Hey,

  about your Fitzy demo - a bit late, but I see some dots in the upper right
corner of your screen:

  When you write to OAM, you have to write to ALL the OAM, that means first
clear them with a blank sprite. I give you an example:

// First make a transparent char, a blank one
   for( i = 0; i < 64; i++ ) ObjectData[CHAR(0)+i] = 0;

// Then fill all the OAM fields with it. So you have a neat screen.

    for( i=0; i < 128; i++ )


    Oam[i]   =  0 | BIT13;
    Oam[i+1] =  0;
    Oam[i+2] =  0;
   }

  Do this only once, in the init, and then you just write into OAM as if you
didn't do this at all, quite like always.

  Don't worry about speed, because the AGB displays all of the 128 objects,
if you want or not, all the time.


  If this didn't interest you, then sorry.

  Happy new year, all the best and more such nice demos ; )


- Nokturn

Hey,

  I wish you all a happy new year: All the best - health, success, joy, a new
emulator and a lot of fun with coding for the AGB!!!

  Bye,
                  -Nokturn

Hi,

> You don't do mode7 in quite the same way, but it is possible. It also has
> several types of dma's.

I kinda know how it's done on GBA but I assumed it was the same technique as
on the SNES, could you tell me/us some more on the difference/similarities?

Greetz,

Collin van Ginkel
-
two tribes - digital happiness
visit http://www.twotribes.com

Can you tell us what company or game? Or will that void the NDA? Well, good
luck anyway!


----- Original Message -----
From: <nharding@...>
To: <gbadev@egroups.com>
Cc: <nharding@...>
Sent: Friday, December 29, 2000 3:39 AM
Subject: [gbadev] SNES to GBA


> I'm starting a new job next week converting a title from SNES to GBA and
> was just wondering how the 2 machines compare. Obviously the processor is
> much better on the GBA, but what about the mode 7 tricks and DMA stuff
> that you could do on the SNES.
>
> Neil Harding
>
>
>
> unsubscribe: gbadev-unsubscribe@egroups.com
>
>
>
>

Hello,

> I'm starting a new job next week converting a title from SNES to GBA and
> was just wondering how the 2 machines compare.

AGB is MUCH better. :)

> Obviously the processor is
> much better on the GBA, but what about the mode 7 tricks and DMA stuff
> that you could do on the SNES.

You don't do mode7 in quite the same way, but it is possible. It also has
several types of dma's.

                 Just Me,
                     *SF

I'm starting a new job next week converting a title from SNES to GBA and
was just wondering how the 2 machines compare. Obviously the processor is
much better on the GBA, but what about the mode 7 tricks and DMA stuff
that you could do on the SNES.

Neil Harding

Is ARM assembly programming hard to learn for
someone with little ASM exp in other CPUs (I got a bit of 6502
and 8086)

________________________________________________
Get your own "800" number
Voicemail, fax, email, and a lot more
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>Hey people,
>
>since everybody's bitching at each other, I'd like to bring up some topics
that i find worthly to discuss. First, >how much time does the DMA take?

Depends on the mode and where you're writing to.

  >I've heard something about 4 cycles each word (!) which would be kind of
inefficient. From what I >remember having heard on the list, it seems clear
that the CPU isn't halted during a DMA transfer (would be >even more
useless), but 4 cycles?

From what I can tell, the CPU does seem to halt.

>Second point is wether the vblank state flag is cleared on a read (I hope
so) or not.

No.

>Third point: What features would you guys like to see in an ARM/GBA
debugger/emulator?
>Only developement related things of course (focused on the debugger), not
things like improved gfx, >gamepad support, fullscreen, whatever.

Standard stuff (see no$).

>Last thing: Does the gba architecture allow unaligned read/writes?

Yes. But I would recommend against it.

>cheers, Eloist ^_^

                     Just Me,
                         *SF

>I've seen quite alot of arm code around, is there any c source code
>available on the net?
>


There is some C source at www.gbadev.org, if I'm not mistaken.. for use
with the ARMSDK, that is.

-cabbage

From: "Phillip Partridge" <phillip@...>
>
> Is there as C compiler for the GBA yet?

Hello,

I just joined this group.  Just to introduce myself, my name is Ben, I
work for a small company called Blue Planet Software and we're licensed
third party developers working on a project for Nintendo Japan (NCL)
for the AGB that will hopefully ship not long after the AGB ships in
Japan.  (BTW, it is AGB not GBA officially even though it is GameBoy
Advance, strange as it seems.)

