sdl2 needs a toolchain w/ dynamic library

[HoraK-FDF]

I was trying to get the latest sdlpal (supports the english patched full versions for DOS/98) compiled but unluckily the toolchain does not have sdl2 so I tryed to configure buildroot with sdl2 but there are no packages available only a note "sdl2 needs a toolchain w/ dynamic library". Is it possible to somehow get the toolchain to one with a dynamic library+sdl2?

[gameblabla]

I could try to add it based on that old fork : https://github.com/pcercuei/SDL2 And some of those changes https://github.com/od-contrib/buildroot-rg350-old-kernel/tree/1308a4c0ce87a8e5b8b8e29b261d8f748eb8ea3c/package/sdl2

But it's pointless in your case anyway because if you look closely, they still kept the SDL 1.2 rendering in video.c https://github.com/sdlpal/sdlpal/blob/c0a00d190704e0a1171dedeb28e3b4d28b8ca6d1/video.c

Given how memory intensive and slow SDL2 is compared to SDL 1.2, i would look into that. Btw, the requirement for the dynamic library is just a check that can be removed. But it won't still work because SDL2 by default doesn't provide an fbdev backend unless you use pcercuei's fork. (and even then, it's an old version of SDL 2.)

[HoraK-FDF]

I changed the Makefile a bit and now it compiles fine. I changed the lines: SDL_CONFIG = sdl2-config to SDL_CONFIG = /opt/bittboy-toolchain/arm-buildroot-linux-musleabi/sysroot/usr/bin/sdl-config LDFLAGS += -lGL -pthread to LDFLAGS += -pthread

The game starts now but for the dos version I have shuttering sound and for the win98 version there plays no midi, also there is an cursor visible in the dos version.

here is the contents of the ini file maybe you can see what needs to be done if it can be done by simply editing the config file to get the sound running:

#####################################################
# Configuration file for SDLPal WIN game files      #
#                                                   #
# Lines started with '#' is treated as comments.    #
#####################################################

# KeepAspectRatio: Indicates whether the content in game window should keep its original
#                  aspect ratio (default) or not. When aspect ratio is kept, there may be
#                  left/right or top/bottom black edges in the game window. Currently this
#                  value is only valid if the game is built with SDL 2.0 or higher, otherwise
#                  this value is ignored.
KeepAspectRatio=1

# FullScreen: Indicates whether the game should started fullscreen or not, default is not.
#             On some platforms, such as mobile OS or WinRT, this option is ignored.
FullScreen=1

# LaunchSetting: Launches setting interface on next game start, 0 (default)
#                1 for launch and ALL comments will be deleted!
LaunchSetting=0

# Stereo: Indicates whether to use mono audio or stereo audio. Non-zero means to use
#         stereo audio (default), while zero means only use mono audio.
Stereo=1

# UseSurroundOPL: Indicates whether to use surround opl emulator or not. Non-zero
#                 means to using (default), while zero means not to use. Only
#                 valid when Stereo is set to non-zero.
UseSurroundOPL=1

# EnableKeyRepeat: Allows continuous input when key is held down.
#                  0 for disable (default).
EnableKeyRepeat=0

# UseTouchOverlay: Translucent button overlay on game screen for touch-based platforms.
#                  0 for disable (default).
UseTouchOverlay=0

# EnableAviPlay: Play AVI video clips, only for windows game files.
#                0 for disable (default).
EnableAviPlay=1

# EnableGLSL: Recently a EXPERIMENTAL hacked OpenGL/GLES based backend was introduced, which
#             accepts RetroArch GLSL Shaders. This option MUST be used with Shader option.
EnableGLSL=0

# Shader: Path to RetroArch GLSL Shaders( see https://github.com/libretro/glsl-shaders ).
#         Either glsl or glslp; either absolute path or relative to GamePath
#Shader=/Applications/RetroArch.app/Contents/Resources/shaders/shaders_glsl/xbrz/xbrz-freescale.glslp

# EnableHDR: ACESFilm based HDR effect. Only valid when EnableGLSL=1.
EnableHDR=0

# TextureWidth/TextureHeight:
#   1. When EnableGLSL=1, the final(before blitting) texture size. If your mobile device have very
#      high resolution and the GPU cannot afford the Shader specified, try set a lower texture size.
#   2. When EnableGLSL=0, only specify the ratio that KeepAspectRatio use.
TextureHeight=400
TextureWidth=640

# ScaleQuality: Indicates whether use bilinear filtering when stretching, only avilable when EnableGLSL=0
#               In other case the shader handles it.
ScaleQuality=0

# SurroundOPLOffset: Indicates the frequency offset of surround opl. The default and
#                    recommended value is 384, but other values may also be used.
SurroundOPLOffset=384

# LogLevel: This value controls how many logs can be output by the program. Valid ranges are:
# 0 (Verbose), 1 (Debug), 2 (Informational), 3 (Warning), 4 (Error) and 5 (Fatal). Only logs
# whose levels are larger or equal to this value can be output.
LogLevel=5

