Character buffers

The character buffers occupy bytes 0x00-0x24 in pages 0xB7-0xD6. The buffers in pages 0xC6, 0xC7, 0xCE, 0xCF and 0xD0 may be used by mice released by ERIC.

Page Address Character Page Address Character Page Address Character
0xB7 B700 Little girl no. 1 0xC2 C200 Little boy no. 5 0xCD CD00 ALBERT
0xB8 B800 Little girl no. 2 0xC3 C300 Little boy no. 6 0xCE CE00 BOY WANDER
0xB9 B900 Little girl no. 3 0xC4 C400 Little boy no. 7 0xCF CF00 ANGELFACE
0xBA BA00 Little girl no. 4 0xC5 C500 Little boy no. 8 0xD0 D000 EINSTEIN
0xBB BB00 Little girl no. 5 0xC6 C600 Little boy no. 9 0xD1 D100 HAYLEY
0xBC BC00 Little girl no. 6 0xC7 C700 Little boy no. 10 0xD2 D200 ERIC
0xBD BD00 Little girl no. 7 0xC8 C800 MR WACKER 0xD3 D300 Bike
0xBE BE00 Little boy no. 1 0xC9 C900 MR WITHIT 0xD4 D400 Frog; mouse
0xBF BF00 Little boy no. 2 0xCA CA00 MR ROCKITT 0xD5 D500 BOY WANDER's pellet; stinkbomb cloud
0xC0 C000 Little boy no. 3 0xCB CB00 MR CREAK 0xD6 D600 ERIC's pellet; water/sherry; plant; conker; desk lid
0xC1 C100 Little boy no. 4 0xCC CC00 MISS TAKE

The bytes in each character buffer are used as follows:

Byte(s) Contents
0x00 Animatory state
0x01,0x02 Location (x, y)
0x03 LSB of the primary command routine address (see 62D0)
ERIC's post-midstride animatory state (see 6DD2, 6E00)
0x04 MSB of the primary command routine address (see 62D0)
ERIC's post-midstride x-coordinate (see 6DD2, 6E00)
0x05 Destination x-coordinate (see 6464)
ERIC's post-midstride y-coordinate (see 6DD2, 6E00)
0x06 Destination y-coordinate (see 6464)
Walkabout event identifier (see 7CE1)
0x07 Number of mini-walkabouts remaining (see 7CE1)
0x08 Unused
0x09,0x0A Interruptible subcommand routine address (see 62D0)
0x0B LSB of the address of the next character in the message being written into a graphic buffer (buffer 0xD6 only; see 6B1B)
LSB of the address of the next character in the message being written on a blackboard or spoken (see 66CE)
Number of steps left to be ascended (see 6438) or descended (see 644D)
Number of movements remaining to wipe the blackboard (see 680F)
Intermediate destination x-coordinate (see 63ED)
0x0C MSB of the address of the next character in the message being written into a graphic buffer (buffer 0xD6 only; see 6B1B)
MSB of the address of the next character in the message being written on a blackboard or spoken (see 66CE)
Number of paces remaining until the next command list restart request check (see 63ED)
x-coordinate of the column of the blackboard being wiped (see 680F)
0x0D LSB of the address of the next character in the submessage being written on a blackboard or spoken (see 66CE)
y-coordinate of the top row of the blackboard being wiped (see 680F)
0x0E MSB of the address of the next character in the submessage being written on a blackboard or spoken (see 66CE)
Identifier of the blackboard being wiped (see 680F)
0x0F LSB of the address of the next character in the sub-submessage being written on a blackboard or spoken (see 66CE)
Animatory state of the character whose buffer is being borrowed by a mouse (see 7A16, 7B0E)
Post-midstride y-coordinate increment to use while chasing ERIC (see 6558)
0x10 MSB of the address of the next character in the sub-submessage being written on a blackboard or spoken (see 66CE)
Counter determining the lifespan of a mouse released by ERIC (see 7A16, 7B0E)
0x11,0x12 Uninterruptible subcommand routine address (see 62D0)
0x13 Identifier of the door or window being opened or closed (see 717C)
MR WACKER's x-coordinate before he goes to open a window (see F862)
HAYLEY's pre-kiss x-coordinate (see 5F08, 5F1C)
Distance remaining for the mouse to travel before hiding or considering a change of direction (see 7A16)
Counter determining how much longer the character will stay down after being knocked over (see 7596) or knocked out of a chair (see 6670)
Distance remaining for the pellet to travel (see 76AC)
Counter determining how much longer the female character should continue jumping up and down (see 7966)
Counter determining how much longer the desk lid should stay up (see F2E2)
Counter determining how much longer the stinkbomb cloud will stick around (see F862)
Water/sherry animation phase identifier (see F9AB)
Counter determining the phases of growth of a watered plant (see FA4D)
0x14 Open/close parameter for the door or window being opened or closed (see 717C)
MR WACKER's animatory state before he goes to open a window (see F862)
HAYLEY's pre-kiss animatory state (see 5F08, 5F1C)
Counter determining when the mouse should hide (see 7A16)
Pre-knockout animatory state (see 7596)
ANGELFACE's pre-punch animatory state (see 7813)
BOY WANDER's pre-fire animatory state (see 775B)
x-coordinate at which the plant will appear when it starts growing (see FA4D)
0x15 Counter determining when the mouse should come out of hiding (see 7A16, 7B0E)
0 if the frightened female is jumping up and down, or 1 if she's standing on a chair (see 7974)
x-coordinate of the window MR WACKER will open after smelling a stinkbomb (see F862, F939)
0x16 x-coordinate of the mouse when it last hid (see 7A16, 7B0E)
Identifier of the window MR WACKER will open after smelling a stinkbomb (see F862, F939)
0x17,0x18 Continual subcommand routine address (see 62D0)
0x19,0x1A Address reached in the command list
0x1B,0x1C Start address of the command list
0x1D Various flags; initially populated by F5BE with a copy of byte 0x23 of the character's buffer:
Bit(s) Meaning if set
0 Restart the command list at the next opportunity (see 62D0)
1-2 Unused
3 Character is a candidate for immediate transportation to his destination (set by F74D; checked and reset by 622E; also reset by 62D0)
4 Unused (always reset, but checked by 62D0; if set, it would make the character run until the current primary command has terminated)
5 Character is an adult (see 62D0)
6 Character is not human (see 62D0)
7 Character is running (see 62D0)
0x1E Walking speed change delay counter (see 62D0); initialised to bits 0-3 of the character number (see F5BE)
0x1F Unused
0x20 Initial animatory state (see F5BE)
0x21,0x22 Initial location (see F5BE)
0x23 Initial flags for byte 0x1D (see F5BE)
0x24 Random location table identifier (see 64D7)