# 216 COLORS IN MAKECODE?! ...sort of
**URL:** https://forum.makecode.com/t/216-colors-in-makecode-sort-of/25616
**Category:** Game Design
**Tags:** graphics-and-math
**Created:** [January 4, 2024, 9:54pm UTC](https://forum.makecode.com/t/216-colors-in-makecode-sort-of/25616 "2024-01-04T21:54:29Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@robotosaurus](https://forum.makecode.com/u/robotosaurus)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2024, 11:14pm UTC](https://forum.makecode.com/t/216-colors-in-makecode-sort-of/25616/22 "2024-01-08T23:14:34Z")
cym is for sub coloring rgb is for add coloring.
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### Author:  [@Vegz78](https://forum.makecode.com/u/Vegz78)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2024, 10:15pm UTC](https://forum.makecode.com/t/216-colors-in-makecode-sort-of/25616/23 "2024-01-11T22:15:13Z")
Great initiative and some good progress in this thread for more colors in MCA, @Sarge!
How about (combining with) fast color/palette switching, akin to what they did on the C64?\*:
> **[Secret colours of the Commodore 64](https://www.aaronbell.com/secret-colours-of-the-commodore-64/)**
>
> In 1991 I was fourteen years old. It would be fair to say I was obsessed with computers. I proudly owned a brown ‘breadbox’ Commodore 64 with an exotic upgrade - an Oceanic 5.25” disk drive:
Would that work in MCA?
Amazing stuff done to increase resolution and colors on C64 and other platforms only the last few years. Maybe some of these techniques would be applicable in MCA as well?
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHGD96ga0EQ&t=594)
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### Author:  [@richard](https://forum.makecode.com/u/richard)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2024, 10:17pm UTC](https://forum.makecode.com/t/216-colors-in-makecode-sort-of/25616/24 "2024-01-11T22:17:14Z")
arcade runs at 30fps, which i don’t think will be fast enough for that kind of color swapping. I wonder if we should make a 60fps version…
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### Author:  [@robotosaurus](https://forum.makecode.com/u/robotosaurus)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2024, 11:16pm UTC](https://forum.makecode.com/t/216-colors-in-makecode-sort-of/25616/25 "2024-01-11T23:16:49Z")
And needs to interrupt and thats is only possible in asm.
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### Author:  [@Vegz78](https://forum.makecode.com/u/Vegz78)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2024, 5:23pm UTC](https://forum.makecode.com/t/216-colors-in-makecode-sort-of/25616/26 "2024-01-12T17:23:21Z")
Could you please elaborate for the uninstructed(like me):
1. Why the interrupt would be necessary in MCA if the game engine would update @60fps and change the color every time?
2. If strictly necessary with interrupt, whether this could be achieved for MCA through some lower level hacks in C++/asm in an extension or something, which I believe(if I remember correctly) they attempted with some polygon operations earlier, before this was implemented officially in the MCA engine?
(Probably not directly relevant to MCA, because of no CRT displays or filters, but interesting article(s) about different color and luma techniques here nonetheless:
[https://kodiak64.com/blog/luma-driven-graphics-on-c64](https://kodiak64.com/blog/luma-driven-graphics-on-c64))
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### Author:  [@Sarge](https://forum.makecode.com/u/Sarge)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2024, 5:31pm UTC](https://forum.makecode.com/t/216-colors-in-makecode-sort-of/25616/27 "2024-01-12T17:31:15Z")
That has been tried already, but there was visible flicker.
> [@richard](#):
>
> I wonder if we should make a 60fps version…
Do you even need to ask?!
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### Author:  [@robotosaurus](https://forum.makecode.com/u/robotosaurus)
#### Post date: [January 16, 2024, 10:48pm UTC](https://forum.makecode.com/t/216-colors-in-makecode-sort-of/25616/28 "2024-01-16T22:48:01Z")
On c64 because It has graphics limitations It used Interrupts Change the screen ram while the vic chip is drawing.
