Could PicoCalc run XRoar?

[robcfg]

Hi, Ciaran!

I was looking at the PicoCalc (https://www.clockworkpi.com/product-page/picocalc) and the format strikes me as ideal for having a fully handheld Dragon emulator.

So, as the topic question asks, would it be possible to get a Pi Pico/W/2/2W run XRoar?

Cheers,
Rob

[sixxie]

I was looking at the PicoCalc (https://www.clockworkpi.com/product-page/picocalc) and the format strikes me as ideal for having a fully handheld Dragon emulator.

So, as the topic question asks, would it be possible to get a Pi Pico/W/2/2W run XRoar?

Way back in 2008, XRoar could run on a DS (1 x 66MHz + 1 x 33MHz ARM) or a GP32 with the single ARM CPU bumped to 100MHz and be basically full speed. Back then actual video data generation was bolted directly into the VDG code: on the GP32 it would render four lines at a time, on the DS it would render into sprites. But all the different approaches to video made that approach unmaintainable and the way the data moves around now needs somewhat more grunt.

So a dual-core 133MHz ARM? Big "maybe": you'd definitely want to be divvying up jobs between those two cores. I feel pretty confident in saying you wouldn't get very far just compiling the source as it stands (assuming there's an SDL port for the platform).

And of course with only 264K of RAM in the thing, it's only even vaguely plausible if you can run from flash. Even then you'd not be emulating any of the beefier machines

So an interesting project maybe - for someone. I got too many distractions already I'm afraid. If someone else wanted to try and needed pointers around how the code hangs together I'd have no problem helping out there though

I'd say going back to a really old version as a base would help, though I'd be much less help there as I've no idea how they work: the guy that wrote that stuff was an idiot.

[robcfg]

Thanks for your detailed answer!

I totally get your point, and it's a bit of a pity because the format of the PicoCalc is super nice.

Maybe it's worth waiting a bit and see if the community comes up with a way to use a beefier processor that would make things a bit easier.

Cheers,
Rob

P.S.:I also look at some of my old code and think "who's the idiot that wrote it!?"...

[sixxie]

I totally get your point, and it's a bit of a pity because the format of the PicoCalc is super nice.

Yeah looks nice. Like something from one of the great publishing corporations of Ursa Minor.

[robcfg]

Hehe! I got that reference!

[robcfg]

I'm watching a YouTube video where they change the Pi Pico for a LuckFox Lyra board that can run some flavour of Linux.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfEwjMz_41w

Maybe there's hope!