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.-------------------------------------------------------. | comp.sys.amiga.cd32 rec.games.video.cd32 | | Frequently Asked Questions | |-------------------------------------------------------| | Maintained by Daniel Cannon Version 1.2 | | Email: cd32-faq@blender.demon.co.uk 6th Nov 1994 | `-------------------------------------------------------' [---- Key ------------------------------------------------------------------] Q: A question. A: An answer (there may be more than one answer per question). * A change since the last version. + An addition since the last version. - An answer is missing or incomplete - this will (hopefully) be sorted out by the next version. To skip through questions, set your text viewer to search for the string 'Q:'. To skip through subjects, search for '[-'. [---- Subjects Covered -----------------------------------------------------] Introduction * Tech Spec Controllers * Software * CD+Gs Video CDs * Magazines Internet * Expansion * Emulating a CD32 Software Developers * Jargon Pinouts * Addresses [---- Introduction ---------------------------------------------------------] This is the FAQ for the groups comp.sys.amiga.cd32 and rec.games.video.cd32. It'll be posted on the first weekend of each month. A lot of it is based upon an earlier FAQ by Edward D. Berger <eb15+@andrew.cmu.edu> - thanks to him for doing all the hard work. As well as news postings, you can get copies of this FAQ though: - Anonymous FTP from 'ftp.demon.co.uk:/pub/amiga/info/cd32-faq.txt'. - WWW from 'http://www.lut.fi/~veijalai/faq/CD32-FAQ.hmtl'. - Email from 'mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu' with this in the body... 'help' for more info or 'send usenet/news.answers/amiga/CD32-FAQ' to get the FAQ. If you're following up to a posting and you think your reply should be put in the FAQ then make it nice and obvious that that's what you want. If you spot a mistake or want something added then Email cd32-faq@blender.demon.co.uk. Either way, you'll get your name put in the next version... what more could you want? <cyber@gate.net> Alan Buxey <kcci1@central.sussex.ac.uk> Alan Thomas <ALTHOMA%ESOC.BITNET@vm.gmd.de> Allan Duncan <a.duncan@trl.oz.au> Anders Stenkvist <ask_me@elixir.e.kth.se> Claude Mueller <claude.mueller@hdclick.link-ch1.ch> Clive Thomas <clive@tlc1.demon.co.uk> David Avery <DavidAvery@avery.demon.co.uk> David L. <David-L@cup.portal.com> David Mansell <dmansell@cix.compulink.co.uk> Frank Hoen/Eureka <hoen@iaehv.iaehv.nl> Frederic Botton <frederic.botton@ramses.fdn.org> Geoff Adams <etlgyas@etlxdmx.ericsson.se> Jason Compton <jcompton@bbs.xnet.com> Joel Corn/Darksoft <darksoft@golden.ncw.net> John Layt <John.Layt@comp.vuw.ac.nz> Jonas Petersson <zap@indic.se> Kimmo Veijalainen <Kimmo.Veijalainen@lut.fi> Klaus Hegemann <Klaus_Hegemann@punk.fido.de> Matthew Hornyak <ac812@freenet.buffalo.edu> Michael King <M.King@cc.uq.oz.au> Michael Litchfield <michael@iconz.co.nz> Mick Tinker/Index <index@cix.compulink.co.uk> Patrick Van Beem <patrick@aobh.xs4all.nl> Paul van der Heu <pvdh@motship.hacktic.nl> Steve Cutting <Steve_Cutting@guru.apana.org.au> Tony Phillipson <torny@gate.net> If you think I've left you out then put me right. This document is freely distributable, but no changes should be made to it and it can't be sold for profit or used as part of a commercial document. So there. Some sections have wiring diagrams or details of how to connect non-CD32 specific peripherals to your CD32. These are taken from postings from Usenet or Email and the only guarantee is that it worked for the authors. There is a very good chance you could fry both your CD32 and the peripheral by accident. If you're not knowledgable in electronics, have somebody who is double check everything before turning the power on, or buy a ready made adaptor instead. [---- Tech Spec ------------------------------------------------------------] Q: What are the technical details of the CD32? A: Internal: CPU Motorola 68EC020 clocked at 14.32Mhz. 32 bit data path. 24 bit address space (limited to additional 8M of 'fast' RAM due to CD32 system design). FPU None. MMU None. ROM 1M (8 megabits) of operating system. RAM 2M (16 megabits) of 'chip' RAM. 1K of 'flash' RAM. CD drive Multi-session, double speed, top loading, caddy-less design. Max transfer about 330K/s. Custom controller based (not IDE nor SCSI). Operating system Kickstart/AmigaDOS version 40.6, release 3.1. Customisations for CD32 specifics. Custom chipset AGA custom chipset from 4 chips. Chips are called Akiko, Alice, Lisa, Paula. See the Jargon list for what they do. A:* External: Aux port 1, 6 pin mini-din type. Combined serial/keyboard connector. Controller ports 2, 9 pin D type. Accepts CD32 joypads, Amiga mice, joysticks, Megadrive joypads, Master system joypads. Video outputs Composite, S-Video, RF (for televisions). French CD32s have a SCART RGB port. Audio outputs 2, RCA standard fixed output level. 1, mini stereo headphone jack with adjustable level. Expansion port For FMV cartridge or other system expansions. A: Add-ons: CD32 joypad Custom 11 button wire based, 9 pin D style. 1 supplied, additional joypads can be purchased separately. FMV cartridge Play CD-i Digital Video or Video CDs. SX-1 Adds enough connectors and ports to make it CD32x possible to use your CD32 as a computer. [---- Controllers ----------------------------------------------------------] Q: What's the Competition Pro CD32 joypad like? A: It's completely compatible with the C= CD32 joypad. Some good things said about it are that it's shaped like a Megadrive joypad, the diagonals are easier to get to, it feels less delicate, it has turbo and auto fires, and it has a slow motion button. Some bad things said about it are that it's shaped like a Megadrive joypad and the diagonals are more difficult to get to. Obviously a bit subjective. Q: Is it possible to plug other types of controller into the controller port? A: Yes, but you'll lose access to most CD32 joypad buttons. CD32 Megadrive Mastersystem Joystick Amiga