Any info on StellaDS?

[+SpiceWare]

On 11/1/2022 at 8:26 AM, SpiceWare said:

Heading out for a funeral soon, so will look into this more this evening.

 

Guess I'm not fully recovered from last week's bug, ended up going to bed when I got home from the funeral and slept for a few hours. I'll followup on the 7800 Pac Man lockup over the weekend.

[+SpiceWare]

@PacManPlus - both PMC_XM.A78 and PMC_XM_S.A78 from this post worked just fine.

 

 

[+SpiceWare]

Tracked down the manual and just finished the first Intellivision AD&D on easy. Way cool.

 

 

I would have really enjoyed it back in the day, but as mentioned before I didn't know anyone with an Intellivision and I'd already moved onto computers (received my VIC 20 for Xmas '81). Looks like AD&D was released in August 82, which was about the time I learned about the local BBBs and bought my VICModem. I did made the mistake of signing up for CompuServe due to the "Free membership and 1 hour":

 

Compuserve was neat, but the first month's bill took an entire paycheck (from KFC) to cover. So I stuck to calling local BBSs after that, and began writing my own BBS software known as VIC-Net.

 

Over the years VIC-Net became 64-Net and 128-Net. As covered in this blog entry it gained some unique abilities at the time like real-time music at 300 baud, sprites, animated characters, ability to play online games using the joystick, etc.

 

[ClassicGMR]

11 minutes ago, SpiceWare said:

Tracked down the manual and just finished the first Intellivision AD&D on easy. Way cool.

And SO much better than the Intellivision Lives DS cartridge since... well... the games actually flippin work! 🤣

[+llabnip]

AD&D for the Inty is so great! Highly recommend you switch to the Dual Action Controller to enable “run and gun” (move and shoot arrows) which is a limitation in the original hardware. Then map ABXY to the arrow directions. It’s as close to perfect as you can get and will give you a chance on the faster/harder levels. 
 

As a kid, my buddy and I played together with one controller moving and the other firing arrows. What a great summer that was!

[Asaki]

On 10/20/2022 at 10:47 AM, SpiceWare said:

Detaching those handles from my 3DS to access the SD card is a minor hassle, so I plan to install the update this weekend when I setup your other emulators.

You're using a 3DS CFW solution and not a DS flash cart, correct?
There is an FTP homebrew app that lets you access your SD card via wireless Internet: https://github.com/GizmoTheGreen/ftpd

Half the time, it doesn't want to play nice with my network and/or Win10, so YMMV...

 

Alternatively, Nintendo has an official method you can try, it's in System Settings, go to "Data Management", click "microSD Management", and follow the directions.

Again, I can't always get this to work, but it's worth a try.

I've got a New 3DS (not XL), and they made SD access extra annoying by requiring you to unscrew the bottom faceplate.

Edit: Now that I think about it, I don't know if Old 3DS has this feature or not.

Edited November 6, 2022 by Asaki

[+SpiceWare]

2 hours ago, llabnip said:

AD&D for the Inty is so great! Highly recommend you switch to the Dual Action Controller to enable “run and gun” (move and shoot arrows) which is a limitation in the original hardware. Then map ABXY to the arrow directions. It’s as close to perfect as you can get and will give you a chance on the faster/harder levels.

 

Definitely enjoying it, have played a few more rounds this evening.  

 

I was able to move and shoot arrows before, though I don't think I could run and shoot arrows.  I configured it for the A version and mapped the buttons - definitely works better for shooting arrows than the touchscreen.

 

 

[+SpiceWare]

Thanks @Asaki, will definitely check those out as it would be nice to not have to remove the handles to access the SD card. At least I don't have to unscrew the faceplate, that would be even more annoying.

 

Also copying files via the Mac creates extra files that aren't visible in Finder, but clutter up the ROM list if I don't remove them - and since they're not visible I frequently forget to.

[+SpiceWare]

@Asaki my 3DS uses full size SD cards and does not have an option for microSD Management or SD Management. I saw how that worked on YouTube and that would have been nice.

 

I noticed that GizmoTheGreen/ftpd was 94 commits behind the master, mtheall/ftpd. It was also last updated in 2017 whereas mtheall was last updated 12 days ago. So I installed the version from mtheall/ftpd on the assumption that it might have fixed any issues that you'd run into.

 

I copied ftpd.3dsx to the SD card, then put it back in my 3DS.  Took a little bit to figure out that I had to use the homebrew launcher to run it. Up until now I've only been running @llabnip's emulators, which are run using TWiLight Menu++

 

ftpd running on the 3DS

 

FileZilla FTP client on my Mac connected to the 3DS. I had trouble connecting at first, but then noticed the 3DS was using 5000 for the port instead of the usual 20 and 21 for ftp. Once I specified the port I was able to connect.

