The spammers have arrived. Time to make this forum registred-users-only it seems...

Sorry for the long silence, there was just too much real-life work.

Here's a small update on the dload for mmc project:

Done:
+ optimized dload, there are 3 different cluster handlers now
+ finished the dfi spec
+ finished the dfi plugin's browser
+ added more output and choices in plugin's debug mode

ToDo:
+ optimize the dload installer a bit, it's way too big now
+ finish the imagetool
+ some stresstesting...

Cluster Handlers:
Dload has 3 different ways to get the start address of a cluster: continuous, buffered and plain. 'Continuous' is the fastest one, but it only works with non-scattered files. 'Buffered' uses the Retro Replay ram as a cluster buffer. It's speed is almost the same as 'continuous', but it can only handle images up to a certain size. 'Plain' is the slowest routine, but has no limitations. The dfi plugin selects the fastest available mode. In debug mode you have the choice. To enter debug mode, hold 'Right Shift' while pressing return to start the plugin. Hold the shift key until the first message appears.

I hope you don't get bored with another elvira 2 demo. There will be some variety soon...

Oops, just forgot the file: http://people.freenet.de/LittleDreamLand/elvira2demo_mmc_v2.zip

.. and this "imagetool" will be finished soon?

Yeah, that .d64 to .dfi sure would be handy
Is this a new format, or is there anywhere I can find .dfi files?

elvira2demo is a bit boring, I need more action. Turrican?

Yay, 3 free days. That's enough for anime, boozing and c64! So I finally managed to release something:

DLoad MMC example

This short example shows the integration of DLoad into an existing project and the generation of a dfi image for MMC64.
Don't worry, I won't use Elvira as an example again. A bit more action was requested, and I think I found a candidate:
'Sly Spy' (or 'Secret Agent' as the title screen says). It's a nice old game which I converted from tape to disk some time ago
(hey wait, that's already 11 years!).



Contents

(All files are in 'Uploads')
--files have now moved to Files/MMC64 section! //RaveGuru

• build_script.tar.gz
  Example script for a build on a linux system.
  
• build_script.zip
  Example batchfile for a build on a dos/win system.
  
• cbmconvert-2.1.2_dfi.diff.gz
  cbmconvert-2.1.2_dfi.tar.gz
  cbmconvert-2.1.2_dfi_dos.zip
  A patched version of cbmconvert which can write dfi files. '*.diff.gz' is the patch file for the original archive 'cbmconvert-2.1.2.tar.gz' from
  http://www.zimmers.net/anonftp/pub/cbm/crossplatform/converters/unix/index.html. '*.tar.gz' is the complete sourcecode and '*dos.zip' is the
  precompiled executable for dos/windows.
  
• dfiplgin_bin_20060501.zip
  dfiplgin_src_20060501.zip
  Source and binary of the dfi plugin. Please note that the image browser is a separate project, the source can be found in the 'mylene_src_20060501.zip' archive.
  
• dload_dfi_demos_20060501.zip
  All dfi examples which come with dload. Take a look at the dload_src archive for the sources. Please install the new dfiplgin before you try them.
  
• dload_src_20060430.rar
  The latest DLoad version including MMC64 support.
  
• dreamass_doc_20060501.rar
  dreamass_dos_20060501.rar
  dreamass_src_20060501.rar
  DreamAss is a portable crossassembler. It builds all the C64 code in this release pack.
  
• mmc64_plugin_src_20060501.zip
  A new version of the mmc64 plugin. A small bug in the 'MMC64Plugin_InitKernel' routine was fixed: some zp locations were initialized with wrong values.
  
• mylene_src_20060501.zip
  A file browser library. It can be configured to display various information and supports caching. Mylene is used in the dfi and lnx plugins for the MMC64.
  
• sly_spy.zip
  The old kernel-loader version of 'sly spy'.
  
• sly_spy_mmc_20060501.zip
  Sources, scripts and dload.cfg for the DLoad version of the game.
  
• slyspy_dfi.zip
  The prebuild dfi image, ready to play. Don't forget to install the new dfiplgin!

The Game

Before we start, we need some information about the game (like where is free mem for the code):

• The loader lives at $0400, a call to $0404 loads the first level, $0407 loads the next level
• $0340 - $0800 is free for our new loader code.
• $cf00 - $e000 is also not used, $cf00-$d000 is a nice buffer for dload
• The game consists of 13 'levels', named '0' to 'b'. The first level is the title screen.
  Each level consists of several files, which all start with the same digit ('0'-'b').
  This makes the game perfect for levelpacking. I will use exomizer for this.

