Re: Sega Vector Development Tools Project

Tom, if you look further down in the email I sent you, you'll see those ROMs
were courtesy of David Fish (Thanks David!) :-)

As for the Sega Vector Development Tools Project...well, I won't lie...I got
sidetracked :-(

After developing some vector tools, I started work on disassembling the code
for Eliminator. I was able to find the code where the infamous
timing/crediting code existed.

Neil Bradley helped me with his disassembly/recompiler. I was able to find
and comment all the text and vector locations, and comment the crediting
code, a bit of the attract mode, the text display routines, and most of the
test mode.

Then after a few weeks of staring at z80 instructions, I got burned out on
that.

Anyone know of any good z80 instruction code editors? I'd like to cut/paste
some code out of Eliminator and tweak it a little to draw one of the vectors
I created with the graphics editing program. If anyone wants to pick up
disassembly where I left off (or at least look at the credit/timing code to
the point they could come up with a free play hack), let me know.

::crickets chirping::

:-)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom McClintock" <tomm@mgcap.com>
To: <vectorlist@vectorlist.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2006 3:29 PM
Subject: Re: VECTOR: Sega Vector Development Tools Project

> Looks like Mark has made some progress since August 3, 2005! 4-Player
> Eliminator security free ROM images now online. :)
>
> http://www.ionpool.net/arcade/sega/roms.html
>
> Any more updates Mark?
>
>
>
>
> tm
>
> Mark Jenison wrote:
>>> Mark, any updates on this?
>>
>>
>> I was afraid someone would ask :-)
>>
>> Yes, actually there are some updates.
>>
>> - Completed both a vector viewer and vector editor. The editor can
>> import either sega vector format binary files, or an XML vector file
>> (priopriatary format that has simple coodinates instead of angle, length,
>> startx, starty like the sega vector format). The vector file allows
>> easier import of data from other sources. An example file would look
>> something like this:
>>
>> <vectors>
>> <vector name="box">
>> <startat x="5" y="5">
>> <action type="moveto" x="0" y="0"/>
>> <action type="drawto" x="10" y="0"/>
>> <action type="drawto" x="10" y="10"/>
>> <action type="drawto" x="0" y="10"/>
>> <action type="drawto" x="0" y="0"/>
>> </vector>
>> </vectors>
>>
>> Considered allowing SVG documents, but that's just too much of a hassle
>> :-)
>>
>> Anyway, the editor can convert binary->xml and xml->binary and such.
>> Spent way too much time designing it so it could be flexible (you can
>> swap out the Sega Vector stuff for say, Atari vector stuff if you wanted
>> to). It's not pretty, but it works.
>>
>> - Started looking at compilers, code disassembly, and some other stuff.
>> Just started this week.
>>
>> - Franklin Bowen offered to lend a hand and is reportedly going through
>> Star Trek. Hopefully he can figure out how writing to the Universal
>> Sound board works. I started with Space Fury and Eliminator since they
>> have less complex ways of triggering sounds. Hopefully he knows to use
>> the security free code when disassembling :-).
>>
>> Since I've been working with the vector graphic stuff a lot, I think the
>> first code I write for the G80 system will be a simple program that
>> displays a box on the screen.
>>
>> Any input on where to go next, or offers of help would be greatly
>> appreciated.
>>
>
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Received on Tue Jan 10 22:22:15 2006