nearly half a kilometer long wall completely covered in street art. Many of the pieces were awesome, but one in particular caught my attention – it featured a C64 and Datassette and the startup screen.

The pictures are crappy, I know, but they were taken from a fast-moving tram. Also the traffic was blocking the works. I think there has been beveled buttons in that painted C64, but they have got stolen or something. Also, I’m not sure if the piece on the left to the C64 one is Spectrum inspired or just a coincidence.

Cultural act

Yesterday there was an unusual story in Finnish newspaper Kymen Sanomat and also few other cooperating subnational newspapers. It was about Commodore 64 and sports games. That’s right.

How this came to be?  A friend of mine, Juha Rika – who has found C64 again after years, is working in that newspaper. He got this idea together with his collegue – a sports editor – to arrange a gaming session with their C64-nostalgic workmates and to have a story written of it in the newspaper. Of course this counted as work time. Getting paid having fun playing C64 is quite unusual – I salute you guys!

C64 Pixel Art Gallery

Some time ago a C64 pixel art gallery emerged: C64pixels.com. The gallery is constantly being updated with old and new C64 graphics and already contains pictures to amaze for a good while. And there is even more content available if you register to the site.

The gallery is executed really well with emulation for actual display picture. The pictures have filters applied to them to simulate for example CRT-monitor scanlines, the softness of old monitor or TV and the colour bleeding. Also the interlaced pictures are flickering in the gallery! The result is close to how the pieces actually look on authentic hardware.

Some of the artwork is magnificent just as they are, but to really see the beauty in the pictures one has to understand the limitations that the artist have to work within. The fixed palette of 16 colours and the relatively low resolutions are just the beginning. Here is a short and nice introduction to different C64 graphics modes, their properties and limitations. Here is another, more technical approach to C64 graphic capabilities. Have a look into these documents, and then to the best pieces in the gallery!

Here are some of my favourite artist picks: Archmage, Clone, Duce, Electric, Joe, Mirage.

Sony plays you for a fool?

Sony Computer Entertainment released this April Fools’ Day a firmware “update” for Playstation 3 that will only disable a feature – the possibility to run other operating system on PS3. I’m angry and concerned about what this April Fools’ Day joke represents.

There is nothing new in that some features will be removed from a gaming system over its lifetime. Audio/Video connectors and -options, expansion ports and slots, hardware backwards compatibility, storage media options etc. There are not many systems that have lived for several years but wouldn’t have lost anything like that over time. All that for cost savings and profit seeking from the manufacturer.

But Playstation 3 has to be the first system that loses a feature after you have purchased the machine! A feature that was well promoted at the first place and gave the system added value. And how does this help Sony? “Security concerns” they say. Has restricting user freedom ever prevented piracy? Attack the users before someone harms the business? Hackers won’t be stopped by this kind of move – more like the contrary.

I’m not saying that the possibility to install Linux on a PS3 would be important for me, but I’m against this action on the principal level. They are disabling an interesting feature from my PS3 that had it when I purchased the system.

In practice they are forcing this downgrade as the online services, new games and likely other media as well will require always the latest system updates. So choosing not to update is not really an option.

There has been a lot of commenting over Internet like “who cares”. Why wouldn’t you care? What if the feature they were removing was something else like DVD playback, backwards compatibility (well, that was lost for PS2 already) or support for external storage media? There is nothing that would prevent them doing so if those features possessed a “security concern” and could be considered to be disabled without financial losses.

I think it is stupid to give the message that “I’m fine with this – do what ever with the system I (think I) own”.

Sony Computer Entertainment like any corporate is interested only in their market share – not in you as their customer. This action from them demonstrates that very well. I for one will protest with my wallet – that is a feedback channel that a corporate will listen.

Pixelling: Status check

After many many years, I got myself doing some pixel artwork again. The motivation was this year’s Alternative Party. As I mentioned in my previous post, I entered the Retro Graphics Competition. I came second, and here is the picture:

(picture scaled, click for 2x original image)

The rules were: 320 x 200 resolution, max. 32 colours. I had made the decision to enter the competiton months before the event. Of course I did not start drawing until the very last minute – just typical from me. This picture was made in two previous evenings before my Alt weekend.

Alternative Party 2009

Alternative Party was held once again at the end of October, from Friday 23th to Sunday 25th. I like the event – it’s sort of a demo party but something totally different as the name suggests. Digital culture festival as the web site puts it. This year’s theme was cyberpunk, and Sophie Wilson and Jeri Ellsworth were invited as special guests. Together with the usual exotic and offbeat programme there was again strong music line-up. I was sure to get my ticket early on, and now I’m writing my blog several weeks after the party. So, what did the Altparty deliver this year?