Version analysis of SPIN - Elite on the BBC Micro and NES

This code appears in the following versions (click to see it in the source code):

Disc (flight), 6502 Second Processor and Master

Code variations between these versions are shown below.

       Name: SPIN
       Type: Subroutine
   Category: Universe
    Summary: Randomly spawn cargo from a destroyed ship


 Arguments:

   Y                    The type of cargo to consider spawning (typically #PLT
                        or #OIL)


 Other entry points:

   oh                   Contains an RTS

   SPIN2                Remove any randomness: spawn cargo of a specific type
                        (given in X), and always spawn the number given in A


.SPIN

 JSR DORND              \ Fetch a random number, and jump to oh if it is
 BPL oh                 \ positive (50% chance)

Code variation 1 of 2Other (e.g. bug fix, optimisation)

This might be a bug fix? It prevents the value in A from being changed from a random number to the cargo type to be spawned, which would stop the amount of cargo being spawned from being random (so presumably the 6502SP and Master versions always spawn the same amount of cargo from each ship type, with no random factor at all?).

See below for more variations related to this code.

This variation is blank in the 6502 Second Processor and Master versions.

Flight
 PHA                    \ Store A on the stack so we can restore it after the
                        \ following transfers

 TYA                    \ Copy the cargo type from Y into A and X
 TAX

Code variation 2 of 2Other (e.g. bug fix, optimisation)

See variation 1 above for details.

This variation is blank in the 6502 Second Processor and Master versions.

Flight
 PLA                    \ Restore A from the stack

 LDY #0                 \ Fetch the first byte of the hit ship's blueprint,
 AND (XX0),Y            \ which determines the maximum number of bits of
                        \ debris shown when the ship is destroyed, and AND
                        \ with the random number we just fetched

 AND #15                \ Reduce the random number in A to the range 0-15

.SPIN2

 STA CNT                \ Store the result in CNT, so CNT contains a random
                        \ number between 0 and the maximum number of bits of
                        \ debris that this ship will release when destroyed
                        \ (to a maximum of 15 bits of debris)

.spl

 BEQ oh                 \ We're going to go round a loop using CNT as a counter
                        \ so this checks whether the counter is zero and jumps
                        \ to oh when it gets there (which might be straight
                        \ away)

 LDA #0                 \ Call SFS1 to spawn the specified cargo from the now
 JSR SFS1               \ deceased parent ship, giving the spawned canister an
                        \ AI flag of 0 (no AI, no E.C.M., non-hostile)

 DEC CNT                \ Decrease the loop counter

 BNE spl+2              \ Jump back up to the LDA &0 instruction above (this BPL
                        \ is effectively a JMP as CNT will never be negative)

.oh

 RTS                    \ Return from the subroutine