Vampire II for the Amiga 600 FAQ's

[eXeler0]

Originally Posted by demolition

For some reason I had in my head that Majsta was within EU, so not looking forward to paying the customs fee.. But if he could delay the shipments a little longer, perhaps it won't be an issue:
link

"Observers say Bosnia stands little chance of joining before 2025."

Ye sure, I can wait :-)

Tbh I'm not 100% sure that Majsta is shipping from Bosnia. Could someone confirm/ deny this claim?

[jbenam]

Originally Posted by kipper2k

Yes, it is a planned upgrade (SAGA) Super AGA along with other upgrades

What matters to me is that it's 95% compatible with current AGA apps/games, as not having AGA is the only thing that stops me from switching to an A600. Anything more is always welcome though

[Amiga1992]

Well if you put AGA in an A600 I can get rid of my A1200 which is giving me so many issues. That would make me happy :P

[Sandro]

Originally Posted by cgugl

at the beginning, your workbench will have only 16 colors.
Soon a picasso96 drawer will be released, and then you can set a screen up to 1080p in 16 bit.

First cores are prudently "slow", sysinfo will show about 80 MIPS

slow ?
80 mips on sysinfo is faster than a 060/80mhz

what you meant when you say the first cores? future boards will have a faster fpga ?

[kipper2k]

Originally Posted by Sandro

slow ?
80 mips on sysinfo is faster than a 060/80mhz

what you meant when you say the first cores? future boards will have a faster fpga ?

Your existing board can go a lot faster. Think of your board with a speed limiter on it at the moment to check out if people are having issues. In testing we pretty well push it harder, i can get over 100 mips easily but these are testing cores and ultimately we need stable cores for everyone.

The instruction set is also being optimised to do more instructions per cycle and also new instructions to improve video playback in excess of 30% for programs that can be recompiled with the new instructions. (We are currently investigating the Rivaplayer)

[eXeler0]

Originally Posted by Sandro

what you meant when you say the first cores? future boards will have a faster fpga ?

Surely you've read/heard that the FPGA can be updated with new improved cores. FPGA is not a static chip, the functions are set with code that is uploaded to the chip which then runs as a hardware core.

Future boards could potentially use more expensive FPGA chips that can run at higher speeds however the FPGA we are getting with Vampire v2 has a lot of headroom for our purposes anyway.

There are *vague* thoughts about the A1200 version having a connector for future daughter card with better FPGA...
Might not happen though...

[kipper2k]

Originally Posted by eXeler0

There are *vague* thoughts about the A1200 version having a connector for future daughter card with better FPGA...
Might not happen though...

[Sandro]

btw,

what kind of 68k core is this? a 020 or a 040 type
have this 68k core the full instruction set of the 68000?

because that's why some old A500 games not works on the 020+

[ShK]

Originally Posted by JackLeather

Where can I get that utility you are using to list real-time process activity?

Is it called Top 2.0?

Top = Display information about top CPU tasks

http://aminet.net/package/util/misc/Executive

[eXeler0]

Originally Posted by Sandro

btw,

what kind of 68k core is this? a 020 or a 040 type
have this 68k core the full instruction set of the 68000?

because that's why some old A500 games not works on the 020+

@Sandro you should spend some time here:
http://www.apollo-core.com

[wawa]

@kipper
i have heard that ordering vampire you need to deliver your kickstart images in order to have them loaded into the fpga or rather flash, which i guess is holding the core? why is that? even if you want to have the copy of ks in the fast ram, the accelerator could simply load it up on boot. or if its faster to have it in flash, some simple tool could be provided for the end user. having a set in stone kickstart version in ram may be a handicap for those who would want to use a modified one, or an aros one for that matter. having this possibility to use upgraded kickstart would be imho a logical option along the fpga core development.

[kipper2k]

Originally Posted by wawa

@kipper
i have heard that ordering vampire you need to deliver your kickstart images in order to have them loaded into the fpga or rather flash, which i guess is holding the core? why is that? even if you want to have the copy of ks in the fast ram, the accelerator could simply load it up on boot. or if its faster to have it in flash, some simple tool could be provided for the end user. having a set in stone kickstart version in ram may be a handicap for those who would want to use a modified one, or an aros one for that matter. having this possibility to use upgraded kickstart would be imho a logical option along the fpga core development.

Hi,

Due to the fact we were too late to get licensing the kick (unmodified) needs to be added to the core. Lets say someone tries to use a modified kickstart, they will brick the vampire. They will then need to use a USB blaster, Quartus and a PC to unbrick it. For most users this is a problem.

