Masterlator Observations


frolik

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So have many of you spent much time with the old master system games on this emu? I've had a good flick through and thought I'd give some feedback

+ The contranst & colour is displayed very well, makes fSMS look dull in comparison, even when using the gamma setting

+ Smooth transitions and graphical effects add a professional feel to the interface

+ Only one savestate, works well but 10 slots with a preview pic would be welcome

+ A couple of games have been reported having minor graphical bugs (Ghouls'n'Ghosts)

+ No Rom name resolution in rom browser - 8.3 filenames only

+ Would be nicer to save the SRAM and states as logical filenames instead of the hex checksum

+ Game reset function is mapped to the L button which is fatal if you accidentally press it during a game

As I said, these are observations, it's a really impressive emulator and many thanks go to Christian Nowak, the Author.
 
Game reset function is mapped to the L button which is fatal if you accidentally press it during a game

That is my only major issue with this emu, it is far too easy to press reset by accident. Also road rash has some minor graphical glitches.

That said, it is an excellent first release, very promising indeed.
 
the best thing about masterlator is that is has vertical synchronization.
games with fast graphics, platformers like sonic arent't really playable in fSMS because of this bug.
so, i'm really hoping for an update, that fixes the sprite bugs (also in golden axe warrior :( )
 
I agree with all the points here, the only thing I'm worried about is the presentation. as it is a first version I'm prepared to wait for all the technical and usability tweaks but it is curious that so much eye candy has been thrown in for a first release. I find the borders and the animated menus etc very off-putting.

I'm a big fan of straightforward presentation, or if eye candy is to be used, keep it in the style of the system, ie. the white background with blue grid of the MS titles etc. Nothing should get in the way of the games, the emulator shouldn't try to upstage the software.

I'm not a coder and like I say it is a first version so I wouldn't expect it to be perfect yet (It's a totally new emulator!) but I think the presentation has obviously had time spent on it already and could be something that puts me off using it until it gets significantly better than fSMS (which seems likely so far).

One note though: fSMS doesn't run ANY of my Game Gear ROMs for some reason whereas Masterlator does, so it is already useful to me for that purpose...

®
 
it is curious that so much eye candy has been thrown in for a first release

I think this is just a personal thing by the programmer -- some people like to make things look nice. He has obviously spent a lot of time on the programme and perhaps got a little bored along the way and got into the presentation side perhaps as a break from the technical stuff.

keep it in the style of the system

I agree here, I am not a massive fan of that pink surround, I know why it is there, but pink wouldn't be my first choice, something more appropriate to the system would be better. Either way it is still an excellent emu.
 
I am pretty sure this is not a first release, but it is still very good. Some games seem to run a little slow but it has a very nice 'feel' to it, if you know what I mean. Also, it doesn't have the 4 screen split bug that fSMS has.
 
fSMS is still better though in my opinion. I don't care for the bright pixely border on this one. The lack of scaling, especially for the tiny Game gear stuff is a big thing too. If these things are fixed it will be great, until then I still prefer fSMS.
 
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