Post subject: CeDImu: Philips CD-i emulator
Stovent
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Joined: 8/23/2016
Posts: 165
Location: France
Introducing CeDImu, an experimental Philips CD-i emulator. I've been working on this emulator for 2 years now, and I think the project have enough content to be shown. A bunch of work have been done but a lot is to be done. If you want to try it, grab a release build here. You can find the repository here. What is usable now - Load a BIOS (not the 205 model because it uses anther GPU that is not emulated yet), and let it run. - Load a ROM (.iso, not .cue), and use the CDI helper functions (see below). What is working - SCC68070 CPU emulation (instruction set with timing, UART) - MCD212 GPU basic emulation (no visual effects) - CDI helper functions: - Export Files from the disc - Export Audio from the disc - Export Video from the disc (proof of concept only) - Various Tools: - Disassembler - RAM Search (only to see, search isn't ready) - VDSC (GPU) Viewer - when compiled with DEBUG macro, dumps a bunch of logs in files What is missing: - MC68HC05 (slave) - CDIC These two processors are responsible for CD reading and peripherals management (front screen, controllers), but they are not documented so this is where I'm struggling. Try it yourself if you want, but don't expect more than having a blue screen showed by the 220 model BIOS. (you can still have fun with the Export Audio function, notably on The Faces of Evil and The Wand of Gamelon :) ) And yes, it can be a Bizhawk core when it will be able to play a game :)
[17:37:00]<TheCoreyBurton> It's N64 - it's ALWAYS bad news.
Joined: 7/17/2012
Posts: 543
Location: Switzerland
Great news! Hope you can find help! (Maybe Alyosha or someone else can be interested to help you?) If CD-I can be tasable it will be great! Thanks for your work!
My Citra 3DS rerecording movie files test repositery: https://cutt.ly/vdM0jzl Youtube playlist "Citra Tests": https://cutt.ly/AdM0wg9 http://www.youtube.com/user/phoenix1291
Joined: 7/17/2012
Posts: 543
Location: Switzerland
Any news or updates?
My Citra 3DS rerecording movie files test repositery: https://cutt.ly/vdM0jzl Youtube playlist "Citra Tests": https://cutt.ly/AdM0wg9 http://www.youtube.com/user/phoenix1291
Stovent
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Publisher
Joined: 8/23/2016
Posts: 165
Location: France
I'm currently making changes in the code's architecture to be closer to the CDI so there are no new things for now. As for the missing cores, they will take a bunch of time to implement considering the lack of documentation. I think I will ask for help from the author of cdiemu or look at MAME, since they can run games.
[17:37:00]<TheCoreyBurton> It's N64 - it's ALWAYS bad news.
Joined: 7/17/2012
Posts: 543
Location: Switzerland
Has there been any progress with this emulator?
My Citra 3DS rerecording movie files test repositery: https://cutt.ly/vdM0jzl Youtube playlist "Citra Tests": https://cutt.ly/AdM0wg9 http://www.youtube.com/user/phoenix1291
Stovent
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Publisher
Joined: 8/23/2016
Posts: 165
Location: France
phoenix1291 wrote:
Has there been any progress with this emulator?
Yup, development is still active. I've made various improvements to the code quality, added additional features, and I'm currently in a rewrite of the interpreter that allows the BIOS to go further when booting, but unfortunately the main menu still can't be reached. I'm still working on it, and I'm in touch with the CD-I community so I should be able to get some help and information from them if required.
[17:37:00]<TheCoreyBurton> It's N64 - it's ALWAYS bad news.
Stovent
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Joined: 8/23/2016
Posts: 165
Location: France
Time for an update : I've finished the interpreter rewrite and improved emulation, which finally allowed me to boot to the main menu (namely the player shell). I've also added controller support and the cursor is able to move. And finally I've fixed various bugs. The next goals are : - being able to open the "Options" menu. Currently if you click on it, nothing happens. - improve the controller public interface to take into account the various types of controllers. - Start emulating the processor responsible of audio decoding and CD control, to finally try to boot discs.
[17:37:00]<TheCoreyBurton> It's N64 - it's ALWAYS bad news.
Stovent
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Publisher
Joined: 8/23/2016
Posts: 165
Location: France
Since last time a lot of improvements have been made to CeDImu. The first one is an entire GUI rewrite. This was necessary to fix the design flaws for the first implementation and that means the emulator is perfectly stable, without any crash occurring randomly. This also adds new feature like the ability to save screenshots of the entire screen and the individual video components of the GPU, but also exception and system calls tracing. I've also added a bit of documentation in the form of a user manual to help new users to set up the emulator. The README now has a compatibility section indicating which BIOS files can be used, along with their settings. I've also fixed the external interrupts of the CPU, which now allows the "Options" menu to be opened, but also the GPU to show its visual animations. The next objectives are to continue to improve the GPU emulation, and to continue the list from the last post.
[17:37:00]<TheCoreyBurton> It's N64 - it's ALWAYS bad news.
Joined: 7/17/2012
Posts: 543
Location: Switzerland
Wow, great work!
My Citra 3DS rerecording movie files test repositery: https://cutt.ly/vdM0jzl Youtube playlist "Citra Tests": https://cutt.ly/AdM0wg9 http://www.youtube.com/user/phoenix1291
Dimon12321
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Joined: 4/5/2014
Posts: 1223
Location: Romania
I hope your work will eventually get more attention than just our appreciation comments.
TASing is like making a film: only the best takes are shown in the final movie.