- Thread starter DragonMinded
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DragonMinded
Professional
A few more updates:
1) I've updated the messaging protocol to be able to distinguish a new type of failure that the net dimm has presented to me: mixing up register returns when querying for new messages. I don't expect this means much to anyone, but the end result was that the menu driving code could crash with an error that suggested the menu was not running the message protocol. I've fixed that with some clever CRC juggling so that it can transparently detect and recover from this sort of error. The net dimm menu has been updated accordingly. If you are using the menu on your computer, you will want to pull the latest changes from https://github.com/DragonMinded/netboot/ to be covered from this sort of thing happening to you! If you are @chunksin and you are back from your break, you'll want to sync to the latest code before making your final release.
2) I've introduced a 2D accelerated sprite library for people that want to make games for the Naomi! It takes a lot of the pain out of using the PowerVR to render sprites by performing all of the texture calculations for you. It supports basic sprites as well as tilemaps (easy animation, easy 2D backgrounds and maps), and it supports arbitrary scaling and rotation of sprites. And, of course, since its using the PowerVR, you get hardware alpha blending and screen edge clipping for free. This is basically the underlying code that supports the netdimm menu, but with a handy and easier to use API. An example of how to use it is here: https://github.com/DragonMinded/libnaomi/blob/main/examples/spritetest/main.c and the documentation for how to use it is here: https://github.com/DragonMinded/libnaomi/blob/main/libnaomi/naomi/sprite/sprite.h and here is a video on my twitter feed showing capabilities: https://twitter.com/dragonminded/status/1472294607010553859
1) I've updated the messaging protocol to be able to distinguish a new type of failure that the net dimm has presented to me: mixing up register returns when querying for new messages. I don't expect this means much to anyone, but the end result was that the menu driving code could crash with an error that suggested the menu was not running the message protocol. I've fixed that with some clever CRC juggling so that it can transparently detect and recover from this sort of error. The net dimm menu has been updated accordingly. If you are using the menu on your computer, you will want to pull the latest changes from https://github.com/DragonMinded/netboot/ to be covered from this sort of thing happening to you! If you are @chunksin and you are back from your break, you'll want to sync to the latest code before making your final release.
2) I've introduced a 2D accelerated sprite library for people that want to make games for the Naomi! It takes a lot of the pain out of using the PowerVR to render sprites by performing all of the texture calculations for you. It supports basic sprites as well as tilemaps (easy animation, easy 2D backgrounds and maps), and it supports arbitrary scaling and rotation of sprites. And, of course, since its using the PowerVR, you get hardware alpha blending and screen edge clipping for free. This is basically the underlying code that supports the netdimm menu, but with a handy and easier to use API. An example of how to use it is here: https://github.com/DragonMinded/libnaomi/blob/main/examples/spritetest/main.c and the documentation for how to use it is here: https://github.com/DragonMinded/libnaomi/blob/main/libnaomi/naomi/sprite/sprite.h and here is a video on my twitter feed showing capabilities: https://twitter.com/dragonminded/status/1472294607010553859
It's taken a while to get to but I'm starting to extend the support for the settings definition files into WiPi that allow you to set game assignments directly from DragonMinded's awesome on screen menu. I've also been playing with the SRAM backup and restore and have integrated it into the menu as an additional option. The way it is designed to work is that when the menu is loaded from WiPi and the option is enabled it will back up the existing contents of SRAM and as the menu doesn't use SRAM that will should be from the last game played. This gets sent back to the pi and stored in a file - as the pi knows which game was last sent either over wifi or from the menu it gets named as such and then when the game is sent next time the correct SRAM file is restored via the menu to the Naomi.
This works well with the on screen menu but it would be a bit clunky to integrate with games sent over wifi, the issue is the SRAM backup and restore uses a helper function that is netbooted so you would have to manually backup and restore or you would have multiple reboots while the helper rom is netbooted, SRAM backed up, reboot, game sent.
The current list of definition files including the ones provided by DragonMinded is below, I've also discovered some games that seem to be using SRAM as settings backup, similar to Ikaruga.
Settings Definition Files:
Monkey Ball
Marvel vs Capcom 2
Crazy Taxi
Jambo Safari
The Typing of the Dead
Powerstone
Powerstone 2
Capcom vs SNK Millenium Fight
Capcom vs SNK Millenium Fight Pro
Capcom vs SNK 2 Mark of the Millenium
Cannon Spike
Cosmic Smash (work in progress)
Gigawing 2
Alien Front
Confidential Mission
Street Fighter Zero 3/Upper 3
Spikers Battle
Virtua Tennis
Virtua Tennis 2
Border Down
Under Defeat
Akatsuki Bk Ausf Achse
Using SRAM backup:
Ikaruga
Rythmn Tengoku
Chaos Field
Cleopatra Fortune
Burning Casino
Dead or Alive 2
Kuru Kuru Chameleon
Death Crimson Ox
Virtua Fighter 4
Outtrigger
If anyone is interested in helping out expanding these files please get in touch, DragonMinded already has extensive instructions on how to follow the process, it's quite straightforward once you've done a few! I've made some notes here that might help: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1__oN7OJnScly9HXPmdzdBNziJIAvkfdqqEyHkVo7zqU/edit?usp=sharing
This works well with the on screen menu but it would be a bit clunky to integrate with games sent over wifi, the issue is the SRAM backup and restore uses a helper function that is netbooted so you would have to manually backup and restore or you would have multiple reboots while the helper rom is netbooted, SRAM backed up, reboot, game sent.
The current list of definition files including the ones provided by DragonMinded is below, I've also discovered some games that seem to be using SRAM as settings backup, similar to Ikaruga.
Settings Definition Files:
Monkey Ball
Marvel vs Capcom 2
Crazy Taxi
Jambo Safari
The Typing of the Dead
Powerstone
Powerstone 2
Capcom vs SNK Millenium Fight
Capcom vs SNK Millenium Fight Pro
Capcom vs SNK 2 Mark of the Millenium
Cannon Spike
Cosmic Smash (work in progress)
Gigawing 2
Alien Front
Confidential Mission
Street Fighter Zero 3/Upper 3
Spikers Battle
Virtua Tennis
Virtua Tennis 2
Border Down
Under Defeat
Akatsuki Bk Ausf Achse
Using SRAM backup:
Ikaruga
Rythmn Tengoku
Chaos Field
Cleopatra Fortune
Burning Casino
Dead or Alive 2
Kuru Kuru Chameleon
Death Crimson Ox
Virtua Fighter 4
Outtrigger
If anyone is interested in helping out expanding these files please get in touch, DragonMinded already has extensive instructions on how to follow the process, it's quite straightforward once you've done a few! I've made some notes here that might help: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1__oN7OJnScly9HXPmdzdBNziJIAvkfdqqEyHkVo7zqU/edit?usp=sharing
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Orakelschaf
Student
Is it possible to add a folder like structure to the OSM to organize games into it? - Structure could be read from a config textfile?
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