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What is 8BP?

8BP (8 Bits de Poder / 8 Bits of Power) is a comprehensive game development library for Amstrad CPC created by jjaranda13. It provides high-level commands for sprite management, scrolling, tile maps, 3D effects, and more. DevCPC is designed to seamlessly integrate with 8BP, providing automated compilation and optimization through BUILD_LEVEL settings.

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Key Features

8BP provides:
  • Sprite management with masking and collision detection
  • Tile-based maps with scrolling support
  • Layout system for maze-style games
  • Pseudo-3D effects for racing/simulation games
  • Universal Multidirectional Automatic scrolling (UMA)
  • BASIC integration via firmware commands (|PSPRITE, |LAYOUT, etc.)

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BUILD_LEVEL Optimization

DevCPC’s BUILD_LEVEL system allows you to optimize 8BP by including only the features you need:

Level 0: All Features

Memory: 23599
Size: 19120 bytes
Commands: All (|LAYOUT, |COLAY, |MAP2SP, |UMA, |3D)

Level 1: Maze Games

Memory: 24999
Size: 17620 bytes
Commands: |LAYOUT, |COLAY

Level 2: Scrolling Games

Memory: 24799
Size: 17820 bytes
Commands: |MAP2SP, |UMA

Level 3: Pseudo-3D

Memory: 23999
Size: 18620 bytes
Commands: |3D

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8BP Commands

Key 8BP firmware commands available from BASIC:

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Sprite Commands

|PSPRITE,address     ' Print sprite at current position
|GSPRITE,address     ' Get sprite from screen
|SETUPSP,table       ' Configure sprite table
|PRINTSPALL          ' Print all active sprites
|AUTOALL             ' Auto-move all sprites

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Layout Commands (Levels 0, 1)

|LAYOUT,address      ' Initialize tile layout
|COLAY,address       ' Collision detection for layout
|LOCATESP,x,y        ' Position sprite in layout coordinates

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Scrolling Commands (Levels 0, 2)

|MAP2SP,x,y          ' Map to sprite conversion
|UMA                 ' Universal Multidirectional Automatic scroll
|SETUPMAP,table      ' Configure map table

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3D Commands (Levels 0, 3)

|3D,params           ' Pseudo-3D rendering
|SETUP3D,table       ' Configure 3D parameters

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Using 8BP in Your Project

1

Set BUILD_LEVEL

Choose the appropriate level in devcpc.conf:
BUILD_LEVEL=0  # All features
2

Create assembly files

Your main assembly file should include 8BP:
ASM/make_all_mygame.asm
; BUILD_LEVEL will be set automatically by DevCPC
ASSEMBLING_OPTION = 0

include "8bitsDePoder_v043_001.asm"
include "make_graficos_mygame.asm"
include "make_codigo_mygame.asm"
3

Load from BASIC

Load and initialize 8BP:
10 MEMORY 23599
20 LOAD"8BP0.bin"
30 CALL &6B78
40 |SETUPSP,@sprites
50 |PSPRITE,@player

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Memory Map

8BP uses specific memory regions: 
&0000 - &3FFF  : ROM (not usable)
&4000 - &7FFF  : Screen memory (Mode 0: &C000-&FFFF)
&6B78          : 8BP entry point
&5C30          : Default load address (BUILD_LEVEL 0)
BASIC MEMORY   : Set to 23599 (Level 0) or higher
&A800 - &FFFF  : Free RAM for graphics/data
Never load code or data that overwrites 8BP’s memory region (below MEMORY value).

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Official Documentation

For complete 8BP documentation:

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Example Projects

8BP Game Example

Complete game using 8BP library

Build Levels

Optimize 8BP for your game type

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Credits

8BP library created by José Javier Miranda Ramírez (jjaranda13)
License: Available at 8BP repository

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