MProg is needed if the FTDI chip has somehow lost its configuration. If the FTDI chip doesn't have it's configuration, you can't use the GB Cart Flasher software. Just clarifying this, it's not likely you have this problem. Use the links in katsumbhong's post.
529 Jan 5, 2014 9:52 pm
Re: Help with BleepBloop Cart, backup? (4 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)
530 Jan 5, 2014 8:20 am
Re: God's Final Message to His Creation (3 replies, posted in General Discussion)
Yeah, no, whatever.
531 Jan 4, 2014 12:14 pm
Re: Introducing ALTANE, nitro2k01's cartridge flasher project (170 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)
shizcake wrote:
amaze!
any estimates about pricing yet?
Sorry, too early to say. It all comes down to the production costs (including the case.)
532 Jan 4, 2014 10:27 am
Topic: Introducing ALTANE, nitro2k01's cartridge flasher project (170 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)
It's time for an official announcement of the project I've been working on for a while now, a Gameboy cartridge flasher. The flasher will be manufactured and sold by ASM Retro and is expected to be released in the spring of 2014. Here's a description of the project.
The hardware
Although the hardware has a heritage to the existing "Polish student" GB cart flasher, I have remade the schematic and board layout as well as the firmware from the ground up. ALTANE is using a pin compatible but more powerful microcontroller. One focus for the flasher has been reprogrammability of the device's firmware. The FTDI chip has been connected to the microcontroller to allow full SPI programming of the chip, and the flasher comes with a bootloader which allows quick and easy firmware upgrades.
The firmware
The firmware is written to be smart about things. The final version will contain an algorithm which only erases and reprograms the flash sectors that need to be reprogrammed. This means that if you upgrade LSDj to a newer version, the sectors that contain kits won't have to be reprogrammed because they don't change between versions. Likewise, new kits could be programmed directly into the ROM, without having to reprogram the whole ROM.
Software and drivers
ALTANE is using a FT232 serial chip, which means that there are problem-free drivers (from FTDI) for just about every operating system. The client software is written in Python and will run equally well on all three platforms. (I'm currently developing it on Windows and Linux, but Mac support should not be a problem.) More information coming later.
Supported cartridges
One of my goals with this project is to support cartridges which are currently difficult to flash. Of course, it supports cartridges with an AM29F00x flash chip, more known under names like Bl**p Bl**p, Smartboy and Fighter Cart. ALTANE can also program the older blue EMS cartridges, which might see a bit of a revival because of this. It can also program the Nanoloop One flat cartridge. The crown jewel in programming support, in my opinion, is the white Nintendo Power cartridge. My goal is to support any and all cartridges that can be reprogrammed via the edge connector. If you have a rare/old flash cartridge that you can't progam due to obsolete LPT port flashing harware, I can hopefully help you if you lend me the cartridge for a while.
Case
ASM Retro will be handling most of the manufacturing and sales of ALTANE, as well as contributing with case design. The case has a sleek DMG resemblance and will be color-matched with the DMG's grey shell colour.
Information page: http://altane.gg8.se/
Currently being sold here: https://gameboylife.com/products/altane
533 Jan 4, 2014 8:12 am
Re: What's your favorite favorite thread? (24 replies, posted in General Discussion)
Damn it guys. Those are not favorite favorite threads. You need to post threads that are both favored by you and have favoriteness as a property. Get your puns straight.
DeerPresident wrote:
And defPREMIUM, how is Snoop Dogg related to this thread?....MODS!!!!
"Yo dawg, we heard you like threads, so we made a thread about threads."
534 Jan 3, 2014 8:02 am
Re: NSF Sync w/ FamiSlayer (32 replies, posted in Nintendo Consoles)
Enclaimer: I'm an expert. (I'm an expert at making up words as well.)
Another thing that could be used for syncing is the DIN sync output of a drum machine or TB-303.
I was going to suggest reading the joypad more often than the regular every VBlank, but you're already doing that. Good. However, I think (from reading the source code) that your joypad check routine is buggy in how it handles multiple, For example, I think if you say, hold up permanently pressed, and then press start, that the start button press will be registered as an up press.
