Mayhem Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 But please, do read the manual. It's a great source of answers to common questions. http://www.schells.com/cc2utils/cc2files.shtml Chad I had taken a cursory look through the manual, but must have failed to spot this. So how does the menu gen work then, off some sort of checksum on the ROMs in question I presume? Maybe I won't quite need to rename everything beforehand then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-T Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 If Mr. Schell or others more familiar with the CC2 software contradict my method, please feel free to override my advice. But this is my own experimentation thus far: I loaded the CC2 menu file into Micosoft Excel, and when you do that, the file contains four pieces of data for each game. First is the common name (e.g. Dark Chambers), second is the filename used by the Cuttle Cart, limited to 8 characters with the .BIN extension understood and not typed (e.g. DRKCHAM). The third entry for each game represents the method of bankswitching employed by each cartridge, which you, as the user, cannot alter if the Cuttle Cart is to execute that program successfully. Finally, the fourth entry is an eight-digit hexadecimal code, which I can only assume is a checksum to verify each ROM's authenticity. I was the guy who mailed you the PAL ROMs. When I ran the Menu Generator on my entire ROM set, it did in fact recognize many of the PAL ROMs automatically, in addition to my native NTSC ROMs. What I would suggest is this: gather all your ROMs (2600 + 7800, PAL+NTSC) in one directory. Place the Menu Generator executable file into that same directory. Run the Menu Generator by double-clicking it in Windows Explorer or by calling it from a DOS comand box. All ROMs which the Menu Generator recognizes will be automatically renamed and moved into a subdirectory called "..GAMES". For example, if you have all your roms in "C:TEMP", the Generator will rename (to 8.3 format) and move all recognized ROMs into a new directory, hence "C:TEMPGAMES". The hexadecimal checksum code should be automatic, with unique entries for both PAL and NTSC versions of each ROM. Of course, a few games are only available in either NTSC or in PAL format (e.g. Asterix in PAL, Taz in NTSC), but many titles exist in both formats. So Mr. Schell's Generator should be able to handle most PAL ROMs straightaway. And if you do need to do your own editing of the menu file, I suggest that you import the CC2 menu file into Excel or a comparable spreadsheet program (at least to view and get the idea of the format), as those programs can take the raw text file and separate the entries into a more readily accessible format. Just make sure that when you are finished editing, you export the modififed file into the original format required by the Cuttle Cart (tab-delineated text [ASCII]), as the Menu Generator will not be able to work directly with spreadsheet files from Excel or any other program. I hope this helps. Please forgive me if I was being too technical -- don't hesitate to email me (max-t@satx.rr.com) if I can be of further assistance. And I do not pretend to be a computer genius, so if I have presented any bad information, someone please feel free to flame me at will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayhem Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Cheers for that, makes perfect sense to me Still got a few months before it arrives Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 I am actually in the process of generating more ROM CRCs for the PAL games, I'm in the middle of testing about 100 or so more. So, by the time the CC2 is released it should recognize a fairly large portion of PAL games. Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-T Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Cheers for your cheers, Sorry that I am rather unfamiliar with the popular British parlance. So I'll say word up. Did you receive the PAL ROMs I sent you? And do they work properly on your system? I find that certain ROMs (whether NTSC or PAL) will not display at all in the emulator I most often use (PCAEWin), though I'm sure the Stella project or othe 2600 emulators. P.S. -- I saw one of your posts requesting game manuals -- if it's not too much of a bother, would you be so kind as to ZIP or RAR the manuals and send them along to me? Please? And especially if they are already formatted for a 40-column display. I don't really need manuals to figure out nost games, but it would be nice to have them, in case Thanks very much! --Kyle C., "Dumb American" and damn proud of it. Except the dumb part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayhem Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Yeah I got the PAL ROMs (you didn't get the email I sent back then?) and tested a couple with Z26, seemed fine to me. Good work on making more PAL checksums for us, the work will not go unappreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DamonicFury Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 A quick note on the POKEY: it's soldered into the Ballblazer carts. So unless you feel confident about your ability to desolder a 40 pin chip from a circuit board, you're almost certainly better off buying a new POKEY instead. (Just a friendly tip from someone who just unnecessarily wrecked a spare Ballblazer cart.) :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjk7382 Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 A quick note on the POKEY: it's soldered into the Ballblazer carts. So unless you feel confident about your ability to desolder a 40 pin chip from a circuit board, you're almost certainly better off buying a new POKEY instead. (Just a friendly tip from someone who just unnecessarily wrecked a spare Ballblazer cart.) :-) I have a good solder sucker and I am pretty sure I will be able to desolder it okay. How did you ruin it? Did you break a pin or somthing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DamonicFury Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 I broke quite a few of the pins, actually. Obviously, I need to invest in a much better solder sucker! