question

[user9733]

>no option to 1x mode in any release of stella

>no option to drag window edges in any release of stella

>black borders appear in dragonstomper on stella 3.8.1

>black borders dont appear in dragonstomper on 2.2

>no option to snapshot in 1x mode on stella 2.2

>option to snapshot in 1x mode on stella 3.8.1

 

is there anything that can take 1x screenshots and not have black borders?

 

screenshot with stella 2.2

 

screenshot with stella 3.8.1

[+stephena]

The second picture (from the latest Stella release) is in 1x format.

 

The black borders are normal, and what you'd see on a real TV. Older versions of Stella weren't completely accurate in that regard; newer versions are. So there is nothing here to fix, since it's emulating exactly what a real system/TV would show. And the main goal of Stella is accuracy compared to the real thing, so this won't change. I guess you can always crop the image afterwards in some image editor.

 

The window can be made smaller with Alt-minus, and bigger with Alt-equals. The window edges can't be 'dragged' since Stella isn't actually a Windows-only program. It is cross-platform, and meant to run on systems that don't even necessarily have a mouse or a windowing system. That's why the shortcut keys were added. This may be addressed in a future release.

[user9733]

The second picture (from the latest Stella release) is in 1x format.

>option to snapshot in 1x mode on stella 3.8.1

 

So there is nothing here to fix

oh but there is

 

the main goal of Stella is accuracy compared to the real thing

there's an option to use old stella colors so there should be an option for this

 

so this won't change

well it should

 

I guess you can always crop the image afterwards in some image editor.

tl;dd

 

The window can be made smaller with Alt-minus, and bigger with Alt-equals.

>no option to 1x mode in any release of stella

 

The window edges can't be 'dragged' since Stella isn't actually a Windows-only program.

what is gimp and every other cross platform app that can drag edges?

 

This may be addressed in a future release.

Thanks.

[akator]

>no option to block trolls from using Stella

[SeaGtGruff]

Stella lets you specify which scan line the screen display will begin on, as well as the number of scan lines that will be displayed. You can use these two options to crop off any blanked lines from the top of the display and the bottom of the display (set the top line first, then the screen height). To access these options, press the TAB key while the game is running and select GAME PROPERTIES, then go to the last tab. IIRC the display doesn't update as soon as you change the settings-- after you apply them, you have to press the BACKSLASH key and select the option to restart the ROM. Once you've changed these two settings for a given game, Stella should remember them for the next time you play that game.

 

Edit: As for the extra blanking on the left, there's an option to remove that, too-- I forget the exact description and location of the option, but it's the option to hide or show HMOVE.

 

Edit #2: Probably the reason for the difference between Stella 2.2 and Stella 3.8.1 is (I'm guessing, so stephena can correct me if necessary) because the game properties for all the old games used to be stored in a file, whereas (I think) now Stella determines most game properties automatically if possible-- although you can still set the game properties yourself for a given game and save them.

Edited April 12, 2013 by SeaGtGruff

[RevEng]

Edit: As for the extra blanking on the left, there's an option to remove that, too-- I forget the exact description and location of the option, but it's the option to hide or show HMOVE.

 

Alt-M will remove the blanking too, but DragonStomper uses blanking to hide spurious graphics. If the blanking is disabled, the display is wrong.

[+stephena]

The options can be tweaked as described above to 'remove' blank area, but is (a) purely aesthetic and (b) not how a real system would look. For the past few years, my main goal in Stella has been accuracy. Earlier versions weren't as exact as more current versions, and I see no reason to reverse that policy to make something look nicer than it was originally designed to look. You'd have to blame the original console designers for the 'deficiencies' you see; as they're on a real system too. And the behaviour of the real system is ABSOLUTE; anything else is incorrect emulation. Sorry if that means that some games look not a nice as you think they should.

 

As for the resizing issue, what I meant is that the app is also meant for systems that don't have a windowing system at all. Think of an older DOS game, and ask yourself why that didn't have drag-able edges. It didn't because (a) there weren't any edges to drag, and (b) it only worked in pre-defined resolutions. This is exactly the case with Stella. Now, in the future this may be added, but the rendering will have to switch to OpenGL/Direct3D entirely, so we can get non-integral scaling for free. This is actually on the TODO list for Stella 4.0. But you have to remember that Stella is a cross-platform game, not a GUI application. Games often have such restrictions, even new ones released in 2013.

