Messages

[General Gaming / Re: Nintendo Japan will release a new famicom classic mini]

Famicom Mini  Jump 50th Anniversary Edition : July 7th

Wait a minute. 50th anniversary would mean original release in 1968.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: May 2018 Game of the Month]

(like boiling a sealed game in its packaging!)

"Get the most $$ for your old video games with our new home-made resealing machine!
 Looks just like new! All it takes is a vaccuum cleaner, a roll of saran-wrap, and some hot water!
Works Great!"

.... I can see it now....

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Cross Platform development?]

I'm wondering if there are ways to load labels from the .sym file PCEAS generates into Mednafen.

Unfortunately not. I generally keep the .sym file open in an editor (well, actually the .lst file) and
flip to it when I need to. That way I can 'follow along' while debugging, and see the addresses for
any variables I might want to check.

Maybe it's time to actually try to understand that kind of stuff.

Yeah, but right now i'm finishing something else up.
The first thing I need to do is find the exact clock frequencies for the pce. From that I can start
working out the times for the various NTSC signal parts. (In terms of the pce clock(s) )

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Cross Platform development?]

I got reminded of Mednafen and it's actually pretty decent for debugging purposes....

Yes, it is. Make sure you go to the mednafen site and print out the debugger docs, so you
have it handy. There's a lot of nice things you can do with it.
And, as far as I'm aware, it's actually almost perfect emulation; if you see glitches when testing
in mednafen, you will almost certainly see the same glitches on real hardware.

If you don't understand, chances are I won't either
But I'll take a look.

At one time, I had a link to how the signal timing for NTSC video worked; how many pulses there were for various things, how long they needed to last, etc. I just didn't feel like working out exact timings in terms of how the pce did it.
I do remember being puzzled by how the values got set (in the bios routines), until I walked through the actual code. IIRC, they are set based on the center of the screen. So, in theory, it should be possible to come up with a higher Y resolution; I'm really interested in something other than nnnX240, but haven't found out how. Yet.

Maybe I'll look back into that soon.

And, for the record, I'm not an electrical guy. I'm a programmer. But sometimes you have to know these things. Or at least, sort of understand them when you google them.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Cross Platform development?]

I heard that you can write/read data anytime, is that true? If so, what happens if I change a tile while it's being rendered in the current scanline?

Yes, you can read/write 'anytime'. Dunno about during the active scanline, though. Never tried it.
I have, however, updated the vdc registers during the active scanline; sometimes if causes glitches
(like displaying the initial pixel, stretched over 2-3 pixels).
From what I remember, there are 'slots' for reading/writing, but I never really understood how it works.

I'll probably stick to writing during vblank for now

If you are going cross-platform, probably a good idea.

Afaik, the vdc registers are latches, with a seperate internal set for actual display.
You can check the tv signal specs if it really worries you. I *believe* the vblank period is at least 7 scanlines; I could be wrong there, though. (Raster irq value is 63 for first active display line, normally.
But I've never really been able to tell how much of that is the top blank area and how much is the
bottom)

I suggest you peruse the vdc register docs in the HuC stuff. There's a set of registers near the end that control the actual screen geomety; how many cycles each hsync/vsync pulse is, how many cycles
before the left edge of the screen, etc. I only vaguely understand that stuff - maybe you can explain it?

[Off-Topic / Re: What happened to Nullity?]

But the real question is, why are hot dogs in packs of 8, but buns in packs of 10?

And beer in 6 packs or 12 packs....

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Graphic, Sound, & Coding Tips / Tricks / Effects / Etc. Tools for development]

Bonknuts:
Good to know you're still alive.
Hopefully school is going well.

It brightened my morning seeing you check in

+1

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Cross Platform development?]

so you would think it would be trivial to develop for both machines at once

Too bad bonknauts isn't still around. He did the megaman port, and had information about how
to convert things from the NES to the PCE. That would at least give you a place to start from.

