PDA

View Full Version : Pspectrum - Spectrum emulator for the Psp



SmashinGit
October 10th, 2006, 05:32
Here's the latest information regarding this excellent Spectrum emulator for the Psp.

HexDump the coder of the fantastic Spectrum emulator has posted this update on his website.

Hi all,

As you may know, Im back again. I have little time to work in pspectrum, so, a new version will come out but not soon. Ive opened this thread to let you all talk about several topics of the new version like:

x New GUI system (old is ungly and somehow uncomfortable (is this the right word?).
x New Features (not included things like new hardware support like +3, but things like several savestates for each game, etc..)


I would like to hear having bugs, etc, for example:

x Sound problems/glitches.
x Emulator slowdowns.
x Games not working (well this is something related to fuse).

etc...

I have some news too, related to pspectrum legality. I have been talking with the other coder of the engine I using for pspectrum called MGE (he is the main coder and a friend of mine, I just added some classes to the engine) and he accepted to let me publish full pspectrum sources. We made a deal, we will clean MGE code and release the engine to the community before pspectrum is released and then I will be able to release pspectrum that uses a modified version of MGE, the one I coded to let MGE support 3D psp hardware and other goodies.


Hope everybody will be happy now with a new pspectrum version in the horizont,

HexDump

So if you have found any bugs or know of any problems please let HexDump know by visiting the forums at his website.

http://personal.telefonica.terra.es/web/exkq/pspectrum/homeeng.html

Amiga
October 10th, 2006, 11:25
Fantastic news! :D

Inposter
October 10th, 2006, 11:37
Thats great! im glad some of you guys remember the good old days of back to school ect :) .one of the best emulators full stop. good work fella...

jguba7892
October 10th, 2006, 12:06
does this emulate the original spectrum or one of the later 80s models?

Hungry Horace
October 10th, 2006, 12:24
does this emulate the original spectrum or one of the later 80s models?

all speccys were madein the 80s hehe.

it emulates the original sinclair 48k machine, the sinclair 128k machine and the Amstrad-made +2 128k machine.

i am hoping one day it might support the +3 as well, allowing for .dsk use, but this may be a while away.

there is already a version avaible on this site, its just been out of development for a while!


p.s. i could have posted this new earlier! just wasnt convinced anyone would be that interested!
stilll... i can rely on SmashingGit ;)

mr_nick666
October 10th, 2006, 12:57
p.s. i could have posted this new earlier! just wasnt convinced anyone would be that interested!
stilll... i can rely on SmashingGit ;)

I PMed SmashinGit with the thread from PSpectrum but didnt even think of posting it :o

Who doesnt love the Spectrum by the way??? :confused: Without it (and Sir Clive) we wouldnt have our LCD screens and home computers :eek:

This is great news - Its already a superb emulator so it can only get better :D

Hungry Horace
October 10th, 2006, 13:39
Who doesnt love the Spectrum by the way??? :confused:

the massive number of nintendo (GBA, SNES, N64) fanboys who seem to own a PSP. :mad:




Without it (and Sir Clive) we wouldnt have our LCD screens and home computers :eek:

This is great news - Its already a superb emulator so it can only get better :D

preaching to the converted ;)

well... hardly converted lol - i might as well have been born crawling onto the annoying Q-Z-I-P rubber keyed button combo of Horace Goes Skiing!

Ricardo Castelo
October 10th, 2006, 14:03
Hi! Somehow I can't register in that site forum, so I'll just have to put this request here, hoping that some caring soul would carry this to the developer... I have one of the earlier Jap psp's which have really fragile square button... To see if it is possible to use the analog controller and other button to use as standart Kepston Joystick. I really like the spectrum, but using it with those d pad diagonals sucks...

Hungry Horace
October 10th, 2006, 14:17
Hi! Somehow I can't register in that site forum, so I'll just have to put this request here, hoping that some caring soul would carry this to the developer... I have one of the earlier Jap psp's which have really fragile square button... To see if it is possible to use the analog controller and other button to use as standart Kepston Joystick. I really like the spectrum, but using it with those d pad diagonals sucks...


what version are you using? the kempston setting is the only thing that DOES work on the analogue stick!

dont get the version from the original site (not sure why smashinggit posted that link and not the forum itself!)

http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=26782

has the last release version.

btw, although the forum is spanish, cant see any reason why you wouldnt be able to register!

MikeDX
October 10th, 2006, 14:24
If the next version doesn't have this option, i'm happy to make a mod as he releases his code to use the a different button instead of the square.

Hungry Horace
October 10th, 2006, 14:33
If the next version doesn't have this option, i'm happy to make a mod as he releases his code to use the a different button instead of the square.

well if this IS the case, i'd suggest you pop onto the PSPectrum forum and have a word with HexDump, and see if you can add a few bits and bobs to functionality like this :) i'm sure he'd appriciate the help on the workload.

