Using ADAM keyboard in CV game?

[CrazyBoss]

Hi

 

Is it possible to acess the Adam Keyboard in A CV game, if play on Adam?

 

[NIAD]

I would have to assume it is, but only if it was specifically programmed to accept input for the keyboard via the ADAMnet communications standard. You should be able to find all the needed details in the "ADAM Technical Reference Manual" that is available on ADAMcon's website:

 

http://ann.hollowdreams.com/programming.html

[JamesD]

Just remember that that ADAM OS isn't going to be initialized the same so OS calls may not work.
You'll may have to init ADAMnet manually.

Edited May 16, 2014 by JamesD

[+nanochess]

The ADAM BIOS is available if the game starts from disk or tape, otherwise I suppose it's needed to map the BIOS and call some subroutines

[JamesD]

The ADAM BIOS is available if the game starts from disk or tape, otherwise I suppose it's needed to map the BIOS and call some subroutines

When you boot from a cart you only get the Colecovision bios and RAM memory map.

You can switch the memory map around no problem from the cart but I think you'd need to do something similar to what I had to do to boot the IDE from the cart.

That involved swapping in low RAM, copying code to low RAM, swapping out the cart for RAM, copying from low RAM to high RAM, etc...

It also seems to me that ADAMnet uses a specific area of RAM to perform DMA for communication between the 6803 and Z80.

That's probably not going to be cart memory map compatible so at the very least it would probably involve a lot of bank switching.

You might get away with copying the cart ROM to RAM and running it from there but I have this nagging feeling it won't be that easy.

It's been a while since I read the docs so I can't be sure though.

Edited May 16, 2014 by JamesD

[CrazyBoss]

I didn search to much information about the Adam or how the keyboard is read, on Memotech and MSX you can send a OUT, and then get like a scan code back. Depending on the bit it return you know which key are down, if its the same but maybe its more complicated. Do any one know if any CV games took advantage of the Adam keyboard before? - I know some Homebrews are using the extra memory available at the Adam right?

[JamesD]

I didn search to much information about the Adam or how the keyboard is read, on Memotech and MSX you can send a OUT, and then get like a scan code back. Depending on the bit it return you know which key are down, if its the same but maybe its more complicated. Do any one know if any CV games took advantage of the Adam keyboard before? - I know some Homebrews are using the extra memory available at the Adam right?

Well, that's MSX.

On the ADAM, the keyboard is an ADAMnet device and can only be read by telling the 6803 to do it.

 

According to the ADAM ROM calls list I found, that is normally done by a CALL to the OS at $FC4B (I think).

There are also calls for resetting ADAMnet but this is the comment that goes with it:

"CALL FC60$ (64608)

Sends 0F$ to port 3F$, wait 2ms, send 00$ to port 3F$. This is essentially a hard reset of the ADAM NET."

 

That would probably be the first thing that needs to be done.

Then duplicate the code for starting a keyboard read, checking keyboard status, etc...

 

The ROM calls were from a series of newsletters. I started compiling it into a single document but OpenOffice choked on the tables and I haven't gotten back to working on it.