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  • ScummVM: 1.0.0 “Shiny Logo” released for the GP2X and GP2XWiz

    This is just a quick post is to announce the 1.0.0 releases of the ScummVM for both the GP2X and the GP2X Wiz following on from the official announcement.

    Please provide feedback on these releases and enjoy using them, this is a huge milestone for the ScummVM project and we are all very proud of this release.

    New features since the 1.0.0 RC1 for my backends:

    Below are the main features and fixes added with this new release from the earlier RC1 release.

    Both releases feature additional ARM assembly optimised routines and tweaks to the build system along with a myriad of small ‘nips and tucks’.

    There are also further tweaks to refine the use of the “Return to Launcher” and “Global Main Menu” features (remember that Left Trigger and Select/Home/Menu will bring up the Global Main Menu in any game).

    This is in addition to the hundreds (litterally) of bug fixes that have gone into the core and game engines for this release from the ScummVM development team.

    Supported engines:

    Both releases feature support for all the game engines that are due to be included with the 1.0.0 release.

    This includes support for high resolution games.

    Read the rest of this entry »

  • ScummVM: 1.0.0 “Preview 2” for the GP2X and GP2X Wiz.

    EDIT: This release has been superseded, please get the latest release.

    This is just a quick post is to announce the “preview 2” test releases of the upcoming ScummVM 1.0.0 for both the GP2X and the GP2X Wiz.

    Note: Please don’t mirror or hotlink preview/test/alpha etc. releases or put them on download services but rather, direct people to this page. This helps me ensure that users always have the most recent versions.

    Please test and provide feedback on these releases as they will form the basis of the official 1.0.0 release candidate release for these platforms.

    New features since preview 1:

    Below are the main features and fixes added with this new release.

    Both releases feature additional ARM assembly optimised routines that offer performance increases in a number of games including “Sam and Max” and “The Curse of Monkey Island”. Both releases also feature tweaks to the default volume levels to cut down on sample clipping.

    There are also tweaks to refine the use of the “Return to Launcher” and “Global Main Menu” features (remember that Left Trigger and Select/Home/Menu will bring up the Global Main Menu in any game).

    GP2X: Lots of code cleanup and a few tweaks to lower memory usage. Disabling “Aspect Ratio Correction” now also works as expected rather then stretching the screen.

    GP2X Wiz: The biggest new feature is the addition of downscaling support using an optimised ARM assembly routine. This means the Wiz release now features support for the 64*4xx games such as Discworld 2, The Curse of Monkey Island etc. – It should also be mentioned that this seems to work well (better then I expected as I am not a fan of downscaling). Lots of my testers reported that the high resolution games are often extremely playable and look very nice on the Wiz’s OLED screen.

    There has also been substantial code clean up and fixes since the preview 1 release.

    Read the rest of this entry »

  • ScummVM: 1.0.0 “Preview 1” for the GP2X and GP2X Wiz.

    NOTE: This post is now out of date, please see the most recent posts for more info.

    This is just a quick post is to announce the “preview 1” test releases of the upcoming ScummVM 1.0.0 for both the GP2X and the GP2X Wiz.

    Note: Please don’t mirror preview/test/alpha etc. releases or put them on download services but rather, direct people to this page. This helps me ensure that users always have the most recent versions.

    Please test and provide feedback on these releases as they will form the basis of the official 1.0.0 release for these platforms.

    New features:

    Both the GP2X and the GP2X Wiz backends benefit from some long overdue code cleanup and general TLC in this release. Where possible both backends are using common/similar code to aid in there long term maintenance.

    Both releases also now feature support for the ScummVM virtual keyboard. This can be accessed by holding the left trigger and pressing the right trigger (the old ‘0’ for Monkey Island 2 copy protection key combination).

    The ScummVM virtual keyboard works well but it’s feature set is still maturing. If you have virtual keyboard specific feedback I would welcome that. It should be noted that the virtual keyboard works independently of the game engine and the running game is paused when it is in use.

