Dreamcast Game icons + Problems with Simon + graphic issues

[marzipan]

In regards to the DC port's icon support, the last time I tested it out (a good couple of years ago) it only seemed to support 32x32 16-colour icons. =[ Unless of course drastic changes have been made to the frontend as a whole since then (would be nice anyhow).

[marzipan]

Hi,
i am working on a new ScummVM CD for my dreamcast and i found out that if you have a game *.ico in the game folder it gets displayed at the game selection screen. But i only have one for Sam&Max , are there any more? can someone upload them?

Icons are available for most games, some might not be compatible with the Dreamcast though (you'd have to check which dimensions worked), maybe a Dreamcast icon pack available to download would be a good idea.

The DC port only supports icons with a maximum of 16 colours and 32x32 pixel resolution. In other words, it's stuck with potentially-crappy-looking icons and you can't go all out with them like you could with the Vista icons. =[

[Morden]

In other words, it's stuck with potentially-crappy-looking icons and you can't go all out with them like you could with the Vista icons. =[

Would you like some cheese to go with that whine? Hehe. I think you're overreacting. 16 colors for a 32 x 32 icon is more than enough if you ask me. Take these images for example.



The one on the left is 256 colors and the one on the right is only 16. The thumbnails look almost identical and only after you click on them you see the real difference. The thumbnails are jpeg compressed, but that's beside the point. What I mean to say is, there's only so much you can do with 1024 pixels in an icon.

[DCDayDreamer]

The DC port only supports icons with a maximum of 16 colours and 32x32 pixel resolution.

The Dreamcast ScummVM menu is mainly a list with the option of displaying a small icon on the left-hand side of a game listed, there isn't any real need for the icon to have larger dimensions, and as pointed out by Morden - 16 colours can do the job just fine with the limited resources available.

In other words, it's stuck with potentially-crappy-looking icons and you can't go all out with them like you could with the Vista icons. =[

How do you even begin to compare the graphic capabilities of a 10 year old game console against a modern PC operating system?.

[marzipan]

I see your theory, but when I tried to create my own set of icons (mainly zoom-ins of characters from screen captures) for all the supported games a couple of years ago, I found it incredibly difficult to keep them looking decent after reducing the colour count to 16 (and was sorely disappointed when I went through the effort of making lots of 256-colour icons at various pixel sizes only for ScummVM DC to not pick them up). Whether it's a Microangelo problem I don't know.


BTW, while we're on the subject of the frontend, I think one thing it could perhaps benefit from would be using an external file (scummvm.ini?) to read set titles and paths so that a) it wouldn't have to manually seek the whole disc out searching for as many supported games as possible, putting unecessary strain on the DC's laser, and b) allow one to use shorter titles for each game since a good deal of them use default names whose length overlaps the available room on a DC screen. If I recall correctly, one of the old versions of the PS2 port used a similar feature.

[bobablob]

Wow, if that scummvm.ini proposal is possible, that'd be a great addition to this port.

[Stryfe]

I haven't been using ScummVM long enough to realize that the game paths cold be set by using the scummvm.ini.

I recently requested a similar idea over on the tracker here:
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=de ... tid=418823

Maybe someone else could submit a request to let the Dreamcast use the scummvm.ini like other ports?

[DCDayDreamer]

while we're on the subject of the frontend, I think one thing it could perhaps benefit from would be using an external file (scummvm.ini?)

A stripped down version of the ScummVM ini would be a great idea for the Dreamcast port, if it had a 'file list' feature it would also make the frontend listing a little better.

a) it wouldn't have to manually seek the whole disc out searching for as many supported games as possible, putting unecessary strain on the DC's laser

If a file list feature was added (via the ini?) it should in theory do away with disc searching. An autoload option could also be used for single game discs. Without going into too much detail, a ScummVM autoload was going to be featured on the original Sandman CD, basically you would use a menu system (Dream Inducer for example), when you selected a game the menu would launch a pre-compiled ScummVM binary which launched that game directly without the ScummVM frontend (and without disc scan), of course you would need pre-compiled binaries for individual games if you went down that route.

As a side note and getting back on topic about the icons: if pre-compiled individual autoload binaries were released, you could create some nice graphics with a separate menu system, and you wouldn't have the 16 colours, 32x32 pixel restrictions any longer.

b) allow one to use shorter titles for each game since a good deal of them use default names whose length overlaps the available room on a DC screen.

A fix for that little problem would be recompiling the source to display game titles that are within the Dreamcast frontend character limitations. An alternative work around end user fix would be to hex edit the ScummVM binary to display the names you wanted on screen (again, within the frontend character limitations).

[Stryfe]

A fix for that little problem would be recompiling the source to display game titles that are within the Dreamcast frontend character limitations. An alternative work around end user fix would be to hex edit the ScummVM binary to display the names you wanted on screen (again, within the frontend character limitations).

Any idea how this would be achieved when compiling from scratch? Modifying the code in one of the cpp files?

A few months ago I attempted to figure out how to compile the source, and I had asked around at quite a few forums on how to set up the compiler. I gathered that out of the couple people who actually had compiled scummvm personally, none of them had the time to actual help me figure out how to setup the libraries.

I had asked at places like DcEmu.co.uk, Dcemulation.org, etc...

After a couple weeks with no results, I gave up, and all I had wanted to do was compile the Dc port without auto-save.

Does anyone here know how to compile the Dc port either via Cygwin, MinGW, etc...?

