STARTING OUT
UNLOCKING THE 56 GRAPHIC MODES
Instant exploration of Atari's display styles
By PAUL CHABOTSYNOPSIS
Introducing Atari's full range of graphics modes. With accompanying
BASIC program that gives you instant display of all 56 modes. Runs
on all Atari computers of all memory configurations. For Antic Disk
subscribers: Type RUN"D:ALLMODES.BAS"
Why did you buy an Atari computer? The chances are good that,
in addition to its other fine qualities, you were attracted by the unmatched
ability to create computer color graphics.
Atari home computers are outstanding for graphics because
they all feature, in addition to the 6502 central microprocessor, another
chip called ANTIC (sound familiar?) that's dedicated solely to handling
the Atari's video screen display.
The ANTIC chip can display data in 14 different formats,
called graphics modes. The accompanying chart lists all 14, along
with information about each. Some of these, such as Graphics 0, are
text modes, which means that the data in memory must be represented as
characters (numbers, letters, and symbols). Others, such as Graphics
7, tell the computer to display memory data as a picture.
In addition to the 14 ANTIC modes, there are three additional
graphics modes that are controlled by yet another special chip, GTIA (George's
Television Interface Adaptor). These are Graphics 9, 10, and 11.
Here is what happens when you call up one of these GTIA modes in a program.
The Atari first sets up a full screen display of Graphics 8, then alters
memory location 623. If you call Graphics 9, then 64 is added to
the contents of location 623. If you call Graphics 10, then 128 is
added to this location. Calling Graphics 11 adds 192. The accompanying
chart provides more details.
Thus, you see that GTIA has four states controlled by
location 623, and accessible by the values 0, 64, 128, and 192. Each
of ANTIC's 14 graphics modes can be altered by GTIA's four states for a
grand total of 56 modes. Of course, some of these modes are ugly
and others are are simply useless. There are, however, many valuable
modes.
The accompanying program sets up a sample text display,
then allows you to view it in all 56 graphics modes. The display
won't be recognizable in every graphics mode, but you'll get an instant
demonstration of how the same data is interpreted in the different modes.
HOW TO USE THE PROGRAM
Type in the BASIC listing and test it with TYPO. SAVE an extra
backup copy, then RUN it. It will produce a Graphics 2 screen display
with a menu in the text window. Use the number keys [0]-[8] to change
the display mode. Keys [A]-[E] produce additional modes that are
supported directly by the XL series, but that require special programming
to be used by 400/800 computers (see accompanying chart).
Press [G] to cycle GTIA through its four states.
The [S] key changes the memory area that gets mapped to the screen.
Feel free to roam around and watch your Atari think by typing in addresses
such as 1536, 53760, 53960, 0, and 40520. The [R] key gets you home
again.
ALLMODES was created to demonstrate and explore the graphics
capabilities of the Atari. Feel free to hit [BREAK] at any time and
enter immediate-mode commands. For example, try POKEing various values
directly into the color registers 704-712. If the GTIA isn't in its
initial state, you'll have difficulty reading the text window. After
using the immediate mode, type CONT [RETURN] to resume program execution.
Typing [R] returns you to the menu.
SIZE CHANGES
Notice that besides changing the display, your selections cause the
display area to shrink or expand. This is why it happens:
When you look at your video display, you're actually seeing
a beam of electrons sweeping across the screen, left to right. Every
time the beam reaches the right edge of the screen, it is turned off and
moved down slightly, where it will sweep across the screen again.
The result of each sweep on the screen is called a scan line. The
standard Atari full-screen display holds 192 scan lines and is re-drawn
every 1/60 of a second.
An Atari display combines scan lines into mode lines,
units of one to 16 scan lines - depending on which graphics modes you're
using.
Graphics 2, the mode we started with, has 10 mode lines.
Each of its mode lines contains 16 scan lines, for a total of 160 scan
lines, which results in a fairly full screen. ALLMODES retains this
format of 10 mode lines when it displays any of the 56 graphics modes.
However, a graphics mode might contain as few as one scan line per mode
line.
For more information on how to control the Atari video
display, see "Display Lists Simplified" (Antic, Feb/Mar 1983).
GTIA
When called from BASIC, GTIA modes 9,10, and 11 use a configuration
similar to Graphics 8 and use the same amount of screen memory. Because
of the difference in pixel shape, however, there are 80 pixels per row
in GTIA. These three GTIA modes can be combined with the other modes
by POKEing location 623 as follows:
GTIA 9 - POKE 623,64
GTIA 10 - POKE 623,128
GTIA 11 - POKE 623,192
COLOR ACCESS:
GTIA 9 - POKE hue into 712
Use BASIC
COLOR command
0-15 for
the shade
GTIA 10 - POKE hues and intensities
into 704-712
Use BASIC COLOR
command
0-15 for the color
GTIA 11 - POKE 712,0-14 for luminance.
Use BASIC
COLOR command 0-15
for hue.
ATARI GRAPHICS MODES AND SCREEN FORMATS
ANTIC BASIC MODE BYTES/ COLUMNS
ROWS ROWS SCAN LINES/ # OF SCREEN RAM
MODE MODE TYPE
LINE (SPLIT) (FULL)
MODE LINE COLORS REQUIRED
2 GR.0 TEXT
40 40 -
24 8
1* 960
3 NONE TEXT
40 40 -
+ 10
1* +
4 GR.12(XL) TEXT 40
40 20 24
8 5
960
5 GR.13(XL) TEXT 40
40 10 12
16 5
480
6 GR.1 TEXT
20 20 20
24 8
5 480
7 GR.2 TEXT
20 20 10
12 16
5 240
8 GR.3 GRAPH
10 40 20
24 8
4 240
9 GR.4 GRAPH
10 80 40
48 4
2 480
A GR.5 GRAPH
20 80 40
48 4
4 960
B GR.6 GRAPH
20 160 80
96 2
2 1920
C GR.14(XL) GRAPH 20
160 160 192
1 2
3840
D GR.7 GRAPH
40 160 80
96 2
4 3840
E GR.15(XL) GRAPH 40
160 160 192
1 4
7680
F GR.8 GRAPH
40 320 160
192 1
1* 7680
NOTES:
* One color, two luminances
+ User determined. Please see the article in this issue "ANTIC'S
MODE 3."
Paul Chabot is a professor of mathematics and computer science at California State University in Los Angeles.
Listing: ALLMODES.BAS Download