There's a way to solve this to create a trigger mask sing XOR then AND. Pseudo code, in a more Z80-ish syntax:
call READPAD ; Let's sy this function returns the currently pressed keys in A
ld B,A ; Save current mask for later (copy to B)
ld A,[OLDJOYPAD] ; Get previous joypad state (load to A)
xor A,B ; XOR with current state to detect any changed buttons (target: A)
and A,B ; AND with current state to only store currently pressed (ie newly pressed) buttons
ld [JOYTRIGGER],A ; Save trigger mask
ld A,B ; Load B into A
ld [OLDJOYPAD],A ; Save current state as old state for the next comparisonNow check all bits in JOYTRIGGER.
Another idea: You could make the program have a master mode as well. In this mode, the joypad is only checked once every frame (or more exactly, once every player tick, if a song should happen to use a different sync source than VSync (NMI). (The sync source must be internal in this mode.) This would read out the controller like normal, but it would also have the side effect of ending out 8 clock pulses, one per bit that is being read. If you connect the NES controller clock line to the Gameboy's clock line, (and ground-ground of course) these 8 bits will be read by the Ganeboy as an incoming byte on the serial port. In LSDj's MIDI mode, this will be enough to synch the song.
535 Dec 30, 2013 9:35 pm
Re: EMS and LSDJ "corruption" Help! (15 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)
The demo version should clear the memory completely, but apparently this doesn't happen for some reason. In my test, at least the settings in the project screen were random (preserved) on the first boot. Not sure what's going on there. This sounds like a bug and I'll report it to Johan. This nonwithstanding, you cartridge may be faulty.
536 Dec 30, 2013 8:31 pm
Re: Freque on Freque: An Interview with a Legend (20 replies, posted in Constructive Criticism)
A highly self-promotional and sarcastic post mentioning incest porn? I bet some fascist mod like nitro2k01 is going to close this thread soon.
537 Dec 29, 2013 2:55 am
Re: TIMEHEATER: Pulsewave 5th Anniversary 04-30-11 (fixed re-release) (27 replies, posted in Releases)
So uhm yeah. Moved to the releases forum and edited title.
<- Boring weiner.
538 Dec 28, 2013 8:49 pm
Re: current gameboy cart options (11 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)
Also keep an eye out for my flasher. While it's not a cartridge, it will be relevant to the market.
539 Dec 28, 2013 6:49 am
Re: TIMEHEATER: Pulsewave 5th Anniversary 04-30-11 (fixed re-release) (27 replies, posted in Releases)
Everyone who still owns the old version with two tracks missing can sell it expensively as a rare collector's edition of an MP3 release.
540 Dec 28, 2013 3:17 am
Re: Cerwin Vega CVM-1022 Compact Mixer Review (1 replies, posted in Product reviews)
Added h tags.
541 Dec 28, 2013 3:15 am
Re: Focusrite Saffire 6 USB Audio Interface (6 replies, posted in Product reviews)
Added h tags.
542 Dec 26, 2013 4:44 pm
Re: 8-Bit Music = Retro music? (66 replies, posted in General Discussion)
My philosophy: If you want to be "real" use a hardware platform, with the limitations that this imposes and try to break those limitations by creative song programming. Or, if you want to approach it as a "style", use modern tools and impose artificial limits on yourself.
543 Dec 25, 2013 11:31 pm
Re: Casio VL-1 Review (8 replies, posted in Product reviews)
Edited the post to use h (header) tags instead of b (bold).
544 Dec 25, 2013 8:35 am
Re: Product review rules/guidelines (3 replies, posted in Product reviews)
Well, the idea is to produce a useful resource for the community. Anything that is actually chip-related is a given. Reviews of different performance gear like stage mixers, studio monitors and audio interfaces would probably be appreciated as well.
As for your question of DIY vs non-DIY, sure DIY is ok, as long as it as a product that is actually being produced/sold regularly and not just a one-off. (In other words, if a person has only produced a single or a couple of items, a review might not be that valuable to the greater public.)
Really, though, let's just go with the flow for now and see what works. I think it's a situation of "you know it when you see it".