mouse --------- --------------- --------------- --------------- ------------- select B A Fire Left button stop C B (Second fire) Right button play *Middle button shuffle loop rewind forward * - I think. Can somebody test? Q: Is it possible to connect a 6-button Megadrive or SNES joypad to the CD32? A: As far as I know, it can't be done unless you're good with a soldering iron. If anyone has managed to do this then I'll stick the details in here. Q: Is it possible to use the CD32 joypad on normal Amigas? A: It works fine. Some newer Amiga games are even taking advantage of the extra buttons (shuffle, loop, etc...). Many older Amiga games that use the keyboard for weapon select will use the stop button instead (eg. Project-X, Apydia, Turrican 2). Q: Is it possible to both connect both a joypad and a mouse and use them together? A: The joypad should be plugged into controller port 1 and the mouse should be plugged into controller port 2. Q: Is it possible to connect more than two controllers? A: There are rumours of being able to daisy-chain 8 or even 16 CD32 joypads together, but nothing has been seen. What will work is if you connect some kind of interface that gives you a parallel port (eg. SX-1) and plug in an Amiga four-player joystick adaptor in there. It's just a bit expensive though... [---- Software -------------------------------------------------------------] If you find any more titles to add to these lists, please let everyone else know by letting me know... Q: What CD32 bundles are available? A: Original Diggers Oscar Dangerous Streets Dangerous Streets Diggers Oscar Wing Commander Spectacular Voyage Chaos Engine Microcosm (Early versions also had the games from Dangerous Streets included.) Q: How can I try to convince a game to work in PAL or NTSC? A: Connect an Amiga mouse into controller port 2, hold down both mouse buttons, and press the reset button. You will be given a boot menu where you'll be able to choose either PAL or NTSC. A: This is useful for NTSC CD32 owners who want to run games that use the PAL area of the screen. Multisystem TVs or RGB TVs/monitors connected to the CD32 through the SX-1's or CD32x's or TP9's (see diagram at end of FAQ) RGB connector will work fine. But PAL TVs or TVs/monitors connected to the CD32 through the composite or S-Video outputs won't. The problem is that the PAL colour signal is still sent at NTSC frequency. Q: Are there any games with NTSC problems? A: Lock 'n' Load - most of the games (about 80%) are PAL only. Nick Faldo's Golf doesn't let you see the bottom of the screen, so you can't even take shots properly because the meters are covered up. Video Creator has the bottom of the screen missing. Almathera are believed to be working on an NTSC version which should be released soon. Q: Are there any games definitely without NTSC problems? A:* Chaos Engine Defender of the Crown 2 Fire and Ice Labyrinth of Time Lotus Trilogy Microcosm Ultimate Body Blows Q: Are there any incompatiblities when using an Archos CD drive? A:* Work: Banshee Brutal Sports Football Bubba 'n' Stix Chaos Engine Diggers Emerald Mines Frontier Heimdall 2 Oscar Superfrog Corruption in the playback of animations spooled from the CD: Microcosm Crashes after one game: Guardian Ultimate Body Blows Special Reserve say these don't work: Battle Chess Chuck Rock 2 Gunship 2000 Impossible Mission 2025 Lemmings Morph Pirates Gold Sabre Team Sensible Soccer Simon The Sorcerer Striker Super Putty Wembley International Don't work: Global Effect James Pond 3 Lotus Trilogy Ryder Cup Challenge Video Creator Wing Commander This is for version 7, and depending on your computer you may have to mess around disabling accelerators and RAM expansions. A new version of the software (version 9) is being released. More games should work with this installed. Contact the dealer you bought your Archos drive from for upgrade details - it should be free. Q: What multimedia software is available for the CD32? A:* CD32 specific: Grolier's Encyclopedia II Guinness Book of Records II Insight: Technology (released for CD32, CDTV compatible) Video Creator Video Creator Update 1 (Amiga CD32 issue 2) Various CDTV titles: Advanced Military Simulator American Heritage Dictionary Animals in Motion Connoisseur of Fine Arts New Basics Electronic Cookbook Stamps of France and Monaco Timetable of Business, Politics Timetable of Science, Innovation Various CDTV titles that require a mouse: Dr Wellman Fruits and Vegetables Garden Plants Guinness Disk of Records Illustrated Holy Bible Illustrated Works of Shakespeare Indoor Plants Musicolor Trees and Shrubs Women in Motion Various CDTV titles that require a keyboard and disk drive: Inter Office Q: What educational software is available for CD32? A: CD32 specific: MicroFrench CD32 (Contains video sequences, but you don't have to own a FMV cartridge to view them. More languages are planned.) Various CDTV titles: A Long Hard Day at the Ranch Cinderella Fun School 3 (under 5's) Fun School 3 (5 to 7) Fun School 3 (over 7's) Heather Hits a Home Run Moving Gives me a Stomach Ache Mud Puddle North Polar Expedition Scary Poems for Rotten Kids Tale of Benjamin Bunny Tale of Peter Rabbit Thomas' Snowsuit Various CDTV titles that require a mouse: A Bun for Barney Barney Bear Goes Camping Barney Bear Goes to School LTV English My Paint Paperbag Princess Various CDTV titles that require a keyboard: Asterix English for French 1 Asterix English for French 2 Asterix French for English 1 Asterix French for English 1 [---- CD+Gs ----------------------------------------------------------------] Q: Where do I get CD+Gs from? A:* CD+G discs used to have a little sticker on the case, but the companies stopped this on the grounds that it confused the general public. For a list, download by FTP from ftp.demon.co.uk:/pub/doc/misc/cdplusg.txt. Or send a message to ftpmail@doc.ic.ac.uk with this in the body... open ftp.demon.co.uk get /pub/doc/misc/cdplusg.txt quit If you find a CD+G disc not on the list you can also send an addition (have a look on the list for how to do this). Q: How