5. multiple sprites, reading controllers, more instructions¶
This Week
One sprite is boring, so now we add many more! Also move that sprite around using the controller.
5.1. Multiple Sprites¶
Last time there was only 1 sprite loaded so we just used a few LDA/STA pairs to load the sprite data. This time we will have 4 sprites on screen. Doing that many load/stores just takes too much writing and code space. Instead a loop will be used to load the data, like was used to load the palette before. First the data bytes are set up using the .db directive:
sprites:
;vert tile attr horiz
.db $80, $32, $00, $80 ;sprite 0
.db $80, $33, $00, $88 ;sprite 1
.db $88, $34, $00, $80 ;sprite 2
.db $88, $35, $00, $88 ;sprite 3
There are 4 bytes per sprite, each on one line. The bytes are in the correct order and easily changed. This is only the starting data, when the program is running the copy in RAM can be changed to move the sprite around.
Next you need the loop to copy the data into RAM. This loop also works the same way as the palette loading, with the X register as the loop counter:
LoadSprites:
LDX #$00 ; start at 0
LoadSpritesLoop:
LDA sprites, x ; load data from address (sprites + x)
STA $0200, x ; store into RAM address ($0200 + x)
INX ; X = X + 1
CPX #$10 ; Compare X to hex $10, decimal 16
BNE LoadSpritesLoop ; Branch to LoadSpritesLoop if compare was Not
Equal to zero
; if compare was equal to 16, continue down
If you wanted to add more sprites, you would add lines into the sprite .db section then increase the CPX compare value. That will run the loop more times, copying more bytes.
Once the sprites have been loaded into RAM, you can modify the data there.
5.2. Controller Ports¶
The controllers are accessed through memory port addresses $4016 and $4017. First you have to write the value $01 then the value $00 to port $4016. This tells the controllers to latch the current button positions. Then you read from $4016 for first player or $4017 for second player. The buttons are sent one at a time, in bit 0. If bit 0 is 0, the button is not pressed. If bit 0 is 1, the button is pressed.
Button status for each controller is returned in the following order: A, B, Select, Start, Up, Down, Left, Right:
LDA #$01
STA $4016
LDA #$00
STA $4016 ; tell both the controllers to latch buttons
LDA $4016 ; player 1 - A
LDA $4016 ; player 1 - B
LDA $4016 ; player 1 - Select
LDA $4016 ; player 1 - Start
LDA $4016 ; player 1 - Up
LDA $4016 ; player 1 - Down
LDA $4016 ; player 1 - Left
LDA $4016 ; player 1 - Right
LDA $4017 ; player 2 - A
LDA $4017 ; player 2 - B
LDA $4017 ; player 2 - Select
LDA $4017 ; player 2 - Start
LDA $4017 ; player 2 - Up
LDA $4017 ; player 2 - Down
LDA $4017 ; player 2 - Left
LDA $4017 ; player 2 - Right
5.3. AND Instruction¶
Button information is only sent in bit 0, so we want to erase all the other bits. This can be done with the AND instruction. Each of the 8 bits is ANDed with the bits from another value. If the bit from both the first AND second value is 1, then the result is 1. Otherwise the result is 0.
5.3.1. AND Table¶
| byte 1 | byte 2 | result |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 |
For a full random 8 bit value:
01011011
AND 10101101
--------------
00001001
We only want bit 0, so that bit is set and the others are cleared:
01011011 controller data
AND 00000001 AND value
--------------
00000001 only bit 0 is used, everything else erased
So to erase all the other bits when reading controllers, the AND should come after each read from $4016 or $4017:
LDA $4016 ; player 1 - A
AND #%00000001
LDA $4016 ; player 1 - B
AND #%00000001
LDA $4016 ; player 1 - Select
AND #%00000001
5.4. BEQ instruction¶
The BNE instruction was used earlier in loops to Branch when Not Equal to a compared value. Here BEQ will be used without the compare instruction to Branch when EQual to zero. When a button is not pressed, the value will be zero, so the branch is taken. That skips over all the instructions that do something when the button is pressed:
ReadA:
LDA $4016 ; player 1 - A
AND #%00000001 ; erase everything but bit 0
BEQ ReadADone ; branch to ReadADone if button is NOT pressed (0)
; add instructions here to do something when button IS pressed (1)
ReadADone: ; handling this button is done
5.5. CLC/ADC instructions¶
For this demo we will use the player 1 controller to move the Mario sprite around. To do that we need to be able to add to values. The ADC instruction stands for Add with Carry. Before adding, you have to make sure the carry is cleared, using CLC. This sample will load the sprite position into A, clear the carry, add one to the value, then store back into the sprite position:
LDA $0203 ; load sprite X (horizontal) position
CLC ; make sure the carry flag is clear
ADC #$01 ; A = A + 1
STA $0203 ; save sprite X (horizontal) position
5.6. SEC/SBC instructions¶
To move the sprite the other direction, a subtract is needed. SBC is Subtract with Carry. This time the carry has to be set before doing the subtract:
LDA $0203 ; load sprite position
SEC ; make sure carry flag is set
SBC #$01 ; A = A - 1
STA $0203 ; save sprite position
5.7. Putting It All Together¶
Download and unzip the master.zip sample files. This lesson is in controller. All the code above is in the controller.asm file. Make sure that file, mario.chr, and controller.bat is in the same folder as NESASM, then double click on controller.bat. That will run NESASM and should produce controller.nes. Run that NES file in FCEUXD SP to see small Mario. Press the A and B buttons on the player 1 controller to move one sprite of Mario. The movement will be one pixel per frame, or 60 pixels per second on NTSC machines. If Mario isn’t moving, make sure your controls are set up correctly in the Config menu under Input… If you hold both buttons together, the value will be added then subtracted so no movement will happen.
Try editing the ADC and SBC values to make him move faster. The screen is only 256 pixels across, so too fast and he will just jump around randomly! Also try editing the code to move all 4 sprites together.
Finally try changing the code to use the dpad instead of the A and B buttons. Left/right should change the X position of the sprites, and up/down should change the Y position of the sprites.