Messages

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: TurboRip v1.40: The PC Engine/TG-16 CDROM ISO/WAV/CUE Ripper [8/19/2015]!]

I didn't wanna mention what works...

Have you ever used clone-cd on a pce cd? It took me several (ie >10. I went to bed leaving it running) hours to backup a few of my games

Gotta admire the guys perseverence, though. Maybe next time, we will use oddball gaps for all the tracks ;)

--edit--
You really can't stop it. Pirates gonna pirate....

[Feedback / Re: Forum Closed to Non-Registered Viewers :(]

I hate it as I was linking to threads here in the past which the public can no longer see before Aaron had to do it, but if that's what it takes to keep the forum bandwidth within his web host plan and prevent server crashes, I accept it...

Agreed. And iirc, a lot of the problem was new people dumping huge images here of their collections (which still goes on, btw. See the discussion about re-sizing images before you post them), then linking them everywhere. I'm just glad Aaron decided to keep the site at all after he got that over-bandwidth bill...

Or would you prefer a ton of ads like most other 'open' sites?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: PIXELLENCE - The Book - now available to order.]

So you don't end up with (another) hand-knit sweater you hate

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: TurboRip v1.40: The PC Engine/TG-16 CDROM ISO/WAV/CUE Ripper [8/19/2015]!]

All versions will fail, ImgBurn crashes on track analysis and Alcohol raises errors too.

Yeah, but he used clone cd (I recognized the ccd format) and uploaded it anyway.

I almost downloaded it to see if it worked. Trying to use ccd images was a pain, iirc. Though maybe you could extract the tracks from it.... :\

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Paradroid PCE - Devs inside info!]

i'll have to hunt for the 7up docs ....

Please sir, if you happen to find -any- developer documents, could you please, please, please post them somewhere?

Thank you in advance..

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: We need a hero...]

I nominate ccovell, too....But not to hack a memory base128.

What would it take to use your rs232 code to send/receive a text file (ie, hex digits) to/from the pce?
A cable can be hacked together, and for those without rs232 an rs232->usb converter used. I like the idea of having my saves on a computer more than on a mb128; no batteries to worry about, etc.

Just give it some thought.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Xanadu I and II - General Translation Project(s) Thread]

TheOldMan and I seem to have different ideas of what an affordable-and-practical card might be ... but at-the-end-of-the-day, ALL of the current and proposed cards provide a nice-and-simple 512KB of RAM for translators.

.....At the end of the day, I want to be able to pick up an empty pcb, add rom/ram as requested, flash the rom, pack it in a carrier and send it out.
That way, I only need 1 card blank for production, and I don't have to worry about over-buying boards.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Poll- Are you a new or old PC Engine/TurboGrafx gamer?]

Old timer (In both senses)

Took my nephew to We-Be-Toyz to pick up a nintendo for XMas. (nes. He was pissed they didn't have the one with the robot anymore.) And a few games.

Just got a nice-paying job at the time, so I asked my finance manager (aka, his mom) If I could get me something. Walked out with a tg-16, cd-rom, and all the games they had at the time. (It was only about a half-dozen)

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: "homemade" HuCARD for translations / homebrews/ repros]

Do you feel like flashing these could be performed by an absolute beginner with absolutely no rom flashing experience?

It's really not hard to do. The nice thing is, if you mess it up you can erase the chip and try again

(Do check the file size, though. It drove me nuts not working until I realized I needed to remove the header from the file)

[General Gaming / Re: Caption Contest 26]

"I'm tellin ya, replacing the 7805 shoulda worked..."

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Xanadu II Translation Development Blog]

there's no quick-fix that doesn't have consequences,

There never is <lol>. It's always a trade-off

A very silly question: Would it be possible to load the meta-blocks 'on the fly' from the cd? Or are they dependant on each other? (ie, block A calls block B such that both have to be in memory at once)

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: System card dreams....]

