Mastodawn

Time for another image viewer for #AgonLight #Console8 - this time, PCX format. There are a number of reasons why I chose to display this format on the Agon/Console8.
* It is an already existing format
* The format is supported by modern tools, including #GIMP
* It uses a very simple form of compression ideal for 8 bit CPUs
* The specific choice of 16 colours has additional benefits:
* The 16 colours are chosen from within the available 64 colour palette
* The 16 colours allows the image to be sent to the VDP with 2 pixels per byte, speeding up the transfer
I've attached a sample here to show just the quality of the resolution and colour depth. #z80 source code and binary is at:
https://github.com/sijnstra/agon-projects/tree/main/PCXview
#retrocomputing #image #viewer #ez80

james is here Jan 5

Started looking into porting the Antic magazine type-in "Adventure Creation Kit" (CREATION.BAS) to Agon. It's a short program, under 200 lines of Atari BASIC(with one machine language routine for graphics) but very effective for making a tiny hack-and-slash RPG in a tile-based world. A good candidate for a "port and expand" approach. #agonLight #retrocomputing #retrogaming #gamedev

Shawn Sijnstra Dec 8

I recently took advantage of some temporary discounts and acquired the #Console8 by Heber. It's a #retrogame focused package of the #AgonLight, complete with some great joypads that they also make. As part of the induction into the house, I converted the logo into something a little more 8-bit, and updated my logo software. #z80 #ez80 #retrocomputing
You can buy a Console8 here : https://heber.co.uk/agon-cosole8/
You can download the updated logo software & source here: https://github.com/sijnstra/agon-projects/tree/main/bootlogo

Shawn Sijnstra Nov 24

Time for another programming option for the #AgonLight family... #Pascal! I've re-targeted PASTA/80, an open source Turbo Pascal 3 compatible cross-compiler that targets #z80 machines. It's still early days, so expect a lot of weirdness and issues, and things that can be improved. It has a dependency on sjasm+, so there are a few quirks in how I've had to pull together the Agon libraries. You also need a Pascal compiler to compile the compiler. All the instructions, source and some examples are on the github repo: https://github.com/sijnstra/pasta80/tree/agon #retrocomputing

PuttyCAD (Ric)Oct 22

If you're into 8-bit programming and/or graphics you can get a whole range of Retro Jotters on Amazon. The most popular one is the ZX Spectrum one which I've linked here... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C47JD15H Good luck with finding the others as the site search engine is absolutely useless. #zxspectrum #retrojotter #c64 #agonlight #amstradcpc #gamingbooks #gamedev #art #pixelart #puttycad

[email protected]Oct 14

Creating an Entity Component System for My Retro Video Game Engine
Welcome to the next edition of Gamedev The Hard Way, my attempt at #programming a game from scratch for the #AgonLight, using nothing but C. This time I throw away a ton of code and replace it with a shiny new Entity Component System.
https://ncot.uk/videos/creating-an-entity-component-system-for-my-retro-video-game-engine/

Creating an Entity Component System for My Retro Video Game Engine

Welcome to the next edition of Gamedev The Hard Way, my attempt at #programming a game from scratch for the #AgonLight, using nothing but C. This time I throw away a ton of code and replace it with a shiny new Entity Component System.

NCoT Tech

Shawn Sijnstra Aug 26, 2025

I wanted to use more graphics on my #AgonLight and the best project that came to mind was to display #Amstrad #CPC .pal/.scr images. Took a while to get there, and now it works including the same "wipe" effect that the original hardware had due to the unusual RAM layout. Planning to use this for landing pages to create the mood for any game you might load. You can see the source code + binary at https://github.com/sijnstra/agon-projects/tree/main/CPCpic #z80 #ez80 #retrocomputing #retrogaming video shows loader image from Stefan Vogt's Ghosts of Blackwood Manor.

[email protected]Aug 11, 2025

Writing a Roguelike in C Part 1
Let’s try to write a Roguelike game in C for the #AgonLight. This is the first video. I explore how the original Rogue and similar games like Nethack generate their own dungeons, then adapt code that draws mazes so my dungeons are a bit more interesting to explore.
https://ncot.uk/videos/writing-a-roguelike-in-c---part-1/

Writing a Roguelike in C Part 1

Let’s try to write a Roguelike game in C for the #AgonLight. This is the first video. I explore how the original Rogue and similar games like Nethack generate their own dungeons, then adapt code that draws mazes so my dungeons are a bit more interesting to explore.

NCoT Tech

[email protected]Aug 11, 2025

A Retro Game Made With 21st Century Thinking Gamedev the Hard Way
In this abridged video, I walk you through the process of building a text adventure game from scratch on the #AgonLight. Rather than a deep dive into every line of code, this video focuses on explaining the overall structure and design choices behind the project.
https://ncot.uk/videos/a-retro-game-made-with-21st-century-thinking---gamedev-the-hard-way/

A Retro Game Made With 21st Century Thinking Gamedev the Hard Way

In this abridged video, I walk you through the process of building a text adventure game from scratch on the #AgonLight. Rather than a deep dive into every line of code, this video focuses on explaining the overall structure and design choices behind the project.

NCoT Tech

james is here Aug 4, 2025

Initial release of https://github.com/triplefox/agon-vdptypes

VDPTypes is a Python library that assists in generating VDU protocol data for the Agon computing platform's VDP (Visual Display Processor). It supports Console8 as of version 2.12.0, minus some experimental API calls. Not all calls have yet been tested.

Contributions are appreciated, my bandwidth to work on Agon projects is limited.

VDPTypes is a support library made for customized build scripts, asset conversion, and development of VDP buffer programs. It includes:

* Utility code for loading and converting assets to VDP formats
* VDP-IL, an intermediate language for VDU commands using Python data structures, giving them some syntax and automatic checking
* Code generation for several language targets on Agon (unfinished)

#retrocomputing #agonlight #agon #console8 #python

GitHub - triplefox/agon-vdptypes: Agon VDP Types

Agon VDP Types. Contribute to triplefox/agon-vdptypes development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHub