"Let's make GD ROM emulation happen" Facebook group.

good lost in translation!

Any more infos on how DS would interface with DCIO?

 

i know what he meant))) but it's not job)))

more i can tell after test)) at least dcio can act like ATA device (as Slave) at same time it acts like gd-emu (as Master). new ver. DS can show what files on slave ATA device (on G1 bus).


but another point is : soon "G1-ATA" can be as popular as SD-mod, thanks to SWAT (DS) and other software supporter who made ATA driver code, and also to OzOnE (G1-IDE)

 

A hobby as to be enjoyable while a job doesn't?


So dreamshell could operate DCIO as a HDD, then tell it to become a gd-rom emulator and reboot into selected game?

I still would like a solution that wouldn't required a boot-cd or modified bios, either DS embedded in the DCIO or a DCIO menu or something!

 

That would be pretty sick if you could embed DS into DCIO

 

Well, if it can emlate cdi files, just make DS the default mounted image, then using DS you could tell the DCIO to mount a different image upon soft reset, then soft reset. After a hard reset DS would be the default image again.

Just an idea, but the design would work I think.

 

i hope DCIO will be able to operate headless without a boot loader of any kind
so some people like me can buy cheap 2 gig SD cards and just swap games

 

I agree with FamilyGuy. That to me would be the most user friendly way, and that way the "Dreamshell OS" is always the default boot image. I will be honest, I haven't used Dreamshell since 2011, but when I did use it, it felt clunky, and somewhat slow, but that doesn't mean I didn't like it. People were making DS-Icon games/apps that you could launch from the desktop just like if it were a PC. That to me was pretty impressive.

I would just like something a bit more flashier and faster to navigate.

For instance, something akin to how the dashboard in Steam Big Picture Mode looks with grid images of each game fully navigable.



Notice how I have Shenmue Disc 1 emulated and launchable from within Big Picture mode. It took quite a bit of work writing batch files and turning those into exe's for Steam to launch, but in the end it looks nice and is worth it. I was imagining something like this but as smooth to browse as DC Playa is to navigate.

Edit: Sorry for the full size screenshot, I uploaded as attachment and thought it would auto resize.

 

My guess is DS could be a base for other loaders. It's basicaly an kinda-unix OS based on kalistios. Should be easy to make it so it launches a loader at boot, and would allow for more customization (choice of gameloader etc.).

But let's wait for cybdyn word on the matter, he knows better than us what can be done or not.

 

Got the prototype board layout pretty much done. Unfortunately, with only a two-layer board I'm having trouble routing all the GDD connections out to the debug headers I put on there (which is why there are unrouted nets). I might just leave them out and solder to the board instead, or perhaps go to a four-layer board.

This is my first time routing a PCB, so it's probably not the best, but I think I did a pretty decent job. There's still some little bits that need to be finished up, too, like ground stitching vias.

Before I get these boards made, though, I'm first going to write the assembly for the high-speed bits to make sure I can make it work with the amount of instructions I have. I think the fastest thing I'll need to be doing is responding to the DC's register read requests, where it sets the control lines (CS0-1 and DA0-2) and then strobes the DIOR line to read things like the status. The strobe lasts about 80ns, which gives me 13 instructions. I think it can be done, though.

Anyway, here's the current prototype board design. The final one will be smaller of course because I don't need to include debug headers, and I could put the SD card on the underside. (This board is 80x60mm.)

 

for DCIO no need bios/SD mod.
DS stores as image, just like we launch it from gd-drive. we can call it BOOT.img
then DS show files on G1-ATA, that is actually DCIO))
and then we press button to run selected game.
i dont know yet how it'll boot after reset or another way (like copying 1st_read file to RAM), but no need bootloader for DCIO it's drive emulator.

of course, it's better if SWAT will support dcio like additional device)) , but as temporary version for now i can test what he has made atm.
as i know DS mounts "ide" devices according defined partition on storage device.


Mario: It looks good.

 

You can make the dcio so after selecting a game opens the lid and then load the game and close the lid again so dreamcast loads the game as normal

 

maybe, it's better for change of part of multy disc game.

how run selected game it's another question for me))) more important SWAT (w/ helpers/supporters) has started work on new ver of DS)))

 

Couldn't you override the default boot image in some ram address? (I mean in DCIO's memory) This way if the power is shut down (hard reset) the value gets erased and the default is DS; but if you softreset it loads the overridden image?

Or you could override the default boot.img by the selected GDI in a config file, and when booting an image, make it reset to default boot.img.

@Mario: Nice job!

Keep us informed guys!

 

Interesting design man. Keep up the great work!

 

For people with the BIOS mod done, a setup where you load Dreamshell from the SD-card adapter (the old one) flash BIOS with Dreamshell to load of the sdcard, and use Dreamshell to load the games from DCIO.

 

I certainly hope game compatibility gets better with DS if it's going to use DCIO. Would also like to see it loading from a HDD.

 

Huh, don't know how I missed it, but Deunan has stated he will make "a small production run."



Does anyone have any thoughts about this?

For one, is anyone intending to purchase one if they are indeed made available?

Why or why not?

-a2a

 

Well the obvious questions are how many will be made, and what will it cost?

 

Agreed, that's a good starting point - -

- - over $150-$200, depending on "features," I would become rapidly disinterested . . .

And, yes, if there are, like, less than 100 units made, it would be hard for me to want to compete . . .

Would there be support moving forward, or would it be a create-it-and-forget-it device . . . ?

 

I will buy one if there is enough available and post feedback here but price is always a factor in buying decisions.