GP32 various questions

[timthepig]

Some more questions...

Can the gp32 act as a useful smartcard reader?(eg, my digital camera is damn slow in transferring from the SMC so is the gp32 faster at transfer files to the pc)

The RF Multiplayer device? what is this used for - what applications can use it -- is of any use to Europe?

Is there any way of playing mpgs on the gp32 and what utility can you recommend to converting to divx format?

Is it possible to port Half-Life to port on to it(I do see a GBA version somewhere) -of course the amount of space it will take up - would be huge but perhaps larger games\applications can be overcome with a usb hard drive\cd rom - ?

-Can you use the other wads with doom eg, extra levels etc and modded dooms?

-is there a text editor available(eg- create html on the move)?

 

[Avigrace]

"Can the gp32 act as a useful smartcard reader?(eg, my digital camera is damn slow in transferring from the SMC so is the gp32 faster at transfer files to the pc)"

Guess so, but you can buy a USB SMC Reader Writer for about £10


"The RF Multiplayer device? what is this used for - what applications can use it -- is of any use to Europe?"

If you have 2, 3 or 4 GP32's in the same room you can play multiplayer games, I guess some apps will support it but none as of yet if I am correct.

"Is there any way of playing mpgs on the gp32 and what utility can you recommend to converting to divx format?"

If you by the Movie Park software it comes with a program to convert files to the correct format, else use the VirtualDub settings file that can be found ou this site I believe.


"Is it possible to port Half-Life to port on to it(I do see a GBA version somewhere) -of course the amount of space it will take up - would be huge but perhaps larger games\applications can be overcome with a usb hard drive\cd rom - ?"

I seriously doubt Half-Life will be appearing, I know it uses the original Quake engine which has been ported but it is massivly modified, and as you said the game would not fit onto an smc.

"-Can you use the other wads with doom eg, extra levels etc and modded dooms?"

You can definatly use other wads, I have Doom and Doom 2 on my GP32. As for extra levels I do not know but maybe, btw does anyone know if the doom port will ever get finished (sound is missing and cannot save games)?

-is there a text editor available(eg- create html on the move)?
Not sure, there are plenty of readers but an editor ??

 

[Vanguard]

The GP32 seems fairly slow reading and writing SMCs as well, but as already mentioned, a dedicated reader is fairly cheap (I got one that could read SMC, CF, and MMC/SD for about $20).

As mentioned, the RF link is for playing with other GP32s within approximately 10 meters of you. Both players need an RF Link and the game you're playing. I'm anxiously awaiting GP Fight, which will support the RF Link and has gameplay somewhat similar to River City Ransom.

GP32 doesn't support MPEGs as far as I know, though it would be simple enough for someone to port a player from another ARM-based system. To convert to divx I believe you use a program called "Virtual Dub," but I could be wrong on that. If you look around, you can find step-by-step instructions for how to do this.

I doubt HL will be ported to the GP32. As a matter of fact, I doubt it will be ported to the GBA. Niether machine has enough horsepower to do that kind of 3d rendering at any kind of playable framerate.

I wouldn't put it past some GBA developer to make a simplified engine with similar level layouts to the PC version and buy the license to call it "HalfLife Advance" or something. This would of course mean you couldn't play any mods (counter-strike)...which is a moot point anyway, since it's tough to install a mod onto a cartridge game.
Using USB CD-ROM/HD is probably an option for storing large amounts of data, but drivers, etc would have to be written, and the device would have to be self-powered (GP32 supports unpowered USB host mode only).

Yes, you can use modded doom .wads as far as I can can see, but I havn't tried it.

I did see a note-taking program for the GP32, maybe someone else can post a link? Keep in mind that there's no keyboard support (Yet...I hear there are some in the works, or at least in planning stages)

 

[AukonDK]

To field the Doom question... The GP32 port of doom seems very simple and all it can do as far as modding is concerned is run whatever IWAD is in the doom dir on the SMC... patches and mods however would need extra coding just to select them and as the sound isn't even working yet i doubt that'll be soon.

It might be an idea to visit the forums at doomworld.com to see if anyone there is even aware of the GP32... i'm sure someone would want to keep it going.

 

[GurtyGurt]

Personally I think Doom/Doom2 aren't big reasons to get a GP32. I mean, both are on GBA and if you shop around, you can get a decent price. Half-Life won't ever be on GBA or GP32 in any decent form - I mean, I was surprised duke3d got crammed on GBA. Quake (excluding the port already made, in its 1fps glory) is always possible, but I really doubt anyone would bother.

There is a text editor - Wind-Ups has a built in one. Compared to a real keyboard, the input controls are cumbersome, but the author claims you can actually get up to 35 characters a minute on it. Pretty useless except for corrections and things, I guess. 35 characters a minute is a big drop down from ANYONE's typing speed. Speaking as someone who types somewhere between 90 and 100wpm, I wouldn't use the thing for anything but corrections to existing documents. A keyboard of any sort would be a BIG plus, though...

 

[MandaloR]

Quake (excluding the port already made, in its 1fps glory) is always possible, but I really doubt anyone would bother.

Quake is possible on GBA, take a look at this developers sitepocketeers. There's also some other cool stuff, also take al look here blueroses, also some very cool and interresting stuff.

 

[bullet]

Half-Life on GP32 will not happen until all the source of the game has been released, and that won't be until all the mods are not played anymore. Reason? Source code = easy to make cheats

 

[AukonDK]

Personally I think Doom/Doom2 aren't big reasons to get a GP32. I mean, both are on GBA and if you shop around, you can get a decent price.

Actually... Doom on the GBA is utter pants now... i'd so much rather play my soundless version on the GP32 than squint at the blobby imps and demons on my GBA... not to mention the levels being the cut down jaguar versions, the music being moved around... and of course, the green blood?!?!

neway... rant over... i'll be happy when we get Doom/Heretic/Hexen with full sound and music... and possibly PWAD support, but i'm in no rush for that

 

[GurtyGurt]

With quake, I was referring to the quick quake port to gp32 running at 1-3fps, not a gba version. It's possible on gba, but considering quake is about 56mb from memory, it'd be overkill. It'd barely fit. I suppose you could remove a thing or two, but I dunno.

To be honest I only played Doom on GBA for 2 minutes on an emulator, and I mainly concentrated on the framerate and textures being accurate. I forgot about that

It's a shame duke3d's source was never made public. It wasn't that great a game, but the map editor was near perfect. I think it'd be actually practical to use it to make some sort of 3D maps or something. Hell, every map I ever made was based on something!