    GP2X Wiz: If you have used the early alpha releases for the GP2X Wiz then you will be pleasantly surprised, all the known issues with saving, OGG Vorbis playback and volume control have been resolved along with loads of other minor fixes.

    Supported engines:

    Both releases feature support for all the game engines that are due to be included with the 1.0.0 release.

    Specific restrictions:

    Each of the releases has a small number of restrictions that have an affect on the games/engines you are able to use with each platform.

    GP2X: The biggest restriction with this platform is pure performance (some audio can be choppy) and the overhead of the scaling code when using 640*480 games on the 320*240 screen.

    This renders high resolution games such as Discworld 2 totally unusable on the device and games such as Curse of Monkey Island, Touché and the Broken Sword games very slow (to the point of unplayable IMHO but others disagree).

    GP2X Wiz: Whilst the Wiz is a more powerful console then the GP2X on paper there are still a number of features lacking compared to it’s older sibling. The most noteworthy is the complete lack of any down-scaling support in this release.

    This means that any games that have graphics higher then > 320*240 will fail to function on this release. Most/all 320*240 or lower resolution games run very well at full or near full speed on the device.

    Providing feedback:

    If you would like me to consider a feature or fix a bug help me to help you by ensuring the reports end up recorded in official places.

    Note: Feature Requests for 1.0.0 are closed but any requests will be looked at for future releases.

    Downloads:

    Please ensure you download the correct version for your device.

    Extract the contents of the zip to a suitable folder on your SD card and launch “scummvm.gpe” to run.

    Review the README-GP2X for more information.

    Extract the contents of the zip to the game folder on your SD card, ensuring that you have a “scummvm.ini” in your game folder and the rest of ScummVM in a “scummvm” subfolder. Launch “ScummVM” from the main SD launcher menu to run.

    Review the README-GP2XWIZ for more information.

  • ScummVM: A quick and dirty alpha release for the GP2X Wiz.

    NOTE: This post is now out of date, please see the most recent posts for more info.

    As some people know I have been hacking around with the Wiz on and off for some time now (in addition to the Pandora) and while I got ScummVM running on the Wiz quite some time ago I have been holding off on a release so that I could get a little more time to fix issues with the Wiz backend.

    Well time has been rather cruel of late and I have not had as much time as I would like to clean up things and add funky features so rather then leave a half completed ScummVM backend languishing on my hard disk and rotting I decided to find a few hours to trim down the code, bring it up to date and put aside all the non working bits for now (mostly scaling support, OpenGLes parts, better controls, that sort of stuff) and get a ‘raw and ready’ ScummVM release out so people can start to give me feedback etc.

    This release is mostly untested and is built from mainline (HEAD) ScummVM revision 41101. Expect odd issues and things not to quite be working correctly yet. If your not happy with the odd crash and bit of unexpected behavior then this build is not for you.

    Anyway, onto what you get in this release and what you need to do to get it running.

    You can download the release here – Don’t forget to check the README-GP2XWIZ text file in the zip.

    As this is an early alpha release and is likely to get superseded quickly I would appreciate it if you did not mirror the download but rather pointed users back to this page.

    Once you have downloaded the release you need to extract the contents of the zip to the ‘game’ folder on your SD card. Once extracted you should have a ‘scummvm.ini’ file in the game folder and a separate ‘scummvm’ folder with all the actual files needed by the Wiz.

    Pop the SD card into your Wiz and select ScummVM from the SD games menu. If all goes well after a few seconds you should be greeted with the ScummVM game launcher. From this point it behaves very much like any other ScummVM release.

    Controls are very similar to the GP2X F200 release (including touchscreen support) with a few notable exceptions. Menu now brings up the game menu and Left trigger + Menu now brings up the global main menu for ScummVM.

    Other then that things pretty much match the layout of the GP2X F200 release. If you want to refresh yourself of the control mappings I have included full details in the README-GP2XWIZ text file in the zip.

