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Stella 3.6 released


stephena

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So, it's time for a new version of Stella. First off, I didn't get Blargg filtering finished. It's probably 70% done, but I didn't want to delay this release. It will definitely be done for 3.7, due sometime in April. Anyway, this is basically a controller-related release. Changes are as follows:

  • Added support for 2600-daptor II device, including native support for 7800 controllers, BoosterGrip and Keypad controllers. Special thanks go to Tom Hafner for a complimentary test sample of this device, and also for donating a BoosterGrip controller.
  • Added ability to dynamically swap the port order of Stelladaptor/2600-daptor devices with the 'Control-1' key combo (useful if you have only one 2600-daptor and want to use it as a left port normally, but as a right port for Star Raiders, etc).
  • Added CompuMate bankswitching/controller support to the emulation core; the Spectravideo CompuMate ROMs (NTSC and PAL) now work. Frequently used keys on the CompuMate are directly mapped to your keyboard (ie, Func-Space for backspace is mapped to Backspace, etc). Loading/saving from the cassette player is not yet supported, and will come in a future release.
  • Fixed bug in BoosterGrip controller emulation; the functionality of the booster and trigger buttons was reversed. Related to this, renamed these actions in the Event Mapping dialog to be more clear.
  • Reverted to SDL 1.2.14 for the Windows 98/2k release, since SDL 1.2.15 isn't supported in that environment.
  • Updated included PNG library to latest stable version.

As usual, Stella can be downloaded from the Stella homepage. Please also keep in mind that Stella is DonationWare; please consider a donation of some sort. Bug reports and comments can be sent by PM or posted in this thread.

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Just to let everyone know, I'm in the process of planning my schedule over the next few months. There are several outstanding issues for the next version of Stella (3.7), with Blargg filtering being at the top of the list. Barring any real-life issues that pop up, I plan to do the release at the end of April. As I make more progress, I should be able to post pictures. I don't have have anything to post yet, though, since I'm working on another part of the code right now.

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Just to let everyone know, I'm in the process of planning my schedule over the next few months. There are several outstanding issues for the next version of Stella (3.7), with Blargg filtering being at the top of the list. Barring any real-life issues that pop up, I plan to do the release at the end of April. As I make more progress, I should be able to post pictures. I don't have have anything to post yet, though, since I'm working on another part of the code right now.

 

Thanks for the update! :thumbsup:

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Just to let everyone know, I'm in the process of planning my schedule over the next few months. There are several outstanding issues for the next version of Stella (3.7), with Blargg filtering being at the top of the list. Barring any real-life issues that pop up, I plan to do the release at the end of April. As I make more progress, I should be able to post pictures. I don't have have anything to post yet, though, since I'm working on another part of the code right now.

 

 

Pictures from the Blargg filtering process will be very nice...

 

Thanks,

 

I.G

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Just a quick update that 3.6.1 was just released. I'm not bothering to create a thread for it, just mentioning it here. The only change is support for 28K ROMs in the FA2 bankswitching scheme. For those not familiar with this, it's the new bankswitch scheme used by cdw's upcoming Star Castle ROM. I thought this was important enough to warrant a quick point release. Now back to Blargg and Stella 3.7 ...

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Just a quick update that 3.6.1 was just released. I'm not bothering to create a thread for it, just mentioning it here. The only change is support for 28K ROMs in the FA2 bankswitching scheme. For those not familiar with this, it's the new bankswitch scheme used by cdw's upcoming Star Castle ROM. I thought this was important enough to warrant a quick point release. Now back to Blargg and Stella 3.7 ...

 

Cool...thanks for the update! :thumbsup:

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Just a quick update that 3.6.1 was just released. I'm not bothering to create a thread for it, just mentioning it here. The only change is support for 28K ROMs in the FA2 bankswitching scheme. For those not familiar with this, it's the new bankswitch scheme used by cdw's upcoming Star Castle ROM. I thought this was important enough to warrant a quick point release. Now back to Blargg and Stella 3.7 ...

 

Stephena - thank you for keeping Stella alive all this time. Love the emulator. :thumbsup:

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  • 3 weeks later...

What's new ???

 

I hope to have at least an initial screenshot by the end of the coming week. I've been hampered recently by some particularly painful dental work. Even now I'm still a little spaced out :) And I also had to finish up some fixes for features introduced in version 3.6. I wanted to get that done completely before diving into something else. But for the next several weeks I can now concentrate completely on Blargg stuff.

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Dental problems.... I hope you are feeling better now...

 

Not really. I've already missed two days of work this week, and while I'll be there the rest of the week, I do feel like crap. So I may not get a screenshot done this week after all. And the release may have to be pushed until mid-May. But rest assured that when I start working again, it will be on the Blargg stuff, and it will be in 3.7.

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OK, for those that were waiting (and as proof that I'm really working on this :) ), here's the first snapshot of Blargg filtering I have:

 

post-1512-0-17215900-1335626254_thumb.png

 

Note that the quality will improve greatly. I just wanted to get an initial version out there.

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^

Ha! Looks just like my telly... :)

 

It seems silly to say but I'm really looking forward to running this on my netbook. Thanks for all your hard work. As soon as I get a job I'll make a wee donation (I promise!).

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OK, here's a few more snapshots, with the name of the Blargg preset embedded in each filename. Again, this is only the first version. Some of the variables have to be tweaked, the scanlines should be more pronounced (and different variations based on the aperture grill in the monitor), etc. And to answer the question above, there will be different presets, but also one named 'Custom' that allows to adjust each aspect separately.

 

The first one is the normal image (without any filtering):

 

post-1512-0-13511900-1335885593_thumb.png

 

post-1512-0-60970800-1335885095_thumb.png post-1512-0-01286200-1335885098_thumb.png post-1512-0-39255900-1335885097_thumb.png

 

post-1512-0-82700400-1335885096_thumb.png post-1512-0-00443100-1335885095_thumb.png post-1512-0-24880700-1335885096_thumb.png

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stephena,

 

Looks great. My humble two cents is from what I've seen implemented in other emulators, typically there is a 'RF', 'Composite', 'S-Video', 'RGB' preset option and then a custom. If you include many tweaking settings, including Scanline (Intensity), many presets shouldn't be needed. However, you do as you see fit, it is your baby :-)

 

For the record I've seen fine tweaking such as:

 

Sharpness

Color Bleed

Artifacts

Fringing

Scanlines (1 thru 100%)

 

There is often a flag for turning on Bilnear Interpolation (Which looks and works really well if you turn on Bilinear Interpolation and then raise Sharpness, You obtain the clarity and sharp picture of an image that appears to have bilinear interpolation turned off, but actualy is on with smoother CRT-type filtering).

 

Anyhow, there is also setting adjustments for:

 

Contrast (aka "Picture")*

Brightness

Saturation (aka "Color")*

Hue (aka "Tint")*

 

*Bracket names are what is often found instead of the primary listed category on older (and even some newer) NTSC televisions.

 

Not sure how much or little of the above you're looking to add to Stella, but even just the presets you showed look fanatastic.

 

Thank you for all the work you continue to put into Stella. It is greatly appreciated.

Edited by Trebor
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