 

 

I circled a few of those hidden files, which start with a period, that show up whenever I use macOS' Finder to copy files to the SD card. If I remember I delete those via Terminal before ejecting the SD card - if I don't then I see the hidden files on the 3DS, as it doesn't hide them, which is annoying. After deleting the lower two files via FileZilla the 3DS display shows the DELE commands that were issued.

 

I then downloaded Yogi's Frustration and sent it to the 3DS via FileZilla.

 

NINTV-DS sees the ROM

 

but won't run it

 

 

I then tried renaming .bin to .int, no luck. I FTPed the file back to the Mac and diffed it, as I recalled FTP done in ASCII mode would mess up binary files, but the files were identical.

 

I then noticed the file Yogi's Frustration.cfg and opened it up. It reminded me of the old .VCS files that we used to require for Stella back before we added the MD5 routines and the internal database - from a 1997 review of my port of Stella for OS/2:

Quote

After you've done this, go to one of the several on-line archives and start downloading your favorite games. It's recommended that you download both the .bin and .vcs file for each game. The .bin files are the actual games and the .vcs files contain recommended settings for the games. A proper .vcs file can supposedly make a game play more smoothly, and Mott supplies over 70 .vcs files for some of the most poplular games.

 

so I FTPed the cfg file over and it worked!

 

 

 

 

Anyway, if you made it this far, thanks for this wonderful suggestion! It's much nicer than having to remove the handles, plug the SD card into the computer, and remember to delete all those the hidden files before ejecting the SD card.

[+SpiceWare]

On a side note - I took a look at https://mtheall.com/~mtheall/ and saw there are QR codes by the files. Are those used to install homebrew software on the 3DS?

 

[+llabnip]

@SpiceWare thanks for letting me know about Yogi's Frustration.

 

Intellivision roms come in 2 main flavors...

 

.ROM (which has some meta information in the header about how it should run... where the memory gets allocated, etc).

.INT or .BIN (same different... just two different extensions meaning "flat binary") which may require a .cfg file to specify the memory layout.

 

I have an internal database of more than 100 games but it's not perfect so if the game isn't found internally and it can't find a .cfg you will get 'Unknown Game' message.  I should really use a few more words to make things clear how to go about fixing things

[+SpiceWare]

1 hour ago, llabnip said:

@SpiceWare thanks for letting me know about Yogi's Frustration.

 

You're welcome!

 

I couldn't figure out how to play it, then noticed they have a specific page for Yogi. It has a gameplay video that shows up on my iPad, but not on my Mac (neither Safari nor Firefox). Looking at the page source:

<object width="489" height="385">
  <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/440PkI-RYps?hl=en&fs=1"></param>
  <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>
  <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/440PkI-RYps?hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"
         allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed>
</object>

 

I suspect that EMBED tag with type of shockwave-flash is the culprit. After watching the video I was able to play.

 

 

It's a challenging game, the damn bluebird kept tripping me up! I managed to fill the cart twice then decided to play some more AD&D.  

 

 

Took a few attempts, but I finished it on 2 (medium)!  I didn't notice the START=SAVE on the game config screen before, so I had to redo the Dual Action configuration.

 

 

Think I'll try to finish it on level 3 (medium hard) and then "disc" (hard) before tracking down the instructions for Treasure of Tarmin.

[Asaki]

1 hour ago, SpiceWare said:

I noticed that GizmoTheGreen/ftpd was 94 commits behind the master, mtheall/ftpd. It was also last updated in 2017 whereas mtheall was last updated 12 days ago. So I installed the version from mtheall/ftpd on the assumption that it might have fixed any issues that you'd run into.

Sorry, I just grabbed the first link I could find. Most people dropped out of the 3DS homebrew scene pretty quickly, so I don't really expect to find updated files anymore.
I'll have to try that update and see if it fixes anything for me, but I'm pretty sure it's router and/or OS settings that it doesn't like. And I really can't be bothered to try and spend hours sorting it out >_<

Fingers crossed, I guess?

  

1 hour ago, SpiceWare said:

Anyway, if you made it this far, thanks for this wonderful suggestion! It's much nicer than having to remove the handles, plug the SD card into the computer, and remember to delete all those the hidden files before ejecting the SD card.

No problem. Yeah, it's a lot more convenient.

 

1 hour ago, SpiceWare said:

On a side note - I took a look at https://mtheall.com/~mtheall/ and saw there are QR codes by the files. Are those used to install homebrew software on the 3DS?