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjk7382 Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 I broke quite a few of the pins, actually. Obviously, I need to invest in a much better solder sucker! :-) Sorry to hear that. I have two solder suckers and a solder wick, so I hope I will be able to get it off of there. I did notice there is hardly any solder, which makes it harder to suck off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Tomlin Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 I just updated my web site with a "desoldering tips" page. I don't know what kind of equipment you were using, but I swear by Radio Shack's $8 desoldering iron. You just need a bit of practice to do things right. In my case, I think I'll pull one from an 800 or a 5200. I've got a few of those lying around. As for the CC2 itself, I have a couple of questions. 1) where is "CC2 Base Files.zip"? 2) I noticed the 1/8" serial port jack. Is that the same pinout as the old Olympus camera serial port? If so, great, because I have a few extra of those cables lying around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 As for the CC2 itself, I have a couple of questions. 1) where is "CC2 Base Files.zip"? 2) I noticed the 1/8" serial port jack. Is that the same pinout as the old Olympus camera serial port? If so, great, because I have a few extra of those cables lying around. That's funny you should mention the camera cable. I use the one from my old FujiFilm digital camera and it works great. All of the CC2 files that are currently available are here. Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Tomlin Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 All of the CC2 files that are currently available are here. I know about that page. But "CC2 Base Files.zip" (the file that contains the bankswitch method files, etc., according to the documentation) is nowhere to be found there. I even tried blindly getting the file but it was 404 both with and without blanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 You can get a new pokey for $5 from Best and save the Balblazer cart - You could prob sell the Balblazer cart for $5 without runing it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 All of the CC2 files that are currently available are here. I know about that page. But "CC2 Base Files.zip" (the file that contains the bankswitch method files, etc., according to the documentation) is nowhere to be found there. I even tried blindly getting the file but it was 404 both with and without blanks. They aren't available to the general public yet, only to the beta testers. If you really want a copy of them I suppose you could email Chad and ask him if he will send you a copy. Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schmutzpuppe Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 Any news? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mot Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 Any news? The Status page is what I have been looking at: http://www.schells.com/cc2.shtml#Status Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin42 Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 For anyone who's near a Fry's, I picked up a 32MB generic MMC card for $14.99 over the weekend. Not sure how great a deal it is, they claim it has a "lifetime warranty" (yeah, try making Fry's honour that in a few months!) but at least I'm now all set for my CC2. (got a POKEY, got an MMC...) :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 Shoot, I almost forgot I ordered one of those things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjk7382 Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 Shoot, I almost forgot I ordered one of those things! How could you forget something this big? And I hope you didn't forget to pay for it after you ordered it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hepcat Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 I just didn't have the money to order this back in February. I do hope that more will be made in the future. --Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 Shoot, I almost forgot I ordered one of those things! How could you forget something this big? And I hope you didn't forget to pay for it after you ordered it I paid for it PayPal immediately. It's lingering in the back of my mind, but the release is so far out there, I've tried to accelerate time by forgetting about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjk7382 Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 Shoot, I almost forgot I ordered one of those things! How could you forget something this big? And I hope you didn't forget to pay for it after you ordered it I paid for it PayPal immediately. It's lingering in the back of my mind, but the release is so far out there, I've tried to accelerate time by forgetting about it. I also preordered one and can't wait until a deffinite release date is set. I still keep checking the updates page, but it will be an incredible product when it finally gets shipped (no matter when it is). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeftrevino Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 Ooooooo! I wanted a cc1 not too long ago, but realized I was a day late and a dollar short. I'm gonna get this one. I'll skimp on lunches for a while. I'm more of a player of atari games than a collector. I gotta get a 7800 now. Damn I'm excited!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-T Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 Mr. Schell has stopped taking pre-orders for the CC2, and even though he did not completely rule out a second run, if demand was high enough, I think its probably too late to get one of the first batch. Wish I had better news for you -- I found out about the project late and got my payment to Mr. Schell on the very last day. But you never know -- it's such an ingenious device, enough people might clamor for a second run to make that a possibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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