do I play CD+Gs? A: If you have a CD+G disc, you will be able to tell immediately - the music player will disappear and the graphics will appear as soon as you press play. Use the up and down directions to change language and select to return to the music player. The rest of the controls work as normal. Once you're back at the player, a "CD+G" button will appear in the bottom- left corner - hit select on that to return to the graphics. Q: How do CD+Gs work? A: They fill up the spare 25M that is empty on a regular music CD with the graphics. They're limited to 16 colours low-resolution so that they stand a greater chance of working on a lot of different systems. [---- Video CDs ------------------------------------------------------------] Q: What does the cartridge do? A: If you plug in the FMV cartridge, you can play Video CDs and CD-i Digital Video CDs. It's really a 24 bit display card that can be genlocked with normal CD32 graphics, so you can superimpose your own images over it (this is a feature of Video Creator, apparently). Q: What are the differences between CD-i Digital Video CDs and Video CDs? A: You won't get the bookmarks that you find on the CD-i. That's because the bookmarks are really a CD-i program. Instead you can search through the disc using the normal music player controls. Q: The picture becomes corrupted on some of my CDs. A: If you are playing a CD-i Digital Video CDs and you find that you get some rubbish, you can upgrade your FMV cartridge's ROM to the latest version (40.30 at the time of writing). The dealer that you bought the FMV cartridge from should be able to do this for you at a cost of about 5UKP. [---- Magazines ------------------------------------------------------------] Q: Are there any Amiga/CD32 magazines with CD-ROMs? A:* In the UK (check your usual sources of foreign Amiga mags elsewhere): Amiga CD! (included with Amiga User International). This is monthly. Some sections of issue 3 are CDTV and A570 compatible. Issue 4 has been put on hold until the C= takeover is sorted out (for some strange reason). Amiga CD32 magazine (by the makers of Amiga Format). Not a regular magazine. The first (Spring) issue has sold out and the second (Autumn) issue has been available since October 6th. The third issue is planned to be out on December 1st. CD32 Gamer. Monthly. Now up to issue 5. CD Gold. A new CD-ROM based magazine. Should be available starting June 1994. For CD32, CDTV, A570, and any CD Amiga. Q: Are there any other magazines for the CD32? A:* Amiga Pro/32 does not have a CD-ROM but does cover CD32 news. Most other Amiga mags have a small 1 or 2 page CD32-specific section each month. [---- Internet -------------------------------------------------------------] Q: What Usenet newsgroups are dedicated to CD32 discussion? A: comp.sys.amiga.cd32 Using the CD32 as a slave drive. Add-ons for the CD32 (eg. FMV addition). Technical talk about the CD32. Serious issues for the CD32. rec.games.video.cd32 Games on the CD32. People's opinions about games. Hints and tips for games. Rumours and lists of new/future games. If your site doesn't carry the groups, ask your system admin. Q: What on-line mags are available? A: Amiga Report aminet:docs/mags/ar*.lha CD32 Bits aminet:docs/mags/cd32bits*.lha CD32 View aminet:docs/mags/cdvw*.lha Q: Is there CD32 home page on WWW? A: Yep. It's run by Kimmo Veijalainen and you can Email him articles, reviews, hints and tips, digitised pictures of games, and so on to fill it up. The address is http://www.lut.fi/~veijalai/cd32.html. [---- Expansion ------------------------------------------------------------] Q:+ Is it possible to display Photo CDs without expanding to a computer? A:+ Yep, the Photolite CD from Eureka does this. Q: How do I stop my CD32 resetting when I take the CD-ROM out? A: If you boot from CD-ROM, the CD32 resets when the lid is opened. You can either run a program such as NoReset that disables this or boot from another device, such as RAD, floppy, or hard drive. Q: How do I use my CD32 as a CD drive or slave drive for another computer? A:* Connect a serial link (buy a ready-made link or make your own - see the diagram for the Aux port) between the CD32's Aux port and the other computer. Then run either SerNet or Twin Express on the other computer and the CD32. You'll have to find a bootable CD-ROM with one of these programs on it and you may need to run NoReset unless SerNet and Twin Express are on the same CD as the files you want to transfer. A:* If you have an interface attached that gives you a parallel port, you can connect a parallel link between the CD32 and the other computer, remembering to use a special ParNet cable and not a normal parallel cable (otherwise you could easily fry everything). Run ParNet on the other computer and the CD32. You'll have to find a bootable CD-ROM with ParNet on it and you may need to run NoReset unless ParNet is on the same CD as the files you want to transfer. ParNFS is a replacement for ParNet, with bug fixes for Workbench 2 or above machines (that includes the CD32). It fixes the Dir, List, and Directory Opus bugs. A:* You can use The Communicator. This is a link from the CD32's Aux port to the Amiga and a CD-ROM with a series of utilities on it... Communicator Display text and graphics on the CD32. Play Audio and Video CDs. Transfer files to and from the CD32. Twin Express Serial file transfer program, Amiga and PC versions. Workbench Modified to allow the joypad to be used as a mouse. Photolite Display Kodak Photo CDs. Scala driver Allows Scala, running on another Amiga, to control the CD32. There are two versions available. The Communicator Lite doesn't have a keyboard through port or MIDI in/out/thru. A: There is a new version of The Communicator, with the original title of The Communicator 2. Improvements to the previous version are: Virtual CD Appears to make more than one CD-ROM accessable to the host Amiga, also stops rebooting. File Transfers More reliable - Zmodem. Faster - apparently it can reach up to 210000 baud. More compatible - works better with ISO-9660 