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BlockOut II Remake now for AmigaOS 4!
Posted by emeck on 2008/6/25 16:30:57 (3006 reads)

BlockOut II Remake now for AmigaOS 4!

I never understood the excitment that caused Tetris when it came out. Really, I tried to play and enjoyed it several times but never got it. I saw it at the university, at work places, magazine reviews... everywhere, but it wasn't for me. And then came Blockout!

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Blockout was designed by Aleksander Ustaszewski and Mirosław Zabłocki in 1989 and released for different platforms including Amiga, DOS, and Atari, developed by California Dreams. There is even a version for Palm OS devices out there.

Blockout is a top down 3-D tetris, were you have to rotate the pieces around all three axes and can be moved and shifted vertically and horizontally in a pit, challenging your 3d spatial capabilities. You must try to fill in the layers in the pit with the pieces, one at a time ideally. When a layer is completed, it is removed and the layers above, if any, drop down. You get extra points for completing the lowest layer without having blocks of other layers on top of it.

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The graphics are nice and simple. The pit is a grid and the blocks (polycubes) are not filled, making it easy to see were they can fit in the layer below. You can choose between fullscreen or different window sizes. Controls for rotating the blocks are configurable, as the rotating speed and transparency.T here are three game modes, although you can define your own setup changing the length, width and depth of the pit and the block set (flat, basic or extended).

This remake of BlockOut II has a Hall of Fame as the original one, but also Online Scores. For now, the Amiga port doesn't have it enabled but lets hope soon we'll be kicking some ?blockouters? butts from other platforms :D

For those interested, here is a review of BlockOut in CU Amiga.

Finally, we must thank very, very much Varthall for bringing this classic to AmigaOS 4.

  0   Article ID : 25
OWB installation manual
Posted by orgin on 2008/2/20 9:11:57 (6757 reads)

1. Preparations

1.1. Downloading required packages
OWB archive: Download
libicu: Download
libSDL: Download (Shared object)
XAD 7z module: Download
sobjs.lha: download

1.2. - Fetching the optional fonts:
Copy all #?.ttf files from a windows machine from c:\windows\fonts\ to your Amiga
Or just Download them. (All .exe files)
Also download corefonts.lha Download

2. Installation

2.1. Installing XAD 7z module
For some weird reason the author of the OS4 port of OWB decided to use an archive format that isn't by default supported by the UnArc as distributed through the OS4 install CD. This requires that you download a new XAD module for this archive format so that UnArc can handle it.

- Download the XAD 7z archive from the link above.
- Open the archive with unarc and extract it to ram:
- Open your Ram: drive and double click on "Install" in the xad_7z directory
- Once the install script is done, reboot your machine

2.2 Installing OWB
- Download the OWB archive using the link above.
- Open the archive with unarc and extract it into your desired directory.

2.3 Installing libicu
- Download the libicu archive using the link above.
- Open the archive with unarc and extract the two #?.so files into sobjs:

2.4 installing libSDL
- Go to the libSDL page above and download the shared object version of SDL.
- Open the archive with unarc and extract it into RAM:
- Copy the libSDL-1.2.so file from the SDL-#? directory in RAM: to sobjs:

2.4 installing sobjs.lha
- Download sobjs.lha using the link avove
- Open the archive with unarc and extract it into RAM:
- Copy the #?.so files in ram:SObjs to sobjs:

2.5 Installing fonts (Optional)

Installing the extra fonts isn't strictly necessary but it will make pages look somewhat better than using the fallback font(s).

If you have installed these fonts before you need to remove them from fonts: and fonts:_TrueType before proceeding.

