Using Batch file to run Whdload game

[kipper2k]

Hi all,

I am trying to get some WHDload games to run on an A600 with 2mb Ram. I know there are many games that won't run due to lack of ram, however, i am trying to create scripts that i can run trying to save as much Ram as possible for the game.

I am not sure how to do this or if it is allowed by the OS.

here is a batch file i created as a test

--------------------------------
games02:
cd dragonsbreath
whdload dragonsbreath.slave
-------------------------------


i try to run the script by double clicking on the icon it created when i saved the batch file and i get the "enter Command Arguments" window, when i click OK i get the ...

dragonsbreath: file is not executable
dragonsbreath failed returncode 10

message. When i open a CLI window and type each line in individually it will run, but the CLI window eats almost 120K. Is there a way to do this without opening a CLI window ?

or are there other ways of doing this.

Thanks.


Kipper

[Boo Boo]

Try Execute dragonsbreath
If you dont want to type execute change the Tool Type propertys or Add a Proper Icon and use IconX

[killergorilla]

You don't want to execute dragonsbreath as I presume it's a folder.

I would recommend using kgiconload and just do:

cd folder
kgiconload iconname.info

[kipper2k]

Thanks Boo Boo,

execute works, now to trim the WB down :). I'll try using KGiconload too

[Boo Boo]

Sorry for being so brief - If you Click Icons - Information and make it executable then Update you wont have to type execute.

Will KGload run batch files?

[kipper2k]

You don't want to execute dragonsbreath as I presume it's a folder.

I would recommend using kgiconload and just do:

cd folder
kgiconload iconname.info


Hi KG,

Where would i find KGiconload, is it part of the 68k install ?

THanks

[kipper2k]

Sorry for being so brief - If you Click Icons - Information and make it executable then Update you wont have to type execute.

Will KGload run batch files?


i tried clicking execute and no go

[killergorilla]

Hi KG,

Where would i find KGiconload, is it part of the 68k install ?

THanks

You can grab it here:

http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=584390&postcount=72

It'll run the default tool specified in the icon (which is WHDload in all whdload games), then use any tooltypes that are set in the icon.

Boo Boo: kgiconload is not kgload. (might be a little confusing I know).

kgiconload: tool for loading programs as if you had clicked on an icon.
kgload: whdload games frontend

[Boo Boo]

Im always confused:)

[Galahad/FLT]

Dragons Breath is one that would struggle to run in a 2mb environment.. in fact I don't think its possible

256k used by Kickstart
901k x 2 game disk images
901k x 1 save game image
WHDLoad memory
Shadow memory

I would be stunned if it worked in 2meg of ram.

[kipper2k]

i can get it working using 2meg chip and 512k slow, with just the chip mem i get the stripe load screen then nothing, i just picked this one as the tester, hopefully i'll try to get a list of all the ones that will work with a basic wb and 2mb

[Boo Boo]

Sorry you have to click script as well as execute, update - Realy you want to add an icon
I'll attcah an Icon Example here in a bit

Icon example Attached:)

[kipper2k]

Sorry you have to click script as well as execute, update - Realy you want to add an icon
I'll attcah an Icon Example here in a bit:)


thanks Boo Boo. Clicking script works :)

[Galahad/FLT]

i can get it working using 2meg chip and 512k slow, with just the chip mem i get the stripe load screen then nothing, i just picked this one as the tester, hopefully i'll try to get a list of all the ones that will work with a basic wb and 2mb

Pretty much most single disk 512k games should work in 2meg chip ram with ease.

When KickDOS is used, that just eats up a load of memory.

[Boo Boo]

Ok ive put the attached file above - The advange is you can tidy up icons and choose your own icon for example the DragonsBreath Icon. Hope its all ok.

[kipper2k]

Ok ive put the attached file above - The advange is you can tidy up icons and choose your own icon for example the DragonsBreath Icon. Hope its all ok.


Thanks Boo Boo, playing with it now :)

edit: works good, nice and tidy, now to start going through these games.

[killergorilla]

Sorry you have to click script as well as execute, update - Realy you want to add an icon
I'll attcah an Icon Example here in a bit

Icon example Attached:)

Now I'm confused..

what's the point of having to click an icon for a game that already has an icon?

[Boo Boo]

Now I'm confused..

what's the point of having to click an icon for a game that already has an icon?

;)Batch scripts can be quite helpful, Mine is not to reason why.................

[killergorilla]

That's not a batch script though, it's a single script executed via an icon...