CDs. AGA Viewer View pictures and anims in any mode, including AGA. Will also work for non-AGA machines. Supports datatypes. Workbench A newer version (doesn't say which). Mediapoint driver Alows Mediapoint, running on another Amiga, to control the CD32, including Audio and Video CDs. Hardware Added A2000/A3000 keyboard port. Serial lead is DB25 to RJ10 (telephone) and is easier to remove. The Communicator Lite 2 doesn't have a keyboard through port, MIDI in/ out/thru, or status LEDs. Q: How do I attach a keyboard to my CD32? A: Plug in an Amiga keyboard into the CD32's Aux port. Amiga keyboards are all exactly the same inside but just have a different case or plug on the end of the lead, so you'll probably need an adaptor. IBM keyboards won't function without a custom add-on to translate IBM keycodes to Amiga keycodes (the SX-1 has this). A500 Open up the A500 and build your own lead from the keyboard ribbon to the CD32. The pinouts are at the end of the FAQ. A500+ Not possible. A600 Not possible. A1000 Build your own adaptor from RJ-11 to mini-din. Does anybody have the pinouts for the RJ-11 plug? A1200 Not possible. A2000 Buy a PC to PS/2 keyboard adaptor from any PC clone shop and plug that inbetween. A3000 Buy a PC to PS/2 keyboard adaptor from any PC clone shop and plug that inbetween. A4000 No adaptor - just plug it in. CDTV Buy an adaptor - eg. from Almathera or MultiMedia Machine. Or modify the CDTV keyboard yourself. The pinouts are at the end of the FAQ. A: Plug in an IBM keyboard into the SX-1's keyboard port. F11 and F12 are used instead of the Left-Amiga and Right-Amiga keys. A: Create a ParNet or SerNet link (see above) and run PNetKeys. This re- directs all keyboard and mouse input from an Amiga window down the link to the CD32. You'll have to run a version that does a 'mount MOUSE:' on the CD32 - no problem if you can create your own boot disk but it could be if you're using a version from a CD-ROM. A: Use Patrick Van Beem's CD32 Keyboard program. This is similar to PNetKeys but it's smaller, faster, works over Twin Express or even by itself, and converts controller input to mouse input. The program is shareware - if you find it useful you should pay $5 or fl7.50. Patrick's Email address is patrick@aobh.xs4all.nl. Q: How do I use my CD32 as a computer? A:* Use a SX-1. This has: IBM-PC AT keyboard port. 9-pin serial port. Amiga standard parallel port. Amiga standard RGB port. Amiga standard floppy drive (use an external drive as DF0. For more drives, daisy chain them from the first one). 2.5" internal IDE connector (drive fits inside the SX-1). 3.5" external IDE connector. SIMM socket for up to 8 meg additional RAM (restricted to 4 meg if you intend to use the FMV cartridge too). Audio input (karaoke). Internal battery backed clock. Passthrough connector (for other devices, eg. FMV cartridge). If you add the SX-1, the Aux port will not work as a serial connection any more, but you can still attach Amiga keyboards to it. Some external drives do not like the SX-1. Roctec and M3-A-1 drives are a problem. If you use a file recovery program on the SX-1 disk, you'll get more utilities! If you intend to have more than two devices attached to the SX-1, you should think about getting a better power supply. These can be bought separately, or you can modify another Amiga one (eg. A500) by replacing the connector at the end of the lead. A: Use a CD32x. This is a 19" rack mounted system for CD32s used in professional applications. It includes remote monitoring of CD32x units, fault detection, and options for genlocking and MPEG. There are connectors available for: Networking. RGB port. Scart port. Floppy port. IDE connector. Volume control. Stereo input and output. Internal battery backed clock. Q: Can Amiga 1200 trapdoor or PCMCIA expansions be used with CD32? A: No. The CD32 does not have the same expansion connectors as the A1200. Q: Is there an RGB output on the CD32 to connect my multisync monitor? A: There are easily accessable RGB signal test points on the CD32's circuit board. The diagram is at the end of the FAQ. A: The SX-1 and CD32x both have RGB connectors on them. Q: Where can I find the programs mentioned above? A:*- CD32 Keyboard: Patrick Van Beem <patrick@aobh.xs4all.nl> NoReset: Video Creator * Weird Science ParNet: AUI/Amiga CD! 3 SerNet: ??? Twin Express: AUI/Amiga CD! 3 Workbench 3: CDPD 3 Commodore Demo CD V2 * Demo 2 Lock 'n' Load For CDs marked with a *, you'll need to connect an Amiga mouse into controller port 2, hold down both mouse buttons, and press the reset button. You will be given a boot menu where you should boot with no Startup-Sequence. Then use the keyboard to run the program wanted. The Demo CD V2 is available from Claude Mueller - Email him for prices, etc... [---- Emulating a CD32 -----------------------------------------------------] Q: Which machines stand a chance of running CD32 games? A: You may get away with running shovelware stuff if you have an OCS or ECS Amiga, but many CD32 games expect at least an '020, 2 meg of chip RAM, and an AGA chipset - an A1200 or A4000. The A1200 might be more compatible than the A4000 - some programs may fall over because of the differences in memory and CPUs. Q: What are the differences between the CD1200, CD4000 and the Archos CD drives? A:* The Archos drive is available now. It uses the PCMCIA slot leaving the trapdoor free, but it emulates Akiko through software, needs you to install the CD-ROM file system to your Workbench before you can use the drive, needs a utility (supplied) to boot CD32 CDs, and doesn't have FMV capability. Some trapdoor accelerators clash with the PCMCIA slot - notably GVP and Amitek ones. Amitek offer a free upgrade. GVP don't offer any upgrades. However the GVP 1230 '030 board seems to work and the Microbotics board is fine as well. Also if you have more than 4 meg of fast RAM then you may lose the rest because the PCMCIA slot maps into that area of memory - again it will depend on your board. The CD1200 has Kickstart 3.1, Akiko, and will boot straight from CD-ROM. It