If you downloaded the #?.exe files mentioned in the first chapter:
- Open each of the exe files in unarc and extract all #?.TTF files to fonts:_TrueType

andale32.exe
arial32.exe
arialb32.exe
comic32.exe
courie32.exe
georgi32.exe
impact32.exe
times32.exe
trebuc32.exe
verdan32.exe
webdin32.exe

- Open wd97vwr32.exe in unarc and extract "Viewer1.cab" to RAM:
- Open ram:Viewer1.cab in unarc and extract "tahoma.ttf" to fonts:_TrueType

If you copied the fonts from a windows machine, just copy the #?.ttf files to fonts:_TrueType

- Download corefonts.lha.
- Open corefonts.lha in unarc and extract it to RAM:
- Copy all #?.otag and #?.font files from ram:fonts to fonts:
- Reboot your machine and start OWB.

3. Troubleshooting

  5   Article ID : 24
HAM8 Explained
Posted by orgin on 2007/10/18 18:12:19 (17137 reads)

HAM8 is a special graphics mode only available with the Amiga AGA chipset used in the CD32, A1200 and A4000 models. It builds on the HAM6 mode found in the OCS/ECS chipset used models like the A500,A1000,A2000,A600 and A3000.

HAM8 mode is based on a 64 color base palette and then an 8 bit per pixel matrix to generate the image. The colors in the 64 color base palette are all a color out of a 16M color palette (24Bit, 8 bits per RGB).

Each pixel on the screen uses 8 bits and can be of 4 different types:
A pixel that uses the color of one of the 64 base palette colors (that is, all 24 bits of the base color)
A pixel that uses the same color as the previous pixel but with a modified Red component.
A pixel that uses the same color as the previous pixel but with a modified Green component.
A pixel that uses the same color as the previous pixel but with a modified Blue component.

6 bits of each 8 bit pixel defines either which base palette color the pixel should use or the value the red, green or blue component should use.
2 bits of each 8 bit pixel defines what kind of pixel it is (see above).

However, each modifying pixel can only change the upper 6 bits per RGB channel from the previous pixel. This means that a modifying pixel inherits the lower 2 bits per RGB from the previous pixel.

All the above means that each RGB channel can be modified in 64 steps, which means that you can modify a base palette color in 64*64*64 (262144) different ways.

Given a long enough line you can have all 262144 variations of a base colors on that line, on which all pixels in that line inherits the lower 2 bits of each RGB channel from the base color.

Using two lines with two different base palette colors with a different set of lower 2 bits per RGB channel will result in 524288 colors on screen.

Using 64 lines with 64 different base palette colors each with a different set of lower 2 bits per RGB channel will result in 16777216 colors on screen.

The AGA chipset is however not able to display lines long enough to generate all 262144 variations of each base color, nor is it able to display enough lines if you split them up. In conclusion: HAM8 can display pixels using any color out of 16777216 and the number of different colors possible on each image is only limited by the makeup of the base colors, the image pattern itself and the number of available columns and rows. Which makes it quite complicated to calculate exactly how many colors an HAM8 image can have. Stating that HAM8 is a 262144 color image mode is however entirely incorrect.

  4   Article ID : 22
OS4 P96 ScreenModes.doc
Posted by TetiSoft on 2007/9/21 15:40:23 (2620 reads)

$VER: ScreenModes.doc 52.2 (6.6.2007)

How to define Picasso96 screenmodes
===================================

The new default method to define the screenmodes to be used by
Picasso96 is to edit the tooltypes of the P96 monitor icons in
Devs:Monitors/. The old method, using Picasso96Mode, does still
work, however, Picasso96Mode will not recognize the modes created
with the new method. Picasso96Mode offers more control of details
but is a bit complicated for the normal user.

Picasso96Mode adds a SETTINGSFILE tooltype to the monitor driver icon which
points to the modes stored in a binary file. The settings file screenmodes
are added before the tooltype screenmodes, the tooltype screenmodes dont
overwrite existing similar modes. So when you want to switch to the new
method completely, dont forget to remove the SETTINGSFILE tooltype.

You should first tell Picasso96 about the supported frequency ranges
of your monitor, then define screenmodes, then save and reboot
(the tooltypes are read during Picasso96 startup only).

