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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Game*Mite: handheld game console based on PicoMite
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| Bleep Guru  Joined: 09/01/2022 Location: United KingdomPosts: 509 |
Yes, I initially loaded your full zip, to be sure everything worked ok, then I loaded Peters latest, which he compiled up for you, in the release thread, didn't have to do any further setting up, everything was still there, so then ran robots from a SD card. :-) Yes I was aware of your warning in the manual. Regards, Kevin. |
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thwill Guru Joined: 16/09/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4037 |
If anyone else wants to join the game, both myself and @bigmik still have kits available. Yes, I know Peter has devised an "electronically superior" device, but the Game*Mite is the one that I will be supporting (and if required supplying). I'd also like to say that I know @bigmik would have been more than capable of creating a "better" device except that he was good enough to respect my design (though he helped with the power side and Bill titivated the audio) and decision that it should be built entirely of thru-hole components (SMD components on modules excepted). Best wishes, Tom Edited 2023-10-01 00:24 by thwill Game*Mite, CMM2 Welcome Tape, Creaky old text adventures |
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Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 6786 |
I love this design, especially as Tom is a self-confessed "non-hardware" bloke. :) It's neat, compact and, above all, works, both electronically and mechanically. It's so easy to look at another design and think "if that had only been done in this way..." but at the time you are designing something there are problems to be solved and it's not always so obvious how it should be done. We all have 20/20 hindsight. :) I always look at other designs - it's part of the learning process. Sometimes you have to remind yourself that there is rarely a definitive "right" way to solve a problem, just a host of alternatives. I know I often go off at a tangent when I'm playing with a PCB design. That's deliberate. I attempt never to copy someone's design, but build on it in some way. I may pinch their circuit (or at least chunks of it) but hopefully it won't be too recognisable by the time I've laid it out. lol Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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| Bleep Guru Joined: 09/01/2022 Location: United KingdomPosts: 509 |
Hi Tom, I have an SD in the slot with a lot of files and directories, 9 screen fulls on the GameMite screen, but when I go through the files and directories on it there are several missing, both files and directories, for no apparent reason, I initially thought it was to do with the date stamp, but I now don't think it is, they don't contain any special characters, or anything I can put my thumb on, any ideas? Regards Kevin. |
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| Bleep Guru Joined: 09/01/2022 Location: United KingdomPosts: 509 |
I have tried setting date$ and time$, then save 4 files called atest.bas btest.bas ctest.bas dtest.bas none are visible in the file browser, if I break out to Basic they are listed fine in "files" which reports 21 directories and 129 files, maybe that is the problem. :-( Regards Kevin. |
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| thwill Guru Joined: 16/09/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4037 |
Right, I only allocated space for 100 children per directory, I suspect that can be bumped up. It's supposed to say something like "... and 29 more" in the file list when this limit is exceeded. I'll take a look tonight. Note that "random" files appear to be missing because the underlying DIR$ function doesn't return files in alphabetical or date/time order but in the order used by the raw file system, which may be the order they were added to the SD card. Best wishes, Tom Edited 2023-10-01 01:46 by thwill Game*Mite, CMM2 Welcome Tape, Creaky old text adventures |
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| Volhout Guru Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 4228 |
First trial version of SNAKE for the game*mite Unzip it in a folder either in A: or B: Keeps highscores in a:/high-scores/n-string.txt Run "s9.bas" snake9.zip PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
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| thwill Guru Joined: 16/09/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4037 |
Thanks @Volhout, I've tweaked it to be less fussy about the current working directory and also to make the controls more responsive: snake10.zip You should now be able to start it by navigating to "s10.bas" in the file browser and pressing SELECT or A. Ultimately I will make the contents of the Game*Mite main menu user configurable, that just hasn't risen to the top of the TODO list yet. Best wishes, Tom Game*Mite, CMM2 Welcome Tape, Creaky old text adventures |
