Coco3 Core Released

[kathleen]

The following cart games Robocop, Predator and Pitfall are not working, am I right? Thank you

This is totally correct, there is something not yet implemented in the core which prevents those games to run, I cannot recall what however.

So far, those games are only running under the RealCoco core

[Pepeart]

The following cart games Robocop, Predator and Pitfall are not working, am I right? Thank you

This is totally correct, there is something not yet implemented in the core which prevents those games to run, I cannot recall what however.

So far, those games are only running under the RealCoco core

Got it. Thank you

[shodge]

Hi folks,
I just added a note to the readme.md file for the next release:
Note: This core requires the external sdram memory module to function.

Other changes in process...
-Stan

[jca]

Running the update_all script using the old updater does not download the latest Coco3 core. Does this also happen when using the new downloader?

[Hodor]

Running the update_all script using the old updater does not download the latest Coco3 core. Does this also happen when using the new downloader?

No. I´ve recently used the latter and the core updates just fine.

[Pepeart]

Predator and Robocop are now working!!! Super Pitfall & Rampage still dont boot up.

[cathrynmataga]

Been goofing with NitroOS9. It does seem to work, looks like some kind of Unix-like OS for the system. The VHD files with 6809 in the name seem to work if I pick CoCoSDC. The magic word is "DOS" -- type that in basic. The GIME versions come up in 80 columns. I don't think the mouse works? Anything that needs a mouse just gets stuck. TBH, I never had COCO3 ever, and this looks like a pretty deep rabbit hole.

http://lcurtisboyle.com/nitros9/nitros9.html

[cathrynmataga]

No wait, I got the mouse working with 'Use Mouse for Rt Joystk' -- I thought that didn't work, but I poked at it again and now it's working. Maybe just user confusion.

[Malor]

The 6809 CPU had some nice facilities for multitasking, which weren't used by the base ROM. I'm pretty sure that's what NitroOS was about.

I've never used it, even in emulation, but I read about it somewhere, probably Wikipedia.

[Pepeart]

How do I load a .bas file? I tried loadm"pitfall2":exec and it doesnt work. I tried other .bas files with no luck either

[MrMartian]

Basic programs would just be: load "filename":run

loadm / exec is for binary files

[shodge]

While it has been awhile, there is a new release from me... COCO3_20231023.rbf. Many changes and improvements to its overall functionality. Below is a list of changes but the highlights are - cycle accurate 6809 at up to 9.54Mhz - fix to Tom Mix Donkey King - Fix to obscure EOU OS9 bug - Fix to incorrect addressing of CARTs is full 32K ROM mode [Rampage and Pitfall carts work now]...

Detailed Changes:
CTF = Compile Time Feature...

1. Interrupt system restored to previous code - improved compadibility.
2. Changed to cycle accurate 6809 (Greg Miller) at speeds up to 9.56Mhz. [CTF]
3. Recoded sdc and fdc to only have one instance of the wd1773.
4. Re-added software disable in sdc [Ext 'g'].
5. Recoded Cartridge bank switching to only exist when MiSTer slot 3 is selected. [removed soft multipak select]
6. Moved CoCo Hardware RS-232 from always existing to only existing in multipak slot 1.
7. Changed ADRS (SDS sig) decoding to = FF40-FF5f per hardware.
8. Fixed coding problem in os9 driver llcocosdc to work with MPI properly. [CTF]
9. Set default disk size to constant $555555 to fix os9 redirect problem. [CTF]
   10 Disabled GART [GIMEX hardware DMA] to prevent OS9 from detecting GIMEX. [CTF]
   11 Corrected missing begin statement in master timing loop.
10. Fixed Donkey King DAPD issue in Tom Mix program [DPAD now moved joysticks to limits under dpad
11. Fixed incorrect addressing of FE00-FEFF for CARTs which gets PITFALL and RAMPAGE working
12. Updated MiSTer framework

What is next? Gary just sent me his next release... Hopeful integration soon...
-Stan

[rcade]

It seems like this core does not work properly with 32M SDRAM. You get the black/green screen but the computer never boots. It's fine in the exact same MiSTer with 128M SDRAM.

[kathleen]

@rcade,

To be honest, I do not know if the core Coco3 needs more than 32Mb SDRAM as my Misters have 128Mb each, but are you sure that you do not have a [coco3.rom] inside your folder [bootrom].
I'm asking this because owning 2 Mister with 128Mb, I had the same issue, on one it was working and on the other one it wasn't (black/green screen).
While I was sure that the setup was the same, it wasn't, I had the coco3.rom in the bootrom on one SD card. Once I removed it, It worked w/o any issue.

[rcade]

I verified it. No changes at all other than swapping 32M for 128M and it works fine. Swap back to 32M, no boot. Same exact setup otherwise.
I put it in as an issue in Github.

[rcade]

Also, most text output becomes garbled and unreadable just after booting NitroOS9 kernel on most disks. It looks like it switches into a weird semigraphic mode...

[shodge]

The coco3 core does not need more than 32M, however, since the core handles the sdram controller internally, the core would have to understand and make both modules work. I have 128MB and the SDRAM code I used was tailored around that. I do not have a 32M module at present and fixing this will likely be low on the fix list.

I am aware that a problem was introduced on the latest released version. Specifically, when switching to the text mode, it is often going to simi-graphics mode. This occurs in OS9 level1 games, OS9 level 2 with 32 character text ode screens, and some specific games like Contra. I'm presently working it identify the offending hardware code to fix this.

FYI,
-Stan