Financial reward offered for a CD32-friendly version of Uridium 2

Heavy Stylus · 16 February 2009, 13:49

Hi there,

Uridium 2 is without a doubt one of my all-time favourite games. However, despite having a CD32 complete with keyboard I'm currently unable to play it due to the memory requirements of the WHDLoad version, and I really would prefer the possibility of playing the game in Mayhem mode (req. 1MB(?) RAM and the AGA chip).

I was considering bying a CD32 floppy drive from Analogic, but therein lies a further problem - I have no ability to transfer the adf's from planetemu to real disks. Buying an A1200 is out of the question as I have no space for it

So... I was wondering if someone would consider creating a standard CD32-friendly version using one of the filed cracks available (not NDOS disks) - they've been posted here before but I don't have them. I don't mind cracktro's being left in, but would prefer for decompacting flashing to be removed if possible. If someone can create an ISO that has been tested on real hardware I'll pay £50 via paypal. Note that although I'm willing to pay someone to do this for me (which I know may offend some people - sorry!), I'm happy for the ISO to be made freely available to all when finished.

Ideally, I'd like a playable CD version to take to a retro gaming event I am attending at the beginning of March.

Anyone out there up for the challenge?

Photon · 16 February 2009, 17:22

All the Uridium 2 versions you have are cd32-incompatible?

Heavy Stylus · 16 February 2009, 17:38

I've only tried the WHDLoad version (I forget who by), but due to memory requirements the only way to play it on a CD32 is with preload turned off, resulting in the game becoming an awful experience due to all the OS flashes whilst loading.

My suggestion would be to take a cracked version instead that uses DOS disks (instead of NDOS ones), transfer the files over to CD, decompress (if required) and remove any DF0 references. But this is currently beyond my skill level, and there's only a couple of weeks left before this event I want to take the game to - hence the offer of payment.

I'd imagine that anyone with any cracking ability would be able to do this fairly easily - or perhaps even create a filed version from an NDOS crack - but sadly I wouldn't even know where to start.

girv · 16 February 2009, 17:56

It was me who did the WHDLoad of U2

To your question: even if you had a filed version of the game, it would still be non-OS when it was running so you couldn't just "remove any DF0: references" and expect it to work. You'd need to replace the crackers' non-OS floppy file loader with a CD equivalent, and I can't say that I've ever heard of one of those existing.

If you can find one, and a friendly cracker, you're in with a shot.

Anyone?

alexh · 16 February 2009, 18:03

If you found a non WHDload, hard drive version it might work... dunno if such a beast exists.

Galahad/FLT · 16 February 2009, 18:09

Theres a Hard drive version on Planetemu

alexh · 16 February 2009, 18:22

Who's gonna be first to the £50 bounty? I personally cannot be arsed. It's too long since I messed around with CDTV.tm and CD32.tm

http://wiki.abime.net/amiga:frostwork_cd32_compilation

Retro1234 · 16 February 2009, 18:25

Your right the whdload version does work on CD32 but the flashing will give you an Epileptic fit.

I dont know if anyone could be bothered but a custom Whdload install using the cracked version with files -Cut some of the files -Later levels,Music -Might be able to get it to preload.

And what event is it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Galahad/FLT

Theres a Hard drive version on Planetemu

I had a quick look and looks like it need 2 chip 1 fast
and theres another cracked install need 2.5 mb

musashi5150 · 16 February 2009, 18:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by girv

replace the crackers' non-OS floppy file loader with a CD equivalent, and I can't say that I've ever heard of one of those existing.

The RNC CD32 loader is good for this. If there is a filed version it possibly could be reworked without too much trouble. But I think the biggest problem here is that the CD buffer etc is going to eat more chipmem than a trackloader and you won't end up with the full 2MB RAM left.

IF Uridium2 doesn't need all the chipmem it could possibly be done with the RNC CD32 loader. I did a filed version of Strider that used it ok.

From my notes/code here I had a memory map with $0 - $1e0000 FREE RAM. The rest of the memory above that was taken up with the CD32 loader code, CD buffer and stacks.

Personally I don't have the time (or the drive) at the moment to experiment but I'm sure any of the existing pros on the WHDLoad team could manage it - if they wanted to (and Uridium2 played nice

)

Retro1234 · 16 February 2009, 19:13

Can you tell me what CD32 games use the RNC CD32 loader?

musashi5150 · 16 February 2009, 19:45

Cannon Fodder, Out to Lunch, James Pond 3 - and others.

I spoke to Rob Nothern himself and he seems to remember Cannon Fodder being one of the later ones so I took the loader from there. Oh and if you're going to have a stab at this you may want to know that I only got the loader to work when the CD buffer was placed on a 64K boundary.

Retro1234 · 16 February 2009, 19:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by musashi5150

Cannon Fodder, Out to Lunch, James Pond 3 - and others.

I spoke to Rob Nothern himself and he seems to remember Cannon Fodder being one of the later ones so I took the loader from there. Oh and if you're going to have a stab at this you may want to know that I only got the loader to work when the CD buffer was placed on a 64K boundary.

