Gameking

Discussion of development of software for any "obsolete" computer or video game system. See the WSdev wiki and ObscureDev wiki for more information on certain platforms.
Gamekin
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2013 3:33 am

Re: Gameking

Post by Gamekin »

Yes, it's the same port. Uploading the sketch obviously worked (according to IDE and some lights flashing).

I don't know how to correctly initialize the port. And I don't have experience with Arduino programming.
As said I have copied the code from other projects.
I changed "while Serial.available() <=0" in >0. Same problem.

I also don't know if the setting of parity and stop bits, flow control etc are correct. I haven't found anything about that. It's somehow serial to USB convert.
Gamekin
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2013 3:33 am

Re: Gameking

Post by Gamekin »

I have obviously destroyed my dumping device. So that's the end. :cry:

Someone said, I would need a connection to OE.
I was pretty sure that this only can be pin 46 (S3). I put that to GND (using a resistor). After that the FTDI board wasn't recognized anymore. No COM port.
Device Manager code 43 (Unknown device). I read that could mean that the front USB hub was busted But I also checked the rear one and on a different PC).

I tried to remove and reinstall the drivers automatically and manually and tried every FTDI tool including deleting the vendor ID. It could also have been destroyed for some other reason.
If I had a working code at the beginning, it might have been worked.

Thanks to everybody who tried to help.

Maybe I will find someone who has more skills and some hardware or maybe there will be someone else who read this and trying it himself.
Even if I had a dump, someone said that writing an emulator would be extremely difficult.

I currently trying to write a simulator of my favourite game.
First I tried it for Gameboy. But I had problems with the map tool. Always displayed wrong. Music and sound effects would also be a problem on the GB. Many tools disappeared. I tried some software on the C64. But it's also quite difficult and slowly. Shooters could maybe be written using SEUCK. Or it's possible just changing the GFX and sprites from other games.
Currently I'm using tools on Windows. Also few good (free) software for that.
Gamekin
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2013 3:33 am

Re: Gameking

Post by Gamekin »

I now made a simulation using openBOR about my favourite game galled Terminator what is a Double Dragon clone. Not completed yet, 1 level only.
You have to sign up at chronocrash to download it from there.

There is a fighting game what can be made using mugen. And the platformers can also be made quite easily. The 194x shooters are very simple and I don't like them.
It's not the same as real emulating but it's at least possible to have a feeling what the console, some games and sound is like.
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Gamekin
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2013 3:33 am

Re: Gameking

Post by Gamekin »

Now Porchy from JAMMArcade.net has dumped some games. He owns 13 games, looks like no multi carts.

He used female (?) jumper wires to attach to the slot pins and 74HC4040. To me it doesn't look like if they are enough wires. And on the upper slot pins row he has 2 rows of jumpers attached, I wonder how he had managed that (PINS bent? Soldered?) Oh, I forgot. There are 4 rows.
But he claims to have dumps and saw all the game graphics. Nothing much shown other than the previously known header data.

He also doesn't have released the ROM contents and he obviously can't write an emulator.

But there is at least hope, that he donates the ROM data to MESS or somewhere else.

If I had detailed schematics, complete PIN layout and dumping software, I maybe retry it with my multicarts or maybe send my carts. But without an emulator it doesn't make much sense, except for having all graphics and maybe find the sound data.

Does anybody know him? Or can post this on the MESS forum?

http://www.jammarcade.net/dumping-gameking-cartridges/
lidnariq
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Re: Gameking

Post by lidnariq »

Gamekin wrote:But without an emulator it doesn't make much sense, except for having all graphics and maybe find the sound data.
Can't make an emulator without (at least) known-good software, and preferably the ability to program tests.
Gamekin
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2013 3:33 am

Re: Gameking

Post by Gamekin »

I don't understand.
How to start any other unknown emulator project?
The person who dumped and connected it, knows the software, the game. And can test and compare it. Otherwise it won't be possible to write any emulator for unknown stuff. Or need for in-circuit testing?

The ROM data consists of 6502 code, GFX and sound and maybe some other data and logic tables.
If you have the GFX, what is the case and can also extract the uncompressed music and sound (not done yet?), the rest must be the gaming code what is probably very few parts of the data.

