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Forums > CSDb Entries > Release id #197710 : Transwarp v0.64

2020-11-22 17:12

Krill

Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 2854

Release id #197710 : Transwarp v0.64

General Q&A thread, also report problems and error logs here.

... 162 posts hidden. Click here to view all posts....

2020-12-29 19:04

Krill

Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 2854

Not a trick, but a caveat that has historically plagued a few loaders (former self of mine also guilty as charged on this one):

Both serial bus lines (DATA and CLK) cannot be expected to switch state at the same time.
Various analogue effects are involved, and even when flipping both bits with a single register write, the other side cannot be expected to see both changes at the same time.

E.g., when waiting for a state change using "wait: BIT $DDOO : b?? wait" and some state is communicated on the other line, $dd00 should be read again.

wait: [...] do something while waiting
      bit $dd00
      bmi wait; wait for DATA to become asserted
      bit $dd00
      bvs error; just an example

2021-01-02 02:00

Krill

Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 2854

From https://csdb.dk/release/?id=198558&show=review

User Comment
Submitted by KAL_123 [PM] on 1 January 2021
Nice demo. I freezed it for my SD2IEC with a Retro-Replay, it worked.

No need for dirty cartridge freeze tricks, really.

1. Use a cartridge (image)/KERNAL extension with proper saving of RAM below ROM (program code exceeds $A000), such as Action Replay fastload or similar
2. LOAD"*",8,1
3. Once the screen goes blank and starts flashing, press and hold the STOP key
4. After loading has finished, you will be back to BASIC prompt
5. Mount/insert a fresh disk (image)
6. SAVE"LOVECATS",8

You now have a clean standard-encoding copy. Enjoy with SD2IEC et al.! \=D/

2021-01-02 14:08

soci

Registered: Sep 2003
Posts: 474

I couldn't just quickly load that release over PCLink to watch it like I normally do for these sort simple stuff.

Instead it had to be written out to a disk and loaded from there. Completely defeats the purpose of it's fast loading feature if it takes more time to get to the point where it actually starts to show something.

Just for fun I tried with my 1541U2 which failed of course. Not that it matters much as I have plenty of disks and drives. Yeah, sure, everyone should probably buy the latest version right?

I have no idea what the authors were smoking. If the release is targeted to emulators or 1541U and such then for single file stuff ram injection is the way to go anyway. But for real hardware these sort of "packaging" does not add any value at all!

It's not your fault Krill of course as it's just a tool and can be used in any way. No offence, it's cool stuff.

But really, people should think before they release to make their stuff more accessible. E.g. how difficult is to upload a standalone prg version as well?!

2021-01-02 14:57

Krill

Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 2854

Quoting soci

Instead it had to be written out to a disk and loaded from there. Completely defeats the purpose of it's fast loading feature if it takes more time to get to the point where it actually starts to show something.

That's true for single-consumption fire and forget stuff. For repeated playing on real original hardware, it makes sense to have it packaged like it is.

Quoting soci

Just for fun I tried with my 1541U2 which failed of course. Not that it matters much as I have plenty of disks and drives. Yeah, sure, everyone should probably buy the latest version right?

Pretty sure just upgrading the firmware to something recent should suffice.

Quoting soci

I have no idea what the authors were smoking. If the release is targeted to emulators or 1541U and such then for single file stuff ram injection is the way to go anyway. But for real hardware these sort of "packaging" does not add any value at all!

It does for multiple re-use, and on original hardware (plain vanilla stock 1541).

Quoting soci

But really, people should think before they release to make their stuff more accessible. E.g. how difficult is to upload a standalone prg version as well?!

I guess they wouldn't be mad at anyone adding that to the entry. =)

2021-01-02 15:58

chatGPZ

Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11147

Quote:

Pretty sure just upgrading the firmware to something recent should suffice.

works fine with firmware 3.7 (116) here.

what a strange complaint this is :)

2021-01-02 22:30

Digger

Registered: Mar 2005
Posts: 422

Could TransWarp technically work with C16 or Plus/4?

2021-01-02 22:46

Krill

Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 2854

Quoting Digger

Could TransWarp technically work with C16 or Plus/4?

On 1541, i think it should work*.
On 1551, single-revolution full-density fastloaders have been invented long ago, no?

Would there be interest in a 1541 port for C16?

* You do get the full 1.76 MHz anywhere on screen with display disabled, yeah? I've also just read that you can even get to 2.22 MHz with display disabled.

2021-01-03 01:40

Krill

Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 2854

A new caveat just rolled in, courtesy of Morphfrog:

If there is a "SYSTEM INCOMPATIBLE" message on install and/or a "?COMPATIBILITY ERROR." (v0.64)/"?COMPAT ERROR." (v0.68) on load, try removing anything connected to the user port.

2021-01-22 17:55

Krill

Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 2854

Won't get around finishing clean cc1541 Transwarp encoder integration for a while.

For the time being, anyone interested in playing around with it or even releasing something with it can drop me a mail to receive patched cc1541 binary with current transwarp.prg and an example shell script, like the Atlantis dudes did with Lovecats not long ago. =)

2021-08-15 17:22

Krill

Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 2854

Quote:

User Comment
Submitted by Zaphod [PM] on 15 August 2021
Is there some reason this can't be made into a kernal replacement for easyflash after you make the 30x fallback loader?

The code would likely not fit in a KERNAL replacement without a counterpart replacement ROM in the drive itself (at which point there would be some more speed improvement options, but no "stock hardware" feature). And i guess the licenses will clash when basing this on the original KERNAL and drive ROMs. A cartridge fastloader would be the way to go.

Quote:

Or make Transwarp Ocean Loader (laugh). You'd load the file it would kick in the fast loader, set up the screen, load the music, start the tune, load the color ram, load the picture, flash the borders while the main crunched proggy loads, then stop the border flashing and wait for you to press space in case you want to listen to more music. :)

Keep in mind it's still a fastloader, so screen is disabled while loading. You can fastload a start screen, wait for a key press (while optionally playing music or animation), then fastload the main program, though. The showcase images for the upcoming next release will have at least 2 games demonstrating this kind of multiload. (It's also possible to fastload files from the main program, when leaving the resident code and things like the load vector untouched.)