Thanks! No Im not woried about that I was just intrested - If I remember the MYTH loader is quite intresting loading 880 Disk images from the CD.

musashi5150 · 16 February 2009, 22:00

Sounds like Chuck Rock as well. I think RNC found some work making shovelware games for CD32 from existing disks

Heavy Stylus · 16 February 2009, 22:12

Hello again,

I'm OK with creating custom CD32 disks already - I've made single-game CD's before. Thanks Galahad for the heads up regarding the HD friendly version by TLC. I'm going to give it a quick try myself.

Heavy Stylus · 16 February 2009, 22:15

Bummer - looks like the HD install version requires 1-2MB chip RAM and 1MB fast RAM (or so it says in the HD installer).

Heavy Stylus · 16 February 2009, 22:27

Ha - just realised that you've already spotted the extra requirements!

Anyway, the TLC one has no sound either - so that's a no-go

I know £50 sounds like a bit of a silly offer, but that's what this is worth to me, and if someone can create a CD32 friendly version that lets me play Mayhem mode then I promise I WILL pay it. Graham here (admin) knows me through my discmag project (www.rgcd.co.uk), and he won't let me get away with ripping anyone off!

Please help!

Galahad/FLT · 16 February 2009, 22:50

What are the requirements to building a CD32 image? Using the RNC IDE loader is a good shout, I forgot all about that.

I suppose I could do the work to get it to load using that loader if someone tells me what is required for the CD32 to load from a CD, don't certain files have to be present on the CD for it to work? I have a CD32 somewhere, perhaps I can dig it out if I can find it!

As for the money, you can keep your money.

Galahad/FLT · 16 February 2009, 22:52

And what is Mayhem mode?

Galahad/FLT · 16 February 2009, 23:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by musashi5150

Sounds like Chuck Rock as well. I think RNC found some work making shovelware games for CD32 from existing disks

If you have the loader handy, if you could upload it please mate, save me having to dig it out again.

musashi5150 · 16 February 2009, 23:05

Standard MODE1 ISO just needs to be burnt with the CD32.TM in the right sectors (I just used the 2.1 developer CD tools). The RNC loader is quite like his normal trackloader - you call it with a command and pointers etc:

D0 = COMMAND ($4 = CD / $0 = LOAD / Maybe others...)
A0 = Filename string
A1 = Load address
A2 = CD Buffer

CD buffer seems to want to be on a 64K boundary - and from my tests it looks to want at least 70K up there. You might need to write some quick CIA save/restore code as well as the loader fucks with the registers I think (messed up my music in Strider anyway

). Oh and one of the bits in DMACON is for the CD DMA - but I forget which one but I'm sure you can hack that out easily

EDIT: Hang on mate, I'll up some code & loader etc...

16 February 2009, 13:49	#1
Heavy Stylus CD32 Fanboi Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Exeter, UK Age: 45 Posts: 528	Financial reward offered for a CD32-friendly version of Uridium 2 Hi there, Uridium 2 is without a doubt one of my all-time favourite games. However, despite having a CD32 complete with keyboard I'm currently unable to play it due to the memory requirements of the WHDLoad version, and I really would prefer the possibility of playing the game in Mayhem mode (req. 1MB(?) RAM and the AGA chip). I was considering bying a CD32 floppy drive from Analogic, but therein lies a further problem - I have no ability to transfer the adf's from planetemu to real disks. Buying an A1200 is out of the question as I have no space for it So... I was wondering if someone would consider creating a standard CD32-friendly version using one of the filed cracks available (not NDOS disks) - they've been posted here before but I don't have them. I don't mind cracktro's being left in, but would prefer for decompacting flashing to be removed if possible. If someone can create an ISO that has been tested on real hardware I'll pay £50 via paypal. Note that although I'm willing to pay someone to do this for me (which I know may offend some people - sorry!), I'm happy for the ISO to be made freely available to all when finished. Ideally, I'd like a playable CD version to take to a retro gaming event I am attending at the beginning of March. Anyone out there up for the challenge?

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Looking for Scavenge - Full Registered Game	Peter	request.Old Rare Games	55	14 February 2019 10:09
Looking for these CD games, I'll reward!	TheBoss	request.Old Rare Games	71	26 January 2018 12:54
Uridium 2 CD32 (Unofficial Conversion)	Heavy Stylus	Amiga scene	20	03 September 2014 12:53
Playing Uridium 2 On A CD32	Heavy Stylus	request.Other	9	17 October 2010 17:38
Uridium 2 trainer version	7-Zark-7	support.Games	5	19 June 2003 16:48

16 February 2009, 17:22	#2
Photon Moderator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Eksjö / Sweden Posts: 5,604	All the Uridium 2 versions you have are cd32-incompatible?

