12-04-2017, 10:19 PM
All VDP-based systems (like arcade boards or console) used either tiled backgrounds or sprites to build the HUD. Direct pixel access is not possible in these systems easily -some creative trickery is needed-.
If you're remaking a DOS game, the PC didn't have a VDP, it had a framebuffer with direct pixel access. You have to stick to the characteristics of the target medium: use aligned tiles or sprites. Arcade/console game developers had this in mind, as direct pixel was not an option. PC/DOS was a very different medium and so was the way games were developed. You can't easily port a framebuffer-based game to a VDP-based medium (and the opposite).
I think your best option to get unrestricted position and size draw is using sprites. However interface elements don't need to fit into small tiles, it is common to use bigger fonts or items composed of several tiles each glyph.
If you're remaking a DOS game, the PC didn't have a VDP, it had a framebuffer with direct pixel access. You have to stick to the characteristics of the target medium: use aligned tiles or sprites. Arcade/console game developers had this in mind, as direct pixel was not an option. PC/DOS was a very different medium and so was the way games were developed. You can't easily port a framebuffer-based game to a VDP-based medium (and the opposite).
I think your best option to get unrestricted position and size draw is using sprites. However interface elements don't need to fit into small tiles, it is common to use bigger fonts or items composed of several tiles each glyph.