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| Bleep Guru Joined: 09/01/2022 Location: United KingdomPosts: 509 |
Hi Tom, Have reduced the number of files on my SD and all files are now visible, so 100 is probably sufficient, otherwise break them in to directories. Have tested Volhout Snake V10 and that is working ok, except 'SELECT' does not quit. Regards, Kevin. |
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| thwill Guru Joined: 16/09/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4037 |
Hi Kevin, I'm increasing it to 500 anyway, but I got bogged down making .wav, .mod and .flac files play when they are clicked on in the file browser  . The .flac files in particular have proved to be challenging because MMBasic needs to allocate some large contiguous memory buffers to play them.I think it's just his first draft. At the moment pressing 'SELECT' is just calling END so it is dropping to the MMBasic console instead of re-launching the menu program. It needs something like this from https://github.com/thwill1000/mmbasic-sptools/blob/master/src/splib/gamemite.inc Local f$ = "A:/GameMite/menu.bas", x% = Mm.Info(Exists File f$) If Not x% Then On Error Skip x% = Mm.Info(Exists File "B:/GameMite/menu.bas") If Mm.ErrNo Then x% = 0 If x% Then f$ = "B:/GameMite/menu.bas" EndIf Local msg$ = Choice(x%, "Loading menu ...", "Menu program not found!") Colour Rgb(White), Rgb(Black) Cls Text 160, 110, msg$, CM If Len(f$) Then Run f$ Else End A problem I have is that I've got a chunk of library code for the Game*Mite, reading controllers, etc. but it's not easy to "just use" because I wrote it to be used with my transpiler which gives you things like #INCLUDE and conditional "compilation" but you lose the immediacy of working with an interpreted language. Works for me, but perhaps idiosyncratic for everyone else, especially since at the moment it's tuned to be run from MMBasic for Linux. Best wishes, Tom Game*Mite, CMM2 Welcome Tape, Creaky old text adventures |
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| Volhout Guru Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 4228 |
The original code for snake was written for the 5k programmming cjallenge, and uses some weird coding to keep it compact. Most of that is gone, but the game end still exists If s$="q" then end else run Wweird, but it works... PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
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| thwill Guru Joined: 16/09/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4037 |
With a bit of luck this works: https://github.com/thwill1000/mmbasic-gamemite/blob/main/download/GameMite-1.1.0-full.zip - Standard installation https://github.com/thwill1000/mmbasic-gamemite/blob/main/download/GameMite-1.1.0-appendix-d.zip - Alternative "Appendix D" installation Note this corresponds to PicoMite 5.07.08 RC4 and thus doesn't include the last couple of tweaks Peter made to the PicoMite, i.e. it does not include the fix for the background display buffer copy glitch. Version 1.1.0 - 1-Oct-2023: - Updated GameMite firmware to PicoMite 5.07.08 RC4. - GameMite firmware now sets OPTION MODBUFF ENABLE by default to provide a 128K buffer for playing .mod files. - Startup screen now highlights when non-GameMite firmware is being used, or when the versions of the GameMite firmware and MMBasic program suite differ. - File browser now supports 500 files per directory, previously it supported a maximum of 100. - File browser now plays .flac, .mod and .wav files when they are highlighted and SELECT / A is pressed. - Fixed bug in PicoVaders that caused it to crash if its intro screen was allowed to run to completion. - Partially crunched MMBasic program suite to make room for 128K MODBUFF on the flash storage. Edited 2023-10-02 01:02 by thwill Game*Mite, CMM2 Welcome Tape, Creaky old text adventures |
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| Volhout Guru Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 4228 |
Snake10a Minor finetuning - cursor with entering name entering name - returns to menu at quit - remove unused sprites snake10a.zip Circle Funny game with only graphics circles... EDIT Okt-2-2023:this is an update version including "turbo run" for more fun... circle_game_mite.zip Volhout Edited 2023-10-03 03:10 by Volhout PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
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| Volhout Guru Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 4228 |