I also wouldn't worry much about loading from CD vs ROM, at least to start with. You might be able
to load everything all at once, if you stay below 256K (or maybe 512K, I forget) with the system 3
card.

Other than that, I can only suggest trying to keep the hardware-specific stuff behind a well-defined
set of library functions. Things that can then be swapped for the different system builds

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Galads Game Dev Thread]

... I'm going to go for fixed point implementation in asm as that is easier for me

As would I, personally. It's easier to do and will probably end up much faster.

The point however, was that a similar thing can be done in C. Not sure why anyone
would want to, but it is possible.

[For when you get farther along in this: #asm/#endasm blocks are very useful in HuC. You can
write and debug code in C, and translate it to asm quite easily, and semi-invisibly ]

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Galads Game Dev Thread]

Things that move at an angle.

45 degrees is easy. Just update X and Y.
Other angles....

if you limit the sprite position to 256 (ie, don't track sprite in world coordinates),
you can use the low byte of an int for a fractional amount. It should roll over into high byte when needed, and you can shift it into position for the sprite coord.

for world coords, use an int/char pair. use char to count steps, and bump the int when the steps are up.
It's easier to do than explain, so i suspect you'll have no problem


...and yeah, it's easier in asm.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Galads Game Dev Thread]

Although I might use assembly for angled projectiles...

What do you mean by "angled projectiles"?
Things that move at an angle, or things that will 'hit' only on an angle?

If that makes sense...

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Son Son II - in western magazines]

With the growing number of words that are added to the nonPC list, I wouldn't be surprised if soon we will all be using a form of newspeak, for chrissakes.

++good

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: UK Console power supply's on a PCE Duo]

I don't own an Everdrive,

Rats.

this is about total current draw of the console

Got it. Just wondering if ED causes extra draw on power supply. (Not just bus)
If you were seeing 900mA draw, for example, that might be enough difference for border-line supplies to flake out.

there had already been measurements made by db electronics on the current draw of everdrives, so there's no need for me to repeat that.

Verification is always nice. ( consider the source )

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: FX-Unit Yuki: The Henshin Engine for TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine]

Can't get a fucking slope algorithm working adequately and it's pissing me right the fuck off. It's almost working but it's glitchy as fuck...

First rule of debugging: describe the problem as exactly as possible.

What is glitchy?
  Is it returning bad values?
  In what cases?
  What inputs make it fail?

Does it work by itself?
  Is it overflowing?

etc...

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: UK Console power supply's on a PCE Duo]

I measured the current draw of the Turbo Duo when playing games,

For future reference, could you do that with an EverDrive?

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: Happy 2018 New Years Street Fighter II Contest!]

I want all participants to come up with their funniest winning quote

Not an Entry, but everytime I see that now, I think

"No! I get player 1. You had player 1 last time!"

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: TED v2 Programming Notes]

So you can leave your Turbo Everdrive in the system and still run Super CD games without damaging the DUO. That was the original purpose of the patch correct?

I've tried many patches that others have sent me to avail but if you want to send me yours so I can try it again it can't hurt.

I've also tested it in a Turbo Grafx and regular PC engine with the exact same results.

Elmers patch does work. Honestly.
The major problem I had was finding the correct version of the system card. It is -not- the 3.0 version; read the patch information carefully (it only works on 1 specific version card).

The version I used that worked had a bunch of the same exact values at the beginning. Apparently, this
is delay code to fix a problem with the reset signal (as far as I remember ).  You may also need to do some monkeying around with the header info, iirc.

It's also possible that something has changed with the 2.5 everdrive. That -may- be your problem.

[High Score Records / Re: "Devil's Crush" High Scores]

... quite a bit of tricks that can be done during game play ...

I only know 2, and one involves doing things multiple times. Ie., rolling the lady 10 time (iirc)
Nailing the top jellies so they are all the same color is the other one I know of for sure.
I've hit a couple of others, but have no idea what triggers them.

Will she share her hints?

[Off-Topic / Re: Cryptocurrencies... You gettin' rich yet?]

