SxSI-SCSI HDD Image v2.20

[kamiboy]

Updated to current version 1.10! This is a large update and most likely last one for a while...

Please report any issues you encounter with using this image, and send me any requests! I'll do my best to add them to the HDD image.

If anyone knows of a method for loading system device drivers in a different area of ram at boot (if possible) I'd be interested in learning how to implement it.

Excellent incrediblehark, well done!

Just one issue so far, Bosconian has to use 2HDBOOT otherwise the graphics get corrupted.

Again, amazing work!! :-)

Update: Naious: I notice that there is no PCM sound (drums etc) in the intro music, and it seems to be messed up in the interlude sequences. How the heck you managed to get it to install to HD at all is a mystery to me!
Upd 2: This was on my ACE, but notice that there is PCM in the intro using emulation (although still messed up in the interludes). Will give it a try on my Compact...
Upd 3: Fixed it! Substitute PCM8.X with ADPCM1.X from Street Fighter II and it works perfectly :-)

Thanks for testing this out and reporting the issues, and for the Naious fix! I'll update my image this afternoon for anyone downloading it after this message.
UPDATE: X-Col's fixes applied and image re-uploaded. No need to redownload if you don't want as all fixes are within the original hdd image.

Kamiboy:

I really like the idea and I think this could be possible. I know the 2mb partition I have at the end has to be there to allow systems without working floppy drives to boot, but maybe we can add a small 2mb at the beginning to initialize the SxSI drivers for those SASI machines with busted drives. The hang ups might be how many partitions we can get away with on the image before corruption, and then writing the script to automate the process. The autoexec.bat would most likely need checks in place (if sram contains the driver, goto normal startup sequence).

I wasn't smart enough to figure out how to initiate a dos call to reboot from within the bat file, or look for a small program to accomplish this.

The other problem would be in setting the boot flag to your main drive. You could either just direct to start up in your sysdrv or gamedrv like I have or use the boot selector at machine start and select how you want your system to start.

An alternative could be to create a small HDD bootable of the master disk that will work on machines with bad floppies and swap out the sd card with the full hdd image when finished.

Just some thoughts, I'd like this to be accessible to as many people as possible so I'm definitely willing to experiment, but will need people to test on their hardware as well.

I do have a sasi machine here, but I don't have a CF solution for it, other than an external MO drive.
I am considering buying one of the newer CF or sd card solutions and mounting it internally, externally if it is small and unobtrusive enough. If and when I do I'd gladly test drive any experimental image that could free sasi owners from having to boot off of any floppies.

[kanjiology]

Thank you for the new image and updates. Unfortunately Bonanza Bros. Still doesn't work but I will try it on floppy in the future.

I had a request, if you could add The 4th Unit, a partially translated x68000 game. https://archive.org/download/sharp-x68000-translations

[incrediblehark]

Thank you for the new image and updates. Unfortunately Bonanza Bros. Still doesn't work but I will try it on floppy in the future.

I had a request, if you could add The 4th Unit, a partially translated x68000 game. https://archive.org/download/sharp-x68000-translations

Sorry to hear it still didn't work... Hopefully we will figure out a solution!

As requested, I added The 4th Unit English translation (along with the rest of the series in Japanese). It will be in v1.11 - If I get some more requests I'll upload the new version soon.

[3rdman01]

This is absolutely fantastic, thank you!

I wonder if I could make a suggestion? What do you think of the idea of breaking out the games into genre folders instead of the present breakdown by alphabet?

ACTIONRPG
-Ys
-Xak

SHMUPS
-ChoChenRa
-ImageFight

FIGHTERS
-StreetFighter

...so on and so forth. I only suggest this because sometimes I want to try a new shooter or RPG but I really don't know what most of the game titles are without searching online. If they are in the Genre folder, I know what to basically expect. What do you think?

Thank you again. I absolutely love the image and appreciate the work you've poured into it.

Edit: My SASI machine seems to play this image wonderfully...I've played several games and they've all loaded (with the exception of Bonanza Bros. . I should also perhaps mention...I had to reconfigure my SCSI2SD v5.1 card in order to get things working. I had to change the SCSI ID to 3...Prior to today, I've had it set to 0 without issue. At 0 and 3GB setting, it wouldn't boot...once changed to ID3, it booted as normal.

