Basilisk II PSP Port (Mac Emulator for PSP) Test Release 20 20/07/08

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July 20th, 2008, 21:20
wraggster

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Basilisk II PSP Port (Mac Emulator for PSP) Test Release 20 20/07/08

Jf has posted yet another release of the Mac Emulator for the PSP, heres the release details:

Okay people, we're really getting down to the nitty-gritty... the goalpost is in sight. I'm tempted to consider this RC1.

Here's test 20. MAJOR changes:

The floating point has been SUBSTANTIALLY rewritten. I've incorporated SoftFloat into the FPU emulation to get extended precision floating point. I've also added most of the FPU functionality that's usually only present in B2 when using x86 assembly. The only compromise left is the transcendental functions are still done in double precision. I seem to have cured most of the FPU problems - the scrollbars in OS8.x work, Arashi and Maelstrom play properly, the calculator gives proper answers... I'd appreciate it if people really checked this as well as they can. This was a BIG rewrite of B2 code (for the FPU). This code should also be portable, so it could help folks trying to port B2 to other platforms as well. Given the rewrite in the FPU and other more minor changes to the B2 code that AREN'T platform specific, I've decided to bump the B2 version from 1.0 to 1.1.

The Mac would hang on RESTART, and I don't feel like chasing that bug down, so I altered B2 to shut down on restart instead of trying to restart. So instead of the PSP hanging and people screaming about that, now they'll just whine about the emulator shutting down instead of restarting. :)

Fixed some other minor bugs, but spent so much time on the FPU that I don't remember them anymore. :D

I still haven't heard any feedback on the IR keyboard support. I'd appreciate it.

Download and give feedback and Compatability Reports via comments.
July 21st, 2008, 10:53
b8a

I'd love to give this a shot, but the only programs I'm interested in running from the 8.x days are Illustrator and Photoshop, but I read on another thread that the PSP's RAM is too limited to make these usable. Is it at all realistic to use free Memory Stick space as dynamic RAM? (Similar to Virtual Memory, but without relying on the OS native routines, which, if I remember reading correctly, are unusable on the PSP B2 port)

Also, what's the likelihood of this ever being able to run 9.x?
July 21st, 2008, 13:48
Baboon

Quote:

Originally Posted by b8a

I'd love to give this a shot, but the only programs I'm interested in running from the 8.x days are Illustrator and Photoshop, but I read on another thread that the PSP's RAM is too limited to make these usable. Is it at all realistic to use free Memory Stick space as dynamic RAM? (Similar to Virtual Memory, but without relying on the OS native routines, which, if I remember reading correctly, are unusable on the PSP B2 port)

Also, what's the likelihood of this ever being able to run 9.x?

Even if it was ever possible to run early versions of photoshop or illustrator (which is not going to happen) then then psp would be pretty useless as a design tool. Imagine replacing the mouse and keyboard with the psp's controls? lol

PS and AI are quite memory hungry apps so it would really be just a novelty if it ever booted up on the psp. :D
July 21st, 2008, 14:35
noname1

I would like to use a internet browser on Basilisk II how do i do that?
July 21st, 2008, 23:47
JLF65

Quote:

Originally Posted by noname1

I would like to use a internet browser on Basilisk II how do i do that?

You can't at this time. There's UDP tunneling for AppleTalk, but general network access requires emulating an ethernet interface. If the PSP had raw sockets, that would be possible. My experiments with raw sockets on the PSP have so far been negative, so no general net access in the foreseeable future. If that changes, B2 will be updated to support that. You aren't the only one who would like to use Netscape or iCab on the PSP. :)

To the earlier question above - you could make B2 use drive memory like virtual memory, but it would slow the emulator down too much. It's also why the MMU isn't emulated - too slow to be worth it. Running with an emulated MMU would make the emulation 2 to 10 times slower than it already is.
July 22nd, 2008, 00:26
tachyon

Thanks J. F. for bringing the Mac to my PSP! Also, an additional thanks for your answer to noname1 concerning sockets on the PSP. I had finally managed to get Basilisk II to load Google using IE 4.01 in MacOS 8.1 under XP. When I transferred the image to the PSP and was prompted by the, "No site by that name could be found.", I figured I messed up.
July 22nd, 2008, 01:24
JLF65

I was fooled at first myself... I thought the UDP tunnel did general purpose networking. Didn't read the B2 docs closely enough. :D
July 22nd, 2008, 10:42
b8a

Thanks for the information, JLF65. I thought that it would be relatively simple to map disk space to RAM. I had no idea that there would be so much overhead involved.

As an aside, has anyone actually tried running Photoshop or Illustrator? Since realising that B2 emulates a 65k processor instead of a Power PC (which, for those who don't know, is what prevents B2 from running any OS greater then 8.1), my hopes for running either package had been rather severely dashed, but then I looked up the system requirements, and neither looks particularly demanding:

Illustrator 5.5 System Requirements:
Macintosh with a 68020 or greater processor, including Power Macintosh
Apple® System Software version 6.0.7 or greater, including version 7
3.1 MB of application RAM
Hard drive

Adobe Photoshop 2.5 System Requirements:
• An Apple Macintosh II computer with a 68020 (or any later model) with a minimum 3 MB of RAM.
• System software 6.0.7
• 32-bit QuickDraw
Adobe recommends a Macintosh II with 68030 or 68040 processor, System 7 or higher and from 5 to 8 MB RAM.

I'm not trying to be a pest about the issue. I'm really just more curious then anything and too busy with work at the moment to test it out myself.
July 22nd, 2008, 20:36
JLF65

Quote:

Originally Posted by b8a

Thanks for the information, JLF65. I thought that it would be relatively simple to map disk space to RAM. I had no idea that there would be so much overhead involved.

As an aside, has anyone actually tried running Photoshop or Illustrator? Since realising that B2 emulates a 65k processor instead of a Power PC (which, for those who don't know, is what prevents B2 from running any OS greater then 8.1), my hopes for running either package had been rather severely dashed, but then I looked up the system requirements, and neither looks particularly demanding:

Illustrator 5.5 System Requirements:
Macintosh with a 68020 or greater processor, including Power Macintosh
Apple® System Software version 6.0.7 or greater, including version 7
3.1 MB of application RAM
Hard drive

Adobe Photoshop 2.5 System Requirements:
• An Apple Macintosh II computer with a 68020 (or any later model) with a minimum 3 MB of RAM.
• System software 6.0.7
• 32-bit QuickDraw
Adobe recommends a Macintosh II with 68030 or 68040 processor, System 7 or higher and from 5 to 8 MB RAM.

I'm not trying to be a pest about the issue. I'm really just more curious then anything and too busy with work at the moment to test it out myself.

Remember that the PSP has no MMU of its own, so you have to simulate everything. You'd have to use functions to read the memory from the program instead of accessing it directly. The UAE CPU core can do that (to help simulate an MMU), but it slows the emulation considerably.

If I ever work on JIT for this, I'll probably add MMU emulation at the same time since I know how the Mac virtual memory works. That would be something for much later though.

As to the programs, I know I've got them around somewhere. It's just been so many years since I used the Mac 68K stuff that the CDs are scattered amongst many boxes of other things. I did find a bunch of stuff, like Rebel Assault, Marathon, Doom 2, Dark Forces, and some MacAddict CDs.