The Different Gp32 Models?

[EdCa22]

Okay, so my smc arrived, but now I'm kind of stuck. I created a folder gpmm on my smc and put fw.bin and fw.fxe in there (from slubmans firmware - pc link, non blu version). I did all this using a USB smc reader. I go into 'game' and it says 'SMC not inserted or no game exists'.

Reading about this I am getting somewhat confused. How do I know if I need to install the freelauncher or if I already have it? I just get 3 options - pc link, mp3 and game.

Can I somehow convert the fw.fxe into a fw.gxe and run it from 'game' in my current fw?

I'm experiencing a lot of dead links trying to find out what I need to do with this! :S

Thanks for all your help jmetal88

EDIT: I also tried naming the folder 'game' and 'gp', with no luck.

EDIT2: I also found this: http://dl.openhandhelds.org/cgi-bin/gp32.cgi?0,0,0,0,8,1052
Which is described as "A version of the freelauncher which can be encrypted to run on ANY GP32 (as normal registering and encrypting is not possible anymore)."

It contains a zpk file and a zpk.rar, but the readme just says "To play open zpkinstaller and add the game in .zpk.
selec the game. connec and selec pdcid encription and start"

Sounds like I need a PC cable or something? Which I don't have

EDIT3: So, I found this: http://users.skynet.be/firefly/gp32/project/gpex/index.htm and ran it in WINE to extract the fxe files from the zpk file, then copied them to the smc. Now when I go to game I get "GP32 Free Launcher" but whatever I press from that point on the free launcher does not launch. If I press B it goes back to the start screen. I also tried running the zpkinstaller in wine, since I think maybe I need to select some encryption? But this requires a USB cable... so at the moment it seems I'm up a very foul and dirty water course with absolutely no means of propulsion.

Any ideas? Can the fw.fxe be changed into a fw.gxe and launched without the freelauncher?

EDIT4: According to this: http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?/topic/16419-free-launcher-free-to-encrypt-yourselves-here/ the freelauncher I downloaded must be installed using USB with the ZPK Installer. So it really looks as though I'm stuck right now until I get a cable. Unless there is some other way around this?

 

[jmetal88]

Yeah, I think you're going to need a cable, unfortunately. I found the original firmware for the FLU and NLU GP32s extremely annoying in that regard. It beats me why someone would actually leave it on there, but apparently some people did.

 

[EdCa22]

Well, I hope I never have to do that again!

I decided I really didn't want to buy a cable when I was probably only ever going to use it once... so I opened up my GP32 and soldered on a standard USB cable!

I had to figure out the USB pinout using the CPU manual and a multimeter, so for future reference pin 1 is GND, 2 is D+, 3 is D-, 4 is not connected. Looking into the socket with the GP32 oriented so the USB socket is on the left and power switch is on the right (face down), pin 1 is on the left. The numbers are also labelled on the PCB.

I still struggled... the zpk installer had garbled text which didn't help, as I couldn't see what any of the messages said. For a while it refused to send the file encrypted by PDUID, or at all, and would only connect once in every few attempts. I eventually managed to get it to send the file unencrypted, and after more playing around, more attempts, reinstalling the GP32 drivers, it eventually sent the file encrypted (although even then the program crashed upon finishing).

Now I can launch the freeloader! I just need to flash the firmware now... I'm a bit nervous :S

EDIT: Hooray, slubman firmware installed! EPIC WIN!

Thanks again jmetal88!

 

[EdCa22]

Well, been playing with the gp32 for the last few hours... I'm loving it. SNES emulation with opensnes9x is surprisingly good, at least on some games (e.g. donkey kong country works pretty well). I do wonder what I am to do if I need to use all 6 buttons? Can it be done with combinations of buttons?

Seems I can clock up to 156MHz without crashing...

I can see why the NLU is unpopular though... I am spoiled by backlit screens. Been playing with a torch sat on my shoulder, and the gamma setting turned way up.

