Message-ID:	<00b801c03ab3$76659660$0500a8c0@brk>
From:	"Johan Henriksson" <jhe AT realsoftware DOT cjb DOT net>
To:	<djgpp AT delorie DOT com>
Subject:	Re: Allegro: bitmaps vs. sprites vs RLE sprites
Date:	Fri, 20 Oct 2000 18:28:28 +0200
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Reply-To:	djgpp AT delorie DOT com

from: Johan Henriksson, leadprogrammer @ www.realsoftware.cjb.net
"It is not the length of life that counts but what you make out of it" - me
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>Hi.  Could anyone give me some advice on which data format (and
>corresponding blitting functions) is recommended for blitting transparent
>images?
>
>My game makes _major_ use of transparent bitmaps, blitting several hundred
>items per frame (to a memory bitmap, when then gets flipped onto the
>screen).  Even terrain tiles must be transparent (due to 3D-ness).
>
>Presently I use 256-color bitmaps, and masked_blit().  I am wondering if
>draw_sprite() or draw_rle_sprite() would be faster...  all images have at
>least a little bit of transparency, some of them a great deal.


draw_sprite is the same as masked_blit
RLE can give you quite big improvements in this case. Unless you need to
collidecheck the bitmaps, I'd recomend you to use RLE's.

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