FE3 Loader Menu..What am I doing wrong?? Megacart Rom conv.

[dabone]

It's been too long since I played with my FE3.
Today I've been trying to put all the Megacart roms into a directory and run them from my fe3.

When the cart hits my loader file, the screen fills with garbage.
It will then come up with the menu, but with garbage on the top and bottom of the screen.

Here's My loader. (I know I don't have the load options correct for all things yet, I'm still trying to get the menu on the screen.)

http://www.svfdtn.com/loader.txt

Anyone have a idea of the maximum size the loader files can be? And any corrections for the roms listed, please share. (They are the ones from Zimmers Site.)

Later,
dabone

[Mike]

Could you please provide a download link instead of quoting the loader file in full? Thanks.

[Diddl]

In your loader file all settings are equal? You have to config each game individually.

You always protect ALL blocks? Does all of these games run on a unextended VIC?

[orion70]

I don't exactly remember how I did it (haven't been playing with the FE3 for a while), but I made each cart work with different settings (blocks, protection, etc.). Will show my loader here ASAP.

[dabone]

You always protect ALL blocks? Does all of these games run on a unextended VIC?

Here's My loader. (I know I don't have the load options correct for all things yet, I'm still trying to get the menu on the screen.)

This is just the stub holder menu.
99% of these are cart games so they should work fine as a unexpanded vic.


Still why is a menu this size corrupting the screen? What is the maximum number of entries a loader file can have? These are the questions I'd like a firm answer to..

Thanks.

later,
dabone

[Diddl]

Loader file is loaded as normal BASIC text from $1000.

At $6000 start the working area from fe3 loader. So the maximum should be $5000 (20480 bytes) for loader file.


Loader files shouldn't be too big, cause user have to scroll down many pages. I think it is better to make nested loader files, so user can navigate in a tree.

VICE didn't support Sd2IEC commands like CD, so on the emulator currently it is not possible to make nested loader files.

[orion70]

Apparently it's a little more complicated than I thought... My LOADER file has different entries for each ROM image, e.g.:

Code: Select all

16 "Choplifter"
17 +"choplifter",c,$a0000
18 +reset
19 :
20 "Defender"
21 +"defender-6",p
22 +"defender-a",p
23 +reset
24 :
25 "Demon Attack"
26 +"demon-attack",c,$a000
27 +noio
28 +reset
29 :
30 "Donkey Kong"
31 +"donkeykong-2",p
32 +"donkeykong-a",p
33 +reset
35 :
36 "Jelly Monsters"
37 +"jelly monsters",c,$a000
38 +reset
39 :
40 "Miner 2049"
41 +"miner 2049",c,$a000
42 +noio
43 +blk5
44 +reset
45 :
46 "Pharaos Curse"
47 +"pharao 6",p
48 +"pharao a",p
49 +blk3,5
50 :
54 "Pole Position"
55 +"poleposition 6",c,$6000
56 +"poleposition a",c,$a000
57 +blk3,5
58 +noio
59 +reset
64 :
65 "Serpentine"
66 +"serpentine",c,$a000
67 +reset
69 :
70 "Spiders of Mars"
71 +"spiders of mars1",p
72 +"spiders of mars2",p
73 +reset
74 :
75 "Squish em"
76 +"squishem-6000",p
77 +"squishem-a000",p
78 +noio:blk3,5:reset
79 :
80 "Super Lander"
81 +"super lander",p
83 +reset
89 :

(sorry Mike )

I can't remember how I managed to find all the correct settings, but I guess it was through a long trial-and-error phase .

[Mike]

Apparently it's a little more complicated than I thought... My LOADER file has different entries for each ROM image, e.g.:
[...]
(sorry Mike )

You surely agree that there's a difference between one screen height worth of machine readable data (be it a program or a list like yours above), and - literally! - ten screen heights of them.

I know enough forums, where such a post is considered spamming, regardless whether the contents are useful for starting a discussion, or continuing it. It is simply unfriendly to require from other readers several page downs where a few exemplary lines would have sufficed to find the problem(s).

And really, dabone did accept my request. I knew though my one line post could be regarded a bit harsh.

...

Your smaller example shows, that there are two variants of ROMs around, those with loading address and those without. At least these two cases need to be differentiated.

Furthermore, it is questionable how a long loader file is supposed to work, when some of its commands already reside somewhere in BLK1, and a module image is loaded there. The module image overwrites the loader file at this point and then the whole thing bombs. That might easily happen with 'Donkey Kong', where the first half of the cartridge indeed appears at $2000.

