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Stella 2.6.1 released


stephena

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OK, here's a few bugfixes for the most recent 2.6 release. I also managed to include a few requested features, such as the ability to show scanline/framerate counts overlaid on the TIA image. This is still a WIP, and will be fully completed in the next major release. Changes are as follows:

 

  * Introduced more accurate timing for NTSC vs. PAL modes, where the
framerate is based on the number of scanlines per frame.  This should
eliminate 'clicking' sounds when emulating ROMs that don't follow
the exact NTSC or PAL scanline specs.

 * Added ability to see the current number of scanlines and corresponding
framerate to the TIA emulation.  This can be set with the '-stats'
commandline argument, or dynamically turned on and off with the
'Alt-l' key combo.

 * Modified '-framerate' commandline argument, where a non-zero value
overrides the automatic framerate calculation (based on number of
scanlines).  Setting 'framerate' to zero re-enables auto-frame
calculation.  Also, re-enabled changing the framerate from within the
UI.

 * Added '-timing' commandline argument, which sets the type of waiting
between processing frames.  Setting it to 'sleep' emulates the
previous behaviour in Stella; setting it to 'busy' emulates z26,
and can in some cases eliminate screen tearing (at the expense of
using all available CPU time).

 * Fixed issue with debugger disassembly and mirrored $40 TIA write
addresses.  They were actually defined at $30, and generating incorrect
labels.

 * Fixed issue in AtariVox and SaveKey controllers where accessing the
EEPROM sometimes failed after the first write.

 * Changed AtariVox and SaveKey EEPROM emulation to default to $FF for
a blank EEPROM.

 * Fixed regression in cart auto-detection logic; some F6 ROMs were being
misdetected as E7.

 * Fixed issue with M6532/RIOT timer initialization; it was causing some
ROMs to hang (most notably Summer Games).  Related to this, reworked
the built-in random number generator to generate 'more' random numbers.

 * Fixed bug in CommandMenu where console buttons (Select, Reset, etc)
weren't doing anything.

Remember, you can always download the latest version of Stella from the Stella homepage. As usual, report any bugs in this thread or directly by email.

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Nice update! Just tried the AtariVox, works great! I have the older AV Serial Adapter that's connected to my MacBook via a USB-Serial Adapter. As a plus, I didn't have to reinstall any drivers to make it work. As a minus, I have to use a wall-wart to power the AV Serial Adapter.

 

The "alt-l" looks like numeric 1, so it took a bit to realize it was an L and that I needed to use Command-Shift-L on my Mac instead of Alt-L.

Edited by SpiceWare
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Nice update! Just tried the AtariVox, works great! I have the older AV Serial Adapter that's connected to my MacBook via a USB-Serial Adapter. As a plus, I didn't have to reinstall any drivers to make it work. As a minus, I have to use a wall-wart to power the AV Serial Adapter.

Sorry, I can't fix that one :)

The "alt-l" looks like numeric 1, so it took a bit to realize it was an L and that I needed to use Command-Shift-L on my Mac instead of Alt-L.

Yes, the idea is 'l' for scan(l)ines. Also, I probably should have mentioned that Shift-Cmd-L is the OSX combo; it's correct in the manual. In fact, with only a few exceptions, 'Alt' for Linux/Windows always corresponds to 'Shift-Cmd' for OSX.

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Are any of these new (and upcoming) changes going to be ported to the GP2X version? Looks like it's stuck at 2.3.5.

 

--Zero

Our GP2X maintainer had to step down for 'real-life' reasons. I do have a GP2X, but it's bricked ATM, and I don't have the development environment set up anyway. I suspect/hope the GP2X version will be sync'ed for the next major release. But frankly speaking, I think most of the changes since 2.3.5 don't really benefit the GP2X anyway. This will change once the new TIA and revamped UI code is complete, which is the aim for the next major release.

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Ok, when will Stella be able to show a game the old fashioned way (with TV set rasters)?

 

It still looks way too PC IMO.

 

Also, can the colors and fonts be changed?

 

8)

Graphical filters such as 'TV set rasters' depend on the UI being fixed. The filters themselves aren't that difficult to add once the UI work is done. I assume you mean UI colors? If so, there's currently a choice between the old green-on-black mode, and the newer high contrast mode. Adding the ability to change the palette also depends on the UI rework. Finally, selecting different fonts is definitely a UI thing.

 

All in all, these things depend on the UI rework, which is one of the main goals for the next major release (the other is new TIA emulation).

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The scanline display has finally pushed me over to using Stella full time (rather than Z26). The ability to stop execution when a scanline count is exceeded is great and has already caught several problems in my latest game project. The SaveKey and AVox support are also extremely useful and will hopefully lead to many future projects using these devices.

 

Many thanks for this update.

 

Chris

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The scanline display has finally pushed me over to using Stella full time (rather than Z26). The ability to stop execution when a scanline count is exceeded is great and has already caught several problems in my latest game project. The SaveKey and AVox support are also extremely useful and will hopefully lead to many future projects using these devices.

 

Many thanks for this update.

