WinApple Applesoft BASIC help

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Hiya,

Way back in the early 80's I was quite competent at programming in Applesoft BASIC. About a week ago I started programming my own RPG in WinApple.

Question:
1) Does anybody know where I can find a program that will import modern type graphics files (tiff, jpg, giff, etc) into bitmaps that can be read by apple? For instance if I create a suitable resolution image in photoshop- how can I get it into Winapple and saved to disk for use by my own programs?

2) I do have copies of Graphics Magician & Beagle Graphics that function reasonably well. Back in IIe days I was capable of designing pictures on Graphics Magician and incorporating them into my own games. But it doesn't seem to run well on WinApple. I cannot get either program to recognise my mouse or graphics tablet for drawing purposes. I'm running Win 7 on an Acer desktop. Any suggestions?

3) Does anybody know where there may be copy of NibbleDuet? Does anybody know of a program to create applesoft sound effects, or perhaps a page of code somehwere?

I have been doing a lot of research myself but come up with dead-ends

Help would be appreciated.

 

Sound Programming

I too have my own ambitions to build a AppleSoft game... and actually I am in process of rebuilding (expanding) an old Operating System BOX OS that I built as a kid. But, I just completed a very complex MIDI importer for music... there are SO many limitations, but I am very pleased at the end result, I have generated two hours of apple II playable music using my software, and I will lend my software/expertise to help you put music into your game, if you want. Take a look at my channel, i've got about 45 minutes of APPLE II music up there... LASERACTIVEGUY on youtube. Contact me if you want to work together, this sounds exciting!

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I just made this profile to respond... if you want to talk, msg me at the LASERACTIVEGUY youtube channel, chances are Im going to forget all about this place. -Tom from USA

 

Fifteen to twenty years ago, I'd have strongly advised you to post to the comp.sys.apple2 newsgroup.
Possibly comp.emulators.apple2 as well.
I think it is still somewhat active, but I haven't lurked there in years. It's nothing like its heyday in the '90s, but it's still worth a shot.
The interface sucks, but Google Groups can still let you post there if your ISP like mine no longer offers a newserver (I REALLY miss DejaNews, that they purchased and absorbed. I thought DejaNews interface was somewhat cumbersome compared to a real newsreader, it's nothing on Google Groups).

I know nothing about WinApple, but I've still got an Apple IIGS in mothballs and was a somewhat competent AppleSoft programmer. I could post the code from AppleSoft BASIC Programmer's Reference Manual that tells you how to POKE in a machine language routine that will tweak the speaker to make various tones.

I remember that there was a program that could import and view GIF images for the Apple II family, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was called. I KNOW there was one that CompuServe customers could download, and I'm almost positive GEnie had one too, but I didn't have a modem until the mid '90s after they had all dropped Apple II support and CompuServe had gone the way of the dodo.


I do know that SuperConvert could do what you want, but it's an Apple IIGS commercial program. I'm 99.9% sure The Graphics Exchange can do it too. Again an Apple IIGS program.
You can find most of those old Apple IIGS abandonware titles here:
http://www.whatisthe2gs.apple2.org.za/utility-applications

A similar site for Apple II abandonware titles is here and if what you want is anywhere, it would be in the images\graphics or images\utilities (refers to disk images, nothing to do with graphics), unless it's in the "unsorted" or "incoming" folders. Asimov has been an Apple II pirate site since at least 1994, although they did have a major crash at one point which is why the files dates don't reflect that.

ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/


Finally, if you want to check out freeware, shareware, or public domain solutions, look here. 100% legal, which has a mirror for all the old Apple II FTP sites
http://mirrors.apple2.org.za/
I THINK the inferior shareware teaser SHRConvert (crippleware version of SuperConvert that succeeded it) can do what you want, but it too is an Apple IIGS program. Sorry, I had an Apple IIGS, so I was more interested in converting images from other computers to "Super High Resolution" graphics 99.9% of the time as I didn't have any graphics programs for the Apple II Family. Heck, the only Apple II family productivity program I had was AppleWorks 2.1 and then later AppleWorks 3.0.


Sadly, I never had much luck downloading .SHK files with late '90s or early 2000's browsers via HTTP.
( Netscape Navigator 1.1-3.02, Netscape Communicator, IE 3-5 for Mac OS 8.6, whatever version of Opera was available for Mac OS 8.6 at the time of Mozilla 1.1 or Mozilla) .SHk.bz or .shk.bsc or that other extension for BINSCIIed files (I mothballed my Apple IIGS in 2007, and it was even longer since I downloaded any software- only text files- it's been a while), no problem, but SHK refused to decompress back on the IIGS, while it downloaded fine via FTP using Netscape.
Hopefully that's been solved.


Sorry I can't suggest any Apple IIe solutions, only Apple IIGS ones. I only remember the ones I actually used back in the day, and they were tailored to take full advantage of my superior Apple IIGS hardware.

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I just thought to consult the Comp.sys.apple2 FAQ and it recommends IIGIF.
Found here:
http://mirrors.apple2.org.za/apple2.archive.umich.edu/apple2/8bit/graphics/iigif.bsc
(link to site)
http://mirrors.apple2.org.za/apple2.archive.umich.edu/apple2/8bit/graphics/

You'll need ShrinkIt! and BINSCII to decode the file. It's sorta like a tarbell, but instead encoded to survive transmission on the internet.

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I had to do a quick search for the FAQ. There are two different ones. You might want to look at them both. Look for the one by "Nathan Mates" and the other one by Rubywand. Also if you have the time, look into the Great CSA2 FAQ Flame War of 1997. It was amusing. Yes, I am the same Slick that made the light bulb joke almost 20 years ago.
http://fjkraan.home.xs4all.nl/comp/apple2faq/
http://fjkraan.home.xs4all.nl/comp/apple2faq/app2faq3.html

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RubyWand's FAQ as of 2010 is here
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/by-newsgroup/comp/comp.sys.apple2.html

Looks like he stopped maintaining it in 2010 AFAIKT, but I haven't done more than a cursory glance. Not bad, he did it from 1997-2010.

Doesn't really cover GIF for the Apple IIe, just covers GS solutions. Hence why the two FAQs were complimentary.

Sorry, I've been out of the Apple II community since 2007, but it was my first computer, and holds a special place in my heart.

 

I noticed there have been no further replies, and nothing posted to CSA2, or at least what I think is now how you can access Usenet via Google Groups. It looks different from the last time I tried it.

This is my best guess:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/comp.sys.apple2

I still think news:comp.sys.apple2 is the best place to post, but news:comp.emulators.apple2 would also be good for the WinApple specific questions.

 

Can anybody tell me how to get the file bmp2dhr in the attached link (unzipped of course) working in DosBox?

http://hoop-la.ca/apple2/appleoldies/bmp2dhr/

Thanks.

 

I'm unfamiliar with it as I used an Apple IIgs. If I wasn't BLOADing a hi-res bitmap in BASIC I would use something like Paintworks Plus.
I used SHRConvert to import GIFs.

The best place to ask is on the news:comp.sys.apple2 newsgroup. You can use Google Groups to access Usenet if all else fails.

 

I wish I had gotten a IIGS. What I was actually asking is how do I get it to work in DosBox.

EG: open the Options notepad for Dosbox and type... xxxxx

or

put the folder in My Docs
boot Dosbox
type C: \Mydocs\bmp2dhr

or something like that. I can't even get it to load. I'm more arty than techy.