Stella 3.7 released

[+stephena]

I was thinking along similar lines, and noticed that some of the stuff set in the c'tor needs to be reset in ::reset().

 

Three additional changings, all in the constructor function:

 

Ok, this is getting a little confusing, so I'm moving this issue to PM.

[akator]

Stephen, I've said it before and I'll say it again... thanks for all of your amazing work on Stella

[+stephena]

OK, there's now the ability to switch between NTSC/PAL/SECAM dynamically, while a ROM is running. I may do a quick 3.7.1 release to take care of these bugs.

[alex_79]

Thanks again for the hard work, Stephen. I played a bit with the new TV effects and they're great!

 

The garbage data generated by irregular scanline counts is now fixed. If the display tries to generate too many scanlines, the entire screen is blanked. And if the current frame has less scanlines than the previous one, the excess scanlines are blanked. This will be present in 3.7.1.

I think that in case of too many scanlines it would be more accurate to "roll" the screen, i.e. start a new frame after the max number of scanlines. This allows to display correctly the cycling color screen in "Video Chess" while the computer opponent is "thinking", for example. In that case the program doesn't strobe VSYNC nor VBLANK and the screen actally rolls, although it's not noticeable, because it's entirely filled with a solid color.

[+stephena]

Thanks again for the hard work, Stephen. I played a bit with the new TV effects and they're great!

 

The garbage data generated by irregular scanline counts is now fixed. If the display tries to generate too many scanlines, the entire screen is blanked. And if the current frame has less scanlines than the previous one, the excess scanlines are blanked. This will be present in 3.7.1.

I think that in case of too many scanlines it would be more accurate to "roll" the screen, i.e. start a new frame after the max number of scanlines. This allows to display correctly the cycling color screen in "Video Chess" while the computer opponent is "thinking", for example. In that case the program doesn't strobe VSYNC nor VBLANK and the screen actally rolls, although it's not noticeable, because it's entirely filled with a solid color.

 

I'd have to test this on an actual console to see if it happens everywhere, or if it depends on the TV being used. FYI, the current code (and what was present in 3.7) does colour-cycle on Video Chess, so it seems to me that it's working as it should. It seems that in Video Chess, it fills with a solid colour after the screen has been blanked. I think blanking is the right thing to do, since the TIA isn't actually outputting anything at that particular time.

 

EDIT: On my test monitor at least (an industrial S-video security monitor), excessive scanlines (from a test ROM) result in a blank screen. The same test ROM run on a normal TV gives a kind of rolling. So I don't think the behaviour is consistent. I figured it would be best to just blank the output, and it was certainly easier to code.

[israelg]

Also working fine on windows 8 release preview...!

[+stephena]

Also working fine on windows 8 release preview...!

 

Good to hear that it's working on systems I haven't even tested.

[alex_79]

FYI, the current code (and what was present in 3.7) does colour-cycle on Video Chess, so it seems to me that it's working as it should.

Got it now. I thought that in the new version the screen would have been blanked whenever too much scanlines were generated, even in the "Video Chess" case.

[+stephena]

OK, I just went ahead and did a 3.7.1 release, which addresses the TIA scanline issues mentioned above. I also managed to squeeze in a few more features, and even fix a bug or two. Changelog as follows:

• Note: because of TIA changes, the state file format has changed again, and old state files will not work with this release.
  
• Improved TIA emulation with ROMs that have too few or too many scanlines; the output is now more accurate compared to a real TV. Special thanks to Omegamatrix of AtariAge for test ROMs in this area.
  
• Modified hotkey for "Change console palette" (Control-f) to also change the display properties of the TIA. This allows you to switch between NTSC/PAL/SECAM (and variant) modes dynamically. Related to this, added Shift-Control-f key to step backwards through the available modes.
  
• Added '64in1' and '128in1' multicart bankswitching schemes, which work the same as the 2in1/4in1/etc ones (Control-r switches to each consecutive game in the ROM).
  
• Fixed several bugs in DPC+ bankswitching scheme, including ability to load and save state files. As well, ROMs now work correctly after console format autodetection.
  
• Fixed bugs in handling relative filenames on the commandline, introduced in the last release. The new functionality should be much more robust.
  