Michael

[dabone]

And really, dabone did accept my request. I knew though my one line post could be regarded a bit harsh.

Actually, I didn't want to post the whole thing like that, but didn't have a host at the moment for the txt file. After I fixed that it went to a link.

As for the command for loading, yes it's usually trial and error, but the cart games usually work well if they have the load address as the first 2 bytes, then write protect the ram and reset.

And I've been talking back and forth with Diddl over on forum64 about the problem I've been having and it appears that the firmware does have a bug currently.

http://www.forum64.de/wbb3/board65-neue ... post504856

When the loader is over 4k or so, it overwrites screen ram while loading, so screen ram appears to be in the wrong place to me.

Later,
dabone

[dabone]

I figured out a fix.

Ok, I've got it working for me. Here is what I changed in the r020 source. I've have never programmed in assembler before, but the comments in your code are great.

Original

Code: Select all

DLOADER subroutine
  jsr INIT_CART                         ; Screen Colors
  jsr SPAR_PRINTSTRING
  dc.b CLRHOME,YELLOW,FONT2,RVSON,"---- dISK lOADER  ----",CR,CR,0

New

Code: Select all

DLOADER subroutine
  lda #$91
  jsr SetVicMemConfig
  jsr INIT_CART                         ; Screen Colors
  jsr SPAR_PRINTSTRING
  dc.b CLRHOME,YELLOW,FONT2,RVSON,"---- dISK lOADER  ----",CR,CR,0

So the only change is setting the memory to 24k ram mode, I got this setting from the comments as follows.

Code: Select all

; ==============================================================
; SET MEMORY CONFIG
; ==============================================================

;  lda #$9F                    ;0kb
;  lda #$9E                    ;3kb
;  lda #$9D                    ;8kb          %1001 1101
;  lda #$99                    ;16kb         %1001 1001
;  lda #$91                    ;24kb         %1001 0001
;  lda #$90                    ;24+3kb       %1001 0000
;  lda #$80                    ;ALL RAM      %1000 0000

Hope this helps.

Later,
dabone

[orion70]

Wow! Thanks dabone. How can I get it to work in my FE3 too? Should I compile (how?) the firmware and flash it? Sorry for my ignorance, but I'd really like to be able to load all the carts with the same settings...

[dabone]

This doesn't allow to load all the carts with the same settings, it just allows you to have a larger menu. The large menus take a long time to load also.

I had some trouble getting it onto my real fe3 last night, I finally downgraded the firmware and then reapplied my patched firmware.

If you don't have enough experience to compile your own, I would wait till he releases an offical update.

I'm halfway thru testing all the cart games and will be releasing a pack for the fe3 that includes all the megacart games ready to play.
(For NTSC.... Some PAL games might be off)


(Still trying to get the Scott Adams adventure games working... I saw the answer somewhere.... grrrr..)

Later,
dabone

[orion70]

This doesn't allow to load all the carts with the same settings, it just allows you to have a larger menu. The large menus take a long time to load also.

I was hoping in vain...

If you don't have enough experience to compile your own, I would wait till he releases an offical update.

Of course I will.

(Still trying to get the Scott Adams adventure games working... I saw the answer somewhere.... grrrr..)

Try this (change "adventure" with your favourite Scott Adams game):

Code: Select all

10 "Adventure"
20 +"adventure",p
30 +blkp 0,1,2,3,5:sys$7f50

[nbla000]

Today I've been trying to put all the Megacart roms into a directory and run them from my fe3.

But why you don't just use the Mega-Cart ?

In any case pretty all Mega-Cart roms are taken from zimmers.

[dabone]

But why you don't just use the Mega-Cart ?

Because the Final Expansion will run everything the Megacart will and more. It has alot less eeprom storage, but you can customize exactly what programs are on it. It also has 512K of ram to play with and a internal sd2iec drive (I've got 2gb storage.) So to add games, you just have to stick them on your card. To add them to the menus on startup you only have to write simple loader files.

The megacart is cool for a user that only wants those games/utils and never wants to change. The FE3 difference is that it is highly customizable.

In any case pretty all Mega-Cart roms are taken from zimmers.

Except for the ones they fixed for ntsc machines. (Offset video with the roms from zimmers. i.e. pal only.)

Later,
dabone