Re: [Rpcemu] Attempting to install ADFFS on RPCEmu using Mac 0.9.3a build

Dear Richard,

Many thanks for this.

 

That information on the JASPP site is extremely specific to the Pi and RISC OS 5.  It's the easiest way to get the old games working.  ADFFS (the key compatibility software behind JASPP) actually works on original Archimedes hardware, Risc PC hardware, and the more modern RISC OS platforms such as the Pi (covering RISC OS 3.1, 3.[5/6/7], 4.0 and 5).

!Boot.Loader is specific to the RISC OS 5 Pi distribution, so you won't find it on a real Risc PC or RPCEmu (remember, RPCEmu emulates a real Risc PC).

Apologies for my inexperience here! Because !Boot.Loader existed on the EasyBundle files I assumed that it was being used and was necessary.

 

You could try running ADFFS on RISC OS 3.7 within RPCEmu (I'm not sure if RISC OS 5 running on a Risc PC would be a supported configuration).  However, some time ago, it was reported that RPCEmu could not run ADFFS - this may be fixed in later versions of RPCEmu.

I've tried installing ADFFS on the RISC OS 3.7 and 5 EasyBundles via PackMan and have had problems on both. 

On RISC OS 5 I can install ADFFS and it can be loaded. I can also install games from JASPP via PackMan, but they are not playable, freezing on load or on the splash screen.

On RISC OS 3.7 I can install ADFFS via PackMan but ADFFS cannot be loaded. I get the message "Application may have gone wrong. Click Continue to try to resume or Quit to stop Application." Clicking Details gives "Internal error: abort on data transfer at &0226C9B4".

I'm not familiar enough with RISC OS to have an idea how to solve this I'm afraid.

Another option is to use Arculator, which emulates an Archimedes-class machine, so you can run RISC OS 2 or 3.1 as necessary.  ADFFS could still be helpful here for compatibility, but you might find the games work without it.  Last time I checked, though, there was no macOS build of Arculator.  I did have some success getting it working under Wine, but that was a couple of years ago.

It looks like someone played with this a couple of years ago. 

https://bitbucket.org/myelin/arculator/src/for_upstream/

A Pi is the easiest way.  :)

Probably true! I'm not sure I'm able to pursue that at the moment, or Arculator.

It's a shame things don't work on RPCEmu - this would be a nice solution, and getting RISC OS going was a matter of moments. I was very impressed with how straightforward it was.

Many thanks and best wishes,

Luke