The loader config

DLoad consists of 2 parts: the installer and the loader.

The installer determines the drivetype, downloads the specific code to the drive and copies
the according loader code to a location in the c64 ram. The installer is quite big as it
contains code for all drivetypes, c64 and drive side. The installer can be executed before
your main program is depacked and you still have some space left.

The loader is copied by the installer to it's destination in the c64 ram. It uses only a few
zeropage locations, and - depending on the drive type - up to $0200 bytes for code. The loader
also needs $0100 bytes for it's sector buffer. This buffer should be page aligned.
The loader can be assembled with 2 different interfaces. The standard 'LoadFile/LoadTS' interface
provides functions to load a complete file or a single sector. The 'Open/Get' interface provides
a function to open a file and one to get a singe byte from it. This is very useful for leveldepacking
and thus the interface we choose for sly spy.


We need to build DLoad with these options:

• the installer resides somewhere behind a small install program
  
  Code:
        LdCfgInitCodeStart = $0c00
• the installer uses some zp locations, nothing else is running, so it doesn't matter
  
  Code:
        LdCfgInitZPStart = $40
• Use Open/Get Interface (that's important for the levelpacker)
  
  Code:
        LdFlag_OpenGetInterface = 1
• There are no effects which require vic bank switching while loading -> $dd02 should be set by the loader.
  
  Code:
        LdFlag_SetDD02 = 1
• the installer runs with vic bank 3 active
  
  Code:
        LdFlag_VicBank          = 3
• led flashing is nice! :)
  
  Code:
        LdFlag_LedFlash = 1
• we don't have size problems with the installer, use the custom loader for 1571
  
  Code:
        ;LdFlag_7Xis41 = 1

Next we assign some zeropage locations for the loader:

• these are temp work registers for the Open/Get Interface
  
  Code:
        LdLAE                   = $57           ;2 byte
        LdGZp                   = $59           ;1 byte
        LdChk                   = $5a           ;1 byte
• this is the buffer for a complete sector
  
  Code:
        LdBf                    = $cf00         ;1 page
• the loader code resides at $0600, call LdLoc to open a file, LdLoc+3 to get a byte
  
  Code:
        LdLoc                   = $0600         ;2 pages

The complete config file 'dload.cfg' can be found in the 'sly_spy_mmc_20060501.zip' archive. It is used to build the loader.

For a quickstart I provided a script for linux and windows, which takes care of all the compiling, assembling and levelpacking.
Just follow the instructions for your system and you should get a 'slyspy.dfi: in no time. :)


DOS/Windows

Requirements:

• something to extract 'rar' and 'zip' files, like 7zip (<http://www.7-zip.org/>)

1. Download the following files from the forum to a work directory. I use 'C:\work' in this example.
   
   Code:
     build_script.zip
     cbmconvert-2.1.2_dfi_dos.zip
     dload_src_20060430.rar
     dreamass_dos_20060501.rar
     sly_spy.zip
     sly_spy_mmc_20060501.zip
   
   
2. Download exomizer 1.1.5 to your work directory:
   
   http://web.comhem.se/~u13114991/exo/exomizer115.zip
   
   
3. Extract all archives. Your working directory should look like this now:
   
   Code:
     C:\work>dir
    
      Datenträger in Laufwerk C: BERILLIA
      Seriennummer des Datenträgers: 064D-1708
      Verzeichnis von C:\work
    
     .              <DIR>        23.03.06   0:33 .
     ..             <DIR>        23.03.06   0:33 ..
     BUILD    BAT         2.561  01.05.06  17:11 build.bat
     CBMCON~1 EXE       160.256  30.04.06  20:08 cbmconvert.exe
     CBMCON~1 TXT         7.873  23.04.06  12:24 cbmconvert.txt
     DLOAD          <DIR>        01.05.06  15:15 dload
     DREAMASS       <DIR>        01.05.06  15:15 dreamass
     CHANGE~1 TXT        12.714  03.10.04  20:43 changelog.txt
     CONTRIB        <DIR>        01.05.06  15:15 contrib
     DECRUN~1       <DIR>        01.05.06  15:15 decruncher
     DOS            <DIR>        01.05.06  15:15 dos
     EXOBAS~1 TXT         2.606  26.09.04  16:55 exobasic10b2.txt
     EXOMIZ~1 TXT        14.039  01.09.04   7:04 exomizer115.txt
     EXOMIZ~2 ZIP        63.752  26.09.04  16:59 exomizer115src.zip
     LINUX          <DIR>        01.05.06  15:15 linux
     WIN32          <DIR>        01.05.06  15:15 win32
     SLY_SPY        <DIR>        01.05.06  15:15 sly_spy
                7 Datei(en)               263.801 Bytes
               10 Verzeichnis(se)     139.862.016 Bytes frei
   
