Being Spread Too Thin

It's come to my attention that I have way too many projects on the go. This post is going to summarize what needs to be done to each of them in a kind of semi-apology for why things you are waiting for might take a while...

It's also worth remembering I can only work on some of these projects in certain locations. DreamPi stuff must happen at home where I have a Dreamcast and a DreamPi set up. Electronics stuff needs to happen near electronics kit, SDL 2 needs a PC with a Dreamcast emulator, access to a Dreamcast and KallisitiOS which I only have at home. Most of my computer time happens on the train, so... yeah.

DreamPi

The DreamPi software image has been a huge success. pcwzrd13 of Dreamcast Live recently reported the most active online Dreamcast game session ever as a result of more people getting their Dreamcast connected. Even though the software works, here's a list of things that are still left to do:

• Better IP address allocation, what is there now is incredibly buggy
• Cutting down the image, and swapping the init system for systemd then writing a proper systemd service file
• Detecting modem hotplugging and handling it gracefully
• Hanging up and reconnecting every 5 minutes or so when generating the dial-tone to workaround the modem apparently going to sleep
• Speeding up the connection process by removing excess AT commands
• Upgrading the image to support the Pi 3
• Coming up with a way to easily configure Wifi dongles

 

Dreamcast Now 

Connected, but separate, Dreamcast Now has become a useful tool, here are the things I'd like to fix:

• Add more game domain hashes (e.g. Toy Racer)
• Add Dreamcast Live and Dreamcast-talk versions of the listing so that those sites can iframe them in

DC-Pheonix (DreamArena)

 

This is working amazingly well considering I hammered it out in a few hours. Still left to do though:

• Add Quake 3 PAL support
• Add a clone of the DreamArena registration site so users can register with DreamKey 1.0
• Database-backed user registration so that the entire process works as it did back in the day

Serial Connector / Link Cable 

I'd like to design and manufacture these, but this is on hold until I have some line voltage inducers made. The whole process for making a PCB is pretty time consuming so don't expect this stuff soon!

Line Voltage Adapters

I have 3 prototype PCBs. I need to manually hot-plate solder the components, and then 3D print cases for them. At that point I can decide whether I have the time to sell them and whether it's worth it. This can only be done when I'm at my work's electronics club which unfortunately I can only make occasionally. Don't expect these any time soon either :(

Also, I need to fix some bugs in Fritzing (the PCB software) to make these PCBs export correctly without me manually fixing up the Gerber export files.

Dreamcast SDL 2 Port

This is about 70% done. It needs testing and fixing. I'll get around to this when I start porting my game engine to the Dreamcast....

My Game Engine (KGLT)

This is the main project I really want to focus on. Here's what I intend to do:

• Improve rendering performance
• Fix Quake 2 BSP lightmap loading
• Add an OpenGL 1.x renderer for Dreamcast support
• Port to the Dreamcast
• Write a game for the Dreamcast

As you can see, I have a lot going on, and that's ignoring all the support requests / questions I get about the Dreampi and all the other things I'm helping individuals with. It also ignores the non-Dreamcast related stuff that I already have out there.

So, if you are waiting for something, I apologise, but all of my code is open source, I'd appreciate the help if you can contribute!