doesn't have FMV capability and it ties up the A1200's trapdoor slot, so you can kiss goodbye to RAM expansions and accelerators. The CD4000 is a card that fits in one of the A4000's Zorro 3 slots and a CD drive that slides into a drive bay. It has Kickstart 3.1, Akiko, boots straight from CD-ROM, and has FMV capability. Q: What do I need to do to run a CD32 game if I don't have the CD1200, CD4000, or the Archos CD drive? A: If you have a SCSI CD drive then you can assign CD0: to the CD drive (if it isn't already), assign the standard directories (C:, DEVS:, ENVARC:, FONTS:, L:, LIBS:, S:, SYS:) across to the CD-ROM and execute S:Startup-Sequence. A: If you have a ParNet or SerNet link to a CD32 or CDTV, you can assign CD0: to NET:CD0, assign the CD-ROM's name to NET:<name>, assign the standard directories, then execute S:Startup-Sequence. It's slow though, so if you have a big hard drive, it's probably better to go for the next option... A: It should be possible to copy all of the CD-ROM to your hard drive by using a ParNet, SerNet, or Twin Express link to a CD32 or CDTV, assign CD0: and the CD-ROM's name to the directory that you copied to, assign the standard directories to the equivalent place on the hard drive, and execute S:Startup-Sequence. A: The game may have an icon to double click to run it. In that case you don't need to assign or execute anything. A:* There is a program called CacheCDFS that's distributed in Germany. It sits between the CD32 game and the A4000's SCSI or IDE device driver. Most CD32 games should work once it's installed, but there have been some problems reported with NEC 3x CD drives. Almathera are selling a bug-fixed and English language version. Video Creator will also work once it's been installed. Q: What can go wrong? A: Make sure the game can access lowlevel.library in LIBS:. If not, the game can't use the CD32 joypad, or may not even work. If it can, you can plug the CD32 joypad straight into the joystick port. A: You may not be able to play the games that use the extra joypad buttons properly if you don't have a joypad to press them with... A:+ The game tries to use nonvolatile.library to save to the CD32's NVRAM. Make sure that this can be accessed in LIBS: and you create a file called "ENVARC:sys/nv_location" - a single line of text that is the directory name of where you would like saved data to be stored. A: The game could try to call some 3.1 functions that don't exist in 3.0. Upgrading your Kickstart should fix this problem. A: You won't hear any CD music. There's no way around this. Sometimes the game may decide to keel over because it can't play the CD music. A: The game tries to use Akiko. If you've upgraded to 3.1 and it still goes wrong then there's no way around this. [---- Software developers --------------------------------------------------] Q: Are there any licence agreements that have to be made to produce CD32 software? A: The first real problem is in making a bootable CD32 disc. This requires special software and license/royalty agreements which were available from the C= developer programs. Status of these programs is unclear with the current 'voluntary liquidation' of C='s assets. Developers who obtained these rights before the liquidation may be able to master the CD-ROMs with the appropriate boot/system files, for you - as your publisher. Q: What are the authoring capabilities available for the CD32? A: Theoretically, any standard Amiga development tools for AGA machines should be useful for developing applications that run on a CD32. This would include Multimedia tools with freely distributable players, C compilers, assemblers, etc. Q: What are the popular development tools? A: Popular Multimedia authoring packages for the Amiga include: AmigaVision Professional CanDo HELM Interplay SCALA Multimedia Popular C compilers include: DICE GNU C SAS/C Popular 68K assemblers include: DevPacIII Macro68 Popular image manipulation software include: AdPro ImageF/X ImageMaster Popular music related software include: AudioMasterIV Bars&Pipes Pro Deluxe Music 2 MusicX OctaMED professional Sonix SuperJAM! Trackers - too many to mention Popular 3D modelling software include: Caligari Imagine LightWave (Video Toaster) Real3D Popular 'video painting' programs include: Brilliance Deluxe Paint IV AGA, DCTV Paint EGS Paint Opal Paint TV Paint XI Paint Contact the software company involved with your favourite authoring software for more information regarding CD32 specific development. [---- Jargon ---------------------------------------------------------------] AAA Triple A chipset. Announced by C='s vice president of engineering to be the next custom Amiga chipset under development. If it comes to fruition, the benefits include chunky and hybrid screen modes with higher resolutions/depths and 8 channels of 16 bit sound. AFAIK As Far As I Know. The CD32 expansion connector pinout is only available to registered CD32 developers, AFAIK. AGA Advanced Graphics Architecture. The name given to the latest custom chipset for Amigas, which allows 8 bit (256) and HAM8 (262144) colour graphics from a palette of 16.7 million. The CD32 uses AGA chipset as do the Amiga 1200 and 4000 computers. Akiko This chip handles the data coming from the CD drive and includes the functions of the CIA chips in other Amigas. It's also more famous for chunky to planar conversion. Chunky and planar are two different methods of storing the screen in memory. Chunky is often used for 3D games. Planar is useful for scrolling games, and it's the method used by the CD32. This chip quickly converts from one t'other, helping developers to port code across from other platforms that use chunky. Alice The replacement for Agnus in older Amigas. Contains the Blitter and Copper, amongst other things. AmigaDOS The part of the CD32's operating system that's on CD-ROM (or floppy or hard drive). Developers must obtain a license to distribute even a small part of AmigaDOS on their CD-ROMs - it's copyrighted. Audio CD Your normal CD that holds music. Given a different name for computers because there's