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(+1)

Thanks for checking it out! Exportable binaries is an interesting idea. Right now, FREMScript is tokenized, parsed, and evaluated on the fly using the underlying Godot game engine and its native GDScript language. So, in that sense, the machine code is really just a bunch of GDScript objects. I suppose if we think of the Sprite32! as a Virtual Machine for FREMScript, then to support exporting complete projects, there would need to be some low level "bytecode" representation, possibly serialized exports of the GDScript objects that could be deserialized and run by any Sprite32! system later. I like this approach, and early builds had the notion of ROM cartridges that could be loaded from files. Those early versions were just FREMScript saved to a file with .rom extension, and since this wasn't unique to other files saved with .frem extension, I ultimately simplified it down to just the latter file format.

Another approach, and possibly the one you may be thinking, would to be support complete executables that could be run standalone from the game itself, probably everything presented in the screen area. That approach is likely out of scope for this project, but I think it could be done by generating the equivalent GDScript code from a FREMScript program and putting that through the Godot build tools to generate a full executable.

A third idea comes to mind as I write this response and is a mix of the two previous ideas: a FREMScript runner VM application that is just the screen and input support, with all the extraneous game elements removed. Exported "bytecode" could be loaded into that virtual machine and run. The VM could open source/free and distributed with binaries that users of the Sprite32! write. I kind of like this idea, and thematically it fits into the FREM corporation's roadmap of releasing a consumer game console system based on a stripped down version of the Sprite32! I could definitely see them presenting that at COMDEX '87.

I'll definitely add a sticky to the dev board and noodle this some more for future versions of the project. Thanks for the feedback!

(+1)

Thanks for taking the time to respond and for sharing your ideas. The third one sounds great. I look forward to future releases from FREM corp and am excited to hear what may be announced at the coming COMDEX '87. 

Oh and a Sprite32! game console is right up my alley would be an insta-buy for me :). 


Cheers!