MikeDX
October 10th, 2006, 14:44
well if this IS the case, i'd suggest you pop onto the PSPectrum forum and have a word with HexDump, and see if you can add a few bits and bobs to functionality like this :) i'm sure he'd appriciate the help on the workload.

Ok I've signed up and offered my help

lets see what happens :)

Dickhead
October 10th, 2006, 14:58
This is great news now, when I play Deathchase3d when you crash into a tree the sound slows down abit even in 333mhz, this will be sorted out in the next release

ACID
October 10th, 2006, 15:00
This is great news. I love my old school games.

Hungry Horace
October 10th, 2006, 15:13
This is great news now, when I play Deathchase3d when you crash into a tree the sound slows down abit even in 333mhz, this will be sorted out in the next release

you'd be wise to post this on the pspectrum forum directly.



@ Mike... how many PSPs do you have? hows your wifi knowledge? :rolleyes:

MikeDX
October 10th, 2006, 15:17
you'd be wise to post this on the pspectrum forum directly.



@ Mike... how many PSPs do you have? hows your wifi knowledge? :rolleyes:

why arent you on msn :)

i have access to 3 psps plus one brick lol

Looking at the source now to pspectrum.... wont compile :P

Hungry Horace
October 10th, 2006, 15:30
why arent you on msn :)

cause i''m at work and am meant to be sorting accounts out lol.


i have access to 3 psps plus one brick lol

Looking at the source now to pspectrum.... wont compile :P

yeah, there's some bits missing from it, thus the whole thing about the new release being fully GPL compliant. theres an issue with HexDump, one of his mates, and the FUSE team to be resolved. maybe you can get the current full-source from him though to have a play around with?

great news about the multiple PSPs though... think we now know what function you have to work on mate ;)

Veskgar
October 10th, 2006, 15:56
the massive number of nintendo (GBA, SNES, N64) fanboys who seem to own a PSP. :mad:
Thats me! Although I wouldn't go as far to say I'm a fanboy and I never really cared much for the N64 except for Zelda, Mario, & GoldenEye.

Anyway, this EMU seems exciting. The Spectrum was just barely before my time. I was sucked into gaming when I first discovered the original NES.

There is just something magical for me about being able to relive NES, SNES, & GBA on my FAVORITE handheld, the PSP.

I imagine the same nostalgic feeling is there for those who have a strong connection with the Spectrum.

MikeDX
October 10th, 2006, 16:05
yeah, there's some bits missing from it, thus the whole thing about the new release being fully GPL compliant. theres an issue with HexDump, one of his mates, and the FUSE team to be resolved. maybe you can get the current full-source from him though to have a play around with?

I might not want to having read up on things, looks like hes dug himself a neat little hole lol

I could write a speccy emulator from scratch, mostly without documentation as I know the hardware very well!

Might have a play later if I don't visit the girlfriend..

Hawq
October 10th, 2006, 16:10
Who doesnt love the Spectrum by the way??? :confused: Without it (and Sir Clive) we wouldnt have our LCD screens and home computers :eek:
Or many of the coders that have given us joy over the years who started out in theor bedrooms & such

ACID
October 10th, 2006, 16:10
I might not want to having read up on things, looks like hes dug himself a neat little hole lol

I could write a speccy emulator from scratch, mostly without documentation as I know the hardware very well!

Might have a play later if I don't visit the girlfriend..
Common where are your priorities mike. Gaming first girlfriend second. http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/6591/skullhotwu6.gif (http://imageshack.us)

MikeDX
October 10th, 2006, 16:17
Common where are your priorities mike. Gaming first girlfriend second. http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/6591/skullhotwu6.gif (http://imageshack.us)

lol it was when i was 15.

Hungry Horace
October 10th, 2006, 16:19
I might not want to having read up on things, looks like hes dug himself a neat little hole lol

nah,honestly, it's being resolved. his mate has agreed to release everything once the code is "tidied" - i assume it contains stuff which is irrelevent to pspeccy at the mo which he'd rather not release.


I could write a speccy emulator from scratch, mostly without documentation as I know the hardware very well!

pspectrum began from scratch, but development became so much quicker and improved once the switch to FUSE was made. it makes sense, and its better than most of the psp emu-ports out there. (all of them in fact!)

i really dont think a new speccy emualtor is worth the hassle tbh, it would be much better to have combined efforts on a single project resulting in a greater reward. just my opinion mind.


Might have a play later if I don't visit the girlfriend..

10 IF GIRLFRIEND > EMU THEN EMU=0
20 IF GIRLFRIEND<>0 THEN GOSUB SEX
30 IF EMU=0 THEN CONTINUE
40 LET GIRLFRIEND=DUMPED
50 GO SUB MAKE-EMU
60 STOP

or something like that ;)





Or many of the coders that have given us joy over the years who started out in theor bedrooms & such

@ Veskgar - this quote is one of the many reasons i feel the ZX spectrum is a far more important machine in gaming history than anything nintendo have done. particular regarding the european development scene. (all the best games come from britain :P )

all nintendo evet gave us was a pad-layout.... oh ok, the GameBoy was pretty important, but thats it.

