Distant-Earth

ScummVM: ‘GIT 6b8fb196-pre1.4.0’ builds for GPH devices (GP2XWiz and Caanoo)

Most interested people will have realised that my ScummVM backends (GP2X, Wiz, Caanoo and OpenPandora) missed the entire 1.3.* release cycle leaving the official releases stuck back in the old 1.2.* cycle.

There are a number of reasons for this (all my fault) but rather than dwell, lets just say I am trying to get them all back into shape for future releases. With that in mind I am going to start doing test ‘point in time’ builds of the code for various devices when things reach a point that I would like some community testing done.

The first of these test releases is for the GP2XWiz and Caanoo. The GP2X build will follow once I nail the last annoying little input bug that is causing the cursor to go off for a wonder on it’s own (simple bug I am sure but you know how it is when you stare at something). Then I will turn to fixing up the OpenPandora backend.

They have been built from the main ScummVM GIT (Revision:  6b8fb196cbd58e20ef57bf367d5ecbf0ee2ebdad).

These builds exist purely to get some feedback and testing from the community so I can try and get a good solid release done when we get into the next official ScummVM release cycle.

If your not interested in testing and providing feedback (and dealing with the odd issue) please stick with the old 1.2.* releases. These are not robust, fully tested release builds but I am also pretty sure they will not eat or damage your GPH device.

Note: Please don’t mirror or hotlink these preview/test/alpha etc. releases or put them on download services but rather, direct people to this page.

This helps me ensure that users always have the most recent versions and cuts down on me being requested to support ancient releases.

Also note that these test releases are not officially (or unofficially) supported .

They are built from the new unified ScummVM backend for all the GPH devices (to make supporting them somewhat easier for me and to cut out the rot that had set into the old dedicated stand alone GP2X backend).

All the engines enabled in configure are included in this build but I make no promises about the usability of any WIP game engine.

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Installing Windows 8 Preview on the HTC Shift

The HTC Shift is a wonderful anachronism left over from the results of earlier HTC and Microsoft love-ins, flirting with touchscreens, neat hybrid form factors and ULV CPU’s. It’s origins lie in hardware that was created to run the ill-fated Origami platform on top of Vista. That combined with a Windows Mobile 5/6 device (on the ARM side) managing a 3G connection and low power access to mails, contacts and the like made for one very interesting bit of hardware.

I have been happily using the Shift for a few years now (since a good friend kindly passed it on to me) with various Windows and Linux setups (on both the ARM and x86 side).

But in fairness I have been using it less and less of late. As it feels that the Origami work is spiritually being dusted off and rolled into Windows 8 with the healthy dose of the Metro design language and friends it seemed only right to dust off the venerable old Shift and see how it coped with the latest software incarnation.

No part of this process is very complicated, it mostly came down to installing the right drivers in the right order , just read the post and follow each point and you should not go far wrong.

Read this: Please make sure….

• You are 100% happy to totally wipe the Shift’s HDD. Don’t bother with an upgrade from Windows 7. Not worth the hassle!
• You don’t mind manually reinstalling Windows Vista or Windows 7 when you decide 8 is not for you.
• You are signed up on XDA Developers
• You are well aware you are installing an unsupported pre-beta bit of software on your device, and the device is under MS’s recommended minimum specs. The chances are it will not work well! But it’s fun to try.
• You understand not all the hardware is 100% supported and there may be driver issues.
• You have removed any external storage from the device other than the USB stick (no SD card inserted, no random USB HDD connected etc.).
• You have enabled WiFi using the Shift Control Panel before you start the install inside the old OS. If you don’t you may need to have a USB Ethernet adaptor before you can enable WiFi to get on the internet.

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ScummVM: “1.2.1 – Børk Børk Børk release”.

It’s been a hectic few weeks but I finally had time to get the 1.2.1 builds uploaded for my all backends following the main Dec. 19th release. Sorry about the delay .

The 1.2.1 release is mainly a bugfix and cleanup release for 1.2.0 and also introduces some additional translations of the GUI.

There are few changes to my backend code but all the core changes are rolled in.

Oh, I also just noticed the date so “Happy New Year” everybody.
Maybe I should try and find more hacking time in 2011 .

Providing feedback:

If you would like me to consider a feature or fix a bug in my backends help me to help you by ensuring the reports end up recorded in official places.

• Bug Reports (ScummVM’s Sourceforge bug tracker)
• Feature Requests (ScummVM’s Sourceforge feature tracker)
  • Source Code Patches (ScummVM’s Sourceforge patch tracker)
  • General Forum Feedback (ScummVM’s GPH device forum or ScummVM’s OpenPandora device forum)

Downloads:

All the 1.2.1 releases including my GP2X/GP2XWiz/Caanoo and OpenPandora backends can me found on the main ScummVM download site.

• ScummVM’s Main Download Page: download

ScummVM: “1.2.0 – FaSCInating release”.

