682 replies to this topic

[Esn]

Actually I find it comfortable that the cursor can be moved quickly with the dpad in the menus...

Me too.

[tuki_cat]

@john4p - is it possible to implement a feature that creates a blank .adf? Some games require a blank .adf to run, even with savestates.

[Esn]

The custom button-mapping feature is pretty easy to use and seems to work well.

Just a question, though:

Is the d-pad ALWAYS mapped to the joystick directions, even in custom button-mapping? To test it out, I tried mapping the d-pad directions to non-directional keys (like the mouse buttons), but it seemed to be mapped to the directions and to those other keys simultaneously.

[john4p]

Is the d-pad ALWAYS mapped to the joystick directions, even in custom button-mapping?

It shouldn't be. If it is I'll fix it.

@tuki_cat: Through Google I found this shell command: dd if=/dev/zero of=empty.adf count=1760. If this works I can add the function.

[tuki_cat]

Is the d-pad ALWAYS mapped to the joystick directions, even in custom button-mapping?

It shouldn't be. If it is I'll fix it.

@tuki_cat: Through Google I found this shell command: dd if=/dev/zero of=empty.adf count=1760. If this works I can add the function.

Thanks, if there is anything I can help with just let me know.

[john4p]

Thanks. If you find the time you could execute the above command in the terminal and then try to use this empty adf in uae4all (maybe try to format it with Workbench 1.3 or use it as savedisk for Stunt Car Racer or something similar).

[tuki_cat]

Thanks. If you find the time you could execute the above command in the terminal and then try to use this empty adf in uae4all (maybe try to format it with Workbench 1.3 or use it as savedisk for Stunt Car Racer or something similar).

Did a quick test of this in my lunch hour. Works fine and creates "empty.adf". Then needs to be formatted, I did this by intialising the disk through workbench. I then tried the disk in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade the adventure game and created a save disk no problem.

I think it is a good feature as it allows you to import saves from all other amiga emu's as long as they are in .adf format. This of course means that the game needs to be one that supports save games, adevnture games and football management sims, etc.

There are also some games that need a blank disk at the start.

Is it possible to create a directory - say "blank disks" and have the empty.adf save into there?

Out of interest where did you find the shell command for this?

[john4p]

Thanks for the testing. I also tried it and it works - but any empty adf you create that way has the same md5sum (try md5sum empty.adf). UAE4All doesn't write into the adfs but creates an "ads"-file in the saves-folder instead. Now if you have multiple blank adfs created that way for different games they'll all appear to be the same disk to UAE4All and that'll lead to problems.
If you create blank adfs with WinUAE every new file has a different md5sum and thus will appear as a different disk to UAE4All. But I don't know how to make this on Pandora.
We could just provide a zip archive with 20 different blank ADFs (generated with WinUAE) at the repo. While unzipped they're about 18MB they should be only a few kB zipped.

Out of interest where did you find the shell command for this?

Just googled "create blank adf".

[tuki_cat]

Thanks for the testing. I also tried it and it works - but any empty adf you create that way has the same md5sum (try md5sum empty.adf). UAE4All doesn't write into the adfs but creates an "ads"-file in the saves-folder instead. Now if you have multiple blank adfs created that way for different games they'll all appear to be the same disk to UAE4All and that'll lead to problems.
If you create blank adfs with WinUAE every new file has a different md5sum and thus will appear as a different disk to UAE4All. But I don't know how to make this on Pandora.
We could just provide a zip archive with 20 different blank ADFs (generated with WinUAE) at the repo. While unzipped they're about 18MB they should be only a few kB zipped.

Out of interest where did you find the shell command for this?

Just googled "create blank adf".

Ok, i see the problem. I will do a little digging around later and see if I can come up with anything.

We could just post a load of blank at the repo, problem is I think the repo only accepts PND, I don't think you can post other files.

[tuki_cat]

Thanks for the testing. I also tried it and it works - but any empty adf you create that way has the same md5sum (try md5sum empty.adf). UAE4All doesn't write into the adfs but creates an "ads"-file in the saves-folder instead. Now if you have multiple blank adfs created that way for different games they'll all appear to be the same disk to UAE4All and that'll lead to problems.
If you create blank adfs with WinUAE every new file has a different md5sum and thus will appear as a different disk to UAE4All. But I don't know how to make this on Pandora.
We could just provide a zip archive with 20 different blank ADFs (generated with WinUAE) at the repo. While unzipped they're about 18MB they should be only a few kB zipped.

Out of interest where did you find the shell command for this?

Just googled "create blank adf".

Ok, i see the problem. I will do a little digging around later and see if I can come up with anything.

We could just post a load of blank at the repo, problem is I think the repo only accepts PND, I don't think you can post other files.

I was hoping to find a solution to this but have failed miserably! Do you know exactly what problems are caused If multiple disks using the same md5sum were created using this method? I may give it try and see what happens! It seems strange that every blank created has the same md5sum.

[john4p]

If you create an empty1.adf and an empty2.adf with the above method, then UAE4All will probably write into the same ads-file for any changes made to the adfs in uae4all (instead of directly changing the adfs).

You could try the following: use empty1.adf to save a game in Stunt Car Racer. Then reset and boot Workbench 1.3. Here insert empty2.adf and format it. Now reset again and load Stunt Car Racer. Try to load your previously saved game from empty1.adf. If the save is gone we know uae4all thinks both adfs are the same disk.

[tuki_cat]

If you create an empty1.adf and an empty2.adf with the above method, then UAE4All will probably write into the same ads-file for any changes made to the adfs in uae4all (instead of directly changing the adfs).

You could try the following: use empty1.adf to save a game in Stunt Car Racer. Then reset and boot Workbench 1.3. Here insert empty2.adf and format it. Now reset again and load Stunt Car Racer. Try to load your previously saved game from empty1.adf. If the save is gone we know uae4all thinks both adfs are the same disk.

Thanks - i'll have a go tomorrow and let you know how I get on.

[john4p]

Here's an even faster example: just use empty1.adf to save, then reboot the game and insert the completely empty empty2.adf and try to load the saved game - it'll probably work (unfortunately).

[tuki_cat]

Here's an even faster example: just use empty1.adf to save, then reboot the game and insert the completely empty empty2.adf and try to load the saved game - it'll probably work (unfortunately).

Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened. As you say it would be much better to include some blank adf's for save game disks.

[tuki_cat]

Only progress I have made is that I found out that dd if=/dev/zero of=empty.adf count 1520 creates a HD disk rather than a DD disk.

I also tested this method of creating blank disks with PUAE and it has the same problem. Sounds like it could be very complicated to sort out..............Creating disks on WinUAE and transferring them across seems a better way!