There are some more bytes now dumped than the length of the previously known original header from Brian but the few bytes look like some more GFX, maybe a logo, and the few bytes don't help much.
I have to check the data with Brian's GFX tool and compare to 6502 code.
Dumping is the first step. And identifying and extracting the complete GFX and sound is very important. Even if you don't have the code, you can try to simulate and play with the GFX.
GFX encryption is fully known, Sound should be uncompressed 6 KHz. What else is needed?

At least he managed to dump them. Knows the correct PIN layout, dumping software using an Arduino and some more details previously not known.
lidnariq
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Re: Gameking

Post by lidnariq »

We know that the Gameking uses a 65C02. We don't know how the game writes configures the sound hardware, or how it works, or where in memory it is. We don't know how the display is accessed, configured, or anything else. We don't know how it accesses the more-than-64KiB of data on the cartridge, or how it reads the joypad.

All of this information can be determined either from the manufacturer, looking at existing games, or by exhaustively trying tests until it does something, in order of increasing frustration but also accuracy.
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Movax12
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Re: Gameking

Post by Movax12 »

If you could get kevtris (visit #nesdev on efnet) interested in this device it would be reverse egineered in a relativley short time span.
EDIT: After a quick google search, seems it is on his TODO list, but also, he says:
..it's all bit mapped. The biggest problem though is the games were very poorly coded. I looked at some game code and it's horrible, and appears it might've been compiled. I was thinking of adding Game King but I have no documentation or anything.
tepples
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Re: Gameking

Post by tepples »

Unlicensed NES game developers had to do the same things. Starting with only ROM pinouts, they dumped old NROM games, looked at the bytes, realized it was 6502, and followed from the reset vector to see what was going on.
Gamekin
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2013 3:33 am

Re: Gameking

Post by Gamekin »

We don't know how the display is accessed, configured, or anything else
BriPro gave very detailed infos about how the display works.

http://web.archive.org/web/200710250643 ... page=video

The sound should be uncompressed maybe ADPCM. Of course some details are not fully understood.

Thanks Movax12 for your info about the TODO list.
If I knew that before that it is so difficult, I could have saved lots of time and money.

The ROM data would be of interest anyway. At least you can extract all the GFX including sprites.
Gamekin
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2013 3:33 am

Re: Gameking

Post by Gamekin »

5 months after Porchy dumped some of the games, we have a skeleton driver in MESS with some few new details.

So work is going on. I wonder why he hadn't used all the tech infos from BriPro that is already known.
Maybe someone will dump the system BIOS (including the 3 games) or try writing some homebrew stuff.

So it maybe isn't / wasn't that difficult and in the near future we will have an emulator.
Later more games needs to be dumped.
Why isn't there an easy-to-use dumping unit for sale so people can legally dump and backup their games?

Maybe one day there will be even officially licenced games available for PC or mobile.
tepples
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Re: Gameking

Post by tepples »

Gamekin wrote:So work is going on. I wonder why he hadn't used all the tech infos from BriPro that is already known.
Probably because BriPro pulled all his reverse engineering docs off the web to satisfy requirements placed on his game studio Vblank Entertainment, developer of Retro City Rampage, by the curators of modern video game platforms.
Gamekin
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2013 3:33 am

Re: Gameking

Post by Gamekin »

I mean the stuff that is still available like this one

http://web.archive.org/web/200710252004 ... age=video3

And the Graphics Editor must be very useful. The src is also available.
I don't know if he actually owns the handheld itself. He should be able to extract the sound as well or at least record samples.
Sound and music is probably the most of the data.
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kevtris
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Re: Gameking

Post by kevtris »

A bit of a necrobump, but I figured I'd post this here. I have completed reverse engineering of the Game King, and have posted my findings here:

http://blog.kevtris.org/blogfiles/Game% ... Inside.txt

Also, I have a video of it running on my FPGA:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uezaEUitUJ4
/* this is a comment */
Gamekin
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2013 3:33 am

Re: Gameking

Post by Gamekin »

Thanks very much for the info and all your work!
I knew that an expert with the skills and hardware can do it.

Unfortunately it still doesn't work in MAME but probably it will run soon with all that info.
The 2nd video is even more interesting.

Most of the games have been dumped including the 4in1 Multi-ROM-Cartridges and the system BIOS with the 3 games.
Just some few things to go. And the GameKing 3 color games ...

Personally, I almost forgot it and am busy with something else.
All games are very difficult and you can't play very long with this device and that poor graphics.
More fun than playing is maybe the emulation work and developement of homebrew games.
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