We all know by now that the Kickstarts are still copyrighted. Users are allowed to use their image on their own machine.Once you prove ownership of a KS 3.1 rom then we can send you the vampire with the Kickstart on it and delete the image you sent.

For the next projects we intend on licensing directly, passing the cost on to the user and avoiding this hassle... yes it is a hassle and we tried to avoid this but waiting for emails was fruitless.


For Aros, this is being looked at presently and is an option. First, lets get the Vampire 2 out of the door so it doesn't sit in limbo "waiting for one more thing" and then we can see/hear what people have to constructively say.

As for Picasso96 drivers, we are in the licensing process so we are unable to give out drivers until we have a definitive answer. The core will soon be able to be updated from within WB and that will be the primary means of updating the core.

If you want to ask Biggun (Gunnar) a question directly head on over to his forum...

http://apollo-core.com/knowledge.php

The next steps are to sort out onboard flashing, picasso96, SD card drivers, SAGA, FPU, tweaking and other general housekeeping. As i have said before there is lots of good things going to happen as it grows up

[wawa]

well, certainly we know that kickstarts are copyrighted, but i did not think it had anything to do with vampire. i mean, why do you need to have it and license it at all? kickstart is onboard the machine and it could be left to a user if he upgrades to a 3.1 or not. does vampire somehow demands features included in 3.1 or do you want to license it in order to provide a complete most possibly recent system including p96 and not to worry about different configurations?

imho having different kickstarts in connection with vampire would actually provide a wider testing ground for the core. dont get me wrong, i dont question what you do, just wonder and would hate to see you get into any trouble because of these licensing issues. and depending on whom you have contacted on this matter it may prove difficult to get along with.

[demolition]

Perhaps they simply cannot use the KS from the MB, but need to have it inside the Vampire? Or perhaps it was easier/faster to just put it directly in the core until they get a flashable solution. I'm sure they have a good reason for doing it the way they have, and I don't think that cross examining them will make it go any faster..

[wawa]

@demolition
im not cross examining anyone. i just put up something for consideration. id like this project co succeed and continue without handicaps. and we know that the scene is full of copyright controversy, trigger happy ip holders or pretenders, which means steering clear of such moody waters may be essential. someone who doesnt answer emails today may suddenly issue demands as soon as the project s well advanced. what then?

[kipper2k]

Originally Posted by wawa

@demolition
im not cross examining anyone. i just put up something for consideration. id like this project co succeed and continue without handicaps. and we know that the scene is full of copyright controversy, trigger happy ip holders or pretenders, which means steering clear of such moody waters may be essential. someone who doesnt answer emails today may suddenly issue demands as soon as the project s well advanced. what then?

Hi,

there is always controversy in Commodore land since they were ripped apart and spread to the 4 winds. This is why we are forcing customers to prove ownership of a stock unmodified ROM, so that the Vampire can be run in their own machine using their own KS3.1. Like i have said earlier, the process for the A500 will be hopefully more simple and satisfy the majority of people. I don't think everyone can be happy in Amigaland .

[demolition]

Originally Posted by kipper2k

I don't think everyone can be happy in Amigaland .

I thought that Amigaland was all unicorns and rainbows? At least on the surface?

[wawa]

Originally Posted by kipper2k

Hi,

there is always controversy in Commodore land since they were ripped apart and spread to the 4 winds. This is why we are forcing customers to prove ownership of a stock unmodified ROM, so that the Vampire can be run in their own machine using their own KS3.1. Like i have said earlier, the process for the A500 will be hopefully more simple and satisfy the majority of people. I don't think everyone can be happy in Amigaland .

its not so much about us being happy, but about you being on a safe ground. however, lets assume for now you know what you do, even though id prefer to know more details before i order a board, but this has time since alas i dont have a lovely a600 anymore..

[eXeler0]

Originally Posted by wawa

its not so much about us being happy, but about you being on a safe ground. however, lets assume for now you know what you do, even though id prefer to know more details before i order a board, but this has time since alas i dont have a lovely a600 anymore..

@wawa what possible legal ramifications are you foreseeing here?

[kipper2k]

Originally Posted by wawa

its not so much about us being happy, but about you being on a safe ground. however, lets assume for now you know what you do, even though id prefer to know more details before i order a board, but this has time since alas i dont have a lovely a600 anymore..

I dont understand what is the issue here ? Your ROM, you paid for it, you are using it in your computer, i don't think there is anything else to say