A Tutorial series for Saturn Ring Library (SRL)

Author note

Important

As of August 2025, this tutorial series is a work in progress. New chapters will be added and corrected as my personal time allows. The Chapters as they are now may be changed as the tutorials are being written.

Sega Saturn Primer

• Hardware Description

Introduction to SRL

• Description Of Library, Features , Alternatives
• SDK setup
• Best Practices

01 - A simple hello world

• Anatomy of a SRL project
• Introduction to SRL::Debug

02 - Your First triangle point / line / quad (VDP1)

• 2D Screen Coordinates primer
  • Screen Coordinates
• SRL::Scene2D
  • A simple line
  • A simple quad

03 - Your First sprite (VDP1)

• File System Primer
• Sprite constraints
• Sprite Loading
• Sprite Drawing
  • The Simplest Way
• SRL::Math::Types::Angle Introduction
• Sprite Rotation
• Working with Degrees and Radians
• Scaling the sprites
• The ZoomPoint

04 - Input Handling (Digital Gamepad)

• SRL::Input::Digital class
• Is is Connected ?
• Is a Button being pressed ?
• Multiple buttons at the same time

05 - Interlude : Putting everything (so far) together

• Modularize code

06 - Your Second sprite (VDP1)

• Distorted sprites

07 - Sprite effects

• Half Transparency
• Screen doors
• Combining Effects
• Flip
• Clipping
• Gouraud
• High Speed Shrink
• Enable End-code-Disable

08 - Backgrounds and tile maps (VDP2)

• Screen Formats
  • Bitmap Format
    • Translate
    • Scale
  • Cell Format
    • Notes on SEGA's Editor
    • Using SRL::Tilemap::Interfaces::Bmp2Tile Interface
    • Using buhan's saturn-aseprite Aseprite python script

09 - 3D Model pipeline

• Caveats
• Description of the use of the tools for 3d mesh importing
• Obtaining the converter tool
• Preparing the our first model
• Getting the model into our saturn project
• Basic lightning
• Transforms
  • Rotation
  • Scaling
  • Translation
  • Be mindful of Transform order
  • Fixing the clipping issue

10 - 3D Model pipeline part 2

• The matrix stack
• Textures and UV maps
• Face Properties

11 - A Primer on VDP2 Rotation Scroll Screen (VDP2)

• A Primer on VDP2 Rotation Scroll Screen
  • Differences between rotation scroll screen and normal scroll screens
  • Filling the scroll screen
  • Rotation axis
  • OneAxis Rotation
    • Rotations on non-perpendicular axis
      • Rotation no X axis
      • Rotation on Y axis
      • Rotation on both axis
    • Two Axis Rotation
      • Applying transforms
      • Rotation effects
      • A note on translations
      • Scaling
  • Three Axis Rotation
    • A note on interaction with images from VDP1
    • Final Example code

12 - 3D Model Animation

• T.B.D.

13 - Input Handling - Revisited

• Peripheral management.
• Analogue Gamepad
• Light Pistol

14 - 2nd Interlude : putting everything together