Caution, dont store monitor driver backups in Devs:Monitors/.
Most existing monitor driver icons contain the BOARDTYPE tooltype
which overrides the filename and specifies which card driver shall
be used, it would be "random" which driver is found and used first,
so if they conflict the correct driver tooltypes could not be able to
redefine the modes already specified with the wrong tooltypes from
the backup. You can exclude file names on the commandline of the
LoadMonDrvs command call in Startup-Sequence but thats not recommended,
please store your monitor driver backups in SYS:Storage/Monitors/.

If you try to define a screenmode which would be out of the specified
monitor frequency ranges, Picasso96 will reject that screenmode.

If you try to define a screenmode which would be out of the capabilities of
your graphics card, Picasso96 will either try to adjust it (by e.g.
switching to DoubleScan mode or lowering the vertical sync rate if
possible) or reject it (e.g. it will not accept 24bit/32bit modes on old
graphics cards which dont support that).

The monitor driver tooltypes for defining monitor specifications are:

HSYNCMIN
--------
The minimum horizontal sync rate in Hz which is supported by your monitor.
The default value is 31500. The lowest possible value is 15000. Please
check the manual of your monitor for the correct value (its mostly
specified in kHz so you have to multiply it with 1000, 31500 means 31.5
kHz).

HSYNCMAX
--------
Similar to HSYNCMIN, it specifies the maximum horizontal sync rate in Hz.
The default value is 38000 (38 kHz). The value must be greater than
HSYNCMIN.

VSYNCMIN
--------
The minimum vertical sync rate in Hz which is supported by your monitor.
The default value is 60. The lowest possible value is 50. Please
check the manual of your monitor for the correct value.

VSYNCMAX
--------
Similar to VSYNCMIN, it specifies the maximum vertical sync rate in Hz.
The default value is 75. The value must be greater than VSYNCMIN.


The monitor driver tooltype for defining screenmodes is:

MODE
----
With this tooltype you specify at least the width and height in pixels
and the vertical sync frequency in Hz of a screenmode. Example:

MODE=1280x1024@60

This will create a screenmode with a width of 1280 pixels, a height of
1024 pixels and a refresh rate (vertical sync rate) of 60 Hz.

When you are unsure about the widths, heights and frequencies to use,
consult the manual of your monitor, it often contains a list a supported
screenmodes. Of course its possible to create more modes when your monitor
has real multisync capabilities. Some hints:

Typical resolutions and frequencies supported by many monitors are

640x350@85 (37.9kHz)
    
640x400@85 (37.9kHz)
    
640x480@60 (31.5kHz)
 or 
640x480@72 (37.9kHz)
 or 
640x480@75 (37.5kHz)
 or 
640x480@85 (43.3kHz)
    
720x400@85 (37.9kHz)
    
800x600@56 (35.2kHz)
 or 
800x600@60 (37.9kHz)
 or 
800x600@72 (48.1kHz)
 or 
800x600@75 (46.9kHz)
 or 
800x600@85 (53.7kHz)
   
1024x768@60 (48.4kHz)
or 
1024x768@70 (56.5kHz)
or 
1024x768@75 (60.0kHz)
or 
1024x768@85 (68.7kHz)
or 
1024x768i@43 (35.5kHz)
   
1152x864@75 (67.5kHz)
   
1280x960@60 (60.0kHz)
or 
1280x960@85 (85.9kHz)
   
1280x1024@60 (64.0kHz)
or 
1280x1024@75 (80.0kHz)
or 
1280x1024@85 (91.1kHz)
   
1600x1200@60 (75.0kHz)
or 
1600x1200@65 (81.3kHz)
or 
1600x1200@70 (87.5kHz)
or 
1600x1200@75 (93.8kHz)
or 
1600x1200@85 (106.3kHz)
   
1792x1344@60 (83.6kHz)
or 
1792x1344@75 (106.3kHz)
   
1856x1392@60 (86.3kHz)
or 
1856x1392@75 (112.5kHz)
   
1920x1440@60 (90.0kHz)
or 
1920x1440@75 (112.5kHz)


With the old style CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitors, a higher refresh rate
results in less flicker. A too high refresh rate may however result in lower
display quality when you have a cheap monitor cable (or even a monitor switcher
inbetween the graphics card and the monitor) or you are running near the upper
limit of graphics card or monitor. Most people are happy with about 70 or 75 Hz.