One other issue and perhaps I'm alone here but I can't get past level 1 in Aquales...every time I get to the second level, the system reboots. This isn't a problem with your image but rather the game as its always been this way regardless of image. I would love to know if anyone else has solved this problem or is disk playback the only solution? Thanks again!!!

[incrediblehark]

Glad to hear most everything is working! Maybe we will one day solve the bonanza bros issue for SASI machines as well as the other trouble games for SCSI.
Not sure about Aquales, I'll try playing myself past level 1 and see what happens.

Uploading a small update to v1.11 right now, will edit original post when its ready.

As for rearranging games into genre categories, I think its a good idea and I'm willing to do it if there's enough interest. With the total games count rising it may be a better way to sort. This would result in a lot of time spent changing paths, which I'm happy to do but we should get more feedback first.

[ateam]

As for rearranging games into genre categories, I think its a good idea and I'm willing to do it if there's enough interest. With the total games count rising it may be a better way to sort. This would result in a lot of time spent changing paths, which I'm happy to do but we should get more feedback first.

For what my two cents are worth, I also feel arranging games by genre/subgenre would be helpful. I did this for my 3DO 1G1R set, and when exploring an unfamiliar library, it definitely lets new people find games more quickly.

I will say, however, there's the downside of some games being potentially ambiguously categorized, where a player may know the name of the game, but actually have to look in several places in order to find it.

Curious to hear what others think.

[incrediblehark]

This would be a perfect solution, been watching it for a while for updates:

https://www.target-earth.net/wiki/doku.php?id=blog:x68_launcher_1

EDIT: Kendrick here. This is a link to description and downloads of a native launcher for x68000 software. It's written in C and runs directly on the real machine or inside them emulated system, not outside on a host level. As a reminder, please describe URLs when you add them to your posts so we know what it is we're being linked to before we go there.

[Shentok]

I would absolutely love for games to be sorted into genres. I did it for a few consoles and it makes it so much easier to find games based on mood instead of just looking at a long list of titles with nothing to go on for inspiration.

[Shentok]

I didn't see it in the list, but this is a really fun doujin fighting game called 2 vs 2 VS Memorial. It seems to run best on a 12 or 16mhz model as it runs slightly slow on my 10mhz model. It's really easy to set up for HDD install and has instructions for it.

https://archive.org/details/2vs2-vs-memorial

[3rdman01]

Should this be the place for bug notifications? Valis II won't launch for me...It gets an "A" prompt and halts forcing a reset.

[incrediblehark]

Should this be the place for bug notifications? Valis II won't launch for me...It gets an "A" prompt and halts forcing a reset.

Absolutely! Please report any issues. I do know valis ii 2hdboot requires more ram than pretty much any other 2hdboot game on the image. 6mb or more I believe. What do you currently have? I just loaded the game up and am playing with no issues

[3rdman01]

Should this be the place for bug notifications? Valis II won't launch for me...It gets an "A" prompt and halts forcing a reset.

Absolutely! Please report any issues. I do know valis ii 2hdboot requires more ram than pretty much any other 2hdboot game on the image. 6mb or more I believe. What do you currently have? I just loaded the game up and am playing with no issues

I've got 6mb...I guess it needs more than that. I will soon be upgrading with a Galspanic memory card so hopefully it will be working for me soon enough. Thanks again!

[ateam]

I've got 6mb...I guess it needs more than that. I will soon be upgrading with a Galspanic memory card so hopefully it will be working for me soon enough. Thanks again!

Can confirm. I had the same issue with 6 MB of RAM, but upgrading to 10 MB works fine.

[X-Col]

Found an issue with Granada midi option.

You don't get any sysex transfer when you select midi in the option menu, so music sounds wrong on my CM-64 or MT-32.
However, it works perfectly if you choose FM and then hold the 'Help' key.

[X-Col]

Playing Naious from the HD image and just noticed that it only has 3 stages.

The game has 7 stages when playing from floppy disk.

