@Enribar: The OCM "only" supports the MegaSCSI interface but no FDC controller. I hope I will have a MegaSCSI driver ASAP, otherwise SymbOS won't make much fun on the OCM yet, as you won't be able to load anything after the system has been booted. But that's just a question of time.

Hi! Which is resolution of the image displayed via VGA connection? Is it 1024x768, 1280x1024...? I want to know that in case of connecting the OCM to a computer monitor. Thanks!

tying to return to the original subject:

I think it should be compatible with a fancy Turbo-R with cool add-on hardware. I think more like GBA than like a fancy PC

My MSX3:
compatible with turboR-GT, 4MB RAM, 1 MB VRAM (ram-drive), SCC+, moonsound, gfx9000, romloader, diskloader, GB-emu, GBA-emu, (programmable though) network, switchable speed 1.5 Mhz- xxx Mhz, 3.5" floppy (for loading the old stuff)
All stereo-sound off course!

Dunno about the tR stuff tho. Perhaps it's more efficient to boost the Z80's speed instead of implementing the R800 with all its quirks. The rest of that list won't fit all together. I think it's the most efficient to make new 'hardware' without some of the weird artifacts we have now. Just take a look at the current FM-Pac VHDL, it's about 20++% orso. And that's 18 operators (9x2), the Moonsound has twice the amount of operators *and* 24 sample channels @ 44khz/16bit. A 100% correct Moonsound would be more than 50% of all the gates I think.

The 1MB VRAM effort is a waste of troubles I think, nothing supports it right now, and for new productions it'd be far more efficient to use shared RAM for video-output. This will save us the boringly slow VDP uploading. Perhaps the Z80 code can be tweaked so it can access more than 64KB mem?

only using mempappers

well, without mappers I mean. Maybe add a 32bit register or sumf?

maybe the msx3 would have to be an OCM with more programmable gates than we have now!

I am just thinking out of the box here. Should an MSX3 be a sequel to msx2(+) or to msx-turbo-R? Should an OCM be a msx2(+) with add-ons or a msx3?

I know not many sw will use the VRAM above 128kb, but I've seen HW mods that had VRAM added to load other things. I thought adding it there might not affect the "normal" config, but might be a safe place to store and swap data (iirc some games store data in unused Vram). Thus some sort of RAMdrive.
(in OCM we seem to use a lot less than the 32MB available in the HW, so let's find some use for it!)

MSX is a dead standard, no point to improve it (I mean why spending time in changing the standard if you can get a PS3 if you want something better?)

IMHO the sole aim of OCM should be accurate emulation of the existing (past) HW.
I would start from this, that is a quite hard task.
Eventually, the development of new add-on, (new memmappers, new GPX or sound chips)
should be considered always in the rules of the MSX "standard", i.e. like independent devices
that could be develpoped as independent objects and plugged in a real MSX

Then you're cancelling out certain pieces o' software. Software that requires advram and such. As long as this runs on a 1mhz computer I'm *not* going to accept (for myself at least) that the OCM should stay like real MSX'es, e.g. the video bit not being directly adressable. This really was the major bottleneck in the whole MSX history.

You know what I like or wish? a driver, so I can use a wireless keyboard

Ada, AFAIK it's 640×480.

Quote:

Just take a look at the current FM-Pac VHDL, it's about 20++% orso. And that's 18 operators (9x2),

If that swiss cheese I call my brain isn't deceiving me, it's actually just one operator that gets time-shared between 18 slots to get 9 channels. Which only makes things worse, since the OPL4 really has 24 waves for the wave part and 36 operators for the FM part... A simple calculation could lead to believe that OPL4 emulation would hence take about 280% of the available gates

It's so cool to see that almost everyone wants the "new" MSX to be just an impaired PC. Sad but true.

I would say:

- Plenty of RAM
- No 5th / 8th sprite limitation
- SCC/FM built in

That should be enough.

Add a bit, color of sprites associated to sprite patterns instead of beeing part of the SAT

@pitpan: well besides that.. some more cpu power would be nice too