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Post by spannernick on Feb 4, 2020 21:46:47 GMT
It might be how many games that are in the update and the size of it,try removing some games maybe 2 at a time until the update works then you know how many games the update can handle, Try it from Carousel mode. It looks like it might be having a problem reading the update cause it not executing it,you not seeing the update animation. If you want to add more games then just remove the ones that are copies over already and add new ones up to the number of games the update can handle and keep doing until you have 150 games in the Carusel, Remember once they are transferred over they can't be removed with the game tool.You can only remove them with the X-windows update or Uart. I only tried 3 games so far that I transfered over at the moment and it worked fine,I might tomorrow try 150 games for a laugh..  I have 150 in the Games tool at the moment but it might not work but be careful how many you transfer casue things can got wrong and you might stop the c64 maxi working,TheC64 Game tool is beta software ATM. So test..test and test.. |
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Post by adgloride on Feb 4, 2020 23:35:32 GMT
Thanks for that. Tried it with just 2 games and it worked. It must be under a certain size. I’ve also used it to backup the nand and the internal games and that works. I dare not try the delete all games button as my uart mod went wrong and I damaged the connector so if it breaks I can’t repair it. On the uart on the mini I’ve learned that all these files HAVE to be right. If not your c64 won’t boot and you need uart to repair it. I would like to know the maximum amount of games you can add at once. It’s a very good piece of software but you need to be careful when putting the games on for the above reason.
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Post by raxrip on Feb 4, 2020 23:49:13 GMT
Thanks for that. Tried it with just 2 games and it worked. It must be under a certain size. I’ve also used it to backup the nand and the internal games and that works. I dare not try the delete all games button as my uart mod went wrong and I damaged the connector so if it breaks I can’t repair it. On the uart on the mini I’ve learned that all these files HAVE to be right. If not your c64 won’t boot and you need uart to repair it. I would like to know the maximum amount of games you can add at once. It’s a very good piece of software but you need to be careful when putting the games on for the above reason. There should be a log file created on your usb drive. I guess it will say something about to many games? If the number of games to add + the number of games on the TheC64 is greater than 150 then the tool will exit regardless if they are the same. |
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Post by johno75 on Feb 5, 2020 0:35:18 GMT
wow just copied all my games from THEC64 Maxi to the games folder on my PC and run TheC64GameTool_v023b.exe and its loaded them all... 150 games in there now.. I noticed that you can only edit or delete the ones that the tool made. if you add -ms to the filename of the tsg file eg "ALLEYKAT-ms" I think that lets you edit/delete the games you have copied in there that came from the c64 maxi |
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Post by bronze on Feb 5, 2020 10:49:52 GMT
It's a shame really that there is a 150 game limit for the carousel, I always wanted to add as many as I wanted, so all the usb games would display nicely, sounds like hardware limitations will make this an impossible dream  |
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Post by frankybyte on Feb 5, 2020 11:02:34 GMT
I had time to test your tool today. There seems to be a problem with special characters. sobalf are special characters in the description, the program crashes. And if you see ÄÜÖß, the lines are moved I hope you understand what i mean unfortunately I cannot upload pictures here photos.app.goo.gl/DKpNctowjLiJAxxw6 |
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Post by jj0 on Feb 5, 2020 16:07:15 GMT
Thanks for that. Tried it with just 2 games and it worked. It must be under a certain size. I’ve also used it to backup the nand and the internal games and that works. I dare not try the delete all games button as my uart mod went wrong and I damaged the connector so if it breaks I can’t repair it. On the uart on the mini I’ve learned that all these files HAVE to be right. If not your c64 won’t boot and you need uart to repair it. I would like to know the maximum amount of games you can add at once. It’s a very good piece of software but you need to be careful when putting the games on for the above reason. If your UART doesn't work you can also access the system via FEL mode, see elsewhere on the forum. |
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Post by adgloride on Feb 5, 2020 21:48:16 GMT
Fell mode won’t work on the maxi. But If I get it booting up to the c64 screen and break the carousel at least the maxi will still work
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Post by adgloride on Feb 5, 2020 21:50:58 GMT
It's a shame really that there is a 150 game limit for the carousel, I always wanted to add as many as I wanted, so all the usb games would display nicely, sounds like hardware limitations will make this an impossible dream I’m hoping with this firmware hack you will be able to bypass the carousel limit, add your own joysticks and update the operating system. The sky is the limit with the firmware updates. Unless it has a limitation. You could even use the firmware update to get root mode in case you break anything. |
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Post by jj0 on Feb 6, 2020 5:59:07 GMT
Fell mode won’t work on the maxi. But If I get it booting up to the c64 screen and break the carousel at least the maxi will still work FEL mode works fine on the Maxi, but if you are using the FEL packages I created for the Mini you need a different kernel uImage (e.g. the nanda from the Maxi), add 'ramfs' to the boot parameters and maybe (I'm not 100% sure) a newer uboot. Oh, and a USB male to male cable (Type A to Type A) because the FEL-capable port is the standard USB port at the back, not the micro USB port used for power. |
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Post by kugelblitz on Feb 6, 2020 9:10:08 GMT
Regarding the limit of 150 games on the carousel. This most likely will NOT go away. There are two reasons for this:
a) The C64 Mini does not have a lot of RAM. I guess that with 150 games with multiple screenshots (which sometimes are bigger than the game itself...) you will be hitting errors in the carousel soon because it runs out of RAM.