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### Author:  [@Vegz78](https://forum.makecode.com/u/Vegz78)
#### Post date: [January 24, 2024, 12:56am UTC](https://forum.makecode.com/t/216-colors-in-makecode-sort-of/25616/29 "2024-01-24T00:56:23Z")
> [@richard](#):
>
> arcade runs at 30fps, which i don’t think will be fast enough for that kind of color swapping. I wonder if we should make a 60fps version…
Inspired by this topic, and especially the post quoted above, I just took the liberty to file a 60fps version of MCA as a feature request(please upvote!..):
>
>
> \*\*Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.\*\*
> Inspired by …this topic about emulating more colors, and especially by @riknoll's post here, I hereby formally request the feature of a 60fps version of MakeCode Arcade:
> https://forum.makecode.com/t/216-colors-in-makecode-sort-of/25616/24
>
> \*\*Describe the solution you'd like\*\*
> That at least the web simulator would update by 60fps, so that smoother animations and faster color/palette cycling would be possible for emulating additional colors.
>
> \*\*Describe alternatives you've considered\*\*
> The topic linked to above describes alternatives.
>
> \*\*Additional context\*\*
> Like the case is for higher resolutions in the web simulator compared to restrictions in various MCA compatible hardware, it would also be possible with a higher 60fps version of MakeCode Arcade in the web simulator and maybe as an option for future more powerful hardware; https://forum.makecode.com/t/how-hardware-handles-increased-screen-sizes-what-i-found/24847
It is probably frowned upon by purist hackers to ask the developers for help to upgrade the system instead of finding a clever way yourself - almost like installing a new graphics chip in a C64 - but here it is anyways… 😉
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### Author:  [@Astronomicality22](https://forum.makecode.com/u/Astronomicality22)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2024, 8:22pm UTC](https://forum.makecode.com/t/216-colors-in-makecode-sort-of/25616/30 "2024-04-05T20:22:54Z")
Here’s my idea: Layering. We could have layers of colors to get a mixed rgb color signal, that would not be in makecode’s palette, but would use other colors on top of eachother to get better colors.
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### Author:  [@Sarge](https://forum.makecode.com/u/Sarge)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2024, 8:47pm UTC](https://forum.makecode.com/t/216-colors-in-makecode-sort-of/25616/31 "2024-04-06T20:47:49Z")
Layer data needs to be stored in memory and that brings up _the problem_ yet again
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### Author:  [@Gideon\_loves\_cats](https://forum.makecode.com/u/Gideon_loves_cats)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2024, 11:02pm UTC](https://forum.makecode.com/t/216-colors-in-makecode-sort-of/25616/32 "2024-04-07T23:02:43Z")
This looks really cool.#more than 16 colors
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### Author:  [@Astronomicality22](https://forum.makecode.com/u/Astronomicality22)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2024, 3:47am UTC](https://forum.makecode.com/t/216-colors-in-makecode-sort-of/25616/33 "2024-04-08T03:47:39Z")
Like, 3 layers per sprite.
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### Author:  [@Rune](https://forum.makecode.com/u/Rune)
#### Post date: [May 26, 2024, 1:15am UTC](https://forum.makecode.com/t/216-colors-in-makecode-sort-of/25616/34 "2024-05-26T01:15:12Z")
Ok, I just made a blocks version that has a few colors and randomly places them. step back from your screen or unfocus your vision to see colors. [https://makecode.com/\_f22eAhA0qKwg](https://makecode.com/_f22eAhA0qKwg)
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### Author:  [@jackal](https://forum.makecode.com/u/jackal)
#### Post date: [May 26, 2024, 3:20pm UTC](https://forum.makecode.com/t/216-colors-in-makecode-sort-of/25616/35 "2024-05-26T15:20:15Z")
60fps woulda went crazy while ago
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