[Boo Boo]

Leave me alone - I dont know;)

[killergorilla]

anyway, if it does what he wants... cool.

[kipper2k]

Well, it looks like i have set some record loading times for these WHDload games lol...


here are some timings of some tests i done... very impressive times lol.

A600, 2mb chipmem

Loading my favorite WHDload test game - City Defence


1,719,496 bytes free

2:37:00 start
2:38:02 screen flash
2:41:15 sound crackling
2:41:55 title screen appears
2:44:54 menu screen appears

time to start playing game = 7min 54 seconds :)

-------------------------------------------------

1,728,688 bytes free

2:54:00
2:54:28 Screen flash
2:57:37 sound crackle
2:58:20 title screen appears
3:01:19 Main menu appears, game plays normal

time to start playing game = 7 min 19 seconds :)

---------------------------------------------

1,735,944 bytes free

3:12:00
3:12:25 Screen flash
3:15:34 sound crackle
3:16:18 title screen appears
3:19:15 Main menu appears, game plays normal

time to start playing game = 7 min 15 seconds :)

--------------------------------------------


Now... heres the result using 2mb chip and 512k slow ram

1,993,416 chipmem 245,424 slow

3:06:00
3:06:09 title screen appears
3:06:10 Main menu appears, game plays normal

time to start playing game = 10 seconds :)

-----------------------------------------------

Overall its pretty disheartening. I figure the only way to stand any
chance of getting decent load times is to create a boot floppy that
loads only the essentials for WHDload and paths. I have no idea what a
bare assed WB install would be as regards memory consumption.

Anyone got a bare assed WB boot disk ?

Thanks :)

[Retro-Nerd]

Preload is the most important WHDLoad tooltype. So, get more ram. :)

[kipper2k]

Preload is the most important WHDLoad tooltype. So, get more ram. :)


yah,

I'm on the list for the 8 MB ram cards, sure be nice to have the extra :)

[Boo Boo]

Ive got a 2mb A600 and before I was lucky enough to pick up an extra 2mb SRam card I had to do a lot of fidling about choosing the best install for the setup and WHDload wasnt always suitable - For example City Defence can be run without WHDload, Without extra memory finding the right install might be your only choice.

[Eclipse]

I've asked before and it's similar...
Can you create a floppy that can load WHDLoad games without going into workbench?
i.e. you insert floppy, it loads the game from your hard drive without going into a full workbench.
Obviously you would have to assign where the folders are.

[Boo Boo]

Sure but whats your setup? You could also have so when you hold down fire instead of Workbench loading a games menu comes up

[kipper2k]

you can create a workbench disk, and make it work just be copying the appropriate files to the directories on the floppy. Theres a few ways of making a bootable floppy, for me i just copied the workbench install disk and then deleted all the garbage i didn't need.

[TheCyberDruid]

@Eclipse
Basic answer : Yes :)
Make a startup-sequence on your floppy which should contain this :
<path to WHDLoad>WHDLoad <insert game name with path>.slave <options>
It's very rough, but you should get the idea.

@kipper2k
You simply call 'Install DF0:' to make a disk bootable.

[kipper2k]

I don't see many memory cards available for the A600 except for the standard 1mb card and of course the new 8mb card that is being built now. Are there other cards with at least 2mb ram available for the A600 (not PCMCIA) or schematics available for home made jobbies. ?

[kipper2k]

@Eclipse
Basic answer : Yes :)
Make a startup-sequence on your floppy which should contain this :
<path to WHDLoad>WHDLoad <insert game name with path>.slave <options>
It's very rough, but you should get the idea.

@kipper2k
You simply call 'Install DF0:' to make a disk bootable.

Thanks... (sometimes i miss the obvious :)

[TheCyberDruid]

@Eclipse
I just tried it and it works :D You might need to adapt it for some games, but here you go :
DH0:C/Assign DEVS: DH0:Devs
CD DH1:Lionheart
DH0:C/WHDLoad Lionheart.Slave Preload
Of course you need to adjust paths (and the slave name) ;)

@kipper2k
I'll never forget the day that I had my first bootable disk (running the AmigaBASIC line demo), so it's burnt in my mind ;)

[Boo Boo]

Good stuff TCD
I just ment you could add something like this to your HD Startup-Sequence and not worry about Floppys
Joypad RED
If Warm
LoadWB ; Or Menu
Endcli
Endif

[TheCyberDruid]

I just ment you could add something like this to your HD Startup-Sequence and not worry about Floppys
Joypad RED
If Warm
LoadWB ; Or Menu
Endcli
Endif

