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TheMole

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Posts posted by TheMole

  1. Posted

     

    You can use TI99Dir to copy the PC file onto a DSK image as INT/FIX 128. I think any last incomplete record will just be filled with zeros.

     

    Thanks, that'll work for now, but I'll keep looking for a command-line program that allows me to do this (so I can integrate it in my Makefile)

  4. Posted

    Maybe this is not the right topic, but since this is such a cool tool and Kevan is pushing this whole thread necromancing thing I figured why not... :)

     

    So I've been happily importing the music in Alex Kidd as a simple byte-array defined in a header file, but since this eats into program space I need to do something better. Loading songs from disk seems like the best solution, but since I haven't worked with TI's disk system in any amount of detail ever I'm struggling to find the best way of doing it. How do I convert an .spf as outputted by Tursi's tool into something I can plop on a disk image and read into RAM from disk (efficiently) in my program? Do I turn it into an INT/FIX file with record size 1? Or is there a way to know the (in memory) size of a PROGRAM image before loading it?

  5. Posted

     

    The next version of the F18A firmware will have a second tile layer with its own set of scroll registers. That's how the bottom panel is done. It is also hiding the two rows that are updated to feed the display with more scrolling background. If you run it on a real console with 1.5 firmware you won't see the bottom panel at all. The letters that appear below the sprites are just for testing emulation of tile priorities.

     

    The demo is running in 30 rows 'mode' (Matthew says it's not a mode) - one of really great features of the F18A. I'm not using the GPU at all.

     

    I don't know where I will go with this. I would rather make a game with my own graphics, but it takes so long time to draw. I will probably wait until Matthew releases the firmware update before I work more on this project.

     

    That makes sense, and cool that there will be a second layer! I assume this will allow for parallax scrolling as well then? Maybe I should be directing these questions at Matthew instead, but what does the VRAM layout look like with the two layers?

  6. Posted · Edited by TheMole

    Check out the new entry under Preloads/F18A specific/Power Strike demo, see js99er.net.

     

    You can also try the demo on your own F18A enhanced console, but note that the bottom of the screen will look wrong because the demo is based on the not-yet-released F18A 1.6 firmware.

     

    Edit: You need to enable F18A on the Options tab.

     

    Holy crap on a popsicle, that looks effing sweet! Power Strike/Aleste is actually a very good demonstration of why the Master System's graphics were so much better than the NES'. Really underrated system. I really like your remix of the level graphics.

     

    So, same question as before: how are you achieving some of these effects? The main scrolling is self explanatory (F18A scrolling registers), but the lower part seems to be done with sprites (when sprites move through it, sometimes they are before or behind the letters)?

     

    Do you plan on turning this into a game? Are you remaking the original?

     

    Damn, this is really motivating me to get of my lazy ass and finish at least one playable level of Alex Kidd... :)

  7. Posted

    What would be my best strategy for connecting my TI to my Mac for purposes of file transfers (both directions)?

     

    What is your setup? Do you have a PEB, or a CF7/nanoPEB? Sidecar extensions?

     

    On a barenaked console there's really no way to set up a bi-directional connection (best I can think of is via the line-out of the Mac to the cassette interface of the TI and using an wav or mp3 player to play back cassette wav files... :) )

  10. Posted

    Thanks everyone,glad to know its not the dumbest question. Now for another question. Where can one find a nano-peb? Does it give the 32k memory upgrade as well? How much do they go for? Okay that was three questions not just one. Thanks again.

     

    Omega's ebay answer seems to be the most common one over here, but depending on where you live you might be able to get one from Stargames (I got mine there, and I think Rasmus did as well): http://www.stargames.be/shop/105-accessoires

    They seem to always have some in stock, so if you happen to live in Europe you can always get one in a matter of days. If you're in the US maybe you can send them an email to check of they can ship overseas, that will probably be a bit more expensive but I'm sure they'll be happy to accommodate if you're itching to get one :)

     

    Yes, the nanoPeb/CF7 include the 32k memory expansion. Price should be around 60 USD or Euro (without shipping).

    • Like 1

  12. Posted

    I gotta say, this has become a very nice, full-featured emulator, and I often use it when I want to run something ad-hoc on a PC where I don't have MESS or Classic99 installed. I'll probably be doing the development of the F18A version of Alex Kidd on it.