b) Nobody wants to horizontally scroll through lists of 500 games.
The only option would be to have folders in the carousel and load only the folder contents into RAM. This would be a major code rewrite and really, if you want to modify stuff THAT much, you might be better off using another solution to run C64 software (like BMC64 on a Pi) and have access to 10.000 files.
If I can throw out the junk games, add my 100 favourites (excluding those darn multi-disk games so badly supported and the really fast timing oriented games due to the excessive lag of the emulation) the Mini is a killer package to actually PLAY some of your favourites.
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Post by raxrip on Feb 10, 2020 15:16:04 GMT
About the max limit of 150 games in the carousel.
In the the64 (v1.3.2) elf bin at offset 0xD9D0 you will find the value 0x96 (150).By looking at the code it looks like this is where the init code for the lib happens
:0001D9D0 96 00 A0 E3 MOV R0, #150 <- This byte
:0001D9D4 09 7D 00 EB BL malloc_game_lib
If anyone would like to try to get more games then set this byte to like 0xC8 (200) and see if you can have more games.
(this is the the64 file that is 238884 in size. I think it is for the US mini version?)
(for the file with size 260240 (maxi?) it is the offset 0xDD44)
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Post by spannernick on Feb 10, 2020 16:49:20 GMT
Do you have to do this in a Hex Editor..? I use HxD on Windows and use Ex2 Volume Manager to see and edit the file system on THEC64 Maxi on the SD Card. Is it at 0000DD40 and column 04 its says 96 there,do I change 96 to C8..? The Offset(h) says DD44 on the bottom bar. Yes you change it to C8,in HxD you open the64 file and look for 0000DD40 and look in column 04 (you will see The Offset(h) DD44 on the bottom bar) then highlight 96,click on Edit>Fill selection and put C8 in Fill Pattern Pass Hex values box then press OK box. then save file. it should made a bak of the file after you save it.
If you have THEC64 Maxi you try it yourself but made a backup of your the64 file first.. Download it here.. the64.zip (135.55 KB) It should let you have 200 games in it now. the64 file is in usr\bin, use CFW for Mod(X-Windows LXDE) to copy it overHere is a Pic..  |
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Post by jj0 on Feb 10, 2020 17:43:07 GMT
About the max limit of 150 games in the carousel. In the the64 (v1.3.2) elf bin at offset 0xD9D0 you will find the value 0x96 (150).By looking at the code it looks like this is where the init code for the lib happens :0001D9D0 96 00 A0 E3 MOV R0, #150 <- This byte :0001D9D4 09 7D 00 EB BL malloc_game_lib If anyone would like to try to get more games then set this byte to like 0xC8 (200) and see if you can have more games. (this is the the64 file that is 238884 in size. I think it is for the US mini version?) (for the file with size 260240 (maxi?) it is the offset 0xDD44) This reminds me of the good old days, scanning memory on the C64 for special values. Where's PEEK and POKE for Linux?  In the 'the64' source there's in gamelibrary.h: #define GAME_META_TITLE_MAX 100
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typedef struct {
unsigned char title [GAME_META_TITLE_MAX + 1];
char filename [GAME_META_FILE_MAX + 1]; // room for path too
unsigned char description[LANG_MAX][GAME_META_DESCRIPTION_MAX + 1];
unsigned char author [MAX_AUTHOR][GAME_META_AUTHOR_MAX + 1];
unsigned char publisher [GAME_META_PUBLISHER_MAX + 1];
unsigned char music [GAME_META_MUSIC_MAX + 1];
unsigned char genre [GAME_META_GENRE_MAX + 1];
unsigned char year [GAME_META_YEAR_MAX + 1];
char cover_img [GAME_META_FILE_MAX + 1];
char screen_img [MAX_SCREEN_IMAGES][GAME_META_FILE_MAX + 1];
int author_count;
int screen_image_count;
int cartridge_title_id;
int needs_truedrive;
int needs_driveicon;
int vertical_shift; // Screen has top/bottom boarders chopped. This allows adjust.