 

Chris

Great to hear that we've got another developer using Stella ;) Also, most of the improvements in this release were due to your bug reports, so everyone remember to keep them coming.

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The ability to stop execution when a scanline count is exceeded is great and has already caught several problems in my latest game project.
I used that feature a lot towards the end of Medieval Mayhem's development.

 

The SaveKey and AVox support are also extremely useful and will hopefully lead to many future projects using these devices.
Looking forward to using this feature, just need to finish SAVI first :D.
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Quick question:

 

Is there any way to enable the AVox/SavekKey from the command line? It is slightly annoying having to re-enable it from the Game Properties menu each time the binary changes (during development). If there isn't a way, then something like -avox to automatically enable it on the P1 port would be great (as far as I know, the AVox/Savekey would only ever be used in the P1 port).

 

Thanks,

Chris

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Quick question:

 

Is there any way to enable the AVox/SavekKey from the command line? It is slightly annoying having to re-enable it from the Game Properties menu each time the binary changes (during development). If there isn't a way, then something like -avox to automatically enable it on the P1 port would be great (as far as I know, the AVox/Savekey would only ever be used in the P1 port).

 

Thanks,

Chris

The manual is your friend :) All ROM 'properties' can be set from the commandline just as within the UI. In fact, the reason this was added is exactly your case; during development, the MD5 changes, so you need to reset the properties each time.

 

The commandline arguments '-lc' set the left controller, '-rc' sets the right controller, and '-bc' sets both. In your case, you want '-rc atarivox' or '-rc savekey'.

 

Launch Stella with the '-help' command, and see all the properties that can be changed. Then consult the manual as to what they can be changed to (see section 16).

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Any cheat files exist for Stella? I'm gonna eventually be working on Z26 and I don't think I'm exactly up to doing ALL 2600 games. :lol: I might create some for a handful of titles... But it would save me some trouble. I ported the cheat codes in Atari800winplus over to atarixlbox..

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  • 2 weeks later...
I'm getting a white screen every time I boot up Stella..I used the Z26 Option & now it's all messed up

Try deleting the ini file and start again (My Documents\Stella\stella.ini for Windows, $HOME/.stella/stellarc for Linux and OSX). The only time I've heard of a white screen is when using OpenGL on certain ATI video cards. I've never heard of it with simply changing the palette.

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I'm getting a white screen every time I boot up Stella..I used the Z26 Option & now it's all messed up

Try deleting the ini file and start again (My Documents\Stella\stella.ini for Windows, $HOME/.stella/stellarc for Linux and OSX). The only time I've heard of a white screen is when using OpenGL on certain ATI video cards. I've never heard of it with simply changing the palette.

 

I tryed deteting Stella with no luck..everytime I install it back..I get a white screen..There's no "stella.ini" in my file,

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I'm getting a white screen every time I boot up Stella..I used the Z26 Option & now it's all messed up

Try deleting the ini file and start again (My Documents\Stella\stella.ini for Windows, $HOME/.stella/stellarc for Linux and OSX). The only time I've heard of a white screen is when using OpenGL on certain ATI video cards. I've never heard of it with simply changing the palette.

 

I tryed deteting Stella with no luck..everytime I install it back..I get a white screen..There's no "stella.ini" in my file,

You don't remove and reinstall Stella; you just delete its settings. The settings file is located in the aforementioned place(s). Please try deleting that file (and only that file) and try it again.

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  • 2 weeks later...

There's one little thing that annoys me about Stella. You know like in Explorer, if you are in a folder with many files, you can start typing the name of the file you want to locate, and the first file to match that combination of letters gets highlighted. In Stella, the time limit between hits seems to be a lot shorter.

 

Say, if I want to get to Pole Possition, I have to hit P and O too fast, or the first game starting with O will get highlighted.

 

I'm I the only one having issues with this? Any way to make it a bit slower?

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Is it me or when I go in Full Screen Mode Stella slows down for me..or is it the speed of my PC

Check the fullscreen setting. Right now, the default is to use the desktop resolution when you switch to fullscreen mode, to eliminate a 'mode switch' which causes the monitor to flick and resync. It's very likely that you're going to a larger video mode/zoom level that is too slow for your system. This will be fixed in the next release.

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There's one little thing that annoys me about Stella. You know like in Explorer, if you are in a folder with many files, you can start typing the name of the file you want to locate, and the first file to match that combination of letters gets highlighted. In Stella, the time limit between hits seems to be a lot shorter.

 

Say, if I want to get to Pole Possition, I have to hit P and O too fast, or the first game starting with O will get highlighted.

 

I'm I the only one having issues with this? Any way to make it a bit slower?

This is easily fixed in code, but unfortunately not by the user yet :( I can fix that for the next release, and perhaps make it configurable too.

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Right now, whenever I click on a binary file icon, it automatically uses Stella 2.2 edition. How do I change it to automatically use 2.6.1?

This is a Windows issue (I assume you're using Windows). You have to go into the 'File Types' stuff in Windows Explorer and change what application is associated with *.bin (if it's .bin files you're talking about). Or perhaps you can right-click on the bin file and chage the default application from there. I don't use Windows regularly, so that's as much detail as I can provide.

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