FPGA Replay Board

[SamuraiCrow]

Can these AROS 2x 512 kB ROMs be used on an Amiga 500 ?

No.  AROS 68k requires an '020 or better at this point.

[SamuraiCrow]

Guess FPGA-Arcade will be very handy now ..

Though an 68000 version would be useful for A500, Minimig, etc.. Just a compile option away?

Is there any free C compiler that runs under AmigaOS on 68k?

I doubt if it would help.  AROS has many macros that are based on the GCC compiler.  I doubt if you could run it on anything less than an '020 anyway.  Furthermore, considering that the quality of code generated by GCC is iffy at best on the 68k, you'd be better off hand-compiling on the flat 68k.

I hope someday to make an LLVM-based compiler for AROS.  I've even heard there is a college student writing a 68k backend for LLVM.  If he pulls that off we will be in much better shape for compilers.  LLVM is slightly lighter weight than GCC and the help is much more available on the LLVM mailing list for trying to make high-quality code.

[SamuraiCrow]

@freqmax

EZrec is one of the contributing programmers to the AROS 68k project.  I based my argument on some of the older postings he made to the AROS mailing list.  If he says it will work on a flat 68000, then it can.

[SamuraiCrow]

I have to ask though, if your running a 680x0 machine then what advantage does AROS give you over Amikit or ClassicWorkbench installation of a "real" workbench?

Amikit is running AfaOS.  That stands for AROS for Amigas.  It is a patchwork hybrid between AROS and Amiga's native kickstart image.

The main advantage is that you can legally make your own Kickstart with native drivers for all of the functionality of the Amiga-like machine you are using.  Also, it allows using a more up-to-date version of the GCC compiler since AROS 68k supports the ELF binary format as well as the Amiga HUNK binary format.  Hopefully, this means that the AROS version of Origyn Web Browser will run on RTG-equipped Amigas someday.

[SamuraiCrow]

So what is the status of the Natami project in short?

The main hardware designer, Thomas Hirsch, has left the project and nobody knows if he's planning to come back.  The remaining hardware designers have formed a splinter faction that is working on the Apollo N68070 core with hopes of it making some headway in the industry and releasing binaries of the core as freeware for hobbyists like ourselves.

Correction:  As Hattig pointed out in the next post, Thomas is still planning on coming out with the softcores for SuperAGA or whatever it ends up being called.  He didn't actually leave the team, he left the forum to have more time to work on it.

As for the blame, mainly the one to blame has taken on a big chunk of the project and is working on it anyway.  I haven't spoken to the hardware guys for a long time.  They've taken a lot of flak and don't deserve all of it.  (Some maybe, but not all.)

[SamuraiCrow]

I'm watching both projects with interest and am going to try to do my part by working on making better Amiga drivers for AROS 68k.  Specifically, I'm going to try to make the Copper support better than what AmigaOS ever had while still mapping it to equivalent other functionality on graphics cards.

Whether Thomas or MikeB comes out with a next-generation AGA core, either is fine with me.  I just hope we can standardize on some of it so we don't end up fragmenting the Amiga market any more than it is.

Note some corrections in my previous post.

[SamuraiCrow]

I know that the MMU was required on the '040 and '060 to be able to use DMA-based hard drive controllers.  I don't know if that even applies to the current Replay board designs.  I would think that an SD card adapter would be sufficient even with programmed I/O.

[SamuraiCrow]

@Wrath of Khan

I'd imagine a turns-based strategy game called "Total Chaos".

[SamuraiCrow]

Wonder what is the best modded-TG68, FPGA-Arcade68, or Natami050? or perhaps more importantly. Which ones that can be merged and make use of the benefits of its ancestors.

I thought the N050/N070 cores were started from scratch and didn't use the TG68 core.

[SamuraiCrow]

I'm lost on this thread, is this a FPGA Accelerator board being developed as a daughter board for classic OS?   can someone explain please.. ;-)

No.  It's not an accelerator board.  It's a new Amiga 1200 compatible computer with a few improvements and software upgradability through the use of an FPGA.  Also, it's a good sequel to the MiniMig computer.

[SamuraiCrow]

Re:HDMI vs. DVI

Full HDMI have more than just audio added into the standard.  DVI is unencrypted video while full HDMI is encrypted to disallow people from just recording lossless video onto a BluRay burner.  The licensing and associated circuitry for HDMI make it undesirable for hobby projects since they would never be able to successfully defray the costs of adding the encryption circuits as opposed to high-volume retailers which are more worried about the outputs being used to pirate video outputs.