Exe's Into Fxe's?


manalone

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Oct 26, 2005
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I was wondering what is involved in making fxe's for the GP32. I understand that the very term fxe means GP32 specific, right? (If not, I'm not sure where else the term fxe is applied since I never heard it before these boards).

Anyway, I have a few exe files laying around my pc such as the fan remake of Maniac Mansion and so forth. But unlike similar games (like official SCUMM ones) I can't put this or other exe's onto my GP32. So what I was wondering is this: Surely it's a programming thing, but can someone try to explain, in basic OR complex terms, what's involved in making such a game play on the GP32 as a fxe file?

In other words, I've been able to play the pc and amiga versions of some games on my GP32. How is this done? Is something done to the game file itself, or is it sort of like a whole new gui has to be made? Lastly, is it even possible for a regular pc EXE to be remade into a GP32 playable fxe?

Sorry for the amount of questions, I'm pretty new to the scene and enjoying the system immensely and was just wondering how fxes are made and whether my exes could theoretically be poerted over without mucho programming.
 
manalone posted on Oct 30 2005 at 12:10 AM said:
Lastly, is it even possible for a regular pc EXE to be remade into a GP32 playable fxe?
Short reply:
No.

Slightly longer reply:
A PC EXE has been compiled for an X86 processor. There is no way it will work on an ARM processor like the one in a GP32.

Porting:
The only way to get programs to work on a ARM processor is to get your hands on the original source code for the program (e.g. C/C++ etc.) and then to compile it with an ARM compiler. This is called 'porting'. Even then it is not a trivial task as programs often rely on a specific operating system (e.g. Windows/Linux/Dos) to function. The GP32 has its own operating system/bios so many parts of the source code (e.g. Graphics, Sound, File access) may need to be re-written to get the program to run on a GP32.

Not many developers provide the source code which would enable you to port their game to another system, certainly it is very rare for commercial games companies to do this. There are a few exceptions, ID software and 3D Realms come to mind, but this is years after their games have been commercially sold, for obvious reasons.

All is not lost though as there are really cool shareware games that are 'open source', which means the programmers have kindly supplied the source code for download which enables anyone with coding experience to modify or port their game to another platform. It is not easy but it can be done.

Emulation:
There is one other option, write an emulator that simulates the processor and hardware of the original games platform. Emulators that run well on the GP32 tend to be for much older or simpler hardware than the PC. There has been talk of porting the DOSbox emulator which will emulate old DOS games, we are talking 10+ year old games, not games that rely on fast processors, Windows and DirectX etc.

At the end of the day it often comes down to a question of speed, the GP32 has to do in software what another system does in hardware, so the GP32 has to be an order of magnitude faster than the chips in the original system it is emulating.

Just about every old system has been emulated to run on newer systems such as the PC, Dreamcast or XBOX but the humble GP32 can only do so much, it is a handheld afterall! I'm pretty stunned and very happy with what has been achieved so far.

The Amiga had a lot of funky chips that did a lot of cool things so would be very hard to emulate on the GP32 at a decent speed. The GP2X may change that and i for one am very excited about the prospect, what with the Amiga being the best and most loved computer ever created.

One more thing, consoles such as the Saturn, Playstation, N64, PS2, XBOX etc. have custom 3D hardware which will be very difficult if not impossible to emulate. Certainly not on the GP32 at playable speeds, even if the games could fit into memory.

Final words: (Slightly off-topic and not aimed at the poster)
GP32 coders don't always get the respect they deserve, coding is a skill, it takes years of practice, they spend hours, days, months producing stuff for us all. They do it for free!

The more people coding for our little friend the better, even if you can't go so far as to port a game or write an emulator, you will be producing something original which in my view is just as important if not more!

Does a FAQ already exist for all of the above? It must be getting tiring for people to have to keep repeating the same shit over and over again.
 
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manalone posted on Oct 29 2005 at 08:10 PM said:
Anyway, I have a few exe files laying around my pc such as the fan remake of Maniac Mansion and so forth. But unlike similar games (like official SCUMM ones)
well if you put all of the scumm games data into a folder and put it on to the gp32 and load it up in scummvm it should work (like how the dott demo is compiled)

(ps correct me if i am wrong)
 
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a fan remake?... oh i thought it was the real game (btw i have no idea about the scumm games...it was a little before my time :( )
 
:lol: Congratulations, your the first noob to ask something this stupid! :p

But yes, porting is possible in some cases, and has been done for several things. But:

1. You have to have the sourcecode.
2. You have to be a somewhat experienced C/C++/GP32/PC programmer.
3. It has to be possible--IE, you can't port a PSX emulator.
 
Aww, I didn't think it was a stupid question!

