Path: chuka.playstation.co.uk!scea!pro1-142.barrie.connex.net!user
From: skennedy@bconnex.net (Sean Kennedy)
Newsgroups: scea.yaroze.freetalk
Subject: Re: NTSC/PAL start-up convention?
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 21:54:09 -0500
Organization: Wooden Tulip Ltd.
Lines: 56
Message-ID: <skennedy-2209982154090001@pro1-142.barrie.connex.net>
References: <3607F5AA.60709B48@shell.jps.net> <36081880.C9DA4042@bigfoot.com> <3608263F.7A3DD087@shell.jps.net> <36083423.FEFAE3D9@bigfoot.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: pro1-142.barrie.connex.net

In article <36083423.FEFAE3D9@bigfoot.com>, Darco <darco@bigfoot.com> wrote:
> Elliott Lee wrote:
> > distribution to grey PSXs.  They don't have keyboards.

A Gamepad is very powerful.
Take WipeoutXL, a PAL based game that was developed in the UK.
The NTSC version used a partially modified build of the software.
in one os the setup screens you can adjust the screen map.
On the SCEE version this was not available. {MeThinks..?}

> Why would you want a video format switch in your game if
> it is going to be burned onto a black CD? 99% of the people who play it
> won't know it's there. (That is, unless you tell them)
> > Another option is something someone else mentioned (forgot the thread)
> > where you check the CD for the presence of a certain config file.  This
> > file only exists on the PAL systems, so if you don't find it you can
> > assume the system is NTSC.

A Gestalt function. Good programming ethic for PC based games, but for PSX
uneeded.

> Yeah, I've seen this too. But again you run into a problem... If your
> proggie is put on a CD in Europe, then unless sony puts a dummy file on
> the CD, your program will default to NTSC when it should run PAL. :(

Ick.

> I personally think that having 2 builds is the way to go, but others
> (including it seems yourself) think that this is toom much trouble. It
> does give the most freedom.
> 
> I got an idea. It'll require a tad of research... Hmmm... But if it
> works it'll satisfy all three of those requirements. If we can find the
> exact differences between a [NTSC | U/C] rom and a [PAL] PlayStation
> ROM, then we could write a simple function that could easily determine
> the native video format of the unit.
> 
> I just have a few questions before I start doing research... 
> Question for SCEA - Will this violate my lisense agreement? If it might,
> I am asking Sony for permission to do so. Or would such an investigation
> be futile -- Are the ROM's the same in both systems? 

This is a valid hardware question. But I'd bet that the ROMS are the same.
What would be different is the regionality block chip. It looks at a
timing parameter before the OS is loaded from the PSX-CDROM. I would
assume your first guess is what I would look at. Since GetVideoMode()
would return MODE_NTSC if the SetVideoMode() function wasn't called ahead
of time. 
 
> Question for SCEE Members - Does your playstation boot PAL or NTSC? I
> was thinking this might be possible because PAL TV's can view an NTSC
> signal, just in greyscale.
> 'Darco
If the file BOOT = cdrom:\DTL_S30.35;1 entry on the SYSTEM.CNF file is
different for SCEE members, then this may be doable for Yarozers only.
-sean