To answer the question, as other people mentioned, the GNU compiler has
been ported and works fine (mostly) for the AGB.  On our project we are
actually programming in C++ and using the STL and all that, so far no
major problems.  I'm sure at some point we will optimize our critical
loops into assembly, but so far it's running plenty fast.

-Ben

--
Ben Nason
  "To be a master you must have the knowledge and the wisdom and to get
           that you must sit back and listen." - Blac Monks

On Thu, 14 Dec 2000, Tom Prosser wrote:

> Yeah, like a 68-byte literal pool for a simple three-line For loop?
>
> Shawn Freeman wrote:
>        If you want to know which language is best
>       for speed, use assembler. It appears the gnu compiler does
>       some funky things
>       sometimes that don't seem to make a lot of sense.

Has anyone with experience of both GCC and the ARM SDK done any
comparisons of generated code quality? How about other compilers?

-a

Shawn Freeman wrote:

 If you want to know which language is best
for speed, use assembler. It appears the gnu compiler does some funky things
sometimes that don't seem to make a lot of sense.
 

--
Tom Prosser
Director
Escape Software Ltd.
+44 (0)20 8424 2075
www.escapesoftware.co.uk
 

Yo,
> Whats the best language to use, are there any advantages speed wise in
> using ARM to develop a game for the GBA?

Depends on where you use arm. Running it on a 16-bit bus, it will be slower.
On 32-bit bus it will be faster. If you want to know which language is best
for speed, use assembler. It appears the gnu compiler does some funky things
sometimes that don't seem to make a lot of sense.

> I've seen quite alot of arm code around, is there any c source code
> available on the net?

Can't help you on this one. I know some people are reverse engineering demos
and such, but that would all be in assembly. I'm assuming C source may be
off in the future. :)

                 Just Me,
                     *SF


>
> regards,
> phillip
>
> On Thu, 14 Dec 2000, Anders M Montonen wrote:
>
> > Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 17:30:18 +0200 (EET)
> > From: Anders M Montonen <ammonton@...>
> > Reply-To: gbadev@egroups.com
> > To: gbadev@egroups.com
> > Subject: Re: [gbadev] C compiler?
> >
> > On Thu, 14 Dec 2000, Phillip Partridge wrote:
> >
> > > Is there as C compiler for the GBA yet?
> >
> > The official GBA devkit includes GNUPro from RedHat
> > (http://www.redhat.com/products/support/gnupro/). This package consists
of
> > Free GNU tools, most importantly (in this case) the Gnu Compiler
> > Collection, or GCC (http://gcc.gnu.org).
> >  So, you get to use the same tools as the pros. Aren't you lucky!
> >
> > -a
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > unsubscribe: gbadev-unsubscribe@egroups.com
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
> unsubscribe: gbadev-unsubscribe@egroups.com
>
>
>
>

Whats the best language to use, are there any advantages speed wise in
using ARM to develop a game for the GBA?

I've seen quite alot of arm code around, is there any c source code
available on the net?

regards,
phillip

On Thu, 14 Dec 2000, Anders M Montonen wrote:

> Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 17:30:18 +0200 (EET)
> From: Anders M Montonen <ammonton@...>
> Reply-To: gbadev@egroups.com
> To: gbadev@egroups.com
> Subject: Re: [gbadev] C compiler?
>
> On Thu, 14 Dec 2000, Phillip Partridge wrote:
>
> > Is there as C compiler for the GBA yet?
>
> The official GBA devkit includes GNUPro from RedHat
> (http://www.redhat.com/products/support/gnupro/). This package consists of
> Free GNU tools, most importantly (in this case) the Gnu Compiler
> Collection, or GCC (http://gcc.gnu.org).
>  So, you get to use the same tools as the pros. Aren't you lucky!
>
> -a
>
>
>
>
> unsubscribe: gbadev-unsubscribe@egroups.com
>
>
>

On Thu, 14 Dec 2000, Phillip Partridge wrote:

> Is there as C compiler for the GBA yet?

The official GBA devkit includes GNUPro from RedHat
(http://www.redhat.com/products/support/gnupro/). This package consists of
Free GNU tools, most importantly (in this case) the Gnu Compiler
Collection, or GCC (http://gcc.gnu.org).
  So, you get to use the same tools as the pros. Aren't you lucky!

-a

Hiya,

Is there as C compiler for the GBA yet?

Regards,
Phillip

-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Prosser [mailto:tom@...]
Sent: 11 December 2000 15:00
To: gbadev@egroups.com
Subject: Re: [gbadev] MusyX

 
Looks like you're on your own there Dave!  I don't know anything about MusyX so I can only guess, but it sounds like a stack overflow or multiple interrupt problem to me.
If it is then maybe try changing the address of sp_irq and sp_usr in crt0.s?

