At 10:25 AM 6/27/99 +0200, you wrote:
>I then think that, when also keeping in mind what you wrote below, you
>shouldn't call it an MSX. An eventual new MSX should be made of a Z380,
>OPL4, a v9990 in combination w/v9958, some memory (about 4MB), etc...
Z380 is not really necessary. Z80 is one of the easier things to emulate.
OPL4 as part of the standard is not necessary either: if the new MSX would
still accept old cartridges, simply insert a MoonSound.
V9990 is not necessary, because there is not much software for it. Although
it would be nice if people who already bought a GFX9000 could finally use
it, there is no reason to make it part of the standard system. Actually, I
think a new system would need DMA access to the VRAM over a fast bus, not a
slow I/O interface like the GFX9000 offers.
So what is necessary? V9958 is, because it is hard to emulate. But maybe a
DSP can do it?
And some kind of ethernet (or compatibility with ISA or PCI), but that's
just my personal wish.
Anyway, if such a new computer is ever built, it may be nice to try to make
the "ultimate emulation machine". Meaning that you aim not just to support
MSX, but other old systems too. With something like a programmable DSP and
lots of cartridge converters, it should be possible.
>Also, it would be nice if DMA was introduced, because a DAC working with DMA
>would be really useful.
DMA + DSP + DAC = programmable synth
>And a CD-drive would also be nice, although...
High-speed IDE or SCSI interface, which you also need to connect a harddisk.
>Anyway, installation is most of the time because of the speed. I can install
>Wing Commander "minimal", "standard" and "full". When installing "minimal",
>the game becomes quite unplayable, because you'll have to wait for the
>CD-drive to spin up very often, even when in the middle of action.
That happens because the game is written in such a way that it can happen.
PSX doesn't have a harddisk but can still run games smoothly, because the
games are written to cope with main RAM + CD-ROM only.
>But this new OS would probably be Japanese. So for an English translation
>you will probably need FlashROM or memory. So I hope it won't be ROM.
Even if ASCII decides to go for a new MSX, it is unlikely to be a computer
like you describe.
For a hobby project, Flash is the choice. Just look at the IDE interface,
for which Jon can release improved BIOSes and people can replace their old
BIOS easily.
Bye,
Maarten
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