WHDLOAD coders needed for Prisma Megamix support

[amigakit.com]

Prisma Megamix is a new audio card from A-EON Technology for selected Amiga clockport and Zorro-equipped Amiga computers.

There are many projects planned and being developed for Prisma currently. One project that we would like to support is WHDLOAD slaves where CDDA music/sound is missing, which is most often in CD32 titles.

Prisma can play PCM and OGG as well as many other files through the Prisma.library

We would like to support games such as Simon the Sorceror, Speedball 2 CD32, Kid Chaos etc etc which all have CDDA music missing in the WHDLOAD versions.

So there are two aspects to the project: the WHDLOAD installer needs to rip the CDDA tracks to PCM file or similar, then the WHDLOAD slave needs to simply call the prisma.library to play the track during the game.

Are there any coders out there that can help with this project?

Novacoder has already done some great work with his Duke Nukem port with Prisma support. The following YouTube video is an example of what can be achieved: [ Show youtube player ]

[Galahad/FLT]

The only way this can work in all honesty is if the files generated are not too big, otherwise its only going to be an option for people with masses of memory.

WHDLoad for the most part locks out the system, and as most people have enough memory for preload functions, thats the way it runs at its most optimum.

There is basic system functionality, but this is only on low mem machines where WHDLoad returns to the system to load files that couldn't be preloaded, but that wouldn't help as the game gets locked out whilst loading from the system.

The best thing to do would be to contact WEPL on here, as this is Bert Jahn, the author of WHDLoad, speak to him about your proposals, give him insight as to how the library works, a typical size for an audio file, and he will be the one to say yes or no.

The reason WHDLoad hasn't done it so far is because it would have to have a major fundamental change for something like this, and its simply not geared for it.

However, if the audio files were not huge, it may well be possible for it to run from preloaded RAM.

Speak to Bert

[amigakit.com]

@Galahad/FLT
Thanks for the advice. Prisma.library will need system access :-(

BTW: Does Amiga version of Putty Squad have the potential to play the PS4 OGG files as it is system compliant?

[Galahad/FLT]

Originally Posted by amigakit.com

@Galahad/FLT
Thanks for the advice. Prisma.library will need system access :-(

BTW: Does Amiga version of Putty Squad have the potential to play the PS4 OGG files as it is system compliant?

Putty Squad isn't system compliant, it shuts out the system after the bootblock is read.

[amigakit.com]

Thats a shame I really liked to remix of the music in the PS4 version.

We also have lots of SCUMMVM candidate games that could be integrated with Prisma support for playing the OGG music.

Are there any other game ideas out there?

[Galahad/FLT]

Originally Posted by amigakit.com

Thats a shame I really liked to remix of the music in the PS4 version.

We also have lots of SCUMMVM candidate games that could be integrated with Prisma support for playing the OGG music.

Are there any other game ideas out there?

Plenty of games that use AmigaDOS and the system could potentially be done, just requires resourcing the game and putting the relevant code in.

Some stuff resources quite nicely, other stuff takes a lot of effort.

[kamelito]

@AmigaKit Any plan to have your card supported under WinUAE/FS-UAE? that way more people will be able to patch old game to support your card for real Amiga IMHO. "Just" a wrapper to the sound card available on the host system. Regards Kamelito

[kamelito]

How about banging the HW registers of the Prisma Megamix while having first loaded the music(s) in memory and having patched the code to play the music from memory? Just saw Galahad post about memory it's maybe what you thought As the Prisma is also intended for the X1000 memory will not be an issue but I suppose that one need to have UAE modified to work with the card for legacy games.

Kamelito

[turrican3]

I hope one day whdload could launch cdda or ogg or wav.
But i understand all the difficulties but perhaps one day... If only they could have think about it (commodore) and put extra mem in the cd32. ;-)

[Hewitson]

Originally Posted by turrican3

If only they could have think about it (commodore) and put extra mem in the cd32. ;-)

Do you have any idea how much RAM cost back then? The CD32 was already an overpriced piece of crap as it was.

[kamelito]

Originally Posted by Galahad/FLT

Plenty of games that use AmigaDOS and the system could potentially be done, just requires resourcing the game and putting the relevant code in.

Some stuff resources quite nicely, other stuff takes a lot of effort.

For such games you could intercept cdda io then redirect the original player to the prisma calls. the game will need to be resourced first to know how to patch the playroutine then patch the binary.
it will easier to do if we could do it using Winuae but then we need it to support the Library first.
It'll be a nice dev machine to work with, more flexible than the real thing.
Kamelito

[kamelito]

Originally Posted by Hewitson

Do you have any idea how much RAM cost back then? The CD32 was already an overpriced piece of crap as it was.

On the console market money is earned by selling games not HW.
Kamelito

[DrBong]

I think Prisma support for SCUMMVM games would be more interesting than WHDLoad patches for CD32/AmigaCD games with CDDA. Both would be nice obviously, but it'll be interesting to see what Bert comes back with.

Approx. how many Amiga games with CDDA are there anyway? 70-80 games perhaps? How many with WHDLoad patches at present?

Originally Posted by kamelito

On the console market money is earned by selling games not HW.

Not so much in 1993/94 in the "heydey" of the CD32. Only Nintendo was using that business model with any great success at the time (notably with cartridge-based consoles only, which had minimal piracy back then), while the likes of 3DO, CD-i, Sega, Neo-Geo etc. were ailing or had already failed with their CD-based systems/add-ons regardless of the business model being used.

The console market was very different back then IMHO - research, design and production costs were far greater in real terms. Commodore would never had got the CD32 to market if they had put extra ram in the CD32. As it was, they were on the brink of bankruptcy and were relying on profits of the CD32 hardware sales to remain afloat. In the end, their financial problems resulted in a CD32 shortage in Europe for Christmas '93 and the U.S. release being delayed until 1-2 months before declaring bankruptcy in April '94.