Anyway, thanks for the informed responses (especially you feeblez). That's all i need to know, I now fully understand that it's not something I can hope to accomplish myself. I asked not only for Maniac Mansion (the fan version isn't like some sort of cheesy hack, it's the same game as the original but with much better graphics and integrated music, etc) but also for Doom. I really want to play the full versions of Doom and Wolfenstein 3d on the GP32, but I only have shareware copies. I wouldn't mind paying for the full versions, but I already HAVE full Doom on my PC. I had assumed I could somehow import it to my SMC and play it, but if not the EXE then I didn't know what, if any, file would be required.

Thanks for the answers.
 
Blah posted on Oct 30 2005 at 05:01 AM said:
...IE, you can't port a PSX emulator.

Oh, yes, you can :D It just makes no sense :p
 
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Hey Quiest, congrats on guru status, just saw it.

Also I was wondering- is that pic of you? It looks extremely familiar.
 
Feeblez posted on Oct 30 2005 at 04:29 AM said:
i don't think it will work for a 'fan remake' of Maniac Mansion

This is created using AGS (Adventure Game Studio), a pretty cool editor for LucasArts and Sierra-like Adventures.

There exists a Linux port but sadly no openly available sourcecode.
Though we could ask, as this would really be a nice on the gp2x (there are some REALLY good adventures for this out there!)
 
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manalone posted on Oct 30 2005 at 01:04 AM said:
but also for Doom. I really want to play the full versions of Doom and Wolfenstein 3d on the GP32, but I only have shareware copies. I wouldn't mind paying for the full versions, but I already HAVE full Doom on my PC.

Yeah, that works too, D/L the GP32 .FXE for Doom to your SMC, then copy the main wadfile or "iwad" (doom.wad/ doom2.wad/ plutonia.wad/ tnt.wad) to the directory where the readme tells you.

If you have the Ultimate Doom, you may have to rename the doom.wad to doomu.wad to play the 4th episode.
 
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Evildragon, I think that's exactly it. That was bar none the best version of Maniac Mansion I've ever played. I feel like, as I'm new, I'd be laughed or scolded outta this place if I dared to suggest someone undertake such a project. But if you could lead the charge or join me vocally, I'd definitely be interested in seeing such games on this great little system.

Hey winterkid, I think you're probably exactly right- I do have the Plutonia, TNT, and Doom 2 wads. However, I have nothing named IWAD or Doom.wad (just doom.1, which is shareware right?) But I still have that dam exe and something called "glwad" as well as quite a few level wads and bat files and stuff. Seems like I'm either missing something or it's named different, but I recall playing the full game with these. If I've got Plutonia and TNT does it matter that the wad is Doom1 instead of just Doom?

Sorry, inexperienced.
 
manalone posted on Oct 30 2005 at 11:10 AM said:
Hey Quiest, congrats on guru status, just saw it.

Also I was wondering- is that pic of you? It looks extremely familiar.

Yes, that`s me. But if your not living anywhere near me (Rheinland-Pfalz), there is no big chance to know me (personally).
 
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Odd, it looks like a photo I've seen before or something. Maybe it's just the picture's vague resemblance to Russel Crowe.

Cool picture though, you look like a right cocky bastard (which isn't meant to be an insult)!
 
Winterkid posted on Oct 30 2005 at 09:25 AM said:
If you have the Ultimate Doom, you may have to rename the doom.wad to doomu.wad to play the 4th episode.
theres a 4th episode?? how come it calls my ultimate doom wad commercial doom? (ps its called doom.wad)
 
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manalone posted on Oct 30 2005 at 05:45 AM said:
Hey winterkid, I think you're probably exactly right- I do have the Plutonia, TNT, and Doom 2 wads. However, I have nothing named IWAD or Doom.wad (just doom.1, which is shareware right?) But I still have that dam exe and something called "glwad" as well as quite a few level wads and bat files and stuff. Seems like I'm either missing something or it's named different, but I recall playing the full game with these. If I've got Plutonia and TNT does it matter that the wad is Doom1 instead of just Doom?
Sorry, inexperienced.

That's ok... Just put those .WAD files in, except glwad and the other files.

DOOM.1? That sounds like a packed install file... most likely for the shareware version of it. Once all the WAD files (except GLWAD) are copied, run the setup for the game and then select the version you wanna play. You have Doom 2, TNT and Plutonia to choose from. *Nod*

The Ultimate Doom is just Doom 1 with a 4th Episode. If you only own the original Doom (Doom 1), there is no 4th episode, just the first 3. Ultimate Doom also called it's wadfile doom.wad for convenience, just name the one on the SMC to doomu.wad to play the 4th on the GP32
 
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