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Force Command : kinda like command.com from 1985 (no TIPI required!)


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6 hours ago, jedimatt42 said:

I'll fix up the building instructions. :) that'll help, and can fix all my references to xdt99 tools so no editing is required. 

One more thing - for me "python" runs python2, I am wondering does it link to python3 on your development system? My understanding is that just "python" normally would launch python2 and python3 needs to be explicitly specified.

Edited by speccery
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14 hours ago, speccery said:

One more thing - for me "python" runs python2, I am wondering does it link to python3 on your development system? My understanding is that just "python" normally would launch python2 and python3 needs to be explicitly specified.

I don't use the system python on my machines, so yes, it defaults for my user to python 3. But I like to at least fix my makefiles to not be so assuming. 

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Update 1.6 - in post #1

 

Added date command and bar command. date will print current date time. bar will show a title bar in the top row that doesn't scroll away. 

 

Use the CLOCK environment variable to control which source clock device is used. 

Tested PI.CLOCK ( this is the default if the variable isn't set ), and CLOCK ( classic99, should work for triple tech cards )

Implemented IDE.TIME, but I don't know how I can test it. So maybe you guys can confirm if it works or not... ???

 

Screenshot_120520_124500_PM.thumb.jpg.21f01cc2de6539c982860ce5f96b3a4f.jpg

 

Bar updates about every 15 seconds if the blinking square cursor is displayed. That may change.

 

Inverse colors only operate in F18A 80x30 mode. 40 column display abbreviates 'Force Command v1.6' to just 'v1.6' - it would have fit, but I felt it was too much.

 

https://atariage.com/forums/topic/290966-force-command-ver-16-kinda-like-commandcom-from-1985/

 

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Hello @jedimatt42,

 

in my script for FC the command readkey is no longer working.

In v0.M and in v1.1 it works as I expect.
In v1.5 and in V1.7 the TI hangs with bad sound after a readkey.
AUTOCMD.zip
I have stripped down my script to test readkey at the command line.
The working v1.1

image.thumb.png.0aa09431edd7c81ad129e6098357db80.png

 

The TI stops with continuous sound after a key is pressed

image.thumb.png.2f6c5066fb4df10afc25cf4ae112dcb2.png

 

The TI stops with continuous honk sound after a key is pressed

image.thumb.png.29eaa7aa5d760cc7de6d21e19bea9196.png

 

This is the system I was testing:

TI EU console
FG99 with FC
Speech synthesizer
PEB with TIPI,
SAMS 1Mb (incl.32KB)
HRD4000B, TI Disk Controller with 80 Track mod.
1 x 5.25 "DS80SD, 1 x 3.5" DS80SD, 1x5.25 "SS40SD floppy drives

 

 

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19 minutes ago, jedimatt42 said:

@wolhess Here is a fix:

 

Update 1.8 - fix readkey

 

I moved the readkey command to a different ROM bank, and missed where it called another function without a bank-switching wrapper.

 

 

Hate to bring this up,  on v1.8. I noticed that the "xb" and "fg99" are both throwing an blinking error light on my FinalGrom99.   Screen just goes green and "stares" at me. (This makes me uncomfortable.). 

1.5 seems to work OK.  

my settings for testing:

XBMOD=SXBG

XBADDR=25458

 

For Testing the current 1.8 FC files are not located in the Root of my FG99.

Shown, if the above settings are impacting the file execution?

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1 hour ago, wolhess said:

Oh, you are fast !!!! 

 

I will make a test.

 

EDIT: It is working now! Thank you.

I have another quirk too:

I used two different FG99 cartridges in my tipi system and both are working fine. Without any error.
I checked TI XB and XB 2.8 G.E.M switch to FC1.8 and back.

AUTOCMD.zip

 

 

But if I use one of these FG99 in my none tipi system I get after some disk access only a blue screen.

My none tipi system configuration:

TI EU console
prepaired with a snug REPL99 card
FG99 with XB 2.8 G.E.M. and FC
PEB with snug EVPC2 (V9938) RGB output,
32KB memory expansion
CorComp Floppy Disk Controller DSDD
3 x 3.5 "DS40DD, 1 x 5.25" DS40DD floppy drive
RAVE99 with speech card
P-Code Card


FC v1.1 is working with this system!

 

 

 

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40 minutes ago, wolhess said:

I have another quirk too:

I used two different FG99 cartridges in my tipi system and both are working fine. Without any error.
I checked TI XB and XB 2.8 G.E.M switch to FC1.8 and back.

AUTOCMD.zip 1.19 kB · 1 download

 

 

But if I use one of these FG99 in my none tipi system I get after some disk access only a blue screen.

My none tipi system configuration:

TI EU console
prepaired with a snug REPL99 card
FG99 with XB 2.8 G.E.M. and FC
PEB with snug EVPC2 (V9938) RGB output,
32KB memory expansion
CorComp Floppy Disk Controller DSDD
3 x 3.5 "DS40DD, 1 x 5.25" DS40DD floppy drive
RAVE99 with speech card
P-Code Card


FC v1.1 is working with this system!

 

 

 

 

At the blue screen, if you blindly type:

 

WIDTH 40<enter> 

 

Does the display correct itself?  I added PAL detection, and 9938 detection and the 9938 80x26.5 mode a few releases back. These work on the mame eu evpc configuration. This is probably the problem. 

 

I've never heard of a REPL99 card... so don't know how that plays into things. 

 

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The REPL99 is from SNUG and delivers the GRMCLK line from the missing video processor. If you have a EVPC card with V9938, you have to remove the 9918/9929 VDP in the console. By this, you lose the GRMCLK as well, so your GROMs and sound stop working. The original way was to use a separate cable from the external EVPC card back to the console. The REPL99 goes into the open socket of the video processor.