With the new style digital TFT/LCD monitors, a higher refresh rate will not
result in less flicker anymore because the monitor refresh rate differs from
the graphics card refresh rate. Here you should probably follow the
recommendations from your monitor manual, often any refresh rate between 60
and 75 Hz is accepted.

On digital TFT/LCD monitors, you should prefer the exact physical resolution of
your monitor as default screenmode, then one pixel in your graphics card can be
displayed as one pixel on your monitor. Any other resolution will result in
interpolated pixels on your monitor which often causes moiree effects or a
blurry display. Check the monitor manual for the exact physical resolution.
When you want to use lower resolutions on a TFT/LCD, its often a good idea to
use something which can be scaled with an integer number, e.g. when you use
640*480 on a 1280*960 monitor, the monitor can display each graphics card pixel
with exactly four (2*2) of its own pixels. Using higher resolutions only makes
sense for displaying large pictures in fullscreen mode when your picture viewer
is unable to scale down the picture.

Back to the explanation of the MODE tooltype, for interlace mode you can specify
an "i" behind the refresh rate, e.g. 'MODE=1280x1024@60i'. BTW, doublescan mode
is automatically activated when the horizontal frequency of the given mode drops
below HSYNCMIN, but its also possible to activate it with a "d" behind the refresh
rate.

By default, each mode will be created in all available color depths.
You can add a list of depths separated by commas to a mode specification
to create a mode with only the specified depths. Example:
MODE=1280x1024x8,16@60 will create the mode with depths of 8bit (256 colors)
and 16bit (65536 colors), but not with 15bit (32768 colors), 24bit or 32bit
(truecolor).

Adding "-hsync" to a mode specification changes the horizontal sync polarity
from positive (default) to negative. Adding "-vsync" does the same for the
vertical polarity. This may be useful when you have lots of similar screenmodes
defined or a second computer attached to your monitor and the monitor is unable
to distinguish all modes in his internal settings tables for screen placement
etc, then the opposite polarity may help the monitor to distinguish screenmodes.
Example: MODE=1280x1024x24@75-hsync-vsync

  0   Article ID : 21
X-Arcade joystick review
Posted by jahc on 2007/7/31 11:51:05 (7514 reads)

Back in the year 2000, while browsing the web I somehow came across a site selling extremely expensive arcade joysticks, made from real arcade parts. They were way out of my price range, but they looked cool, and I NEVER forgot them. Anyway, 5 years later after I'd forgotten all about them, (that was a joke, feel free to laugh!). I found out my favourite arcade games (or "spacies" as we call them in New Zealand) were playable under a software arcade machine emulator called MAME! And not only the cheesy space invader games with crap graphics from the 1980's, but also the REAL games, like Street Fighter 2! And X-Men Vs Streetfighter! Whats more, my 1.4 GHz Athlon played them perfect.. full screen, 60fps, no graphical glitches! This was great, so a few days after my discovery, I went out and bought a 6 button control pad. It did the job okay, but then a few months later, I somehow came across the arcade stick reseller again. And as luck would have it, they had a distributor right here in New Zealand. Well.. it was expensive.. but I was in a better financial situation, so I plonked my money down, and I've never looked back.

