Gloom Amiga 2000

[3583Bytes]

I have an Amiga 2000 with the following specs:

Kickstart 40.63
Workbench 3.1
Cpu 68030 24.20 Mhz
4MB Fast Ram
1MB GVP 32 Bit RAM (don't know what that is)
4MB GVP 32 Bit Ram (Again don't know what that is)
512KB Slow Ram
512 Chip Ram
250 MB Hard drove
CD Rom

For some reason when I try playing Gloom Special Edition it crashes with a Guru.  I figure my A2K is fast enough for it.  Am I doing something wrong? Any tips?

[NovaCoder]

I'm no Gloom expert but you probably need to specify that you want to run it in ECS mode by a Tooltype or command line switch because it's an AGA/RTG game (I think!).

Your problem may be lack of CHIPRAM, apparently GLOOM needs more that the standard amount.

Have you thought about adding an RTG card to your set up?   If you want to stick with ECS then you could still upgrade it with an Indivision ECS and 2MB CHIPRAM.

[3583Bytes]

I'm no Gloom expert but you probably need to specify that you want to run it in ECS mode by a Tooltype or command line switch because it's an AGA/RTG game (I think!).

Your problem may be lack of CHIPRAM, apparently GLOOM needs more that the standard amount.

Have you thought about adding an RTG card to your set up?   If you want to stick with ECS then you could still upgrade it with an Indivision ECS and 2MB CHIPRAM.

I was not really planning to upgrade the A2000 mostly because that stuff is more expensive then shipping an A1200 to Canada would be, and that would solve most of my issues.  Also I ordered a ACA 500 recently and I can get an accelerator for that as well if I want to.

How about ADOOM is it fast enough to run that? I tried it a week ago and all I get is a black screen with some sound from the game.

[NovaCoder]

I was not really planning to upgrade the A2000 mostly because that stuff is more expensive then shipping an A1200 to Canada would be, and that would solve most of my issues.  Also I ordered a ACA 500 recently and I can get an accelerator for that as well if I want to.

How about ADOOM is it fast enough to run that? I tried it a week ago and all I get is a black screen with some sound from the game.

Hiya,

No OCS/ECS aren't really fast enough for DOOM and that style of game, you really need AGA or RTG to run it well.

Even the ACA with a PPC struggles to run DOOM using ECS

There is a special build for ADOOM that supports the Indivision ECS's chunky mode but it's still pretty slow.


Go for a A1200 and a fast accelerator or an A3000 with a fast RTG card for super speed!

[youtube]3lHsnJBwEEA[/youtube]

[amiman99]

I think this game should work on your setup http://hol.abime.net/3027
It's possible it needs 1Mb chip RAM.

@Novacoder
Did your Wolfenstein port works on ECS?

[Matt_H]

I think you need more chip RAM. With some motherboard jumper adjustments, you should be able to convert that 512K of slow RAM into chip RAM to give yourself a full megabyte. (You can do this if SYS:Tools/Showconfig shows "ECS Agnus")

I used to run Gloom Deluxe on an 030 A500 with 1MB of chip RAM and 8MB of fast RAM, so I'm sure your machine can handle it.

[LaserBack]

I have an Amiga 2000 with the following specs:

Kickstart 40.63
Workbench 3.1
Cpu 68030 24.20 Mhz
4MB Fast Ram
1MB GVP 32 Bit RAM (don't know what that is)
4MB GVP 32 Bit Ram (Again don't know what that is)
512KB Slow Ram
512 Chip Ram
250 MB Hard drove
CD Rom

For some reason when I try playing Gloom Special Edition it crashes with a Guru.  I figure my A2K is fast enough for it.  Am I doing something wrong? Any tips?

a 030/24mhz is not enough for gloom to be smooth
ie I have A1200 + 030/50mhz the game runs but not smooth in fullscreen
you need AGA or RTG and 040+ to play gloom at descent speed

[3583Bytes]

I think you need more chip RAM. With some motherboard jumper adjustments, you should be able to convert that 512K of slow RAM into chip RAM to give yourself a full megabyte. (You can do this if SYS:Tools/Showconfig shows "ECS Agnus")

I used to run Gloom Deluxe on an 030 A500 with 1MB of chip RAM and 8MB of fast RAM, so I'm sure your machine can handle it.

Thanks,

Is there a tutorial somewhere on how to do this.

[QuikSanz]

I also believe you have too little chipram as Gloom runs fine on my 030/40 but I have 2 meg chip.
The big book may have jumper settings.

Chris

[Matt_H]

Thanks,

Is there a tutorial somewhere on how to do this.

This info used to be much more common. Seems to be largely buried these days. I think this is what you're looking for. Hopefully you already have the 8372A Agnus installed. (Again, if Showconfig reports "ECS Agnus," you do.)

[3583Bytes]

This info used to be much more common. Seems to be largely buried these days. I think this is what you're looking for. Hopefully you already have the 8372A Agnus installed. (Again, if Showconfig reports "ECS Agnus," you do.)

 
Thanks
 
I find this a bit weird.  My Amiga 2000 is faster then 90% of the Amigas back then and yet it can't play one of the iconic games from that era.  How did the developers make any money selling a game that does not work on the majority of the market.  I can understand the AGA version but this is the non AGA version designed for slower Amigas.  Very strange.

[Matt_H]

Thanks
 
I find this a bit weird.  My Amiga 2000 is faster then 90% of the Amigas back then and yet it can't play one of the iconic games from that era.  How did the developers make any money selling a game that does not work on the majority of the market.  I can understand the AGA version but this is the non AGA version designed for slower Amigas.  Very strange.

CPU speed isn't everything. We're working on the assumption that the problem is with your unusual chip RAM configuration. I think it was quite common for dealers to perform the 1MB chip RAM modification when A2000s (and A500s) went in for service, especially the upgrade to Kickstart 2. I was actually very surprised to see that your machine was still configured the old way - 1MB of chip RAM has been effectively considered the base minimum for quite a long time.

But, also be prepared for the possibility that changing to a full meg of chip RAM won't fix it. It could be a good ol' software issue - some other program or utility running in the background that's causing a conflict. The chip RAM thing jumped out at me as an important variable to eliminate, but there could be others!

[QuikSanz]

It's just your setup, 1 meg should run it.

Chris

Matt beat me too it,

[3583Bytes]

Showconfig shows:

CUSTOM CHIPS: Normal NTSC Agnus (id=$0010), Normal Denise (id=$00FF)

I am not sure what to do now.

Thanks

[Matt_H]

Showconfig shows:

CUSTOM CHIPS: Normal NTSC Agnus (id=$0010), Normal Denise (id=$00FF)

I am not sure what to do now.

Thanks

Darn, that's a setback.

First, check your motherboard. If it says Commodore 1986 and the silkscreening is yellow, you're unfortunately out of luck - that's the very early German/4-layer model, and no newer Agnus chip exists for that motherboard revision.

If it says B2000 and the silkscreening is white, you can follow the instructions I linked above, except you'll need to do the chip-replacement part, too. Fortunately, Vesalia has some 8372A Agnus chips in stock. Agnus is the square chip in the socket labeled "Fat Lady." Use a PLCC chip extractor - not the screwdriver method mentioned in the link above - to carefully remove the old chip (probably an 8370) and pop in the new one. The socket is very fragile, so use caution.