so many different types of CD about. The CD32 can play these. Blitter BLock Image TransfER. Special part of the graphics chip hardware which speeds up many operations, by moving blocks of chip RAM around with DMA, while performing logical operations on them. Lines and area fills are among the most popular uses for the Blitter. Boot Putting the CD-ROM in the drive and automatically launching a program without having to go through the operating system (eg. Workbench, MS-DOS, System 7, etc...) and all the messing around with keyboards and mice that it entails. CDs will only boot for the computer that they were written for, even though the files on the CD are readable on all CD-ROM machines (ISO-9660). If you intend to use the CD32 as a CD-ROM for other computers and you don't have other storage devices (such as floppy or hard drives) available, you must find CD-ROMs that boot up and load communications software (such as ParNet, SerNet, or Twin Express). Bootblock A small piece of copyrighted code that must be on a CD-ROM in order for it to boot. Developers must have a licence to use the bootblock. C-Cube This is supplied in the FMV cartridge. It decompresses the MPEG-1 picture from the Video CD and puts it on the screen. It's also found in the CD-i's FMV cartridge. CD-ROM Compact Disc - Read Only Memory. A 5 inch polycarbonate disk with aluminium coating, laser etched with holes for storing computer data. ISO-9660 CD-ROMs can also hold music tracks that can be played with a normal music CD player as well. CD+G Compact Disc + Graphics. A standard music CD with the addition of graphic pictures that can be viewed with an appropriate player. CDTV and CD32 both play CD+G discs. CD+G discs were never plentiful, and may not even be produced any more. CD-i Compact Disc - interactive. System for multimedia developed by Philips; made available to the public shortly after CDTV was. Not expandable to a popular computer platform such as CD32 is expandable to an Amiga. CD-i software titles cannot be played on a CD32 and vice-versa. There is a new cut-down version of the CD-i (smaller box, less connectors) that looks remarkably similar to the CD32... CD-i Digital Video A Video CD for the CD-i. The difference is that the they also have bookmarks of interesting parts of the film on them. These can also be played on the CD32 with FMV cartridge, but the bookmarks are missing. CD+MIDI Similar to a standard music CD, but it also holds information for driving MIDI instruments. The extra information is ignored by the CD32's music player. CDTV Commodore Dynamic Total Vision. The previous CD based machine by C=. It wasn't exactly a storming success, mainly due to poor marketing. Many CDTV discs will work on the CD32, but some need a mouse and others need a keyboard. Microcosm was originally a CDTV project. C= gave Psygnosis some financial backing to develop it, but the CDTV version never saw the light of day, except for some promotional demos. CDXL C='s attempt at getting motion video on the CDTV before low cost MPEG decoder chips became available. The CD32's version of CDXL can cope with more colours and cover more of the screen. CDXLs can be about two-thirds of the size of the screen (although they can be scaled up slightly to fill more, but the side effect is that they look blocky) and they can also hold mono or stereo sound. Chip RAM Random Access Memory available to both the CPU and Amiga custom chipset inside the CD32 (and all previous Amigas). The CD32 ships with the maximum amount of chip RAM that the AGA chipset can handle - 2M. Copper CO-ProcEssoR. All Amigas feature a special co-processor as part of their custom chipset, which allows some graphic chip functions such as colour palette manipulation to happen asynchronously to other tasks, freeing the CPU for other work. CPU Central Processor Unit. The brains for managing data and its manipulation inside a computer. Amigas, CDTV, and CD32 have all used the Motorola 68000 series of CPUs. Datatype Allows the OS to support any graphic, sound, text, or anim format, once the datatype information is copied to the proper folder on the Workbench disk or hard drive. Programs can ask the OS to load the file for them without knowing anything about the file format themselves. This can come in very useful if you want to read ISO-9660 CDs generated on other computers (once you've upgraded your CD32 to a computer, of course). DMA Direct Memory Access. Allows other chips apart from the CPU to access the RAM, at the same time as the CPU. This frees up the CPU for doing other work, whilst the Blitter is copying memory for example. Fast RAM Random Access Memory available to the Amiga's CPU, but not the custom chipset, thus faster for compute intensive tasks as no time sharing between the custom chipset and CPU is involved. Adding fast RAM should almost double the speed of the CD32 for non-graphics intensive work. The CD32 ships with no fast RAM, but third party expansion boxes may allow for up to 8M of fast RAM expansion if you do not have the FMV cartridge, or 4M if used with the FMV cartridge. Flash RAM RAM which can have data stored such that it survives being powered down. CD32 uses flash RAM to allow saving high-scores or game position information for the next time you play. Also known as NVRAM (Non Volatile). FMV Full Motion Video - just what it says. Full screen moving pictures. Often mis-used by journalists to mean any picture, including those that have 10 colours and are around the size of a postage-stamp, that's spooled from the CD-ROM. FMV Upgrade A plug in cartridge that gives the CD32 capability to play MPEG-1 encoded CDs such as CD-i Digital Video (Star Trek VI, Top Gun) or Video CDs. HAM6 or HAM An earlier version of HAM8, found on A500s, A2000s, and A3000s, that remains for compatibility. This allows up to 4096 colours on screen at once. HAM8 Hold And Modify - 8 bit. An Amiga screen mode which can have up to 262144 colours on screen at once by changing some colour registers on each succeeding pixel on a given scanline. This is most useful for static