[DONE] Sega Dreamcast: Multi-Cue > GDI (Page 3 of 3)

No global commands are needed right now. These commands will be only useable when and if we decide to dump lead-outs/lead-ins (which are standard in 99,99999999% of cases and could be generated with REM LEAD-IN/REM LEAD-OUT commands instead, similar to PREGAP/POSTGAP). You're trying to alter the whole cuesheet logic and don't even understand that, nobody will bother with such a complicated format. If you have nothing to do - make a new XML-based cuesheet alternative instead. We need a simple cue extension right now (or 2xcues with no extensions at all), not the ability to put any data at any position leaving the huge undescribed holes between the data portions.

Because that's the only existant case of a disc with isolated sessions, there's no other similar case. For Saturn rings you need to implement the REM LEAD-OUT command to describe the exact amount of sectors before the ring, for multisession discs you need REM LEAD-OUT for the first session with the amount of lead-out sectors and REM LEAD-IN for the amount of lead-in sectors of the 2nd session, you don't need any direct LBA addressing, that's way away from cuesheets paradigm. We need to develop a custom format for direct LBA addressing if you want it that much.

The logic is to map all the data without the holes, I've offered a single exception and you've turned this single exception into a completely different cuesheet logic.

I'm getting confused about this discussion. It will always be about filling holes.

There are basically 3 options which essentially do the same thing:

- Use PREGAP, which is already available and supported (but which you both don't like)

- Use "REM SINGLE-DENSITY AREA" + "REM HIGH-DENSITY AREA", which can only be used by emulators and requires hardcoded LBA values. (this seems to be the only option that F1ReB4LL is willing to discuss)

- Come up with a new command, which would get easier approval by other developers (e.g. IsoBuster), even if in the end it would only actually be useful for Dreamcast discs. For example:
REM STARTLBA "HIGH-DENSITY AREA" 45150
REM STARTMSF "HIGH-DENSITY AREA" 10:02:00
REM AREA "HIGH DENSITY" 45150

or even a simple GAP (in LBA of MSF) command to put in between tracks:

REM GAP 09:42:68

I see this option as the fastest to implement _right now_ due to hardcoded LBAs and no additional attributes.

This needs lots and lots of further discussions about how to handle the lead-in, lead-out, security ring and other portions of data (and whether to use the cue sheets at all for these, not some xml-based format instead), that additionally rises the question about how to handle the TOC and the first pregap in the -150 to -1 area. And it's going to be a very bad idea to implement these LBAs now and lead-in/lead-out/rings/whatever later. Because the next time devs may refuse to change the cue scheme once again. If they accept the simplier format above, we could try to discuss the further format expansions with them.

And don't forget the format is primarily meant for DC emus which, again, don't need those LBA commands, because the area LBAs are hardcoded to 0 and 45150, your commands can do the parsing routines more complicated and the format less attractive to support (and we want it to be supported by as many emus as possible, including MAME - good luck explaining them how to process your proposed LBA commands and do all the addressing properly).

The format _right now_ should be as easy as possble, the complicated parts need to be well discussed before adding.

And once again, just in case I wasn't clear enough: adding those LBA commands to GD cues only is absolutely pointless, because they are hardcoded and cannot be changed; adding them to all the cues for multisession (and maybe other) needs needs (lol) to be better discussed and documented.

I've submitted feature requests to the two main DC emulators in active development (redream/reicast-libretro). Inolen (the redream developer) says he will add support if "people want it". It's more likely to be implemented when we fully switch over.

We're also chatting with MetalliC of demul/MAME. inolen says his hands are tied with Android, but expressed interest in adding the new format.

Once we have DC USA dumped and archive.org'd then I think inolen will be more eager to add support faster (at least he's expressed interest in this). I'll probably be able to dump all of VGDB's DC discs before the end of JAN so that gives us a timetable.

Does this change mean we can now submit unlicensed Dreamcast discs like Gameshark?