David Theodore wrote:

Hi Guys,

    Anybody had any problem getting MusyX running in their games?  When I
have the music on it gets stuck in a loop playing the same song over and
over.  It happens after I call a function and the vbi comes along within
that function (so it always occurs on the first screen after power up).  The
function will continue on until the end, which takes it over numerous
frames, but never return to the calling function.  I've checked the init
code and ram allocated and it's all fine, and I've made sure no MusyX
function will interrupt another MusyX function, although I don't think
that's the problem.  I'd appreciate any info that may help.  Also I have the
latest version of MusyX (2.2).

Cheers,
DaveT.
 

unsubscribe: gbadev-unsubscribe@egroups.com
 
 

--
Tom Prosser
Director
Escape Software Ltd.
+44 (0)20 8424 2075
www.escapesoftware.co.uk
 

unsubscribe: gbadev-unsubscribe@egroups.com

David Theodore wrote:

Hi Guys,

    Anybody had any problem getting MusyX running in their games?  When I
have the music on it gets stuck in a loop playing the same song over and
over.  It happens after I call a function and the vbi comes along within
that function (so it always occurs on the first screen after power up).  The
function will continue on until the end, which takes it over numerous
frames, but never return to the calling function.  I've checked the init
code and ram allocated and it's all fine, and I've made sure no MusyX
function will interrupt another MusyX function, although I don't think
that's the problem.  I'd appreciate any info that may help.  Also I have the
latest version of MusyX (2.2).

Cheers,
DaveT.
 

unsubscribe: gbadev-unsubscribe@egroups.com
 
 

--
Tom Prosser
Director
Escape Software Ltd.
+44 (0)20 8424 2075
www.escapesoftware.co.uk
 

ahh, the force is strong in this one, simply go to the hallowed
www.egroups.com , login and search for 'emulator' in the archives, you shall
find of what you seek my young apprentice.

may the force be with you,

always

ps. anarko, is there a way to send an initial mail to people who join this
list with a small FAQ?

)> > I got the GBA Emulator (don't worry, I don't want to play full games
)> > and steal stuff), I got a cool demo, I opened the emulator, set the
)> > config dir to C:\gbabin, and tried to open the demo.  This is where I
)> > am confused.  It asks me to enter a hexideximal number, and I have no
)> > clue as to which number it desires.  Hitting enter doesn't work, so,
)> > in earnest hope I turn to this wonderful mailing list.  Anyone
)> > willing to stoop low enough to help this poor soul out?

Greetings everyone,

Unfortunately, I am not a coder.  And Unfortunately, I have joined
this list for the sole purpose of pestering you all with one
question.  One which shall sound very stupid to your ears.  That
question is as following:

I got the GBA Emulator (don't worry, I don't want to play full games
and steal stuff), I got a cool demo, I opened the emulator, set the
config dir to C:\gbabin, and tried to open the demo.  This is where I
am confused.  It asks me to enter a hexideximal number, and I have no
clue as to which number it desires.  Hitting enter doesn't work, so,
in earnest hope I turn to this wonderful mailing list.  Anyone
willing to stoop low enough to help this poor soul out?

Many thanks for your time and patience,
-Luke

the demos were writtern using official docs, and by association, so was your
emulator

void

)> -----Original Message-----
)> From: Julien Frelat [mailto:julien.frelat@...]
)> Sent: 08 December 2000 16:01
)> To: gbadev@egroups.com
)> Subject: Re: [gbadev] Emulator
)>
)>
)> Here is a little statement on my free/legal/portable
)> BoycottAdvance emulator
)> :
)> "this emulator is totally
)> legal, no copyrighted materials were used to write it,
)> it features an ARM debugger/emulator with gfx features trying to
)> reproduce
)> the innerworkings of the GBA (all stuff was either guessed or written
)> according to demos source code).
)> So far, this emulator will only run demos and is only a free
)> tool for people
)> who want to code and test demos. Please buy the official
)> dev kit from Nintendo if you want to write more complete games."
)>
)> a+
)> Gollum
)>
)>
)>
)> unsubscribe: gbadev-unsubscribe@egroups.com
)>
)>
)>
)>

So you just capture the unencrypted rom/data after the emulator has decoded
it. Just give up on the idea of securing the emulator/roms. As long as there
is the motivation of some hacker out there to run roms and play/copy games
for free then it will be hacked. Its not an if, its a when.

