A 3D, Java-based interpreter for the CHIP-8 system
From Wikipedia - "CHIP-8 is an interpreted programming language, developed by Joseph Weisbecker. It was initially used on the COSMAC VIP and Telmac 1800 8-bit microcomputers in the mid-1970s. CHIP-8 programs are run on a CHIP-8 virtual machine. It was made to allow video games to be more easily programmed for these computers. " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHIP-8
This interpreter is built in a way that will (hopefully) make it much easier to read and understand the particulars of an operation. The interpreter is being built heavily on interfaces, with many small classes separating concerns. This is done to make it easier to test (it's my first emulator project) and to substitute out different implementations for key presses / graphics, etc - but this also means it's very far away from a minimal/compact implementation which may not induce wincing in some readers.
Additionally, I decided to render the screen in 3D, just to differentiate it from all the other CHIP-8 emulators out there
TODO
TODO
- BUG Glitchy sound output, seemingly after many consecutive calls
- BUG Occasionally, loading a save state results in incorrect screen output. I haven't been able to put time into finding the source of the issue, yet, but this is sometimes finding by re-loading the save state
- TODO Debug window
- TODO Game selector (currently hardcoded)
- TODO Colour changer
http://www.pong-story.com/chip8/
Some included CHIP-8 roms were created by the owner of the above page. Please check it out.
The Wikipedia page has a good overview of the operations and system details. It also contains useful information regarding edge cases, and some undocumented features. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHIP-8
Thomas P. Greene (aka Cowgod) also has an excellent technical reference manual for CHIP-8 here (which is thankfully still available, many decades after being written up!) http://devernay.free.fr/hacks/chip8/C8TECH10.HTM#Dxyn