Stella 2.3 Released!

[zansatsu]

Well on that note, thanks to Zansatsu and TelcoLou for all your hard work guys!

I'll make sure to test it out later once I get back to my place

You are welcome. Enjoy.

And if you have any issues, please report them and we'll take a look at them.

 

[TelcoLou]

Multi, you are the definitive prick. Therefore, I invite you to go fuck yourself.

BOT: Stellllaaaaaa!!!!!!!

 

[weirdocollector]

Thanks a lot for this release, this is one of the most beautiful GP2X Emus (I love the 2600) !

Just a question: is Pitfall II playable in this release ?

Thanks a lot again, and keep up the good work !

 

[zansatsu]

Now, if only archive.gp2x.de would update Stella, we could move on with the rest of the day. :rolleyes:

Thanks a lot for this release, this is one of the most beautiful GP2X Emus (I love the 2600) !

Just a question: is Pitfall II playable in this release ?

Thanks a lot again, and keep up the good work !

Short answer: No.

Long Answer: That's a bigger fish to fry. The original author (Bradford) is working on a rewrite of the core code that handles the extra hardware for Pitfall 2. While many more games (PAL and Paddle) have been made playable on the GP2X by this release, Pitfall 2 still needs some work. As soon as Pitfall 2 is full speed, I plan a release just for that. I will shout it from the rooftops when that happens. So in other words, you will know. lol

Thanks for the support.

 

[shinneri]

You mean I can play kaboom on my GP2X? Oh, this is awesome. Thanks!

 

[zansatsu]

You mean I can play kaboom on my GP2X? Oh, this is awesome. Thanks!

Kaboom, Demons to Diamonds, Video Olympics, Tac-scan, etc.... if the paddle speed is too slow/fast, it's even easy to adjust that now.

 

[multi]

Confirmed. Under 2.3, after setting ROM properties and a ROM reload, both (Graz and Eurocon) work.

ROM properties... that's the magic word. Thanks. Now it works much better.

Please wait while i go and fuck myself...

I could still have something to say about the sound emulation, but i'll wait until i've tested my code on real hardware.

I apologize for my bad words. Someone could've just told me earlier that the only thing that sucks in Stella is the region detection.

edit: plus with some roms (including eurocon 2005 and graz) on gp2x stella doesn't show ~20 lowest pixel rows at all. is there any simple solution for this?

 

[gaterooze]

First tried Stella a couple of weeks ago and was surprised by how good it was. And now comes a new version so soon! Excellent, thanks!

 

[DaveC]

Ok now I am trying to get this set up.

I have to say the menu system is very counterintuitive, I don't want to use the word sucks but... It seems some buttons move the selector in different ways depending on what you are doing etc. I have been playing with it for 10 minutes to try to set the buttons up and the rom directory that I want it to default to. The d-pad doesn't move the cursor like you would think and it is hard to figure out what button does what. I just can't figure it out. The menu system needs alot of work.

As far as emulation I will add anything I find when get it set up.

Could you use the d-pad to control up/dn, left/right, in the menus? That would be alot more intuitive. You may need to re-arrange the layout to more of a grid and/or list with rows and columns in some menus.

 

[TelcoLou]

Ok now I am trying to get this set up.

I have to say the menu system is very counterintuitive, I don't want to use the word sucks but... It seems some buttons move the selector in different ways depending on what you are doing etc. I have been playing with it for 10 minutes to try to set the buttons up and the rom directory that I want it to default to. The d-pad doesn't move the cursor like you would think and it is hard to figure out what button does what. I just can't figure it out. The menu system needs alot of work.

As far as emulation I will add anything I find when get it set up.

Could you use the d-pad to control up/dn, left/right, in the menus? That would be alot more intuitive. You may need to re-arrange the layout to more of a grid and/or list with rows and columns in some menus.

The vol + & - buttons navigate between items in the menu, it's pretty easy to move around after you get used to it

 

[saehn]

Sorry for the mini-rant. Perhaps it's the stress of the holidays. Or maybe the fact that the Windows build had to be pulled for a bug that wasn't reported before the release. The overall problem is, it isn't just one person making comments like that. I've been involved with the project since 2001, and that's a long time to stay on one thing in my spare time and have to deal with useless comments. It wears you down after a while.

Just to reiterate: I have no problem if someone prefers another emulator. Although I'm somewhat biased since I think this project has features that no other emulator has, I have no problem with choice/diversity. But saying that something just sucks, and not following up on it, is just a waste of my time. If someone has a problem, report it. Even if someone says "it sucks because it doesn't work with XXX ROM", at least we have something to look at and fix. But comments like that are worse than useless.

