DCEmulation

Would anybody be interested in a port of LuaPlayer to Dreamcast?

I could try and port it. Is there anything I should be aware off that would make it unportable to the Dreamcast so I don't waste my time in trying?

What exactly is LuaPlayer? Any relation to the LUA based Dcplaya?

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Aside from using the same scripting language (Lua), no. No relation.

http://www.luaplayer.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lua_Player

Basically, it's a Lua interpreter for the PSP, with built-in wrappers around some of the PSP's hardware functionality.



Nothing inherently non-portable, as far as I know. However, some of the functionality LuaPlayer provides isn't likely to work on a Dreamcast. The wireless networking functionality obviously won't work. The VMU doesn't work anything at all like the PSP's memory stick, so saving won't work. LuaPlayer's 3D API is just a thin wrapper around the native 3D API, so that obviously won't work either.

Your best bet it to just disable or remove all that stuff, or replace it with a stub that does nothing.

However... 2D video ought to work, along with sound, and controller input. That should be enough to get many LuaPlayer games working at least.

If you want to write programs in Lua for DC, you should look in the direction DreamShell 4.0. All applications for it are written in lua, and the GUI is constructed from the layout XML.
DreamShell 4.0 supports many functions in lua (DS, SDL, GUI, STD, KOS), a full list of which can be viewed here: http://www.dc-swat.net.ru/ds/doc/
Functional DreamShell and lua can expand and improve with the help of the modules (SDK included).

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Doesn't DreamShell take up a considerable amount of the DC's RAM?

Not to mention that if it'd require the SD loader, it wouldn't be practical for your average Dreamcast homebrew user.

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Memory can be freed without having to load modules and do not use GUI desktop.
1ST_READ.BIN takes only ~1.4 Mb.
Module luaDS (it includes API DS, SDL, GUI and Console binded to lua) takes about ~400 kb.
Other modules with lua binding takes only about ~50-70 kb.
You do not have to use the file system support SD cards, as well the module sdiso.

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Did you ever consider anything more on this?

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Sorry, I haven't gotten to it. I will try and port it this summer if I have nothing else to do.