... posting "Told you so"...

Just smile sweetly, and remind him the IRS is taxing any gains as income, not as deferred investments.
And they are coming after people who didn't declare it last year

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Component Video & RGB OSSC VS FRAMEMEISTER Comparison]

But WHY?

A) Because I can.
B) Because I'm cheap
C) Because short (< 6 in) extensions weren't available at the time.
D) Because no one wants  a 6 ft extension cord with a power brick attached under foot.
E) Because I'm wierd like that.

Pick one.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Component Video & RGB OSSC VS FRAMEMEISTER Comparison]

Who would cut the cord off an old TV and why?

I've done that. Maybe not a TV, but other things.
That and a trip to HomeDepot is a cheap extension cord. Especially when you need one
about 6 inches long for a power brick.

[Fighting Street / Re: Black Friday Rant (BFR)]

John Madden = $210

Really? I didn't think it was even good enough to open...

[General Gaming / Re: Question: "Retro Gamers" VS "Retro" Collectors]

Is there retro porn? If so, I wonder what it looks like.

Also, every man is either a pizza delivery boy or plumber.

They were called "art films" back then, and yes they exist.
See Deep Throat / Taboo / The Devil In Miss Jones.

... and not a plumber or delivery guy in sight

[High Score Records / Re: "Devil's Crush" High Scores]

+5 to her. 400,000,000 points? That's half-way.
I could never do that, and believe me I've tried. 1,000,000 is about my best.

(And +1 to you. She looks nice. )

[NEC Console Resource / Re: Newcomer to the world of NEC, Experienced Japanese game importer.]

Some joke about owning mechanical pencil #36 or something...

Mine is a beta release.
Says 0.5 on it.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Nantettatte Engine: A PC Engine Birthday present for you and yours.]

The credit doesn't all go to myself, though.  Don't forget OldMan!

Oh, you can has the credit. It's just nice to be thought of every now and then

That thing you told me about at CCAG is SO secret ...

'Astrosmash' was the other half. Maybe someday what I wrote will see daylight, after Arkhan has a chance to polish it

It's kind of funny, though.  I'm more into figuring out how things work, with odd-ball small programs to test things. I very rarely get things finished....
Unless Arkhan pushes me to.

...speaking of that, Arkhan: did you get the artwork? Is paul gonna re-do it?
If/when I get a decent death animation, I'll move things along to the next step

I'd blame the kid and lack of sleep, but I was slightly an airhead before that, so....

Me too. Gets worse as I get older, too

[Off-Topic / Re: Random Pictures Thread]

...if you can't hit the ramp on an angled turn, just back up and go on straight, how hard is that to do?

Looks like its real hard. He tried that and missed.

Maybe the exhaust or something got clipped?

Or torn off. Looks like he had some flames coming from underneath after he stuck his head out.

[Off-Topic / Re: A Holiday Celebration Board.]

This is obviously a bullshit but BofA sent an email saying it was "Pay Your Friend Back Day"

I saw a commercial for the same thing. I wonder whos great idea it was...
Should look up that "friend" who markered me last time I passed out...?

"Payback's a b*tch"

[Fighting Street / Re: Coke free-style soda machines...they suck]

I think they are ok. If you have a problem with the stuff being watered down, it's not the machines fault- it's out of syrup or something. I never have a problem with picking a drink, either. There's a COKE button at the top left

Like any soda machine, it has its problems; usually it's because the staff either doesn't re-fill it or has screwed with the setup.

(Interestingly enough, the one at our local 5-guys burger place has an alarm wired into it. If something goes wrong, a big red light flashes behind the counter. It's bright enough to see on the floor of the place, too).

[Off-Topic / Re: What were your family videogaming rules?]

When you were a child, what family rules did you have in your household regarding videogaming?

"No fighting over the T.V."

Of course, it was pong.  (A Coleco Telstar, iirc.)

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: What happened to...]