Cheers Boo Boo :)
Mind to share the 'Joypad' program? That sounds like an interesting option to play with :D

[Boo Boo]

Ok JoyPad attached I hope its of some use to someone.
From the CD32 Goodies
http://aminet.net/search?query=cd32+goodies

You hold down Fire for the Action

[TheCyberDruid]

Thanks Boo Boo :)

[Eclipse]

@Eclipse
I just tried it and it works :D You might need to adapt it for some games, but here you go :
DH0:C/Assign DEVS: DH0:Devs
CD DH1:Lionheart
DH0:C/WHDLoad Lionheart.Slave Preload
Of course you need to adjust paths (and the slave name) ;)

@kipper2k
I'll never forget the day that I had my first bootable disk (running the AmigaBASIC line demo), so it's burnt in my mind ;)
Thanks,
that's exactly what I had in mind. :)
What if you don't want preload?

[TheCyberDruid]

No problem :)
Just leave out 'Preload' then.

[musojon74]

Dunno if it helps (and it's ages since I did it (1996 - eeeeekkkk) ) - I used to set up a little script which you could run from wb - it created a rad: copied the required files over with a modified s: directory, assigned them then bounced the machine - bingo no workbench, straight into the game. I will try and remember how i did it - came in very useful with low memory. I will try and stick it together again if it's any help and not overcomplicating the situation :-0

[kipper2k]

Dunno if it helps (and it's ages since I did it (1996 - eeeeekkkk) ) - I used to set up a little script which you could run from wb - it created a rad: copied the required files over with a modified s: directory, assigned them then bounced the machine - bingo no workbench, straight into the game. I will try and remember how i did it - came in very useful with low memory. I will try and stick it together again if it's any help and not overcomplicating the situation :-0

I'd like to see how it was done if you can recall :)

[Boo Boo]

If you add something like this to your mountlist

NEW: Device = ramdrive.device
Unit = 0
Flags = 0
Surfaces = 2
BlocksPerTrack = 11
Reserved = 2
Interleave = 0
LowCyl = 0 ; HighCyl = 2
Buffers = 5
BufMemType = 1
BootPri = 9

Then Call "Mount New:" from Cli or your batch file
You will have a Small about 2kb virtual Disk Called New: that is bootable - Add the S folder and Startup-Sequence to point to your game on HD and a Reset command.

[musojon74]

If you add something like this to your mountlist

NEW: Device = ramdrive.device
Unit = 0
Flags = 0
Surfaces = 2
BlocksPerTrack = 11
Reserved = 2
Interleave = 0
LowCyl = 0 ; HighCyl = 2
Buffers = 5
BufMemType = 1
BootPri = 9

Then Call "Mount New:" from Cli or your batch file
You will have a Small about 2kb virtual Disk Called New: that is bootable - Add the S folder and Startup-Sequence to point to your game on HD and a Reset command.

Nice one Boo Boo. That will do it! :) I remember fiddling with mountlist all those years ago!

[Bamiga2002]

If you add something like this to your mountlist

NEW: Device = ramdrive.device
Unit = 0
Flags = 0
Surfaces = 2
BlocksPerTrack = 11
Reserved = 2
Interleave = 0
LowCyl = 0 ; HighCyl = 2
Buffers = 5
BufMemType = 1
BootPri = 9

Then Call "Mount New:" from Cli or your batch file
You will have a Small about 2kb virtual Disk Called New: that is bootable - Add the S folder and Startup-Sequence to point to your game on HD and a Reset command.
There is already a tool (package) for this and it's called Reboot&Start (http://aminet.net/package/game/patch/RebootStartV42). I've used it for years :). Works fine with low memory and with picky WHDLoad games that don't like WB.

[Boo Boo]

There is already a tool (package) for this and it's called Reboot&Start (http://aminet.net/package/game/patch/RebootStartV42). I've used it for years :). Works fine with low memory and with picky WHDLoad games that don't like WB.

Thanks for the link:) It's nice looking at the Scripts Rebbot&Start uses - One of the files seems broken in the package "GetPath" If you have a working version please could you upload.

[Bamiga2002]

Yes i know about the "getpath" (not executable). I've emailed the author about it. I'll zone the working getpath today :)

[Boo Boo]

Yes i know about the "getpath" (not executable). I've emailed the author about it. I'll zone the working getpath today


Good Morning Sir -
Thanks for the Reply I hope the author respondes - Thankyou that would be great, I look forward to playing with this command:)

[Bamiga2002]

Zoned!

[Boo Boo]

Zoned!

