"Androids" dck File with No Joystick

[atrionfo]

I was able to load the "Androids" dck file as a cartridge mounted in SRAM in slot 2. I started the game using the "J" option. I could NOT control my character, nor could I quit back to the menu. I thought that maybe the TS-Pico was interfering with the joystick port, so I loaded the game from a tape (a WAV file), which worked fine once I used the SAVE "tpi:tape" command. "Androids" plays normally using the joystick when the game is loaded from a WAV file and the TS-Pico is plugged into the T/S 2068.

Can someone please verify why the game doesn't work with the joystick when loaded as a cartridge (dck file) from the TS-Pico? I'm using the dck file that is posted on the GitHib page.

I posted this same information today (August 9, 2024) to the TSPico discussion forum on groups.io and David Anderson said I should make this into a ticket here in GitHub Issues area.

[rcalcagno]

I cannot find the "J option" for joystick on the game menu (see attached video). I tried the same game from a physical cartridge someone sold me just about a year ago =) with the exact same screen. First things that come to my mind:

1) Are we talking about the same program? 2) Can anyone confirm for a fact that the DCK version of Android supports joysticks? I am considering the possibility that they, for some reason, removed the joystick option from the DCK version

That being said, the Androids I'm talking about is one of those programs that don't run from both Flash and SRAM; in this case, as Adam points out, it only runs from SRAM; Flash doesn't start and I wonder if this has something to do with it.

Interestingly, in my experience, when a DCK fails to run from either of one, the SRAM or Flash, the garbaged screen looks the same. More testing is required to see if there's a pattern.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/6ccfb5cd-9b3c-43c7-8df1-9dc50a90a376

[factus10]

I just double-checked the DCK file that's on archive.org and in the files and I get the same menu as Ricardo.

Here's the cassette version, too.

[factus10]

@atrionfo Could it have been another game?

I'm a bit puzzled because the joysticks go through the AY-3-8910 sound chip. As far as I know, enabling the Pico does not interfere with the sound chip.

[rcalcagno]

Sorry, I see the "J option" now; you have to select "P" and then the "J option" appears. However, in my system it works ok with the joystick (see attached video).

Could someone else test whether this works on their systems?

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/3f3b4ba9-2fad-4e24-8e4f-0305e42be410

[factus10]

Ah, ok. I'll give it a whirl later today.

[atrionfo]

On August 10, 2024, rcalcagno wrote, "I see the "J option" now; you have to select "P" and then the "J option" appears. However, in my system it works ok with the joystick."

I'll try this game again tomorrow (Sunday). Ryan is coming over and we'll check it out together. I could also burn this game on an EPROM and try the dck file that way. Of course, I'll have to remind myself on how to convert the dck to a ROM. It's something like stripping off the first nine bytes, right?

Adam

[rcalcagno]

Adam, PLEASE DO NOT USE A PHYSICAL CARTRIDGE AND THE TS-PICO AT THE SAME TIME!

With the TS turned OFF, remove the TS-Pico from the expansion board BEFORE inserting the physical cartridge. Otherwise you risk damaging the TS-Pico, the TS2068, or both

There's also a way to enable and disable DCKs and ROMs mapping vía software, but for now this is the safer method. Please let us know.

[atrionfo]

Thank you for telling me this about using a cart and the Pico at the same time. While I did plan to use the "Androids" EPROM cart without the TS-Pico, this coming week I was going to use my OS-64 cartridge with the TS-Pico to see if I could load TAP files in 68-column mode. Now I'll make sure to only use the OS-64 as a dck file.

Thanks for helping me to avoid some possibly catastrophic event!

Adam

---

From: rcalcagno @.> Sent: Saturday, August 10, 2024 3:28 PM To: timex-sinclair-projects/TS-Pico @.> Cc: atrionfo @.>; Mention @.> Subject: Re: [timex-sinclair-projects/TS-Pico] "Androids" dck File with No Joystick (Issue #19)

Adam, PLEASE DO NOT USE A PHYSICAL CARTRIDGE AND THE TS-PICO AT THE SAME TIME!

With the TS turned OFF, remove the TS-Pico from the expansion board BEFORE inserting the physical cartridge. Otherwise you risk damaging the TS-Pico, the TS2068, or both

There's also a way to enable and disable DCKs and ROMs mapping vía software, but for now this is the safer method. Please let us know.

— Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHubhttps://github.com/timex-sinclair-projects/TS-Pico/issues/19#issuecomment-2282281530, or unsubscribehttps://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/BKK35K4MTKMB2AEFQF3F6PTZQ2AW3AVCNFSM6AAAAABMJLNCNOVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZDEOBSGI4DCNJTGA. You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: @.***>

[atrionfo]

On August 10, 2024, David Anderson wrote, "Could it have been another game [and not 'Androids]?"

When Ryan and I were testing the TS-Pico yesterday, we tried loading the "Androids" dck file and it worked fine as a cartridge and the joystick was supported properly. I would say that closes the open "Androids" ticket-- except we had issues even loading the .dck because the SD card was corrupted (which I mentioned in the TS-Pico discussion group yesterday). It wasn't until after I reloaded the DCK directory onto the SD card that we could load a dck file properly. I'll go into more detail about this when Ryan and I chat privately about which tickets to create.

It seems possible that some of the problems that Ryan and I have encountered have occurred mainly due to slow response from the Pico and possibly SD card corruption.

Adam