feat: add 4BPP/16colors sprites handling

[youenchene]

Description

Advanced Sprites Manager is an overlay to the sprite manager.

It allows you to directly use:

• simple 4 colors & 16px wide sprites (same as the Sprites Manager).
• 4 colors & 32px wide sprites.
• 16 colors & 16px wide sprites.
• 16 colors & 32px wide sprites.

Motivation and Context

16 colors sprite needed a lot of repeatitive same code. (Vairn example) https://github.com/Vairn/SmitACE/blob/main/src/misc/mouse_pointer.c

I was hoping for a more direct way as in Blitz Basic 2 or like SGDK for megadrive/genesis.

How Has This Been Tested?

Here : https://github.com/youenchene/amiga-test-ace-sprites/tree/16colors-sprite

Types of changes

• New feature (non-breaking change which adds functionality)

Checklist

• My code follows the code style of this project.
• My change requires a change to the documentation.
• I have updated the documentation accordingly.

[youenchene]

My next contribution should be an animatedSprite manager to handle animation in a optimized way especially in 4BPP.

[tehKaiN]

Sorry, but we can't have this in current state, because of performance reasons. Such extra logic could and most probably should be done on game's side, not on ACE's side, in a game-specific way.

When you have such changes battle-tested on your game code (preferably not turn-based but 50fps one) and universal enough, we can get back to it and see if it's universal enough to merge it.

[youenchene]

I agree on the performance side. That s why i put in the documentation and on the fonction comments that for 4bpp it's not suitable for animation.

I'be back in new version.

A advancedSprite manager to handle:

• 4bpp sprites with prepared bitmap set for animation.
• 32px wide sprites (group of sprites).
• multiplexed sprites

(Not in one pull request, this is a roadmap following my requirements to make progress on my Homebrew game).

[youenchene]

@tehKaiN my feature is back as an advanced Sprite Manager :

Feature :

• Frames/animation
• 32px sprites
• 16 colors sprites

[youenchene]

Test Code available here : https://github.com/youenchene/amiga-test-ace-sprites/tree/16colors-sprite

[tehKaiN]

I've glanced through the code and it indeed looks better allocation-wise. I'll look at it over the next week.

One nitpick though - "advanced" is a bit generic naming, since if someone creates an improved version based on it, how it would be called? "Advancer"? "Uber"? ;) Still, that might be the best naming that's out there since it improved on multiple things at once. I have no other proposal as for now, just food for thought.

Have you tried building a game around it, apart from some test code? My bob system was incorporated to ACE only after I've went with it through 3 of them, and that allowed me to refine it for different use cases and add some optimizations for stuff not needed in some of them. It would be best if it goes at least through one more or less complete game.

[youenchene]

No problem if you find improvement in the mem allocation.

For the name I have no inspiration.

In fact I am building a game, while I am doing this contribs.

The risk is minimize as it's an "overlay" of the sprites manager. It can be marked as alpha/beta/incubing, whatever.

For example, I'll add the sprite multiplexer when I'll add the enemies.

[youenchene]

Indeed, integrating into my game and saw 2 fixes and an optimization.

[tehKaiN]

Sorry for the delay, but I'm afraid I still don't have time to review this thing.

I remember about this PR on a daily basis, but I'm in a frenzy of finishing my game and the deadline is quite near. I'll try to review it asap, but please don't wait for it - just keep using it in your game, perhaps polishing it in the process, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

[youenchene]

No worries.