Take my babbling opinions here with a grain of salt and get this new card done

It's not getting it done that is the problem (We had a prototype working as far back as ccag).
It's getting it to the point where everyone (who really wanted to) could do it that is the problem

then a brand new bios could be made. Game Express did it,

That's sort of what I've been working on, among other things. Trying to Understand the cd access routines. In both the sys bios and the ge one. Scsi hardware is a bit tough for me to follow though.
Hardware drivers generally are. (ugh)

CD games already contain the infringing security string of text.

Which is one thing I'd like to see go away, believe it or not.

256k rom + 768k ram is better. And 256k rom (mirrored 512k lower on power up),

That would take a couple more gates than I would prefer to use right now.
Not un-doable, but.....

Right now, I'm just using a 2->4 demultiplexer to split the space. (with 2 outputs open)
A 3-> 8 demux is definately doable, but the chip select would require an or gate to respond right.
(Possibly a wired-or ? Haven't tried it...) I use A20 as a master 'card control' and A19 to select the chip.

A mapper register would require a lot more gates to implement; at which point an fpga is a better solution. Unfortunately, I know (next to) nothing about programming them, and again it's an added expense....

There's no software, that I know of publicly, that's creating a demand for this new system card.

Right. But its a chicken/egg problem. Without the card, there won't be software. And without software, there isn't a need for the card.
That's one reason I'd like the card easily and cheaply buildable. Then maybe (just maybe) more folks will start writing games for our beloved pce. Which would lead to more card sales (hopefully) which would lead, eventually, to a better card.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: System card dreams....]

But for "normal" folks, including me, it's going to be contract-production-in-China-or-nothing.

Ever bake a cake? Using a re-flow oven is just about that easy
(Well, ok, it's tough to get the parts in the right place without a magnifier...)

Then would you really throw away thousands of dollars to sue him? In Germany?

Nope. But I would have the lawyer send cease-and-desist letters to E-Bay.
And any other website where he advertizes
(btw, c-n-d's are about $50 each. Would be SOOOO worth it.)

Absolutely amazingly wonderful for the few of us developers that have
it, but unlikely to ever get manufactured/used in serious volume. 

I'm not so sure about that... (check your PM's in an hour or so)
But even if not, it's enough if the guys here have/use it. Then
maybe we will see more games...and more coding tips

Well, IMHO that makes it pretty much like the CD StupidCard.

Absolutely. But without the fpga and the hassles of programming it.

Tailchao:
Every thing on the card is 5V. But as I've found out, when the address bus
changes, the voltage drops to the chips, causing the RAM to glitch.
I think that's why I need to add a filter cap.(0.47uF, iirc)

And just to stir things up: do you have enough gates left on that fpga
to add a sound generator? Just curious...

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: System card dreams....]

It looks like your competition for ROM-only cards is getting tougher....
...if you guys at Aetherbutt decide to stock and sell them. 

Understood, but I'm not sure I want to have to glue the cards together.
And the open chip on the bottom bothers me, too.
We're not planning on selling them; I'd like to see the plans/files
freely available (under a non-profit license), so anyone could make them.

I think that ichigobankai has found out in the other thread that most
people really don't want to solder surface-mount components onto boards.

It's really not that hard, people. But I wouldn't suggest it, when you can
build a re-flow setup from an old toaster oven for cheap.

Does your $20-per-card-in-a-batch-of-50 estimate include contract-production
of the boards in China, all the plastic/spacers needed to make it fit properly,
and shipping to the USA?

Nope. Parts/materials cost only. And slightly over-priced at that. I'll have to
dig out my invoices to get an actual price.

Do you really think that any translator is going to want to pay money to
stock ROM/RAM cards just so that they can give away their translation for free???

Nope. But some folks really don't like emulators. A note that says it will play
on real hardware with these cards (and list them all) could generate a lot
of downloads.

Also, if some translator started requiring people to buy a "custom"
my-translations-only ROM/RAM card, then they'd get crucified by the rest of
the translation community!

And rightly so.

If Aetherbutt wants to make a generic 512KB/512KB "System Card 4" available for $20...

NOT an Aetherbutt project. Something for the community to play with. Strictly
non-commercial.

In fact, if there's money-to-be-made, then Tobias will just clone the card
and charge $60 for the "official" PCEWorks "Translation Card".