I believe so. I think I used them to install one of the older web browser exploits, but other than that I haven't bothered.
I think there might be another homebrew app that keeps tabs on new releases and automatically downloads the ones you want, but I'm not sure. I know the Wii does.

[+SpiceWare]

Level 3!

 

[+llabnip]

AD&D Cloudy Mountain Lv3 is no joke... that's the level I usually play.  Disc is significantly harder - either that or I'm terrible  

 

It's such a satisfying sound when the crown pieces re-assemble. Right up there with the Chalice coming home to the Yellow Castle.

[+SpiceWare]

Disc is definitely challenging. I'll continue to try to finish it, but regardless of my success I plan to track down the instructions for Treasure of Tarmin for the coming weekend.

[+llabnip]

1 minute ago, SpiceWare said:

Disc is definitely challenging. I'll continue to try to finish it, but regardless of my success I plan to track down the instructions for Treasure of Tarmin for the coming weekend.

Tarmin is my favorite Intellivision game. It's slower than AD&D Cloudy Mountain and I tend to use Save States.

 

I've started a guide called 'The Complete Tarmin' but I never seem to find the time to actually work on it... 

 

If you weren't aware, Nintellivision builds in some cheat codes accessed off the main menu. I mostly needed them to make silly progress in Tarmin to figure out shields, weapons and rings.  I built some of that coveted info the in-game Nintv-DS instructions (which are available for 50+ of the best games).  You'll definitely need the custom overlay for Tarmin (though I map some of the common functions like Pick Up and Drop and Open to DS buttons).

 

[ClassicGMR]

6 hours ago, SpiceWare said:

I plan to track down the instructions for Treasure of Tarmin for the coming weekend.

Without question my #1 favorite, loved, played Intellivision game. http://maxgamr.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/intellivision_treasure_of_tarmin_manual.pdf

[+SpiceWare]

So close - my last guy managed to get the first half of the crown, but was killed by the winged dragon guarding the second half!

[+SpiceWare]

😁

 

[+llabnip]

Well done! Disc is hard not only because it’s so fast but the actual game gets a little wonky with collision detection at the faster speeds (that’s not due to emulation). You’ve now conquered the #2 favorite game as determined by Atariage denizens. 
 

 

[+SpiceWare]

15 hours ago, llabnip said:

gets a little wonky with collision detection at the faster speeds (that’s not due to emulation).

 

I noticed that - movement became so fast that the arrow and monster would sometimes swapping position without any pixels ever overlapping, so hardware collision registers didn't get set.

 

On 11/7/2022 at 12:04 PM, llabnip said:

You'll definitely need the custom overlay for Tarmin (though I map some of the common functions like Pick Up and Drop and Open to DS buttons)

 

I fired up Tarmin and configured the overlay last night.  Wow, a major jump in gameplay complexity, definitely need to read through the manual to understand this game.

 

I was reading the wiki page and was surprised to learn they did a port for the 2600. It was finished, but never released due to the crash. Apparently it was shown at CGE in '99, but the ROM has yet to be made available.

 

On 11/7/2022 at 12:04 PM, llabnip said:

If you weren't aware, Nintellivision builds in some cheat codes accessed off the main menu.

 

I've accidentally selected it and get a message about installing NINTV-DS.CHT.  I may investigate that later.

[+llabnip]

Cool - for some reason I didn't know about a potential Atari version. I suspect it would need a bit more memory to hold the contents of all the stuff you can drop and find but what do I know!?

 

Yeah, the complexity is higher but it's quite logical when you get into it. An interesting tidbit is that the Intellivision Lives DS cart has a lot of glitches and problems and one of the worst is that Treasure of Tarmin has the entire bottom set of tiles missing so you can't see what weapon you have equipped nor the bottom items in your pack.  I can't even imagine how that got released with that bug... I waited like 2 years for that to be released and it was one of the few games I got when it came out on day-one... what a disappointment. Despite years of trying to enjoy it, I would always put the cart away frustrated. That's what led me to get Nintellivision running on the DS.  It's 12 years late... but better late than never

[+johnnywc]

3 hours ago, SpiceWare said:

Apparently it was shown at CGE in '99, but the ROM has yet to be made available.

I was at CGE 99 and got to play AD&D:ToT at the Blue Sky Ranger's booth, along with AD&D:Tower of Mystery, Anteater and I think Rocky & Bullwinkle.  Each game played very well and I wish I would have taken some pics (not sure if I had a cell phone back then lol).

[+SpiceWare]

Bug Report - Chaotic Grill plays fine, but shows garbage during the title screen sequence.  I don't see this on real hardware, nor in Stella - not even with developer options turned on. Chaotic Grill is a DPC+ game that does not use custom ARM code.