Originally, sort of. But also to work around limitations in GIF (which is palette-based; but see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIF#True_color) and because people didn't always have true-colour monitors (or ran the monitor in a different mode due to VRAM restrictions) anyway.
In today's context, more for the aesthetic, presumably.
Author - yes, it's "aesthetic", albeit not my best work and I might revert that decision at some point. Was inspired by lowtechmagazine but they did a much much better job.
I do care about the blog being snappy and working also on very low-end, vintage hardware though, so that also somewhat achieves that goal.
Author answered below, but dithering techniques like these were common on old computers like the C64 and others, due to the limited ammount of graphics colors available ( 16 colors on C64 if I remember correctly), plus there were usually limitations on how many colors you could use within one 8x8 block , commonly 2 - 1 foreground , and one background color. C64 had a multicolor mode with 1 background, and 3 forground color. But that was still just 4 colors (out of 16 available ) usuable for each 8x8 character block. However switching to multicolor mode took you from high resolution ( 200x320 px) to low res ( 200x160 px) - and yes thats for the entire screen (25 x 40 chars)
I have an actual original C-64 from around 1986. I got it recapped a few years back and it worked! Now the floppy and tape drives gather dust: it has USB 8)
Oh and I have an original Quickshot II, which still works despite "Daley Thomson's Decathalon".
I'm going to give it to my son in law this Chrimbo - "Attack of the mutant camels" and "Matrix" etc needs new players.
Might be a European thing. I remember that, here in the UK, on my Vic-20 connected to my parent's Bush portable tv, it was channel 36. I believe the C64 was the same.
And sometimes you had to twist/jiggle the aerial lead to get a good connection.
Eh, if only I had one. I have some relatives living next to me through and I think I remember an old TV in their basement, I might check it out, that's a good idea.
Fwiw, the c64 is pretty robust, if you don't use the original power supplies.
I'm surprised that people find this to be an example of clickbait. If I cared about views, I'd imagine an honest title like - "I turned my c64 into a digital fireplace" - would have probably been more appealing, no?
You’re surprised that people find a title of “Help! My c64 caught on fire!” to be clickbait in a case where your c64 did not catch on fire and you don’t need help?!
It’s an interesting article, but the title is a textbook example of clickbait and I’m surprised that you’re surprised.
I recapped a C64C I bought second hand recently, using premium Japanese 105C capacitors off the shelf on akihabara, minus the huge axial one I ordered a modern, extremely durable replacement for.
I tested every cap I removed, all of them nichicons from the mid 80s. They all measured to spec.
So it was kinda pointless at the end. Sure, it is going to be good for a few more decades, alongside the 1571 Ultimate II-L.
(yes, I replaced the original PSU. I bought separate modern, safe 9vac and 5vdc PSUs and an adapter to join them into the C64 power connector)
This is very nice, enjoyment-driven, seasonal hacking. Cool.
Brought back happy memories of the much simpler, much less impressive falling snowflakes animation, complete with Silent Night soundtrack, that I laboriously wrote in Basic on my Vic-20 one Christmas back in the 80s.
Didn't need the click-bait title. I would have read it regardless (and did). I wish there had been a PRG or D64 included for the non-programmers. Fun read!
Author, fwiw, I don't do/care about click-bait, as I never cared about clicks. Since I moved to my bespoke blog system (previously I was on blogspot) I don't even track page views. But I thought it was somewhat funny.
This looks like the classic fire effect: generate rising flames by averaging pixels below each output pixel, and randomize the last row.
I remember this effect because there was a competition[1] where every entry was a fire effect in 256 bytes, and I was amazed at the simplicity of the core algorithm.
syncsynchalt | 23 hours ago
altairprime | 23 hours ago
stronglikedan | 22 hours ago
0x1ch | 21 hours ago
zahlman | 20 hours ago
In today's context, more for the aesthetic, presumably.
c0de517e | 20 hours ago
I do care about the blog being snappy and working also on very low-end, vintage hardware though, so that also somewhat achieves that goal.
joshuahaglund | 20 hours ago
voxelghost | 19 hours ago
zzzeek | 18 hours ago
0x1ch | 3 hours ago
Aldipower | 22 hours ago
gerdesj | 20 hours ago
Oh and I have an original Quickshot II, which still works despite "Daley Thomson's Decathalon".
I'm going to give it to my son in law this Chrimbo - "Attack of the mutant camels" and "Matrix" etc needs new players.
mapontosevenths | 13 hours ago
TacticalCoder | 22 hours ago
That should have been a real CRT monitor to give this picture a true feeling of the 80s!
andyjohnson0 | 21 hours ago
*set to channel 36, natch
zahlman | 20 hours ago
Was that specific to C64? I recall old consoles and VCRs using either channel 3 or 4.
andyjohnson0 | 20 hours ago
And sometimes you had to twist/jiggle the aerial lead to get a good connection.
c0de517e | 20 hours ago
rolph | 22 hours ago
userbinator | 21 hours ago
c0de517e | 20 hours ago
I'm surprised that people find this to be an example of clickbait. If I cared about views, I'd imagine an honest title like - "I turned my c64 into a digital fireplace" - would have probably been more appealing, no?
sokoloff | 13 hours ago
It’s an interesting article, but the title is a textbook example of clickbait and I’m surprised that you’re surprised.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clickbait
saidnooneever | 9 hours ago
snvzz | 11 hours ago
I tested every cap I removed, all of them nichicons from the mid 80s. They all measured to spec.
So it was kinda pointless at the end. Sure, it is going to be good for a few more decades, alongside the 1571 Ultimate II-L.
(yes, I replaced the original PSU. I bought separate modern, safe 9vac and 5vdc PSUs and an adapter to join them into the C64 power connector)
arbol | 22 hours ago
andyjohnson0 | 22 hours ago
Brought back happy memories of the much simpler, much less impressive falling snowflakes animation, complete with Silent Night soundtrack, that I laboriously wrote in Basic on my Vic-20 one Christmas back in the 80s.
erickhill | 21 hours ago
c0de517e | 20 hours ago
dotancohen | 20 hours ago
moss47 | 19 hours ago
https://youtu.be/KH_0uybs93I
Which was a result of:
https://youtu.be/1EBfxjSFAxQ
omoikane | 13 hours ago
I remember this effect because there was a competition[1] where every entry was a fire effect in 256 bytes, and I was amazed at the simplicity of the core algorithm.
[1] https://www.pouet.net/party.php?which=1791&when=1996
vintermann | 12 hours ago
There was apparently a demo party a while back where a Tiki 100 actually caught fire.
PunchyHamster | 11 hours ago
qinchencq | 9 hours ago
c0de517e | 6 hours ago
qinchencq | 5 hours ago