Stigma 5 (Psion 5/5mx)

flash · **on:** February 08, 2010, 10:01:50 am

Another blast from the past.

This was the follow up to the Psion 3a version of the game and contained 100 levels and a tutorial.

The game is a puzzle ball game where the objective was to use skill/speed/brainpower to navigate each of the screens and get to the exit.
As usual, there is tons of hidden treats like moving exits, hidden paths, disapearing floors, etc.

Anyway, this cannot be run under emulation, but you can extract it to the root of a mem card to play on a Psion 5.

Sokurah · **Reply #1 on:** February 08, 2010, 10:57:02 am

I keep forgetting to ask you, but now I don't have to anymore. Just downloaded it.

I'll see if I can make on work on my Psion 5 sometime this week.

flash · **Reply #2 on:** February 08, 2010, 11:03:14 am

See, I get there in the end. LOL

It will work fine mate. The rar has the directory structure set in it, and you can run from CF or internal ram.

Let me know what you think?

Sokurah · **Reply #3 on:** February 09, 2010, 09:54:04 pm

So...I dug out my P5, transferred Stigma to a fresh CF card and started the Psion.

...tried one more time.

...and again.

No batteries. *sigh*

I'll have to buy a battery before I can get on with it. Dammit.

Lobo · **Reply #4 on:** February 09, 2010, 10:02:17 pm

Another Psion game? Dude, how many did you make in total?

I still didn't found the Horace cart (or that compo one Sokurah mentioned), would really like to buy the Psion for it.

Sokurah · **Reply #5 on:** February 09, 2010, 10:10:39 pm

The Horace game is only available on the games collection cart. I just checked but there's none right now.
They do pop up from time to time though...you just gotta remember to search for it.
...I'll see if I can remember to make a couple of searches a week for you.

Lobo · **Reply #6 on:** February 09, 2010, 10:21:23 pm

Thanks dude, if you spot it ever-lemme know. I was checking for collection but to no avail.

flash · **Reply #7 on:** February 09, 2010, 10:41:00 pm

I could of course upload it, if you have a psion and a link lead, it is easy to transfer (psion 3a)

ps. There are loads of games - some I have not got anymore

but I will get them somehow (they were released by Yellow Computing GMBH)

flash · **Reply #8 on:** February 09, 2010, 10:54:24 pm

Quote from: Sokurah on February 09, 2010, 09:54:04 pm

So...I dug out my P5, transferred Stigma to a fresh CF card and started the Psion.

...tried one more time.

...and again.

No batteries. *sigh*

I'll have to buy a battery before I can get on with it. Dammit.

My god, you are cocking useless..

Sokurah · **Reply #9 on:** February 09, 2010, 10:55:17 pm

Aww...look who woke up.

flash · **Reply #10 on:** February 09, 2010, 10:55:59 pm

Yawn!

(That cocking fool is back!)

Sokurah · **Reply #11 on:** February 09, 2010, 10:56:49 pm

- and don't blame my hardware's shortcomings on me.

..most likely the Psion died when it felt Stigma in it.

flash · **Reply #12 on:** February 09, 2010, 11:09:37 pm

Yes, it can be a bit too much for some... LOL

Zzaped! · **Reply #13 on:** February 21, 2010, 12:45:34 pm

I would love to download and try this but my 5MX is screwed thanks to Psion's highest of British attention to the wrong detail--screen cable defect (

). Still think about sending it off to that company in Germany that does repairs, maybe it's not still running. Psion should have done free replacements for their failure (guaranteed breakdown within months), got it fixed under warranty a couple of times but what a bunch of rotters they were on that.

flash · **Reply #14 on:** February 21, 2010, 12:58:48 pm

Thats a shame that the cable has done the usual.

There are several places that can fix them and it really is worth having a working series 5, they are wonderful.

spacefractal · **Reply #15 on:** February 21, 2010, 01:28:45 pm

no emulators for this game. How mange have you created for this device? can you create a youtube video of this game (if posssible)?

flash · **Reply #16 on:** February 21, 2010, 01:30:08 pm

I may do at some point.

The game was writen in part on the psion and using the psion sdk on an old pentium system that had a built in emulator. This does not run on current systems though

Sokurah · **Reply #17 on:** February 21, 2010, 04:47:07 pm

Quote from: Zzaped! on February 21, 2010, 12:45:34 pm

I would love to download and try this but my 5MX is screwed thanks to Psion's highest of British attention to the wrong detail--screen cable defect ( ).