Thanks for uploading - thats great just tested, handy little Tool:)

[kipper2k]

Thanks for uploading - thats great just tested, handy little Tool:)


How do you set this up to run ? i'm not too up on AmigaDos?

Thanks

[Bamiga2002]

Hello kipper2k!
Just read the guide inside the reboot&start -package, copy needed files to their places (+getpath from the Zone). It's basicly you copy the following scripts

reboot-start
startup-sequence

and edit startup-sequence to add the game executable where it says so. Simple! :)

I go a bit further, extend the script, use TUDE and add other tools as i need them. Just study the scripts :)

[kipper2k]

Hello kipper2k!
Just read the guide inside the reboot&start -package, copy needed files to their places (+getpath from the Zone). It's basicly you copy the following scripts

reboot-start
startup-sequence

and edit startup-sequence to add the game executable where it says so. Simple! :)

I go a bit further, extend the script, use TUDE and add other tools as i need them. Just study the scripts :)

@Bamiga2002

Thanks for the help, are you saying you can use Tude for NTSC/Pal to change boot up options too ?

[Bamiga2002]

Yes, but you can do that altering the reboot-start script also. TUDE adds a "few" options to tune compatibility. Read TUDE (http://aminet.net/package/util/misc/TUDE) docs.

[kipper2k]

K,
Here is a menu that i have been working on. It works fine on the 1200 and 500. The program is called Jmenu by James Collins

http://www.kipper2k.com/amiga/jmenu.jpg


The menu loads scripts and you can set it up so you can have multiple pages. Here is a zip of the 3 page example i set up to load WHDload games. The menu is called by simply double clicking the "Start" icon (just put it on the desktop so its easy to get at). Changes to the game paths is done by editing the start, start2, and start3 files in root.

The actual menu items are changed by altering the page1, page2 and page3 files located in the c folder. This is good for those of you who have favourite games that you want quick access to, or mabbe load games that are memory critical

Thanks to everyone for their help :)

heres the link for the files...



http://www.kipper2k.com/amiga/jmenusetup.zip

[Boo Boo]

That looks like a realy nice setup kipper2k glad you got sorted:)

[Eclipse]

Hi,
So I decided to combine JMenu with the startup-sequence provided by TCD.
JMenu works from within ClassicWB but says something like "Line 1 must be TITLE, LINE or EXEC." when used soley as an ADF to boot.
I've provided the adf below, I'm running ClassicWB as well.

[TheCyberDruid]

This can't work, because you give JMenu an AmigaDos batch file as a parameter in the startup-sequence. Okay hope I confused you enough to think about it ;) The soultion is quite simple : Either put the whole shebang from 'Start' in your startup-sequence (recommended :great) or exchange JMenu with Execute in the startup-sequence that you have (not really the way to go ;)).

[Eclipse]

This can't work, because you give JMenu an AmigaDos batch file as a parameter in the startup-sequence. Okay hope I confused you enough to think about it ;) The soultion is quite simple : Either put the whole shebang from 'Start' in your startup-sequence (recommended :great) or exchange JMenu with Execute in the startup-sequence that you have (not really the way to go ;)).
Hi,
My head hurts now :)
What do you mean by the whole "Start"?
EDIT: You mean th start icon you click I assume :)

[Eclipse]

I put all of Start in the Startup-sequence.
I got "Menu is too wide for screen" so I'm assuming it's now a setup issue.

[TheCyberDruid]

'Start' is an AmigaDos script (basically the same as the startup-sequence). If you type in 'more start' in CLI you see the contents. Just copy it over the startup-sequence (copy df0:start df0:s/startup-sequence) and that's it :)
However I get a 'Menu too wide' error when I do that, but it's a tad too late to today to see what causes it. Will have a look tomorrow though ;)

Edit : Bingo :D

[Eclipse]

'Start' is an AmigaDos script (basically the same as the startup-sequence). If you type in 'more start' in CLI you see the contents. Just copy it over the startup-sequence (copy df0:start df0:s/startup-sequence) and that's it :)
However I get a 'Screen too wide' error when I do that, but it's a tad too late to today to see what causes it. Will have a look tomorrow though ;)

Edit : Bingo :D
Yeah I'm off to bed now as well.
I understand now how it's acting as simply a batch file. It does say in the documents about font size and screen so should be quite an easy fix :P

[TheCyberDruid]

It does say in the documents about font size and screen so should be quite an easy fix :P

Then you have the first go at it and report back if it doesn't work ;)
Have a good night :)

[kipper2k]

I put all of Start in the Startup-sequence.
I got "Menu is too wide for screen" so I'm assuming it's now a setup issue.