As for retrocade, that was Ark's original plan for a bunch of old games...

Nope. Retrocade was a bunch of simple games (pong, tron lightcycles, and something else)  to test
the card circuit, and raise money to make the abCards. Yes it came out; I *think* there were 15
copies made. I'd love to know how many still work

...the rest were tabled.

Let's just say there were some creative differences in how to do them

Is it too soon to add Saber Rider to the what-happened list?

Probably not.

[General Gaming / Re: NES classic]

...then make them on demand.

I doubt Nintendo owns the plants that actually manufacture them. So to get them made, they have to order a minimum quantity.
Order too many, and they sit in the warehouse, tying up $$ that could be used elsewhere.
Order too few, and you have the current situation.

Its a no-win sutuation. They're gonna pi$$ someone off, either way :/

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: Raffle: Backwards TG16 t-shirt -- WINNER SELECTED]

That wig is long gone....

Guess you'll have to find a female model, then

Grats on the MS win, too.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: Raffle: Backwards TG16 t-shirt -- WINNER SELECTED]

The transformation will be amazing, I assure you

Ranma 1/2 style amazing?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Not another screenshot quiz...]

Cotton?

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Anearth Fantasy Stories - Translation Development Blog]

I like the lower case font.

Did they really typo intelligence?

[Fighting Street / Re: OJ is out!]

That time is automatically corrected....

Thx Necro. Didn't even know that existed in the profile.
Of course, most of mine is blank anyway...

[Fighting Street / Re: OJ is out!]

Quote from: TheClash603 on July 20, 2017, 10:41:13 PM

    It's 1:40am and everyone is out partying in Buffalo.  It is always good to see when true justice is served.

Somebody needs to set the clock, either here or on their computer...

[General Gaming / Re: Kingdom Hearts?]

I came across Kingdom Hearts II for the PS2.  I haven't played any of the kingdom hearts games so, I'd figure I'd ask all of you if you've played the games?

I remember those. My niece played them constantly until she finally beat them. She said they were "great", and she's not much of a video-gamer.

Of course, she was 11-12 at the time, and in that "disney princess" stage...

[Fighting Street / Re: So, I went to the funny farm...]

I know what you mean. It just took me a few seconds to decode it right.
That said, I have to ask....

...most every girl I've dated has been fucking nuts.

Were they doing cashews, walnuts, acorns, or whatever? Details needed.

(Yes, my mind does things like that to me)

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: ALERT! OOP! RARE!]

I liked the fact that Ebay also showed me this:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Rockman-Tubografx-CD-PC-Engine-Turbo-Duo-Disc-only/263036255671?_trksid=p2047675.c100623.m-1&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160608112848%26meid%3D0aec373d95454b6d9ff0dd495f18e2e4%26pid%3D100623%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D322575830995

Can you say "bootlegger"?

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: PCE Pixel art tools?]

If I wanted to take a crack at creating pixel art for PCE games, is there a tool for windows out there I can download?

Which version of windows?
Most of the suggested tools run under XP; not sure about anything later....

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: Raffle: DuckTales (Game Boy)]

It's been glued before, but that didn't last. I don't want to throw it out, so if anyone wants to take on the glue job the cart is all yours.

I don't know about glueing it, but I'll see if I can model it and print a new cart.
I think I even have a gamecube/gba player to test it on .

[General Gaming / Re: Sega Forever Marketing]

Quote from: MNKyDeth on Today at 01:34:10 PM
 

I know very few people or possibly even none that have a tape player anymore.
 

I have one in my car.   

8-track or casette?

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: Switchless Mod: Why not for PCE/TG16]

Not an expert programmer or anything but you highjack reset button pins...

What reset button? It's all done in software on the pce.

...presumably it could be done with an address change from the controller port.

Except you would have to read the controller. How would you do that if the code is for the wrong region?

Not saying it can't be done, just that it isn't going to be as easy as you think.

[Off-Topic / Re: That Tobias f--k went after Xak III and SO II as pressed CD-ROM releases!]