MikeDX
October 10th, 2006, 16:27
Or many of the coders that have given us joy over the years who started out in theor bedrooms & such

me for one.

ACID
October 10th, 2006, 16:30
lol it was when i was 15.
you know im just kidding right.

MikeDX
October 10th, 2006, 16:48
you know im just kidding right.

well duh. didnt you see my post about the psp emu ;)

Baboon
October 10th, 2006, 16:51
Ahh, I wish I still had my specky+2 machine (complete with built in tape deck). :)

As a school kid I was well in my element playing games like: Horrace goes skining, Daley thompson decathalon, kickstart2, last ninja 2, Yie ar kung fu, r-type, Chase hq (although it did take forever to load), Chuckie egg, etc.

I think it's soooo cool that my old memories are being recreated/emulated today still on the psp.

Keep it up please! :)

Ricardo Castelo
October 12th, 2006, 00:46
Hi Mike! Thanks for the support! I think I will need a helping hand to change the default button on Kepston to be the X!

mr_nick666
October 12th, 2006, 09:25
Or many of the coders that have given us joy over the years who started out in theor bedrooms & such

Indeed so :) I used to do freelance graphics from my bedroom back in the day :rolleyes: I lost interest when it all went 3D because I didnt enjoy it :( Thats why Im loving doing stuff for the PSP - its just like the old days :D


great news about the multiple PSPs though... think we now know what function you have to work on mate ;)

/\ /\ Do I smell WIFI!??? :eek:

grit
October 12th, 2006, 10:07
Just wanna say that I'm happy to see this emu evolving.
Keep It Up!

Vega
October 12th, 2006, 14:49
yea this is one of my favourite emulators too.
.dsk support would be awesome one day, put Im totally content with what I got!
Putting in some hardcore hours with the Dizzy Games now!!! :D :D
Thanks for this emu

Baboon
October 16th, 2006, 22:37
I finally got round to having a go at this specy emu, but I havent had much joy with it yet. :(

I've got a dozen or so games but there all in the 'ztx' format and not the supported '.Z80' or '.SNA'. Sorry for such a noobish question but is there a way to covert my games so that they will work? ...I've tried just renaming the files extension but that didnt make any difference. Any help would be appreciated.

I'll be happy once I get Trap Door, Elite, Saboteur 2 and Horrace goes sking working. :)

Hungry Horace
October 17th, 2006, 01:59
I finally got round to having a go at this specy emu, but I havent had much joy with it yet. :(

I've got a dozen or so games but there all in the 'ztx' format and not the supported '.Z80' or '.SNA'. Sorry for such a noobish question but is there a way to covert my games so that they will work? ...I've tried just renaming the files extension but that didnt make any difference. Any help would be appreciated.

I'll be happy once I get Trap Door, Elite, Saboteur 2 and Horrace goes sking working. :)


tzx IS supported by version 1.0.4 which you can find here:

http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=26782

however, you would be better using TAP files, which seem to always work and are always accellerated in loading time. certain TZXs load in real time, or get stuck, due to certain unsupported (by Fuse) loading routines. (somewhat ironically usually fast/turbo-loaders). TZXs and TAPs are the actual data from the tape, and so are much better to use than z80 or SNA snapshots imho.

you can get all of the speccy games which havent been denied distribution (i.e. legal - nothing by Ultimate or Activision) from http://worldofspectrum.org - though you may already know this. they have pretty much everything in TAP format as well as TZX.

wicked choices of games btw. gotta love Horace Goes Skiing on the PSP! check out Horace & the Spiders too.... it's one of my faves!

Baboon
October 17th, 2006, 13:15
tzx IS supported by version 1.0.4 which you can find here:

http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=26782

however, you would be better using TAP files, which seem to always work and are always accellerated in loading time. certain TZXs load in real time, or get stuck, due to certain unsupported (by Fuse) loading routines. (somewhat ironically usually fast/turbo-loaders). TZXs and TAPs are the actual data from the tape, and so are much better to use than z80 or SNA snapshots imho.

you can get all of the speccy games which havent been denied distribution (i.e. legal - nothing by Ultimate or Activision) from http://worldofspectrum.org - though you may already know this. they have pretty much everything in TAP format as well as TZX.

wicked choices of games btw. gotta love Horace Goes Skiing on the PSP! check out Horace & the Spiders too.... it's one of my faves!

I'll try that version of the emulator when I get home, thanks very much for the info/link.

Thats funny that you say TZXs load in real time.. I'd be here forever loading up my games (I guess use this format is if you want a 100% true emulation in loading times lol). :D

edit: This verion kicks ass! Thanks very much... ive jjust got to figure out now how to define the controls properly. :)