Dreamcast Games On Pandora Without Much Emulating?

[rohezal]

Hi guys,

it's and idea but if it works, it would be great.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamcast

OS: optimized version of Windows CE supporting DirectX
CPU: 200 MHz Hitachi SH4 RISC

Pandora:
OS: hacked Windows CE
CPU: 600 Mhz Omap 3 ARM RISC

I don't how different RISC designs are (x86 cpus from AMD and Intel both work on the same software).

Would it be possible to use the Dreamcast OS, hack it and Port it to the pandora? Even the graphic card of the pandora is the successor of the successor of the Dreamcast GPU or?

Would be a dream

 

[PhillipJ]

Only a few Dreamcast games ran under Windows CE.
RISC is a class of CPU (Reduced Instruction Set Computer). x86 is an instruction set. There are many RISC instruction sets.
Drivers. Also drivers, drivers and probably some more drivers.
The fact that the two systems have somewhat similar graphics hardware is irrelevant. APIs like DirectX and OpenGL exist so you don't have to know or care too much about the underlying hardware.

I think you'd have more luck porting Dreamcast games to Pandora rather than trying to port Windows CE and then use it to run Dreamcast games.

 

[r00tw00t]

So easy! Why haven't anyone thought of this before!?

 

[andys]

Hi guys,

it's and idea but if it works, it would be great.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamcast

OS: optimized version of Windows CE supporting DirectX
CPU: 200 MHz Hitachi SH4 RISC

Pandora:
OS: hacked Windows CE
CPU: 600 Mhz Omap 3 ARM RISC

I don't how different RISC designs are (x86 cpus from AMD and Intel both work on the same software).

Would it be possible to use the Dreamcast OS, hack it and Port it to the pandora? Even the graphic card of the pandora is the successor of the successor of the Dreamcast GPU or?

Would be a dream

Sorry, they're very different processors.

RISC is a design philosophy, not an instruction set.

ARM is the instruction set in the Pandora case, SH in the Dreamcast case.

As well as this, very few games apparently used WinCE directly, writing more directly to the raw machine, which was quite a bit different to the environment on the Pandora (the graphics card had built in transparency sorting hardware, which the Pandora hasn't got).

People are working on getting the Dreamcast to work, but I wouldn't be super-optimistic that it will be incredibly fast for a while to be honest.

 

[efegea]

OS: optimized version of Windows CE supporting DirectX
CPU: 200 MHz Hitachi SH4 RISC

Pandora:
OS: hacked Windows CE
CPU: 600 Mhz Omap 3 ARM RISC

I don't how different RISC designs are (x86 cpus from AMD and Intel both work on the same software).

AMD and Intel are x86 both
Dreamcast is SH, Pandora is ARM

None of the three (x86-SH-ARM) are compatible, so they can't run the same software.

 

[Prometheus]

My understanding of the Dreamcast's Windows CE implementation is that it was not the console's OS, but that the Windows CE stuff was included on the discs of the games that used it.

Please do correct me if I'm wrong, though.

 

[lulzfish]

Prometheus is right, Windows CE was an optional thingy that some games included.
Most Dreamcast titles use the hardware directly.

Even for the titles that used Windows, they'd use a different instruction set and make calls for hardware the Pandora does not have.
It is not possible.

 

[Jourdy288]

Prometheus is right, Windows CE was an optional thingy that some games included.
Most Dreamcast titles use the hardware directly.

Even for the titles that used Windows, they'd use a different instruction set and make calls for hardware the Pandora does not have.
It is not possible.

The Win CE titles weren't the greatest from what I've heard- and besides, I don't think we'd be in the best legal position if we did something to Windows anyway...

 

[elwing]

and besides, I don't think we'd be in the best legal position if we did something to Windows anyway...

why not? you're free to make a windows CE platform for the pandora, you just need platform builder licence, let someone trusted by microsoft review your platform to evaluate if it's a lite, full or i don't know what version and buy to that person a licence if thing didn't changed too much over the last years...


hum, edit: was just speaking of windows CE notabout this dreamcast nonsense... there's no way for this to work...

 

[Titcher]

The Win CE titles weren't the greatest from what I've heard- and besides, I don't think we'd be in the best legal position if we did something to Windows anyway...

The ever addictive Bust-a-move 4 was a Dreamcast WinCE title, so there's at least one good game.

 

[Pleng]

*cough cough* Sega Rally! *cough splutter splutter cough*

 

[Phawx]

Oh I see. We just run DreamCast games on the Pandora. ./run *game*. It;s just that simple.

 

[lulzfish]

Oh I see. We just run DreamCast games on the Pandora. ./run *game*. It;s just that simple.

Why didn't anybody think of using bash before
its so obvious

If only we had an idea for positioning DS screens, we could emulate that too...

Spoiler

Disclaimer: I'm joking.

 

[Phawx]

@lulzfish

Now if you want to get into proper positioning of DS screens (Edit: for the Pandora's screen), we'd have something to talk about

Also, I only wanted to talk about ideas. Not ease of emulating, silly-goose.

 

[rohezal]

Ok guys,

I wasn't sure (and in fact wrong) that RISC is a not a instruction set but an design idea.
And I didn't know that most dreamcast games did not use the OS Api but the Hardware directly.

So the 2 essential parts of the idea are impossible to realise. Probably someone other would have thought about it.
But hey I asked because I didn't know. Now I'm knowning. And if it would had be possible and no one has thought about it (not very likely but possible) it would be good to ask.

And if someone googles about the dream cast he find this thread now

 

[paddy]

All i ever wanted was sega rally original saturn version ,my fav game of all time and i still pray the saturn gets some pandora treatment in the future but i know it will be sloooooww go go segarally ! dreamcast would be amazing for f355,skies of arcadia and shenmue ohhh and daytona 2001 ,i might dig out my dc for some fun.

 

[darkblu]

And I didn't know that most dreamcast games did not use the OS Api but the Hardware directly.

actually most DC games ran on a very thin HAL layer (for the GPU, mainly) provided by sega, the name of which lib i can't be bothered to remember now. think of Glide in the 3dfx days.

 

[Exophase]

Katana

 

[lulzfish]

But hey I asked because I didn't know. Now I'm knowning.

And knowing is half the battle!

 

[Pleng]

All i ever wanted was sega rally original saturn version ,my fav game of all time and i still pray the saturn gets some pandora treatment in the future but i know it will be sloooooww go go segarally ! dreamcast would be amazing for f355,skies of arcadia and shenmue ohhh and daytona 2001 ,i might dig out my dc for some fun.

Yea the Sega version of Sega Rally was pretty sweet. DC Version was better though. Unfortunately we'll never see Sega Rally DC on Pandora. Daytona has already been shown running so that's yummy.

If there was a Saturn emulator I'd be playing mostly NiGHTS. A bit of Sega Rally too.