#A1200
10 messages in this thread
1) No. Too tall.
2) What?
— Dale L. Larson, Intangible Assets Manufacturing
— INTERNET:dale@iam.com
Was it that bad? Is there any way for an A1200 to read CD32 discs?
With a CD-ROM drive?
CD32 disks are specific to CD32. Even if your A1200 can read them,
it can't run them as if it were a CD32.
C= has announced a product to give CD32 capabilities to A1200s.
Naturally, ship dates were not part of the announcement, and I don't
believe even prototypes have been shown anywhere.
But isn't the CD32 basically an A1200 with no keyboard, and a CD drive
instead of a floppy? (I realize this is a bit simplistic, but…)
That being the case, it seems as though a proper CD-ROM and a driver
would be all that was required… Of course, things that look that
simple… aren't! <g>
Things aren't at all that simple. Half of the components on an A1200
motherboard aren't in a CD32 or are inside of Akiko. Akiko also has
stuff that ain't on an A1200. Software is different too, to the tune
of double the ROM size.
See, I told you I was being simpilistic!<g>
Far be it for Commodore to make something easy.
I thought OS 3.1 had software routines to emulate Akiko. I had also
heard that it is possible to add Akiko via an expansion board.
Yes and no. Akiko has one non-CD-specific hardware feature not in a
1200 — the chunky->planar converter. This is supposed to be
accessed using a 3.1 gfx.library call. That call will do (much
slower) convertion in software if the hardware isn't there. And
obviously, 3.1 isn't expected to emulate a CD-ROM controller in
software 🙂
DL >>CD32 disks are specific to CD32. Even if your A1200 can read them,
it can't run them as if it were a CD32.<<
There appears to be some CDTV to CD32 compatiblity, as well as some "CD32"
games being runable on CDTV. I'll assume that until an Akiko equipped
A1200/4000 becomes available, that all current games are being developed
on A1200 & 4000s on Harddrives, then being copied onto CD.
Some users have claimed to run CDTV games on there Amigas, AND CD32 games
on their CDTVs. (I'll assume the Amiga users were using one of the CDFS
that emulate CDTV.)
*If* the CD32 game does not USE the Akiko specific features, then they
they *may* be runable on a A4000/1200 with a compatible CD-ROM.
The FMV would be a different animal of course.
Ron.
– ap'ing with AP. (Eagles may fly, but weasels aren't sucked
into jet engines.)
CD32 attempts to run all CDTV disks, and its ROM has several
CDTV-title-specific kludges (kinda like the 2.04 ROM).
Not all CD32 disks take advantage of CD32-specific features (perhaps most
don't). As long as they don't, it shouldn't be too difficult to get them
running on a 3.1 A1200.