ILBM
A few weeks ago my brother told me of the image format IFF/ILBM. I knew about the file format since we both had been programming on Amiga in the past but it was a long time ago and I had totally forgot about how the file format worked. It is an 8 bit image format which is quite unique. Firstly you can save standard 2-4-8 bit images with color mask and color cycling. It can also save image animations and multi colored brushes. It is also possible to save things that are not directly connected to the image, like palette information, as IFF.

One file system
And this is where it becomes interesting for me. Up until now I have had two file types, one for the all the map data (objects, lights, actors, zones etc.) and another file for storing the resource palette. Why not just use one file system and pick out the stuff I want from the file, sort of like the IFF format. I had already done some of the work. When saving I just determine what types of data I which to save and when loading I do the same. In the header of the file I tell how many resources there are of each type, what the map contains... I always liked one file better than two. Map loading and saving will become a little bit more complicated but nothing that can't be sorted out.

Another reason I got into this is because I found out I was writing much duplicate code. A save function for the map file, another for the resource object file, another for the actors and yet another save file that contained the sound palette. What a waste of project space!

When I have completed this there might actually be an alpha demo to try out [smile]