    Known Issues:

    • No scaling support so only 320*xxx games run. Games that need a bigger screen then the Wiz will just crash ScummVM. Scaling support is on the TODO.
    • Save support may be erratic. Not quite sure of the cause yet but some of my testers had the odd issues with saves not writing correctly.
    • Speed. For most games speed is quite good but I have noticed a few points when performance really gets bad. Still looking into that.
    • OGG Vorbis support: One tester mentioned that games he used that had OGG Vorbis audio did not work. Still looking into that.

    Feedback on this release:

    The feedback avenues for the Wiz release are the same as the existing GP2X release.

    In order to help me keep track of requests, bugs etc. I am asking that people kindly report such issues to the correct places (or at least copy them there). I don’t spend all my time looking at forums and bug reports placed on random internet forums are never very helpful to me (i.e. they are very unlikely to get fixed or even read). The same applies to feature requests etc. etc.
    If you would like me to consider a feature or fix a bug help me to help you by ensuring the reports end up recorded in official places.

    Source Code:

    Source for this release will be up on a ScummVM patch tracker in the next few days (or, if the team view it as good enough, hopefully committed to SVN).

  • Hacking around with the Leapfrog Didj

    In October of last year Leapfrog released a little gaming handheld called the Leapfrog Digi.

    On the surface this device is totally unremarkable (apart from the fact that Leapfrog have spent some serious money for software licenses including Pixar stuff and Star Wars) but once you start doing a little more research it becomes an all together more interesting little device.

    Some of the 1st things I discovered were that its ARM based (an ARM926) and that is it Linux based (with the board bring up done by Cozybit) with Leapfrogs bespoke ‘Brio’ software layer sitting on top. That was enough to get my attention and after a discussion with a fellow Didj hacker Claude Schwarz I decided that it was probably worth committing my findings so far to this blog so they don’t get lost.

    It is also fair to say that this device may be of interest to anyone hacking on the GP2X Wiz (more on that later) and with it’s very low cost (has been seen for $40) it may well appeal to a lot of the resourceful hardware hacking types I am so fond of ;-) .

    Read the rest of this entry »

  • Unpacking the GP2X Wiz

    I was recently fortunate enough to be sent a ‘near release’ prototype of the new GamePark Holdings (GPH) portable games console, the GP2X Wiz. Considering that, it only seems fitting to put together a quick post with some random observations and pictures.

    Remember that these observations are not based on a long period of testing so come with the caveat that my opinions may change!

    Now, obviously this is the successor to the GP2X (and spiritually the GP32).

    What is interesting from my point of view is the direction GPH have taken the Wiz.

    First thing you note is that it’s a tiny little console (only a little bigger then a GameBoy Micro). It’s small. Not really small but somehow much smaller then I was expecting.

    Secondly, GPH seem to be betting a lot of making the device accessible to Flash developers (this really does feel like it is the focus for the device as the front end ‘launcher’ is flash based). This is quite a marked departure from the GP2X and feels more like a step into the casual game market that is often dominated by mobile phones. I guess this change makes sense for their Korean markets.

    Time will tell what effect this has on the wider markets and the adoption of Flash on the device. I suspect very little to start with as a lot of GP2X devs will no doubt get a Wiz and treat it as a logical extension of what they have done there and start hacking the hardware and giving flash little more then a glance ;) . Given time however Flash could lower the entry level for apps and open the door to creative non-coders and that can only be a good thing for homebrew.

    Anyway, onto some hardware information.

    The GP2X Wiz is based on the MagicEyes Pollux SoC clocked at 533MHz and powered along by its ARMv5 ARM926EJ core. Paired with that you have the usual large page NAND, 64MB of RAM, touch screen and an SDHC slot for storage. Oh, and finally a decent fitted lithium-ion battery (that proudly tells you not to let Children and Pets chew or lick it as it may be a health risk).

    I was initially a little surprised that GPH did not opt for the MagicEyes MMSP2+ SoC in the Wiz (the GP2X used the older MMSP2 SoC) as moving to the VRender range means you loose some very handy features (The ARM94* 2nd core, the basic 2D engine, RGB scalar etc.) but on the flip side you do get an OpenGL ES 1.1 3D core. Unfortunately, as it stands, no one has got the said 3D core doing much yet (but I know Pickle was doing a little investigation work). As there are only a few dozen of these devices out and about in hackers hands that is no surprise. It is something I want to dabble with time permitting :) .