pictures or predefined animation sequences, as it is difficult to constantly compute the best pixel colours in constantly changing action games. HAM8 is often used to display JPEG format pictures or predefined animations (CDXLs) with better than 8 bit colour (256 colours), often up to near 18 bit (262144 colours) quality. IMHO In my humble opinion. The CD32 is the best inexpensive multimedia delivery platform, IMHO. ISO-9660 The different computer manufacturers got their act together and agreed on a standard format for CD-ROMs, unlike the mess that we're still left with today for floppy disks. You can read any CD32, CDTV, Mac, or PC CD-ROM in any of the others. Although the files are readable, the file formats are still different for each computer (unless it's the CD32/CDTV), but if you have some conversion programs you can display the graphics, play the sounds, or show the text from the CD-ROM. ISO-9660 CDs are also cunningly compatible with Audio CDs, so you can play tracks 2 onwards (track 1 is computer data) in a hi-fi, and computers can mix the music from the Audio CDs with the sound output. JPEG Joint Photographic Expert Group - JPEG compression is a standard for storing still pictures with 24 bit colour (16.7 million colours on- screen at once). Kickstart The part of the CD32's operating system that's in ROM. It contains all the code needed to access the CD-ROM and multitask, as well as other things that will never see the light of day unless you add a keyboard and some kind of storage (floppy or hard drive). Lisa Handles the screen display. There's a palette of 16.7 million colours - each colour made of one of 256 shades of red, green, and blue. From that any power of 2, up to 256, or 4096 (HAM6), or 262144 (HAM8) colours can be displayed. The resolution can be most combinations of 320, 640, or 1024 across and 256, 512, or 1024 down (although there are other modes available). MPEG Motion Picture Expert Group - they've decided the format of MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 compression. MPEG-1 is the accepted standard for video compression on CDs... It uses a variety of techniques to achieve staggering compression ratios while still maintaining good picture quality. Other parts of the MPEG standard include synchronized digital audio to make the format useful for movies on CD-ROM. MPEG-2 isn't used on CDs but it looks even better. NTSC The television standard used in America. NTSC screens cannot be as deep PAL screens. This can lead to problems when some software written in PAL countries is run on a CD32 using a NTSC screen. The software may use the bottom section of the screen that NTSC owners cannot see. This is entirely the fault of software companies, there are enough ROM routines in the CD32 to tell the program what TV standard it is running under and the program should make allowances. PAL The television standard used in most of Europe and Australia. ParNet/SerNet Freely distributable networking solutions for Amigas. Uses the parallel ports (ParNet) or serial ports (SerNet) to allow one to mount drives on multiple machines. In this way the CD32 can access the keyboard and hard drives of another Amiga, and the Amiga can access the CD32's CD drive. CDTV was often used as an external CD drive for Amiga computers via ParNet. A version of ParNet is now available for PC computers, allowing you to link from CD32 to PC. Paula Gives you four channel stereo sound. Each channel can have 64 volume levels and can play either waveforms or sound samples at almost any pitch or octave from RAM. This chip is used to create sound effects, or play music from memory often when the CD-ROM is tied up for some reason (a CD-ROM cannot be used to load game code AND play CD music at the same time). * Photo CD Transfering pictures taken from a camera onto CD. These can be read by the CD32 if you can find a CD-ROM with a photo CD reader on it, use it as a slave drive, or expand it to a computer and download the proper (freely distributable) software. The Communicator is bundled with a Photo CD reader called Photolite - this is available seperately too. RAD RecoverAble RAM Drive. An area of RAM that doesn't lose its data when reset. Any area of RAM can be used as RAD. Games can use it to save data in, so it's possible to play a game of Liberation, save your place in RAD, reset, play another game, then return to Liberation later. Some games don't like RAD being there though. RAM Random Access Memory. Specialized computer chips that can store information for as long as they powered on or the CD32 isn't reset. RAM chips and be read and written to by the CPU or the AGA chipset. ROM Read Only Memory. Specialized computer chips that store data and instructions for computer operation and cannot be erased or written over. Shovelware Taking an Amiga game, putting it on CD-ROM with no improvements whatsoever, and usually charging more than the original disk version. Slave drive Connecting the CD32 via serial or parallel link to another computer and using networking software such as ParNet, SerNet, or Twin Express so that the other computer can read the CD-ROM in the CD32. Spool Quickly taking data from the CD-ROM and shoving it on the screen or sending it to the audio output, or both. Eg. CDXLs or the Microcosm tunnels. 3DO Three Dimensional Objects (I think). Another CD-ROM based multimedia/ games system developed by Electronic Arts and former Amiga people. This also is not expandable to a regular computer system. Slightly more expensive for the both hardware and software than the CD32. It has more limited screen resolutions. Only just released in Europe. Twin Express A program to transfer files from one computer to another through a serial link. The front end works similar to FTP. There are versions of Twin Express for the PC and Amiga. Video CD If you have a FMV cartridge you can play these. There are about 100 films available at the time of writing (August '94). [---- Pinouts --------------------------------------------------------------] CD32 Aux port View straight on. 6 pin mini-din. Female type. Combined kboard/serial. 