+stephena Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Stella 4.1 is now available; it contains a few nice improvements over the last release. Unfortunately, I'm still trying to track down the 'joystick not found' issues, so that hasn't been addressed in this release. Changes are as follows: * Improved 'DASH' bankswitching scheme support; there is now a debugger tab for changing banks and viewing internal cart RAM, and autodetection is now implemented.* Added 'MDM' (Menu Driven Megacart) bankswitch scheme as described on AtariAge and originally developed by Edwin Blink.* Improved snapshot viewing in the ROM launcher; snapshots are now scaled to the available space, and can better accommodate sizes other than those generated by Stella itself.* Improved support on multi-monitor systems. Stella will now use the same monitor for fullscreen-windowed mode switches. Special thanks to Magnus Lind for patches that added this functionality.* Removed the 'bank' command from the debugger prompt, as it only worked (inconsistently) with certain bankswitch types. The bankswitch UI should now be used to query/set bank state.* Fixed bug in disassembly output; instructions at $F000 were never being highlighted during execution.* The UNIX configure script now supports newer versions of Hurd. Special thanks to Stephen Kitt for the patch. As usual, Stella can be downloaded from the Stella webpage, and donations are always welcome. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
israelg Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Thanks! I.G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Any chance of bringing back the green/black UI colors? They looked nice in my gaming room compared to the harsh pastel currently in use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stephena Posted September 2, 2014 Author Share Posted September 2, 2014 Any chance of bringing back the green/black UI colors? They looked nice in my gaming room compared to the harsh pastel currently in use. I'll consider it for the next release. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Thanks in advance. M.A.M.E. and Stella get the most ooohhs and aahhs and ohh-wows of all the emulators when guests play in my drawing lounge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Not exactly oohs and aahhhs but more like, "Oh cool! What program is that? How does it work?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Bug report: CTRL + R (reload ROM) doesn't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stephena Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 Bug report: CTRL + R (reload ROM) doesn't work. Can you confirm what version this started in (pre-4.0, 4.0, 4.1?). And also, I assume you tested in Windows?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 4.1, Win 7, 64 Bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stephena Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 4.1, Win 7, 64 Bit So to be absolutely clear, it worked fine in 4.0 but now doesn't in 4.1? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Right. But it must be hardware related, because on my home computer, with the identical Windows, 4.1 works perfectly. On Monday, I will reinstall 4.0 at my office computer and try again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stephena Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 Right. But it must be hardware related, because on my home computer, with the identical Windows, 4.1 works perfectly. On Monday, I will reinstall 4.0 at my office computer and try again. I wonder if it's related to the language settings you're using (you mentioned at one point you used German vs. English layout)?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Don't think so. Then it wouldn't have worked before too. Also the keys are the same with both keyboard layouts here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 OK, I tried with 4.0 and 3.9.3 now: 3.9.3 works as expected, no problems. With 4.0 CTRL+R behaved somewhat fuzzy. At the first try it takes ~5 seconds to reload (initial loading the ROM was immediate), later on it is immediate. After reinstalling 4.1 it behaves identical to 4.0, so no crash anymore. So no big deal, but some change between 3.9.3. and 4.0 must cause this behavior. So I checked the video settings. 4.x was using Direct3D instead of Software rendering. After switching to Software there too, the reload problem disappeared. I suppose Direct3D gets somehow reinitialized on the first reload (and not later on) and this takes some time. Also when I start a game from the Launcher (instead via command line as usual), the first launched game takes 5 seconds too (all other launches are immediate). Or maybe the game isn't using Direct3D on first launch via command line and reload forces Direct3D initialization (can I check this somehow?). BTW: Switching from software to Direct3D via tab menu is always immediate. First time reloading takes 5s too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stephena Posted September 15, 2014 Author Share Posted September 15, 2014 Maybe try OpenGL instead of DIrect3D, so you still get hardware acceleration (assuming that OpenGL drivers are installed, of course). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stephena Posted September 15, 2014 Author Share Posted September 15, 2014 I just did a quick 4.1.1 release. There are only a few small changes, including the return of 'uipalette' option, and a fix for the annoying beep that happened Windows every time you press the Alt key. Download location is listed above. I wanted to get these things done and released, since I'm working on a few larger issues and a new release may not be ready for several months. