I heard adding ULAplus to FUSE is a big challenge as it would require a major rewrite of the screen engine, and there is this team of people, I don't remember their names, which is currently involved in this task, so maybe it's not FUSE which is in the Vega.
Most probably it's a custom bare metal emulator (Antonio Villena have just written one for the Pi). Chris will surely have chosen the SoC so that he can get access to all required subsystems from plain C / assembler. He might have signed a NDA with the SoC manufacturer in order to access SoC internal documentation (and pay for it)
Parts of the emulator that deal with the SD in order to load snapshots or anything can be solved using FATfs, a small free library that implements a FAT filesystem on top of any sectored device, such as SD.
Reading files off an SD card is pretty trivial and there are plenty of projects that do that without having any sort of operating system. I can think of at least one free embedded FAT library you could use for that.
In ARM vWhatever assembly for their specific SoC? You'd spend 6 months studying the chip before you typed a single OP
The Vega hasn't been developed in one week, you know. Chris told about the "Spectrastick" project sometime about 2011... http://www.worldofspectrum.org/forums/showpost.php?p=580064&postcount=6
And... 6 months? Maybe 6 weeks. Many ARM-based SoCs behave the same in terms of booting and initial tasks needed to be performed. The could even have used the very same Broadcomm chip the Raspberry Pi does.
If they were going with a bare metal approach they'd just make an ASIC, it'd be cheaper and easier than writing a ZX Spectrum emulator in ARM assembly
:o Do you know how much NRE costs are of ASIC manufacturing? Unless it is a direct translation of a FPGA design, we are talking about millions of dolars
If you're writing a bare metal ZX Spectrum emulator, even in C, for an ARM SoC and the hardware design you came up with is a d-pad and 5 buttons you're wasting your time. Making sure your SoC is beefy enough to run a lightweight Linux kernel in the backend and adapting an existing, freely available emulator would be quicker, easier and cheaper.
It's not like you're going to save money by buying a slightly weaker SoC in 2014
In which case I guess (yes, why not?) they wouldn't bother trying to emulate everything as "accurately" (TM) as possible
On the contrary. They asked permission to distribute one of my multicolor projects, which means they are planning to provide very accurate emulation.
Before anybody asks: Yes, I'm planning to give them permission (if my other co-authors agree). No, this decision doesn't contradict anything I wrote earlier.
I have already expressed in this forum my concerns about this device. Namely that it really needs keyboard support (so I'm glad they are now considering it) and their game licensing strategy is somewhat unfair (although I don't think they have much choice anyway, as I mentioned before). Personally I would have done it differently.
Even so, it's overall positive to have a project bringing the Speccy to a wider audience nowadays. And although I understand J. Pickford's criticism about game licensing issues, the fact they are asking for permissions without hollow promises (unlike Elite Systems) is enough to get my sympathy. Besides, my Speccy projects are typically free of charge even for commercial use (such as my multicolor engines), and I see no reason to handle it differently now.
"It's a means of getting the games back into the public domain."
Err...I'm not sure how I feel about that!
Pretty sure he means "getting the games back into the domain of public awareness", rather than suggesting there's some sort of legal reclassification going on. Unlike him to use woolly terminology like that, but I'm sure that's what he means to say.
I'm not sure why it makes me so angry it just does. It doesn't even make sense as a non-pun unlike the "tape loading era" variant. When did the era of syntax start and end? pffffft! :-x
How are people supposed to know how to play these 1000 games?
Wheres the instructions going to be found?
It'd be nice if the text version of the instructions from WOS could be included with each game (along with any required controller keymap), and the Vega was able to display them.
If they were going with a bare metal approach they'd just make an ASIC, it'd be cheaper and easier than writing a ZX Spectrum emulator in ARM assembly
It's not, unfortunately. This was very well researched by csmith (up to and including an entire VHDL implementation ready for an ASIC). Just the non-recurring engineering costs just to make the ASIC were double what the current indiegogo crowd funding project was looking for to fund the *entire project*.
It's not, unfortunately. This was very well researched by csmith (up to and including an entire VHDL implementation ready for an ASIC). Just the non-recurring engineering costs just to make the ASIC were double what the current indiegogo crowd funding project was looking for to fund the *entire project*.
I'd argue if they had went with a full ASIC implementation of a Spectrum with the requisite ports for expanding it's usability so people can actually take advantage of it's accurate emulation, they'd have easily gotten double in their crowdfunding campaign. And people would have been much more receptive to it.
