GX4000, what to do with it?

[arnoldemu]

if it only uses 256K then go for a 2 games cartridge...

Cart collections would be cool:

- all of hewsons cpc games on one cart
- all ocean's good games on one cart (not so much of their earlier stuff).

[MacDeath]

not sure those would do 512K only...

[TFM]

IMHO... Cartridges run on the Plus only, so they should contain games for the Plus and not CPC oG. Games not using the Plus features are a waste of Carts. As told: IMHO.

[arnoldemu]

IMHO... Cartridges run on the Plus only, so they should contain games for the Plus and not CPC oG. Games not using the Plus features are a waste of Carts. As told: IMHO.

Who is making plus only games?

[TFM]

Who is making plus only games?

Everybody who ever released a commercial Cart. 

[MacDeath]

this debate reminds me a vicious circle :
= no hardware to actually release cartridges games exist, so no one would develop games for it.
= no one develops games for PLUScartridges so no one would produce blank cartridges...

and the circle is rounded.

still such production could always find some decent sellings jsut with 4games compilations, as some games are quite rare these days...
Pang, magic pinball, Panza... they are impossible to find as original.

Batman or Barbarian2 or Klax wouldn't make sense as re-release because you can simply play the CPC version...
even awfull bad slightly modded games like Wildstreet or CrazyCar2 wouldn't be needed...

but the Good or average specific exploiting ASIC games are pain in the arschen to find anyway.
And homebrew modern games with slights added features can anyway get huge gain actually.

Rick dangerous 128 PLUS is a good example of what can be gained.

just to aim for a production with 512K ROM/Flash/anything only models is a way to make it standard and cheaper, and then there's always a way to fill it... be it just to get the Locobasic added to it and other games...

if there are only 512K ROM, no use to get the various LK's implemented on the PCB I guess.

but yeah, need a quickstarter project to be done I guess.
As I told, an initial production for perhaps 1000 blank units could always find use and sell on medium/long term.

[TFM]

this debate reminds me a vicious circle :
= no hardware to actually release cartridges games exist, so no one would develop games for it.
= no one develops games for PLUScartridges so no one would produce blank cartridges...

Well, here the update: Games are in the making of... and Cartridges are in the making of... right now ;-)

[dragon]

this debate reminds me a vicious circle :
= no hardware to actually release cartridges games exist, so no one would develop games for it.
= no one develops games for PLUScartridges so no one would produce blank cartridges...

and the circle is rounded.

still such production could always find some decent sellings jsut with 4games compilations, as some games are quite rare these days...
Pang, magic pinball, Panza... they are impossible to find as original.

Batman or Barbarian2 or Klax wouldn't make sense as re-release because you can simply play the CPC version...
even awfull bad slightly modded games like Wildstreet or CrazyCar2 wouldn't be needed...

but the Good or average specific exploiting ASIC games are pain in the arschen to find anyway.
And homebrew modern games with slights added features can anyway get huge gain actually.

Rick dangerous 128 PLUS is a good example of what can be gained.

just to aim for a production with 512K ROM/Flash/anything only models is a way to make it standard and cheaper, and then there's always a way to fill it... be it just to get the Locobasic added to it and other games...

if there are only 512K ROM, no use to get the various LK's implemented on the PCB I guess.

but yeah, need a quickstarter project to be done I guess.
As I told, an initial production for perhaps 1000 blank units could always find use and sell on medium/long term.

I think is a good idea offer empty cartridges, motherboard+acid simulation + case. Maybe is no sense made various games for you.But many people want to have the collection of games to play them on the console. And is best you can buy a empty cartridge and burn you the eemprom with the game you desire than having to search a burnin rubber to canibalize it.

[arnoldemu]

Well, here the update: Games are in the making of... and Cartridges are in the making of... right now ;-)

So this is my view.

First I plan to offer cart versions of all my future games (and one past one). For these I will use one or more plus features.
In the future I already plan a game and heavily use the plus features with it with a possible cpc version later.

I don't see a problem with cpc games on cart if they are correctly adapted and use at least one plus feature (e.g. palette).
Cart games offer instant loading and instant start so they are great to plug in and play.

[Gryzor]

Indeed, cart collections of "normal" titles wouldn't be too bad. Of course Plus titles would be better, but why not benefit from the speed of cartridges for original titles, if we do have the cartridges?

[TFM]

Cart games offer instant loading and instant start so they are great to plug in and play.

That's right.    On CPC oG it also can be achieved by using a MegaFlash f.e. However the Carts provide enhanced ROM banking, so a 16 KB block of ROM can be banked in at 0, &4000, &8000 or &C000. That's especially a gain when working with more than 16 KB V-RAM. 

[MacDeath]

my exact opinion as well...
If it is jsut for old CPC games go for a simple MegaFlash from the wonderfull Bryce.


The Cartridges are more for something like playing with GX4000 at badass big games..

[Gryzor]

You can use the MegaFlash if you can fit it in 16KB or split it into 16KB chunks though...

[TFM]

You can use the MegaFlash if you can fit it in 16KB or split it into 16KB chunks though...

You have to do the same for Cart games since cartridges use 16 KB blocks too.




But I don't think that you would buy a Cartridge for 20 Euros, just to see some old CPC games. And yes, 20 Euros is pure production cost of it. Not a Pfennig earned by someone.

[Gryzor]

Oops, sorry, I retract.

[TFM]

Could get down to around 12 Euro using an ACID replacement though. Still... it should be really full with software ;-)

[arnoldemu]

Any news on cartridge shells or cartridge pcbs?

Anyone working on cartridge games?

Any news on Plus version of Sorcery?

[GOB]

Plus version of sorcery ? Is anybody make that ? Who ?

[arnoldemu]

Plus version of sorcery ? Is anybody make that ? Who ?

Trebmint was working on it.

[GOB]

Thanks, I saw the subject since. But I understand that unfortunately he had abandoned ...

[arnoldemu]

and, for example, how can we patch the games from Amstrad CPC 16KBs ROM Game Development Competition 2013 - CPCWiki to run on gx4000? and how can we create, like from Pasmo, stuff for that, .cpr files ready to run on emulators like Mess?

use pasmo to generate a .bin file with no header (--bin).
Then use buildcpr on my website to convert it into a cpr file.
Now you can use it on mess.

[TFM]

Does it work with WinApe too?

[arnoldemu]

Does it work with WinApe too?

yes that method does.

EDIT: The method is not for converting 16KB roms, but for making a cartridge file you can use on emulators.