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Fast Start for Games & Return to Where you Were


mytek

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The present system of assigning files to slots from either a TNFS server or the SD card, setting attributes (R/W), and then launching via the OPTION key works well for stuff in general, but I'd like to see a quick launch for games (or any app). So Here's what I am proposing...

 

  • Do the usual search through file directories to find a game you'd like to play
  • Select game via the Up/Down Arrows or Joystick
  • Then press START to instantly Load and Run game, skipping the manual slot assignment (it would default to slot#1 as non-writable)

 

Then to make this experience even more enjoyable, when you are done playing that game and would like to pick another, coming back to the FujiNet Config screen will drill down into the file structure to exactly where you were previously. Hitting Escape would take you back to the Config menu, and backspace would move you up the directories per usual. The option to 'return to where you were' could be assigned via the web based config screen.

 

Edited by mytek
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2 hours ago, mytek said:
  • Do the usual search through file directories to find a game you'd like to play
  • Select game via the Up/Down Arrows or Joystick
  • Then press START to instantly Load and Run game, skipping the manual slot assignment (it would default to slot#1 as non-writable)

This seems doable.

2 hours ago, mytek said:

Then to make this experience even more enjoyable, when you are done playing that game and would like to pick another, coming back to the FujiNet Config screen will drill down into the file structure to exactly where you were previously.

This seems very difficult. Care to elaborate on how this would be achieved? or are you just shooting an idea?

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4 hours ago, mozzwald said:

This seems very difficult. Care to elaborate on how this would be achieved? or are you just shooting an idea?

This is an option in @flashjazzcat's U1MB BIOS for the Loader aspect. I'm not a 6502 coder, at least not in any substantial way, so I couldn't really begin to know how to do this. However his Loader implementation does demonstrate what I am proposing. Perhaps Jon wouldn't mind sharing some of his knowledge in this regard. BTW, if you have a system with a U1MB and a SIDE cart, you can see it in action.

Edited by mytek
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You already know the cluster number of the host directory, so it's simply a case of storing it somewhere and verifying that it's still valid the next time you boot. Better yet, it should be trivial to implement the feature on any device capable of saving the entire path to the last accessed folder (one then simply needs to open the folder the next time the loader starts). The latter method absolves the loader of the responsibility of back-tracing the path from the target directory up to the root of the volume in order to represent the current path.

Edited by flashjazzcat
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7 hours ago, mytek said:

This is an option in @flashjazzcat's U1MB BIOS for the Loader aspect. I'm not a 6502 coder, at least not in any substantial way, so I couldn't really begin to know how to do this. However his Loader implementation does demonstrate what I am proposing. Perhaps Jon wouldn't mind sharing some of his knowledge in this regard. BTW, if you have a system with a U1MB and a SIDE cart, you can see it in action.

I don't have an U1MB or SIDE.

 

FujiNet CONFIG isn't a Loader, it's a tool to select a disk image, then it cold starts the atari and gets out of the way. The only way to get CONFIG back is to Reset the FujiNet.

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27 minutes ago, mozzwald said:

FujiNet CONFIG isn't a Loader, it's a tool to select a disk image, then it cold starts the atari and gets out of the way.

Yes I fully understand that FujiNet currently isn't a Loader, but my proposal is to add this ability if possible. As I mentioned I'm not a 6502 coder, nor have a full understanding of how FujiNet or the U1MB/SIDE combination work under the hood. I do know that one works via SIO and the other through the PBI, so maybe that difference alone is enough to preclude this idea from working across the board.

 

49 minutes ago, mozzwald said:

The only way to get CONFIG back is to Reset the FujiNet.

In the 576NUC+/FujiNet combo in order to get back to the FN CONFIG menu from within a running game or app, the fastest way is to use one of the hot key power cycling shortcuts (ALT+~,1-4). This effectively does a power-up reset of both the computer and FujiNet. So you get a fresh start, and a clean slate, same as if you used the power rocker switch on a stock Atari with FujiNet deriving its power from that same computer.

 

As Jon pointed out, if there were a place where the  entire directory path could be stored in FujiNet's non-volatile memory (assuming that exists in the ESP32), that could then be used to redirect FujiNet back to that same location when powering back up into CONFIG.

 

44 minutes ago, mozzwald said:

I don't have an U1MB or SIDE.

I'm pretty sure @tschak909 does have this in one of his systems, and maybe there is a video somewhere showing @flashjazzcat's Loader in operation to better familiarize you with how this looks in operation.

 

--------------

 

Anyway I do realize this wouldn't be a trivial task to add this feature, assuming it's even possible. But if it could be done, I think it would greatly enhance FujiNet's abilities, and thus might be worth considering.

 

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That can be implemented as an AppKey into CONFIG. If anyone wants to take a whack at it, I can help point them in the right directions to:

(1) add load/save appkey SIO functions to the sio functions file in CONFIG

(2) have CONFIG write this appkey out when you traverse into a directory

(3) have CONFIG read it back when you select a host slot to view files.

 

I have made a ticket for it, here, describing everything needed, where to get examples, etc. Can somebody please take a whack at implementing this? We need more people contributing. :) https://github.com/FujiNetWIFI/fujinet-config/issues/36

 

-Thom

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