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wow... impressive :)

bpoint

New member
Just a note from us programmers on the other side of the pond... keep up the good work!

I've taken a screenshot of HAL's sysdolphin viewer for you guys. Can't load any files from inside the emulation, so I presume there isn't any DVD/file-to-PC mapping emulation done yet. Would be nice to see more than just a grid though. :) Also, a debug output window would be handy! (Although it's just a Teaser, so I'm anxiously waiting for the next version...)

BTW, when we build disc images here they come out in .dpf format. I tried just renaming it to .gcm and the file list said something about "Invalid country code: #", and promptly crashed afterwards, so I presume the .dpfs are a different format than the .iso/.gcm formats. Is there some kind of doc which details the .iso format so perhaps I could get a .dpf to run under DolphinEmu?

Thanks, and good luck!
 

bohdy

New member
I don't think that you can... bpoint seems to be a licensed gamecube developer.

Nice to see thim emu generating such prolific interest!

Care to share a title you have worked on bpoint? Or am I mistaken about your profession?
 

ShadowPrince

Moderator
bpoint said:
Also, a debug output window would be handy! (Although it's just a Teaser, so I'm anxiously waiting for the next version...)

You can access debug window by pressing CTRL+D prior loading GCM .
 

bennykurns

Shitman
Hey, just thought I would let you know that bpoint (Mike Tedder) is the creator of Project UnReality (the first-ever working Nintendo 64 emulator) and Zengine.

I got this off of his website (www.deltaplayer.com)

Mike has both work and personal experience with numerous platforms, such as the PlayStation 2 (with in-depth knowledge of the PS2 VUs, DMA streams, GIF and GS packets), the original PlayStation (again, with in-depth knowledge of the PS1 GTE and GPU), the Nintendo 64 (and its RSP and RDP processors), the Intel x86 family and MMX/SSE instructions (including use of the DirectX 8 API), the WonderSwan Color, the Sony PocketStation, and even old-school processors such as the 6502. To power this impressive line of hardware knowledge, Mike programs mostly in C and C++, although prefers Assembly where it is needed for speed (or size!).


Sounds like a pretty intelligent fella! :geek:
 

ZDragon

New member
I guess someone like this would really be able to help a lot in the emulation community - like for PCSX2 :p

I'd really want to know more about this sysdolphin thingy...
 

Martin

Active member
Administrator
Welcome breakpoint. :) The first N64 emulator I used was PUR and I've been hooked ever since. It's a honor to see you here. :)

/me takes a bow
 
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bpoint

New member
HAL's sysdolphin is a middleware for GC developers... Nintendo of Japan "highly recommends it" for those projects on a tight deadline, although I'd be writing my own if we had the time. :) Probably about the only public information available about it is here: http://www.hallab.co.jp/recruit/project/sys/sys02.html (and only in Japanese :p )

We actually just finished up Pokemon Colosseum, which is already released here in Japan, but should be on its way to the US in a month or so (going through the last phase of NOA debugging next week). Anyone had a chance to try it in Dolphin yet? I'm not having much luck with these .dpfs. :(

And yes, bennykurns has done his homework. PUR was my little project, waybackwhen... :)

ShadowPrince: Thanks for the debug window key, I'll try it out!
 

ZDragon

New member
I won't buy Pokemon Colosseum, so I can't try it out...

Who are "you"? Are you, by any chance, a member of Nintendo or what?
 
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bpoint

New member
ZDragon said:
Who are "you"? Are you, by any chance, a member of Nintendo or what?

Not really. Just a 2nd-party developer... we just write games for them. :)

and Falcon4ever: That translation is horrible :p
 

Nick_kidid0

Member since 2001
Pokemon Colosseum doesn't get very far for me, just a black screen :|. Btw how are those .dpfs dumped/built? can Dolphin read it's banner file or GC-Tool etc.

P.S. Keep up the great work :)
 

Azimer

Emulator Developer
Moderator
bpoint, how are you using .dpf files? .GCM/.ISO files are raw images. If there was a way to make a .dpf into a format that you would place on a GC disc, then you should be able to use that format. Though I tend to have a nack of stating the obvious. I have searched for information on a .dpf file format, but came up with nothing.
 
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bpoint

New member
Whenever we build disk images with whatever tool it is that we use (I'm not in charge of building images -- and only done it like once...) they come out in .dpf format. We then either use these images on a debug station or submit them directly to Nintendo for approval, bug testing, etc.

I can safely say it's _not_ the raw .iso format, though. Nintendo definitely does extra stuff to it and then presses that onto the GC disks...

If I knew the offsets of where some of the critical data was in a normal .iso (things like game name, ID [although some of that is in the banner file...], initial directory/file table, etc) I could also look for the same in the .dpf and possibly rebuild the dpf into an iso. Who knows, the difference between the two might only be like a small block of padding or something... dunno. :)

Nick_kidid0: Hmm.. that kinda sucks. There is some anti-Pro Action Replay stuff before the intro movie starts (er, the Nintendo logo) that zaps the lower memory/exception address table that Dolphin probably doesn't like. Can't think of anything else done beforehand... thanks for trying it out, though.
 

Azimer

Emulator Developer
Moderator
bpoint said:
Whenever we build disk images with whatever tool it is that we use (I'm not in charge of building images -- and only done it like once...) they come out in .dpf format. We then either use these images on a debug station or submit them directly to Nintendo for approval, bug testing, etc.

I can safely say it's _not_ the raw .iso format, though. Nintendo definitely does extra stuff to it and then presses that onto the GC disks...

bpoint, look for a program called makegcm.

makegcm's readme.txt said:
========================================================================
(1) Master Data Making Tool [makegcm]
========================================================================

This tool is for creating gcm file (GameCube Master Data) from dlf file
(Disk Layout File).
 

whistler404

New member
Am I the only one seeing a great oppertunity in here? with bpoint's knowledge in programing method and the Dolphin's developers..bpoint can help the project quite a bit. Especially in Pokemon Colosseum emulation there :)
 
Does it mean im a geek if i enjoy finding out how ninty and their developers get their games onto those funky little backward spinning disks? :p

Im willing to guess in 6 or so months the smaller versions of the files will be common place, with something similar to the Dreamcasts dummy files..
 

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