Version 0.2b of the PTM is ready :)

Hey there! Since I released the very first beta version of this fantasy computer for the Tool Jam 3 in May 2023, I have been working on the second beta, which is now feature complete.

In short, here is what's new, copied directly from the changelog:

Too many changes since v0.1b to keep track of. This version breaks compatibility with most v0.1b programs since several core features have changed. Some of the main changes include: support for sprites, smooth scrolling, loading and playing WAV sound files, saving and loading palette, tileset and tilebuffer files, mouse support, handling of record files, support for clipboard access and querying of system date and time.

But that's not all, folks!

In this latest release, as a bonus I have also included 2 optional new tools: PTM Studio and PTM Tile Editor.

PTM Studio is a sort of IDE that can be used to create, edit and manage palettes, tilesets and tilebuffers. Those can all be saved in a single project file (.ptms) and exported at any time to separate data files in a format that the PTM understands natively. This is the first release of this tool, and I have bigger plans for it in future versions (for example, I'll try to add a fancy code editor that integrates seamlessly with the PTM executable).

PTM Tile Editor allows you to copy and paste the binary strings that represent the pixel pattern of a tile. Those binary strings can be directly included in a PTML program via the CHR command so you don't have to keep typing all those 1's and 0's in code. Useful for when you don't need all the bells and whistles of PTM Studio and just need a quick and easy way to edit a single tile pattern.

I have plans to release a video or series of videos on YouTube about this project, with PTML programming tutorials and everything... coming soon :)

Thanks for experimenting with the Programmable Tile Machine!

Fernando