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Altirra 2.30 released


phaeron

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Okay, this is basically three posts in one, but I figured that was better than spamming the board.

 

Since things were at a good stopping point, I've re-released the 2.30-test15 beta version of my emulator Altirra as 2.30 final:

http://www.virtualdub.org/altirra.html

 

The full change list is at the bottom of the page, but here are some highlights:

  • Many bug fixes to 65C816 emulation. In particular, cross-bank indexing is now emulated, which is a major cause of 65C816-incompatible code that uses only legal 6502 opcodes.
  • Improved emulation accuracy: player/missile lockup, exact patterns and pattern timing for POKEY noise generators, and 800/XE floating data bus.
  • Many fixes and improvements to the debugger, including the ability to stack panes.
  • Major improvements to the built-in LLE OS kernel. In addition to improved compatibility, it now supports XL/XE OS features that are commonly omitted, including the printer and cassette drivers, PBI device support, relocatable peripheral handler support, and type 4 polling.
  • Improved device emulation support: SIDE 2, Axlon extended memory, VBXE 1.24, and SIC! cartridges with different flash chips.
  • UI improvements: expanded full-screen UI, more drag-and-drop options, better quality text in on-screen indicators, reduced lag in full-screen modes, and improved support for full-screen modes with true PAL (50Hz) refresh rates.

Now that 2.30 is out, I can now also fully reveal what I've been working on behind the scenes, which is support for emulating abnormal playfield DMA:

 

http://www.virtualdu...-2.40-test1.zip

http://www.virtualdu...0-test1-src.zip

 

Which, as I hinted at in the previous thread, you can test in 2.40 test-1 or on real hardware by typing the following in BASIC:

 

POKE 39974,18:POKE 39975,8:POKE 54276,15

 

post-16457-0-97964900-1368599796_thumb.png

 

That's supposed to be a mode 8 (GRAPHICS 3) line. This is what I've long called the "last big unemulated Atari hardware bug." It's utterly useless except for screwing up your program, but I've seen several people independently hit it while doing various HSCROL tricks since it hasn't shown up in emulation and get stuck trying to figure out what's screwing up their display list. Well, it's time to fix that. To accompany this, I've also uploaded a newer version of my Hardware Manual to the main website with a new section on abnormal playfield DMA, explaining everything I've been able to discover about this bug and how to avoid it.

 

Thanks to everyone who's provided feedback and welcomed me on this forum as I continue with what is now a very long but still enjoyable nostalgia trip.

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MANY many thanks Avery!!! Excellent work indeed. A long - and I hope ongoing! - nostalgia trip indeed. However one that is MASSIVELY appreciated.

 

I especially like the tabbed/stackable windows. This makes printer output very convenient indeed.

Edited by morelenmir
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Also, in regards to my ongoing issues with the printer output window and its readability when performing successive prints through the assembler editor cartridge - a simple solution, but an effective one is to use the '.title' and '.page' directives which automatically give you a few blank lines when called. If you put something like:

 

10 .title "Assembly language programme."

20 .page "start of listing."

30...<ASM code follows>...

 

at the beginning of your ASM source it does help to break up the text from successive prints when viewed in the printer output window. The ability to manually blank the window would still be nice, but this has helped me a huge degree while retaining the very nice new tabbed windows.

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Is Altirra usable with the Maxflash Cartridge Studio as a preview application?

And is there a command line to load the cartridge data from the Studio?

Make Atirra your application then use this line.

 

-xl -cart "%TARGETCAR%

 

post-10165-0-80208300-1368763141_thumb.png

Edited by rdea6
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Fix for a regression in missile DMA with horizontal scrolling:

 

http://www.virtualdub.org/beta/Altirra-2.40-test2.zip

http://www.virtualdub.org/beta/Altirra-2.40-test2-src.zip

 

I also added support for the new .car types that were introduced with Atari800 3.0.0.

 

The About box unfortunately looks a bit drab with all the rest of the stuff I've done, which doesn't really do justice to the thanks I have in there. One of these days I'll have to redo it in something more fitting... maybe in 6502 asm instead of a boring Win32 dialog.

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