I haven't followed up on this, but I've realised that my 5MX is defective and I'm assume that it's the same thing. Dammit.
I can see something on the screen briefly when I switch between light/dark background, but other than that the screen is completely blank.

flash · **Reply #18 on:** February 21, 2010, 05:19:11 pm

Yes, it does sound like the same fault with the ribbon cable. These can be bought cheaply of ebay, but they are HELL to fit.

Zzaped! · **Reply #19 on:** February 22, 2010, 11:39:00 am

Not sure I will do it, but from my research at the time the only real fix is a 3rd-party cable, not the one from Psion, there are (or used to be) instructions on how to fix the original one but it will break down just the same after a while (a few months if you actually use the thing) and, like Flash said, the soldering is a bugger, unless you are really elite (able to solder small-pitch surface-mounting chips with no problem, very aware of how much heat you are applying) you will probably just add burning the cable to the existing breaks.

Psion's approach (before they dumped the MX) was to replace the cable and display as a unit, incredibly wasteful (the problem is always in the ribbon cable), which might give some idea of the kind of soldering job involved.

I loved everything else about the thing, too, but it was the first time I could afford one of their brilliant machines, the Revo and plain 5 (or series 3 models) didn't have the same problem and Psion really were reprehensible for not owning up to the problem and fixing it for any buyer. Doubly rotten because this was the time when their OS was becoming very big time and they still owned it.

The emulator from the SDK that flash mentioned was available on their site for a while, but just checked and it isn't now (seems they deny the existence of anything pre-Netbook).

headkaze · **Reply #20 on:** February 22, 2010, 12:06:49 pm

Can you run the emulator in DOSBox?

flash · **Reply #21 on:** February 22, 2010, 12:18:51 pm

Yes, but.. there is no way to slow it down enough. It also becomes patchy going from really fast to a crawl and so forth.

It is a shame as the emulator itself is very well written, if lacking forward thought.

flash · **Reply #22 on:** March 08, 2010, 10:45:08 pm

I thought I would post a little review here from Steve Litchfield.

http://www.epoczone.com/reviews/show_review.php3?id=113

Well, it all makes me happy

headkaze · **Reply #23 on:** March 09, 2010, 12:23:56 am

Have you followed these instructions to setup a Psion emulator?

http://philoxenic.blogspot.com/2006/03/setting-up-psion-emulator.html

I managed to download the SDK from https://teknet.psionteklogix.com/teknet/pdk/netpad-pdk/epoc_downloads.htm using username:tester password:tester. But I don't have the files from a Psion to actually run the emulator. I didn't actually install it by running SETUP.EXE, I just copied the opl\Epoc32\Release\Wins\Rel folder to my desktop and launched EPOC.EXE and I get the following screen, so it looks like it runs okay in Windows?

I really think Stigma is a cool game and would make a great port to iPhone

spacefractal · **Reply #24 on:** March 09, 2010, 07:13:39 am

I hope I can get it to work. Mightbeen it could been my second remake? Look great anyway. not home yet.

headkaze · **Reply #25 on:** March 09, 2010, 08:32:01 pm

Flash did you see my post about the emulator? Have you tried it?

flash · **Reply #26 on:** March 09, 2010, 08:34:25 pm

Yes I did and I had tried it before.

I will give it a go again.

ps. the reson for the error is that you have to set the path for the psions disk in the settings (somewhere) and it uses that for the storage.

headkaze · **Reply #27 on:** March 09, 2010, 09:30:28 pm

Quote from: Flash on March 09, 2010, 08:34:25 pm

Yes I did and I had tried it before.

I will give it a go again.

ps. the reson for the error is that you have to set the path for the psions disk in the settings (somewhere) and it uses that for the storage.

Yeah I don't have the Psion files to make it run. Can you possibly zip up your Psion's card and send it to me along with Stigma? I'd love to see if I can get it running.

As for the path error, I believe you just need to set an environment variable. There is a more indepth explaination @ http://www.garethjmsaunders.co.uk/psion/emulator32_tips.html

flash · **Reply #28 on:** March 09, 2010, 10:50:31 pm

I will sit down and set it all up with games at some point.

I still have the original SDK. 4 MASSIVE a4 binders totally full of info and one with a ton of floppys. May be worth a few quid one day

I wish there was some way to get the emu to run at the correct speed - but I will have a look again..

flash · **Reply #29 on:** May 11, 2010, 11:13:07 pm

Well, I had it all running fine untill I tried to uninstal and check again... Now I get a memory error in Stigma, though the Emu runs fine.

Try this,