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Running Games and Apps.

CD32 Mode

Lee Hiscox

Posts 1
11 Nov 2018 20:36


Just wondered if you were looking to do a CD32 mode where the AKIKO chip was recreated on the FPGA chip? I know there is some software emulation with the IDE-FIX97 already available. But you could also recreate the CD1200.

I guess this is something you are doing with the AGA chipset.

Would be interested to know.


Michal Warzecha

Posts 209
11 Nov 2018 20:52


If I'm correct, AKIKO is a chip which gives C2P conversion but it's not needed anymore with SAGA. So, AKIKO is not needed in this situation.


Daniel Sevo

Posts 299
11 Nov 2018 22:49


Michal Warzecha wrote:

  If I'm correct, AKIKO is a chip which gives C2P conversion but it's not needed anymore with SAGA. So, AKIKO is not needed in this situation.
 

 
  C2P was just a small portion of what Akiko did. They needed  a new chip to put the CD controller. There's also CIA, Gayle, Budgie functionality all in one "glue-chip". Now, a lot of those things are in A1200 too, but not CD controller or the small C2P part.. From a performance standpoint, C2P is of course not needed, but for compatibility reason it could probably be done very easily (because its not a complicated design), though it can probably more conveniently be "patched" with software only solutions.
 


Gunnar von Boehn
(Apollo Team Member)
Posts 6207
12 Nov 2018 11:02


Daniel Sevo wrote:

From a performance standpoint, C2P is of course not needed, but for compatibility reason it could probably be done very easily (because its not a complicated design), though it can probably more conveniently be "patched" with software only solutions.

I did AKIKO once for the NATAMI project.
Realistically AKIKO C2P was never really accepted and used in AMIGA titles.




Daniel Sevo

Posts 299
12 Nov 2018 13:21


Gunnar von Boehn wrote:

 
  I did AKIKO once for the NATAMI project.
  Realistically AKIKO C2P was never really accepted and used in AMIGA titles.
 

Ye, most CD32 titles were quick and lazy Amiga "ports" (media adjustments ;-)) so CD32 specific games are few and far between.
Off the top of my head I can only recall a handful that used C2P.
*Microcosm(?)
*Gloom
*Wing Commander
*Catacomb 3d (this is a recent port)
(@Gunnar, I'm guessing this can easily be patched with a small software library that simply intercepts such a "call" and does it on the CPU instead?)
Apart from C2P, I guess AKIKO's CD controller was pretty flexible when it came to supporting various CD formats as the CD32 plays nearly every known CD format of the era (Kodak Photo CD,Video CD (with FMV module), CD-I, Karaoke, streaming sound from CD while playing (Simon The Sorcerer)..) So all that stuff, I assume can also be solved with system software..) 


Vojin Vidanovic
(Needs Verification)
Posts 1916/ 1
12 Nov 2018 16:03


Lee Hiscox wrote:

  I know there is some software emulation with the IDE-FIX97 already available. But you could also recreate the CD1200.

Wbat would be nice is to finally have IDEFix97 or similar, resident in ROM,which is "CD32 like"



Rod March

Posts 119
13 Nov 2018 22:45


Maybe a dumb question -

I've seen the video of Manuel Jesus running CD32 games on a V4 with an IDE CR-ROM. Once GOLD 3 is available will it be possible to run CD-32 games on a V2 from a SCSI CD-ROM?


Daniel Sevo

Posts 299
13 Nov 2018 23:25


Rod March wrote:

Maybe a dumb question -
 
  I've seen the video of Manuel Jesus running CD32 games on a V4 with an IDE CR-ROM. Once GOLD 3 is available will it be possible to run CD-32 games on a V2 from a SCSI CD-ROM?

Ill guess here that "simple Amiga ports" will ruin fine because its just a regular Amiga game on CD instead of floppy and some adjusted input keys (Controller adaption), and I think there are one or two cd32 emulators out there.. (Squirrel SCSI CD ROM came with one I think, IDEfix97 another I think) however, I will guess that games that play sound directly of CD will have its own output. So "Paula" (aka "Pamela" in Super AGA)) audio would come via H.D.M.I. and the rest from a second audio cable from the CD ROM which you need to hook up.
I think.. ;-)


Andy Hearn

Posts 374
15 Nov 2018 12:42


this is kinda what annoyed me about the CD32. pretty much all the games were just shovelware - existing floppy games put onto CD.
  I remember I got a pretty high success rate with just with a CD drive plugged into an A1200.
  just make sure all the assigns s: devs: c: libs: and all that are pointing to, or "path add"'ed to the CD's filesystem, and that the device is called CD0: and you're golden.... mostly. your mileage may vary. :D
 
  a CDrom driver in firmware would be awesome "nice to have" - but probably beyond the team's immediate scope.

now, if there was an ISO mounter for amiga....


Steve Ferrell

Posts 424
15 Nov 2018 20:02


Andy Hearn wrote:

this is kinda what annoyed me about the CD32. pretty much all the games were just shovelware - existing floppy games put onto CD.
  I remember I got a pretty high success rate with just with a CD drive plugged into an A1200.
  just make sure all the assigns s: devs: c: libs: and all that are pointing to, or "path add"'ed to the CD's filesystem, and that the device is called CD0: and you're golden.... mostly. your mileage may vary. :D
 
  a CDrom driver in firmware would be awesome "nice to have" - but probably beyond the team's immediate scope.
 
  now, if there was an ISO mounter for amiga....

Here are a couple links from EAB about the SimCD32 program.  It originally was designed as a boot floppy for the A1200 and it allowed for mounting CD32 ISO images and running the games.  Several folks have adapted it to run from the hard drive.

EXTERNAL LINK 
EXTERNAL LINK 


Steve Ferrell

Posts 424
15 Nov 2018 22:30


Almost forgot, here's a link on how to make it hard disk friendly.
 
  EXTERNAL LINK 
  Link is in Italian but it's easy to follow or just use Google's translate feature.


Andy Hearn

Posts 374
16 Nov 2018 21:45


perfect! many many thanks!


Daniel Sevo

Posts 299
29 Nov 2018 13:32


I know this will sound like a strange question, but would it be hard to create "cartridge" for the CD32, meaning, something that is plugged into the rear expansion port and autoboots/starts (Launches a game without any menus etc..)

(And as you can guess, the "cartridge would be a dual/reversed connector and say a standalone cd32 version of the Vampire (or maybe a different accelerator like the upcoming TF330)



Andy Hearn

Posts 374
29 Nov 2018 16:50


not sure. sounds plausible enough.
  I'd imagine the easiest thing would be to have a card plug into the back slot, and have some basic logic on it to provide a "gayle" type IDE port - which you could then plug in a hotplug adapter like a CF or SD card slot adapter. something designed for repeated insertions and removals.
 
  I wouldn't want to treat the actual gold fingers on the CD32 slot connector like that, as i'm seeing wear on my A500 side slot, and a few oldie-but-goldie zorro cards I've got. and they are usually a "plug in once and leave" sort of thing.
 
  going back to the IDE port idea, it'd be auto bootable, just so long as the game doesn't have any references to CD0 or DF0 hard coded into it you should be fine. maybe even have a basic workbench installed that launches a hard disk version of the game instead of loading workbench at the end of the startup-sequence file.
 
  thanks for the TF330 note by the way! i'll certainly be watching that with interest :)

posts 14