CaSTaway/GP 13.1 released!


skeezix

Internal Development
Joined
Mar 11, 2003
Messages
8,063
Website
www.codejedi.com
I only did one brief test, and then pulled out my link cable and the SMC died.. must've got static shocked or something. It'll take me awhile to get it set up again :(

So please let me know how this goes! Compare to release 13.0 (which has been out awhile and is super stable). This version should run just as fast as 13.0 and work almost identically, but better..

1) Audio should be improved; samples can still be rough on the GP32, butI'm working on improving it, but they should be better a little. YM (ST music) audio should be improved.. it was already good, but it shoudl be very good now. Missing audio should be showing up, samples shoudl be tighter, and in general any ingame music should just be superb.

2) Medium res should be sharper and more ledgible. So if your'e using medium res demos or intros etc, they shoudl be crisper, and text adventures should be very readable (not that anyone is playing them on their GP32, but you never know ;)

Please let me know how it goes, since of course I couldnt' test this much due to the above SMC mishap :(

Get it here:
http://www.codejedi.com/castaway/binaries/gpcst131.zip

Should be better than 13.1.. but do let me know as its been awhile since I updated :)

jeff
 
nice one skeezix this sounds bloody marvellous! I'll test it out soon as I get home

Have you any plans to implement drivers for the chatboard so we can get with the text adventures for real?

cheers! good man
 
I am looking into Sensible Soccer (and other Sensible titles), though very passively; I've got a couple of possible fixes for it, just no time :)

Chatboard.. someoen released some docs out there for their driver; did the driver ever end up in Spivs multirom? How many people have bought snd modded a chatboard? If its easily added, I could add it, but I've not had tiem to follow whats gone on in that arena :p

Ola Don, longtime :)

I can fix samples to sound better, but it generally costs against the YM audio for a few reasons; so making samples better makes YM a little worse. Annoying. You know, I should operate two sound threads and make them independant.. hmm...

More to come if I can.. hopefully this one works out when you all get home :)

jeff
 
Got my SMC partly reinstalled.. enough to try the emu again anyway :)

Medium res definately is improved and audio is sharper, so confirmed.

I've got a strategy for making sample playback better too, so there should be a 13.2.. :)

jeff
 
Looking forward to trying this - either when my old GP turns up or when the new one (as will happen should the old one still choose not to surface) arrives...

Nice to see some activity in Castaway - tis a brilliant emu :D
 
You're very welcome Wonderboy :)

Had to do an update.. I don't post like I used to (too busy :p), but I do check gp32emu and gp32x every day or two still :)

jeff
 
Let me add to the chorus of goodwill :D

A truly great emu skeezix and I'm overjoyed you're still updating it.

I look forward to better samples in Llamatron :D
 
I've tried many games, and there is my diagnostic:

Digits sounds are improved, but still a bit crappy
I haven't noticed that YM sounds are better... How to compare?!? :)

It still the best emulator with GPengine, and definitively my favourite ;)

I really hope that digits will be improved ( Turricaaaaaan!! Wings Of Deaaaaath!! lol)

A little idea: maybe an option to have REALLY full screen stretch (that could be really great)

You did really great work!! Keep it up!!
 
I've tried many games, and there is my diagnostic:

Digits sounds are improved, but still a bit crappy
I haven't noticed that YM sounds are better... How to compare?!? :)

It still the best emulator with GPengine, and definitively my favourite ;)

I really hope that digits will be improved ( Turricaaaaaan!! Wings Of Deaaaaath!! lol)

A little idea: maybe an option to have REALLY full screen stretch (that could be really great)

You did really great work!! Keep it up!!
Fullscreen stretch but hiding the mode lines? Its not really practical, butI suppose I could perhaps add it. ie: The blank at the bottom is kept because it keeps things fast, and because it now runs at ST 1:1 resolution.. its exactly the right proportion an ST was supposed to be. If we go stretch vertical to full screen, then drawing the virtual ekyboard would be both more work, and would *greatly* slow down the emulation (see Frodo's onscreen keyboard, how it impacts performance, and it would be much worse for CaSTaway for a variety of reasons)

So it coudl be done, if we ignore the modelines, etc..

Digitized samples should greatly improve very shortly :)

jeff
 
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Greatly improve? WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

We love you. The only reason I don't use Castaway anymore is the lack of decent sample playback.

Long live Skeezix
 
I've been giving CaSTaway some serious road testing and found a problem (bug? - maybe) as follows

Using Automation disk 1 (A_001V2.ST), I loaded Sentinel (option 5) by mistake, once it loaded, reset castaway and reloaded the same disk and when greeted with the disk menu, none of the virtual keyboard worked.

Reset castaway a few times and then got msg "ERROR: Out of RAM!".

I've tried recreating the problem and the keyboard thing happens every time until you reboot the gp32, but haven't experienced the error again.

:rolleyes:

This isn't a major problem but thought I would post it anyway!
 
I was wondering, is there a way that you could maybe have a frontend that you just select the game you want to play and ur away into the game? kind of like a usual console emulator like the master system or snes ones? just wondered.
 
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