Bbc Emulation Experiment


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I got bored at work and started dreaming about playing BBC games on the GP32

I thought this might be worth a shot

http://www.geocities.com/quirky_2k1/

A BBC emulator for the GBA and thought hmmmm wonder if this would work on GPadvance.

you pipe the bbc roms into a .gba file using a little util provided.


I tried it with two versions of gpadv and two different games and it doesnt work :(

get the error

E: Data abort in unused memory area (0x01f80000) From: [0x000018c]:0x3904c004 in gba (mode user)

then theres loads of crap and PRESS A KEY TO RESET

Anyway I think it was worth a try and maybe someone can bastardize the two and make a nice bbc emulator for the GP32
 
It was a home computer which was huge in the boom in the 80's.

There was also a computer called the Acorn Electron which again was a very early computer, after that the BBC B came along. In England schools signed up to use BBC computers so they were very popular.

Back in the early 80's most kids had either a Spectrum or a Commodore. Most rich parents bought their kids BBC's ! Seriously at the time they were much dearer than a Spectrum or C64.

There were far many games and better games on the Speccy / C64 and later Amstrad but there are some serious classics on the BBC.

You've probably heard of the game Elite i take it ? This started off on the BBC and then of course to nearly every other platform out there. The PC game 'X Beyond the Frontier' is based on Elite.

There were other games such as Frak, Joust and Repton which also made the BBC famous.

I would like to see a BBC emulator, there are some very good games on there but compared to the Speccy/C64/Amstrad theres not as many and not all are great quality.

However with blocky colourful graphics many games are similiar to that of the Atari 800 computer i think it is.

Obviously BBC purists will shoot me down but what i've written is a fair unbiased comment on the computers. I enjoy playing many games on older platforms so i would like to see this BBC emulator happen.
 
I may be wrong, but I'm sure the upshot of a similar discussion recently was that there are 2 or 3 BBC emulators in development, waiting for their authors to dust them off in some spare time, so be patient as a proper native GP32 emualtor may not be too far away. You could probably find the thread if you had a search. Please you guys, finish ONE of them!

®
 
You're probably thinking of the Acorn Atom which came before the BBC - the Electron came after and was supposed to be a slightly stripped down version to make it a bit more affordable...

Only some games had blocky graphics - I assume you meant mode 2 which was the lowest res (320x256 - very close to the GP32) , but with the most colours. There were other modes with up to 640x512 - games like Imogen and Vortex used these modes. Then there was Mode 7 which was the same as teletext on your telly - the whole screen was stored in less than 1k - which meant you could do some really good stuff like Granny's Garden and 'L'...

Theres quite a few threads on these forums about the BBC (which I keep banging on about too)...

An emulator would be awesome...
 
Yes, there were a lot of threads about this a few weeks back.

An emulator would be great for Elite, Exile, Repton, and loads more, the GP32 deserves a complete 8-Bit repertoire!

®
 
I really dont want it to turn into a BBC vs Amstrad vs C64 vs Speccy argument

I think we all now thanks to emulators appreciate many more systems nowadays

I remember one game on the BBC, called 'Sim' was just excellent back then. One of those games where you went to different rooms to collect something to open up a door back in a previous screen etc.

Even though i personally thought the graphics were slightly chunky theres nothing wrong with that at all. One reason why i like Atari 800 games.

The Beeb had some colourful games and like the ones we've mentioned they did have some very good games. Not as good as the C64 or Spectrum but a good computer. I think a BBC emulator should be done considering theres already a Dragon emulator (Why ??!) , people will be asking for an Oric emulator next ! ;-)
 
which was the acorn pc with that dodgy pod game they used to put in schools?
pod can dance... pod can explode... pod can't run
 
which was the acorn pc with that dodgy pod game they used to put in schools?
pod can dance... pod can explode... pod can't run

Pod was on the BBC - it may have been ported to later systems, but it was originally written for the BBC...

psj3809, you can't say "Not as good as the C64 or Spectrum but a good computer" and "I really dont want it to turn into a BBC vs Amstrad vs C64 vs Speccy argument" in the same posting!

The BBC was FAR better than any of those computers in many ways, but it didn't have as many games as them...

BTW, Sim was an excellent game - I can't remember if I ever completed it though...
 
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damn..................i aint seen my dads bbc in AGES, its in the atic gathering dust......

damn them flopy disks are huge, n them acorn tapes have the worst music on them :p lol j/k
 
They were great computers, I still have a couple of them at home with the big square "cub" monitor and the disk drives. Dread Dragon Droom was a memorable game we played at school and I remember using LOGO with the turtle etc. My first experiences of programming were in BASIC on the good old beeb. It was the first computer I ever had to play games on, as my Dad was a headteacher and he brought it home for holidays and weekends, so I spent many an hour on Sabre Wulf, Twin Kingdon Valley, Challenger etc...

All this on the GP32 (Well maybe except the turtle unless someone makes a project!) would be great.

®
 
Even if we got an emulator, it's unlikely Revs would work, but that would be awesome on the GP32. Still the most realistic handling racing sim I've ever played...

And I could quite happily play Castle Quest again...

And Starship Command...

And Planetoid...

And Cholo (I know there were other versions)...

Anybody remember Powerplay? A mad chess/quiz/Gods type game...

And Asteroids Deluxe...

Oh why do people keep reminding me we haven't got an emulator yet... :(
 
Only some games had blocky graphics - I assume you meant mode 2 which was the lowest res (320x256 - very close to the GP32) , but with the most colours. There were other modes with up to 640x512 - games like Imogen  and Vortex used these modes. Then there was Mode 7 which was the same as teletext on your telly - the whole screen was stored in less than 1k - which meant you could do some really good stuff like Granny's Garden and 'L'...

You seem to remember it being a little better than it was :)

Mode 2 was 160x256 in 8 colours

Mode 0 was the highest resolution with 640x256 in 2 colours.

320x256 was possible with a max of 4 colours (mode 1)

you might be able to produce a 640x512 mode with some interlacing tricks perhaps.
 
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You seem to remember it being a little better than it was :)

Mode 2 was 160x256 in 8 colours

Mode 0 was the highest resolution with 640x256 in 2 colours.

320x256 was possible with a max of 4 colours (mode 1)

you might be able to produce a 640x512 mode with some interlacing tricks perhaps.

Sounds about right - I was quoting off the top of my head, which was obviously a tad inaccurate. It's been a very long time since I write the likes of
MOVE 0,0
DRAW 1276, 1020
etc...

:)


Don't forget those awsome flashing colour combinations though...
 
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The BBC was FAR better than any of those computers in many ways, but it didn't have as many games as them...

I honestly cant stand the old arguments about computers back then, over at worldofspectrum.org those old arguments keep coming back.

But be serious now and not biased, back in the early 80's kids wanted computers for games didnt they ? The best games and the best selling games were the Speccy/C64 and even Amstrad. BBC didnt get a look in.

Yep the BBC was probably a far better computer (one reason the schools got them) but to most kids back in the early 80's they wanted games games games didnt they ?

The betamax video recorder was far better than VHS in many ways but that doesnt matter, the majority of people had VHS so VHS ruled the world and betamax died.

The BBC i think technically was a far better computer but for a 13 year old kid at school trying to get loads of games and get the new releases it was no way the best computer. In most schools everyone had a Speccy or C64, Amstrad was third and BBC 4th due mainly to the price. Computers were so new back then many parents werent going to spend a fortune on their first one.

I remember my friend drawing out a huge map for Sim ! Very good game, would love to play that again.
 
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