Sprite Tricks

Geoff Crammond used sprites for the top of the tyres to give the impression of a faster frame rate.Geoff Crammond used sprites for the top of the tyres to give the impression of a faster frame rate. The tyres can update 50 frames/second, even though the game refreshes the bitmap display 5 times as slowly!

The most interesting thing is how the Teque programming team avoided having to use many sprite tricks!Only just qualifying for a sprite trick analysis, the most interesting thing about Pac-Mania is how the Teque programming team intentionally avoided having to use many sprite tricks at all!

All 8 sprites were used to create a 16 colour score panel on the right hand side of the screen.All 8 sprites were used to create a 16 colour score panel on the right hand side of the screen. This allowed the game area to stay 16 colours and retained enough speed for some big enemies.

6 sprites are multiplexed across the screen to create a full screen scrolling background parallax layer.Programmer Stuart Cook enhanced the Amiga version by using 6 sprites multiplexed across the screen to create a full screen scrolling background parallax layer. The Atari ST version had a solid blue sky instead of the parallax background.

The amazing tunnel sequence was created with a 6 frame animation sequence made with only 4 colours and mirrored vertically.The amazing tunnel sequence was created with a 6 frame animation sequence made with only 4 colours and mirrored vertically. The asteroid layer sits on top of this, with a status panel and player ship made of sprites sitting on top.

8 sprites are used to create a 64 pixel wide repeating pattern for the backgrounds on most levels. 8 sprites to create a 64 pixel wide repeating pattern for the backgrounds on most levels. The 8 sprites are repositioned multiple times as the display is rendered to show 18 sprites for a 288 pixel wide screen.

By overlaying 3 sprites, programmer Mark Mason was able to include 4 large frames of animation for practically no CPU hit.By leaving a section of the screen empty and overlaying 3 sprites, Mark Mason's conversion of WWF Wrestlemania was able to include 4 large frames of animation for the swinging ropes for practically no CPU hit.

One of the first jaw-droppingly beautiful Amiga games, Beast re-used and re-positioned sprites between the playfields.One of the first jaw-droppingly beautiful Amiga games that still looks great today. Sprites were heavily re-used on the screen, along with priority changes to make them appear between the playfields.

Using dual playfield mode to create 3 layers of parallax scrolling in addition to a rain layer made from sprites.Programmer Yves Grolet made it seem like the Amiga has more than 2 playfields. He used dual playfield mode to create 3 layers of parallax scrolling in addition to a rain layer made from sprites.

4 sprites are re-used to create upwards of 20 player bullets by interleaving sprite control words and graphics data.4 sprites are re-used to create upwards of 20 player bullets by interleaving sprite control words and graphics data. The sprites are used in a loop to avoid more than 4 sprites appearing on a single line.

2 sprites are displayed then repositioned horizontally right across the screen to create the colourful static background.2 sprites are displayed then repositioned horizontally right across the screen to create the colourful static background. The remaining sprites are used for the main character, the status bar and player bullets.

A single sprite is reused multiple times to create the score panel at the top of the screen.A single sprite is reused multiple times to create the score panel that overlays the action at the top of the screen. Parasol Stars achieves this by switching into 4 bitplane mode and racing the beam.

The 16-colour background layer was created by using all 8 hardware sprites and repositioning them across the screen.The 16-colour background layer was created by using all 8 hardware sprites and repositioning them across the screen. The same 64 pixel wide graphics are repeated across the entire play area.

A single sprite is reused extensively to add clouds and palm trees to form a background parallax layer.The first level of Brian the Lion features some neat sprite multiplexing tricks to add a static parallax layer to the game. A single sprite is reused extensively to add clouds and palm trees to the background.