Not that I think that would have been the ideal way to go, I just completely fail to see the point in spending so much time working on an accurate, bare metal ZX Spectrum emulator only to then include it in a device that can only run the software it's bundled with and without a keyboard. Throwing a barebones Linux kernel on there and modifying an existing emulator would make much more sense, especially if at this late stage they're seriously considering adding expansion options like a keyboard port etc
Just to propose another angle. If Retro publish 1000 games without 1000 contracts in place then they are committing commercial piracy. And that is a criminal offence.
Now, they may not be planning to do this but it's hard to imagine how they could get these 1000 contracts in place without spending a lot of time & money. And that's assuming 1000* IP owners will agree to licensing their games for free.
*Yes I know it will be fewer. But it will still need a contactual arrangement for 1000 games even if they are grouped. And (I imagine) the bigger the group, the less likely the IP owner will agree to a free deal.
I think retro have made a promise they can't keep. And I suspect (I could be wrong) they plan to publish the games without seeking permission beforehand. Because seeking permission would be an enormous job. Unfortunately selling these games without permission would be commercial piracy which is a criminal offence.
Hopefully Retro will sort this out. But I think they've already promised the impossible.
I'm no legal expert, but who owns the rights to these games anyway?
I thought the authors waived their rights to the games back in the 80's when they signed contracts with software houses. Most of those software houses have been gobbled up by bigger publishers Eidos, Atari inc, Activision etc.
I'm no legal expert, but who owns the rights to these games anyway?
I thought the authors waived their rights to the games back in the 80's when they signed contracts with software houses. Most of those software houses have been gobbled up by bigger publishers Eidos, Atari inc, Activision etc.
Do they not hold the publishing rights still?
Nobody waived their rights. Often rights were sold but it's not clear how long those deals were valid for or even if they encompassed pure digital distribution.
The rights reside with all manner of people. The point is, you can't publish these games without permission. Nor can you operate a 'forgive me' policy on a commercial level because commercial piracy is a criminal offence.
I'm no legal expert, but who owns the rights to these games anyway?
Do they not hold the publishing rights still?
they lapse (back to the original coders etc) also with time or become invalid with buyout's also (rainbow islands being the classic one, that firebird had originally)
I think even a legal person would have issues with this as every software house used different % and payment schemes , due to how the structure of each of the original contracts was worded.. and all the angles it entails. the royalty payments and how long before rights revert back.
I assume it's similar to the "heads of agreement" you would do when releasing a record, but that's also not extact and can change from company to company. the odds of putting 1000 games on something and NOT having someone say "hold on a minute" after release. well I'd not be a betting man.
all the DTV 64 content was properly licensed and avoided any issues, but it was a far small amount of games and even that went sour in the end.
it's also a bit like a tv actor waiving rights / repeat fee's to a format that wasn't out i.e. streaming / dvd when they signed their original contracts, there have been cases where the actors get their money if they take action.
it's so tricky when it steps from being something hobbyist to commercial and yer if someone is getting money from your work, then you do think "hang on"
Nobody waived their rights. Often rights were sold but it's not clear how long those deals were valid for or even if they encompassed pure digital distribution.
The rights reside with all manner of people. The point is, you can't publish these games without permission. Nor can you operate a 'forgive me' policy on a commercial level because commercial piracy is a criminal offence.
What about the Spectrum coin-op and film licenses, who owns the IP rights to them, say Renegade for instance?
Comments
Most probably it's a custom bare metal emulator (Antonio Villena have just written one for the Pi). Chris will surely have chosen the SoC so that he can get access to all required subsystems from plain C / assembler. He might have signed a NDA with the SoC manufacturer in order to access SoC internal documentation (and pay for it)
Parts of the emulator that deal with the SD in order to load snapshots or anything can be solved using FATfs, a small free library that implements a FAT filesystem on top of any sectored device, such as SD.
http://www.worldofspectrum.org/forums/showpost.php?p=580064&postcount=6
And... 6 months? Maybe 6 weeks. Many ARM-based SoCs behave the same in terms of booting and initial tasks needed to be performed. The could even have used the very same Broadcomm chip the Raspberry Pi does.
:o Do you know how much NRE costs are of ASIC manufacturing? Unless it is a direct translation of a FPGA design, we are talking about millions of dolars
It's not like you're going to save money by buying a slightly weaker SoC in 2014
On the contrary. They asked permission to distribute one of my multicolor projects, which means they are planning to provide very accurate emulation.
Before anybody asks: Yes, I'm planning to give them permission (if my other co-authors agree). No, this decision doesn't contradict anything I wrote earlier.