1 I / O Keyboard data _ _ 2 O Serial transmit .' V `. 3 Ground / 6 5 \ 4 +5V DC | 4 O 3 | 5 (I)/ O Keyboard clock `-. 2 1 .-' 6 I Serial receive `-----' Shield Written by Klaus Hegemann, posted as part of 'CD32 expansion port info' by Anders Stenkvist in comp.sys.amiga.hardware, forwarded by Michael King. There are no RTS/CTS pins for high speed modems. The serial pins are at 0/5V, if the computer you're connecting it to has a different voltage (eg. the Amiga serial port's pins are at +/-12V) then you need a level converter between the two. The serial pins may not be properly buffered to use safely with some external devices. You could damage your CD32 if you try to hook them up without an external buffer. A diagram of a buffer is given in the posting mentioned above. CDTV keyboard connector 1 Ground 2 I / O Keyboard data 3 (I)/ O Keyboard clock 4 +5V DC 5 Unused To modify the CDTV keyboard to connect to the CD32... Cut the plastic pin from the connector. Open the case. Find the connector where the cable is located. Switch leads 1-4 and 2-3. Close the case. Taken from a posting by Paul van der Heu. A500 keyboard connector * = link 1 black Keyboard clock -------- 2 brown Keyboard data A500 keyboard cable ---> 12345678 3 red Res -------- 4 orange +5V DC |||||||| 5 yellow Unused 5 --------------*| | | 6 green Ground 1 ---------------* | | 7 blue Power LED 4 -----------------* | 8 violet Disk LED 3 -------------------* |||||||| Connect like this... -------- A500 motherboard connector ---> 12345678 A500 CD32 -------- 1 5 2 1 4 4 6 3 Taken from an Email by Kimmo Veijalainen. CD32 power port View straight on. 4 pin din. _ _ 1 +5V .' V `. 2 +12V |1 2| 3 Ground `.3 4.' 4 Unknown `---' Shield Put a ground jumper from pin 3 to the shield. You can modify another Amiga power supply (eg. A500) for this by replacing the connector at the end of the lead. Taken from a posting by Michael Litchfield. CD32 RGB signals The RGB signals are available from a test port, TP9... | | | <--- Kickstart ROM .-. Desc Equiv pin #s | | | |o| | | | |o| | `--' .----. <--- Akiko |o| | | | |o| HSync 159 | | | : <--- TP9 |o| VSync 160 | `----' : |o| Red 163 and 164 | .. :O.--. |o| Green 165 and 166 `-------'`----------' | |o| Blue 167 and 168 ^ ^ `------- |o| CSync 157 | | |o| Ground 161 and 162 Expansion port Pin 182 `-' The RGB signals come from the D/A conversion unit and lead directly to the expansion port. These signals are, however, not amplified. In addition they are weakened by the S-Video output unit. As a result I (aim to) insert a 47 Ohm resistor to each colour signal connection. You may also reduce the load by interrupting the signal supply to the S-Video unit. Set pin 174 of the expansion port to GND to achieve that (174 --> u36 (4066) signal switches). The sync signals connected to the expansion port are unbuffered. As a result you may re-synchronize your Amiga by an external tact source. You schould at least buffer the CSync line; there is no external synchronisation possible on this pin. Hint: make use of an XOR gate chip. You may negate certain sync line(s) to adapt your Amiga to (old? :-( ) multiscan-monitors (the A4000 monitor adapter box will do the same; without the possibility of selected negation). Written by Klaus Hegemann, posted as part of 'CD32 expansion port info' by Anders Stenkvist in comp.sys.amiga.hardware, forwarded by Michael King. CD32 Expansion port This diagram is really too big to be included here, but you can get a copy by asking on comp.sys.amiga.cd32 or comp.sys.amiga.hardware. It also includes a diagram of a level converter for the serial port. [---- Addresses ------------------------------------------------------------] Almathera, Video Creator, keyboards, serial adaptor kit, Southerton House, A4000 CD32 emulator. Boundary Business Court, Phone: +44 (0)81 687 0040 92-94 Church Road, Fax: +44 (0)81 687 0490 Mitcham, Email: jralph@cix.compulink.co.uk (technical) Surrey, almathera@cix.compulink.co.uk (sales) CR4 3TD, England. Amiga CD32 Magazine, Phone: +44 (0)225 442244 Future Publishing, Fax: +44 (0)225 318740 30 Monmouth Street, Email: amformat@cix.compulink.co.uk Bath, Avon, BA1 2BW, England. + Amiga Game Zone, Phone: +1 (217) 344 3478 103 W. California, Fax: +1 (217) 344 3478 Urbana, Email: gamezone@prarienet.org IL 61801, http://uxa.cso.uiuc.edu/~razmataz/agz.html USA. * Amiga User International, Phone: +44 (0)71 487 1076/1072 48 George Street, Fax: +44 (0)71 224 0547 London, Email: amigauser@cix.compulink.co.uk W1H 5RT, gary@auimag.demon.co.uk England. Brian Fowler Computers, Distributes communicator and other things. 11 North Street, Phone: +44 (0)392 499755 Exeter, Fax: +44 (0)392 423480 Devon, Hours: Mon-Sat 9:30-6:30 GMT EX4 3QS, Email: brian_fowler@cix.compulink.co.uk England. Direct Computer Supplies, Cheap ParNet/null modem/etc... cables. 36 Hope Street, Phone: +44 (0)782 642497 Hanley, Stoke On Trent, ST1 5BS, England. Epic Marketing, A4000 keyboards, probably sold out by now. Victoria Centre, Phone: +44 (0)793 490988 138-139 Victoria Road, Swindon, Wilts, SN1 3BU, England. * Eureka, Frank Hoen, Communicator, Communicator 2, Photolite. Adsteeg 10, Phone: +31 (463) 70800 6191 PX Beek (L), Fax: +31 (463) 60188 The Netherlands. Email: hoen@iaehv.iaehv.nl Goldtech Computer Systems,CD Gold magazine. 67 Turner Road, Walthamstow, London, E17 3JG, England. Index Information Ltd, CD32x. 60 High Street, Phone: +44 (0)256 703426 Odiham, Fax: +44 (0)256 701023 Hampshire, Email: index@cix.compulink.co.uk RG25 1LN, England. Multimedia Machine, CDTV -> CD32 keyboard adaptors, 59 Bridgeman Place, SX-1/drive/keyboard bundle. Bolton, Phone: +44 (0)204 387410 BL2 1DE, Fax: +44 (0)204 380952 England. Optonica, Interplay - authoring system, Insight CDs. 1 The Terrace, Phone: +44 (0)455 558282 High Street, Fax: +44 (0)455 559386 Lutterworth, Leics, LE17 4BA, England. Paravision, Inc. SX-1. Formally Microbotics. 500 E. Arapaho, Phone: +1 (214) 644 0043 Suite 104, Hours: 9:00-17:30 Central Time (UTC-5) Richardson, Email: microbotics1@bix.com Texas 75081, USA.