CPCtelera Logo
Astohishing fast Amstrad CPC game engine for C developers

CPCtelera is an integrated development framework for creating Amstrad CPC games and content which includes:

A low-level library with support for: graphics, audio, keyboard, firmware, strings, video hardware manipulation and memory management.
An API for developing games and software in C and Assembler.
A complete multi-platform building system with support for building CDTs and DSKs automatically.
Tools for content authoring (audio, graphics and level editing)
CPCtelera has been conceived with these aims in mind:

Delivering a convenient, usable and fast environment for developing games
Providing an up-to-date, detailed and easy to consult documentation
Giving technical details of the complete implementation for those curious
Easing the install and configuration process

This new release of CPCtelera comes with lots of new features and improvements that we expect to empower your game creation as much as possible.

Here is a sum-up of new features included in this release:

- API change on cpct_getXBits functions. Changed order of parameters to further optimize operations.
- Optimized functions: bitarray functions, cpct_count2VSYNC, cpct_px2byteM0, cpct_enable/disablefirmware, cpct_getHWColour, cpct_setPalette, cpct_fw2hw
- Added example on getting hardware values with cpct_getHWColour
- Automatic inclusion of binary files in DSK: Users can now specify a path for the makefile to retrieve binary files and insert them on the DSK on compilation.
- iDSK: Fixed historic data corruption problem on adding new files.
- Added cpct_winape script that automatically downloads, installs and lauches winape from command line to speed up development process. It works multiplatform, transparently using wine where required.
- Added cpct_setInterruptHandler and cpct_removeInterruptHandler functions to let the user easily hook any function to system interrupts.
- Added example on hooking a function to system interrupts.
- Added cpct_img2tileset support for generating sprites with interlaced masks.
- Added new script cpct_tmx2csv to convert tmx files from tiled into CSVs ready for inclusion in user code.
- Added Augusto Ruiz's dskgen tool for generating and managing DSKs low level.
- Updated SDCC with latest patches and bugfixes.
- Modified SDCC building: SDCC now builds with maximum optimizations activated and all unnecessary parts are removed from compilation (it compiles faster)
- Improved Makefile functions for CDT Creation.
- Added examples about automatic assets inclusion/conversion and CDT generation with multiple files.
- Improved compatibility and functionality of Augusto Ruiz's img2cpc
- Improved examples and explanations
- Added GCC/CLang version checking on installation (checks required C++11 features are present)
- Added splitted C/ASM bindings for most of CPCtelera's functions, along with __z88dk_callee and __z88dk_fastcall calling convention use.
- Thank you very much to all of you who are collaborating with CPCtelera. This is getting better and better thanks to all of you. Special mention in this release goes to donnors: Arnaud Bouche, Roald Strauss, Ervin Pajor, Tim Riemann and Lachlan Keown. I also want to specially mention Augusto Ruiz for his incredible support and direct collaboration with the project as developer.

Hope you enjoy this release and create new and better games and software for Amstrad CPC!

After a great amount of long days and nights developing, a big new release of CPCtelera has been born. This new release comes with many new features and enhancements and even a license change (from GPL to LGPL), to greatly empower Amstrad CPC developers. We expect your games to reach next level and continue growing.

Here is a sum-up of new features included in this release:

