MODE

MODE mode [, palette]

Sets the number of colors that can be displayed on the screen.

‘mode’ can be:

1 Monochrome mode. ‘palette’ will select the color to use and can be 0 to 7 representing the colors black to white. This mode provides complete compatibility with programs written for the monochrome Maximite.

2 Four color mode. ‘palette’ can be a number from 1 to 6 and will select the range of colors available.

In mode 2 the colors available in each palette are:
palette = 1 Black, Red, Green, Yellow
palette = 2 Black, Red, Blue, Purple
palette = 3 Black, Red, Cyan, White
palette = 4 Black, Green, Blue, Cyan
palette = 5 Black, Green, Purple, White
palette = 6 Black, Blue, Yellow, White

3 Eight color mode. In this mode all eight colors (including black and white) can be used. ‘palette’ can be supplied but will be ignored.

4 240×216 pixel resolution with all eight colors (including black and white) available. ‘palette’ can be supplied but will be ignored.

Color graphics. Examples of the MODE command. (Image actually generated completely in mode 3.)

VGA screen resolution is 480 horizontal by 432 vertical in modes 1-3, and 240×416 in mode 4. PAL composite is 304 by 216 and NTSC composite is 304 by 180.

The MODE command allows the programmer to trade the number of colors used and resolution against the amount of memory required by the video driver. Modes 1 and 4 use the least amount of memory while mode 3 uses the most.

See also: