Graph Paper

Share graphical tips, notes and queries related to our favourite screen layout and its editors.
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PeterJ
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Graph Paper

Post by PeterJ »

I found a seller on eBay last week that sells graph paper with 8x8 blocks. I ordered a pack and it arrived promptly so thought I would mention it here. I'm not linked in any way to the seller!

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 2769344170
Ralf
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by Ralf »

Are you going to design some sprites on it like it was 1983 again? ;)
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PeterJ
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by PeterJ »

That's the plan! Retro to the end!
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Joefish
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by Joefish »

There are PDFs of UDG design paper and screen pixel paper in the files section of my website:

http://railtron.com/files/spectrum/

The 'UDGpaper' ones are 10x15 UDGs to an A4 sheet. The 'SCRpaper' ones are 24x32 characters, so print those out in landscape then turn them sideways for a whole screen. Both come in black or green lines. You can use either for a colour printer, but the black are best for a monochrome laser printer.

Just save them and send them to a printer; you'll probably want a laser printer for the screen-sized one.

I usually use light card stock rather than paper, as it stands up to more rubbing out. I've got some lovely multi-coloured card stock, too!
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hitm4n
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by hitm4n »

I've used this in the past...
http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/square.html
online PDFs.
I don't have anything cool to put here, so i'll just be off now to see a priest with yeast stuck between his teeth and his friend called Keith who's a hairpiece thief...
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Morkin
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by Morkin »

Classic GRAPHics, courtesy of Rorthron..!

Image

Image
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Rorthron
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by Rorthron »

:D

Done on paper, because I was too incompetent to do them in software!
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Joefish
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by Joefish »

hitm4n wrote: Sat Dec 02, 2017 9:01 am I've used this in the past...
http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/square.html
online PDFs.
That's where I made mine. But it took a few goes to get them to look right, and to do exactly one screen size. I used the third sizing parameter to fit the page around multiples of 5x5 or 8x8 characters.
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R-Tape
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by R-Tape »

Rorthron wrote: Sat Dec 02, 2017 2:04 pm :D

Done on paper, because I was too incompetent to do them in software!
I've never tried this way. Did you scan it in, resize and open in ZX-Paint to finish?
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R-Tape
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by R-Tape »

I knew I had these somewhere. These were done on regular graph paper around 2011.

Image
Stamp Quest graphics. Edit, the jellyfish is showing preshifting, which SQ doesn't have, might have been later.

Image
Dicking about while doing Wunderchars

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Some of the many UDGs in Wunderchars

Image
And this last one more recently. It was done by candlelight during the Storm Desmond powercuts December 2015.
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Rorthron
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by Rorthron »

R-Tape wrote: Sat Dec 02, 2017 5:21 pm
Rorthron wrote: Sat Dec 02, 2017 2:04 pm :D

Done on paper, because I was too incompetent to do them in software!
I've never tried this way. Did you scan it in, resize and open in ZX-Paint to finish?
No. I built an Excel spreadsheet for the whole screen, manually input each pixel as a 1 or 0 and used formulae to convert these into a string of values for 0x4000 and beyond (I hope I got that right). I did something similar for the attributes.

I can't think why more people don't do it that way. :)
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1024MAK
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by 1024MAK »

In the past when I have used graph paper to design UDG and graphics, at first I always manually calculated the decimal value to enter into the Spectrum. Soon after, I started to use a scientific calculator that has binary, hexadecimal and of course decimal modes. Much easier ;)
Now I have an iPad app. and computer based calculators that can convert binary to hexadecimal or decimal.

The trouble with using spreadsheets, is that not all formats/versions support the binary and hexadecimal operators/functions :(
My experience is from a few years ago, so maybe things have moved forward.

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RMartins
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by RMartins »

This reminds me of a few graphics I found 4 months ago, with 30+ years, when I was doing games in Basic.
I have to scan those, one of these days.

They were all done in some "accountant" grid paper, my parent gave me from a firm that had been closed.
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PeterJ
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by PeterJ »

1024MAK wrote: Sat Dec 02, 2017 8:04 pm In the past when I have used graph paper to design UDG and graphics, at first I always manually calculated the decimal value to enter into the Spectrum. Soon after, I started to use a scientific calculator that has binary, hexadecimal and of course decimal modes. Much easier ;)
Now I have an iPad app. and computer based calculators that can convert binary to hexadecimal or decimal.

The trouble with using spreadsheets, is that not all formats/versions support the binary and hexadecimal operators/functions :(
My experience is from a few years ago, so maybe things have moved forward.

Mark
Google Sheets covers this very well now, and its the option I use when I'm not feeling retro!

HEX2DEC: Converts a signed hexadecimal number to decimal format.
HEX2BIN: Converts a signed hexadecimal number to signed binary format.
DEC2HEX: Converts a decimal number to signed hexadecimal format.
DEC2BIN: Converts a decimal number to signed binary format.
BIN2HEX: Converts a signed binary number to signed hexadecimal format.
BIN2DEC: Converts a signed binary number to decimal format.
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R-Tape
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by R-Tape »

RMartins wrote: Sat Dec 02, 2017 9:45 pm This reminds me of a few graphics I found 4 months ago, with 30+ years, when I was doing games in Basic.
I have to scan those, one of these days.

