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CU Amiga Super CD-ROM 19
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CU Amiga Magazine's Super CD-ROM 19 (1998)(EMAP Images)(GB)[!][issue 1998-02].iso
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P96Emu
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README
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1997-04-04
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MagicSNs Picasso96 Emulation Library
====================================
About the Emulation Library
---------------------------
Well, as most of you probably know, Picasso96 is a new WB Emulation in the
tradition of CyberGraphX. It even emulates CyberGraphX, so all CyberGraphX
programs run on Picasso 96.
The Emulation does not run on the Cybervision/3D, though. I mailed to the
programmers of Picasso96 before, and there i heard that there probably
will NEVER be Picasso96 Support for the Cybervision/3D. The problem was
that Phase 5 did not lend those guys a CV/3D Board for 2 weeks (they would
need a Board for 2 weeks to support it with P96) and so there won't be
P96 for CV/3D.
I mailed in this time a lot with one of the P96 programmers, in connection
with my rtgmaster.library project that i finally made running also on
Picasso96, without even having Picasso96 installed :) But as to P96 for
CV/3D there were no news :(
Then there came two uploads to Aminet : Trapped-2 for Picasso96, a RPG style
game, and "Partyhall", a Graphics Demo based on Picasso96. Both are works
by Michael Piepgras, BTW. Now i am REALLY a fan of games and demos, and that
i should not be able to run the first REAL GFX BOARD DEMO (no Anim) on my
system REALLY made me frustrated. So i decided to write a Picasso96 Emulation
for CyberGraphX.
Some words about the word "Emulation". This "Emulation" provides you with
Direct Access to the Video RAM and all that stuff, just like the Original
Picasso96, so it should not be slower than the Original Picasso96. It runs
on *ALL* CyberGraphX Systems, not only the Cybervision/3D, and you do not
have to change your WB Emulation to use Picasso96 programs anymore. Programs
using WritePixelArray might be SLIGHTLY slower, due to emulation overhead,
but not much. The emulation is not "complete", though, some of the most
exotic features of P96 are not emulated. But all programs i tested up to now
ran. If this library finds an unimplemented feature, it simply ignores it,
no crashes or such.
How to install it
-----------------
Simply copy Picasso96API.library to libs: !!! NEVER install this library
to a *REAL* Picasso96 system, this library is only the CyberGraphX version
of the Picasso96API.library, not the real Picasso96API.library
Differences to the real Picasso 96
----------------------------------
Not implemented yet : p96ReadTrueColorData, p96WriteTrueColorData
Not tested yet : p96AllocBitmap,p96FreeBitmap,p96ReadPixelArray
Other differences :
The FormatsAllowed/FormatsForbidden-Feature is not implemented for the Screenmode-Requester
and for the BestMode-Function. It is implemented for the AllocMode-Function, though.
The RenderFunc/SaveFunc-Feature is not implemented yet (and i do not have
an idea of how to implement it at all !!!)
The Nomemory/NoSprite/UserData Features are not implemented yet. Partially
i do not know what that features do, partially i do not know how to implement it.
The DisplayID,PubScreenName and Window Tags in the Screenmode-Requester are not
implemented, as the CyberGraphX Screenmode-Requester does not support them.
I am not sure if i understood the Bitsperpixel-Feature of the Attribute Functions
correctly (and i do not have a real Picasso96 system to check, how the real one
behaves). If you try to get the boardnumber with the attribute functions, you
will always get a 1, independent of the REAL value.
WritePixelArray/ReadPixelArray only support the formats supported by CyberGraphX
for these calls (LUT8/ARGB/RGBA/RGB) and not all those provided by Picasso96.
I am not sure how the real Picasso96 behaves with a Screen where neither P96SA_RGBFormat
nor P96SA_DisplayID are defined. Then of course the Screenmodenames will be those
of CyberGraphX, not those of Picasso96.
Asides from that Picasso96 is fully emulated. I hope no a**hole will use the
knowledge about the unimplemented stuff to let his stuff only run on the real
Picasso96 ... after all, this emulation library is the ONLY WAY to let Picasso96
run on the Cybervision/3D, and the CV/3D was a quite well-selling board !!!
Tested programs
---------------
I tested all demo programs provided with the Picasso96 Developper package.
With the exception of WriteTrueColorData they all ran (WriteTrueColorData did
not run, as it uses one of the still unimplemented call, but i hope to make it running,
soon. I did not yet test Trapped-2 and Partyhall, but will do so soon :).
I do NOT guarantee, that this emulation library will run with all Picasso96 Software,
but i HOPE that it will. Bear in mind, that this software was created WITHOUT ANY
POSSIBILITY to check the behaviour of the REAL Picasso96 !!!
MagicSN