This post is a few days late but as all my releases are now uploaded and available I thought it was work announcing the release.

The entire ScummVM team is rather proud of this release and you can read the official announcement here. One of the major ‘headline features’ is that this is the first release to feature the fruits of the integration/refactoring of the FreeSCI codebase and it’s substantual enhancement and extension by our own SCI engine team.

There are also enhancements for several engines and the addition of support for “Fascination” (An amusing risqué point and click adventure from Coktel) in the Gob engine.

From my point of view the 1.2.0 release marks the 1st official release of 2 new device backends/ports I have put together (GPH Caanoo and OpenPandora) and also features quite a few enhancements and speedups to my existing GP2X and GP2XWiz backends.

It also marks the official release of new backends for Android and Dingux and the unfortunate retirement of the venerable old PalmOS backend.

The upshot is that this should be our best release yet and I would certainly recommend this release over any older versions of ScummVM for the devices I support.

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OpenPandora: Using custom cursors in fullscreen X11 SDL windows without touchscreen drifting/grabbing issues.

Note: This is is quick guide aimed at developers/porters looking to fix issues with custom SDL cursors (Cursors made up using an SDL_Surface) and the OpenPandora touchscreen, if your not using SDL then the chances are your not seeing the issue.

Normally I would not put together quick posts with small code snippets (I tend to direct people to code and tell them to work it out ) but as several people pointed out to me recently ScummVM for the OpenPandora works around a ‘feature’ in the SDL build on the device that causes relative screen coordinates to be returned to the event stack when you hit the screen edges with the touchscreen. In essence this is a code fix for the ‘cursor drift’ bug people report.

Nubs, mice, in fact any relative input device are fine, it is absolute input devices like the touchscreen that ‘drift’ and end up offset making some types of application unusable with the touchscreen (ScummVM was one of them).

As the same issue seems to cause problems several other applications on the OpenPandora I thought I would do a quick howto with a work around and give a little background on the issue.

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ScummVM: “1.2.0 preview 1” for the OpenPandora.

EDIT: This release has been superseded, please get the latest release.

This post is to announce the release of a testing preview of the upcoming 1.2.0 ScummVM release for the OpenPandora handheld.

It is a little later (and a bit close to the final 1.2.0 release date) than I would have liked but that’s real life for you, always getting in the way of perfectly good hacking time .

This release supersedes any recent ‘SVN’ builds you may be using and should provide a very good indication of what to expect in the final 1.2.0 release for the OpenPandora.

Note: Please don’t mirror or hotlink these preview/test/alpha etc. releases or put them on download services but rather, direct people to this site.

This helps me ensure that users always have the most recent versions.

Also note that these test releases are not officially (or unofficially) supported but I will help if I can.

I am hoping to get at least another preview release out for the OpenPandora before the final 1.2.0 release as I carry on fixing bugs. This is why it is important to provide feedback, patches, fixes etc.

Please give these releases a go and provide feedback.

Noteworthy features:

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ScummVM: “1.2.0 preview 1” for GPH devices (GP2X, Caanoo & GP2X Wiz).

EDIT: This release has been superseded, please get the latest release.

This post is to announce the release of a testing preview of the upcoming 1.2.0 ScummVM release for the GPH (GamePark Holdings) devices I support.

This release supersedes recent ‘SVN’ builds as should provide a very good indication of what to expect in the final 1.2.0 release.

Note: Please don’t mirror or hotlink these preview/test/alpha etc. releases or put them on download services but rather, direct people to this site.

This helps me ensure that users always have the most recent versions.

Also note that these test releases are not officially (or unofficially) supported but I will help if I can.

I am hoping to get at least another preview release out for the GPH devices before the final 1.2.0 release as I carry on fixing bugs. This is why it is important to provide feedback, patches, fixes etc.

Please give these releases a go and provide feedback.

Noteworthy features:

Below are the main features and fixes added with this new release.

ALL:

Changes to the way the music drivers are loaded (should fix game loading issues).

Performance improvements.

Add support for TouchScreen ‘Tap Modes’, Left Click, Right Click and Hover.

GP2X:

Performance tweaks/code clean-up (quite noticeable in some areas, not giving up on the old GP2X any time soon).

Revised the button layout (please read http://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=GP2X for more info), feedback on the button layouts is appreciated.

GP2X Wiz:

Fixes to 16 bit graphics support (still not sure this is 100% working well).

Revised the button layout (please read http://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=GP2XWiz for more info), feedback on the button layouts is appreciated.

Caanoo:

Revised the button layout (please read http://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Caanoo for more info), feedback on the button layouts is appreciated.

TODO List:

ALL:

Add support for a ‘Left Handed Mode’ (swapping the Left and Right trigger behaviour).

Make the ‘Trigger Tap’ configurable by the user.

Anything on the TODO may not happen in time for the 1.2.0 release, it is all rather dependent on my free time and that is at a premium at the moment.

