3DO: The Pi4 Emulation Nobody Loves?
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@AdamBeGood As the option name implies the actual pixel data layout. RetroArch/libretro has those three as different output targets. Most cores just choose one and ensure to fill the framebuffer with compatible pixel data but I figured it'd be easy to optimize the situation for each case. The 3DO uses a 16bit framebuffer which doesn't really match the RA output but it does mean less data to move around or whatnot.
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@neek I didn't realise that was possible...or know what Daphne is at this point! To Google!
Edit: A LaserDisc emulator? I didn't know that existed at all. I think I might be happy with the 3DO version - it's not that far away from the original is it? Also, I have the ROM and it works so maybe I shouldn't take on another mission.
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@trapexit Interesting! Thanks for the information on this, and for all your work on the Emulator. It's really appreciated. So good to discover a system I've never played before.
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@AdamBeGood Yes of course if you're happy with the 3DO emulator then by all means, go for it. I've installed many of the emulators that run on RetroPie, and found collections that contain all the ROMs I'd want, at least for now. I don't remember playing Dragon's Lair on my 3DO but if it works well for people then spend the time playing, rather than tinkering. :-)
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For those who don't know... American Laser Games who made a lot of the laserdisc video games of the 80's and early 90's used the 3DO (specifically FZ-1 with a better motor) for a number of later releases in the arcade. Not just did the home 3DO ports. There were a number of 3DO arcade games but most are pretty rare. I added a list on the wikipedia article. Seems someone has expanded on it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_3DO_Interactive_Multiplayer_games#Arcade_Games
The holy grail of 3DO arcade games is Beavis and Butt-head. There are several machines known to exist but no one has allowed dumping of the CD. The board appears to be semi-custom but no one has gotten any good images/video of it though. Die Alien Scum!! and Way of the Warrior were announced but were never released nor location tested as far as anyone knows.
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@AdamBeGood No problem. Wish I had more time to spend on it. Eventually...
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@neek Of course now you've got me thinking that there is a better version of the game out there, and I'll never be "happy" until I get that working. I can pretend I won't bother for a day or two but I am sure I'll try to get Daphne working at some point.
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@AdamBeGood Daphne is easy to add to RetroPie, as it's an included optional emulator. Getting the data files for the games is straightforward enough if you know where to look for ROMs.
Happy gaming!
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@neek Yeah I had a token look yesterday, emulator seemed fine but I haven't found any ROMs just yet. I am sure there will be a quiet period at work today!
It certainly seems harder to find that most ROMs, the 3DO version took seconds to obtain.
Edit: I've got it working! My version seems to jump around rooms quite a lot, it isn't sequential. But it seems to be working..
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@AdamBeGood said in 3DO: The Pi4 Emulation Nobody Loves?:
Edit: I've got it working! My version seems to jump around rooms quite a lot, it isn't sequential. But it seems to be working..
My recollection of the arcade version was that it was smoother in the animation transitions. I feel like Daphne might cut off clips from the beginning or end sometimes, but it could be that my bar was a lot lower in the 80s than it is now, where I expect Spielberg-like quality and editing from everything I look at on a screen.
I've found that
[removed]to be a useful resource when looking to expand what my Pi can do. -
@neek said in 3DO: The Pi4 Emulation Nobody Loves?:
My recollection of the arcade version was that it was smoother in the animation transitions. I feel like Daphne might cut off clips from the beginning or end sometimes, but it could be that my bar was a lot lower in the 80s than it is now, where I expect Spielberg-like quality and editing from everything I look at on a screen.
No, I don't mind the video quality (pretty decent for 1983!), I mean that the game jumps around rooms.
I think I was just used to the 3DO version, where you start at the Drawbridge everytime and then if you die there or in the next room (with the falling rocks); you start at the beginning again. Whereas on Daphne, you move on to another room regardless if you die or not.
I've found that ArcadePunks.com to be a useful resource when looking to expand what my Pi can do.
That is where I ended up going to, it's very good. Slightly interested in finding the v2.1 version which puts the drawbridge scene back in, but I think I will give this version a good play before I go hunting for that.
Edit: I've got the v2.1 'enhanced' version of Dragon's Lair now, it seems much better. Flow makes more sense.
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@trapexit said in 3DO: The Pi4 Emulation Nobody Loves?:
For those who don't know... American Laser Games who made a lot of the laserdisc video games of the 80's and early 90's used the 3DO (specifically FZ-1 with a better motor) for a number of later releases in the arcade. Not just did the home 3DO ports. There were a number of 3DO arcade games but most are pretty rare. I added a list on the wikipedia article. Seems someone has expanded on it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_3DO_Interactive_Multiplayer_games#Arcade_Games
The holy grail of 3DO arcade games is Beavis and Butt-head. There are several machines known to exist but no one has allowed dumping of the CD. The board appears to be semi-custom but no one has gotten any good images/video of it though. Die Alien Scum!! and Way of the Warrior were announced but were never released nor location tested as far as anyone knows.
Today I learned something new. How cool!
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Many of us have been trying to get a copy of B&B. The game isn't all that good from the reports I've seen but I'd love to see if it works on retail hardware or if it was an enhanced board with more RAM.
Speaking of which... on my TODO list is to add support to Opera for other memory setups. As far as I can tell it Portfolio OS supports upto 14MB of DRAM and 2MB of VRAM or 15 and 1. Seems a little odd given the 48MB address range available the max wasn't upto some combination upto full 48MB like 16MB+16MB for DRAM and 16MB for VRAM. Won't be all that practical to update a real console but for homebrew having the extra memory might be useful.
https://3dodev.com/documentation/hardware/3do_memory_configurations
@neek: they also created custom PBUS devices
https://3dodev.com/documentation/hardware/pbus
An arcade lightgun and a "SILLY_CONTROL_PAD" that was used for the coin and start buttons for Orbatak. The Orbatak trackball was just using the mouse API.
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My copy of Road Rash has a second 'audio' disc. Is this just an audio CD or is it integral to the game? Also what is the most compact and practical file format to store 3DO games on? Mine are all .bin/.cue format but they have a couple of extra files as well.
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It's just an audio disc. Nothing to do with the game.
The most practical is bin/cue or iso. The most compact would be chd.
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@trapexit does lr-opera support chd files?
EDIT: Also, general question for the room: Most of my 3do roms are bin/cue but I do have some iso/cue. Do I need the cue files for the iso files?
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Yes, it does support CHD if it was compiled in. I don't know if RetroPie enables it or not. I did see someone mention that that ES or whatever frontend they were using wasn't configured for CHD but that's a separate issue.
As for needing CUE files. No.
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My games also have .ccd and .sub files.
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3DO: My favorite things:
Out of this World: Vastly improved visual environments! Maybe the best platform for this game. Made me play through it a second time.
Star Control II improvements. Excellent VO. They were ported to other platforms, but I saw them first on 3DO.
Starblade: Again, improved graphics. Also available on PSX, but I saw in on 3DO first.
Pretty good road games, esp. Need for Speed & Road Rash. Need for Speed doesn't emulate well with the Pi 4B, but someday it will...
Twisted... Corny. Campy. So bad I enjoyed it. -
If you like Twisted... there is also Zhadnost: The People's Party.
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