The dub itself will be released under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial-Use license.

Talk to a lawyer. If he sells copies, that is against the licensing terms, and a cease and desist can be sent - both to him and wherever he's selling it. Also lock-down the terms of use for all the voice tracks; if everyone agrees to give you the rights, you can start a coyright suit for the audio (which he has no rights to)

Not that that will stop him.

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

now I need 2 sensor bars....

Nah. Just 2 candles..

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Henshin Engine Game for TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine]

max 256 tiles per map...

Is this the conflict with vram limitations?

Probably not. It's probably due using a register as an offset to load the tiles.

Does that mean 4096 is the max size for a mappy

Using the HuC functions, probably. Note that 4096 tiles works out to 8K, and I'm not sure if the map functions support crossing pages....

there's not a practical/fast way to flood a screen with a single tile, then change each row's color to create a gradient for a background?

Practical, yes. Fast, not so much, unless you go to assembler.
...
Using a temp array to hold 1 row of tile data (dependant on the BAT size), you can use
vram_read() to read in a row, then fix the tile palette, write it back (vram_load(), iirc), and bump the address as needed. Loop for however many rows you need.

Just for the record: If you do it in assembler, you can take advantage of the auto-increment
mode of the vdc, and loop using X and Y. It's actually pretty fast to do the transfer, if things are
set up right.
...

Slow in time to code, or slow in how long it takes to display each frame?

Neither. Slow in time to fill in the BAT. Assuming you don't change the BAT, its a one-shot cost.
It's slow if you have to replace BAT values for scrolling, for example. The vram[] array stuff sets the read/write address every time, which negates any advantage gained from auto-increment mode
And we know HuC is slow on array accesses (because of the address calculation it has to do)

If you're really interested in doing this, check out the vram_read() / vram_load() functions (macros?). If you can spare the space for a temp buffer, you can fill a row from vram quickly, make your changes, and then re-write it quickly. Not hard to code at all.

But much quicker in assembler....

fill_vram() { / #asm / ....asembler code here ... / #endasm / }
we do things like that quite a bit; the function is callable from HuC, and runs at assembler speed (because it is assembly)

Keep in mind, though, this is assuming you are not using the HuC map functions, and will handle scrolling / re-writing the BAT yourself.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Henshin Engine Game for TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine]

At one point, I was playing around with what you could do with tiles, just to see what was possible...

Assuming you know where the tile is in the BAT, you can read it's value via  n=vram[addr], and re-write it via vram[addr] = n. All in HuC.
So, if you mask off the upper 4 bits, then or in an adjusted palette #, it is possible.
Probably slow, but possible.
I haven't played with the HuC map functions, though. I haven't needed to. I basically set up the standard screen layout, load 2 screens to start, and then as things need to scroll fill in the new edges.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Henshin Engine Game for TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine]

I'm not exactly clear on what you guys are talking about, but...

Is it possible to use the same tile multiple times with different palettes?

Yes. Provided you have extra palettes to use.

You'd have to have your own mapper routine for that.

What mapper routine?

I think you can shift a tile's palette but all instances of that tile update at that time in the current HuC mapper code.

Yes, you can shift a tile's palette as well. All instances of the tile using that palette will change.
But that has nothing to do with HuC. That's how the vdc/vce operate.
....................................................................................
The BAT determines which tiles are displayed, and which palette they use.
So, for example, if you have the tile data at 0x2000 in vram, then a BAT entry of 0x1200 and a BAT entry of 0x2200 will use the same tile data, but different palettes. (The high 4 bits of the BAT entry specify the palette, the low 12 bits are the vram address / 16 )
You could then shift/change palette 2 without affecting the display of the 0x1200 entries.

I can see that there would be problems if you are loading the BAT to do scrolling and such, and it would definately be a pain to generate a background where two tiles have different palettes, but that doesn't mean it can't be done.
I think the real problem is they're running out of VRam for tile/sprite data.