Hi all, Sorry for all the confusion everyone.

Screen is too wide error is caused by the Title line being too wide for the screen size (i used spaces to centralise the text and got carried away :)

its an easy fix....
Just edit the "Select game to load ((Page 1) line, remove all the spaces after the text so that the line length is less than 60. Do this to page2 and page 3 title line too :). If its still too wide then make it shorter still...

I went back in to edit the zip file so it should work properly. I didn't realise there was a problem until i tried it later on a smaller window and got that message...

Here is the page1 file below, The offending line is the TITLE line, remove unwanted spaces after the text. Do the same with the other pages, also this program needs fastram to work in which is really annoying if you dont have fastmem


TITLE Select game to load? (Page 1)

MENU Load Obliterator
MENU Load Superfrog
MENU Load Secret of Monkey Island
MENU Load Alien Breed Tower Assault
MENU Load Battle Squadron
MENU Load Bubble Bobble
MENU Load City Defence
MENU Load Killing Game Show
MENU Load Turrican
MENU Load Game 10
MENU Load Game 11
MENU Load Page 12
MENU Load Game 13
MENU Load Page 2
MENU Exit JMenu

[Boo Boo]

Hopefuly not confusing things to much - dont forget theres also an OCS version of KGLoad
KGLoad (http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=40613)
and
AGS-OCS (http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=198899&postcount=6)

[TheCyberDruid]

JMenu is nice for a few entries, but for a lot of games it's not really the way to go. Nice effort though kipper and surely useful if you like to have your list of 20-30 games.
Btw : A new ECS/OCS version of KGLoad might take a bit ;)

[Eclipse]

Hi,
"Please insert ENV"
Normally ENV is assigned to RAM but that's not what you want in this case.
Where is ENV assigned from? I couldn't see it on my HD.

[TheCyberDruid]

You can assign ENV to any folder.
'assign ENV: DH3:env' is what I use ;)

[Eclipse]

I had to create a ENV drawer so that it would work. Of course I could have put ENV on the floppy as well, but the idea is to load everything from the HD that it can.
Ideally, and I don't know if it can be done, is to make it look to see if ENV exists on the HD. If not, create one and delete it after use.
I took out endcli and endif hoping the menu would return after the game exit but alas all I get is >1. Hopefully some tips on this too :)

[TheCyberDruid]

Hmm, sounds a bit like you want that to be some kind of universal WHDLoad kick disk. That could be a tad oversized project. Also since ENV: hardly ever uses more than 1 KB that shouldn't be really necessary.

[killergorilla]

You'd be better of doing what I do then.

mkdir RAM:ENV
Assign ENV: RAM:ENV

If you don't want to worry about deleting it.

[Eclipse]

Hmm, sounds a bit like you want that to be some kind of universal WHDLoad kick disk. That could be a tad oversized project. Also since ENV: hardly ever uses more than 1 KB that shouldn't be really necessary.
Yeah, your about to tell me one exists already? :)

You'd be better of doing what I do then.



mkdir RAM:ENV

Assign ENV: RAM:ENV



If you don't want to worry about deleting it.
That may be the way forward.

[TheCyberDruid]

Yeah, your about to tell me one exists already? :)

Not one that I know of. If you want to add more functionality to your script, you should have a look at some AmigaDos command reference ;)
Oh and it's MakeDir :D

[Eclipse]

It's working well now.
I've been looking at Amiga DOS for a while but it's painfully slow for me at the moment in absorbing it.
All I need is a pointer as to how to make it go back to either the start or a particular line.
Label then Skip?

[TheCyberDruid]

http://winuaehelp.back2roots.org/background/amigados.htm ;)
Basically yes, just use 'SKIP <label> BACK'

[Eclipse]

Thanks for the link :)
I'll have another go at it. I thought I was on the right track just wasn't sure. BACK is used because the SKIP command is after the LABEL that I wish to use is what I assume.

[TheCyberDruid]

BACK is used because the SKIP command is after the LABEL that I wish to use is what I assume.

Yep, exactly.

[kipper2k]

It's working well now.
I've been looking at Amiga DOS for a while but it's painfully slow for me at the moment in absorbing it.
All I need is a pointer as to how to make it go back to either the start or a particular line.
Label then Skip?