Going to try out some megadrive games now

 

[jmetal88]

Well, been playing with the gp32 for the last few hours... I'm loving it. SNES emulation with opensnes9x is surprisingly good, at least on some games (e.g. donkey kong country works pretty well). I do wonder what I am to do if I need to use all 6 buttons? Can it be done with combinations of buttons?

Seems I can clock up to 156MHz without crashing...

I can see why the NLU is unpopular though... I am spoiled by backlit screens. Been playing with a torch sat on my shoulder, and the gamma setting turned way up.

Going to try out some megadrive games now

Awesome, glad you got it sorted! OpenSNES9x does have a configuration that allows you to use all 6 buttons. In that event, you can access the menu by, IIRC, holding down Start and Select.

It's too bad you can only go up to 156mhz, though - 166mhz was a pretty standard overclock for GP32s. I got lucky and got one that overclocks over 200mhz (it's an FLU), which is great for SNES games that put lots of sprites on screen. Some of them still stutter quite a bit, though.

Now Megadrive, that's GP32's strong point! Many games run full speed with sound at the default 133mhz, and even at the 156mhz you have you should be able to play pretty much anything.

Regarding the non-lit screen - I found that annoying as well. I started out with a non-lit GP32. I sold it and bought the BLU when it came out, then sold the BLU and bought a GP2X when it came out. Later on, I sold the GP2X and went without a Gamepark handheld for a few years. Then, I spotted a GP32 FLU on eBay and bought it. After some repair (and purchase of a parts unit) I've been using it for a few years now.

My parts unit actually does have a working front-light on it, but I'm not sure I'd want to give it up (and it has a small scratch on it that's a little annoying when viewing the screen).

 

[EdCa22]

What are the other two buttons for snes9x?

I'm thinking of doing the overclocking mod... just need to get around to buying some suitable resistors really. But megadrive is indeed awesome! I think my main issue on SNES is that I like to play with sound... and some games really don't play well with sound on at 156MHz (e.g. mario kart runs just terribly). Without sound things seem to generally be full speed, but I find this kind of ruins the experience.

About snes9x... if I try to start it by pressing A (with intro) it says "Error dat file not found in gp:\gpmm\os9xgp.dat". I don't have this file, and it doesn't seem to be important and wouldn't bother me, but I'm wondering if it's related to the main issue I have, that when I go to "Save settings (all)" it says "Settings could not be saved!". Changing the settings every time is kind of annoying!

And the screen... well, playing now (in daylight, indoors) is actually a very enjoyable experience, and I don't need any extra light for that. Having said that, could you be tempted to part with your parts unit for some cash? Pretty please? If you don't then really no worries... I have a pandora so I can always play this stuff on there anyway, or if I see a decently priced FLU or BLU and have some cash spare I might go for that.

I really like the simplicity of the GP32... and the retro feel. The homebrew games have lots of retroey goodness too. I want to code for it if I ever have time.

I tried running donkey kong side by side with the pandora and GP32 - and unsurprisingly there is no competition - pandora wins hands down. The screen is just beautiful. But this somehow doesn't explain the excitement I got playing with the GP32!

 

[jmetal88]

What are the other two buttons for snes9x?

I'm thinking of doing the overclocking mod... just need to get around to buying some suitable resistors really. But megadrive is indeed awesome! I think my main issue on SNES is that I like to play with sound... and some games really don't play well with sound on at 156MHz (e.g. mario kart runs just terribly). Without sound things seem to generally be full speed, but I find this kind of ruins the experience.

About snes9x... if I try to start it by pressing A (with intro) it says "Error dat file not found in gp:\gpmm\os9xgp.dat". I don't have this file, and it doesn't seem to be important and wouldn't bother me, but I'm wondering if it's related to the main issue I have, that when I go to "Save settings (all)" it says "Settings could not be saved!". Changing the settings every time is kind of annoying!

And the screen... well, playing now (in daylight, indoors) is actually a very enjoyable experience, and I don't need any extra light for that. Having said that, could you be tempted to part with your parts unit for some cash? Pretty please? If you don't then really no worries... I have a pandora so I can always play this stuff on there anyway, or if I see a decently priced FLU or BLU and have some cash spare I might go for that.