I say, just ignore unconstructive criticism. If this criticism is valid, it will be raised again by somehow who knows how to express themselves in a productive, positive, and considerate manner.

Stella's been great for me so far. No graphics problems, sound seems accurate. Even the nostalgic flickering in Pac-Man is emulated.

Thanks for your efforts.

 

[slaanesh]

The vol + & - buttons navigate between items in the menu, it's pretty easy to move around after you get used to it

I tend to agree; I thnk the user interface is good and has a nice consistent approach.

 

[zansatsu]

Ok now I am trying to get this set up.

I have to say the menu system is very counterintuitive, I don't want to use the word sucks but... It seems some buttons move the selector in different ways depending on what you are doing etc. I have been playing with it for 10 minutes to try to set the buttons up and the rom directory that I want it to default to. The d-pad doesn't move the cursor like you would think and it is hard to figure out what button does what. I just can't figure it out. The menu system needs alot of work.

As far as emulation I will add anything I find when get it set up.

Could you use the d-pad to control up/dn, left/right, in the menus? That would be alot more intuitive. You may need to re-arrange the layout to more of a grid and/or list with rows and columns in some menus.

Rearranging the interface is a tad extreme. To do an intensive rewrite would require man hours that I don't have. Please understand that this is a volunteer effort.

I abandoned using the joystick for GUI element selection because list navigation by the user, up or down, would cause an unintended launcher button to be selected (ie: hitting 'Go up' when 'Select' was intended, etc.). There was too much room for error. The user had to be very precise with the joystick in order to make their selections accurately. With the new mapping, GUI element selection is more discreet as the joystick only scrolls lists, and the vol+/- selects from GUI element to GUI element. In this way, the interface does exactly as the user intends.

Everything is accessible this way and I believe that once you get used to it, it might grow on you.

Check the documentation for full mapping.

 

[DaveC]

Ok now I am trying to get this set up.

I have to say the menu system is very counterintuitive, I don't want to use the word sucks but... It seems some buttons move the selector in different ways depending on what you are doing etc. I have been playing with it for 10 minutes to try to set the buttons up and the rom directory that I want it to default to. The d-pad doesn't move the cursor like you would think and it is hard to figure out what button does what. I just can't figure it out. The menu system needs alot of work.

As far as emulation I will add anything I find when get it set up.

Could you use the d-pad to control up/dn, left/right, in the menus? That would be alot more intuitive. You may need to re-arrange the layout to more of a grid and/or list with rows and columns in some menus.

Rearranging the interface is a tad extreme. To do an intensive rewrite would require man hours that I don't have. Please understand that this is a volunteer effort.

I abandoned using the joystick for GUI element selection because list navigation by the user, up or down, would cause an unintended launcher button to be selected (ie: hitting 'Go up' when 'Select' was intended, etc.). There was too much room for error. The user had to be very precise with the joystick in order to make their selections accurately. With the new mapping, GUI element selection is more discreet as the joystick only scrolls lists, and the vol+/- selects from GUI element to GUI element. In this way, the interface does exactly as the user intends.

Everything is accessible this way and I believe that once you get used to it, it might grow on you.

Check the documentation for full mapping.

Well that is ok I suppose but I am just giving my feedback. This menu system has got to be the most confusing and unintuitive ones that I have ever used. It took me forever to figure out just how to browse directories. Since it is so non-standard I will forget how to do it and will have to fight with it trying to remember how it is done all over again the next time. It is like just keep trying buttons until you get something that works. Volume to select things? why? couldn't you use the stick for that? I would never think to use a button that is normally used to change volume to navigate menus, it is just weird. I only found that by accident while thrashing around to get something to work. The only problem being some of the buttons will take you out into other sections and it takes more time to figure out how to get back to where you were to try something different. Nothing is obvious and the obvious doesn't work like you would think it would. This context sensitive menu is very confusing. The joystick doesn't work when you are trying to navigate , but when you are in a certain section it does work. so you have to try to remember when it does work and when it doesn't. You have to remember what button will do a certain function and at which time and in which menu as it changes depending on where you are. It is almost a game in itself to get a rom to load and start. If I could code I would scrap the interface completely and start over. I suppose it is easier for the guy who wrote it as he knows exactly what does what. To me it was a chore to navigate so much so that it is just too much work to try to figure out and it just seems like I am fighting the interface always. I think I will just go back to the earlier release while not perfect it is way more natural that this.

This might grow on you? Well so might fungus. I really don't like this interface. If you were at all interested I could tell you the way i would do it.

