Playing SD Snatcher on MSX Turbo R

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Por msxturbo_r

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02-09-2007, 10:24

I just got a Turbo R just so I can finally play my orginal copy of SD Snatcher (and Snatcher). In the manual it says something about formatting a 3.5 floppy and I remember reading something online about how you have to be careful not to format the actual SD Snatcher game floppies. I've searched the forums here on how to load a game on the MSX and found nothing. Will you MSX masters please help an extreme MSX newbie?

I need to know how to load this game properly so I don't screw up my game disks. Also, could you point me in the right direction for info about formatting floppies on the MSX and if there is any type of English translation for the start-up windows on the MSX Turbo R? What are the basics I need to know about loading games and playing PCM files on this system? How do I get PCM files from my PC to a floppy that will work on the MSX when all I have are HD floppies? And how can I put the English translation of SD Snatcher on floppies? All your expertise is GREATLY appreciated. Smile

Oh, and how similar is MSX Basic compared to Q-Basic?

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Por AuroraMSX

Paragon (1902)

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02-09-2007, 10:28

You may find a lot of your questions answered in the Ultimate MSX FAQ

Por [D-Tail]

Ascended (8263)

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02-09-2007, 11:18

Concerning disk-safety: ensure that you've got the write-protection switches of the original SD Snatcher disks OPEN at all times. That way you can't overwrite any data. The user disk has to be a separate disk. Dig it up somewhere, make it write-enabled, insert it, type from BASIC: _FORMAT and follow the on-screen instructions. Hint: you'll want a double sided disk. Good luck!

Por wolf_

Ambassador_ (10088)

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02-09-2007, 11:27

Regarding the last question: MSX BASIC is far closer to GW BASIC than QBasic. QBasic is a procedural language with more modern programflow structures than MSX BASIC. To name some: no line numbers required, IF blocks, WHILE loops, functions, local variables in functions, types, long variable names, Select-Case etc. etc. So, MSX-BASIC is far from similar, and if you ask me: QBasic is 10x as userfriendly.

Por Sonic_aka_T

Enlighted (4130)

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02-09-2007, 12:37

I need to know how to load this game properly so I don't screw up my game disks. Also, could you point me in the right direction for info about formatting floppies on the MSXFirst, try to get your hands on some DD floppies. There is a way to make HD floppies work, but DD floppies are much more 'stable' since they were meant for the type of drive the tR uses. Boot your turboR while holding the [1] key to ensure it boots the MSX-DOS 1 version of the Disk Basic. Once in MSX-BASIC, insert your diskette and type _FORMAT to format the disk. This will take quite some time on a tR, since it does a very thorough disk-check after formatting. It may also reject your disk, giving an error after formatting. If this is the case you can try formatting the same disk again, or move on to another disk. Once you have a formatted disk you may label it 'SD Snatcher User Disk' and use it when the game prompts for the user disk. The game should reject any other disk when saving, but just to be sure check that all game disks are write protected.

and if there is any type of English translation for the start-up windows on the MSX Turbo R?There was indeed a translation at some time, but I really wouldn't know where you could get your hands on it now. It's not really worth the hassle though, and you're much better off giving SymbOS a try. The FDC of the turboR is not yet supported, so you would have to buy a Sunrise Compact Flash IDE device, but those are fairly cheap (like 60 eurii) and very much worth the investment.

What are the basics I need to know about loading games and playing PCM files on this system?

Quote:
PCM files are just plain RAW 8bit signed PCM sample files. There is an 'option' which does a simple run length encoding for silences, but you can turn that off to ensure it's plain old raw sample data. You can import the files with any proper audio program on your PC, as well as convert and export the files for use on your tR. The frequencies supported by the BIOS are 15.7 kHz, 7.8 kHz, 5.2 kHz and 3.9kHz.

Quote:
How do I get PCM files from my PC to a floppy that will work on the MSX when all I have are HD floppies?If you really can't find DD floppies you can try taping the 'HD-hole' with masking tape or something. Make sure the tape is not transparent, as many PC drives use optical sensors to check if it's a DD or HD disk. You can then try formatting the disk with your tR and see if you can access it on your PC. Try not to use long file names, by the way! ;)

Regarding games; almost all games will boot automatically if you insert the game and reset your MSX. If not, try typing the command FILES in MSX-BASIC and see if there is a .BAS or .LDR file you can start by issuing the command RUN "FILENAME.EXT" from MSX-BASIC. Note that many of those games will require you to boot in DOS1 mode by keeping [1] pressed until you are in MSX-BASIC.

