Homebrew GBARunner2

[Gericom]

@Dodain47 I merged the sound fifo experiment to master, so you can use the new master for testing again.

 

[Melter]

sorry for the noob questions, but how do I build arm7 specifically? When I run make in the arm7 folder all it does is link the .elf

 

[Gericom]

sorry for the noob questions, but how do I build arm7 specifically? When I run make in the arm7 folder all it does is link the .elf

If you cloned the git repo you can use

git checkout dldi_back_to_arm7

Otherwise switch to dldi_back_to_arm7 on github and download it instead of master.

 

[Melter]

thanks, I managed to get the arm7 version working on my r4i gold. It is very slow however.

I also got both versions working on my DSTWO+, and definitely the arm9 version runs a lot smoother! Metroid Zero mission ran at full speed until it froze!

Also I tried uncommenting the scale & mask line in main.cpp but it seems to break both versions right now, I get some weird white flickering screens.

Can't wait to see how this develops, keep up the good work!

 

[Gericom]

thanks, I managed to get the arm7 version working on my r4i gold. It is very slow however.

I also got both versions working on my DSTWO+, and definitely the arm9 version runs a lot smoother! Metroid Zero mission ran at full speed until it froze!

Also I tried uncommenting the scale & mask line in main.cpp but it seems to break both versions right now, I get some weird white flickering screens.

Can't wait to see how this develops, keep up the good work!

Nice that you got it working! It's almost certain that I'm getting an IS-NITRO-EMULATOR now, so hopefully it is gonna help me a lot with fixing those bugs. With it I'll be able to debug gbarunner2 on real hardware, put code and data breakpoints and see the memory. Then I can compare stuff to values in no$gba running the gba games for example.

 

[Deleted User]

I have tested some Games with the newly merged Master:


Wilden Fussball-Kerle - Entscheidung im Teufelstopf (G): Almost Full Speed with some Slowdown. No Audio. Much Noise. The Voice Samples are missing. Some Gfx Glitches. Playable.

Wilden Fussball-Kerle - Gefahr im Wilde Kerle Land (G): There is a Gamebreaking bug that lets the Player fall down during the Training. No Audio. Much Noise. The Voice Samples are missing. Unplayable.

Winnie the Pooh's Rumbly Tumbly Adventure (E): Full Speed. Very Good Audio. Some Gfx Glitches. Very Playable.

Winter Sports (E): I get an UNDF 00006A20 Error on the Licensed By Screen. Unplayable.

WinX Club (E): The Game takes a while to load. Almost Full Speed with some Slowdown. Very Good Audio. Some Gfx Glitches. Very Playable.

World Championship Poker (E): Full Speed. Very Good Audio. Some Gfx Glitches. Very Playable.


Some Games have an loud cracking Sound after the BIOS Intro.

I´m going to retest the Games from the Wiki with the updated Master.

You will find the Updated Version below.

 

[zfreeman]

Nice that you got it working! It's almost certain that I'm getting an IS-NITRO-EMULATOR now, so hopefully it is gonna help me a lot with fixing those bugs. With it I'll be able to debug gbarunner2 on real hardware, put code and data breakpoints and see the memory. Then I can compare stuff to values in no$gba running the gba games for example.

Aren't dev debuggers really expensive? Or are you borrowing one?

 

[Deleted User]

I have retested these Games with the merged Master Version 2017/02/04. I found many Improvements:


Ace Combat Advance (E): I played the First Mission. Full Speed. Very Good Audio. Some Gfx Glitches. Very Playable.

Advance Guardian Heroes (E): Full Speed. Almost Perfect Audio now, with only a little Noise. Some Gfx Glitches. Very Playable.

Advance Wars (E): I completed the First Mission of the Field Training. Full Speed and Very Good Audio now. Some Gfx Glitches on the Titlescreen and during Battle. Very Playable.

Advance Wars 2 - Black Hole Rising (E): I completed the First Mission. Full Speed and Very Good Audio now. Some Gfx Glitches. Very Playable.

Aladdin (E): I completed the First Level. Full Speed and Very Good Audio now. Some Gfx Glitches. Very Playable.

Altered Beast - Guardian of the Realms (E): I completed the First Level. Full Speed and Very Good Audio now. Some Gfx Glitches. Very Playable.

Banjo Kazooie: Grunty´s Revenge (E): Almost Full Speed with some Slowdown. A little bit faster now. Very Good Audio. Some Gfx Glitches. Playable.

