4x4 Evolution DC, adding BBA/LAN to a WinCE game.

I will donate a coders cable and loan a BBA for this cause. I am very serious I have two BBA units and three serial cables. I even have a spare SD adapter I am willing to loan to the cause. Just shoot me a PM and address and the coders cable is all yours I will even pay shipping to you if in the states. I use it just to make prefetch files for AES4ALL for ReviveDC sometime back but no use has been made of it for at least two years. It would be nice to see it being out to good use. I understand it would be a slow process and ZERO expectations will come from my donation nor will I expect special treatment for this. It is just for the betterment of development

 

I won't accept freebie's for this, if I didn't follow though it would be for nothing and you'd be short a rare item. I already have an HIT-300 LAN adapter, so I'll likely work on that first. However I would gladly purchase the cable off of you, once it's time for that stage of the project. Noticed you are in Carolina, wouldn't happen to be South Carolina?

 

Yep SC and its a donation with ZERO expectations. I have multiple ones so it isn't gonna be missed. Have them from the good ole link sang days. But either way let me know its yours.

 

Oh Lik-Sang, how I miss those days. Anywhere near charleston by chance?

 

I'm in Beaufort so yea real real close buddy

 

Any news on this project?

 

Last I spoke to him he stopped due to severe lack of interest.

 

If he has any info at all on using the bba/lan in WinCE, it'd be a great chunk of info for others with DC-CE related projects

 

A bba/lan-adapter driver would needed to be ported from KOS or Katana in order for that to happen. There are no BBA-drivers in the WinCE SDK.

 

And to do that you just translate it from whatever language to C++? Rather than code an entirely new driver?

 

I still work on the project, but it's PC only as mentioned above due to no apparent interest in the DC version.

All updates are posted at: WWW.4x4evolution.com

If someone were to port the driver for the LAN adapter to Win CE I'll implement it along with some other fixes.

 

That's a big to-do for the DC in general

 

Me (and I speak for all the staff of the site Dreamcast.es and some forums members) would like to see all the new features implemented in the DC version of the game, please!

I'd do it myself... If only I knew how to code. Can anybody here make it possible?? I know it can mean months of work, but it would be incredible

 

I made two patches for the DC version, which added auto-downloading, removed the need for a backend file prior to my attaining control of 4x4evolution.com, additional manufacturers, extra trucks, and additional fixes that were present in build 56 on the PC. After a few months it garnered maybe 5 downloads, and no interest on the various DC forums I posted on.

With some help of others we have built a small team, but I was the only one interested in getting 4x4Evo2 booting on a DC. If I could use my HIT-300 I'd put more effort in, and attempt it solo. My free time is very limited, making it impossible to focus on learning DC hardware. And the only working LAN adapter code I could find was a homebrew boot loader.

 

could you link me or rerelease that copy of 4x4 Evo?

 

Could you share a download link and a full features list please?

Also, how's that 4x4 Evo 2 project? Were you able to make it boot on a DC?

 

Yes it would improve ease of connectivity, and open the doors for other projects/games that use WinCE. Even if it was ported though, how would one go about 'injecting' the new driver into an already compiled game? Or is there source code for 4x4-DC?

 

This would only open the door for this game (to my knowledge), and possible homebrew that uses WinCE (if any?). You'll need to draw your own conclusions on the rest.

The rules here prohibit me from posting a direct link, but if you were to take a look around www.4x4evolution.com I'm sure you could some information about it.

Full changelog is in the readme, this is just the executable changes:
-Attempts to download backend.txt from dreamcast-talk.com
-Master server bypass if backend.txt isn't found
-GM now handles Chevy & GMC
-Toyota now handles Toyota & Lexus
-Sales category for Jeep added
-Sales category for Land Rover (No trucks added)
-Fixed game save reset bug

Other:
-Jeep Evo trucks added
-Tons of accuracy/balance changes to all trucks

As for 4x4Evo 2, I'm not sure they planned on releasing it for DC. But I'm 100% certain it could be made to work, minus a few features (Dropping TIFF support, ditching in-game map, possible physics reductions, no bumpmaps/dirt accumulation) due to CPU/RAM limitations. That said I never bothered, if no one cared about executable updates to Evo 1 DC, why spend the amount of time required finish porting Evo 2. If I could finally make use of my long dormant HIT-0300 then I'd be all over it.

 

Evo 2 on the Dreamcast would be amazing, it would mean a new game for the system and people always love this.
Is there any way I can help you porting it?

 

Personally I think it's more a matter of people not being aware of your enhanced Dreamcast version and thus not bothering. Lets give your labour of love some well deserved awareness in the community and reach new players