- Low-level library, scripts, building system and examples moved to LGPL license to suit more developer needs.
- Added CPCRSLib installer script (cpct_installrslib): automatically installs and configures CPCRSLib to be used along with CPCtelera.
- Added -c modifier to cpct_mkproject to let the user create CPCRSLib enabled projects.
- Improved cpct_drawSpriteMaskedAlignedTable to work with un-aligned sprites. Only 256-bytes transparency table shall be aligned now.
- Added interrupt unsafe functions for keyboard scanning
- Improved img2cpc sprite generation: explicit array width*height sizes and automatic size constants generation.
- Added new high-quality random number generators: Marsaglia XORShift 8/16/32 bits and Marsaglia XORShitf+ 40 bits state.
- Simplified use of random number generators with standard macros cpct_rand and cpct_srand, to work like C functions rand/srand.
- Added simple user example for random number generation: easy/random.
- Added macro IMG2SPRITES for automatically converting tilemap TMX files into C arrays on typing "make".
- Added macro TMX2C for automatically converting image files into sprites (C-arrays), tiles and tilesets on typing "make".
- Added configuration files image_conversion.mk and tilemap_conversion.mk to easily include TMX2C and IMG2SPRITES macros for all user assets in the project.
- Added new conversion options to cpct_tmx2csv: generation of C/H files, different output folder, and custom c-identifier generation.
- Added new macros cpctm_createTramsparentMaskTable and cpctm_declareMaskTable to easily define and create 256-bytes aligned transparency tables, greatly simplifying the process.
- Added Horizontal Sprite flipping functions: for Modes 0, 1 & 2 and normal/masked sprites, working from RAM and ROM, to suit different user needs.
- Added user examples for horizontal flipping functions. C-examples: flipAnimM2, flipSprites. ASM-examples: hflipSpriteM1, flipMaskSprite.
- Added macro cpctm_screenPtr to do static calculation of screen memory pointers, saving CPU and binary space when calculating constant locations.
- Updated old examples to use new macros, especially cpctm_screenPtr.
- Improved cpct_img2tileset output messages and success status check. Also added an option to output harware converted palette values.
- Added CPCT_VMEM_START macro defining video memory start: standarizes its uses.
- Updated hello world template example to use new macros, simplifying its code.
- Added assembly macros for undocumented Z80 opcodes: used to clarify code.
- Added ultra-optimized assembly macros for bit and pixel reversing inside bytes: they can reverse pixels inside a byte for modes 0, 1 and 2.
- Added macros CPCT_ABSOLUTE_LOCATION_AREA and CPCT_RELOCATABLE_AREA to absolutely locate code and data inside binary space and memory.
- Added example advanced/relocateMemory to show how to use memory relocation macros.
- Added CPCT_XBITARRAY and CPCT_ENCODEXBITS macros to easily define, declare and populate bitarrays.
- Added new type of bitarrays: bitarrays of 6-bits per item.
- Added new example medium/bitarrayMaps1 to clarify the use of bitarrays as tilemaps and other structures.
- Added sprite blending functions: can blend sprites with background using different modes like XOR, OR, AND, ADD, ADC, SUB, SBC, LDI, NOP.
- Added sprite blending example medium/blendedSprites.
- Added colour enumerations to simplify palette definitions and palete colour changes (CPCT_FW_Colour and CPCT_HW_Colour)
- Added support for cpct_winape script to automatically load debugging symbols on launching DSKs.
- Updated cpct_winape to download Winape 2.0 beta 2.
- Added another ASM example with some sprite/text drawing, automatic sprite conversions and animations.
- Some performance improvements on previous functions.
- Updated to SDCC 3.5.5. (and fixed libboost 1.6. compilation problem).
- Fixed a problem with multithreaded compilation on ARM platforms using SD Cards as main storages (mainly Raspberry Pi)
- Added OBJS2CLEAN variable to makefiles to let the user clean some custom generated objects.
- Improved documentation
- Fixed cpct_tmx2csv failing on cygwin
- Added tilemap_hwscroll example to show hardware scrolling capabilities along with an expanded tilemap.
- Added latest 1.1.1. version of Retro Game Asset Studio (RGAS)
- Everything packed with love to give user the best possible set of tools
- And again, really big thanks to all of you who are contributing to CPCtelera. All of this is thanks to all of you, and to the great Amstrad CPC community. Without your work, enthusiasm, help and encouraging messages nothing of this would have been possible. And even more: all of you are the reason for continuing and making this project grow to help you create better software and games.

Please, enjoy this release and continue being the great community you are! Long live to the Amstrad CPC!

CPCtelera 1.5/dev VirtualBox Machine
A Virtual Machine with CPCtelera 1.5/dev installed and ready to use. This VM is based on Linux Manjaro XFCE.

CPCtelera is an integrated development framework for creating Amstrad CPC games and content which includes:

• A low-level library with support for: graphics, audio, keyboard, firmware, strings, video hardware manipulation and memory management.
• A complete set of programming examples to learn from.
• An API for developing games and software in C and Assembler.
• A complete multi-platform building system with support for building CDTs and DSKs automatically.
• Tools for content authoring (audio, graphics and level editing)
• Automatic installers and wrappers for third party tools (such us emulators or other low-level libraries)

CPCtelera has been conceived with these aims in mind:

• Delivering a convenient, usable and fast environment for developing games
• Providing an up-to-date, detailed and easy to consult documentation
• Giving technical details of the complete implementation for those curious
• Easing the install and configuration process

Supported Platforms:

• Windows (with Cygwin 32/64 bits)
• OS X
• Linux