Biene Maja Klatschmohnwiese in Gefahr (G): Instead of Much Slowdown and No Audio, it is now Almost Full Speed with some Slowdown and Good Audio with some Noise and stuttering. Some Gfx Glitches. Very Playable.

 

[Gericom]

Aren't dev debuggers really expensive? Or are you borrowing one?

I am not gonna give details, but I am actually buying one and it's a really good deal I must say.

 

[Deleted User]

This are the Improvements I have noticed while testing these Games with the merged Master Version 2017/02/04:

Backtrack (E): Full Speed now.

Blender Bros (U): From No Audio to Good Audio with some Noise.

bit Generations - Digidrive (J): Very Good Audio now.

bit Generations - Dotstream (J): Full Speed and Very Good Audio now.

bit Generations - Orbital (J): Full Speed and Very Good Audio now.

Wolfenstein 3D (E): The SFX Samples sound a bit cleaner now.

Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2 - Bush Rescue (UE): Full Speed and Very Good Audio now.

Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 3 - Night of the Quinkan (UE): Full Speed and Very Good Audio now.

Yggdra Union (U): The Game loads a bit faster now. The Audio has less Noise and stuttering.

 

[T-Tudor]

Hey @Gericom, I wrote a file explorer for GBARunner2 integrated in the latest master. Here is the source. You should take a look at it as there are some things I wanted to ask you about.
It is somewhat messy and needs polishing but it should make GBARunner2 more practical and speed up testing.

By default GBARunner2 will look for a "GBA" folder in the root oft the SD card, and open it. Otherwise, it will open the root of SD card. Roms and gba bios should be put in the "GBA" folder or in the SD card's root.

Hidden or system files and folder won't be shown, so "bios.bin" file can be hidden.

 

[Gericom]

Hey @Gericom, I wrote a file explorer for GBARunner2 integrated in the latest master. Here is the source. You should take a look at it as there are some things I wanted to ask you about.
It is somewhat messy and needs polishing but it should make GBARunner2 more practical and speed up testing.

By default GBARunner2 will look for a "GBA" folder in the root oft the SD card, and open it. Otherwise, it will open the root of SD card. Roms and gba bios should be put in the "GBA" folder or in the SD card's root.

Hidden or system files and folder won't be shown, so "bios.bin" file can be hidden.

Very nice, I'll have a look at it. I mainly want to look why you need lnds9 and try to remove the need for it.

 

[RocketRobz]

PSG sound still needs to be implemented, right?
None is played in MKSC.

 

[Gericom]

PSG sound still needs to be implemented, right?
None is played in MKSC.

Yes, I am gonna work on that soon. I got arm7 interrupts to work now, so I can use timer interrupts to update the sound channels. The ds does not support the effects the gb(a) supports natively without timers modifying the settings.

 

[bakawun]

Yes, I am gonna work on that soon. I got arm7 interrupts to work now, so I can use timer interrupts to update the sound channels. The ds does not support the effects the gb(a) supports natively without timers modifying the settings.

When you get to that these tests and documentation may help somewhat: https://github.com/Gekkio/mooneye-gb

 

[Gericom]

When you get to that these tests and documentation may help somewhat: https://github.com/Gekkio/mooneye-gb

Thanks, this is also a good resource: http://belogic.com/gba/ and maybe the source of gba emulators too.

 

[bakawun]

Thanks, this is also a good resource: http://belogic.com/gba/ and maybe the source of gba emulators too.

Yes that looks good but i don't know the quality of it (i know gekkio tests everything on every gb unit ever made)
Good emulator sources to look at are higan and mgba

 

[Gericom]

@Dodain47 I've committed a new branch '512_block_read'. Could you try if it affects speed and if it's better or worse.

 

[Deleted User]

I have retested all the Games on the Wiki with the Master Version 2017/02/04.

Many Games have improved. The Shaman King Master of Spirits 1, 2 and Sword of Mana are finally playable.

Riviera The Promised Land, The Revenge of Shinobi, Yoshi´s Island and Zoids Saga (J) are broken in this Version.

Thank you T-Tutor and Gericom for adding a new Version with a GUI.


Create a Folder called GBA on the Root of your SD Card. Put the BIOS , Roms and GBARunner Version into it.
The Roms can have any Name you like.


You can find the Versions I used below.

 

[Mr Objection]

Do all the gba pokemon game work?