CPC cartridges possible to make new ones or not worthwhile?

[MaV]

Back to the discussion at hand:

Hm, colour me ignorant, people, but how exactly does the development cycle and testing cycle for an EEPROM cartridge for a GX-4000 look like?

And I'm considering GX-4000 only, because the CPC+ can use disks or tapes or a floppy emulator.

I could develop the first big chunks in an emulator, but during the second part of development I really need to test the time critical code on the console itself.
The GX-4000 has different timing because of the SCART connector, a different configuration than on the other pluses (program is started in ROM, will be mostly executed in ROM, and copying ROM code it into RAM creates redundancy which I'd like to avoid to save precious bytes).
Lastly I'd have to burn an EEPROM every single time, during testing and debugging to find the perfect on-screen timing or the hard to find bugs. And every time, I'd pull the ROM from the cartridge, erase it, press it into the EPROM programmer, burn the ROM, pull it out again, plug it into the cartridge, then firing up the GX-4000 ... rinse and repeat. The wearing off of the cartridge will be tremendous.

An SD card cartridge I would plug into the PC, and given a good toolchain it creates the ROM-file directly onto the SD card, then I'd remove the SD-card and insert it into the SD card cartridge, fire up the console and test it. Still not perfect but way, way easier.

Have I forgotten or missed something?

Edit: Yeah, I did. Not everyone wants to invest in an EEPROM programmer / eraser.

[redbox]

Have I forgotten or missed something?

I use Flash ROMs (29F010) and a ZIF socket on the DIY cartridge.

This is the best solution at the moment.

[MaV]

Ok, Flash and ZIF socket helps with the wearing off.

I'd still like to avoid using an EEPROM programmer and its software on the PC.


Are there solutions where I can emulate a ROM chip with a socket and a lot of wires (and some electronics) going to a USB connector so that the PC delivers the bytes in realtime via USB preferably without using 3rd party software?

[MaV]

Another thing I forgot: The current solutions have to be pulled out of the cartridge socket if you want to change the ROM/EEPROM/Flash. So even if the ZIF socket helps with the wearing of the ROM itself, the cartridge and cartridge socket are still experiencing considerable wearing.

[ralferoo]

I could develop the first big chunks in an emulator, but during the second part of development I really need to test the time critical code on the console itself.
The GX-4000 has different timing because of the SCART connector

As I understand it, the timing difference shouldn't actually affect anything. It seems to be just a slight adjustment so the CPU and PAL colour burst can be derived from the same clock. In terms of programming, you'll still get exactly 312*64 NOPs per frame, the difference is that a NOP will be slightly more than 1us instead of 1us exactly, but it's still within tolerances for the TV to accept it as a valid signal.

The only observable difference should be that over time, the GX4000 will be a bit behind the others. Unless you're actually bothered about "real world time", it shouldn't make any practical difference at all.

[MaV]

The only observable difference should be that over time, the GX4000 will be a bit behind the others. Unless you're actually bothered about "real world time", it shouldn't make any practical difference at all.

Ah, thanks, ralferoo. We were talking about this already, and I remembered that despite the screen timing being within tolerance, there is a difference in "real world time". I'm trusting your opinion on the practical difference.

Still, testing on the real hardware a torment for both the developer and the hardware, ATM.

[TFM]

So use an original cart with a new EEPROM. As Bryce was saying, we already have several ways of getting code onto a plus, but still almost nobody is writing any...

Never mind I already have my 100 ACID chips at home - ready to go.

And about software... yes, people talk a lot and feel so smart, but don't do anything.

[Bryce]

@MaV: Yes, EPROM emulators exist, but they are rather expensive, even the very simple versions: Eprom Emulator Wice-M4 USB

At €300 you'd want to be quite serious about developing software to make it worthwhile. Of course it can be used to develop software for anything where the software is stored on ROM, not just a CPC.

Bryce.

[arnoldemu]

Never mind I already have my 100 ACID chips at home - ready to go.

And about software... yes, people talk a lot and feel so smart, but don't do anything.

I will make a game for plus, but I already have 3 other games in development.
I need to finish those first.

One of them is around 90% complete now, another is 50%.

[TFM]

Same here ;-)