Re: [techtoolslist] Work in progress, opinions...

From: David Shoemaker <davids_at_oz.net>
Date: Mon Sep 15 2003 - 22:28:13 EDT

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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I like it, (though I will want the same utility
function for the 9100 :)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>And yes the 9100 keyboard wedge is getting
close.&nbsp; I spent a wasted week trying to get a software uart to work so I
could use the small sexy 8 pin parts for this.&nbsp; Yes I know EVERYONE told me
to just use the 20 pin part with the uart built in.&nbsp; But I am stubborn,
plus I didn't have the 20 pin parts on hand.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I have parts on order for the 20 pin.&nbsp; Once I
get them (later this week I expect) it's some code tweaking and bread boarding
to finish it up.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Then I will probably just release the works to the
list, while I would really like to get a pcb made for it I haven't got the first
idea how to start that process.&nbsp; And this thing is going to be dead simple
to build on protoboard I think.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>David</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
  <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
  <DIV
  style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
  <A title=james@quarterarcade.com href="mailto:james@quarterarcade.com">James
  Bright</A> </DIV>
  <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=techtoolslist@flippers.com
  href="mailto:techtoolslist@flippers.com">techtoolslist@flippers.com</A> </DIV>
  <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, September 15, 2003 6:33
  PM</DIV>
  <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [techtoolslist] Work in
  progress, opinions...</DIV>
  <DIV><BR></DIV>
  <DIV class=Section1>
  <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
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  <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
  style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Well, I’m not really working on
  boards or 9010A scripts right now because I know the 9100A keyboard converter
  is near complete (or at least I hope! :) &nbsp;So I’ve been playing around
  with something that kev and John were talking about a while
  ago.</SPAN></FONT></P>
  <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
  style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</P>
  <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
  style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">I’ve been hacking around the MAME
  code, and I’ve got it to the point where I can walk through the data
  structures and pull out information like ROM files and addresses, and read
  &amp; write addresses. What I am thinking of building is a simple “pre-code”
  generator that will help you build a 9010A script based on this simple memory
  map. It would build the map for any of the supported MAME games (even if the
  game isn’t working; that is not what is important). It could also link you
  directly to the MAME source code for quick reference. Just wondering if people
  would find this helpful or useful. Although it would be a first pass, here are
  possible pitfalls:</SPAN></FONT></P>
  <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
  style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</P>
  <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
  style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">* ROM banking is frequently
  “hacked” in MAME (see Qix.c)</SPAN></FONT></P>
  <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
  style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">* read/write addresses in software
  are not always read/write in hardware</SPAN></FONT></P>
  <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
  style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">* I have no good way to insert the
  actual 9010A signatures right now because I would need to have all of the MAME
  ROMs (I don’t) and my programs don’t yet unzip the ROMs</SPAN></FONT></P>
  <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
  style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">* I don’t know exactly how precise
  or accurate the memory map is in MAME</SPAN></FONT></P>
  <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
  style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">* I almost guarantee mismatches
  between reality and the MAME driver :) Not that the programmers didn’t do a
  good job, but just that the software emulation might not match the actual
  hardware</SPAN></FONT></P>
  <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
  style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</P>
  <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
  style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">But… the good would be that you
  have something to start with given a game that you’ve never worked on (the
  memory map is usually where I start). I would also be able to add in other
  hardware information to my database (CPU, # CPUs, type, etc.) and provide a
  cross reference to other games.</SPAN></FONT></P>
  <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
  style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</P>
  <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
  style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Does this reference material sound
  helpful? John, is this sort of what you’d had envisioned?</SPAN></FONT></P>
  <P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">--James
  Bright<BR>www.QuarterArcade.com<BR>Restored </SPAN></FONT><FONT size=2><SPAN
  style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Arcade</SPAN></FONT><FONT size=2><SPAN
  style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> Games for your Home </SPAN></FONT></P>
  <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
  style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</P></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>

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Received on Mon Sep 15 20:57:32 2003

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