Am I *really* Stupid - Emulation Query

[ablufia]

i don't know if i'm being completely stupid / missing something obvious - so please bear with me...

i've pre-ordered, been re-funded, and re-ordered my pandora - i've been searching around the forums for information regarding emulators for the pandora - and so far this is what i've found;

• i've read the pandora information index

• this has taken me through to the pandora wiki, and then the emulation questions

• this then points me to the emulators section - this then branches 2 ways - the first (where to download emulators) takes me to the GP2X file archive. the second (emulator list) gives me links to edit emulator pages - and the actual page contains no information.

still with me ? if so, my questions are;

1. if i am pointed to the GP2X file archive for emulators, does this mean that the pandora runs GP2X software out of the box ?

2. if this is the case, why are there ports underway ?

3. is there a single (i.e. stickied post) that links straight through to downloads for actual software, not lists of software ?

i know a *bit* about emulation - i.e. i've built my own MAME cabinet - but i'm struggling to find actual software for the pandora - am i peaking to soon, and this will all be revealed upon release ?

again, apologies if i'm being truly stupid - but when i get my hands on my shiny new pandora, i'd like to be able to start gaming

("do you still have the box ? put it back in the box, and return it to them - tell them you're too stupid to own a pandora")

your loving neice,

ablufia

 

[barnesy]

It's just too early for there to be any software yet. There'll be links all over the place once there are real pandoras in the wild, but until then, there's no machine to release software for. Just hold on for now.

 

[Prometheus]

1. if i am pointed to the GP2X file archive for emulators, does this mean that the pandora runs GP2X software out of the box ?

I don't know why you're being pointed to there (I haven't read much of the wiki), but to my knowledge, the Pandora can't run GP2X software out of the box. The Pandora File Archive is here, though.

QUOTE

3. is there a single (i.e. stickied post) that links straight through to downloads for actual software, not lists of software ?


Not many people have Pandora hardware at this time, so downloads aren't showing up just yet.

QUOTE

i know a *bit* about emulation - i.e. i've built my own MAME cabinet - but i'm struggling to find actual software for the pandora - am i peaking to soon, and this will all be revealed upon release ?


I would imagine that all will be revealed upon release, as you say. I'm not too sure what you'd be able to do with the software right now, anyway.

 

[ablufia]

It's just too early for there to be any software yet. There'll be links all over the place once there are real pandoras in the wild, but until then, there's no machine to release software for. Just hold on for now.

that's soooo unfair cheers for the clarification !

fair point - well made, prometheus.

but at least i know now !

 

[skeezix]

Thats exactly it .. the devs are busy getting the device manufactured and software work is being done to make the OS distribution and allthat solid; once devices get sent out, everyone will go coding crazy

There _will_ be a few things available on launch (and the OS distribution will probably include a pile of tools, and it shoudl not be hard to add new toosl to it using normal Linux means)

jeff

 

[sterling976]

2. if this is the case, why are there ports underway ?


No one's addressed this yet, so I guess I will...
I can't speak for GP2X compatibility, but I'm inclined to believe Prometheus since the GP2X doesn't run on an ARM chip. That said, it should be theoretically possible to run software written for similar platforms (pretty much anything in the Angstrom repository) from day 1. However, some of those ports or recompiles are written (or optimized) for slightly different chipsets (armv5te vs Pandora's armv7a, for example), and might need work to run properly on the Pandora. Others might run ok on the Pandora, but need extra coding to take advantage of the SGX (3D) and DSP (video) hardware and make the software really fly. Either of these would be reasons to work on a Pandora-specific port.

 

[noisome]

No one's addressed this yet, so I guess I will...
I can't speak for GP2X compatibility, but I'm inclined to believe Prometheus since the GP2X doesn't run on an ARM chip.



Maybe I'm being dense, but doesn't that link show "CPU: 200MHz ARM920T host processor, 200MHz ARM940T programmable coprocessor" aka ARM?

 

[parag0n]

since the GP2X doesn't run on an ARM chip



Yes it does.

I think most of the changes to make stuff compatible between the pandora and the gp2x will be changing the resolution, updating to use the new controls, and recompiling with SDL and such dynamically linked.

 

[sterling976]

Maybe I'm being dense, but doesn't that link show "CPU: 200MHz ARM920T host processor, 200MHz ARM940T programmable coprocessor" aka ARM?

:blink:

Ha! Yeah.. haven't had my morning coffee. Sorry about that.

Still, it's an ARM9 processor, which runs a diffferent instruction set (ARMv4T according to wikipedia), so I would be surprised if most GP2X software ran on Pandora without modification, and I'm almost positive nothing coded for the GP2X is capable of using the 3d and video encoding hardware in the OMAP 3530.

 

[Squidge]

Actually, the ARM used in the OMAP is backwards compatible, so if you have software on the GP2X that doesn't make use of anything GP2X specific (ie, direct hardware access), then there is a chance it'll work on the Pandora without modification.

Unfortunately, stuff that doesn't use direct hardware access is usually just console-based programs. Minimal lib, SDL, and others all hack the hardware directly for speed.

 

[bennyboy]

Well I have now changed the link on the wiki, so at least that works...!
Just need people to create the individual emulator pages, though there isnt a huge amount to add yet.

 

[Tinnus]

Unfortunately, stuff that doesn't use direct hardware access is usually just console-based programs. Minimal lib, SDL, and others all hack the hardware directly for speed.

Although a lot of stuff that use SDL and standard libraries without any magical voodoo should work with a simple recompilation (provided source is available and/or the author wants to do a Pandora version)