Any ideas why?

Update: The floppies must be a cracked version. On the HD image you need to press: Ctrl + W + I + N + K at the same time (a sound should be heard), then all levels are unlocked :-)

Also, this activates the cheat mode, If the 'INS' key is active, you have unlimited lives, deactivated is back to normal.

[incrediblehark]

Getting ready to upload a new version with your other fix, Is there a way I can enable these unlocked stages and have it unlocked for future plays, or do you need to do this every time? at what point do I use this code? Thanks again for finding all of these issues!

[X-Col]

Getting ready to upload a new version with your other fix, Is there a way I can enable these unlocked stages and have it unlocked for future plays, or do you need to do this every time? at what point do I use this code? Thanks again for finding all of these issues!

I tried swapping the floppy images on the HD install with the floppy images I have but it doesn't work unfortunately. You will have to unlock every time you load the game.

Using the key combination above (on the title screen) unlocks all 7 levels and also activates the unlimited lives cheat mode. Just deactivate the 'INS' key to turn off the cheat mode (INS key = unlimited lives ON/OFF). You chose the level you want to play from the configuration screen.

Very handy for me as my reflexes are not what they once were, and this is a very hard game!

[incrediblehark]

Thanks for finding this! I'll add a note in the game loader to enable the mode.

Uploading an update to v1.12 in the next hour or so, I'll edit the original post to reflect the new version.


I'm also running the poll to see whether or not to reorganize the games. Right now looks like its in favor but I'll wait until the poll runs its course as not everyone checks the site daily.

In the meantime, lets figure out how we want to name categories. I'd like to use a naming convention that is easily understood across languages. Even though most of this in English, I'd like to accommodate people from all over, considering this computer's main hobbyists are Japanese. I'd also like to keep the categories to a minimum if possible. Open to any and all suggestions!

[X-Col]

I agree that keeping it simple would be best.

Suggestions for me would be:

Shoot 'Em Up/Arcade (joint)
RPG
Puzzle/Strategy (joint)
Action/Adventure (joint)
Fighting/Beat 'Em Up (joint)

[rezb1t]

Super happy to see my hack make it into this, this image is how I use my X68000 and it is great!

[ateam]

I agree that keeping it simple would be best.

Suggestions for me would be:

Shoot 'Em Up/Arcade (joint)
RPG
Puzzle/Strategy (joint)
Action/Adventure (joint)
Fighting/Beat 'Em Up (joint)

I can appreciate the desire to keep it simple, but I can't help but feel like shmups and 1-on-1 fighters should be distinguished from other arcade games or beat 'em ups.

Might just me though, heh.

[3rdman01]

In the meantime, lets figure out how we want to name categories. I'd like to use a naming convention that is easily understood across languages. Even though most of this in English, I'd like to accommodate people from all over, considering this computer's main hobbyists are Japanese. I'd also like to keep the categories to a minimum if possible. Open to any and all suggestions!

Taking SmokeMonster Everdrive collections as inspiration, how about this for a start?
Action
Action Adventure
Adventure
Arcade
Beat 'em Up
Board and Card Games
Fighting
Pinball
Platformers
Puzzle
Racing
Role Playing Games
Run 'n Gun
Shooters
Simulations
Sports
Strategy

[incrediblehark]

I do have a sasi machine here, but I don't have a CF solution for it, other than an external MO drive.
I am considering buying one of the newer CF or sd card solutions and mounting it internally, externally if it is small and unobtrusive enough. If and when I do I'd gladly test drive any experimental image that could free sasi owners from having to boot off of any floppies.

Just wanted to follow up that I put together a small SASI bootable partition meant for setting up SxSI drivers. I have no way to test it and know if it is fully working though. Things I'd like to know:

1. Does it boot on a system without working floppy drives?
2. Does the SxSI install work ok? (And do normal SASI users have to boot from floppy every time?)
3. Does the SRAM CLEAR function work properly? (Clear the ROM boot area and reset SWITCH.X)
4. Any other suggestions / issues / etc?

Anyone who is willing, please give this a shot.