My lawyer would love that

CD System cards are an issue, as mass producing one without completely
reimplementing Hudson's original software is... a very poor choice legally.
The Turbo Everdrive 2 is actually the only available card which is grey
enough to be exempt from this, since you're loading the software on your own.

Which is one thing we won't do. Somebody trying to make money at it, maybe. But we
wouldn't include an unmodified Bios, which in itself is a grey area....
(In fact, in most cases, we wouldn't supply a bios anyway. We're not mass-producing them)


Edit: Missed a / on the quote tag

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: System card dreams....]

IMHO ... if you can't afford a $35 card, then I'm not sure how you can afford to buy any PCE games or other peripherals, but there's no denying that it's good to save money if you're still getting something that can do the job.

Elmer: I can afford a $35 card. I can afford an everdrive. Can everyone?
Would you rather have people play your translation, or complain that it required a $35 card (that's not available anymore. Better check e-bay..) or a $100 card to play through?

(Not that Xanadu will. But then you run into the whole tobias reproduction problem....Which is another part of the cheap card idea.)

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: System card dreams....]

Had a nice little point-by-point reply, but apparently I took to long to write it and got logged off.
Here's the simple version:

with 512k rom and 512k ram.

Yeah, that seems the natural split. Though you can replace the 512k RAM with ROM if you're using to produce your own cards. (that's why cost is a big factor)

I think that he'd like to put Chris Covell's PCEMON into that extra 256KB....
That seems like plenty of memory to add a few new "library" functions into your own code....

I would, for my own use.
I think developers have different needs for different games; since the card is re-flashable, you could set it up however you like. Or make a few, with different setups for different needs.

No, it's not in-system flashable:( The programming timing on the chip is too fast for the pce to handle, and if a block isn't programmed in that time-frame, the chip times out.
Yes, I'd love to have a faster cd read routine. I think I'm going to need it....

Mu goal isn't to mass produce and sell these. It's to build a card that -anyone- can make cheaply, and use for developement and/or hombrew productions.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: System card dreams....]

So, how does your system card project differ from TailChao's CD Stupid Card?

But also in how your card differs from a TurboEverDrive v2 (now up to revision 2.4).

It's a lot simpler (and cheaper to make). I'm not out to take anything away from those cards.
It's basically a system card with more memory. That's all.

And it's available for anyone to buy now.

Well, anyone with the $$.

Most homebrew/translation people would like to have just a little more RAM. (see the xanadu thread. There are others, too, if you search around.) They do it for fun, and want the games played.
A cheap card would allow those of us who can't afford a StupidCard/Everdrive to play them.

Oh, yeah, let's not forget: Both those cards can do a lot more than this one. But you have to plan for which card to use (iirc, they use different schemes for accessing extra RAM).  In theory, a homebrew dev could produce these cards without having to figure out how to do anything else (though I think Tailchao changed his card so it defaults to a relatively stock setup. )

And if you (as a developer) know anything about circuit design, it might me possible to add battery-backup to it...

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: System card dreams....]

Laugh of the day!

Not on my end.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: System card dreams....]

Update:

I haz a dream:  Someday Arkhan will tell me all of the Alantean boards are done, sold and shipped.

Check.

I haz a dream: Arkhan will total everything up, and we will have actually made a small profit...
  And it's enough money to develope the new system card....

Check. And almost.

I haz a dream: We order prototype boards and all the pieces...
  And I put them together without screwing things up...
  And they work...
  And the bios is reprogrammable, for future changes.

Check. There went my atlantean profits. And some extra $$
Sometimes. They're a pain.
Haven't finished complete testing, but it's looking good. Looks  like it needs a filter capacitor added, though.

YES!

I haz a dream: Bonknuts has time off from school, and decides to work on translations....
 And he finishes one using the new system card....
 And expands on MegaMan-CD as well.

He's working on it again So maybe....

I haz a dream: With the extra flash space, we start adding useful routines for translations and developement....

Covell has an ML monitor.
(If you see this chris, lets talk licensing....)

Of course, I also have a dream where everyone from the turbo game shows appear at my door to use the bathroom,
piss all over the shower, and my wife says "They're your friends. *You* clean it up....."