Not sure if this is what you want, but if you take a look at item 1, i changed it so it will auto restart the menu once you exit the game by reloading jmenu which will call start...



c:jmenu c:Page1.jm TestVar

if $TestVar EQ 1
cd dh1:obliterator;
whdload obliterator.slave PRELOAD;
c:jmenu c:Page1.jm TestVar
endif

if $TestVar EQ 2
cd dh1:superfrog;
whdload superfrog.slave PRELOAD;
endcli
endif

if $TestVar EQ 3
cd dh1:SecretOfMonkeyIsland;
whdload SecretOfMonkeyIsland.slave PRELOAD;
endcli
endif

if $TestVar EQ 4
cd dh1:alienbreedta;
whdload alienbreedta.slave ;
endcli
endif

if $TestVar EQ 5
cd dh1:battlesquadron;
whdload bsquadron.slave PRELOAD;
endcli
endif

if $TestVar EQ 6
cd dh1:bubblebobble;
whdload bubblebobble.slave PRELOAD;
endcli
endif

if $TestVar EQ 7
cd dh1:citydefence;
whdload citydefence.slave PRELOAD;
endcli
endif

if $TestVar EQ 8
cd dh1:killingGameShow;
whdload kgs.slave PRELOAD;
endcli
endif


if $TestVar EQ 9
cd dh1:Turrican;
whdload Turrican.slave PRELOAD;
endcli
endif

if $TestVar EQ 10
cd dh1:Hybris;
whdload hybris.slave PRELOAD;
endcli
endif

if $TestVar EQ 11
cd dh1:SecretOfMonkeyIsland;
whdload SecretOfMonkeyIsland.slave PRELOAD;
endcli
endif

if $TestVar EQ 12
cd dh1:obliterator;
whdload obliterator.slave PRELOAD;
endcli
endif

if $TestVar EQ 13
cd dh1:superfrog;
whdload superfrog.slave PRELOAD;
endcli
endif

if $TestVar EQ 14
DH1:start2
endcli
endif

if $TestVar EQ 15
endcli
endif

[Eclipse]

Here is the code so far.
I'm not doing something right with the SKIP. When you exit the game WHDLoad splash screen comes back up and the game re-loads. Hmmm.


Assign Devs: DH0:Devs
MakeDir RAM:ENV
Assign ENV: RAM:ENV
DF0:C/jmenu DF0:C/Page1.jm TestVar
LAB Point1
if $TestVar EQ 1
CD DH0:Games/B/BadLands
DH0:C/WHDLoad BadLands.Slave PRELOAD
endif
endskip
SKIP Point1 BACK

if $TestVar EQ 2
CD DH0:Games/S/SuperCars2
DH0:C/WHDLoad SuperCars2.Slave PRELOAD
endif
endskip
SKIP Point1 BACK

[TheCyberDruid]

The 'LAB' needs to be before you call JMenu ;)

[kipper2k]

Here is the code so far.
I'm not doing something right with the SKIP. When you exit the game WHDLoad splash screen comes back up and the game re-loads. Hmmm.

Try my option Eclipse, i'd like to see all peoples examples to make this a more smarter and still lightweight menu :)

[Eclipse]

Assign Devs: DH0:Devs
MakeDir RAM:ENV
Assign ENV: RAM:ENV

LAB Point1

DF0:C/jmenu DF0:C/Page1.jm TestVar
if $TestVar EQ 1
CD DH0:Games/B/BadLands
DH0:C/WHDLoad BadLands.Slave PRELOAD
SKIP Point1 BACK
ENDIF

if $TestVar EQ 2
CD DH0:Games/S/SuperCars2
DH0:C/WHDLoad SuperCars2.Slave PRELOAD
SKIP Point1 BACK
ENDIF

:blased:):D
Thanks immensely for all your help. I owe TCD one now :)
Just needs some tidyness and to make the Jmenu copyright notice appear just once and I'm done.
EDIT: Sorry Kipper only just noticed your post. I will try that as well anyway, just to see.

[TheCyberDruid]

No problem oh obfuscator of the sun ;) Hope that you get it working the way you want now :)

[kipper2k]

I think TCD's solution may be better. I am not sure but the way i done it may have opened another instance of Jmenu without the current in memory jmenu exiting and freeing Ram wasting memory, not sure though

[TheCyberDruid]

I think TCD's solution may be better. I am not sure but the way i done it may have opened another instance of Jmenu without the current in memory jmenu exiting and freeing Ram wasting memory, not sure though

Yeah I thought about that too, but I think your solution won't work this way, because you still would have to jump to the top of the if list :) Otherwise you can choose game 1 after you choose 2 for example. LAB and SKIP seems to be okay for this as long as you also make an 'end' if ;)

[Eclipse]

Yeah I thought about that too, but I think your solution won't work this way, because you still would have to jump to the top of the if list :) Otherwise you can choose game 1 after you choose 2 for example. LAB and SKIP seems to be okay for this as long as you also make an 'end' if ;)
I've just run a quick test using avial and it's the same every time on SKIP so it's clearing. (Damn thing is in Bytes though).
When I try Kippers I'll do the the same.

