Boulder Dash Forum

I got the following question from a Java developer, who is currently implementing a Boulder Dash I clone. Could any of you shed some light on this issue?

I'm wondering how the "global timing" exactly works. As far as I
understand, there is a time-based CaveDelay (in Boulder Dash I). But
actors are animated at different frame rates. So does the CaveDelay only
affect the game loop and is there an animation loop seperatly? How does
animation and CaveDelay work together?

Animation speed and game speed should be separated. You can find some further informations in this forum. The game speed depends on the engine, if it's PAL or NTSC and on how many "things" are animated. An intermission with rainbow colors for example has a different speed than an intermission without these colors. You can only calculate an approximate value. But the most important thing is an accurate hatching time.

How to animate objects:
http://www.boulder-dash.nl/forum/viewtopic.php?t=259
Calculate game speed
http://www.boulder-dash.nl/forum/viewtopic.php?t=136