No, but the cats have learned a new trick. Guess what it is....

............................................................

No, I will NOT build you one. They are a royal pain-in-the-arse to build.
I already have people picked out to send them to, *as they are built and tested.*
(for free, but you have to be a developer. It's not much use to anyone else.)

No, even if I had a lot of them made, I wouldn't sell them. I'm not interested
in making $$. I'm interested in getting a -complete- free dev environment for
the pce set up - and brought up to date.

And I still have a lot to do on Sabre-Riders. That comes first.

With that said, the boards could be built for under $20, in lots of 50. All parts
included, At last check. They support ROM/RAM and are 'fixable' to support
ROM/ROM. Yes, an 8M bit game is on the to-do list. Eventually.

There is still a ton to do on the software side, though.

So, how long before someone decides to clone these?

[Fighting Street / Re: PCE Titles: Porno Style]

Ovary Crush

No, Alien Crotch

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

Video Game Connection
4824 Memphis Ave.

That's Mike's shop! The owner is one of the guys who helps put on CCAG.

Nice guy. He sold me my us system 3.0 card (for $50, down from $65. But that was a decade ago).
And he dropped the price right away when he found out a few of the games he had were bootlegs.
(iir, Ys was $20 on a cdr with inkjet label. He dropped it to $2 when he found out it was a bootleg)

Many good times talking to him about games when I was younger

(btw, looks like he cleaned house. He used to have a whole wall of 2600 games. Did you ask him if he had anything in the basement?

[General Gaming / Re: Retro VGS Game Console]

When I read that closely, I have to ask myself "How does software developement make you a hardware engineer?"

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

Video Game Connection in Cleveland Ohio.  It's in the middle of a shit hole

My crs is acting up. Is that the shop near Memphis, or the place on 185th ?

(If it's 185th , HEY!! I live in that sh*thole!. If its Memphis, HEY I used to live in that sh*thole!! )

[Off-Topic / Re: I Love the 80's]

I have no love for the 80's.

I wish I could -remember- the 80's.
They say pot affects your long-term memory

Probably even more so with the 90's

The 90's were ok. Spend the decade raising my niece and nephew. Days just blur together when you are doing things like that. Except for when I met my wife. That one I remember well.

[Off-Topic / Re: I Love the 80's]

The Police?

Sally/Be My Girl, from the first album.Of course, you never hear Sally on the radio....
Of course, I liked the J Giels band, too...

( You're really old if you know this line: "That Bowling Ball! It's my wife!" )

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

Maybe I'm just too cynical on this point, but I see two dumb flaws with this.  First, the unknowing public quite likely won't find out about the disclaimer until after they have already bought and played the game.

At which point, someone will post a video on you-tube, and everyone else will know. We hope.

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

Can't wait to try Super Mario Sunshine.

As dumb as the premise is, I thought it was a blast. (no pun intended)
Lots of good times with that one.

[Off-Topic / Re: Price Check: VGA-graded 80 Silver Turbo Duo]

It could be cow turds inside the actual box....

Damn, that would have made a good punchline for the caption contest...

"Yeah, sorry, i already sold the slabbed duo. But if you give me a minute, I might have another one around here...."

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: Raffle: Turbo Duo system... Winner chosen!]

Congrats, Bernie.
I think you deserve it

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Saber Riders Kickstarter]

this is for the Super Jewel Box with 2Disc tray...

Ah, ok. Just thought the proportions were wrong for a stock cd case.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Saber Riders Kickstarter]

Here is the official cover for the PC Engine Limited Edition:

Is that for the CD case or the cardboard box?

[General Gaming / Re: Caption Contest 25: (shhhhh.... It's a surprise)]

Magical Chase for $50?
It's a good thing I'm sitting down....

[Off-Topic / Re: PICO CASSETTE: Discuss]

Why does this remind me of the Atari 2600 supercharger????

I guess its an improvement; at least you don't need a cassette player

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Atlantean]

Blue, and yes, card, too!

Ah, an early one

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Atlantean]

...my Atlantean case glows in the dark...

Blue or white?
Card too??