I used
Echo "*E[0;0H*E[J"
to clear the screen, was on the bottom of that page you linked to.

[TheCyberDruid]

Some benchmarking is a good idea Eclipse :great Looking forward to the results.

[Eclipse]

When I tried Kippers one it immediately quits if you run TestVar 1 again. I suspect it's because the very next line is Endif.
Or of course I've done it wrong :P

[TheCyberDruid]

Like I said it won't work (even if you choose 1 again). It should work if you choose the second option though (or any later one), but even then it would only run that in its current form. The LAB and SKIP part is needed to make it work either way.

[Eclipse]

If Jmenu was to stay resident then I guess you would not have to skip back, but that's a whole different area.
The version with skip is showing exactly the same memory after the second load and after.
I'm going to try it with a minimum setup on the 1200 with just 2MB chip ram and see how it does.
I've included the adf below if anyone wants to try it in it's current form. It still needs tinkering though.
It's set to work on ClassicWB with the original KG Pack names.

[TheCyberDruid]

If Jmenu was to stay resident then I guess you would not have to skip back, but that's a whole different area.

Making it resident won't start it again magically, now that's for sure ;) Anyway, nice effort there Eclipse :)

[kipper2k]

When I tried Kippers one it immediately quits if you run TestVar 1 again. I suspect it's because the very next line is Endif.
Or of course I've done it wrong :P


My change semi works, it will work if you do not choose the same item once you exit the game so thats not good. I tried your menu setup and it works fine... however (dont you hate that word :). .. The menu refuses to load when there is no fastmem. I thought i'd got around that by using tude...

Tude fakefast=1

That gave me 512k fast memory so i thought i'd solved the problem... Jmenu loaded fine and then Damn!! ... when i try to load a WHDload game i get the...

"Slave is illegal
because contains relocations"

I'm not sure what options are available now, whether there is any command line switches to convince WHDload to load a game or find another way to persuade Jmenu to load in chipmem or find another way to fake fastmem... I initially started this menu loader for a A600 with 2MB Chipmem but its kinda grim at the moment

I'm open for suggestions :help

(Does anyone know (how to contact) the author of Jmenu ?

[TheCyberDruid]

Maybe someone here knows a different menu program. Could be quite hard to find James Collins these days.

[killergorilla]

Maybe someone here knows a different menu program. Could be quite hard to find James Collins these days.

Give it time! :scream

[TheCyberDruid]

Give it time! :scream

Hehe ;) I actually meant a scriptable menu program like JMenu... for now.

[Boo Boo]

What about using AGS - This is quite a good menu - I havent looked at the OCS version for ages but probably worth a look.
I made some crappy menu for my A600 that I still use if needs be ill dig it out.

[kipper2k]

yah,

I'm not interested in fancy, just practical and simple with a low memory footprint., and of course something that will sit in chipmem. I haven't give up yet of trying to get it to work, i'm still surfing Aminet for something that may patch it

[Eclipse]

Damnit!!
Yeah works excellent except without FASTMEM. Fecking :banghead

yah,

I'm not interested in fancy, just practical and simple with a low memory footprint., and of course something that will sit in chipmem. I haven't give up yet of trying to get it to work, i'm still surfing Aminet for something that may patch it
Bingo, that's exactly the point.

I shall go through Amiga Magazine Rack and see if there is anything similar on the coverdisks.

[Eclipse]

Give it time! :scream
You can achieve roughly the same thing with your KGLoad can't you? If you point it to the hard drive for the necessary files and have the menu boot from the floppy?
Wan't me to give it a go?

[killergorilla]

No it's ok, KGLoad is currently in redevelopment at the moment so the old version is pretty much unsupported now.

Once the new version is out I might say yes :)

[kipper2k]

No it's ok, KGLoad is currently in redevelopment at the moment so the old version is pretty much unsupported now.

Once the new version is out I might say yes :)


Do i hear a subtle hint of something forthcoming... soon :).

I wait impatiently lol

[kipper2k]

Mabbe there is someone with the smarts to alter the code to sit in chipmem (elbow, elbow, nudge nudge :)

[Eclipse]

No it's ok, KGLoad is currently in redevelopment at the moment so the old version is pretty much unsupported now.

