Gp32 On Gp2x?

[malushi88]

Will the new GP2X be able to play GP32 games out of the box? Will at least be able to emulate it? That would be really sweet because there are already tons of GP32 games out there just waiting to be downloaded.

 

[PSyMastR]

They will not play out of the box. Maybe someone could make an emulator, but it may run slower, as the 2X is running on linux and the 32 runs on its own code.

 

[TelcoLou]

Nope. Different OS.

Besides, have patience ... many GP32 devers are porting their stuff to the GP2X

 

[malushi88]

Good, cause i downloaded a GP32 emulator for the PC and there are some sweet games out there.

Theoretically, couldn't i just download Linux games from the web and play them on the GP2X?

 

[PSyMastR]

Sort-of, but it would be safer to allow them to be ported correctly.

 

[Minkoff]

Theoretically, couldn't i just download Linux games from the web and play them on the GP2X?

​

Not really. Put simply, programs need other programs to work, and the programs at the lowest level would need modification to work on the GP2X (or something like that). :unsure:

I really shouldn't talk out of my ass. h34r:

 

[malushi88]

would the modification to make a linux game run on the gp2x be major? maybe i could learn that and use my knowledge to contribute back the the GP world. Don't hold me to it, it's just an idea.

 

[OCA|]

would the modification to make a linux game run on the gp2x be major? maybe i could learn that and use my knowledge to contribute back the the GP world. Don't hold me to it, it's just an idea.

​

Well, in a best case scenario, you would need to cross compile the app from source (meaning, to compile it for an ARM processor), and do whatever needs to be done to make it show up properly in the GP2x's launcher (I don't know what that entails). But that's best case, assumin the game uses nothing but SDL and already has joystick input to the point that you would not need a keyboard at any point to use it.

It almost never works out that easily though. Many programs will require other libraries which may not be available on the GP2x now, which means you either need to port them, or re-write the functionality in the game that requires them.

I can't really code - I can put bits and pieces together and make something work on a good day, but at best it would be an ugly, dirty, inefficient hack. Even with that said, I do plan on *trying* to get some SDL apps to work on the GP2x when mine arrives. But between my inability to code and my school workload, I don't think I'm going to be able to get anything to work reasonably well.

That said, I wouldn't discourage anyone from trying. If the idea of compiling an application in Linux doesn't scare you, you have a fighting chance. Have some patience though, as sometimes finding answers to questions can be very difficult. Often documentation is outdated, incorrect, or makes assumptions about your system setup that may not be true. At absolute worst, it'll be a learning experience. But if you do suceed in getting something to work, it's a great feeling

-OCA|

 

[codeninja]

I read from the official Korean GP2x site (www.gp2x.co.kr) that GPH and GP are not the same company and GP2x will not have any kind of backward compatibility with GP32 games. Unlike popular belief, they said it's not a successor to GP32.

 

[OCA|]

I read from the official Korean GP2x site (www.gp2x.co.kr) that GPH and GP are not the same company and GP2x will not have any kind of backward compatibility with GP32 games. Unlike popular belief, they said it's not a successor to GP32.

​

It's a "spiritual" successor - not the same company, but GamePark Holdings was, iirc, founded by engineers from Gamepark who were unhappy with the direction the company was taking with the XGP.


-OCA|

 

[codeninja]

This is the direct link:

http://www.gp2x.co.kr/support/support_suge...o=5572&bunho=34

In that post, they said that GPH was the distribution company for GP32 from GP, whatever that means. But, some original engineers who worked on GP32 did work on GP2x. By April 2006, the contract for distribution of GP32 will end, although the hardware has been already sold out. So, the warrantee service has been handed back to GP since September 2005.

 

[TheTurnipKing]

Most Linux apps would be set up to be run on an X86 processor, which the GP2X doesn't have. It might be possible to compile Linux programs on the Squinky (as long as it's not using inline assembler or anything), but I don't think it actually has a native version of any of the tools which would be required to build files (like GCC).

I mean, there's a version of GCC, but that's on the PC, not on the GP2X itself.

 

[Radek]

I mean, there's a version of GCC, but that's on the PC, not on the GP2X itself.