[Off-Topic / Re: I Love the 80's]

Lived it. Watched it. Don't need to do it again.

[Off-Topic / Re: What are YOU watching on YouTube.com?]

I wonder how Great Northern mall is now?

Come to CCAG next year and see for yourself. It's not that far away.

[Off-Topic / Re: Smashing Pumpkins]

Seriously, people...

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Faster fade out code?]

int dv;
.
.
.
         clr = get_color(i);
         dv = 0;

         /* low color bits : 0000 0111  */
         if (clr & 0x0007 ) dv ++;

         /* mid color bits : 0011 1000 */
         if (clr & 0x0028 ) dv = dv+ 8;  /* iirc, this is faster than += in huc. try both */

         /* hi color bits : 1 1100 0000 */
          if (clr & 0x01c0 ) dv = dv +  64;

          clr = clr - dv;
           set_color(i, clr);         
.
.
.
...............................................................................
that's off the top of my head, so double check the hex values And everything else....

Assuming it works, the next step is to move that to asm;  iirc, an int parameter will come in in the A and X registers, so color won't have to be loaded; the rest is a pretty straightfoward conversion.
( look up the asm code in the listing to see how it's done. That's how I learned 650x asm

For the low sets of bits, you can just check the low byte; for the high set, shift the color right (?) for the check (then you can and with 0xe0 ) But that's a bit of asm optimization you may not need (or want to do).
.................................................................................
Just out of curiosity, why are you ckecking for >0 anyway? clr can't be negative, an & won't change that. And != 0 is true in C, so you don't have to compare the result to anything....

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: The RetroVGS "Price is Right" Raffle (for a stack of PCE Hueys)!!]

It's not an entry, but I'm hoping the raise < $100

[General Gaming / Re: Caption Contest 24: From mii to U]

Not an entry.

Nulltard finds out that a bubble bath in a duckpond doesn't include rubber ducks....

{No offense meant null. I just couldn't remember the name of the guy who posted his 'art' pictures...)

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Saber Riders Kickstarter]

Saber is 69px high ....

If you can knock him down to 64 pixels high, you might only need to update 1 sprite

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: Shit Raffle #1]

3D Pinball (CD, light scratches and a manual only)

Does that have 8-ball deluxe on it?

[General Gaming / Re: Atari VCS/2600 turns 38]

It was the Sears "heavy" 6-switch model with pack in Tank Plus (Combat to Atari) and we got Circus as well.

My first Atari, too. Tank Plus sucked, Circus was fun... for a while. The Star Trek game was pretty good, too.

My first game console was a Colecovision with expansion module #1 to play 2600 carts with.  I had some great Coleco carts, but they were outnumbered by 2600 carts easily.  Haunted House was one of my favorites, along with Maze Craze and Outlaw.

Upgrade time. Had all the colecovision stuff (Turbo wa great).
Haunted House was okay, on the harder levels.
Keystone Kapers was fun, but got boring after a while.

#1 in my heart: Kaboom!

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: CD-R brands and my SCD system]

Anyone ever use the black playstation type CDR's?

Pretty sure I tried those, bitd. Wouldn't even boot.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: What Turbo game are you currently playing?]

How in the world do you dodge the mines?

My tactic is to scurry towards the top, line up with the third mine, and then as they come on screen you have just enough time to get to a hole. Don't forget to run back to the third row as soon as the mine passes.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: Tobias copy Sylphia raffle WINNER ANNOUNCED!]

Congratulations....again

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: Tobias copy Force Gear raffle WINNER ANNOUNCED!]

Congratulations

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Currently Unnamed Project in the works]

pass 1
#[1]   Test1.s

So I assume this is actually C code, and not straight assembler....

Proc : '_main' is too large (code > 8KB)!
....
Am I only allowed 8kb per "bank" i.e. subroutine?

In HuC, probably. (Not sure about pceas, though)

Serious question though: How do you debug a routine that large, anyway?
I have trouble debugging stuff more than ~60 lines long....

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: Caption Contest 23: Elementary, my boy.]

"...and that was when the General and his son went looking for Mr. DoxPhiledb and his friend ...."