GDEMU FW 5.20.5

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leadbeter142
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GDEMU FW 5.20.5

Post#1 » Sun Mar 19, 2023 5:21 pm

I'm on GDEMU 5.15. Is it recommended that I update to the latest firmware 5.20.5? The FW file won't download for me from the official Wordpress site, but I'm not convinced that a FW update from 5.15 will offer any benefit.

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fraggle200
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Re: GDEMU FW 5.20.5

Post#2 » Mon Mar 20, 2023 5:02 am

as far as I know, it's mostly for Skies of Arcadia and RE:Code Veronica compatibility. I've not got a GDEMU so have never needed to worry about it.

SoA you can just hammer the start button to get through the intro FMV and it'll run OK after that. As for RE:CV, YZB patched it to get around the bug so no need to worry about that either. I'm sure there's a thread in here somewhere for it but this one was easier to get to ( https://cdromance.com/dc-iso/resident-e ... onica-usa/ )

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ateam
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Re: GDEMU FW 5.20.5

Post#3 » Mon Mar 20, 2023 11:26 am

fraggle200 wrote:as far as I know, it's mostly for Skies of Arcadia and RE:Code Veronica compatibility. I've not got a GDEMU so have never needed to worry about it.

SoA you can just hammer the start button to get through the intro FMV and it'll run OK after that. As for RE:CV, YZB patched it to get around the bug so no need to worry about that either. I'm sure there's a thread in here somewhere for it but this one was easier to get to ( https://cdromance.com/dc-iso/resident-e ... onica-usa/ )


No. Firmware v5.20.0 was to address "Skies of Arcadia" and "Resident Evil: Code Veronica".

The new 5.20.5 firmware adds optimal timings for "Nakoruru: The Gift She Gave Me", as well as "Sakura Wars: Columns 2". These are two titles I've translated (the former still being WIP), which I noticed benefit from reducing data-read speed to mimic original GD-ROM drive. I shared this data with Deunan, and he added them to this new update.

Furthermore, this new firmware release also does better detection for the games on that hardcoded optimal timings list. Rather than just using the volume label (i.e., the game name), it also looks at the volume ID as to match things like hacks and translations where the label may change.

Regarding problems downloading the update, I'm not sure if there was some downtime when OP tried accessing it, but the direct link to FW v5.20.5 on the GDEMU website is working for me at the time of writing this post: https://www.sendspace.com/file/xsb2qq

Important disclaimer OP, if you're using a clone GDEMU, you cannot update firmware (unless it's the newer 5.20.x clones).
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fraggle200
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Re: GDEMU FW 5.20.5

Post#4 » Tue Mar 21, 2023 5:11 am

ateam wrote:
fraggle200 wrote:as far as I know, it's mostly for Skies of Arcadia and RE:Code Veronica compatibility. I've not got a GDEMU so have never needed to worry about it.

SoA you can just hammer the start button to get through the intro FMV and it'll run OK after that. As for RE:CV, YZB patched it to get around the bug so no need to worry about that either. I'm sure there's a thread in here somewhere for it but this one was easier to get to ( https://cdromance.com/dc-iso/resident-e ... onica-usa/ )


No. Firmware v5.20.0 was to address "Skies of Arcadia" and "Resident Evil: Code Veronica".

The new 5.20.5 firmware adds optimal timings for "Nakoruru: The Gift She Gave Me", as well as "Sakura Wars: Columns 2". These are two titles I've translated (the former still being WIP), which I noticed benefit from reducing data-read speed to mimic original GD-ROM drive. I shared this data with Deunan, and he added them to this new update.

Furthermore, this new firmware release also does better detection for the games on that hardcoded optimal timings list. Rather than just using the volume label (i.e., the game name), it also looks at the volume ID as to match things like hacks and translations where the label may change.


well, every day's a schoolday. as I mentioned I don't have a GDEMU so it's never been a worry for me. Regular updates must be nice on an ODE. can't rem the last time there was a FW update for the MODE.

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ateam
Heroine Console
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Re: GDEMU FW 5.20.5

Post#5 » Tue Mar 21, 2023 4:36 pm

fraggle200 wrote:well, every day's a schoolday. as I mentioned I don't have a GDEMU so it's never been a worry for me. Regular updates must be nice on an ODE. can't rem the last time there was a FW update for the MODE.


We all learn something new every day! In fairness, MODE's config file option mitigates the need for FW updates that add optimal hardcoded timings. For example, in either Nakoruru or SWCols2, you can place a mode.cfg file inside the game folder with the following contents:

Code: Select all

Flags=8
BlockDelay=4


This effectively limits the data-read speeds to mimic a GD-ROM drive and disc. That said, there are a few outstanding issues on MODE (for both DC and Saturn), but thankfully they're very minimal.
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ItalianGrandma
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Re: GDEMU FW 5.20.5

Post#6 » Tue Mar 28, 2023 8:53 am

ateam wrote:
fraggle200 wrote:as far as I know, it's mostly for Skies of Arcadia and RE:Code Veronica compatibility. I've not got a GDEMU so have never needed to worry about it.

