AMSTEAM: WIP game streaming service for the Amstrad CPC

[abalore]

Final ROM board arrived.

[abalore]

New board for AMSTEAM: Cartridge emulator

Thanks to the board, now cartridges up to 512Kbytes can be downloaded and run from Internet.

[abalore]

Of course, when connected from a Plus computer, it plays perfectly Plus only cartridges: Robocop 2, Pang, etc. Or can even restart the computer with alternate operating systems.

[ComSoft6128]

So would it be possible to have FutureOS or SymbOS (both?) on one cart?

[abalore]

So would it be possible to have FutureOS or SymbOS (both?) on one cart?

Everything you can put into a cartridge can be uploaded to AMSTEAM server and run from Internet. Actually I don't know if those systems have cartridge versions, but if they have, sure they can be run.

[abalore]

The specific advantage of being able to run cartridges is that there are many conversions from DSK to cartridge, that can also be run. If the conversion doesn't exists, it can be quickly done with NoCart, so virtually any disk game can be run from Amsteam. Maybe at some point I can add the conversion automatically to the server so a whole DSK library can be imported.

[eto]

Thanks to the board, now cartridges up to 512Kbytes can be downloaded and run from Internet.

But that won't work with the previous board?

Will it be required to have the new version to access Amsteam in the future or will it be possible to only see the DSK images?

[abalore]

Thanks to the board, now cartridges up to 512Kbytes can be downloaded and run from Internet.

But that won't work with the previous board?

Will it be required to have the new version to access Amsteam in the future or will it be possible to only see the DSK images?

Sorry, what previous board? Currently, AMSTEAM has 3 boards:

- SPI interface, with WiFi or Ethernet module. Needed to connect to Internet. M4 or others may be compatible in the future if I manage to put my hands on any of them.

- ROM Box, in 8 or 32 slot versions. Needed to store the AMSTEAM ROM (optionally custom boot and/or other ROMs). This is not required if you already have a M4, a X-MEM or whatever other card capable of storing a ROM.

- Cartridge emulator, 512K volatile storage based on RAM. Needed to download and play large games like cartridges or DSK images. This is not required if you already have a Play2CPC, but it will probably require a firmware update. The Play2CPC firmware update is done with a cheap JTAG cable. If the board programming if out of your reach, you can always send the board to me or someone near your location.

Other board in progress:

- Extra sound channel board. Needed for certain games to have more sound channels. Not required if you already have a Play2CPC or PlayCity board.

My final goal is to put these small four boards together into a MX4 mother board and put an enclosure around to make an "Amsteam Box", with all the required stuff to instantly play all the available Amstrad software from a server.

[eto]

Ah, got it... I didn't realize this is an add-on.

Does the Play2CPC already have that RAM built-in or do I need a special cartridge for this?

[abalore]

Ah, got it... I didn't realize this is an add-on.

Does the Play2CPC already have that RAM built-in or do I need a special cartridge for this?

The Play2CPC has 512K of RAM embedded, yes. It's not being used in any project yet, the main intended usage for this memory is to have compressed data in the cartridge and uncompress there, so allowing even bigger games. But using it to download and play big games from Amsteam looks like a nice usage too.

[GUNHED]

So would it be possible to have FutureOS or SymbOS (both?) on one cart?

Everything you can put into a cartridge can be uploaded to AMSTEAM server and run from Internet. Actually I don't know if those systems have cartridge versions, but if they have, sure they can be run.

Yes, there are version of FutureOS for CPC6128 and 6128plus on Cartridge. They do include some XROM with applications, tools and wallpapers.

You can select your OS language from English, French, German and Spanish (in alphabetical order).

Also everybody can contact TFM and get a personalized CPR file. 

[abalore]

So would it be possible to have FutureOS or SymbOS (both?) on one cart?

Everything you can put into a cartridge can be uploaded to AMSTEAM server and run from Internet. Actually I don't know if those systems have cartridge versions, but if they have, sure they can be run.

Yes, there are version of FutureOS for CPC6128 and 6128plus on Cartridge. They do include some XROM with applications, tools and wallpapers.

You can select your OS language from English, French, German and Spanish (in alphabetical order).

Also everybody can contact TFM and get a personalized CPR file. 

Tested:

[GUNHED]

WoW! Great to see!!! 
Thanks for showing!!! 

btw: A and B are drives A and B. But E, F, G and H are the four drives of the Vortex Controller..
btw2: Looks like that the OS recognizes an RTC which is not there, or the configurations bits have been set to "RTC xyz is there".

[abalore]

WoW! Great to see!!! 
Thanks for showing!!! 

btw: A and B are drives A and B. But E, F, G and H are the four drives of the Vortex Controller..
btw2: Looks like that the OS recognizes an RTC which is not there, or the configurations bits have been set to "RTC xyz is there".

If you show me the code for detecting the RTC and Vortex I can check if it's detecting something in the SPI card or the cartridge emulator

The SPI card is in the ports FBDF and FBDE

[abalore]

[abalore]

I created a new CPC Wiki page for the ROMBox, with instructions and software to download:

https://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Amsteam_ROMBox