# AudioDevice: The ID of audio device to use. Only supported when compiled with SDL2. If this
#              item is set to a negative value (default), the default audio device will be used.
AudioDevice=-1

# AudioBufferSize: Indicates the size of audio buffer in samples. Valid values are in 
#                  range 2 - 32768, but should be power of 2. Default value is 1024.
AudioBufferSize=512

# OPLSampleRate: Indicates which sample rate to use for opl emulator. Suggested value
#                is 49716, but other values may also be used.
OPLSampleRate=49716

# ResampleQuality: Indicates the resample quality, valid values from 0 to 4 (default).
#                  Larger value indicates higher quality and higher hardware requirement.
ResampleQuality=4

# SampleRate: Indicates which sample rate to use, valid values include 44100 (default),
#             and 22050. Other values (<=48000) are supported but not recommended.
SampleRate=44100

# Volume: Indicates the volume. Valid values are from 0 to 100, default is 100.
MusicVolume=50
SoundVolume=100

# Game Screensize: Indicates the game window screensize. Default value varies on different
#                  platforms. On desktop, the default value WindowHeight is 400 and
#                  WindowWidth is 640.
WindowHeight=400
WindowWidth=640

# CD: Indicates which type of CD audio source to use. Valid types include 'RAW',
#     'OGG' and 'MP3'. 'RAW' means use the SDL 1.2's CDAudio API (default when
#     compiled with SDL 1.2), 'OGG' means use files named as '100xx.ogg' inside
#     the 'ogg' directory (default when compiled with SDL 2.0), while 'MP3'
#     means use files named as '100xx.mp3' inside the 'mp3' directory.
CD=OGG

# Music: Indicates which type of music source to use. Valid types include 
#        'RIX', 'MIDI', 'OGG' and 'MP3'. 'RIX' means use the RIX music (default),
#        'MIDI' means midi (either in 'mus.mkf' or inside 'musics' directory),
#        'OGG' means use files named as 'xx.ogg' inside the 'ogg' directory, while
#        'MP3' means use files named as 'xx.mp3' inside the 'mp3' directory.
Music=MIDI

# RIXExtraInit: Indicate extra OPL command sequence to insert before each loop start.
#               ENSURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
#               NOT AVAILABLE IN OFFICIAL BUILDS.
#RIXExtraInit=168,87,184,9,167,3,183,15,

# MIDIClient: Indicate MIDI Client Setting.
#             on iOS/Win32/UWP/ANGLE no setting needed, so forget this setting.
#             on *nix that have alsa devel library compiled, specify ALSA MIDI Port here.
#             otherwise, specify any midiplayer or wrapper here, that accept
#             `CLI midifile` syntax.
#MIDIClient=14.0

# OPLCore: Indicates the OPL emulator core to use. Valid types include 'DBFLT'
#          (default), 'MAME', 'DBINT' and 'NUKED'.
OPLCore=DBFLT

# OPLChip: Indicates the kind of OPL chip to be emulated. Valid types include 'OPL2'
#          (default) and 'OPL3'. Note: the 'NUKED' core does not support 'OPL2'.
OPLChip=OPL2

# MessageFileName: Indicates whether to use external message files.
MessageFileName=m_eng.slf

# FontFileName: Indicates whether to use external font files. Currently supports only BDF font.
#FontFileName=jm.msg

# LogFileName: When set, the program's log will be output to this file as well.
#LogFileName=sdlpal.log

# GamePath: File directory for game files, './' (default) uses the same directory as
#           this config file
GamePath=./

# SavePath: File directory for save files, './' (default) uses the same directory as
#           this config file
SavePath=./

[gameblabla]

It sounds like the sound is messed up simply because it can't keep up. I would try to change the resolution to 320x240 and disabling stuff like UseSurroundOPL=1 or change stuff like setting ResampleQuality=4 to ResampleQuality=0. The AudioBufferSize=512 setting seems inappropriate too so try increasing it to AudioBufferSize=1024 or AudioBufferSize=2048.

Also, MIDI playback on this handled is CPU intensive. Use OGG or MP3 instead. So set Music=MIDI to Music=OGG or Music=MP3. (assuming you have ogg or mp3 files for those)

Cheers

[gameblabla]

Let me know if what i told you improved performance. SDL2 won't get ported to this handled due to memory contraints and higher CPU overhead.

[HoraK-FDF]

I now got the sound working right feels fluid and good timed. Now I fiddling a bit with the scaling. Id like to remap the keys a bit but at the moment I don't know where to look for that maybe you have a hint for me? When I all got working as best as I can get it should I upload the whole packages here? The DOS version is abandon ware and the Windows 98 version is Freeware.

[guoyunhe]

I tried to build LOVE engine for GKD350H but it requires SDL2. I didn't find a way to build SDL2. Here is someone who built LOVE for RG350 https://github.com/bbruno5/love-rg350 but I didn't know how they got the toolchain.