    One interesting thing I want to test sometime is to discover if the Pollux used in the Wiz suffers the same issues with strangled RAM bandwidth that the MMSP2+ suffers with. When I get time I will try the apps I built to test RAM bandwidth on the MMSP2+. If the Pollux is as bad as the MMSP2+ when it comes to RAM bandwidth that could be a bit of a snag.

    The form factor.

    It’s really shiny. To say the plastic used smudges easily is a massive understatement :D . That said it feels well made and fairly solid to hold with no flex (a pleasant continuation of the GP2X F200 level of build quality rather than a slide back to the dire quality of the 1st GP2X’s). It even has a slot for the stylus now, something the F200 GP2X did not manage.

    The control layout is not quite to my tastes (big hands so it can tend to feel a little cramped). Buttons seem responsive and have a fairly positive feeling. The dPad is not as bad as all that but I have not really tried it in games yet. Not sure I am a convert to the ‘split dPad’ button layout for the right hand side mind you. This also raises the point that the L and R triggers are inset from the edges of the unit. That feels a little odd but you get used to it I guess. All in all, the controls are not great but not bad. They do the job.

    The screen (when it is not suffering something like a vsync tear) is very nice. Its OLED technology and is nice and bright. Assuming the screen setup issues are software its a classy screen despite the low (comparatively) resolution of 320*240.

    Something else that jumped out at me was the interesting choice GPH has made by deciding to move everything other than the headphones to the EXT port on the bottom. This includes things like the USB (device and host), TV out and charging. You won’t be connecting your Wiz to a PC directly without some additional fly leads due to the lack of a USB device port on the unit.

    I suspect GPH plans to ship (as an extra or included, not sure) a dock or clip-on unit that provides at least USB and TV out and maybe WiFi if the picture below is accurate.

    The software platform.

    The 1st thing that greats you is the Flash menu GPH have developed for the unit.

    Not a lot to say about it really. It feels like a sloppier version of the menu used on the GP2X. I hope this is down to the unit being pre-release but the menu crashes regularly and does a generally poor job of being a menu. Another aspect of the pre-release software is the lack of a lot else on the unit (that reliably works) so there is not a lot of software to talk about.

    It is Linux 2.6 based but I have yet to get hold of the source to have a look at how clean the MagicEyes/GPH changes are. Looking at the file system and kernel it seems safe to assume that AESOP Embedded did the kernel porting work like they have done for other MagicEyes chips.

    It seems to ship with a decent set of libraries and SDL. It is not clear if the stock SDL features some basic hardware acceleration.

    I’ll update this and add more pictures when there is final software available as it is more then a little unfair to draw real conclusions from early code such as this

    So what do I plan to do with it?

    Not a lot right now (for at least the next few days) as I have some other projects to clear off my plate but once they are out of the way the 1st thing I want to do is clean up my basic ScummVM port then look at what is needed to add the Wiz as a supported machine to OpenEmbedded and look at what funky stuff can be done towards supporting stuff like kexecboot and a full Ångström distribution ;) .

    What about the Pandora?

    Well it’s no secret that I look after the Ångström based operating system for the Pandora (among other things) and I guess that could represent a conflict of interests (yeah, right) but I would draw your attention to one little fact. I am a geek who likes to mess around with electronics :) . The more the merrier. I could not give a stuff about ‘community politics’. I just simply look at something and ask myself ‘does that look interesting’ and ‘will I mess about with it’.

    Having now had a little time to mess about with the Wiz it is obvious to me that I will be doing some hacking about with it and I can’t really see how it and the Pandora are in any way directly ‘competing’. Different design goals, different software goals, different platforms and different price points ;) . Both look like decent hacking platforms in there own way. When they are out, and if you can afford it, get both or just ask yourself what you want to do with it and ignore anyone who sounds rather too devout about one platform or the other.

    The Wiz with some other consoles to get an idea of size.

 

May 2013
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