Version 1.1B adds support for the number pad. Numbers can be entered anywhere while NUMLOCK is on. The arrow keys, PGUP/PGDN, DEL, HOME and END will only be useful in the fullscreen editor (type "EDIT" to use) or in user created programs.
Version 1.1A now offers a second keyboard layout. If you are using a non-US keyboard, you might try this second layout for better compatibility. Type "KEY 2" when you start Ozapell Basic to switch over to the second keyboard layout. Type "KEY 1" to switch back to the default layout. We hope this helps!
The latest version adds Graphics Mode 3 (beta). While Graphics Mode 1 has a resolution of 320x180, the new mode provides a resolution of 1280x720. All subroutines except SCREENSAVE and SCREENRESTORE support this new mode. Pressing ALT + ENTER will now toggle between fullscreen and windowed mode. However, windowed mode is currently EXTREMELY slow. It will be unusable except on the fastest PCs. P…
Ozapell Basic has left Early Access on Steam. We designed Ozapell Basic to be as simple as possible including the implementation of a retro 1980s interface. Our goal was to make a programming language that new programmers could use without having to learn a complicated modern language. We borrowed heavily from javaScript so our users would learn programming fundamentals that carry over to moder…
The built-in help system has been fully updated to include all editor commands, BASIC keywords implemented and all subroutines in the provided library. We are now focused on adding additional demo programs and expanding the beginner's manual. We expect to leave Early Access within a few weeks. After the official 1.0 release, we will continue to support Ozapell Basic and add new features.
In our continuing effort to make Ozapell Basic a stepping stone to programming with modern languages such as javaScript, we've added some new features found in the C family of languages (java, C++, javaScript, etc.). You can increment the value in a variable with ++ and decrement the value with --. Example: VAR=10 VAR++ PRINTLINE VAR VAR is assigned 10, incremented to 11 and then displayed. Exa…
The latest version of Ozapell Basic adds a demo system to help new programmers begin with sample code. Type "DEMO" to list the available demos. Currently there are only four available. More demos will be added before our 1.0 release. Type DEMO to load a specific demo into memory. After a demo program is loaded, you can list, run, edit and save the program. Use the demo program as a starting poi…
Currently, the AND, OR and XOR subroutines determine if a logical or bitwise operation is intended based on the data in the variables. LOGICALAND, LOGICALOR AND LOGICALXOR now force the data in the variables to be evaluated as boolean (TRUE or FALSE) values. The values 0, 0.0 and an empty string ("") are always evaluated as FALSE. Other values are TRUE. For users wanting to use C language short…
PI is now a pre-defined variable. INPUTLINE has been implemented for receiving string input from a user. Example: CLS Y=3 PROMPT="ANSWER>" TEXT="" REPEAT INPUTLINE UNTIL RESULT PRINTLINE RESULT In this example, the string will be edited on the line specified by Y (0 to 21). If a negative number is provided in Y, the next text line will be used. PROMPT can contain an optional string. TEXT will c…
The built-in speed limiter was designed to provide a consistent 60 fps (frames per second) experience. However, there are times when more processing power is needed while neglecting the screen refresh. The new subroutine SPEEDLIMITOFF will do three things: 1) No keyboard input will be checked. 2) The screen refresh will stop. 3) Program instructions will execute without pausing for a screen ref…
The latest update adds the "MANUAL" editor command which opens the Ozapell Basic Beginner's Manual if a PDF reader is available. Indentation is now supported. This will improve the readability of source code. Have fun!