​

You can always crosscompile and it's a very common practice.

 

[Radek]

Theoretically, couldn't i just download Linux games from the web and play them on the GP2X?

​

Not really. Put simply, programs need other programs to work, and the programs at the lowest level would need modification to work on the GP2X (or something like that). :unsure:

I really shouldn't talk out of my ass. h34r:

​

You are correct that it won't be this simple. However as GP2x is running Linux's kernel and it takes care of most low level stuff.

So a recompilation should be sufficient in the most cases. It will be even better when interpreted languages will be ported (Python, Perl, Ruby, etc.) because many programs made with them will be able to run instantly on the GP2x.

 

[judge0]

For Perl and other scripting languages to work correctly, they require external modules and shell extensions to be installed.

IIRC the area that we have for semi permanent storage is the NAND flash area which totals 64 MB, some of which is already occupied by the kernel, config scripts, libc, SDL, UBoot etc. I realize that the SD card is mounted at /mnt/sd, but it's not readily apparent whether /usr/lib can be located at /mnt/sd/lib.

I use Perl in both linux and Windows, find it to be extremely free form to code with, and the scripts run at the same speed as plain executables. However that is on a Pentium 4 3.2 GHZ dual core CPU with 4 GB of Ram. If anyone recalls programming with interpretive BASIC (ie GWBasic), it noticeably ran slower than compiled executables.

The GP2X definitely has hardware limitations and quirks we have yet to discover. I still am not aware of how much free NAND storage the unit ships with, that is available to us.

Then there is the issue of limited number of writes to NAND memory.

Personally, I'm going to explore what the machine is capable of without modification to OS, as shipped. I'll wait for an emulator similar to GeePee32 to be released, then set up my ideal linux environment. Tweak that till it works correctly and then install. This will take time.

As for GP32 apps/games running on GP2x, if code exist, code can be ported/rewritten, almost a non-issue.

Now if only the units would ship . . . :blink:

 

[xzen54321]

Theoretically, couldn't i just download Linux games from the web and play them on the GP2X?

​

Not really. Put simply, programs need other programs to work

​

Mmmm, dependencies... Gota love em

 

[malushi88]

After all this talk, i don't feel like crosscompiling and setting up games for GP2X anymore. sorry guys. The most complicated coding operation i've ever done was make a GUI program in java that shows how much you would weigh on all 9 planets (theoretically of course, ive never been to pluto personally). Anyway, i will be looking forward to the upcoming gp2x projects. And, at a tecnical level, just how much faster is the GP2X than the GP32? I mean, i saw an MGS demo for the GP32 and it looked pretty damn good (PS1 quality, almost). I know the GP2X isnt a successor, but i'd still like numbers.

and if im not mistaken, the gp32blu is faster than the gp32. if so, then compare the gp2x to the gp32blu.

 

[triton]

the blu isnt really faster than a normal gp32, but most BLUs overclock better than NLUs and FLUs sometimes up to nearly 200mhz stabily the 2x i imagine would be nearly 2x as fast processor wise than an overclocked 32 but, hey, i might just be talking out of my ass on that one

 

[TheTurnipKing]

The bottom line is, we just don't know about the GP2X yet. Some people have made educated guesses but most of us don't even have hardware yet. There's a hell of a lot more memory in the 2x though and an extra processor. A lot depends on how well both CPU's can be used, and whether or not Linux gets in the way.

I don't think it would be too unfair to say though that coded poorly, the 2X should offer about the same performance as the GP32. Coded well it should be a fair bit more capable, but we won't know until the good coders (hint: not me ) get their hands on it and start to twist it to their wills

 

[deadlychicken22]

Theoretically, couldn't i just download Linux games from the web and play them on the GP2X?

​

Not really. Put simply, programs need other programs to work

​

Mmmm, dependencies... Gota love em

​

dependencies are the reason why I couldn't get debian linux running in my room. It gave me a list of a bunch of things I had to delete (including gcc) in order to download the source to the kernel, and I needed the source in order to get ndiswrapper working properly according to the guide I was following. And I need ndiswrapper to get my internet working. I'm going to try again when I get some time, this time with ubuntu.