16 February 2009, 17:38	#3
Heavy Stylus CD32 Fanboi Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Exeter, UK Age: 45 Posts: 528	I've only tried the WHDLoad version (I forget who by), but due to memory requirements the only way to play it on a CD32 is with preload turned off, resulting in the game becoming an awful experience due to all the OS flashes whilst loading. My suggestion would be to take a cracked version instead that uses DOS disks (instead of NDOS ones), transfer the files over to CD, decompress (if required) and remove any DF0 references. But this is currently beyond my skill level, and there's only a couple of weeks left before this event I want to take the game to - hence the offer of payment. I'd imagine that anyone with any cracking ability would be able to do this fairly easily - or perhaps even create a filed version from an NDOS crack - but sadly I wouldn't even know where to start.

16 February 2009, 17:56	#4
girv Mostly Harmless Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 1,114	It was me who did the WHDLoad of U2 To your question: even if you had a filed version of the game, it would still be non-OS when it was running so you couldn't just "remove any DF0: references" and expect it to work. You'd need to replace the crackers' non-OS floppy file loader with a CD equivalent, and I can't say that I've ever heard of one of those existing. If you can find one, and a friendly cracker, you're in with a shot. Anyone?

16 February 2009, 18:03	#5
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,354	If you found a non WHDload, hard drive version it might work... dunno if such a beast exists.

16 February 2009, 18:09	#6
Galahad/FLT Going nowhere Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: United Kingdom Age: 50 Posts: 9,001	Theres a Hard drive version on Planetemu

16 February 2009, 18:22	#7
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,354	Who's gonna be first to the £50 bounty? I personally cannot be arsed. It's too long since I messed around with CDTV.tm and CD32.tm http://wiki.abime.net/amiga:frostwork_cd32_compilation

16 February 2009, 19:13	#10
Retro1234 Phone Homer Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: 5150 Posts: 5,778	Can you tell me what CD32 games use the RNC CD32 loader?

16 February 2009, 19:45	#11
musashi5150 move.w #$4489,$dff07e Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Norfolk, UK Age: 42 Posts: 2,351	Cannon Fodder, Out to Lunch, James Pond 3 - and others. I spoke to Rob Nothern himself and he seems to remember Cannon Fodder being one of the later ones so I took the loader from there. Oh and if you're going to have a stab at this you may want to know that I only got the loader to work when the CD buffer was placed on a 64K boundary.

16 February 2009, 22:00	#13
musashi5150 move.w #$4489,$dff07e Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Norfolk, UK Age: 42 Posts: 2,351	Sounds like Chuck Rock as well. I think RNC found some work making shovelware games for CD32 from existing disks

16 February 2009, 22:12	#14
Heavy Stylus CD32 Fanboi Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Exeter, UK Age: 45 Posts: 528	Hello again, I'm OK with creating custom CD32 disks already - I've made single-game CD's before. Thanks Galahad for the heads up regarding the HD friendly version by TLC. I'm going to give it a quick try myself.

16 February 2009, 22:15	#15
Heavy Stylus CD32 Fanboi Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Exeter, UK Age: 45 Posts: 528	Bummer - looks like the HD install version requires 1-2MB chip RAM and 1MB fast RAM (or so it says in the HD installer).

16 February 2009, 22:27	#16
Heavy Stylus CD32 Fanboi Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Exeter, UK Age: 45 Posts: 528	Ha - just realised that you've already spotted the extra requirements! Anyway, the TLC one has no sound either - so that's a no-go I know £50 sounds like a bit of a silly offer, but that's what this is worth to me, and if someone can create a CD32 friendly version that lets me play Mayhem mode then I promise I WILL pay it. Graham here (admin) knows me through my discmag project (www.rgcd.co.uk), and he won't let me get away with ripping anyone off! Please help!

16 February 2009, 22:50	#17
Galahad/FLT Going nowhere Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: United Kingdom Age: 50 Posts: 9,001	What are the requirements to building a CD32 image? Using the RNC IDE loader is a good shout, I forgot all about that. I suppose I could do the work to get it to load using that loader if someone tells me what is required for the CD32 to load from a CD, don't certain files have to be present on the CD for it to work? I have a CD32 somewhere, perhaps I can dig it out if I can find it! As for the money, you can keep your money.

16 February 2009, 22:52	#18
Galahad/FLT Going nowhere Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: United Kingdom Age: 50 Posts: 9,001	And what is Mayhem mode?

16 February 2009, 23:05	#20
musashi5150 move.w #$4489,$dff07e Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Norfolk, UK Age: 42 Posts: 2,351	Standard MODE1 ISO just needs to be burnt with the CD32.TM in the right sectors (I just used the 2.1 developer CD tools). The RNC loader is quite like his normal trackloader - you call it with a command and pointers etc: D0 = COMMAND ($4 = CD / $0 = LOAD / Maybe others...) A0 = Filename string A1 = Load address A2 = CD Buffer CD buffer seems to want to be on a 64K boundary - and from my tests it looks to want at least 70K up there. You might need to write some quick CIA save/restore code as well as the loader fucks with the registers I think (messed up my music in Strider anyway ). Oh and one of the bits in DMACON is for the CD DMA - but I forget which one but I'm sure you can hack that out easily EDIT: Hang on mate, I'll up some code & loader etc...

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)