Would it be possible to get DOS running on a GP32?

[Fretzy]

I heard someone talking about DOS on a GP32 a little while back, and it really made me think. Would it be possible to get DOS running on a GP32? Failing that, perhaps a program that could run Basic programs (snake or gorillas on GP32... oh yes )?

 

[Dozer]

I think that dos should be possible as it wont need v much ram as it doesnt hav a gui. If they can get linux (they hav linux 2.4 kernel running i think) to work on the gp then i see no reason why there shouldnt b dos, or an emulator for it anyway.

 

[Fretzy]

I imagine that once dos was running on the GP32 it would just be a simple matter to run dos games on it then. Sure, there might be some EMS problems or something that will need to be modified, but, just imagine how much that would extend the GP32 library of games!

 

[admin]

test19

 

[Rico]

The hardest part is emulating hardware, such as a soundblaster card. Although that doesn't mean emulating dos interrupts, bios interrupts and the CPU itself will be easy.

 

[Mofokubik]

why not just not emulate soundblaster, maybe just use pc speaker sound? also maybe just basic vga/ega? i dont know im stupid about this stuff...

 

[Swiss_Cheeseman]

nanaNaNaNANANaNananaNaNaNANANaNa NO!

 

[Scherzo]

I've thought about this myself and maybe, just maybe, it would be possible to port something like Bochs to GP32. I can dream, right?

 

[Chip]

There was a discussion of this not too long ago, and the general consensus was that 286 12MHz with CGA/EGA and PC-speaker was probably the limit. Frankly, that's enough for me If I could play Duke Nukem 1 & 2, I'd be happy.

 

[Flack]

Commander Keen, here we come! There are thousands of games that ran on those old machines. And, I've still got most of them.

 

[Shrike]

heh, old school style . But yeh it should be possible, the gp32 is the same specs (roughly) as my old PC was and that ran dos fine

 

[Scherzo]

I don't think a 286 12MHz with CGA/EGA is even close to fast enough to run Duke Nukem. You need at least VGA for that, right. It might be better just to plain port DN.

 

[pirloui]

I had Duke Nukem running on my parforma 630, a mac with a 680LC40 proc at 33 mhz. I guess it could eventually get emulated..
Personaly I dream a dream of Mac emulation, there is one out there for pc..

 

[ldaneels]

Before Duke Nukem 3d, there were Duke Nukem 1 & 2. In my opinion these two games were a lot more interesting (I really don't care for first person games, apart for a select few - Ultima underworld, thief, system shock,... - that are at least original). There was a life before Duke Nukem 3D (and Doom while I'm at it), believe it or not. Actually, there is still a life without all those FPSs.
At any rate, BOCHS might be an absolute pain to port considering how much of a mess it is (if anyone ever tried to use it, they probably know what I mean - unless I missed something). Dosbox would seem a better choice, but I don't think the emu is too optimised...
Personally, I think a DOS emu would be great as it would allow to play darklands (might be a bit short for that one), Legend, LBA / Twinsen's Odyssey, Worlds of Ultima, Ultima Underworld & a many more gems that no other computer or game console ever saw (their loss, really). Plus a lot of great games that were also released on other computers (Ultima, Might & magic, Wizardry, Dreamweb, Murder, Elvira, Dune, ...).
Skeezix (of CaSTaway fame) mentioned the idea of working on a X86 emu (AKA DOS emu among other things). Well, when he gets any free time, that is, which might not be for a long time...
Here's for hope...

Loic

 

[Rico]

heh, old school style . But yeh it should be possible, the gp32 is the same specs (roughly) as my old PC was and that ran dos fine

Uh... aren't you forgetting about the emulation layer? A 386 has CISC instructions, an ARM has RISC and no hardware division. You can expect maybe 1/5 - 1/10 of the speed on a GP32 than on a PC of the same 'specs'. We're talking 286 at the very best I guess.

 

[Chip]

I don't think a 286 12MHz with CGA/EGA is even close to fast enough to run Duke Nukem. You need at least VGA for that, right. It might be better just to plain port DN.

No no no. Duke Nuke 1 and 2 were GREAT platform games made by Apogee back in the day. They were pretty fast paced, had interesting levels, and was just hard enough to be difficult but not frustrating. What's more, they'd be perfectly playable at the speeds that any x86 eum is likely to run and had PC-Speaker sound support built in.

Another game that would be great and should work is the original Mechwarrior. I remember playing that for DAYS on a 286SX 16MHZ laptop (the thing weighed 15lbs) with 2meg ram and a 30meg HD. Impressive since it was probably one of the 1st games to use an honest-to-god 3D engine. The only possible problem would be input. I remember it using quite a few keys...

 

[Esn]

Err... the best DOS emu right now (which I personally use to run all my DOS games that don't work in Win2k) is probably DOSBox, which runs most x86 VGA games perfectly, and it runs at 200Mhz on a regular PC.
Since I've heard from someone that the GP32's 133Mhz works more efficiently and is thereore at least equivalent to the PC's 200Mhz, might not DOSBox be within the range of the GP32?

I've never heard the "general consensus" on GP32 only being able to emulate an EGA 286...

Sorry, I realize that I'm putting forth an idea and asking someone else to do it, but I can't program and I don't have the time to learn right now.

If anybody wants to know how to use DOSBox, by the way, visit http://www.classicgaming.com/starcontrol/f...aq/dosbox.shtml
It's an easy way to get it running, and it's the only guide available on how to use it as far as I know.

 

[Esn]

EDIT: Never mind, board error.

 

[Chip]

It may be equivilent (or better) when running native apps, but it would be nowhere near as fast while emulating DOS. The problem is that the x86 CPU and the ARM9 CPU use completely different instructions. So you have to convert the DOS instructions over to something the ARM9 can understand, in real time. So for every one x86 instruction the GP32 will have to process several just to do the conversion, THEN process the x86 instruction itself.

I have seen people post a "general rule" of emulation that says the system doing the emulating must be 5x-7x times faster than the system being emulated. It would probably be more like 10x in the case of x86, just because the chips are so different (RISC vs CISC)

 

[khephren]

I should imagine DOSBOX on a pc doesn't emulate the CPU or the soundcard. Seeing as it can run the instructions direct, and the fact that almost all PC soundcards have a soundblaster compatability mode. So it isn't so much an emulation, as an interpretation (bit like an amiga running mac or ST stuff).

Does the soundchip on the GP come from the PC area? If so it may have soundblaster compatability built in. If it is mobile specific then it probably won't. My knowledge of old pc's is a bit dodgy, but couldn't you write a driver for a dos emu to run the GP graphics direct? e.g. I have a driver for my PC graphics card telling my Amiga emu that it is a new type of amiga graphics card-so no need to emulate it.
I know that we can emulate a 68000 at about 8-12mhz, which is comparable to a 286 of the same speed ( or close enough). BUT (and it's a big one) 68000's are more like risc chips than their intel equivelent. If we don't have to emulate the graphics, we might get away with it.