[DCDayDreamer]

A fix for that little problem would be recompiling the source to display game titles that are within the Dreamcast frontend character limitations. An alternative work around end user fix would be to hex edit the ScummVM binary to display the names you wanted on screen (again, within the frontend character limitations).

Any idea how this would be achieved when compiling from scratch? Modifying the code in one of the cpp files?

I am not a coder so I couldn't point you to the exact file to modify, I'd start with the md5 detection routine to begin with though. You could try counting the visible characters on the DC screen and submitting a bug report (asking to rename the game titles to the character limit for the Dreamcast port).

A few months ago I attempted to figure out how to compile the source, and I had asked around at quite a few forums on how to set up the compiler. I gathered that out of the couple people who actually had compiled scummvm personally, none of them had the time to actual help me figure out how to setup the libraries.

I had asked at places like DcEmu.co.uk, Dcemulation.org, etc...

I do not think that anyone in those forums is still active with ScummVM, the only forum I know of that is active with ScummVM on the DC is a warez-ridden craphole that puts out illegal ScummVM builds with complete games using DCEvo CD concepts.

After a couple weeks with no results, I gave up, and all I had wanted to do was compile the Dc port without auto-save.

The current DC version has auto-save disabled (it may sound good - but that exclusion has caused a lot more problems), although an auto-save 'switch' would have been much better.

Does anyone here know how to compile the Dc port either via Cygwin, MinGW, etc...?

That's kind of a stupid question, if there wasn't anyone here that could compile the DC port - there wouldn't be a DC release!. I'd suggest contacting MC, he has been a part of the Dreamcast homebrew scene from virtually the beginning, he is the DC port maintainer, and he is the most likely person to help you out with compiling the source.

[Stryfe]

I am not a coder so I couldn't point you to the exact file to modify, I'd start with the md5 detection routine to begin with though. You could try counting the visible characters on the DC screen and submitting a bug report (asking to rename the game titles to the character limit for the Dreamcast port).

The current DC version has auto-save disabled (it may sound good - but that exclusion has caused a lot more problems), although an auto-save 'switch' would have been much better.

Those are good ideas. Why don't you submit them? I could of course, but you came up with the ideas.

I do not think that anyone in those forums is still active with ScummVM, the only forum I know of that is active with ScummVM on the DC is a warez-ridden craphole that puts out illegal ScummVM builds with complete games using DCEvo CD concepts.

It sucks that someone is stealing your work. Has anyone tried to take legal measures?

That's kind of a stupid question, if there wasn't anyone here that could compile the DC port - there wouldn't be a DC release!. I'd suggest contacting MC, he has been a part of the Dreamcast homebrew scene from virtually the beginning, he is the DC port maintainer, and he is the most likely person to help you out with compiling the source.

I didn't want to bother Marcus with the stupid question as I'm not a programmer. I'm kinda working backwards here. But with all things I do in life, I think jumping in headfirst is the only way something will get accomplished.

[DCDayDreamer]

Those are good ideas. Why don't you submit them? I could of course, but you came up with the ideas.

They are only suggestions, if someone thinks there's a good idea in there somewhere they are free to submit it if they want to.

It sucks that someone is stealing your work. Has anyone tried to take legal measures?

Nobody is stealing my work (I don't think you can steal a concept), people are abusing ScummVM and the commercial games it supports, it's nothing new - it's just a sad reflection of things in general.

I didn't want to bother Marcus with the stupid question as I'm not a programmer. I'm kinda working backwards here. But with all things I do in life, I think jumping in headfirst is the only way something will get accomplished.

To be honest, if you are not a programmer you are going to have to ask stupid questions to learn, I've asked plenty of stupid questions in my time, and most people end up being helpful (even if they have a dig at your expense along the way ). Marcus seems to be the only one that's working on the DC port, so it looks like you are going to have to jump in headfirst and try to get help from him. My only other suggestion would be to try and track down Erwan, he used to do the subversion builds for the Dreamcast but I haven't seen him around in ages.

[Stryfe]

Nobody is stealing my work (I don't think you can steal a concept), people are abusing ScummVM and the commercial games it supports, it's nothing new - it's just a sad reflection of things in general.

Unfortunately copyright infringement (piracy) is a part & parcel part of this digital world, I could use the greek analogy of Hercules and the Hydra, and you'd probably get what I'm saying. It's sad that certain people will use excuses like "the orginal company no longer exists", "it's over a decade old", etc., just to rationalize their actions. It does a disservice to genuine game collectors everywhere.

I know that the Dreamcast in general has a bad reputation concerning matter such as that...

But in light of the remaining working DCs still available, coupled with the fact that you need a PC/Mac to burn a DC disc, I'd say the DC has a negligible contribution to the problem.

But while a PC is needed is some way to allow ScummVM to run on any other non-desktop platform, It'll play directly off of that computer, leaving me to estimate that ~90%(+) of these "abuses" occur on PCs/Macs.

They are only suggestions, if someone thinks there's a good idea in there somewhere they are free to submit it if they want to.

I'll submit the auto-save switch request, although I haven't run into any issues personally.

[marzipan]

Putting words into my mouth much, Dreamer?

[DCDayDreamer]

Putting words into my mouth much, Dreamer?

Didn't understand what you meant there until I read through my previous post. The first part of that post was going to be a reply to you but I'd previously mentioned the same thing, I deleted that part out but left the wrong quote headers in place (the post is now corrected). sorry about that.