This repository provides two utilities for the TI-99/4a core which is part of the MiSTer FPGA project.
Currently the TI core requires loading roms in the correct order which is a tedious process. The Python program createImage.py takes care of this job. It checks the respective C, D and G roms for availability and packs them into a single memory image (aka “full rom”) file with the necessary padding applied. The utility works with the latest version of the TI core (Ti994a.rbf) and Python (Python 3.6 or newer).
While this is fast and easy for testing a small number of rom files, converting a larger number (or even hundreds) of files is still a lengthy task. Here the program convertArchive.py comes in handy. It takes a whole directory of rom files and batch converts them into memory images. To be processed correctly the file names have to comply with one of the specific formats used in the rom archives available (e.g. Timrad or Tosec).
Usage of createImage is quite simple: Specify the OutputFile and the optional Crom, Drom and Grom parameter. Support for disk I/O is enabled with -d, for speech with -s. More verbose messages are generated with -v, MD5 checksums are generated with -c and help is available with -h. See the section Tests for examples.
The easiest way to start is with an empty image. Besides the python utilities in this repository you’ll need two files (“994AGROM.BIN” and “994AROM.BIN”) containing the TI-99/4a firmware. These files are not open-sourced but some people provide them for download. Just google - but make sure to get the right versions:
994AROM.BIN, MD5 Checksum: 6cc4bc2b6b3b0c33698e6a03759a4cab
994AGROM.BIN, MD5 Checksum: ed8ff714542ba850bdec686840a79217To use disk I/O or the speech synthesizer additional rom files are needed:
Disk.Bin, MD5 Checksum: 3169cfe66687d5b9ed45a69da5a12817
Spchrom.bin, MD5 Checksum: 7adcaf64272248f7a7161cfc02fd5b3f Note the correct case of the file names.
Once createImage is set up correctly, convertArchive can be used to convert a full directory of C, D and G roms. The necessary parameters are almost the same except for imagePath, the directory where the memory image files are created. This defaults to romPath but it’s a good idea to create a directory upfront to store the newly created files in. The scheme used in the archive for naming the files can be specified with the -n option. The following schemes are currently supported:
| Scheme | Input File Name | Cartridge Name |
|---|---|---|
| None | Ant-eater.C | Ant-eater |
| Standard | A-Maze-Ing (1980)(Texas Instruments)[PHM 3030].G | A-Maze-Ing |
| Timrad | TunDoomG.Bin | TunDoom |
| Tosec | Parsec (1982)(Texas Instruments)(File 1 of 2)(Parsecc).bin | Parsec |
An output listing can be generated with -l output.txt. The process to convert several hundred files usually takes less than a second.
So a sample usage would be
convertArchive.py --systemromPath sysRom --romPath romArchive --imagePath images -v The script was successfully tested with the following roms:
| Cartridge Name | Command |
|---|---|
| Standard, no Cartridge | createImage.py -v defaultRom.bin |
| Diagnostic Tests | createImage.py -v –Grom=DiagnosG.Bin diagnosticTests.bin |
| Extended Basic | createImage.py -v –Crom=TIEXTC.BIN –Drom=TIEXTD.BIN –Grom=TIEXTG.BIN extendedBasic.bin |
| TI Logo II | createImage.py -v –Crom=LOGOC.BIN –Grom=LOGOG.BIN Logo.bin |
| Hunt the Wumpus | createImage.py -v –Grom=WUMPUSG.BIN HuntTheWumpus.bin |
| Parsec | createImage.py -v –Crom=PARSECC.BIN –Grom=PARSECG.BIN Parsec.bin |
| Tunnels of Doom | createImage.py -v –Grom=TunDoomG.Bin TunnelsOfDoom.bin |
| Fathom | createImage.py -v –Crom=FATHOMC.BIN –Drom=FATHOMD.BIN –Grom=FATHOMG.BIN Fathom.bin |
| Mini Memory | createImage.py -v –Crom=MiniMemC.Bin –Grom=MiniMemG.Bin MiniMemory.bin |
| Home Finance | createImage.py -v –Grom=HomFDecG.Bin HomeFinance.bin |
| Hustle | createImage.py -v –Grom=HustleG.Bin Hustle.bin |
| TI-Editor-Assembler | createImage.py -v –Grom=TIEAG.BIN TI-Editor-Assembler.bin |
| A-Maze-ing | createImage.py -v –Grom=AMAZEG.BIN a-maze-ing.bin |
To make debugging easier I’ve also added MD5 checksums for all input and the output file. The checksums are enabled with -c (which also enables -v to make any sense).
Currently there is support for DiskIO and for Speech - but only in theory, i.e. it is completely untested since the TI-99 core doesn’t support it yet (as of May 2021).
- 20.05.2021 Version 2.2 Converted to pathlib, refactoring
- 16.10.2019 Version 2.1 Support for different naming schemes and simulation
- 30.09.2019 Version 2.0 Enabled disk I/O and speech support
- 26.09.2019 Version 1.95 Standard file names and experimental diskIO support
- 25.09.2019 Version 1.9 Generate listing of cartridges (txt and csv format)
- 25.09.2019 Version 1.85 Removed ‘holeX’ files, more verbose output
- 24.09.2019 Version 1.8 Byte precise padding, more flexible naming scheme for input files
- 07.08.2019 Version 1.7 Removed Python 2 support due to end-of-life
- 27.07.2018 Version 1.6 Code refactoring: Allow use as a library
- 25.07.2018 Version 1.5 Support for romPath, systemromPath and MD5 checksums
- 21.07.2018 Version 1.1 Added Python 2 Support and Updated ROM List