They were all done in some "accountant" grid paper, my parent gave me from a firm that had been closed.
Please do!
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R-Tape
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by R-Tape »

Rorthron wrote: Sat Dec 02, 2017 6:53 pm No. I built an Excel spreadsheet for the whole screen, manually input each pixel as a 1 or 0 and used formulae to convert these into a string of values for 0x4000 and beyond (I hope I got that right).
Oof!
Rorthron wrote: Sat Dec 02, 2017 6:53 pm I did something similar for the attributes.
I'm struggling to visualise this (I get the pixels), I'll have to try it. How on earth did you decide how to place the attributes? DId ZX-Paint not come into this somewhere?!
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R-Tape
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by R-Tape »

PeterJ wrote: Sat Dec 02, 2017 9:52 pm HEX2DEC: Converts a signed hexadecimal number to decimal format.
Despite numerous attempts at learning it by heart (crib sheets on the walls at work etc) I still need to rely on this one!
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Joefish
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by Joefish »

The sprites and font in Buzzsaw+ were designed as binary data statements in the PASMO listing!
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Rorthron
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by Rorthron »

R-Tape wrote: Sat Dec 02, 2017 10:30 pm
Rorthron wrote: Sat Dec 02, 2017 6:53 pm I did something similar for the attributes.
I'm struggling to visualise this (I get the pixels), I'll have to try it. How on earth did you decide how to place the attributes? DId ZX-Paint not come into this somewhere?!
If my memory serves me well, I had a separate sheet with three drop-down menus per character: one for INK, one for PAPER and one for BRIGHT. Formulae converted the data into attribute values.

I tried ZX Paintbrush, but couldn't get the hang of it, so I decided to scale up my usual sprite design method to a full screen. It worked for me, but I'm probably a bit... unusual... in that regard.
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R-Tape
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by R-Tape »

Joefish wrote: Sun Dec 03, 2017 4:32 am The sprites and font in Buzzsaw+ were designed as binary data statements in the PASMO listing!
It works! Though I assumed you used contemporary packages, I pictured you agonising over every pixel for months.
Rorthron wrote: Sun Dec 03, 2017 9:40 am If my memory serves me well, I had a separate sheet with three drop-down menus per character: one for INK, one for PAPER and one for BRIGHT. Formulae converted the data into attribute values.

I tried ZX Paintbrush, but couldn't get the hang of it, so I decided to scale up my usual sprite design method to a full screen. It worked for me, but I'm probably a bit... unusual... in that regard.
Yep :-p , as you say - it works.

We should do a SCREEN$ comp sometime.
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Morkin
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by Morkin »

R-Tape wrote: Sat Dec 02, 2017 10:30 pm
Rorthron wrote: Sat Dec 02, 2017 6:53 pm No. I built an Excel spreadsheet for the whole screen, manually input each pixel as a 1 or 0 and used formulae to convert these into a string of values for 0x4000 and beyond (I hope I got that right).
Oof!
Rorthron wrote: Sat Dec 02, 2017 6:53 pm I did something similar for the attributes.
I'm struggling to visualise this (I get the pixels), I'll have to try it. How on earth did you decide how to place the attributes? DId ZX-Paint not come into this somewhere?!
Rorthron's 'graphics-by-Excel'...

Image


A couple of the formulas were wrong unfortunately... I was going to ask him to correct them without telling him which were wrong, but I thought it might give him a nervous breakdown... :lol:
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Joefish
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by Joefish »

Joefish wrote: Sun Dec 03, 2017 4:32 am The sprites and font in Buzzsaw+ were designed as binary data statements in the PASMO listing!
R-Tape wrote: Sun Dec 03, 2017 3:26 pmIt works! Though I assumed you used contemporary packages, I pictured you agonising over every pixel for months.
I wrote a sprite routine to display the 16x16 sprites, then cut and pasted a load of 00000000b,00000000b lines into the code, switched the edit cursor to overwrite and typed in the 1s I wanted, compiling and running every so often to see what they looked like! Nothing was done in an art package or on paper. To be honest, when you are trying to see what can be achieved with narrow attributes and you're changing one pixel at a time back and forth for ages, it doesn't really matter what you're doing it in - the only thing that counts is what it looks like when you display it in the game. Particularly for attributes - you can fiddle with some mouse-driven setting system or just overtype 1s and 0s in your data - it doesn't take any longer, and in some ways it's easier as you don't then have the hassle of translating your images into code later on.

The original LDI version of my multicolour code could only change every second attribute on every second line, so the atttributes were 8x2 but offeset one pixel vertically in the two halves of the sprite. You can still see the after-effects of designing that way in the sprites, particular on levels 5-10 where the sprites have coloured masks and headbands that don't always go straight across.

The font was done the same way - loads of 00000000b in blocks of 8 with a comment to say which character it is, filled in with 1s by hand!

I have gone onto the graph paper for my Bertrand Bubblethwaite sprites, to get the hang of designing for 8x2 multicolour. This involves scrolling though so it's getting tricky to work out what can go where. And although I can sketch out animations on paper or in a paint program, there's still no substitute for actually seeing them animated in the game code. And given that I'm going for Manic Miner-style, combining the animation with the pre-shifting, that means I need a moving sprite routine up and running to start with.
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arkannoyed
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by arkannoyed »

Anyone remember the ZX Microfairs that used to be held in the Horticultural Halls in Westminster?

Probably around 1985 I somehow acquired a graphics design pad with tear-off sheets made by Protek.

Probably 5 or so years ago, I recreated it from a scan of the original in Illustrator, so if you print this off, then you'll have quite a nice
clean graphical design sheet to play with.

I did also produce a 'live' version that need a decent PC speed to run on, but allows you to actually re-colour each pixel square.

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/9qt6ahrc2x972l ... e.pdf?dl=1
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arkannoyed
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by arkannoyed »

If you're printing it, usually a laser printer gives the best result.

Looks like this is a busier forum than old WOS, where I usually go. Didn't know about this!!
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Rorthron
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Re: Graph Paper

Post by Rorthron »

Nice! I remember those Protek sheets. If my printer's up to it, I might give them ago.

And welcome to the forum!
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