Replacing loading screens

[8BitSC]

Not sure if I placed this in the correct forum. Mods, please move if I’m an idiot.

Watching some recent slideshow demos has made me wonder how easy it would be to substitute the loading screen within a tap file?

Some of the alternate loading screens from the Mac Gallery 1 and 2 demos by the Batman Group are incredible and for my own purposes, I’d love to take a tap file and replace the original loading screen with one captured from one of these demos, then save it out as a tap or z80 for use on my DIVMMC.

I figured @SkoolKid’s brilliant TAP2SNA.PY tool might have this option, but checking the help file, I don’t see any options for this. (Unless I’m missing the obvious).

How easy would it be to do this and which tools would I need?

[Lee P]

If it's a tap file with a standard 6912-byte loading screen it's easy to use ZX-Blockeditor to swap out the original for the new screen. I think the most recent version is here.

I'm sure there's an option to paste a screen into a longer block too but I haven't actually tried that.

[Ralf]

I also wanted to suggest Zx Blockeditor.

Certainly don't use any hex editor, just to replace 6912 bytes in the file. Tape images in .tap format have control checksums and they will be wrong after such a swap.


You can also use Tapir https://www.alessandrogrussu.it/tapir/index.html

1. Open the tape image in your chosen emulator.
2. Reset the emulator and save the new loading screen from Basic.
3. It will be added to the end of the virtual tape
4. Open tape image in Tapir. Delete old screen. Move new screen to the place of the old screen

[Daveysloan]

If any boffins are able to do this with the wee Exploding Fist + loading screen I did then that'd be awesome.

https://zxart.ee/eng/authors/d/dave-sloan/fist/

I've never understood why they went for this odd pic when the awesome box art was right there!



These faces!

[Lee P]

If any boffins are able to do this with the wee Exploding Fist + loading screen I did then that'd be awesome.

https://zxart.ee/eng/authors/d/dave-sloan/fist/

Beyond my capabilities unfortunately, the .tap for this still uses Bleepload, or a ROM version of it anyway.

I did find another .tap and managed to insert a SCREEN$ into it before the headerless load, but then it immediately gets wiped out by a 288-byte block of code at 18432 which I assume is to do with the opening sequence where old "muscles" moves his head:



It'd be possible to clear the screen and load this block in at the end I suppose, but it'd still look odd with a floating head! So I think your best bet is to convert a .z80 or other snapshot to .tap and put the screen in afterwards.

[Daveysloan]

Oh wow that's pretty cool all the same. Thanks so much for having a crack at that!

[jpnz]

Just a bit of Friday night fun - not promising anything...

Spoiler

[Daveysloan]

in the name of Sir Clive Sinclair that is phenomenal!!!

[jpnz]

Haha, thought this would be tricky - have introduced a bug somewhere...

Spoiler

[Daveysloan]

Oh man, that is so close! Absolutely fantastic job though, I never thought I'd be able to see that loading screen in the game, especially with the guy shaking his head at the start. Loving your work!

[jpnz]

Paging @Daveysloan

Your tape image is ready

Spoiler

[Daveysloan]

That is pure class! Blown away by that. Thank you.

[jpnz]

Now available for all to download here - CSW/PZX/TZX/WAV

[ZXnibbs]

Amazing!

To be honest it reminds of me thinking quite a few times I wished for an screen loader Editor that you could load your screen, or any SCR then be able to create one of the many types of loaders as well as being able to chose the colours within the borders AND the speed. I'm still wanting in the future to continue converting many of my favourite screen$ loading into .Gifs to use in screen savers - YES I'm THAT guy

Me? want for much? just wish I wasn't such a dipstick and be able to program this stuff for myself Instead I am forever in debt to you clever folk that can