     

    I have a couple of questions about the accuracy of the emulator though:

    • Apart from the lack of threading and the (likely) slower GPU, is the F18A fully implemented?
    • Is your VDP implementation pixel, scanline or screen based?
    • I notice when running my Alex Kidd project in js99'er that oddly enough the jump physics seem to be a bit off compared to MESS or classic99. Admittedly I haven't tested it on real hardware yet, so it might be entirely my program.
    • Is there a way to run the emulation itself in full screen?

    Again, very impressive work in such a short amount of time, I hope you keep working on it!

  13. Posted

    Very cool, I've never used wine that way before. That said, I'd still prefer a native linux implementation, in source format so that we could compile it to run it on a Pi or other low-cost ARM SBC. Hell, with the proper DSR, the Pi could take up the task of quite the bunch of devices (SD Card drive, RTC, WiFi connected Lantronix alternative, ...)

  14. Posted

    It's almost playable with CPU overdrive in Classic99 (Willsy, I don't know about the files Rasmus uploaded, but there's a working version in the gamebase). Besides changing the movement, I would advocate changing the graphics (or at least location) of the sword... :P

  18. Posted · Edited by TheMole

     

    You don't have to understand why someone wants a particular option, only that it makes the software more useful for them. If you choose to ignore that fact, then so be it.

     

    Although I agree with the rest of your post, this statement is not necessarily true. You should always try to understand the reason behind a particular request, it's unlikely that an end-user can come up with the best solution for a given problem, so you understanding the reason behind the feature request could allow you to propose an even better/easier solution.

     

    Although all of the above of course assumes that the developer is interested in listening to his/her users to begin with, so the point is probably moot in this discussion.

    • Like 1

  20. Posted

    It once was able to, then the GUI became more powerful, now I'm gradually bringing the command line features back. Import from the command line does not work right now, but you can import a whole directory full of TIFILES into a disk image, if that is somewhat helpful for you.

     

    Right now I'm preparing the next evolution of TIImageTool, featuring Drag and Drop. For that reason I cannot add the requested feature right now, being right in the middle.

     

    Okay, good to know, thanks. In the mean time I found a solution to my specific problem: the "disk" program, part of the ti99sim emulator suite, does the job perfectly for what I need. I no longer have to start a GUI program to add files to a disk image, it's all just a simple "make install" away :). So no rush, drag&drop support sounds like a nice thing to have, and should be a good step forward for those who prefer to use a GUI program for this.

  22. Posted

     

    You're missing the dash. It should be patch -p1 < "name of patch". I recommend looking at post #91 of this thread for lucien2's instructions. Ignore the cygwin part if you are using Linux.

     

    Indeed, -p1 is a single letter command line option and hence needs the dash. Typically with Unix style applications, you need to add a "-" for all command line options that are a single letter (in this case "p") and a double dash ("--") for the long, fully written out version of those options (which in this case would be "strip"). The "1" after the "-p" is the parameter for that option and in this case means "strip 1 level from all directory prefixes". Oddly enough, if you use the long version you need to use an "=" between the option and the parameter, so the long equivalent of "-p1" would be "--strip=1", which is quite a bit more readable.

    Normally patch takes it's input from the terminal instead of from a file, but by adding the "<" you're basically saying that the shell, instead of asking for keyboard input, should feed the file after the "<" sign into the program.

     

    It's all very cool, and very powerful stuff and imho a lot of fun to use and get to know. You can write full fledged programs in bash scripts, and it's not that difficult to learn.

    • Like 1

  24. Posted

    Would it be possible to post the full installation of GCC as a zip file? I haven't tried it yet because of the many steps involved in the installation, so I have had to stick to assembler. :)

     

    Sure, Windows, OS X or Linux?

    • Like 2

  25. Posted

    I've been looking around but can't seem to find the answer - how does one apply these patches? Also, I noticed it says it's a gcc 4.4.0 patch, but I have 4.6.3 installed, is that a problem?

     

    The question is a bit confusing, but I am guessing you mean your host compiler is gcc 4.6.3? Gcc 4.6.3 should compile gcc 4.4.0 just fine (keep in mind you're compiling the compiler with a compiler... :) ). As for how to patch, you should be able to use Tursi's instructions for that without any major modifications (I think you're using Linux, if I remember correctly, so some details will be different but the overall process should be similar enough).

    • Like 1
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