In addition to some improved error-checking in the complier, the latest version of Ozapell Basic introduces KEYBOARDSINGLEON and KEYBOARDSINGLEOFF. Normally, a user can hold down a key and it will repeat endlessly after a short delay. KEYBOARDSINGLEON stops repeating keypresses and requires users to press a key and then release it. This could be useful for strategy or puzzle games where repeati…
The first addition is for everyone making games with Ozapell Basic. There are two new built-in subroutines: KEYBOARDDELAYON and KEYBOARDDELAYOFF. By default, there's a keyboard delay after a key is held down. This prevents multiple keypresses while typing text. In games, this delay is unnecessary. KEYBOARDDELAYOFF will turn off the delay and allow players to hold a key down while registering ev…
The second draft of the Ozapell Basic Beginner's Manual is now available. This manual was designed to introduce Ozapell Basic's editing environment and the fundamentals of programming. It is in pdf format. You can find the manual by going to your Library, right-clicking on Ozapell Basic, click on Properties, then select the Local Files tab and then Browse Local Files. We will continue to expand…
Switching to the desktop using Alt+Tab, Ctrl+Esc, Alt+Ctrl+Esc or Windows key should now behave as expected. Ozapell Basic now supports mouse clicks from the left, right and middle buttons. The subroutine MOUSEON shows the mouse cursor and enables mouse data from INPUTCODE. The subroutine MOUSEOFF hides the mouse cursor and disables mouse data from INPUTCODE. INPUTCODE will return 200 for left…
Previously, each graphic tile or sprite needed to be loaded into its own array. This limited working with large numbers of tiles or animations. ARRAYDRAWTILE works like ARRAYDRAW for drawing the content of an array to the graphics screen except with three additional variables. TILEWIDTH and TILEHEIGHT are used to specify the size of each tile or frame. TILEINDEX is used to specify which tile to…
As promised, Ozapell Basic now includes its first distribution system for sharing your creations with others. Consider this example entered in Ozapell Basic's editor mode (not a program): SAVE MYPROJECT BUILD The folder Documents -> Ozapell Basic will now contain an executable file called "MYPROJECT.exe". Data files (bitmap images, wave audio, text files, etc.) are not automatically included. I…
Superusers are accomplished players of a game or users of a particular software title. They have taken the time to learn about the game or software. They know more about the subject than other users. As a programming language, Ozapell Basic is the perfect environment for superusers to thrive. There is so much that Ozapell Basic can do, the dev team does not have enough time to document everythi…
The latest version of Ozapell Basic overhauls the old help system. Type "HELP" to list all help categories currently available. (More help categories and topics will be added in upcoming weeks.) HELP will display all topics available within the specified category. HELP will display the help information for the specified topic. We will continue expanding the help system in time for our final rel…
The latest update should increase the speed of some Ozapell Basic programs. More optimizations are planned for the future. The newest addition to our library is SCREENCAPTURE. This subroutine will allow users to capture a rectangle on the graphics screen (in graphics mode only) and return it as an array of pixels. This array can be manipulated and drawn again using ARRAYDRAW. Here is an example…
During our nearly two years of development, we've received many comments comparing our software title Ozapell Basic to the Commodore 64. Let us explain. Indeed, the lead dev on our team did own a Commodore 64. However, that is where the comparison ends. The original C64 BASIC required a knowledge of system calls (SYS), memory access (PEEK/POKE) and machine code to utilize the more powerful grap…
The latest update adds the BASECONVERT subroutine. BASECONVERT converts a value from any base to any other base. For example, to convert a hexadecimal value (base 16) to a decimal value (base 10): VAR="FF" SOURCE=16 TARGET=10 BASECONVERT RESULT will now contain the value "255" after the conversion. BASECONVERT supports base 2 (binary) through base 36. Here's an example of converting a binary va…
Let's assume you wrote a program in Ozapell Basic to draw a white pixel on a black screen in graphics mode: BACKCOLOR=COLORBLACK MODE=1 SETMODE TEXTCOLOR=COLORWHITE X=10 Y=10 COLORXY You run the program and nothing happens. The program executed properly and drew its pixel, but then it returned to text mode when the program ended. This could also be a problem if a wave audio sound was loaded, pl…
Switch to graphics mode: MODE=1 SETMODE Assuming a bitmap image file called BITMAP.BMP is in the Documents -> Ozapell Basic folder: BITMAP=0 ARRAY=BITMAP FILENAME="BITMAP" BITMAPLOAD BITMAPWIDTH=WIDTH The array BITMAP now contains all of the pixels for the image loaded. RESULT will return the number of entries (pixels) in the array. WIDTH will contain the width in pixels for the image. ARRAY=BI…
The latest version of Ozapell Basic adds support for wave audio. Assuming there is a valid audio file called AUDIO.WAV in the Documents -> Ozapell Basic folder, then the following code will load it: FILENAME="AUDIO" AUDIOARRAY=0 ARRAY=AUDIOARRAY WAVEFILELOAD Now the array AUDIOARRAY contains the audio data. This data can be analyzed or manipulated. RESULT will contain the number of entries (sam…
Early Access Overview #2 September 16, 2016 Version 0.4U Ozapell Basic is approximately 75% complete. Additional features planned include: sound support and collision detection for sprites. --- Our primary focus during the first two weeks of Early Access was to fix all crashes and memory leaks reported. All issues reported have been resolved. Ozapell Basic should now be fully compatible with st…
We sent out several updates since launch. Our primary focus during the first two weeks of Early Access has been to fix all crashes and memory leaks reported. With the exception of one reported crash at close, we have addressed all of the other issues. Alt+Tab, Ctrl+Esc, Windows Key, and Alt+Ctrl+Del should now work as expected. Returning to Ozapell Basic from the desktop should also work correc…
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Announcements are the developer’s own posts to the game’s Steam news feed: updates and their patch notes, in-game events, releases and sales. The important ones are marked on the players chart.