Not everywhere in the manual and not at all, of course...highinfidelity wrote:I don't remember a 40-column mode being mentioned everywhere in the VIC-20 user's manual.
... that's because we're not talking about some magic register bit one would flip in the VIC-I. Rather, there are some tools or set of routines out there, which program the VIC-I in a certain way, set up some relevant data structures in memory and provide functionality to provide that 40 column text mode in software. It looks exactly as in the example in my preceding post.That's a feature that I learned of over the internet, 20+ years after "those days", and however I wouldn't know how to activate it even now.
Sure. But likewise I didn't want to convey it was as simple as switching on a C64 and working with the 40 columns there out of the box. You need to put a little more work into it (in case of the soft-40 BASIC editor replacements like FAT-40, etc.) or slightly more work (in case you want it a lot faster, with my text library).In any case, I suppose it's not a built-in mode that you activate in a easy way by pressing a function key, or CTRL "plus something", correct?
Well, I assume FAT-40 and the like were advertised in contemporary magazines alongside the hardware 40/80-column cartridges, as cheaper variant of doing things. The VTE-40 cartridge, for example, also used such a soft-40 column mode.So I think it's a bit stretching reality to pretend that everybody knew or know about it, isn't it?
tonyrocks may not have been around here in Denial for a longer time, but ral-clan surely is. Over the years, you'll find quite a lot of examples, where the software based 40 column modes have been used with success, by various people. When I see remarks along those I quoted, I always get the impression, that people simply forget what has been found out and developed for the VIC-20 in the 10+ years Denial has been online now - instead referring to outdated or even false information. Or just go by what is written in the data sheets.
Here are some examples of 40 column applications/games on the VIC-20:
* Island of Secrets adventure (using FAT-40),
* Green on Black game compilation (some more games in PET style, also using FAT-40),
* MINIPAINT (not exactly 40 columns, but utilising a 4x8 pixel font with my own new routines),
* Bible Series, Gospels and Pentateuch (same font now with 40 columns by 24 rows hosted in a 160x192 bitmap),
* MG Browse - that set of routines responsible for above feat,
* VIN - a Vic GUI written by Kananga, which also uses this font,
* MG Text Edit (lets you type in text into a MINIGRAFIK bitmap),
* MAXIGRAFIK, the 21 Unexpanded Games Collection, Mah Jongg, MINISKETCH (in game/tool-use, and with an instruction text file included along on the disk-image),
* Athanor (by majikeyric 'inspired' by my routines )
... any more?