jestermax Member Posts: 1064 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: 06-21-2006 |
Hey now, does anyone know anything about MINIX 3? i've decided to take another wack at one of my older projects (basically creating a basic OS to use as a gaming console). someone suggested that strip down a version of linux but i dunno... and writing an OS from scratch could take a great deal of time as well (thats not out of the question so if you have comments on that i'll take it as well  ). I was thinking about modifying the source code for Minix 3 to accomplish my goals though |
samw3 Member Posts: 542 From: Toccoa, GA, USA Registered: 08-15-2006 |
do you mean a custom game console? Or a game console emulator. (i.e. play all your old nes and sega games) Also, if you want to more than just 2D, you will need hardware drivers. Linux is more complete in this arena than minix. ------------------ [This message has been edited by samw3 (edited February 15, 2007).] |
Lazarus Member Posts: 1668 From: USA Registered: 06-06-2006 |
Well, if you want to go the "write an OS from scratch" route, good luck and I'll see you in about 20 years... Probably better to go with a stripped down Linux, imo. |
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samw3 Member Posts: 542 From: Toccoa, GA, USA Registered: 08-15-2006 |
Actually, writing an operating system can be simple sometimes. It all depends on what you want it to do. I would speculate that 90% of the work currently done in Linux is on drivers and interfacing the hardware and not the actual O/S parts (Program loading, memory allocation, multi-tasking). Also, if you are into old school games. Check out Hydra from www.parallax.com. Its based upon their revolutionary propeller cpu. Its pretty cool from a microcontroller stand-point. ------------------ [This message has been edited by samw3 (edited February 15, 2007).] |
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jestermax Member Posts: 1064 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: 06-21-2006 |
i'm looking to create a custom console, not an emulator. and yeah, all i'd want is 2D capabilities. it would be simple plug and play like the classic consoles (put in a game, power on, etc). i think for input i'd support the keyboard and maybe a joystick/gamepad; no mouse. this isn't meant to be a marketable product; i want to learn from it and have something to show for it. even if i end up and an atari clone i'll be happy with it . EDIT: and btw, i have looked at microcontroller systems like hyrda (i think i looked at another product that was similar) [This message has been edited by jestermax (edited February 15, 2007).] |
CPUFreak91 Member Posts: 2337 From: Registered: 02-01-2005 |
quote: Have you looked at the GP2x for any ideas? It can do basic 2D games, and since it runs Linux it could also do 3D games. ------------------ |
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jestermax Member Posts: 1064 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: 06-21-2006 |
GP2X is interesting but it's expensive and it kind of defeats the purpose of the idea of making a game console. i'm not really interested in developing for a handheld platform (i could do GBA or PSP if i really wanted to). what i want to make is something that i can eventually scale down to maybe something like a laptop with no screen that plugs into a monitor or tv. for game media i'd use a floppy disk, USB or even an SD card. it's not really a hardcore-active project of mine. but eventually i want to make it because i can. |
goop2 Member Posts: 1059 From: Registered: 06-30-2004 |
I would start by dragging that old PC out of the basement and attempting to write an OS for it. After that try and make it smaller somehow, and remove the monitor outlet. In the end you should have a PC with video and stereo output, and USB input. Then go from there =D ------------------ |
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CPUFreak91 Member Posts: 2337 From: Registered: 02-01-2005 |
quote: I kinda ment taking a look at the GP2X's source code. I like the laptop/sd chip idea. ------------------ |
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jestermax Member Posts: 1064 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: 06-21-2006 |
yeah, that was my plan. my gf's dad gave me 2 P3 desktops a while ago. one of them is ok and i have windows 2k on it (i use it to compose music) and the other is unstable for some reason and has a bunch of problems (one of them being the junk Intel sound card that doesn't play sound properly). so i was planning on using the second one, although i DO have a Pentium box somewhere and also an old Tandy . But anyways, i have a copy of Suse on the machine i want to use so i could probably write something and use the grub bootloader on it somehow for starters. but really i don't know much about this sort of thing |
spade89 Member Posts: 561 From: houston,tx Registered: 11-28-2006 |
i dunno much about game systems but http://www.planetsourcecode.com has some articles that maybe real "not-bad" on making your own os's. ------------------ |
D-SIPL Moderator Posts: 1345 From: Maesteg, Wales Registered: 07-21-2001 |
quote: I have the "Operating System Design and Implementation" by Tenanbaum. It's pretty good. I did some mods to it (adding cd-rom support) and stuff. Minix 3 actually has X now incidentally. ------------------ |
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jestermax Member Posts: 1064 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: 06-21-2006 |
minix 3 does indeed have x but they're looking to add gui stuff if they can make it lightweight enough. anyways, all this talk inspired me to dust off my OS design books, one of which was written by Tenanbaum (the one with the circus on the cover ). oh yeah, cool story: i know a guy who met Tenanbaum at his university and got a cd of minix 3 from him . that's niftyEdit: i got a copy of the 2.4 kernel source code. this thing is awesome [This message has been edited by jestermax (edited February 16, 2007).] |
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goop2 Member Posts: 1059 From: Registered: 06-30-2004 |
I would love to learn a bit about OS programming, but that requires time, which I usually spend.. well.. wasting it. ------------------ |
. i wish i had more time to read through it all