SxSI Enabler v1.00:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XthdjXQiPrpRFIWaNSOY0uswYbQRQLqq/view?usp=sharing

[X-Col]

I agree that keeping it simple would be best.

Suggestions for me would be:

Shoot 'Em Up/Arcade (joint)
RPG
Puzzle/Strategy (joint)
Action/Adventure (joint)
Fighting/Beat 'Em Up (joint)

I can appreciate the desire to keep it simple, but I can't help but feel like shmups and 1-on-1 fighters should be distinguished from other arcade games or beat 'em ups.

Might just me though, heh.

I bundled Fighting (1-1 fighting games) and Beat 'Em Ups for simplicity but they could easily be separated into distinct categories.

@3rdman01 I also have the SmokeMonster collection on my SNES, but don't think the size of the X68000 library warrants that level of distinction. I think a happy medium could be found :-)

[HIggy]

@increadablehark -Categories would be very helpful.
Personally I have a poor short term memory so I forget the name of the game I have played (well I remember the ones I've played for decades Final Fight etc )

Could an identifier in the file name be added for +18 games. For example 'Sazae' might not be the best game to show someone the delights of the X68000!

Can the joystick also be made to work the menu? I guess unless the menu program has the option, it is not available as it requires reprogramming.

Could a Readme.doc be added to the main page (currently the one showing just the 3 games folders)?
It would just give a short amount of advice, for example how to access the other Partition for Music etc Maybe current Disk version, general usage - Select '!Start' and press Q twice.

Again it is my memory, I forget so either have to search back for this Forum post or write commands on a piece of paper.
It does not help jumping between many retro systems, how do I load a C64 disk again

[3rdman01]

I certainly understand where you are coming from but I also don't know why we should limit ourselves either. Why combine genres like "fighters" and "Beat em Ups" when they are very clearly different kinds of games? 

For what its worth, I did actually limit my list a bit..."Action RPGs" are different from "RPGs" but I agree that here, the genres can coexist in a single folder. Its not to say that I don't think the list I nominated can't be further culled but I (personally) don't mind a longer list if the genres are properly apportioned.

I would though echo your thoughts in that I would prefer to limit the number of genres so that they all appear on the first page of the LHES...this amounts to 17 possible genres which (honest coincidence) is what my nominated list has.

[kamiboy]

This would be a perfect solution, been watching it for a while for updates:

https://www.target-earth.net/wiki/doku.php?id=blog:x68_launcher_1

EDIT: Kendrick here. This is a link to description and downloads of a native launcher for x68000 software. It's written in C and runs directly on the real machine or inside them emulated system, not outside on a host level. As a reminder, please describe URLs when you add them to your posts so we know what it is we're being linked to before we go there.

This launcher should not be ignored. A lot of work was put into making it by the author and it has support for screen shots and filtering games based on criteria, I think including genre.

If any work is to be put into division of games into genres it is better put into making config files for each game for this launcher, including some screenshots for each game. With it the X68000 could turn into a very sleek plug and play unit, like those fancy frontends that amigas and other computer systems have.

Better yet, since each person can make a config file for a game separately it can be done collaboratively instead of forcing one person to do it all alone.

A very long while back I went through every game on an old hdd image and wrote a bit about each game, including, I think, the genre. This document is incomplete because newer images have tons more games, but it could be a start.

[incrediblehark]

I like the idea of this, what goes into making a config file for each game?

[kamiboy]

There is documentation in the github. Actually I think he has scripts for populating the config files automatically from some online database. I am not sure if that was ever finished or not, but I remember some scripts being there last I looked, a very long time back.

The config files contain meta data for each game, such as genre and other stuff.

It has been a very long while since I looked into it, but I believe the config file for each game is to be put in the folder for the game.

The github has a compiled release with example config files so everything needed to get started is there. I remember I got the launcher to run inside an emulator.

I never got far enough to put it inside my actual machine since that one already has a simple launcher that I wrote myself many years ago.

[incrediblehark]

Thanks for the info, I may try to get started on this over the weekend.

