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Stella 4.0 released


stephena

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After approximately 6 months, it's time for a new release of Stella (and on Canada Day, no less :) ). This one has been a long time coming, and finally completes the porting of Stella to SDL2. I think you'll find many improvements here, particularly for Windows users where Direct3D/hardware-accelerated video/vsync will be used by default. This means that most people won't have to download new drivers, and Stella will work well out-of-the-box. There are also a few other nice improvements too. Changelog is as follows:

* Ported Stella to SDL2, which brings many new features. Among the largest improvements is native hardware acceleration support for Windows (Direct3D) and Linux/OSX (OpenGL). It is also now possible to port Stella to iOS and Android devices using OpenGLES. Hardware acceleration is now required, which means up-to-date drivers are needed. Software rendering is still present, but is somewhat unoptimized and unsupported going forward.

* Fullscreen video modes now use the desktop resolution. Switching to fullscreen and back to windowed mode no longer rearranges icons on your desktop.

* TIA TV effects are now available in all video modes, since hardware acceleration is a requirement.

* Added a much more detailed view of cart extended RAM to a new debugger tab. Special thanks to SpiceWare for this implementation.

* Added preliminary support for 'DASH' bankswitching scheme by A. Davie.

* The AtariVox and SaveKey controllers now have the ability in the debugger to completely erase the virtual EEPROM data.

* Added 'savesnap' debugger prompt command, and also associated context menu item to the debugger TIA output area. This saves the current TIA image to a PNG file.

* Added 'hidecursor' commandline option, which allows to completely disable showing the mouse cursor (useful on systems that don't have a mouse).

* Removed 'uipalette' option, as the original palette is no longer supported.

* Updated included PNG library to latest stable version.

 

Since the SDL2 conversion was a big job involving changing a lot of code, there may be some bugs yet present (although I've went over it quite a bit and didn't notice anything). As such, bug reports are welcome. Remember, Stella can be downloaded here, and donations are welcome here.

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Congratulations on this major release of Stella, Stephen! Stella has been an invaluable tool for 2600 homebrew development over the years. Just sent $100 your way, which only seems like a drop in the bucket relative to all the work you've put into Stella! Thanks again for all your hard work and for keeping Stella alive!

 

..Al

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I am having problem running games using the command line:

 

Stella C:\A2600\Alien.bin

 

I found this when I tried to play a game through the mala front end....

 

I received a message that "Stella ha stopped working", it is working good with 3.9

 

Thanks for your hard work and releasing this new version !!!

 

I.G

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Thanks for all the support.

 

As for the Mala issue, I will need more details, such as version of Stella (32 or 64-bit), version of Windows, of Mala, and the setup for Mala. I would need to install Mala and try to duplicate what you're seeing, as launching from the commandline here is working fine.

 

I suspect due to the many changes in Stella 4.0 (new libraries, options, and compiled with a newer compiler), there is some incompatibility with Mala.

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Thanks for all the support.

 

As for the Mala issue, I will need more details, such as version of Stella (32 or 64-bit), version of Windows, of Mala, and the setup for Mala. I would need to install Mala and try to duplicate what you're seeing, as launching from the commandline here is working fine.

 

I suspect due to the many changes in Stella 4.0 (new libraries, options, and compiled with a newer compiler), there is some incompatibility with Mala.

 

 

You don't need mala to reproduce this problem just run stella 64 bit (32 bit is OK) with rom using the command line...

 

Stella.exe kaboom!.bin

 

And you will see the problem...

 

I am using Windows 7 64 bit OS

 

You need more information ?

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It's working for me too, in Windows 7 64-bit. Here is the commandline I used:

 

 

C:\Users\stephen\Desktop> Stella-4.0\32-bit\Stella.exe "Good2600\Alien (1982) (20th Century Fox).zip"

C:\Users\stephen\Desktop> Stella-4.0\64-bit\Stella.exe "Good2600\Alien (1982) (20th Century Fox).zip"

 

Both commands worked fine. How did you install Stella? Did you copy all the libraries (ms*120.dll and SDL2.dll) too?? If you haven't tried installing from the EXE, maybe try doing that and see if it works. Alternatively, although it shouldn't be necessary, try downloading the libs from http://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/download/details.aspx?id=40784 and install them manually.

 

Finally, it may be a 32-bit issue, but I won't have access to a 32-bit Windows install until tomorrow at work ...

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It's working for me too, in Windows 7 64-bit. Here is the commandline I used:

 

 

Both commands worked fine. How did you install Stella? Did you copy all the libraries (ms*120.dll and SDL2.dll) too?? If you haven't tried installing from the EXE, maybe try doing that and see if it works. Alternatively, although it shouldn't be necessary, try downloading the libs from http://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/download/details.aspx?id=40784 and install them manually.

