PC-FX homebrew development.

[elmer]

I give zero f*cks about anything on the Saturn, but I wouldn't want anyone to abandon a PCE project just to do something else (anything else really, be it PC-FX, some other PCE game, etc.).  If they're starting out and looking to do a project on either the PCE or the PC-FX, I'm behind either platform; the dev should pick the platform that interests them most, as game making on either is a work of passion and will never be a money maker.

I think that's the wisest comment that I've heard in a while ... developing on these old consoles today is all about interest and passion ... and it looks like there's very little passion for the PC-FX.

Basically, I have both interest and passion for the PCE.

I played a friend's PCE-CD back in the day when it blew away everything else on the market, and I pre-ordered a SuperGrafx as soon as I heard that it was going to be released (I've still got both it and the receipt!).

The PC-FX has been a distraction because I love to learn how things work and what they're capable of ... but I don't have that personal connection to it that rises to that level of passion that you so wisely define as needed to sustain development through the boring/frustrating parts of a project.

I watched a complete Zeroigar playthrough on YouTube last night ... it looks like even Hudson didn't have much passion for the PC-FX.

The game looks like a cancelled SuperGrafx SCD project that was resurrected for the PC-FX and then had the level 1 boss recoded to use the PC-FX's transparency and scaling. Everything else is basically done within the SGX's limits and doesn't seem to use the PC-FX's extra capabilities.

Comparing it to Sapphire on the PCE ... well that was a game whose developers showed interest, passion and extreme capability!

[elmer]

I'm having a hard time understanding your point.  With your logic, nobody should make anything for the PCE either, as there are other platforms with better technical specs and larger audiences.

I think that you are spot-on with your earlier comment ... it's all about having a passion for the subject.

That passion is a very, very personal thing.

If SamIAm wants to play DOS games on a PC-FX ... then he has every right to have that desire. I'm not dissing it ... I just don't share it.

What I do have is a passion for the PCE ... and although the PC-FX has been an interesting distraction, the PCE is the real reason that I'm here.

[Arkhan]

It's not that there is no passion, it's that there's no tool set for us to do anything, and making those is a royal punch in the dicktip.

[Necromancer]

He's confused his lack of passion for everyone else not giving a f*ck.

[elmer]

It's not that there is no passion, it's that there's no tool set for us to do anything, and making those is a royal punch in the dicktip.

May I ask exactly which parts of a toolchain you'd need?

Trying to get the Japanese GCC built is so annoying that it has become a bit of a personal challenge ... so I'm willing to give it another couple of days if that would make a difference (I hate the GNU build process!).

[elmer]

He's confused his lack of passion for everyone else not giving a f*ck.

Quite possibly.

My personal passion is for shmups ... and I just gave my impression of Zeroigar earlier.

If there are games on the PC-FX that you love ... then I'm sure that you'd be happy to see some new development for it.

[Arkhan]

It's not that there is no passion, it's that there's no tool set for us to do anything, and making those is a royal punch in the dicktip.

May I ask exactly which parts of a toolchain you'd need?

Trying to get the Japanese GCC built is so annoying that it has become a bit of a personal challenge ... so I'm willing to give it another couple of days if that would make a difference (I hate the GNU build process!).

A meaningful library to communicate with the hardware, in C, would be good.  I think there was some stuff floating around awhile back but it was not anything horribly amazing and useful.

a compiler that can compile C code into runnable PCFX code is also important.

[nodtveidt]

The mednafen author and trap15 had been working on a PC-FX toolchain but I don't know what happened to it. I had started to document it on the original obeybrew.com but that was one section I didn't rewrite when I put it back up after it was hacked. They had developed a library called liberis. I added a high-level abstraction layer to make it work more like HuC for those who were already familiar with PCE coding. This was all some time ago though. trap15 had multiple examples of simple applications running on the PC-FX, including an input test and some picture display code.

[elmer]

The mednafen author and trap15 had been working on a PC-FX toolchain but I don't know what happened to it. I had started to document it on the original obeybrew.com but that was one section I didn't rewrite when I put it back up after it was hacked. They had developed a library called liberis. I added a high-level abstraction layer to make it work more like HuC for those who were already familiar with PCE coding. This was all some time ago though. trap15 had multiple examples of simple applications running on the PC-FX, including an input test and some picture display code.

Thanks for the pointer. Looks like Alex is still doing some work on it ... the last commit was only a few months ago.

https://bitbucket.org/trap15/liberis

Now I need to look at his docs and see what compiler he's using.

[EvilEvoIX]

Could the PC-FX handle a game like Marvel Vs. Streetfighter and the like?

[Arkhan]

Yeah if that stuff gets somewhere more usable, I'd be interested.

[Desh]

If a home brew scene developed and started spitting out games for the PC-FX it would give me a reason to buy one.  I want one just because it's a funky and cool looking system but then I look at the library and say WTF?  I can't read Japanese and I don't like dating sims.

[nodtveidt]

iirc, it is based on gcc 2.9.5.

[elmer]

Now I need to look at his docs and see what compiler he's using.

Well, the indications are that he's using GCC, so I'm guessing that it would be Mednafen's 2007 build based on the Japanese GCC 2.95.2 mods but with newlib added.

I wonder if they ever moved up to a more modern version of GCC?

Hahaha ... I just saw that OldRover already answered the question while I was writing this message! 

GCC 2.95.x is a total swine to compile on modern machines ... it uses illegal language features that were removed from modern GCC 4.x compilers. 

[nodtveidt]

afaik, moving to a more modern version wasn't possible due to a lack of V810 support or summat.