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ScummVM: “SVN r52631” builds for the Caanoo and GP2X Wiz.

EDIT: This release has been superseded, please get the latest release.

This is just a quick post is to announce a new set of SVN builds of ScummVM mainline code for the GP2X Wiz and new Caanoo.

Note: Please don’t mirror or hotlink these preview/test/alpha etc. releases or put them on download services but rather, direct people to this site.

This helps me ensure that users always have the most recent versions.

Also note that these test releases are not officially (or unofficially) supported but I will help if I can.

This release is mainly to give users a chance to preview updates to some of my ScummVM backends and try a bug fixed version of the Caanoo port with working controls. They are not by any means bug free.

All of my backends will get further preview/test releases before the 1.2.0 release as I carry on fixing bugs.

These releases are built straight from the mainline trunk ScummVM code for the given SVN revision number.

OpenPandora and original GP2X ScummVM SVN releases should be ready late next week (very busy with work at the moment). The GP2X code is being merged in with the Wiz and Caanoo to create a GPH backend so expect the GP2X to get all the new features from it’s siblings. The OpenPandora code has now been merged into ScummVM but is still in need of a lot of bug fixing.

Please give these releases a go and provide feedback.

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ScummVM: “SVN r52440” builds for the Caanoo and GP2X Wiz.

“Edit 07/09/2010: These builds have been superseded. Please get the latest ones.”

This is just a quick post is to announce a set of SVN builds of ScummVM mainline code for the GP2X Wiz and new Caanoo,.

“Edit 05/09/2010: Thanks for the feedback on the control issues on the Caanoo release, a fix is in the works.”

This release is mainly to support SCI testing and give users a chance to preview updates to some of my ScummVM backends.

These releases are build straight from the mainline trunk ScummVM code for the given SVN revision number.

An OpenPandora and original GP2X ScummVM SVN release should follow next week(ish). Been a little busy to track down some bugs in them.

Note: Please don’t mirror or hotlink these preview/test/alpha etc. releases or put them on download services but rather, direct people to this page.

This helps me ensure that users always have the most recent versions.

Also note that these test releases are not officially (or unofficially) supported .

Please give these releases a go and provide feedback.

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ScummVM: Very belated 1.1.1 release for the GP2X Wiz

While this is a little late to say the least (better late than never and all that, I mean it’s only 3 months late ) I have finally managed to get my hands on a working GP2X Wiz, some all important free time and motivation, and built up and tested the GP2X Wiz backend for the 1.1.1 release following on from the official announcement.

This post is also an announcement of the GP2X backend release as I forgot to post about it at the time despite the fact it got uploaded and released only a few days late .

I have not had a great deal of time recently to work on these releases so the backends are largely the same as the previous releases with just the needed changes to support all the fancy new things in the ScummVM core. No reworking of the control system or the like has been done yet (it’s still on my TODO).

Some of the highlights of the changes 1.1.1 bring, that benefit the GP2X and GP2X Wiz, include 2 completely new engines and games, Dragon History (available free from here) and TeenAgent (available free from GOG.com). Also new is 16bit graphics support, which allowed us to add support for a whole bunch of newer Humongous Entertainment games for kids and improved support for the Amiga versions of Monkey Island, Legend of Kyrandia and Future Wars.

Please provide feedback in the usual places on these releases and enjoy using them.

Platform specific restrictions:

Each of the releases has a small number of restrictions that have an affect on the games/engines you are able to use with each platform.

GP2X: The biggest restriction with this platform is the overhead (and crudeness) of the downscaling when using 640*480 high resolution games on the 320*240 screen making such games perform poorly and look, well, bad.

GP2X Wiz:  The downscaling support is a relatively recently added feature to the Wiz backend and while it looks a lot better than the GP2X, some issues still remain with high resolution games exhibiting ‘tearing’ when updating the screen under some circumstances.

Unfortunately this seems to be an exhibit of the Wiz screen tearing bug and while efforts have been taken to minimise it in this release it the problem has not totally gone away.

Providing feedback:

If you would like me to consider a feature or fix a bug help me to help you by ensuring the reports end up recorded in official places.

• Bug Reports (ScummVM’s Sourceforge bug tracker)
• Feature Requests (ScummVM’s Sourceforge feature tracker)
  • Source Code Patches (ScummVM’s Sourceforge patch tracker)
• General Forum Feedback (ScummVM’s GP2X/GP2X Wiz forum)

Downloads:

• ScummVM download page

What’s Next:

Now I have the outstanding official 1.1.1 releases out of the way my plan is to get test releases from the main ScummVM trunk codebase featuring the ‘new’ SCI engine out as soon as I get time for the GP2X and Wiz, hopefully I will also be including support for the new GPH Caanoo at the same time.

I also plan to update the OpenPandora release at the same time.

Regards,

John Willis