I have already expressed in this forum my concerns about this device. Namely that it really needs keyboard support (so I'm glad they are now considering it) and their game licensing strategy is somewhat unfair (although I don't think they have much choice anyway, as I mentioned before). Personally I would have done it differently.
Even so, it's overall positive to have a project bringing the Speccy to a wider audience nowadays. And although I understand J. Pickford's criticism about game licensing issues, the fact they are asking for permissions without hollow promises (unlike Elite Systems) is enough to get my sympathy. Besides, my Speccy projects are typically free of charge even for commercial use (such as my multicolor engines), and I see no reason to handle it differently now.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30333671
Egghead Website
Arcade Game Designer
My itch.io page
Edit: and now I've posted it's started working again just to make me look like a wally :)
I like Clive.
He's very enthusiastic about the Raspberry Pi- it's his sort of thing. Of the Vega, all he has to say is:
"It's a means of getting the games back into the public domain."
Err...I'm not sure how I feel about that!
Bytes:Chuntey - Spectrum tech blog.
The linked BBC page has a headline "Syntax era: Sir Clive Sinclair's ZX Spectrum revolution".
:lol:
Wheres the instructions going to be found?
A big booklet that comes with the device or will they be provided on the device via pdf?
Or are players seriously expected to trawl the WoS archive for them?
It'd be nice if the text version of the instructions from WOS could be included with each game (along with any required controller keymap), and the Vega was able to display them.
Indeed it's potentially the greatest C90 ever. Pure piracy.
That's one only the old punks will get...
It's not, unfortunately. This was very well researched by csmith (up to and including an entire VHDL implementation ready for an ASIC). Just the non-recurring engineering costs just to make the ASIC were double what the current indiegogo crowd funding project was looking for to fund the *entire project*.
I'd argue if they had went with a full ASIC implementation of a Spectrum with the requisite ports for expanding it's usability so people can actually take advantage of it's accurate emulation, they'd have easily gotten double in their crowdfunding campaign. And people would have been much more receptive to it.
Not that I think that would have been the ideal way to go, I just completely fail to see the point in spending so much time working on an accurate, bare metal ZX Spectrum emulator only to then include it in a device that can only run the software it's bundled with and without a keyboard. Throwing a barebones Linux kernel on there and modifying an existing emulator would make much more sense, especially if at this late stage they're seriously considering adding expansion options like a keyboard port etc
Now, they may not be planning to do this but it's hard to imagine how they could get these 1000 contracts in place without spending a lot of time & money. And that's assuming 1000* IP owners will agree to licensing their games for free.
*Yes I know it will be fewer. But it will still need a contactual arrangement for 1000 games even if they are grouped. And (I imagine) the bigger the group, the less likely the IP owner will agree to a free deal.
I think retro have made a promise they can't keep. And I suspect (I could be wrong) they plan to publish the games without seeking permission beforehand. Because seeking permission would be an enormous job. Unfortunately selling these games without permission would be commercial piracy which is a criminal offence.
Hopefully Retro will sort this out. But I think they've already promised the impossible.
I thought the authors waived their rights to the games back in the 80's when they signed contracts with software houses. Most of those software houses have been gobbled up by bigger publishers Eidos, Atari inc, Activision etc.
Do they not hold the publishing rights still?
Nobody waived their rights. Often rights were sold but it's not clear how long those deals were valid for or even if they encompassed pure digital distribution.
The rights reside with all manner of people. The point is, you can't publish these games without permission. Nor can you operate a 'forgive me' policy on a commercial level because commercial piracy is a criminal offence.
they lapse (back to the original coders etc) also with time or become invalid with buyout's also (rainbow islands being the classic one, that firebird had originally)
I think even a legal person would have issues with this as every software house used different % and payment schemes , due to how the structure of each of the original contracts was worded.. and all the angles it entails. the royalty payments and how long before rights revert back.
I assume it's similar to the "heads of agreement" you would do when releasing a record, but that's also not extact and can change from company to company. the odds of putting 1000 games on something and NOT having someone say "hold on a minute" after release. well I'd not be a betting man.
all the DTV 64 content was properly licensed and avoided any issues, but it was a far small amount of games and even that went sour in the end.
it's also a bit like a tv actor waiving rights / repeat fee's to a format that wasn't out i.e. streaming / dvd when they signed their original contracts, there have been cases where the actors get their money if they take action.
it's so tricky when it steps from being something hobbyist to commercial and yer if someone is getting money from your work, then you do think "hang on"
What about the Spectrum coin-op and film licenses, who owns the IP rights to them, say Renegade for instance?