Posted By
Alan
on 2013-04-09
11:41:39
|  How to extract maps / data from C64 games?
Hi,
I'm looking to remake some of the old amazing C64 games in HTML / Jquery so everybody can enjoy them once again who can't use an emulator.
I have no problem making graphics etc but how do I go about extracting or viewing the map layouts / data? same as the maps link at the top of this page.
The game I'm looking to do this for first is 'The Survivors' , does anybody know of a program I can use to view them?
Thanks
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Posted By
Csabo
on 2013-04-09
20:28:40
| Re: How to extract maps / data from C64 games?
Hey there,
If it's specifically C64 games you're after, you might be in the wrong forum. The C64 and the Plus/4 were similar, but they are not compatible. Only the most BASIC games can run on both machines, the normal case is that C64 games don't run on the Plus/4 at all. (Though, if a dedicated conversion is made, the data in the games could be the same.)
I'm not sure which is the best C64 forum, but Lemon64.com is probably a good place to ask around. Or if there's a specific Plus/4 game you want to look into, let us know which one 
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Posted By
Alan
on 2013-04-10
03:06:57
| Re: How to extract maps / data from C64 games?
hi,
Thanks for the reply , ah right sorry I didn't realise
The game I'm after the maps / layout etc from is this one
http://plus4world.powweb.com/software/Survivors
I think looking at the above it is a Plus/4 game, so if you can help me out I would be very grateful
Thanks again for the help
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Posted By
Csabo
on 2013-04-10
10:39:08
| Re: How to extract maps / data from C64 games?
You really have three options.
This is one of the games that was released on multiple platforms, so you can research the other sites and see if someone has already made a map for it. (I would bet on it that the maps are the same.) Spectrum in particular may be a good choice, I think they have lots of maps for games. So if you find one, just use that.
Or, you can just use an available cheat, start moving around and take screenshots. Once you covered a level, you can assemble it into one large image in some image editing program. If you look in our Maps section (top menu), you'll find many examples that were done this way.
Otherwise, well, there's no quick or simple way to do it. You would have to use DisAss (or something similar) on the PRG file and reverse engineer what the game does. If you're familiar with C64/Plus4 programming (the CPU opcodes are the same), it's doable. I took a quick look and what I can tell you is that the level data pointers are stored at $3060, so the first level's data is $2500, and so on. The level data itself probably uses RLE or something similar.
Good luck
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Posted By
Neller
on 2013-04-10
15:21:01
| Re: How to extract maps / data from C64 games?
Hi,
Thanks again for the tips.
I have no experiance in programming for those so I think that rules out that option, My programming is only in Web stuff such as PHP / MySQL etc etc
When I first started looking into the game I was hoping they was made like some are in Flash, were it reads the map (with it being tile based) like from a text file such as
0,0,0,0,1,0,0
1,0,1,1,1,1,1
etc etc , replacing the 0's and 1's with various tile sets.
I had a look at the cheats and I could not find anything that will let me move around the level like you suggested but I will keep looking.
Thanks again for your help
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Posted By
Alan
on 2013-04-10
16:56:59
| Re: How to extract maps / data from C64 games?
Last reply was me, dunno why I put my Surname
Ive had a browse around for ages, found its available for various ones such as Spectrum, Amstrad etc etc but none of them have the maps available and I have no idea on how to open any of the files up
I guess will just have to think of my own, I just remember the levels on this game were really good and well thought out (puzzle wise  )
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