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Thanks man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Maybe try OpenGL instead of DIrect3D, so you still get hardware acceleration (assuming that OpenGL drivers are installed, of course). I believe that hardware acceleration is working (after the 5s initialization pause happened once). But before it is probably not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stephena Posted September 16, 2014 Author Share Posted September 16, 2014 I believe that hardware acceleration is working (after the 5s initialization pause happened once). But before it is probably not. What I meant was that maybe if Direct3D is causing a pause and software mode isn't, then perhaps OpenGL will not have the pause (and you don't have to lose acceleration by using software mode). Basically, try all 3 and see which works best for you If OpenGL worked fine in pre-4.0, it should work the same now. If it doesn't, then it's a bug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 StephanA - Many thanks for another fantastic update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 What I meant was that maybe if Direct3D is causing a pause and software mode isn't, then perhaps OpenGL will not have the pause (and you don't have to lose acceleration by using software mode). Basically, try all 3 and see which works best for you If OpenGL worked fine in pre-4.0, it should work the same now. If it doesn't, then it's a bug. OpenGL works fine, with a very brief pause at the beginning. Software works fine, with out any pause Direct3D has no pause at the beginning, but a 5s pause at 1st(!) reload or when switching to the debugger 1st(!) time (without prio reload). I could be wrong, but for me this indicates pretty that Direct3D is not initialized at the first load, but with the 1st reload or debugger switch. So this looks like a bug in Stella, no? Or is that a bug in my environment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stephena Posted September 17, 2014 Author Share Posted September 17, 2014 In this case, I recommend simply using OpenGL. I don't think it's a bug in Stella, since it's not happening with all renderers. More likely, either the Direct3D functionality in SDL is less mature (it was only added recently, after all), or your video card drivers are more optimized for OpenGL vs. Direct3D. Also, for Windows I've only been able to test on Intel and Nvidia hardware, not AMD/ATI. So there could be driver issues there too. One final thing; try disabling sound output and test again, and let me know the difference (if any). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr SQL Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 OK, I tried with 4.0 and 3.9.3 now: 3.9.3 works as expected, no problems. With 4.0 CTRL+R behaved somewhat fuzzy. At the first try it takes ~5 seconds to reload (initial loading the ROM was immediate), later on it is immediate. After reinstalling 4.1 it behaves identical to 4.0, so no crash anymore. So no big deal, but some change between 3.9.3. and 4.0 must cause this behavior. So I checked the video settings. 4.x was using Direct3D instead of Software rendering. After switching to Software there too, the reload problem disappeared. I suppose Direct3D gets somehow reinitialized on the first reload (and not later on) and this takes some time. Also when I start a game from the Launcher (instead via command line as usual), the first launched game takes 5 seconds too (all other launches are immediate). Or maybe the game isn't using Direct3D on first launch via command line and reload forces Direct3D initialization (can I check this somehow?). BTW: Switching from software to Direct3D via tab menu is always immediate. First time reloading takes 5s too. Tom, you can check if Direct3D is used via command line with one of my game ROM's - they tear apart (look horrible) with the software rendering; most Atari games look fine either way but with mine you'll know right away if ActiveX/DirectX/Direct3D is in effect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 In this case, I recommend simply using OpenGL. I don't think it's a bug in Stella, since it's not happening with all renderers. More likely, either the Direct3D functionality in SDL is less mature (it was only added recently, after all), or your video card drivers are more optimized for OpenGL vs. Direct3D. Also, for Windows I've only been able to test on Intel and Nvidia hardware, not AMD/ATI. So there could be driver issues there too. One final thing; try disabling sound output and test again, and let me know the difference (if any). I am using NVidia Quadro 2000M graphics (see atachment). Sound disabling makes no difference. Maybe the Direct3D version is too old? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stephena Posted September 17, 2014 Author Share Posted September 17, 2014 DirectX 9 is all you need, since that's all that is supported by SDL. It's very strange that the delay isn't happening when opening a ROM/launcher, but it does happen when the state changes afterwards. To me, if there was going to be an initialization slowdown, it would happen at first, not later. Anyway, I will try to figure out why this is happening, but since it's not happening in other renderers, I still think it's related to Direct3D/drivers, and not Stella directly. Something else to try: download the official SD2.dll from http://libsdl.org and drop it in the app folder to see if it makes any difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.