Akiko

[Speelgoedmannetje]

With all that new stuff for Amiga, like Pegasos and 3d videocards, what actually happened with the chip Akiko (for the chunky->planar) used in the CD32

[Karlos]

Nothing as far as I know. Only the CD32 has the chip which can do the c2p at copy speed (ie as fast as the chip ram bandwidth allows). A68040 can do it as fast, if not faster.

[downix]

@Karlos

While yse the 68040 can do it (at 25Mhz at about the same speed) You'd be sacrificing a *lot* of CPU power to do it.  Even in an 060, you'd loose 10-15% of your CPU to do this task.

The point of the Amiga chipset was not to be faster than the CPU could be, it was to take the workload off of the CPU so it could be used for more beneficial tasks, like AI and game logic.

[Lo]

[Jose]

Silly question, does anyone know how the chip is integrated in the mobo and if it would be easy to get it on an A1200?!
 :-o

[the_leander]

iirc C= actually built a cd player for the A1200 that was very oddly set up, came as a trapdoor expantion along with a pcmcia cd rom, and the trapdoor card actually had the akiko chip on board, so we know that it can be done at least.

All you need now is a dead cd32 with a still ok akiko chip on it, a very fine soldering iron, a steady hand, and a custom trapdoor expantion to fit it on.

[Radfoo]

All you need now is a dead cd32 with a still ok akiko chip on it, a very fine soldering iron, a steady hand, and a custom trapdoor expantion to fit it on.

Or you could get an SX32 PRO expansion for a CD32, only an 030 though.

Talking of an SX32 PRO, anyone want to sell me one? (please) :-)  :-)  :-)

[Jose]

You mean THIS
and THIS

VERY cool!!
We got to get that chip on the A1200!

[bloodline]

Jose wrote:
You mean THIS
and THIS

VERY cool!!
We got to get that chip on the A1200!

I'm surprised no one ever made an Akiko compatible card for the Clockport... ;-)


-Edit- Actually I'm surprised I never thought of it before  :-o

[chris]

Hmm... you might also need to patch the Kickstart ROM (graphics.library).  WriteChunkyPixels() uses Akiko on the CD32, but not on the A1200.  The question is, does it detect the presence of Akiko and use the appropriate routine, or is it hard coded depending on the version of graphics.library in the ROM?

Chris

[bloodline]

chris wrote:
Hmm... you might also need to patch the Kickstart ROM (graphics.library).  WriteChunkyPixels() uses Akiko on the CD32, but not on the A1200.  The question is, does it detect the presence of Akiko and use the appropriate routine, or is it hard coded depending on the version of graphics.library in the ROM?

Chris

I assumed that one would program it the "old way" by using it's hardware regs. But that said, I've never seen any technical documents for it, and I don't know how the software Akiko Emulation worked on the Squiriel drives

[Radfoo]

I don't know how the software Akiko Emulation worked on the Squiriel drives

I do not think any emulation was used. Games would have there own workaround or it would fail.

Apparently not many games used Akiko, so it is not a big problem. Shame though, it is supposed to be quite good :-(

[bloodline]

Radfoo wrote:

I don't know how the software Akiko Emulation worked on the Squiriel drives

I do not think any emulation was used. Games would have there own workaround or it would fail.

Apparently not many games used Akiko, so it is not a big problem. Shame though, it is supposed to be quite good :-(

The Manufactured claimed there was Emulation.

[StevenJGore]

Apparently not many games used Akiko, so it is not a big problem. Shame though, it is supposed to be quite good

Microcosm is the only game that used the Akiko chip. I've heard people say that Wing Commander (CD32 edition) used the Akiko chip too, but I've never been able to verify it (I've only ever heard it mentioned in recent forums, I never read it in an Amiga magazine at the time).

Don't forget, the Akiko chip isn't just about chunky to planar conversions. It also handles some functions of the twin-speed CD-ROM drive.

[Radfoo]

The Manufactured claimed there was Emulation.

I think they only meant general CD32 emu on an A1200, I could be wrong though.