Running QL Pawn on sQLux

[kronos]

Hi Everybody,

I am here in hope of getting some guidance with running QL-Pawn on sQLux. I must admit, that I have very few knowledge about the QL, so I am certainly doing something wrong in my configuration. So please bear with me in case of noob errors.

Cloned sQLux from the repo and compiled it on macos, this worked flawlessly. But I am having a hard time to get QL-Pawn running. I am using the QL Pawn files from https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/games/adve ... index.html

But unfortunately it seems I am not getting neither the floppy nor the mdv version to work. The closest thing I got was this config, which starts the game, but it doesn't accept keyboard input. Since keyboard otherwise works in sQLux, I guess it has to do with the game. BTW, I had no luck with the Minerva ROM, that is why I have used the JS rom.

Code: Select all

SYSROM = JS.rom
ROMIM = tk232.rom
RAMTOP = 4096
FAST_STARTUP = 1
DEVICE = FLP1,qlpawn.img,qdos-native
BOOT_DEVICE = FLP1
WIN_SIZE = max
FILTER = 0
FIXASPECT = 1
#DEVICE = MDV1,QLPawnBoot.mdv,qdos-fs
#DEVICE = MDV2,MDV/PAWN.MDV,qdos-fs
#DEVICE = WIN1,QLPAWN/

Do your perhaps see what I am doing wrong?

Many thanks for reading! Any help is appreciated.

Best,
Stefan

[desin]

Hello Stefan

here is a working sQLux enviroment

just make sure there isn't any .uqlxrc somewhere in your root

SQLUX.zip

(11.72 MiB) Downloaded 84 times

unpack the directory
copy your .sqlux binary into it or make the existing executable

hope it helps
Markus

[kronos]

Hi Markus,

many, many thanks for your kind help. Your package worked flawlessly!

I am specificially trying to get the original QL-Pawn to run in sQLux. Many years ago, I hacked together an online version of QL-Pawn running in QLAY running in an emscripten compiled dosbox (this is still available at https://msmemorial.if-legends.org/msa2/ ... lpawn.html). But this solution had some problems, most notably that it is not working on mobiles, so if I could get QL-Pawn to work in sQLux, I can try to build a new online version. Since sQLux is using SDL2, it is the perfect candidate. Unfortunately it seems, over all those years, I forgot al most completely what I did to get QL-Pawn running, especially I even lost the little knowledge that I had gathered about the QL.

So if anyone has some leads so get the original QL-Pawn running, that would be fantastic. Anyway, Markus, may thanks for your help!

Best,
Stefan

[desin]

glad it works
for a online version you can use the _QL emulator on top of the page
https://sqlux.qlforum.co.uk/
upload the MG.win file
refresh the page to start

hope it helps
Markus

[XorA]

Hi Everybody,

I am here in hope of getting some guidance with running QL-Pawn on sQLux. I must admit, that I have very few knowledge about the QL, so I am certainly doing something wrong in my configuration. So please bear with me in case of noob errors.

Cloned sQLux from the repo and compiled it on macos, this worked flawlessly. But I am having a hard time to get QL-Pawn running. I am using the QL Pawn files from https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/games/adve ... index.html

But unfortunately it seems I am not getting neither the floppy nor the mdv version to work. The closest thing I got was this config, which starts the game, but it doesn't accept keyboard input. Since keyboard otherwise works in sQLux, I guess it has to do with the game. BTW, I had no luck with the Minerva ROM, that is why I have used the JS rom.

Code: Select all

SYSROM = JS.rom
ROMIM = tk232.rom
RAMTOP = 4096
FAST_STARTUP = 1
DEVICE = FLP1,qlpawn.img,qdos-native
BOOT_DEVICE = FLP1
WIN_SIZE = max
FILTER = 0
FIXASPECT = 1
#DEVICE = MDV1,QLPawnBoot.mdv,qdos-fs
#DEVICE = MDV2,MDV/PAWN.MDV,qdos-fs
#DEVICE = WIN1,QLPAWN/

Do your perhaps see what I am doing wrong?

Many thanks for reading! Any help is appreciated.

Best,
Stefan

If you built a non versioned tag then they are not guaranteed to work. I know over last two days I am in the middle of a major re-org so stuff might be slightly broken. Checkout the last release and rebuild if your in that situation. git tag --list to show the releases!

[XorA]

Hi Everybody,

I am here in hope of getting some guidance with running QL-Pawn on sQLux. I must admit, that I have very few knowledge about the QL, so I am certainly doing something wrong in my configuration. So please bear with me in case of noob errors.

Cloned sQLux from the repo and compiled it on macos, this worked flawlessly. But I am having a hard time to get QL-Pawn running. I am using the QL Pawn files from https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/games/adve ... index.html

But unfortunately it seems I am not getting neither the floppy nor the mdv version to work. The closest thing I got was this config, which starts the game, but it doesn't accept keyboard input. Since keyboard otherwise works in sQLux, I guess it has to do with the game. BTW, I had no luck with the Minerva ROM, that is why I have used the JS rom.

Code: Select all

SYSROM = JS.rom
ROMIM = tk232.rom
RAMTOP = 4096
FAST_STARTUP = 1
DEVICE = FLP1,qlpawn.img,qdos-native
BOOT_DEVICE = FLP1
WIN_SIZE = max
FILTER = 0
FIXASPECT = 1
#DEVICE = MDV1,QLPawnBoot.mdv,qdos-fs
#DEVICE = MDV2,MDV/PAWN.MDV,qdos-fs
#DEVICE = WIN1,QLPAWN/

Do your perhaps see what I am doing wrong?

Many thanks for reading! Any help is appreciated.

Best,
Stefan

If you built a non versioned tag then they are not guaranteed to work. I know over last two days I am in the middle of a major re-org so stuff might be slightly broken. Checkout the last release and rebuild if your in that situation. git tag --list to show the releases!

Oh and sQLux does not emulate IPC, so if QLPawn (never played it) takes over IPC and does its own thing it will never get keyboard input!

[tofro]

It might be something very simple - like having to press <CTRL>-C to change keyboard input to the Pawn job.

[kronos]

Many thanks for all your help! It is highly appreciated!

The IPC... yes, that could be the reason. I have a faint memory telling that Magnetic Scrolls somehow handled the keyboard input on their own. This would explain why the game loads from the floppy image, but doesn't take any keyboard input.

So, after all, perhaps sQlux is not capable (yet) of running QL Pawn. Anyway, many thanks for your help and thanks for the great work on sQLux. It is always nice to see new emulation efforts. And who knows, maybe one day it will support the IPC

Best,
Stefan

[Martin_Head]

It says here https://qlwiki.qlforum.co.uk/doku.php?id=qlwiki:ql_pawn QL Pawn used it's own operating system. So it probably talks directly to the IPC

[XorA]

Many thanks for all your help! It is highly appreciated!

The IPC... yes, that could be the reason. I have a faint memory telling that Magnetic Scrolls somehow handled the keyboard input on their own. This would explain why the game loads from the floppy image, but doesn't take any keyboard input.

So, after all, perhaps sQlux is not capable (yet) of running QL Pawn. Anyway, many thanks for your help and thanks for the great work on sQLux. It is always nice to see new emulation efforts. And who knows, maybe one day it will support the IPC

My other emulator (not ready for primetime yet) does implement IPC thanks to the QLay2 source. So I might just import that to sQLux with an option!

(oh except GPLv2 and uqlx license are not compatible, hrmmmm)