Loading...
2,514
2 years ago

Ever wondered how devs measure performance on real a NES, which has no dev kit? A common way is the change the "color emphasis" while an operation is executing, during rendering. This effectively draws colored bars representing how long something takes.


Here, Green represents the player update. At the start of the "player_update" function, which is running while the TV is drawing the previous frame from top to bottom & left to right, I tell the NES to tint everything Green. At the end of the function I stop tinting Green.

image.png

This tells me that to update the player, it takes *roughly* 15 scanlines of the video frame. I have about 260 scanlines to finish all the work for the next frame to maintain 60 frames per second, so this one function takes about 6% of my CPU budget for the frame.

image.png

The game in the video is a new, untitled, NES homebrew I am working on.

Follow for more updates on that game, and retro console development in general!

2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Game Dev
Game Dev Show & Tell
Nintendo ClipsNScreenshots
Pixel Art general
Retro & Homebrew Games Home Brew Devs
173


9 comments

Loading...

Next up

MASSIVE Game Boy Homebrew GIVEAWAY! We're giving away physical copies of 4 new Gameboy games to 1 winner! From Below is on sale NOW: http://shop.matthughson.com 🚨 ENTER HERE: https://twitter.com/matthughson/status/1710641131590221843 🏁Giveaway ends Oct 11th 11:59PM PT

"Ghost Piece" is now available in From Below Pocket via a "patch/hack" for anyone interested! It comes with the game when purchased on itch.io! Warning: It's very untested, and probably has perf issues. 😅 https://mhughson.itch.io/from-below-pocket/devlog/617249/ghost-p…

When making games on the NES, nothing is easy!

With a LOT of help from the #nesdev Discord, I was able to clean up the seam above the status bar.

Also there's some new (temp) art, and I even perform the forbidden mid-frame palette update for extra colors!

@TofuPixel is a Jolter to Watch and a pixel artist from England who works on indie games. She likes horror, nature, and funny animals! Follow @TofuPixel before the quest ends on April 15 and you'll get Coins!

An NES crossover!

The Kraken from my first NES game, "From Below", will make a cameo as one of the bosses in my next NES game, "Super Sunny World"🌞

Super Sunny World is a new pixel platformer, and a love letter to the original Super Mario Bros.🍄

WISHLIST!

Happy #WIPWednesday! Are you working on a game? Making some art? Practicing a song? Something else? Tell us in the comments!

Big news for From Below (NES) and From Below Pocket (GB) physical editions!

Full Update: https://mailchi.mp/9df0515acedb/from-below-update-3

Short Version: Both NES and GB will start shipping next week!

Woohoo!!! #nesdev #gbdev

🚨1 WEEK LEFT!🚨 🚨GAMEBOY PREORDER!🚨 Last chance to get a copy of this brand new Game Boy game, From Below Pocket, as well as the NES version!🦑 After this week, the game will be out of print, likely for YEARS. 📆 https://frombelowgame.com #gbdev #nesdev

We've updated the trending section of the Game Jolt Shop! http://gamejolt.com/#shop

Snag a new avatar frame and a sticker pack or two!

Remember, every purchase supports our creators and our community!

Support creators, shop on Game Jolt! #broadcast

Time is almost up on a new GAME BOY and NES title!⏲️

Only 2 week left to pick up a physical copy of "From Below Pocket" for the Game Boy, and "From Below" for the NES! 🦑

Both come complete in box with free global shipping! 📨

shop.matthughson.com