AuthorTopic: Assistance understanding the GBC palette and limitations  (Read 4110 times)

Offline Vine

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Best resource I've found concerning this so far: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_game_console_palettes#Game_Boy_Color
However, I'm having trouble understanding it.
From what I understand, the GBC palette can use up to 10 colors simultaneously, which are split into 3 sections.
These 10 colors can be chosen from a 32,768 color palette, or 15-bit.

   1 mandatory transparent pixel
+ 4 colors for a background
+ 3 colors for layer 1 sprites
+ 3 colors for layer 2 sprites
= 10 total

Assuming I'm correct so far (and please correct me if I'm wrong), that leaves me with essentially 2 palettes for every sprite, limiting me to 6 colors + transparency for every sprite in the game.
Somehow I can't help but feel I'm missing something here, could someone clarify any of this for me?

Offline HughSpectrum

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Re: Assistance understanding the GBC palette and limitations

Reply #1 on: December 21, 2011, 12:38:48 pm
Quote
From what I understand, the GBC palette can use up to 10 colors simultaneously, which are split into 3 sections.
You're looking at restrictions of when you use a normal Gameboy game in a GBC, I think.  You can have up to 8 sprite palettes and 8 tile palettes (I assume that's where "32 colors" comes from.  I am pretty sure GBC doesn't allow for more than 4 colors per tile) for a total of 56 colors simultaneously.

Offline API-Beast

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Re: Assistance understanding the GBC palette and limitations

Reply #2 on: December 21, 2011, 12:47:16 pm
Note that a tile is 8x8 big and a sprite is 8x16 big. So if you have, let's say a 16x32 sprite you can use up to 12 colors (only 3 colors per 8x16 block though).

Offline Vine

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Re: Assistance understanding the GBC palette and limitations

Reply #3 on: December 21, 2011, 01:45:17 pm
You're looking at restrictions of when you use a normal Gameboy game in a GBC, I think.
Ah, you're right aha.  8 palettes for sprites makes a lot more sense as well.