And how can I put the English translation of SD Snatcher on floppies? All your expertise is GREATLY appreciated. :)First off; you don't want to patch your original disks, of course. The fan-translation of SD-Snatcher was made by Oasis, who are no longer active, meaning it won't be easy to find. Perhaps someone still has an original patch-disk for sale, and they could e-mail you to see how to get you set-up. ;)

Oh, and how similar is MSX Basic compared to Q-Basic?Somewhat, it's BASIC, so there are definitely many similar points. As wolf pointed out, the Q-Basic editor is much more user-friendly, plus the Q-Basic syntax has a number of 'extras' which MSX-Basic lacks. On the other hand; try playing samples in Q-Basic, playing 12 channel music (PSG+FM) or doing anything cool in a graphic mode. I'd actually say MSX-BASIC is far more complete than Q-Basic is...

Por msxturbo_r

Supporter (5)

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02-09-2007, 12:47

So far, reading the Ultimate MSX FAQ is very tedious. I'm sifting through the FAQ and it really just describes what the different MSX specs, DOS sytems, etc., are. I don't see any "how-to" type of information like how load or format a floppy, or any of the common tasks one might do when first using an MSX. I've even checked some of the links to other sites from the FAQ and Googled, but can't really find anything in the way of a basic user's-guide type of FAQ. Maybe I've missed something.

Thanks to D-Tail , wolf_ , and Sonic_aka_T for the quick and easy answers.

Another question about SD Snatcher: Is the 4th floppy that it comes with just a user-disk intended for save files? So I need to format that, correct? Can I use a HD floppy as a user-disk?

Por wolf_

Ambassador_ (10088)

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02-09-2007, 12:49

With trickery I made a QBasic game with bitmap gfx and an ST3 file in the background tho. There was some dostool that could load+play an ST3 file in the background, e.g. the player would exit immediately while still playing. This was a nice command to perform in QBasic's DOS-shell command. It's a bit like having an MB-player in MSX basic. The player itself isn't BASIC.
If you're into a modern BASIC, you might want to check out Blitzbasic, which comes as a GUI/2d version (Blitxplus), a 2d/3d version (Blitz3d) and a modern OOP version (Blitzmax), where 3d is natively present in form of openGL commands while the GUI is present in the GUI module, tho recently ppl seem to be working with a 3d module. Futureproof-wise BMax is the most flexible choice. Best of all is that it's still quite BASIC all, tho inside it's more of a skimmed-down C#, it just has nice BASIC-flavored commands.

Por Sonic_aka_T

Enlighted (4130)

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02-09-2007, 13:07

Another question about SD Snatcher: Is the 4th floppy that it comes with just a user-disk intended for save files? So I need to format that, correct? Can I use a HD floppy as a user-disk?Indeed, the 4th disk is the User Disk (I think it even says so in English, tho it could've been Katakana) Anyhow, if there's a 4th disk that means the previous owner already made it (the game just comes with a label iirc), meaning it's probably already formatted and ready to use. You could just insert it when the game prompts for it. Be sure to check the FDD light when saving, don't change disks until the light is off.

Por Alex

Master (205)

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02-09-2007, 15:17

Also, could you point me in the right direction for info about formatting floppies on the MSX and if there is any type of English translation for the start-up windows on the MSX Turbo R?

Which MSX turbo R model do you have? The FS A1 ST or the FS A1 GT?

Por Vampier

Prophet (2409)

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02-09-2007, 18:38

http://ips.tni.nl/ check these ips patches, just follow your logic and u'll find the right files.

Por msxturbo_r

Supporter (5)

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02-09-2007, 21:35

Also, could you point me in the right direction for info about formatting floppies on the MSX and if there is any type of English translation for the start-up windows on the MSX Turbo R?

Which MSX turbo R model do you have? The FS A1 ST or the FS A1 GT?

I have the FS A1 ST.

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