int is_ntsc;
int is_64;
int is_basic;
sid_type_t sid_model;
joystick_map_t port_map [JOY_MAX_PORT][JE_MAX_MAP];
int port_primary;
unsigned int duration;
} game_t;
So if i understand correctly the struct's memory is reserved based on the compile-time constant GAME_META_TITLE_MAX (note this is from v1.2.0, since then increased to 150). Or is this memory only reserved at run-time? Edit: Amazingly enough this seems to work! I tried it on the Mini. - Change the 0x96 to 01: -> Segmentation Fault. Bad luck for the people who only want ONE game in the Carousel?
- Change the 0x96 to 95: -> 149 games in the Carousel
- Change the 0x96 to C8: -> 200 games in the Carousel
- Change the 0x96 to FF: -> 255 games in the Carousel
So great idea raxrip! This patch would be a nice addition to your Carousel editor. |
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Post by spannernick on Feb 10, 2020 19:12:29 GMT
It works on thec64 maxi too I have 151 games in the carousel now just added Fruit Machine Simulator by Codemasters.. Thanks.. it's a Tap file... Oh you can add Prg,Tap and D64 files not just Vsf files in the Carousel and they don't need compressing. |
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Post by spannernick on Feb 10, 2020 21:11:03 GMT
If you have THEC64 Maxi you try it yourself but made a backup of your the64 file first.. Download it here.. the64.zip It should let you have 200 games in the Carousel now. the64 file is in usr\bin, use CFW for Mod(X-Windows LXDE) to copy it overIf you have THEC64 Mini pm me your the64 file and I do it for you,I don't mind...
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Post by sebuko on Feb 10, 2020 21:30:06 GMT
Hello Folks. This is pretty amazing. I´m using a "THEC64 MAXI" and flashed my carousel also with additional games per USB Flash Update. I just wanted to know, how much space (MB) are available for those 150 or 200 games. Because my carousel crashed some times for no reason and it´s under 148 Games. I´m using 20MB in total for Games,Screenshots and Covers. So i was afraid this could be the maximum size in MB wich i can use for the "THEC64 MAXI".
Oh and if you have crashed your Carousel and your THEC64 Maxi freezed with a black screen, after using an USB Flash Updates: Just unplug and replug the Powercable, hold the Power Button on the right until the Logo appears. Then you can redo your Settings. After this THEC64 maybe is still broken. If so: Turn it off and boot it again (without holding the Power Button). If you have still a black screen do the first Step again and then the second. Maybe 4 times. Then the Carousel should appear again with empty black slots and you can Flash your C64 again, without open it. Have fun!!!
Thanks to all of you, for the great work!!!
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Post by raxrip on Feb 10, 2020 22:01:28 GMT
So it works cool I guess now it's time to find out if we can have even more.. 0xDD44: 00 02 00 E3 MOV R0, #512 So at the same offset set these bytes to see if 512 games is supported.. The original bytes are: 0xDD44: 96 00 A0 E3 MOV R0, #150 Change 3 bytes in total. |
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Post by adgloride on Feb 10, 2020 22:47:31 GMT
I did hear that the c64 maxi had more storage than the mini. Has anyone tried to fill the whole storage yet? I'm loving this app at the moment. What's going to come next? Has nayone found out how to add the extra games just by using the carosel software?
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Post by raxrip on Feb 10, 2020 22:49:27 GMT
I just sent out the v0.30b for testing. This time I made a small read me for adding games Could you test this method and also try to add Easy Flash cartridges that have multiples games. About the Easy Flash installed Epyx games. When looking into how they made it possible to have multiple games in the carousel pointing to the same crt game file I discovered that the epyx crt file they are using is a modified version of the one found here: csdb.dk/release/?id=107705What they did was to patch the file to not showing the menu but instead read a byte from address $800 and use this byte as a selector for which game to load. (This byte is the I:x found in the .tsg file) If you use the Game Tool you could add Summer Games 1 by using index 0 and point it to one of the already installed crt games. (See readme.txt) So I guess it would be possible to do the same with other Easy Flash crt games that contains multiple games. |
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Post by darbyram on Feb 11, 2020 6:59:00 GMT
So it works cool I guess now it's time to find out if we can have even more.. 0xDD44: 00 02 00 E3 MOV R0, #512 So at the same offset set these bytes to see if 512 games is supported.. The original bytes are: 0xDD44: 96 00 A0 E3 MOV R0, #150 Change 3 bytes in total. This is brilliant, not had time to test any of this yet due to work, but will be on it real soon. |
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Post by spannernick on Feb 11, 2020 13:08:00 GMT
I was wondering could hack (use a Hex editor) the64 file to get to use a different sid...??
