Re: Update: The use of the SX processor instead of a Basic Stamp
- From: EvilOompaLoompa <jukingeo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 4 Apr 2008 18:26:12 -0700 (PDT)
On Apr 4, 1:41 pm, ace <a...@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Z80's - yeah - older. <sigh> I remember in 1978 talking with an older
guy down the street who was just gushing about the capacity and ease
of use in using this CPU. That's 30 years ago. The chip is still
being printed - pretty cool. But I can NOT argue - in a couple of
years, the next step will be to find a nice integrated controller -
I'm toying with the STM ST-9 - Pascal should know it well.>>
LOL, remember the Timex Sinclair...one of the first home computers
that you could hook up to a TV? It used a Z80 processor. I had a
Commodore Vic 20 at that time.
I wouldn't get me started on talking about old computers. But I used
quite a few of them...How about the Kaypro 2 with the CP/M operating
system? One of the first portable machines that sported 5.25" disk
drives.
<<> > So it looks like with your stuff and the right older game
sitting in front
of you, one could learn the environment pretty easily and then start building
a custom game based on the same hardware. Nice.
Name the platform, and I'll target the hardware/software for it.
Realistically, I can only handle tacklling the older Bally platforms
right now, but this is a BIIIIIG pool of hardware to draw from -
bigger than the System 80 parts availability out there.>>
Agreed. I looked into quite a few systems earlier this week and
pretty much the Bally/Stern system is the largest followed by Williams
System 9/11. So somewhere before or after Williams WPC would come
Gottlieb's System 80.
<<> Audio - OK let's all pound on Mark for this. GSOUND Mark.
Pleeeeeaaase. I'll let him handle that, because he's sold me on the
spec.s. When he's done, the API (to communicate with that board) will
get written to handle doing mixing, stereo, whatever that board can do
- we haven't really worked out a protocol yet.>>
Just come out with a sample board that will record any type of sound
you can think of and have it addressable. Shouldn't be too difficult,
right? Something that could play MP3''s for high quality sound would
be cool...especially for background music.
<<> Displays - and getting into animation are a whole new kettle of
fish.
This means dreaming up a display controller that I have no experience
in designing, and little bandwidth to tackle. Other than to offer
this; pick one out that already exists, and we'll see if we can't
figure out the protocol to it, then I'll write a hardware API to it,
and add the front end coding to the IDE to control it. However, it is
very little work on the CPU end. It is a BUCKET of work to get the
animation images created and into that controller, to create the
routines/images that react to commands from the CPU.>>
As I said, I am probably going to be fine with standard score
displays, MAYBE down the road I may go this far. But I seen what the
guys went through with the custom AC/DC project. They used a DMD and
the programming sure looked tough. Definitely NOT for beginners.
<< I seriously doubt that, in a custom pinball / hobbiest game creation
scenario that we'll get that far. But I'm willing to team up on it
with someone that knows that area. I think the best we'll get to is a
24-segment A/N display here. Still again, we've got an RS-232 port, I
can create a custom port with data, handshaking and interrupts (no,
no, can't do USB - don't ask - why would I still be doing RS-232 if I
could squeeze in a USB design project?!?)>>
AN is good enough. I'll buy into that.
<<> Finally - one major thing to note - I love the hobby - but, long
ago,
I drew the line at using a PC to control a pinball game. There were a
bunch of reasons, but the main one was this: production cost. I'm
production oriented. I would certainly entertain putting together a
protocol to use over the RS-232 port for your twiddling pleasure, but
bear in mind that that would not be my overall direction.>>
I would like to learn to do it via a PC. BUT if your $200 board can
do it...AND that DOES cost is than a PC, well, then just may as well
leave the computer for programming :).
<<> I justify and support the effort in custom game designing by
selling
hardware that this software is hosted on. It's motivational for me.
That's how the System 80 board came out first - there was a market
there that I could measure the success of the project on. If I
released the Bally board first to compete with Dave's Alltek board,
I'd never be able to guess the success (plus I promised Dave that I'd
hold off on that!) - too much competition to gauge the market.>>
I will admit that I did go to Alltek first considering that their
board supported more playfields I was interested in for my project.
But the Alltek board used low level programming and it isn't an
intuitive board to work with for a project. It's main purpose is to
replace a bad Bally/Stern MPU and that is it. So it was the guys here
that mentioned that your System 80 board will be released with the
ability to edit and program rulesets. At first I was concerned that I
would be "boxed in" to just System 80 games. But then I read that you
can base the board on game platforms from other machines. So
naturally I homed in on a Williams system first. But I found out
that it isn't that easy of a system to work with. Gottlieb and Bally
were much easier for me to figure out. But in the end, the Bally
system won out and primarily because of the availability of parts and
a certain feature I liked about it. For one it seems to be an easy
system to fix and upgrade.
E.
.
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