Hello everybody,

I want to make sure everybody (capable of developping minigames or
other for the VMU) fully understand the potential of the technical
answer we just receaved.

I think the folowing is possible:
1) Create a KERNEL minigame that will offer a way to select any file
in the memory and write it into running space... then the kernel will
jump into that running space (the swap space) and start to execute
whatever was in this file!
2) Every minigame could be rewrited to work launched by this kernel
(thus from a well known memory location).
3) Somehow the minigame should offer a way to jump back to the
kernel to let one load another minigame.

The effect of this way of working is that you could have with you in
your VMU a single dummy minigame: THE KERNEL and choose to load and
play any of the real minigame you have saved in the memory (without
having to reconnect back to your DreamCast).

Now what should be discuss?: (and maybe this list is the best place)
* What do we need in the kernel (minimal user interface to swap in
and out + ...)
* How a module "call-back" the kernel to allow selection of another
minigame module?
* Could we implement a set a common usefull function that could be
used by many minigame in order to save space on all of them?
* What should be the size available for those module (maximum
minigame size!?)? Could we have a small, medium and big kernel that
support different size of module?

QUESTIONS:
So does it still sound technicaly possible to do?
Isn't this a good idea that is worth the try?
If you are a minigame developer and a kernel exist, would you spend
the time to adapt your minigame (very important if you don't provide
the source code of your minigame).
If you are a very good minigame developper, could you test the idea
and build a kernel and adapt one of your game and (let say) tetris
for this kernel?

Thanks for listening and I hope to make this look so much an
interesting idea that it will build-up one day.

David GLAUDE

PS: I promise that as soon as I have my PC cable working, made my few
first minigame and have some more time, I will personnaly work on the
project. ;-) Unfortunately I don't have the equipement and expertise
yet to help (but I am ready to discuss and share idea as much as you
want).

--- In vmu-dev@egroups.com, Soeren Gust <sgust@i...> wrote:
>>Technical question...
>> * Would you think it could be possible to have a master program
>> (the only program we can run) that will swap in and out loadable
>> module (know today as minigame) and start to run them.
>> * This master program will swap in swap from flash those new
>> minigames.
>
> Such modules are then not compatible with normal minigames, but
> basically its not too difficult if you reserve a fixed memory
> location for swap-in and run. The easiest solution is to make the
> control program big enough to contain your biggest module so that
> you can write to it with the normal writeflash call.