Introducing.. the X-Arcade Solo Player joystick!
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The x-arcade solo player stick sports an 8 direction control stick (which can be set to 4 directions for better playability with classics such as PacMan), with 11 buttons littered on the front and sides. One on each side for pinball style games, the traditional 6 buttons on the top plus another two underneath just in case you need them, and what looks like an easily identifyable Start or Join-in button. (Most arcade machines require you to press Start after inserting your coins). It also weighs an impressive 12 lbs (5.4 kg)

Why are you standing on me?!

The first thing I should mention, is that this joystick is advertised as being virtually indestructible. I dont think its possible to break it. And if you do somehow manage that feat, it has a lifetime warranty. Mine has been going strong for about 2 years now. My younger brother seems to be an expert at wearing out Playstation control pads, but my x-arcade stick still functions perfect.

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Wide compatibility..

A neat feature of the X-Arcade line of joysticks is that they're not designed for any specific system, and will connect to virtually all consoles and computers, with the appropriate "adapter". And whats more, one adapter is included free of charge with the purchase. Adapters are currently available for the following systems:
Nintendo Wii, Gamecube, Playstation One/Two/Three, Xbox, Dreamcast, Apple, and computers via USB and PS/2.

The PS/2 adapter is quite special in my opinion. You plug your arcade stick into your computers PS/2 keyboard port, and then the computers keyboard into the X-Arcade stick. Then, the joystick will function by sending "keyboard events" to the computer when its being used, and at the same time you will still be able to use the actual keyboard. But what this means, is that NO SPECIAL DRIVERS are required! You can use this stick with any game that has configurable keyboard controls! I use it on my AmigaOneXE with not only XMAME, but also VICE (Commodore 64 emulation) and SMS Plus (Sega megadrive emulation). Very little configuration is needed with XMAME, because the stick already uses XMAME's default keyboard controls. How cool is that?
(For those of you that are curious, the stick is mapped to the numerical keypad, 8 for up, 4 left, 6 right, 2 down)

Update: I've tried the USB adapter, and it works the exact same way as the PS/2 adapter. It looks like a USB keyboard to your computer, so theres no need to mess around with AmigaInput joystick prefs under OS4.

Lets play doubles!

Whats that you say? You want a 2 player version of this beast? Well good news, guys, there is not only a 2 player version available (with two sets of controls of course), but an even BIGGER 2 player unit named the Tank Stick, which is even heavier, and also more ideal for us 20-30yr olds who need more elbow space when playing side by side. The Tank Stick also has a trackball in the middle which operates like a standard 3 button mouse. This is the next item on my "to-buy" list in case you havent already guessed!

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The weak points

If you buy the 1 player joystick and connect it with a PS/2 adapter, you might want to play with or against another person using the keyboard controls. Well, most amiga-gamers will know about the dreaded "keyboard conflict" problem, whereby certain combinations of keys cannot be held down at the same time. So, while playing together your characters may not respond fluidly.
A solution to this problem could be either using the USB adapter, getting a 2 player stick, or just finding keys that wont conflict with each other.

The other problem is that arcade gamers are used to the joystick being stuck rigidly in front of you. So while using the solo player x-arcade stick, you may move the unit around your desk slightly and accidentally, and it may get into angles that make it difficult for you to operate your player properly. Having said that, once you get used to the joystick not being fixed in front of you, this becomes less of a problem. Also, the Tank Stick should help in this regard because its much heavier as well (an extra 8 lbs over the 1 player versions, 20 lbs/9 kg in total). There are 6 rubber feet underneath the solo player stick, but they are not the suction cap kind which are featured heavily on old Amiga joysticks.

In conclusion

This stick feels so great that I prefer it to a real arcade machine now. The AmigaOne will play most games at a silky smooth rate of 60 fps. It's built to last. AND it's compatible with all recent gaming consoles and computers!

Official X-Arcade Site: http://x-arcade.com

Current prices, as of July 2007:
1 Player Joystick $69.95 USD
2 Player Joystick $129.95 USD
Tank Stick $199.95 USD

  0   Article ID : 19
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