 

As stated at the beginning of this thread, Stella is available from the Stella homepage. Please consider a donation if you find Stella useful, and as usual, all bugs can be reported here or by PM.

[Trebor]

Very cool...Thanks for the release, stephena.

[Joe Musashi]

OK, I just went ahead and did a 3.7.1 release, which addresses the TIA scanline issues mentioned above. I also managed to squeeze in a few more features, and even fix a bug or two. Changelog as follows:

• Note: because of TIA changes, the state file format has changed again, and old state files will not work with this release.
  
• Improved TIA emulation with ROMs that have too few or too many scanlines; the output is now more accurate compared to a real TV. Special thanks to Omegamatrix of AtariAge for test ROMs in this area.
  
• Modified hotkey for "Change console palette" (Control-f) to also change the display properties of the TIA. This allows you to switch between NTSC/PAL/SECAM (and variant) modes dynamically. Related to this, added Shift-Control-f key to step backwards through the available modes.
  
• Added '64in1' and '128in1' multicart bankswitching schemes, which work the same as the 2in1/4in1/etc ones (Control-r switches to each consecutive game in the ROM).
  
• Fixed several bugs in DPC+ bankswitching scheme, including ability to load and save state files. As well, ROMs now work correctly after console format autodetection.
  
• Fixed bugs in handling relative filenames on the commandline, introduced in the last release. The new functionality should be much more robust.
  

 

As stated at the beginning of this thread, Stella is available from the Stella homepage. Please consider a donation if you find Stella useful, and as usual, all bugs can be reported here or by PM.

 

Just tried the new version with the Blargg filters for the first time. Very cool !!!

 

Unfortunately, it seems a bug snuck in with the changes to the filename handling. It looks like on Posix systems filenames that contain "~" are missing in the file selector gui. I've attached two images that show this with Rom's V7.0 collection. I'm running on Mac OS Lion. I've only tested 3.7.1 vs. 3.6.1, but it may already be in 3.7.

[+stephena]

Yep, it's a bug. Stella treats the '~' character to mean your HOME directory, which is different depending on what OS you're using ($HOME for Linux and OSX, %UserProfile% for Windows). Unfortunately, this last release replaces '~' with your home directory wherever it appears in the string, when it should only replace it at the beginning of the string. So I guess 3.7.2 is coming ...

 

EDIT: On an unrelated note, you can make the launcher window bigger if you like, to more properly show long ROM filenames. The setting is in Options -> UI Settings -> Launcher. Here's a snapshot of my launcher settings:

 

Also note that I've used 'ROM Audit' mode to rename RomHunter ROMs to match Stella's internal database. Although you probably don't want to run that until the above bug is fixed.

[+stephena]

I decided to go ahead and do a quick 3.7.2 release that addresses the '~' in filename issue. This is available at the address listed above. And once again, please remember to consider a donation if you find Stella useful.

[Joe Musashi]

Awesome, works great. Thanks for the quick update!

[Nognir]

Hope this is the right place for my question:

 

I updated to the new Stella 3.7.1 version and have problems with my Stelladaptor. I plugged in normally, but my joystick won't work. Does anybody else experience that problem?

 

I'm using in on a Mac wie OSX 10.5 Leopard.

 

Edit:

Right now neither the Stelladaptor works, nor the keyboard controls. What might be the problem?

Edited July 8, 2012 by Nognir

[+stephena]

Hope this is the right place for my question:

 

I updated to the new Stella 3.7.1 version and have problems with my Stelladaptor. I plugged in normally, but my joystick won't work. Does anybody else experience that problem?

 

I'm using in on a Mac wie OSX 10.5 Leopard.

 

Edit:

Right now neither the Stelladaptor works, nor the keyboard controls. What might be the problem?

 

No idea what's going on without more information. Try completely removing the Stella settings file at ~/Library/Preferences/net.sourceforge.Stella.plist, then re-run. This will reset Stella to all defaults. If this doesn't fix the problem, try running older versions of Stella, starting from 3.7 and working backwards until you find a version that works. At least that will tell me where the problem started.

[gary1068]

Congratulations on the latest version of Stella Stephan!!! Hav'nt tried it yet but i will soon. I've used Stella in the past and it had/has an option called "Stella Cheats" thast lets you use cheat codes for 2600 roms like a Gameshark or Game Genie for a NES or SNES system. So do you happen to know where i can find these "Stella Cheats" because that would mean more replay value for those classic 2600 roms i have in my collection.