The emulation seems good but the sound seems off. I tried Demon Attack and it just didn't sound right it was as if it was slower or something.

Thanks for the work on this though. I appreciate the time you took to do this.

 

[zansatsu]

Why not use VOL+/-? The user can't set game volume while their in the menus. If I am not supposed to use a perfectly good set of buttons on the GP2X only because they are labeled 'Volume,' then GPH should've locked them out from mapping. And I don't think you would have wasted your time if you had read the readme. That being said, if you are intellectually inclined to use 2.2 revision 1, then have at it, but you are missing out on PAL Roms and Paddle games. Toodles.

 

[DaveC]

Why not use VOL+/-? The user can't set game volume while their in the menus. If I am not supposed to use a perfectly good set of buttons on the GP2X only because they are labeled 'Volume,' then GPH should've locked them out from mapping. And I don't think you would have wasted your time if you had read the readme. That being said, if you are intellectually inclined to use 2.2 revision 1, then have at it, but you are missing out on PAL Roms and Paddle games. Toodles.

Why not use the stick? That is what it is for, moving game characters and moving through menus. Every other game/emulator uses the stick. This is the ONLY one that uses the volume to move around. Hand the unit to someone and what do you think they will try first to navigate? I would bet 100% of the time they would try the stick first. The volume would be like one of the last things someone would try, it just doesn't make sense.

To load the emu and have to sit there and think for awhile to remember how it works is just poor interface design. It should just come natural and this is the opposite of that. It would be like if out of the blue someone made a car that used the turn signal lever to drive and not the wheel. To have to turn on the computer and load the readme just to navigate a menu just shows it is not intuitive. If you don't use the emu for awhile and come back to it after awhile many will forget the exact sequence of buttons that you have to use to navigate as it is so unlike everything else.

 

[zansatsu]

Learn to read the previous posts, I've already answered the "Why not the the Joystick?" question. This is the last response you will get on this until I know that you've read everything and understood what I've written.

 

[o0o0o]

Learn to read the previous posts, I've already answered the "Why not the the Joystick?" question. This is the last response you will get on this until I know that you've read everything and understood what I've written.

Unfortunately, I have to agree, using the volume keys for navigation is just wrong. I already have enough problems with accidentally triggering a "Save state", since the "Y" button is mapped. Maybe the Left/Right triggers would have been better if you really wanted to go with an alternative key map.


Thanks for making some updates though.

 

[zansatsu]

Learn to read the previous posts, I've already answered the "Why not the the Joystick?" question. This is the last response you will get on this until I know that you've read everything and understood what I've written.

Unfortunately, I have to agree, using the volume keys for navigation is just wrong. I already have enough problems with accidentally triggering a "Save state", since the "Y" button is mapped. Maybe the Left/Right triggers would have been better if you really wanted to go with an alternative key map.


Thanks for making some updates though.

Thank you for the helpful suggestion. It wouldn't be too hard to use the triggers for navigation.

 

[DaveC]

Learn to read the previous posts, I've already answered the "Why not the the Joystick?" question. This is the last response you will get on this until I know that you've read everything and understood what I've written.

I have read and understood your post but I don't agree with the reason. Maybe the stick interface worked better for me because i use a d-pad?

The way it was before there were a few times when "go up" etc was selected by accident. It was fairly easy to get back from that and it only happened once in a while. It would have made more sense to me to find a different way to select those options and leave the stick navigation alone.

For example you could have the 4 face buttons do 1 of the 4 options at the bottom. X could be "go up", B could be "select", A "options", Y "quit". That would be much faster as well when navigating directories. Now you have to hit "volume" Then tab over to "go up" then tab back to the directory section, then hit "B" Then "B" again. With that assigned to a button you would just hit "X" to instantly go up a directory then "B" to go into another directory. That would be quicker.

Maybe you could have a menu option to switch between interface styles? This way we could choose the method we like best.

I don't think that trigger navigation would work though as L,R is used to page up/down on ROM lists. Getting rid of that would be a bad idea for those with large romsets. It could take forever to scroll to what you want.

Also I found something is off with the sound. It seems like a channel is missing or something. It also seems too high pitched. Try Pacman, and compare it to real hardware or a different emu on a PC.

Also maybe you could have it so that it centers the game screen vertically. Have an evenly sized black bar on the top and the bottom. That is minor but it would look a little nicer.

When defining buttons I have a hard time knowing what is what because the "action:" field shows PC keys and not GP2X buttons. Could those be changed to show the equivalent GP2X key instead of the PC ones? Right now I get something like "JO B16" I am not sure what that means.