SoA you can just hammer the start button to get through the intro FMV and it'll run OK after that. As for RE:CV, YZB patched it to get around the bug so no need to worry about that either. I'm sure there's a thread in here somewhere for it but this one was easier to get to ( https://cdromance.com/dc-iso/resident-e ... onica-usa/ )


No. Firmware v5.20.0 was to address "Skies of Arcadia" and "Resident Evil: Code Veronica".

The new 5.20.5 firmware adds optimal timings for "Nakoruru: The Gift She Gave Me", as well as "Sakura Wars: Columns 2". These are two titles I've translated (the former still being WIP), which I noticed benefit from reducing data-read speed to mimic original GD-ROM drive. I shared this data with Deunan, and he added them to this new update.

Furthermore, this new firmware release also does better detection for the games on that hardcoded optimal timings list. Rather than just using the volume label (i.e., the game name), it also looks at the volume ID as to match things like hacks and translations where the label may change.

Regarding problems downloading the update, I'm not sure if there was some downtime when OP tried accessing it, but the direct link to FW v5.20.5 on the GDEMU website is working for me at the time of writing this post: https://www.sendspace.com/file/xsb2qq

Important disclaimer OP, if you're using a clone GDEMU, you cannot update firmware (unless it's the newer 5.20.x clones).


I actually just purchased a clone yesterday that's 5.20 and I also saw that they are supposedly updateable.

That said, I saw a video from ModzvilleUSA that suggested that the update process is different than a genuine GDEmu and for the life of me I can't find any instructions anywhere that walk through the steps of updating these newer clones.

By any chance, have you seen instructions for this around anywhere? Perhaps it's somewhere in this forum?

My apologies for the question, I'm brand new here :)

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ateam
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Re: GDEMU FW 5.20.5

Post#7 » Tue Mar 28, 2023 9:29 am

ItalianGrandma wrote:I actually just purchased a clone yesterday that's 5.20 and I also saw that they are supposedly updateable.

That said, I saw a video from ModzvilleUSA that suggested that the update process is different than a genuine GDEmu and for the life of me I can't find any instructions anywhere that walk through the steps of updating these newer clones.

By any chance, have you seen instructions for this around anywhere? Perhaps it's somewhere in this forum?

My apologies for the question, I'm brand new here :)


Non c'è problema, nonna =)

I'm actually not sure if Modzville was correct in stating the update process is different. He was just citing what the clone seller told him. I cannot verify one way or the other.

In hopes that it helps you, attached here is a ZIP containing info those same clone sellers provided to a friend of mine, which he organized/rewrote for better English.

Clone_GDEMU_v5.20_Update_Guide_By_RazorX.7z

As you can see from his READMEs, the firmware files given to him were identical to those hosted by deunan himself. The only real difference from that README to what deunan has on his site is that the "pre-update" firmware seems to be required every time you want to update these new 5.20.x clones, whereas with the authentic GDEMUs, it was only a requirement for older devices (prior to 2020) on a pre-5.20.x firmware.

Take a look at the official firmware update page (https://gdemu.wordpress.com/firmware/updating-gdemu/):

Image

#2 describes the typical update process. The steps from #1 are, as I mentioned above, only used when using an authentic GDEMU shipped prior to 2020 while also going from pre-5.20.x firmware to newer 5.20+ firmware.

So, do the 5.20.x clones require this "pre-update" step every time? Well, the manufacturer seems to suggest that they do. However, I haven't heard of a single person actually trying to perform an update on their new clone, so I couldn't say. The only thing I can say for sure is that the special "updater FW" from #1 in that screenshot is identical to the pre-updater supplied by the clone manufacturer.

All of this said, I don't see how performing the pre-update steps from #1 could hurt anything. If it's a requirement on these new clones, then it'll check that box. If it's not, I'm pretty certain no harm can be done. I realize that probably isn't a strong hunch that you'd ideally want to gamble $150 or so on, but it's the best information I have!
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ItalianGrandma
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Re: GDEMU FW 5.20.5

Post#8 » Tue Mar 28, 2023 12:46 pm

Thank you for the explanation @ateam! Chances are that I don't need to update any time soon, but I'll definitely save this info for the future.

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ateam
Heroine Console
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Re: GDEMU FW 5.20.5

Post#9 » Wed Mar 29, 2023 1:58 pm

ItalianGrandma wrote:Thank you for the explanation @ateam! Chances are that I don't need to update any time soon, but I'll definitely save this info for the future.


You're welcome!

Only notable advantages to the 5.20.5 upgrade are as follows:

• Hardcoded optimal timings added for "Sakura Wars: Columns 2" (Hanagumi Taisen Columns 2) and "Nakoruru: The Gift She Gave Me" (Nakoruru: Anohito Kara no Okurimono). These are both games that I've developed translation patches for (the latter of the two still awaiting release in a month or two), and as such I reported to Deunan that both benefit from limiting data-read speeds to more closely mimic original GD-ROM.

• Method for identifying games which benefit from optimal timings has been altered to look for volume ID and label, thus ensuring said timings are still imposed even if, for example, an English translation patch changes the label in IP.BIN from "Hanagumi Taisen Columns 2" to "Sakura Wars: Columns 2".

NOTE: There may be other changes that I'm not aware of.
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fanhais
shadow
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Re: GDEMU FW 5.20.5

Post#10 » Wed Mar 29, 2023 6:25 pm

this clone update can be used on older GDEMU Clones ? on 5.14 gdemu

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