Please help =( <Solved>

Hallomann

Hello.

I bought the Hydra Console from my friend but the book and the cd is missing.
He doesn't know where it is.

The problem is, that I don't know spin or assambler, I only know c++,
so I can't write my own game.

Is there a good example to learn how to load graphics or create a game?
I want to create a Mario clone later.

More questions:
Can I download the BMP to Spin converter?
Does the propeller chip automatically load the game from the game card or must I load any driver?


Hope for help.

Cheers
Hallomann

Post Edited By Moderator (Paul Baker (Parallax)) : 3/21/2007 4:34:54 PM GMT

AndreL

Halloman,

I suggest you get your friend to "remember" where he put the book and CD to start with since you paid him for it [noparse]:)[/noparse] The book is over 800 pages and the CD contains all the source, demos, games, etc. to get you started. Until he figures out where the book is, you can get started with the propeller manual to learn SPIN. But, if you don't have the book or CD, how do you know about the BMP to spin converters?

To answer your questions, the hydra loads the image from the eeprom, so there is no driver required. Whatever your game code consists of are contained within the final binary image. So when you are programming, you might have a bunch of drivers, data, and your main program.

Finally, I can't speak for parallax, but Paul Baker is the tech support that watches this forum, they probably have extra book CDs lying around and might be able to send you one. Best thing to do is try and get your friend to find the book. I can't imagine how he could forget where he put such a large book. The cd is easy to replace, but the book of course we can't replace without charge.

Finally, the hydra and propeller demo board are the same in as much as the NTSC and VGA output ports, graphics demos should work without change. The only diff is that the hydra uses switched mouse/keyboard from the propeller demo if I recall, so if the pingroup on the prop demo board is 2 and 3 for mouse and key, just switch them to 3 and 2, or just plug the mouse in the keyboard, and keyboard in mouse. Also, the hydra uses the "isolated" mouse and keyboard drivers. Thus, you should be able to use the latest spin tool from this site, and load all of the basic graphics programs onto the hydra no problem, the only change maybe to the mouse and keyboard drivers, that's it. That should hold you over until you get the book/cd sorted out.

Andre'

Mike Green

Parallax sells the CD/Manual by itself for $70 which is a good price for what you get.

As Andre' mentioned, you can download the Propeller Tool from the Propeller page of the main Parallax website. It includes some demos which are written for the Propeller Demo Board, but are trivially changable to work with the Hydra. If you look on the Propeller Object Exchange web page, you'll see "Keyboard driver for both Hydra and Demo Board" which can be used in place of the default keyboard driver that comes with the Propeller Tool. This driver works with both the Hydra and the other Propeller products. You should be able to compile and run most of the demos that come with the Propeller Tool then just by changing the I/O pins used. The Hydra uses pins 24-27 for the TV output instead of pins 12-15. If you want to use the VGA output, the pin numbers are the same. If you use the "universal" keyboard driver from the Object Exchange, the pin number to use is 13 for the Hydra and 26 for the other Propeller boards.

Hallomann

I know the spin conveter from http://www.parallax.com/dl/docs/prod/prop/Hydra-Ch22Sample-v1.0.pdf
Ok I tell my friend that he should search it.

Do you think I can learn it only with the cd, if my friend doesn't find it?
Because temporary I dont have $69.95 for a new one.


Hallomann

AndreL

Ah, well, the source is there, but you need the book to get the most out of it. As far as propeller programming, the spin manual is fine. But, the graphics programming, and of course game programming, you really need the book to get the most out of it, that's why I wrote it to cover all the hard stuff. If you're a computer genius and like mystery novels and I am sure you can look thru the source and figure things out. But, I am not a person that like to read source. I doubt I have ever looked at the source in a book, I am more interested in the English descriptions and algorithms for things, then I will write my own source. So that's the value in the book, it has a lot of explanation and examples.

So I suggest work on your friend, in the meantime with the CD, the propeller manual, and the sample chapters you should be able to get somewhere.

Andre'

Paul Baker

We have a damaged copy of the book that we can't sell, the bottom of the book got crunched about 1/2 inch in. All the pages are still there and readable, if you are interested in it and a copy of the CD, send me your name and address in a PM and I'll get it sent to you.

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Paul Baker
Propeller Applications Engineer

Parallax, Inc.

Hallomann

@Paul Baker:
That would be great. The only problem is, that I live in germany.
Is it a problem for you?
I can send you the >>shipping charges <<< (dont know the exact word for it) if you want


@Andre':
ok, thank you

Post Edited (Hallomann) : 3/16/2007 5:20:47 AM GMT

Paul Baker

Your book and CD are now in the mail.

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Paul Baker
Propeller Applications Engineer

Parallax, Inc.

Hallomann

Thank you very much