[Shentok]

For Die Bahnwelt, you can enable MT-32 and General Midi support with various keys while booting. Might be a good idea to add that to the !Start.bat

F1: Default sound source
F2: MT-32 (For Rhythm only)
F3: MT-32
F4: General MIDI

From what the X68000 software page says, it seems to suggest that MT-32 isn't recommended (perhaps only on the F3 option), but I've only tried GM with an SC-55 and it sounds great there.

[incrediblehark]

Thank you for this info! Will definitely add it to the !Start.bat

Also, looks like the polls closed today so I'll get started on the next release with genre sorting.

[Shentok]

If you want to add another game, Mai (Dancing Mai) works with 2HDSIM. The executable line is

Code Select Expand

tank.x -Pb:\pcd\m1_09b.pcd and Disk A is also the disk for saving.

My Eyes can also be ran with 2HDSIM:

Code Select Expand

my_eyes.x A:\INIT.BSI believe Disk A is also for saving. If you're using the set on Archive, be sure to use the alternates for A and B disks as the originals are bad dumps.

[3rdman01]

I found this link while browsing these forums...it lists details about each game including genres.

http://tkhr000.s601.xrea.com/x68softlist/x68soft.htm

[incrediblehark]

Hey everybody... small status update. I just wanted to say that I haven't forgotten about this project. I am working on it but progress has been slow lately. Have some time off next week so hoping to put in some hours moving files around.

The most time consuming part has been figuring out genres of games and moving into folders. I'm still trying to figure out categories that make sense. For example, I'd love to have a beat-em-up folder but there really isn't enough to warrant it, and something like "Arcade" would include arcade ports rather than arcade like action, so I haven't gone that route. I have a big folder of action games that may need to be split into smaller subcategories. Shooters I had to split into Horizontal, Vertical, and Other because there are a ton of them on this machine. I expect that once I'm completely done moving I'll tweak some more to balance folders as best as I can.

As for other updates, I have typed up a readme of sorts as a mini guide on how to use the image, navigating LHES, etc. This will be included on the D: Drive for easy access on boot. Some fixes have been put into place along with some updates but I still need to add some games that have been suggested since my last release. Have a plan for designating adult titles as requested that I think will be a good compromise to having a separate folder. I'm sure there's some other things I'm forgetting as well.

This update will replace the alphabetical sorting of previous releases. Of course some games fall under multiple genres and I'll do my best to make them make sense, but I know it won't be perfect to start. Looking forward to hearing feedback from everyone when it is finished.

[Shentok]

I really appreciate all the hard work you're putting in this. Thanks to your image I've been exploring the library so much and have found a lot of amazing games I wouldn't have otherwise.

[HIggy]

Thanks for the hard work and looking into adding the Mini Guide that can run from the HD image. It saves me having pieces of paper/notes!

I guess space is not really a problem, so if a game spans across genres then it can be included in multiple locations.

[incrediblehark]

After having a data corruption this week, I had to start over from scratch. I was able to get all files moved into genre folders - Here is what I have done so far:



Some of these are broken down further into more genre subfolders. Left to do: Edit !Start.Bat files for correct paths and test all games. My plan is to continue through this coming week.

Going to add a few games that have been recently dumped online. Looks like there's about 28MB free on the D: drive. If there are any requests or any decent games not on here reach out to me and I'll do my best to fit them all in. I know there's a little bit of bloat I can trim down in redundant files that I may try to work on in future releases.

[bleepbloop]

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad I stumbled across this!

This is fantastic thank you.

I only tried a few games so far but they all worked except for Salamander.

I'm not sure if it's my setup or the game but figured I'd report it. Seems to be an audio issue but I'm not sure what.

I'm using an XVI tower with 12MB RAM and SYSTEM SACOM SX-68M II sound board in it. As far as I know, that audio card just sits there unused since I don't have an external mixer audio thingy whatever they are called that you need to use with the sound cards? So I just use the default system audio.

Hopefully that helps.

***EDIT***
I tried a different game image and it's still not working so it seems the issue is on my end. I'll have to look into this and see if I can figure it out.


This is the error I get:

[incrediblehark]

Glad you're enjoying it so far! Let me know if you need any more help, but I am nearing the end of my latest release so you may want to try it out when I make it available if you're still having trouble.