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2 hours ago, jedimatt42 said:

 

At the blue screen, if you blindly type:

 

WIDTH 40<enter> 

 

Does the display correct itself?  I added PAL detection, and 9938 detection and the 9938 80x26.5 mode a few releases back. These work on the mame eu evpc configuration. This is probably the problem. 

 

I've never heard of a REPL99 card... so don't know how that plays into things. 

 

I will check it tomorrow.

 

Thank you.

 

I wanted to ask for the 80 character support. But I thought I could get it to run normally first. In version FC v1.1, entering width 80 results in the message that is not supported.

I will contact you when I have tried this with v1.8.

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For the 9938, I set register 0x08 to 0x08 to enable 64K memory type. I would say, I don't know why I do that. It just seemed to make sense when I quickly went through some documentation on setting up the mode. 

 

I verified, this still works on my MAME configuration. 

 

If typing WIDTH 40 works, and things look fine, then I believe I'm detecting the video chip correctly, but not initializing it for the mode correctly... maybe need to zero out some registers? 

 

I set registers:

0 = 0x04  // 80 columns

1 = 0x70  // text mode, unblanked, with interrupts

2 = 0x03  // pattern name table ( address 0x0C00 ?? this is not on purpose )

4 = 0x02  // pattern definition table (font) address 0x1000

8 = 0x08  // 26.5 row mode

9 = 0x80  // non interlace

 

So, register 2 is being set wrong, but still functioning in MAME when I place data in 0x0000 for the name table... It should have been showing up as blank for me, as the rest of my code thinks the name table is at 0x0000.

 

Setting register 2 to 0x00 also still works in MAME... so... that's super weird. 

 

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10 hours ago, dgrissom said:

Hate to bring this up,  on v1.8. I noticed that the "xb" and "fg99" are both throwing an blinking error light on my FinalGrom99.   Screen just goes green and "stares" at me. (This makes me uncomfortable.). 

1.5 seems to work OK.  

my settings for testing:

XBMOD=SXBG

XBADDR=25458

 

For Testing the current 1.8 FC files are not located in the Root of my FG99.

Shown, if the above settings are impacting the file execution?

 

:( This is still working for me with default XB, and Super Extended Basic, although my module name for XBMOD is SXB_G

 

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55 minutes ago, jedimatt42 said:

 

:( This is still working for me with default XB, and Super Extended Basic, although my module name for XBMOD is SXB_G

 

I'll try to rename and or try regular ole Ex. BASIC.  It could be it was Sunday and my TI was taking a rest?  ?

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So I finally got the chance to upgrade to version 1.8 from my current version 0.M (yes I know, I'm way behind...).

Unfortunately, when FC starts up, it gets stuck at the prompt and I get a constant wailing from the console. No issues if I revert back to 0.M.

Is there something I'm missing here?

My TIPI is at version 2.12 with TIPICFG at v11.

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1 hour ago, Vorticon said:

So I finally got the chance to upgrade to version 1.8 from my current version 0.M (yes I know, I'm way behind...).

Unfortunately, when FC starts up, it gets stuck at the prompt and I get a constant wailing from the console. No issues if I revert back to 0.M.

Is there something I'm missing here?

My TIPI is at version 2.12 with TIPICFG at v11.

 

I don't remember what fileset was used in 0.M, but I did some shuffling between naming the ROM 8.bin or C.bin... If you currently have both a FCMD8.bin and FCMDC.bin, the 8.bin might have gotten loaded, and been incompatible with the launch address baked into the GROM. ?? Guessing...  IDK, looking at the code, I think the address in ROM that the GROM jumps into has been pretty stable.

 

The zip has a bunch of files in it now... only FCMDG.bin and FCMDC.bin go on the FinalGROM99.  (There should be no other FCMD?.bin on the SD-Card)

 

I believe I switched to a 128k ROM at about 1.0. I increased the start delay time in the FC.FCMD EA5 program that switches the FinalGrom cartridge back to Force Command, since you have to give it more time to load before jumping into the cartridge space. It has been adequate on my system... But that shouldn't be an issue from the FinalGROM99 menu. :(

 

Unfortunately, this just sounds like the problem I get when I haven't reseated my cartridge in a while.

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15 hours ago, jedimatt42 said:

 

At the blue screen, if you blindly type:

 

WIDTH 40<enter> 

 

Does the display correct itself?  I added PAL detection, and 9938 detection and the 9938 80x26.5 mode a few releases back. These work on the mame eu evpc configuration. This is probably the problem. 

 

I've never heard of a REPL99 card... so don't know how that plays into things. 

 

No, blind typing width 40 doesn't work in my system.

 

I have no AUTOCMD file in DSK1. and I see no disk access after loading FC.

 

With v1.1 I see the disk access and I get the FC prompt after loading.

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On 12/6/2020 at 10:49 AM, dgrissom said:

Hate to bring this up,  on v1.8. I noticed that the "xb" and "fg99" are both throwing an blinking error light on my FinalGrom99.   Screen just goes green and "stares" at me. (This makes me uncomfortable.). 

1.5 seems to work OK.  

my settings for testing:

XBMOD=SXBG

XBADDR=25458

 

For Testing the current 1.8 FC files are not located in the Root of my FG99.

Shown, if the above settings are impacting the file execution?

 

An update:  Everything is now OK!

 

Turns out it wasn't FCMD at all.  My TIPI SD card got hosed (We've had a number of power outages in our area.

(I believe due to new building projects in our neighborhood.).

 

Thanks to jedimatt42 for reaching out and helping me!   Based on what I found on/with the card, its a wonder that FCMD worked at all!

 

Thanks!

 

David G

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