[SeaGtGruff]

To get rid of the blanking at the top of the Dragonstomper screen, set YSTART to 39.

 

However, it appears you can't reduce the number of lines-- if you change it from 210 to (say) 200, it looks like you still get 210 lines in NTSC games?

 

As for Alt-M, that doesn't work the way I thought I remembered. I thought there used to be an option to decrease the width of the screen in games that do HMOVE on every line, such that the display starts at clock 76 (68 plus 8 ) instead of at clock 68?

 

So in the long run, it's probably best to leave the game properties alone and let Stella emulate the game screen more or less as it would appear on a TV-- i.e., with some blanking visible at the top and bottom of the screen.

Edited April 13, 2013 by SeaGtGruff

[+stephena]

There indeed used to be options to change by XStart and XWidth, and YStart and YHeight. So you could not only toggle the HMOVE blank pixels, but actually remove the area altogether, and physically make the screen smaller (it was the combination of XStart and XWidth which did this). It was discussed over some time how this functionality should work; it wasn't just a simple delete and it was all removed. It was decided that it's best to emulate what we see on a real TV, rather than having the output be an idealized TV. It also reduced complexity in some of the code, which is always a good thing. Overall, I think it's a good solution, even if it doesn't look as nice some would want (but remember, much of the 2600 doesn't look as nice as we'd like either).

 

As for the 210/200 line issues, there is a minimum internal limit of 210 scanlines to accommodate the UI stuff. Perhaps the UI should reflect this, and not let you enter a value less than 210.

[RevEng]

tl;dd

 

You have a very short definition of "tl". I just timed doing a crop on a stella screenshot at a relaxed pace. From loading Gimp, to navigating for the screeenshot, to cropping, to saving it took a total of 50 seconds.

[user9733]

>no option to block trolls from using Stella

>i'm gonna reply to feedback for improvemovent

>omg wtf trolls

 

LE EPIC TROLL FACE LE

 

Stella lets you specify which scan line the screen display will begin on, as well as the number of scan lines that will be displayed. You can use these two options to crop off any blanked lines from the top of the display and the bottom of the display (set the top line first, then the screen height). To access these options, press the TAB key while the game is running and select GAME PROPERTIES, then go to the last tab. IIRC the display doesn't update as soon as you change the settings-- after you apply them, you have to press the BACKSLASH key and select the option to restart the ROM. Once you've changed these two settings for a given game, Stella should remember them for the next time you play that game.

thanks but i can't seem to change the display settings to crop all the edges

 

Edit: As for the extra blanking on the left, there's an option to remove that, too-- I forget the exact description and location of the option, but it's the option to hide or show HMOVE.

i dont know where it is either

 

Edit #2: Probably the reason for the difference between Stella 2.2 and Stella 3.8.1 is (I'm guessing, so stephena can correct me if necessary) because the game properties for all the old games used to be stored in a file, whereas (I think) now Stella determines most game properties automatically if possible-- although you can still set the game properties yourself for a given game and save them.

that should be an option

 

Alt-M will remove the blanking too, but DragonStomper uses blanking to hide spurious graphics. If the blanking is disabled, the display is wrong.

thanks cropping is fine too but either way theres top and bottom "blanking"

 

Sorry if that means that some games look not a nice as you think they should.

i didn't say that some games look not as nice as you think they should;

i only said it should be an option

 

Now, in the future this may be added

ooooh that more sense now thanks you

 

I thought there used to be an option to decrease the width of the screen

there should be an option

 

So in the long run, it's probably best to leave the game properties alone

fuck that i'm gonna use 2.2 still

oh right no 1x opiton

 

there is no solution

 

but thanks for trying, everyone

Edited April 13, 2013 by user9733

[fiddlepaddle]

...f*** that i'm gonna use 2.2 still

 

there is no solution

 

This is only my opinion, but one solution would be to write your own emulater that works the way you like. No need to be rude. Also might show some appreciation for the person who gave their sweat for you.

[user9733]

it took a total of 50 seconds.

multiply that by 100 screenshots

 

This is only my opinion, but one solution would be to write your own emulater

xstart; [ ]

width; [ ]

ystart; [ ]

height; [ ]

 

Also might show some appreciation for the person who gave their sweat for you.

i said thank you