   
4. Run the build script:
   
   Code:
     C:\work>build
   
   
5. That's it, you should have a working 'slyspy.dfi' image in the 'sly_spy' directory now.

Linux

Requirements:

• standard tools like 'tar', 'cat' etc.
• gcc
• make
• unzip
• rar

1. Download the following files from the forum to a work directory. I use '/tmp/dload_workdir' in this example.
   
   Code:
     build_script.tar.gz
     cbmconvert-2.1.2_dfi.tar.gz
     dload_src_20060430.rar
     dreamass_src_20060501.rar
     sly_spy.zip
     sly_spy_mmc_20060501.zip
   
   
2. Download exomizer 1.1.5 to your work directory:
   
   
   http://web.comhem.se/~u13114991/exo/exomizer115.zip
   
   
3. The work directory should look like this now:
   
   Code:
     baccy@Yakumo ~ % ls /tmp/dload_workdir -1
     build_script.tar.gz
     cbmconvert-2.1.2_dfi.tar.gz
     dload_src_20060430.rar
     dreamass_src_20060501.rar
     exomizer115.zip
     sly_spy.zip
     sly_spy_mmc_20060501.zip
   
   
4. Change to your work directory and extract the build script:
   
   Code:
     baccy@Yakumo ~ % cd /tmp/dload_workdir
     baccy@Yakumo /tmp/dload_workdir % tar fxz build_script.tar.gz
   
   
5. Execute the build script:
   
   Code:
     baccy@Yakumo /tmp/dload_workdir % ./build
   
   
6. That's it, you should have a working 'slyspy.dfi' image in the 'sly_spy' directory now.
   The last output of the script shows the image:
   
   Code:
     -rw-r--r-- 1 baccy baccy 262144 May  1 15:58 sly_spy/slyspy.dfi

Other Platforms

You hacked the project for another platform? Please let me know, especially if you needed you change some sources.

WOW!

Good Job, Doc!!!

I gotta snatch JackAsser's MMC64 back so I can try it out!!

Does not work for me
When I hold right shift, I see following lines:

CLUSTERBUFFER DISABLED, NOT ENOUGH RAM
SCANNING FILE..
SCAN DONE
AVAILABLE LOADING MODES
CONTINUOS MODE NOT AVAILABLE
BUFFERED MODE NOT AVAILABLE
3.NORMAL MODE
PLEASE SELECT
and then:
MAGIC NOT FOUND, TOO SCARED TO CONTINUE!

I'm using blue MMC on C-64c with biosv1.00 which I bought just last month. Other plugins work fine once I uppercased everything..

Thanks for the feedback! I tested the plugin with some dfi's and found out that the 'continuous mode' (the fastest one) never worked. A bug in the file scanner always marked the file as fragmented.

Please download the corrected version here : http://rrforum.ath.cx/viewtopic.php?t=85.



Hmm, this sonds like your dfi is damaged. How did you create it? Please note that a renamed d64 image will not work. You can use cbmconvert to build a dfi from a d64:


Does the sly spy image work? (http://rrforum.ath.cx/download.php?id=64)

I get the 'magic not found' error message in every .dfi file posted, not only my own files. So far I have tried the elvira images, sly spy image, all the demo images, and images I made on my own by using cbmconverter.

with this new .dfiplugin, I now get option 1. available on some files. But the end result is unfortunately same..

Anything I should try?

_________________
I can make it crash!

Have you anything plugged into the MMC (e.g. Retro-Replay)? If so, tried without it?

No, I don't have anything plugged on MMC. Other plugins work fine (except the picture viewer, but that may be because of wrong filenaming).

I am using C-64 C, with 1541 connected in. normal 32mb memory card.

_________________
I can make it crash!

Strange, a wild guess from my side would be that the byte-get routine is not 100% working... But if so, this can only be fixed by Doc Bacardi and he is terribly busy with work at the moment :(

Please tell a bit more about the rest of your setup. How do you copy files to your MMC?

If you have a hexeditor at hand, it would be very interesting to get a hexdump of one of the DFI files from your MMC. But please dump the file from the MMC, not the one on your harddrive.

A complete image of your MMC would also help to get a general idea what could possibly go wrong here. If you are running windows, just grab winhex and generate a 'Disk Image' from your card:
http://www.winhex.com/winhex/index-m.html