@Tom, It is a real nice game unit. I build mine with 2.8" display and 1600mA LiPo (I had). I started out assembling without realizing there where 2 boards in the package that where NOT identical. A 1.1.0 and a 1.3.0, so I started (as in the manual) assembling the headers...on the 1.1.0 board.. Only when I looked at the resistors, I saw my mistake. Stupid mistake... I cleaned the 1.1.0 board, so use it now as "bottom". I soldered the pico without header. Had to grind part of the PCB away otherwise the USB would not fit. (that would be okay when using headers). I installed the "RC4" version software. Some minor remark on the Game*Mite: it would have been nice if the A and B key where 5mm more south. Then the loudspeaker could be glued on the board between LCD and A and B key. Now it is "dangling" at the side. I will make this modification myself (some glue for the A and B key in their new position). Thanks for this small marvel..... Volhout PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
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| Bleep Guru Joined: 09/01/2022 Location: United KingdomPosts: 509 |
Hi Martin, I've attached my speaker to the base board with double sided tape, lined up with the Right hand edge, just above the bottom right spacer pillar, with the battery to its Left, lined up with the bottom edge and against the Left spacer pillar, the sound escapes fine. :-) I could easily shorten the pillars by 3 to 4mm if I wanted to make it thinner. Regards Kevin. Edited 2023-10-03 03:47 by Bleep |
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| thwill Guru Joined: 16/09/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4037 |
Hi @Volhout, Sounds like you went a little off piste but recovered in the end. Sorry about that. We tried to make that possibility clear in the manual, but that's the problem with manuals  . @bigmik if you are reading then I suggest for any "mismatched" pairs of PCBs you ship you put a sticker on the older PCB saying that it is the base-plate / not to solder to it. Obviously once we sell enough of them to get through the earlier boards this will become a non-issue  .The intent since at least the second prototype was that the speaker be mounted on the base-plate and connected via a flying wire to J5, hence the footprint for the speaker R/A header being on the underside of the PCB. We spent a lot of time (and 3 iterations of PCB) titivating the position of the buttons to be the "best" possible given the construction constraints so its unlikely we will move them now. You are very welcome, and thank you for the games. Best wishes, Tom Game*Mite, CMM2 Welcome Tape, Creaky old text adventures |
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| Bleep Guru Joined: 09/01/2022 Location: United KingdomPosts: 509 |
Sorry I meant Volhout above, I have now used 8mm spacers and that gives 1mm of speaker clear, I could probably drill a few holes in the top board, avoiding tracks if I thought it would help improve the sound. Regards Kevin |
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| thwill Guru Joined: 16/09/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4037 |
If you do this then please be careful you don't puncture the LiPo with any pins or leads poking out of the bottom of the top PCB. Best wishes, Tom Game*Mite, CMM2 Welcome Tape, Creaky old text adventures |
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| Bleep Guru Joined: 09/01/2022 Location: United KingdomPosts: 509 |
Hi Tom, The battery I'm using is an old 2500mA mobile phone battery, which is quite thin, I'm probably getting at least 3mm of clearance. I did anticipate and cut off and then filed smooth the through hole pins in that general area as I was building it. :-) Regards Kevin |
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bigmik Guru Joined: 20/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2914 |
Hi All, That is the problem with detailed (read long) manuals, many people, including myself, jump straight to the assembly without reading first. I was worried about that eventuality. I have, so far, received 2 enquires but so far no firm orders, I was always going to put a sticker on each PCB as to which is the bottom and which is the Top PCB. I am glad that it has gained some interest in the community, especially with the release of Peter’s impressive board. I feel that it is a real hackers board and it has a unique feel to it, is “steam punk” an accurate description. Re. The batteries, I was going to look at those old Nokia phone batteries (BL-5C) as they are thin and relatively small. The battery I used in mine (that is now) in the hands of AndrewG has a fat, 8mm, 1400mA lithium fitted that I had on hand, I had to trim the 12mm switches and tape the battery with Gaffer’s tape as the double sided tape was too thick for my 10mm standoffs. Of course each builder will have their own preference for how they do their builds. This is one of the beauties of Game*Mite. Anyway, I hope that everyone enjoys playing their Game*Mite as much as I have enjoyed collaborating with Tom and Bill on this project. Note! All claims for RSI injuries please refer to Tom..  Kind Regards Mick Edited 2023-10-03 08:05 by bigmik Mick's uMite Stuff can be found >>> HERE (Kindly hosted by Dontronics) <<< |
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