Once the new version is out I might say yes :)
Excellent, would indeed be cool if you could use it as a WHDLoad boot disk as well.
Don't forget to give me a shout when it's done :)

Do i hear a subtle hint of something forthcoming... soon :).

I wait impatiently lol
If you have any other menu's you know of in the meantime, I'm all ears.
Fastmem only menu , grrrrr.

[killergorilla]

Do i hear a subtle hint of something forthcoming... soon :).

I wait impatiently lol

Hopefuly yes :)

And you wouldn't have to worry about it eating chipram (or fastram for that mater), as it kills itself completely (with the exception of 1kb of RAM).

It's coming along nicely so watch this space :)

[Eclipse]

Hopefuly yes :)

And you wouldn't have to worry about it eating chipram (or fastram for that mater), as it kills itself completely (with the exception of 1kb of RAM).

It's coming along nicely so watch this space :)
Hurrah for the saviour!
At least I learnt some AmigaDOS on the way :)

[TheCyberDruid]

If you have any other menu's you know of in the meantime, I'm all ears.
Fastmem only menu , grrrrr.

Have a look here : http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=40109
Can't find the damn thing on my HD though, so hopefully s2325 still has it.

[kipper2k]

here is that menu prog...

http://aminet.net/util/boot/Runner2_12-LC.lha




I'll give it a go later, gotta few things to do today

[Eclipse]

here is that menu prog...

http://aminet.net/util/boot/Runner2_12-LC.lha




I'll give it a go later, gotta few things to do today
Hmmm, only 1 command line?

[TheCyberDruid]

Hmmm, only 1 command line?

You have to use 'Execute <script>' then. The scripts contain what would be in the 'if' with JMenu. Hope you get the idea :)

[Eclipse]

You have to use 'Execute <script>' then. The scripts contain what would be in the 'if' with JMenu. Hope you get the idea :)
Ahh I see, thanks.

[TheCyberDruid]

No problem :) Hope this will work on an A600 then.

[Eclipse]

No problem :) Hope this will work on an A600 then.
Just tried with 2MB standard 1200 and it worked :)
I could experiment further to see if it will work on the 1MB 600 (or indeed any 1MB machine).
Only thing with this menu is you are limited to 18 items. I'm not sure how you would open a "page 2" on this menu.

[TheCyberDruid]

I'm not sure how you would open a "page 2" on this menu.

Make a script that opens another menu then (just like with JMenu). Make an option that starts the new script. Not really convenient, but it has to do for now ;)

[Eclipse]

Make a script that opens another menu then (just like with JMenu). Make an option that starts the new script. Not really convenient, but it has to do for now ;)
The program as far as I can see always looks for Runner.menu. I tried "Runner Runner2.menu" but it will always load the default if it can see it. If it's renamed to runner2.menu it compalins there is no menu.
I'll keep at it though. :)

[TheCyberDruid]

Seems like that won't work then. Hopefully someone knows another menu program... ;)

[Eclipse]

Seems like that won't work then. Hopefully someone knows another menu program... ;)
Found one on a coverdisk called Button menu, I'll give that a go.

[Eclipse]

Had a go with ButtonMenu.
Looking good so far.
I would prefer it to kill one menu before it loads the next one up. Currently they sit on top of each other.
Is there a command to kill a process? Or one that is the same as quit?
Would "Quit BMX" work? BMX is the executable.

[kipper2k]

Had a go with ButtonMenu.
Looking good so far.
I would prefer it to kill one menu before it loads the next one up. Currently they sit on top of each other.
Is there a command to kill a process? Or one that is the same as quit?
Would "Quit BMX" work? BMX is the executable.


does it work with chipmem only ?

[TheCyberDruid]

Is there a command to kill a process? Or one that is the same as quit?
Would "Quit BMX" work? BMX is the executable.

Hopefully someone knows a prog that would kill a running process from CLI. Sucks a bit that the menu prog won't kill itself before calling the chosen option.

[Eclipse]

does it work with chipmem only ?
Yes, but some things are juddery and some take a while to load. Some 1MB games get "out of expmem" so I may need to look at an alternative again lol :banghead

[Boo Boo]

I made some crappy menu for my A600 that I still use if needs be ill dig it out.

I noticed theres quite alot of talk about menus - I dug out the old menu & in the Zone if anyones interested.
Should work on any Kickstart
Mouse control, KeyBoard or Joystick