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Post by veiner87 on Feb 11, 2020 13:15:45 GMT
I was wondering could hack (use a Hex editor) the64 file to get to use a different sid...?? Good idea. It will be great to have ability to use 8583 SID. |
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Post by sebuko on Feb 11, 2020 16:40:13 GMT
I did hear that the c64 maxi had more storage than the mini. Has anyone tried to fill the whole storage yet? I'm loving this app at the moment. What's going to come next? Has nayone found out how to add the extra games just by using the carosel software?
I´m very interested in this question,too. How many MB are free to use for Games/Covers and Snapshots on a THEC64MAXI? What is the limit in Megabyte? Could please someone answer this question? I tryed over 20MB and my carousel keeps crashing (only 146 Games). But i´m not sure, if this is truely the cause.
Thanx.
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Post by spannernick on Feb 11, 2020 17:51:31 GMT
If THEC64 Maxi gets filled up with games(there is 68 mb available and with 150 in there you have about 13 mb left) it will not be able to unzip the game to the temp folder to run it,the temp folder is on the same partition nandb, the Carousel unzips the games first cause Vice can't read gz files only zip files. If you start the64 program in a shell when you run a game from the Carousel you can see it uncompressing them to the temp folder.
Maybe the temp folder could be bind to the usb too when running Carousel games from the usb. No, if running games from usb there be enough space to uncompress them casue your not using nandb for games,just don't put loads of games on nandb cause you could stop the Carousel running games.
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Post by jj0 on Feb 11, 2020 20:30:39 GMT
If THEC64 Maxi gets filled up with games(there is 68 mb available and with 150 in there you have about 13 mb left) it will not be able to unzip the game to the temp folder to run it,the temp folder is on the same partition nandb, the Carousel unzips the games first cause Vice can't read gz files only zip files. If you start the64 program in a shell when you run a game from the Carousel you can see it uncompressing them to the temp folder. Yes, but the /tmp folder is a ramdisk (if you run 'mount' you see 'tmpfs' as type) so the decompressed file is actually not taking up space on nandb. So it's better to have compressed files on nandb because they will take up less space. |
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Post by johno75 on Feb 11, 2020 22:45:13 GMT
I just sent out the v0.30b for testing.I just gave the new update a go. I tried the advance method as per your readme of making an update that just backs up the nand and the games first so you can import them into the carousel tool. It worked fine on the maxi except now in the tool you can't click on next or previous to scroll through the games (as they are greyed out), you have to press the left/right arrows on yor keyboard to scroll through them.When I try to run the same update on the mini to back up the nand and games first the update won't run. It sees there is an update on the usb stick but when you click to run it, it just kicks back to the menu. |
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Post by raxrip on Feb 12, 2020 0:27:23 GMT
I just sent out the v0.30b for testing.I just gave the new update a go. I tried the advance method as per your readme of making an update that just backs up the nand and the games first so you can import them into the carousel tool. It worked fine on the maxi except now in the tool you can't click on next or previous to scroll through the games (as they are greyed out), you have to press the left/right arrows on yor keyboard to scroll through them.When I try to run the same update on the mini to back up the nand and games first the update won't run. It sees there is an update on the usb stick but when you click to run it, it just kicks back to the menu. Could you see if there is a log file on your USB drive and if so then send it to me. The log file name is: thec64gtlog.txt btw. I fixed the next and previous buttons. Thanks for pointing that out. |
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Post by johno75 on Feb 12, 2020 0:53:15 GMT
Could you see if there is a log file on your USB drive and if so then send it to me. The log file name is: thec64gtlog.txt btw. I fixed the next and previous buttons. Thanks for pointing that out. I assume you mean the log text from the c64 mini where the update just kicks me back to the menu? If so I've PM'd you. |
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strud
Creatures
Posts: 18
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Post by strud on Feb 12, 2020 5:54:20 GMT
Is 'the64' a file that would likely get replaced by a firmware update?
Could the next official firmware update erase these hex edits and potentially brick TheC64 if there are more than 150 titles on the carousel?
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I have 150 in the Games tool at the moment but it might not work but be careful how many you transfer casue things can got wrong and you might stop the c64 maxi working,TheC64 Game tool is beta software ATM. So test..test and test.. 