Keith

-----Original Message-----
From: Nokturn [mailto:nokturn_@...]
Sent: 08 December 2000 15:32
To: gbadev@egroups.com
Subject: Re: [gbadev] Emulator


>>an easy method to determine demo and game roms would be to check spefic
rom addresses.

>>Lets say 0x5000-0x6000 must be set to a specific value. If this value is
set then
>>you have a demorom. If not then it must be something different.

  Yeah, that would be kinda the same like setting the title. Title is a
specific rom adress, too. BTW, if we encrypted it somehow in the code then
the bin would be uncrackable if you don't recompile it, right?

  - Nokturn


unsubscribe: gbadev-unsubscribe@egroups.com

>>an easy method to determine demo and game roms would be to check spefic
rom addresses.

>>Lets say 0x5000-0x6000 must be set to a specific value. If this value is
set then
>>you have a demorom. If not then it must be something different.

  Yeah, that would be kinda the same like setting the title. Title is a
specific rom adress, too. BTW, if we encrypted it somehow in the code then
the bin would be uncrackable if you don't recompile it, right?

  - Nokturn

I'm very tempted to have a go at a GBA dev kit..... The question is how to
do it under clean room conditions so there is no legal issue. I guess just
being on this list means I'm tainted by having seen the comments on the
hardware from previous threads. Would disclosure on here viewed as putting
info into the public domain, I'm no legal expert.

Most of the legal threats to emulators are usually just muscle flexing on
the part of the companies involved, they know that a quick threatening cease
and desist letter is usually enough to scare most people off. I think Sony
was well aware it would probably loose the Bleem battle but the battle is
won not necessarily by the one who is right, but the one who has the deepest
pockets and can afford the lawyers. My view was their goal was to bankrupt
Bleem and keep them tied up in court hearings rather than win the case.

Keith

-----Original Message-----
From: Carl Forhan [mailto:forhan@...]
Sent: 08 December 2000 16:19
To: gbadev@egroups.com
Subject: Re: [gbadev] Emulator


--- Manfred Linzner <linzner@...> wrote:
> I only know two or three emus that were done to help people programming a
> hardware.

FYI, The Atari Lynx emulator (Handy) has been very helpful for those
publishing
new games on that platform. I'd much rather do a quick test on the emu than
burn an EPROM or download a cut-down game to RAM. I then do my final testing
on
the real platform towards the end of the project.

So I would love to see a full-function GBA emulator at some point, although
I'm
also hopeful to get the real dev kit in the coming months.

Carl Forhan
Songbird Productions
http://songbird.atari.net

__________________________________________________
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http://shopping.yahoo.com/


unsubscribe: gbadev-unsubscribe@egroups.com

I think we'll meet at #gbadev on efnet now to discuss.

  - Nokturn

> So I would love to see a full-function GBA emulator at some point,

BoycottAdvance will be a full-function GBA emulator/debugger but
will certainly lack support for real commercial games since without
the real dev kit docs, we could not guess how the GBA works.

It is dedicated to people who cannot afford the real dev kit and who just
want to make some hombrewn demos and games.

when the GBA will be officially launched on the market, if we manage to
get BoycottAdvance to the point where it emulates quite well the GBA,
well commercial games support could be possible then.

> although I'm
> also hopeful to get the real dev kit in the coming months.

good luck !

> Carl Forhan
> Songbird Productions
> http://songbird.atari.net

a+
Gollum - BoycottAdvance rulez ! -

--- Manfred Linzner <linzner@...> wrote:
> I only know two or three emus that were done to help people programming a
> hardware.

FYI, The Atari Lynx emulator (Handy) has been very helpful for those publishing
new games on that platform. I'd much rather do a quick test on the emu than
burn an EPROM or download a cut-down game to RAM. I then do my final testing on
the real platform towards the end of the project.

So I would love to see a full-function GBA emulator at some point, although I'm
also hopeful to get the real dev kit in the coming months.

Carl Forhan
Songbird Productions
http://songbird.atari.net

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products.
http://shopping.yahoo.com/

> > "this emulator is totally
> > legal, no copyrighted materials were used to write it,

actually, the emulator is written from scratch, I am only using the ARM7TDMI
official doc for the cpu engine
(debugger/emulator), for the gfx features I do not have the devkit and do
not want it illegally, I only studied a little
the demos sources and I am using the public specs for this console.
of course, it will many things since many copyrighted cannot be guessed
easily (sound or specific hardware or the several
video modes which we hear about sometimes).

a+
Gollum - BoycottAdvance rulez ! -