I really like the simplicity of the GP32... and the retro feel. The homebrew games have lots of retroey goodness too. I want to code for it if I ever have time.

I tried running donkey kong side by side with the pandora and GP32 - and unsurprisingly there is no competition - pandora wins hands down. The screen is just beautiful. But this somehow doesn't explain the excitement I got playing with the GP32!

Yeah, the os9xgp.dat error is a result of Reesy's update to the emulator. If you download the one from yoyofr and put it on your SMC at the same time as Reesy's, the opening sequence works on both of them without that error (even though there is still no actual os9xgp.dat file).

As for the settings not saving, I have no idea what that could be, as I never had that problem.

One thing you should probably be aware of, though, is that SRAM does not seem to save on this emulator, even when you explicitly tell it to. Well, actually, I suppose it would be more accurate to say SRAM saves do not load on this emulator. The save files are clearly created, but they are never loaded back, so you have to rely on save states if you want to save your progress. This is a feature I'd really, really like to see fixed, but it seems there aren't any developers with time left for the poor old GP32. I'd try to fix it myself, but I still have a lot to learn about programming before I could get to that point. And also, I've read that OpenSNES9xGP only compiles on the ARM Developer Suite, which was a commercial product and is a bit hard to get a hold of these days, since it's been discontinued in favor of newer products.

If you want to try it out, there's an older, slower SNES emulator on this site that does support SRAM saves, and also fully supports transparencies (part of the reason why it's so much slower): http://stocksite8.free.fr/

I have hex edited versions on my GP32 that run at crazy overclocks like 192mhz and 212mhz that give fairly playable results.

About my parts unit: It is actually a fully functional GP32. The problem with it is that I managed to damage the surface of the LCD screen. I tried to polish off the damage, and in doing so, I accidentally removed the anti-glare coating. It runs fine (although it doesn't overclock any better than the one you have), but when the front light is turned on, there are lots of funky, distracting reflections on the screen. Also, there's a small amount of case damage around the LCD surround that came from me prying it up with various objects.

Actually, I'll tell you what; I might be willing to give up my parts unit on one condition: I still want to have a spare GP32 available. If you're willing to front the shipping costs plus whatever the front light parts might be worth to you, I'll send you my parts unit. In return, once you have a satisfactory front-lit unit built from the parts, I would like you to assemble the remaining parts into a non-lit unit and send them back to me (obviously with my polished screen as the main component). I think that's really the only way I'd be willing to help you out, there. That way, you'd have a working FLU, and I'd have a (hopefully) working NLU instead of an FLU with funky reflections.

EDIT: Actually, I forgot, I kind of tried to do a home treatment to make it anti-glare again. The reflections aren't nearly as funky now, but the black level is terribly bright with the front light on.

 

[jmetal88]

Oh yeah, and for OpenSNES9xGP, just go to the in-game menu and select 'input'. Change it to Configuration 2, and you can map the buttons however you like.

 

[jmetal88]

Holy crap, I think I found the problem with SRAM saves!

I've managed to get a working ARM ADS install going in Windows - I'll reboot, modify the line where I think the problem is, and recompile to see if it solves it.

Believe it or not, the line that initially loads the SRAM file when the ROM loads is simply commented out!

 

[jmetal88]

Holy cheese, that's all the problem was.

I removed the //, recompiled, and SRAM saves are now working properly.

I posted on my site here:

http://mkgraham.co.cc/gp32.html"]http://mkgraham.co.cc/gp32.html[/URL]

Note, it's in 7zip format because I'm on the free hosting plan and can't post files over 500k in size (the ZIP was 683k).

I'd add it to the archive, but it seems my files aren't making it up there recently.


EDIT: .CO.CC domains apparently don't exist anymore. My site is still up on AwardSpace, but you can't get to it through the domain. I'm working on a solution.
 
EDIT 2: I got a new free domain through my hosting company.  All files are now available in relevant sections at:
http://www.mkgraham.dx.am