ASIC Engineer & Retrogamer. Thalion Webshrine
Joined December 2009
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aleXh retweeted
Your Atari ST hard-disk game collection has a dirty secret. About two hundred adaptations never ask TOS for a file: they bring their own GEMDOS and read the disk sector by sector, like it's 1991 and nobody is watching.
Why does that matter? The original hard disks are forty years old and dying. GEMDRIVE replaces them with modern storage: a folder on the SidecarTridge Multi-device's microSD card that the ST sees as drive C:, the same idea as Hatari's GEMDOS drive with a folder on your PC. Files by name, no sectors. So those games sat there sulking.
Not anymore. We started all 1,831 hard-disk adaptations on the 8bitchip.info list from a GEMDOS drive. 1,608 run as they are. For 209 more, we rebuilt their start programs to ask for their files by name.
Drop a game's ZIP, exactly as you downloaded it, into the page. It tells you whether the game runs as it is, or patches the ZIP in your browser and hands it back. We host no game files.
gemdrive.sidecartridge.com
aleXh retweeted
When AI coding for retro platforms, it's useful to have some hands-on coding experience with the platform involved.
If I have a hunch that something's not implemented optimally, the AI tells me how it's currently implemented and allows me to guide it to a more "native" solution.
aleXh retweeted
We’ve been working on this the entire year and our first FPGA handheld is almost done. Plays GB, GBC, and GBA carts. Huge FPGA to power cores up to PS1 and N64. Up to 4K HDMI output via an affordable dock. Unbeatable latency. Open source. From $1_ _ at launch.
I have loved playing Dave The Diver. I've never bought any of the DLC (yet) but a Subnautica 2 crossover looks fun!
DAVE THE DIVER x Subnautica 2 is official! 🌊
New ocean, new creatures… new recipes? 👀
Dave and Bancho are heading to the waters of Proteus
#DAVETHEDIVER #Subnautica2
Watch the announce trailer 👇
aleXh retweeted
Your very first computer is back. 🖥️
We're happy to report the 800XL includes a full-sized mechanical keyboard and working cartridge slot. Plus, we added features designed for today’s televisions and gaming setups. 🤝
Learn more: atari.com/800xl
aleXh retweeted
Your Atari ST and your PC have been forced to share floppies for 40 years. Time to end that toxic relationship.
The File & Download Manager for the SidecarTridge Multi-device just got a serious upgrade, and now your phone does the dirty work.
Search the public floppy database from the sofa, tap download, and the image lands on the microSD card. No PC. No USB stick. No crawling under the desk to find the floppy drive cable.
And it no longer stops at downloading:
Unzip a release right on the card. Convert MSA to ST and back. Turn Pasti STX images into plain ST (it even tells you beforehand if you'll lose anything). Create blank disks in any size. Open an ST image like a folder and drop files in or pull them out. Paste a link and it downloads the file straight to the card.
All from a browser, while the Atari sits there looking smug.
Watch it in action:
youtu.be/ijC1k_QQUK0
Docs:
docs.sidecartridge.com/sidec…
Your floppy drive called. It wants to retire.
aleXh retweeted
Update on Jaguar SamSho:
A large portion of the games code runs through TOM, M68K stays controlling. But it’s honestly far from being “playable,” yet. This is at 2x.
Working on hardware bugs w/GD as well…
This also a test to see how some NG titles can have a “base” port protocol that offers optimal coding outputs for those interested in dev on it.
aleXh retweeted
40 years ago this week, the Egrons invaded Novenia. 👾
#Starglider launched on the Atari ST in 1986 with a theme song that made the ST sing and pioneering real-time 3D graphics that paved the way for Starglider 2 and then Star Fox.
Happy 40th birthday to our first game! 🎂
aleXh retweeted
I've had a run through all of the games working on the Poly Master Game Drive, here's the state of play!
youtu.be/31IsCGsy3-8
aleXh retweeted
Turning the Atari Jaguar into the unreleased Atari Painter Computer prototype with JagOS Spot!
Check it out here: forums.atariage.com/topic/39…
aleXh retweeted
This was todays addition! Oriental Legend Super. The only game to use the IGS028, so it was left until last. The IGS028 verilog code worked first try, which is, quite frankly, miraculous.
Wow, I think I've finally implemented all the protection types for the IGS PGM carts in the PGM GD along with region overrides for all! I've also converted all of the MAME ASIC sims to run on real hardware. So, in theory, everything than runs in MAME will now run on the actual PGM hardware with PGM GD. Some games are still not perfect (as in MAME) due to missing ROM dumps, but if / when those ROMs can be dumped, those games will be fixed. Feels like a major milestone! 😄
aleXh retweeted
Cannon Boat Keith says you SHOULDN’T wishlist Croc 2 Kingdom of the Gobbos. 🐊🚤
But we’re not going to let him win! 😏
Coming to PS5, PS4, Switch, Xbox Series X|S, Steam & GOG!
👉 argonautgames.com/croc2remas…
#Croc2 #WishlistWednesday #RetroGaming
aleXh retweeted
I was just playing around with ChatGPT's Astra seeing if it could help port the black box systems in The Tomorrow Children to PC, and holy shit, it got the game booting with original scripts to the title screen, and all sitting in a Godot engine harness.... I'm speechless
aleXh retweeted
Giving love to the Amigas. The new version will (hopefully) support 1MB ROMs if the Amiga support it.
aleXh retweeted
Mesa 20 on Amiga/PiStorm was fun, but way too heavy.
Rewrote it to speak directly to @Raspberry_Pi firmware OpenGL over vchiq—zero CPU bottleneck, 100% VideoCore GPU execution.
Here’s an Amiga crunching complex Shadertoys without breaking a sweat: 👇 #Amiga #PiStorm #GPU
aleXh retweeted
Small breakthrough. I'm currently porting a relatively recent MESA to AmigaOS3 . That's the first ever GLSL shader (stolen from @XorDev ) on classic Amiga :)
aleXh retweeted
Since some among you asked, here is what the current Oric Dungeon Master prototype looks like in movement.
youtube.com/watch?v=fdr05UvC…
aleXh retweeted
YYYYYEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
@sidecartridge Multi-device now has a microfirmware to enable TCP/IP stack to your oldie Atari ST/STE computers!
AND I LOVE IT😍
Inspired by @AtariCrypt, my latest @SidecarTridge firmware is ready for testing and I'd love your feedback!
MD/Net is #AtariST WiFi that just works: install the firmware, copy STinG to drive C, run INSTALL.TOS from the cartridge, reset.
That's it, you're online. More in 🧵.