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Unpack a Picture using the PackBytes compression format [message #70]

Sat, 11 October 2014 09:21

Oz
Messages: 21
Registered: October 2014
Location: France

Member

Games are using a lot of graphic resources, most of the time stored as individual 320*200 pictures (using 1 or 16 palettes). Even if Apple has defined a standard named Apple Preferred Format (aka APF), most of the Apple IIgs Paint programs have the capability to save the pictures using the PackBytes format (PAK). The compression efficiency is about the same for both formats. The PackBytes format doesn't have the flexibility of the APF (where pictures can have any size) but it has the advantage to have its unpacking routine in the Rom of the Apple IIgs. We access such routine calling the UnPackBytes function from the Miscellaneous Tool Set.

One bank (BankLoad) has been allocated and the compressed graphic file (PAK) has been loaded at $0000. We unpack the data in the same memory bank, at location $8000. The Uncompressed picture will be 32 KB long. The only parameter sent to the UnpackPicture function is the size (in bytes) of the PAK file (=size of packed data), which is <= 32 KB.

*------------ Unpack a PackBytes Picture -------------------
UnpackPicture   STA        UP_PackedSize     ; A = Size of Packed Data
                LDA        #$8000            ; Size of output Data Buffer
                STA        UP_UnPackedSize
                LDA        BankLoad          ; XX/00 = Bank used for Loading ($0000-$7FFF) and Decompression ($8000-$FFFF)
                STA        UP_Packed+1       ; Packed Data Address
                ORA        #$0080
                STZ        UP_UnPacked       ; Reset because these values are modified by the _UnPackBytes call
                STZ        UP_UnPacked+2
                STA        UP_UnPacked+1     ; Unpacked Data buffer Address
*---
                PushWord   #0                ; Space for Result : Number of bytes unpacked
                PushLong   UP_Packed         ; Pointer to buffer containing the packed data
                PushWord   UP_PackedSize     ; Size of the Packed Data
                PushLong   #UP_UnPacked      ; Pointer to Pointer to unpacked buffer
                PushLong   #UP_UnPackedSize  ; Pointer to a Word containing size of unpacked data
                _UnPackBytes
                PLA                          ; Number of byte unpacked
*---
                RTS
*-----------
UP_Packed       HEX        00000000          ; Address of Packed Data
UP_PackedSize   HEX        0000              ; Size of Packed Data
UP_UnPacked     HEX        00000000          ; Address of Unpacked Data Buffer (modified by _UnPackBytes)
UP_UnPackedSize HEX        0000              ; Size of Unpacked Data Buffer (modified by _UnPackBytes)
*----------------------------------------------------------

We can chain the LoadFile and the UnpackPicture function to end up with a LoadPicture function :

*----------- Load and Unpack a PackBytes Picture --------------------
LoadPicture     JSR        LoadFile          ; X = Picture File Path, A = XX/00, Bank used for Loading
                BCS        LP_End
                JSR        UnpackPicture     ; A = Packed Data Size
                CLC                          ; no error
LP_End          RTS
*-----------------------------------------------------------

Olivier

[Updated on: Sat, 11 October 2014 09:27]

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