 

Finally, it may be a 32-bit issue, but I won't have access to a 32-bit Windows install until tomorrow at work ...

 

 

 

I downloaded the zip file with the 32/64 versions and copied ALL the files to same place the 3.9 version was,

 

Another strange behavior: In the 32 bit version the command line works but not with mala, only if I execute it using the cmd.exe dos prompt...

 

I will try to use the installer....

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I have no clue what this could be. I'm thinking it's not the libraries, since missing/incorrect libraries give a different error message. Since you're using the commandline, maybe try passing "-video opengl" to Stella. That way, at least, it will act as 3.9 did, and use OpenGL by default. Or maybe even try "-video software", to completely disable all hardware-acceleration. Also, try "-vsync 0" to disable v'sync.

 

Again, I'm at a loss. It almost seems as if Stella is starting, and then dying because of some settings, incorrect video drivers installed, etc.

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OK...

 

using "-video opengl" didn't crash but started with menu,

 

after I quit from the menu the game started...

 

then I tried once more without -video opengl and it also works (with the menu)...

 

It also works with mala...

 

Something changed because I used -video opengl,

 

So we have now a smaller problem: the menu is appearing before the game is executed...

 

What do you thing about this ?

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OK...

 

using "-video opengl" didn't crash but started with menu,

 

after I quit from the menu the game started...

 

then I tried once more without -video opengl and it also works (with the menu)...

 

It also works with mala...

 

Something changed because I used -video opengl,

 

Yes, the default video driver is now Direct3D, which really should have worked (since all Windows systems are supposed to have working Direct3D drivers installed). It was crashing when trying to load those drivers. So that is my first issue; it shouldn't have happened. Perhaps make sure you've downloaded all Windows updates. BTW, what type of computer are you using (model, video card, etc?).

 

After using "-video opengl", Stella successfully starts. And when you quit normally (not a crash), the setting is saved, so you don't need to specify it again. So OpenGL works and Direct3D doesn't. This is very strange; it is normally exactly the opposite in Windows.

 

So we have now a smaller problem: the menu is appearing before the game is executed...

 

What do you thing about this ?

 

OK, lets agree on some terminology. When you say "menu", I assume you mean the ROM launcher? And if so, the normal way that Stella starts when not specifying a ROM on the commandline is to start in "ROM launcher" mode, and back to the launcher when exiting the ROM. If you do start with a ROM on the commandline, it should immediately go into the ROM, and then exit the emulation completely when exiting the ROM.

 

It was done this way exactly for your use case: to use Stella with an external frontend. Basically, if you start in ROM launcher mode, you go back to it afterward. And if you don't start in ROM launcher mode (like an external frontend would do), then you completely exit the emulator after exiting a ROM.

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I may know what's going on with the menu appearing at launch. Try this custom build and let me know if it changes anything.

 

EDIT: Even if this does work, you should still look into installing all Windows updates. And please let me know what type of video card you have.

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I may know what's going on with the menu appearing at launch. Try this custom build and let me know if it changes anything.

 

EDIT: Even if this does work, you should still look into installing all Windows updates. And please let me know what type of video card you have.

 

The custom build crash with and without "-video opengl",

 

I returned to 4.0 and it works the same as yesterday (options menu)

 

I have ATI HD 5450 video card,

 

I will try today the both version on another computer...

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I am at a complete loss, and will have to think about this a little more. There's absolutely no reason for the test build to crash, as it's exactly the same as 4.0 except for two lines commented out; the app entering menu mode after being minimized (which is what I thought was causing the menu to appear).

 

On the other systems that do work, are they also using ATI video cards? Because I know there were some issues in the past with ATI cards. Again, it's extremely odd that it doesn't have working Direct3D drivers installed. Perhaps you can update your drivers from ATI/AMD website (I know this isn't supposed to be necessary, but your system has specific issues it seems).

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The both systems that are working OK are using nVidia cards...

 

No other problems with the ATI system,

 

If you want to create a new build with output to the DebugView,

 

I can run this new build on the problematic system and find the crash location....?

 

I will try to update the drivers...

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On the "good" nVidia systems:

 

1. Stella.exe -video directx Draw.bin -> works OK and execute the game directly :)

2. Stella.exe -video opengl Draw.bin -> open the options menu and continue to the game after pressing the esc button :?

 

The first option works also with the mala menu,

 

I will check (later) if this workaround is also solving my problem in the system with the ATI card...

 

Thanks for your Help !!!

 

I.G

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For the "good" systems. also try the test build. I see no reason why it should be crashing.

 

Also, the video option for the first example is wrong; it should be "-video direct3d". After successfully starting each time, have a look in Options -> Video Settings to see exactly which video driver is being used.

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