Jaguar XJ220 prototype help

[Poison]

I would like to ask you for help. I have two ST files on Satan and i want to write it to real floppies. First is ok, but second ST is very strange and it is not possible. I use TRACC_9.PRG.

[ParanoidLittleMan]

I'm who wrote that TRACC_9.PRG . Please upload here those ST files - best both in single ZIP archive. Maybe word about where you get them ?

[Poison]

I'm who wrote that TRACC_9.PRG . Please upload here those ST files - best both in single ZIP archive. Maybe word about where you get them ?

 

Files are in attachment.

 

I do not remember where I download them, but for example, you can find them here:

 

http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-st-jaguar-xj220_24657.html

IMGGAM.zip

[ParanoidLittleMan]

The problem is that floppies have no usual CHS info in bootsector. Especially bad is with floppy B, what starts with bunch of zeros.

You need to enter CHS parameters by hand, after loading ST image. And they are: Sector/track : 10, Endtrack : 81 (that means total 82, since starts at 0), and SIDE: BOTH .

Then will write it properly on floppy. While doing it, you can save it as MSA, what is better for this case than ST format, because it saves that CHS info in short header, so will no need to do manual corrections next time. Stays for both floppies A & B .

CHS = cylinders, heads, sectors .

[Poison]

It works ! Thank you very much for help !

[TheNameOfTheGame]

Great! Can you post the .msa file here that works?

[Poison]

Great! Can you post the .msa file here that works?

 

Both images were bad. So i create new

AA.zip

[marakatti]

 

Both images were bad. So i create new

 

I wouldn't say the images are bad, which means usually that they won't work at all. They just didn't work for real hardware needs. They are the 100% original dumps the game author Andrew Buchanan sent to me almost ten years ago, and were not targeted to run on a real hardware, but on a two disk drive emulated setup. He just hacked something together so at least all the tracks could be driven.

 

So we're pretty lucky to have a playable version of it at all. If i remember it right the first version he sent to me only had one track and that was it.

 

But i'm glad there's a way to run it on a real hardware aswell, so thanks for modifying the images

 

Marko

[ParanoidLittleMan]

 

I wouldn't say the images are bad, which means usually that they won't work at all. They just didn't work for real hardware needs. They are the 100% original dumps the game author Andrew Buchanan sent to me almost ten years ago, and were not targeted to run on a real hardware, but on a two disk drive emulated setup. He just hacked something together so at least all the tracks could be driven.

 

So we're pretty lucky to have a playable version of it at all. If i remember it right the first version he sent to me only had one track and that was it.

 

But i'm glad there's a way to run it on a real hardware aswell, so thanks for modifying the images

 

Marko

Well, I need to be again 'not nice' . Truth is that people involved in game programming, distributing is often not familiar with floppy (or even hard disk) parameters, standards. There was absolutely no any reason to dismiss CHS parameters from floppies of Jag. I corrected it now in ST images self:

JAGCORST.ZIP

And since Marakatti is here, I recommend to replace what is at AM with this corrected images - will make usage easier to people.

I don't agree that it was not playable on real HW - just writing images to floppies need more knowledge than average user has.

[ijor]

The images are perfectly fine. This is just a limitation of the tool used for writing the images back to real floppies. Of course that, if possible, it is much better to include the BPB (CHS) on the boot sector. But this is not always possible, sometimes the boot sector has code, or other data. The tool could infer the parameters from the file size, at least on this case and on most cases as well, the same way that emulators can.

 

I am not complaining against the tool, just noting that there is nothing wrong with the images. Regarding MSA format vs ST, well, IMHO that's mostly a matter of personal preferences.

Edited December 12, 2018 by ijor

[ParanoidLittleMan]

Yeah ijor, you are right - limitations of the tool. I was aware that could add 'guessing' of geometry - and such exists in Windows v. of other, hard disk related tool (Drive Image). Or in Steem. But I did not it in TRACC.

Or there is something like it in TRACC ? Like that question mark at Sector/Track box. And when you know sector/track parameter, easy to calculate others. I made it for my own usage, and first version even used totally custom format what I invented - before ST, MSA even existed. And it included CHS data too.

 

Saying that "images are perfectly fine" - I must say that this is misleading. No, images are error less, faithful. The real problem is actually ST format - which is not perfectly fine, simply because is not user friendly. But author of it just had in mind that why to add header, when there is everything needed in bootsector.

 

So, the real problem is limited knowledge. Being not prepared for every situation. And that's why we need to communicate. That's why forums, e-mails, talking are useful. Here, problem was solved very fast, and in 2 ways.

Got my point ? Talking, not ignoring other, even if don't understand what he wants, means. Learning instead getting offended. So back to sad fact that there are forums where for their leaders ego, profit is more important than communication, freedom of speech, investing some time to really understand what and why someone said what wrote

 

.

[TheNameOfTheGame]

Could this prototype get a hard-drive adapted release?

[+CyranoJ]

Could this prototype get a hard-drive adapted release?

 

yes, 9 years ago: http://dbug.atari.org/patches/2009/xj220uls_v2.zip

[TheNameOfTheGame]

Ah thanks!

[Atari030]

I'd forgotten about Dbug. Wish there was a torrent...

[Poison]

 

yes, 9 years ago: http://dbug.atari.org/patches/2009/xj220uls_v2.zip

 

i try to run it from my Ultrasatan. I see only big car which drive from right to left and than only dark screen nothing more