Chui's Interview

(yeah I know I didn't do a gfx banner but I don't have my gfx programs installed atm so it'll have to wait for a little while)

Chui has websites here (DC) and here (SDL-GP32).


Hooka: When did you get your GP32?

Chui: In spring-2003.

Hooka: What made you decide to get one?

Chui: For playing emulators and it's open source SDK.

Hooka: Was porting SDL to GP32 your first GP32 project?

Chui: Yes, I began coding SDL-GP32 without having a GP32 console, using GeePee32 emulator.

SDL-GP32 Icon

Hooka: Lapolla was written by you, it's not a port correct? What made you decide to write a MIDI/MOD/XM/S3M/IT player?

Chui: No, Lapolla was only a simple example of SDL_mixer for knowing if a song sounds ok and spends a lot of CPU.

Hooka: Did you also write ELCONHIO from scratch?

Chui: Same as Lapolla, Elconhio was a little example of SDL_image to see if a picture was displayed correctly.

Hooka: Are you still also working on SDL-TinyGL?

Chui: For now, SDL-TinyGL is a dead project, I couldn't run OpenGL examples at a decent speed and using fixed point didn't work. Maybe I will begin to adapt Klimt to SDL-GP32 using fixed point sometime soon.   

Hooka: Did you ever think of integrating some of the idea's from GPAdvanced into VBA32 or vice-versa? or recompiling VBA32 with your new SDL port?

Chui: No, I think that fgb32 is a perfect GameBoy emulator for GP32. I will use VBA32 for Dreamcast and GP2X in the near future.

Hooka: What ever happened to the Vorton project? Did you feel it was complete?

Chui: No of course not, it needs a good set of graphics and complete code. I hope to have time in the future for continuing it.

Hooka: Why did you decide to start working on DC? (good system for homebrew I have to admit)

Chui: Dreamcast has the best open development toolkit: KallistiOS. Also it has lots of hardware capabilities and it's scene needs help, GP32 scene has a lot of coders and projects.

Hooka: Is the newest version of SDL-GP32 based on SDL 1.2.7 or SDL 1.2.9?

Chui: It is based on SDL-1.2.8, the last version when I was working on it. I read new features on SDL-1.2.9 and I would like to test the new support for direct color 8-bpp surfaces. Maybe it's a good feature for GP32.

Hooka: Sure, make it the one I skipped asking about ;)

Hooka: Are your asm video scaling modes (240x160 and 160x144) still included in the newest release?

Chui: ... mmm ... I haven't tested it, but these modes must be working.

Hooka: Do you think that more people will be encouraged to use SDL now that they can use it with whichever SDK they prefer?

Chui: I don't know, but now SDL is very easy and powerful. I think that SDL coding is a good method for cross compiling games and emulators.

Hooka: What projects for GP32 use your SDL port? (to the best of your knowledge anyways)

Chui: I don't know other people that use it now, I think that the main project is Fenix.

Hooka: Why did you decide to port Fenix to the GP32?

Chui: Really, Fenix port began as a test, I thought that it would work very badly... I was wrong. But now it's an important development option.

Hooka: Does it feel good to know that quite a few people (predominantly the spanish GP32er's) have been using Fenix to make content?

Chui: Yes, Fenix is very successful. GP32 is a console for playing emulators and homebrew development.

Hooka: What has changed with the newer Fenix runtime that was included with the new Camaleon release? Is it basically keeping it upto date with the other versions of Fenix?

Chui: Camaleon was adapted and released using the old Fenix runtime. I tested the new Fenix runtime with Camaleon game. It's a great game and now it runs better.

Hooka: Are both UAE4All and NEO4All too powerful for a port to GP32?

Chui: Yes, yes. UAE4ALL and NEO4ALL uses a lot of Dreamcast hardware acceleration to run at a decent speed. Also, the small amount of RAM in the GP32 is not enough to run it. Dreamcast is a much more powerful machine than GP32.

Hooka: Are you glad with how UAE4All and NEO4All have turned out for DC?

Chui: Yes, of course. Playing UAE4ALL and NEO4ALL is very fun. I'm happy, because I managed to make it.

Hooka: Why did you decide to port CaSTaway to DC? (DCaSTaway)

Chui: I had this machine when I was a teenage boy. I love AtariST and Ron persuaded me to port castaway.

Hooka: You mentioned you were going to recompile NOIZ2SA for DC and GP32, what bugs needed to be fixed and what customization support are you planning on adding?

Chui: Yes, I want to fix the timing problems and add music and XMLs customizations like original NOIZ2SA. To change XMLs involves a new set of levels and enemies.
 
Hooka: What ever happened to Gyruss? Do you still have plans to update it or is it going to be left as-is?

Chui: Maybe I will adapt Gyruss to the new runtime and fix errors in the future. But I haven't got enough time for everything.

Hooka: Did the SorR (streets of rage remake) people ever get ahold of you about the DC/GP32 port they were asking for help with?

Chui: Many people ask for help, but I don't have time for all now.

Hooka: You mentioned the possibility of a NEO4All port to GPX2 (now GP2X) do you find the GP2X to be an interesting handheld for homebrew?

Chui: Of course, GP2X is definitively the future.

Hooka: When do you intend to get a GP2X? Right at launch or wait a bit?

Chui: Perhaps GameparkHoldings will give me one before launch, otherwise I will get it for christmas or for my birthday (April).

Hooka: What would you like to see for the future of the GP32/GP2X/DC scene's?

Chui: I think that GP32 will be outshone by GP2X. For Dreamcast I wish to finish my actual projects, also I wish to begin SNES4ALL and MAME4ALL. For GP2X, we will see a lot of good emulators the star will be a PlaystationOne emulator. I will try to adapt NEO4ALL using NeoGeo roms.

Hooka: Did I miss any projects that you would like to talk about?

Chui: No, you remembered projects that I forgot like Gyruss.

Hooka: Are there any other systems that you develop for?

Chui: Maybe GameCube in a few years when this console is commercially abandoned.

Hooka: How did you get the nickname Chui anyways?

Chui: It's an old alias, some friends call me Chui as starwars joke: Chewbacca... Chewie .. Chui (in spanish sounds similar).

Hooka: Teach us a funny sentence in spanish... anything you feel :D it could even be something like "Hooka este grande babuino!" or "calabaza del día"

Chui: :D  "¿Dos toballas veinte duros?"


Thanks Chui for doing the interview, it was a pleasure and I hope to see you around all the scene's ;)

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