[Nognir]

Hope this is the right place for my question:

 

I updated to the new Stella 3.7.1 version and have problems with my Stelladaptor. I plugged in normally, but my joystick won't work. Does anybody else experience that problem?

 

I'm using in on a Mac wie OSX 10.5 Leopard.

 

Edit:

Right now neither the Stelladaptor works, nor the keyboard controls. What might be the problem?

 

No idea what's going on without more information. Try completely removing the Stella settings file at ~/Library/Preferences/net.sourceforge.Stella.plist, then re-run. This will reset Stella to all defaults. If this doesn't fix the problem, try running older versions of Stella, starting from 3.7 and working backwards until you find a version that works. At least that will tell me where the problem started.

 

I don't have that file in the specific folder. also a search didn't find a result..

[+SpiceWare]

Try completely removing the Stella settings file at ~/Library/Preferences/net.sourceforge.Stella.plist, then re-run.

 

I don't have that file in the specific folder. also a search didn't find a result..

 

Library is a hidden folder, at least in more recent versions of OS X, so it's contents won't show up in search.

 

To get to it, do the following:

1. switch to Finder so it's active (ie: "Finder" will be in the menu bar right next to the Apple menu).
   
2. select the Go menu
   
3. select the Go to Folder option (towards bottom of menu)
   
4. type (or copy/paste) the following:
   ~/Library/Preferences/
   
5. click Go
   

Edited July 9, 2012 by SpiceWare

[Nognir]

i found the "problem" now, but I don't know why this happens.

 

I use a program called "iShowU" to record some footage via emulator. when I start the program and start the record process with my stelladaptor plugged in, I cannot control anything in the game. only a restart of the system make it all work again. before starting to record everything works! even with stelladaptor

 

really strange..

 

Edit: When experiencing this problem removing the preference file won't help too. only a restart works.. Thanks SpiceWare for your Hint!

Edited July 9, 2012 by Nognir

[+stephena]

i found the "problem" now, but I don't know why this happens.

 

I use a program called "iShowU" to record some footage via emulator. when I start the program and start the record process with my stelladaptor plugged in, I cannot control anything in the game. only a restart of the system make it all work again. before starting to record everything works! even with stelladaptor

 

really strange..

 

Edit: When experiencing this problem removing the preference file won't help too. only a restart works.. Thanks SpiceWare for your Hint!

 

 

Sorry, I don't have any suggestions until I try to duplicate this bug myself. I guess I can install "iShowU" and see what happens. Does anyone else have any experience with this app, or has anyone had similar input-related issues in other software??

[+stephena]

Congratulations on the latest version of Stella Stephan!!! Hav'nt tried it yet but i will soon. I've used Stella in the past and it had/has an option called "Stella Cheats" thast lets you use cheat codes for 2600 roms like a Gameshark or Game Genie for a NES or SNES system. So do you happen to know where i can find these "Stella Cheats" because that would mean more replay value for those classic 2600 roms i have in my collection.

 

The current cheat system is very bare-bones, but it does work. However, it's never really received much feedback over the years, so I haven't done much work with it. And I'm not aware of any cheat-lists that are available anywhere. I've made suggestions over the years that people should experiment with creating cheats and send them to me, and I'd compile them into a list. But I've never gotten any feedback, so it's basically stopped right there.

 

Overall, I think having a cheat system is still a good idea, and I'm not opposed to expanding the cheat system to add more functionality. But I can't do it all myself; I'd need more feedback than I've received up to this point.

[Nognir]

Sorry for causing you this trouble.

[+stephena]

Sorry for causing you this trouble.

 

It's no trouble; responding to bug reports is part of the process. But I'll need more specific info if I'm to duplicate this, such as your exact version of OSX and "iShowU", and a description of exactly what you did to see the bug. Feel free to move this to PM if you like.

[asiga]

Stella is awesome! Btw, one thing I missed and I believe would be really easy to add: Why don't you allow to use the mouse scroll wheel to emulate pad controllers and Indy500 controllers? I tend to believe the mouse wheel would be the best emulation possible for such controls...