Suggestions for new castaway release

[timthepig]

-I haven't tried the latest release but if Skeezix is wanting perfection - here is a list of suggestions to be added


Auto Frameskip for Loading Compressed Disks(raises to 99 then back to original frameskip) As seen in Steem

Gamma Correction\contrast (Skeezix mentioned this cannot be done) - I do have troubles seeing the screen on many games - Frodo(snaff) did it - is it possible here

Alphabetically file listing The amount of games on smc is rather large - and trying to find them is becoming a little lengthy - this would make things easier

Writing Directly to Disk Image This would be handy writing directly to disc as this would make the whole save process simplier(I've had trouble with some games.

Clearer Menu\Text On the file selection screen - that black\navy blue is a little hard to view - I personally suggest a White BG and Black Text - with maybe a dash of green(Like the st desktop). Also the in-emulator text is clear(especially on save)

Anyone else agree?

-This wasn't meant as picking holes - its already the best emulator out there - but just in case Skeezix was looking for more ideas...

 

[tapsel]

Auto Frameskip: Good idea, in my eyes. Right after fireing the Atari ST up, I switch the FS to 99 immediately, since it gets slower once the
unpacking process starts. If I load images from disk compilations, there is usually a game select screen, after selecting a game there is a screen
by the game cracker, then the actual game menu, then the game. Between every single step there is uncompressing/loading, which means switching
frameskip back and forth for 3-4 times. It would be so much easier if this would be done automatically.

Gamma Correction: I thought Skeezix mentioned once, that this is very easy. Setting an offset to the color palette, or something.

Alphabetically file listing: #2

Writing to Disk images: I don't know, quite some compilation disks do warn you from saving to the disk. I think they are too brimming
with packed games. Dunno if you could mess up the disk images... What kind of troubles did you experience?

Menu is clear enough for me.

 

[stickofjoy]

I;ve not used the latest version yet, either... :blink:

Auto Frameskip for Loading Compressed Disks(raises to 99 then back to original frameskip) As seen in Steem

frameskip can be set +/-90 by one press of the button now.

Gamma Correction\contrast (Skeezix mentioned this cannot be done) - I do have troubles seeing the screen on many games - Frodo(snaff) did it - is it possible here

He mentioned that it clips the colour values having it too high but it is possible. Still, any chance of giving us the option though?

Alphabetically file listing The amount of games on smc is rather large - and trying to find them is becoming a little lengthy - this would make things easier

Agreed, perhaps with the intelligent naming of disc images so we can see what game is on what disc?

Writing Directly to Disk Image This would be handy writing directly to disc as this would make the whole save process simplier(I've had trouble with some games.

Would like this as an option?

Clearer Menu\Text On the file selection screen - that black\navy blue is a little hard to view - I personally suggest a White BG and Black Text - with maybe a dash of green(Like the st desktop). Also the in-emulator text is clear(especially on save)

Does the GUI address this?

-This wasn't meant as picking holes - its already the best emulator out there - but just in case Skeezix was looking for more ideas...

AGREED!

 

[Betty 2001]

Reading Zip files would be great too !

 

[Hazel]

I still haven't managed to restart the console, though the option says: Restart Castaway/GP. How do I do that? And if that's not implemented yet then I'd be grateful if it could be in some later version.

 

[skeezix]

I still haven't managed to restart the console, though the option says: Restart Castaway/GP. How do I do that? And if that's not implemented yet then I'd be grateful if it could be in some later version.

Reset works; it just returns you to the disk selection screen,a nd fires up a new ST when you hit Start. IF you want to swap disks without restarting, use the Insert Disks option in the Disks menu. Theres no "reset" per se.. but you can hit Reset, and then push Start (without picking new disks), to reuse the old disks. This is essentially a fast power off/on, then, and is likely what you want.

jeff

 

[tapsel]

@Hazel:

Edit: Skeezix was faster.

 

[Hazel]

Well yeah that works and works great but I mean restarting the console not the ST. I just hate switching my GP off and on each time I want to change the emulator.

 

[skeezix]

-I haven't tried the latest release but if Skeezix is wanting perfection - here is a list of suggestions to be added


Auto Frameskip for Loading Compressed Disks(raises to 99 then back to original frameskip) As seen in Steem

Gamma Correction\contrast (Skeezix mentioned this cannot be done) - I do have troubles seeing the screen on many games - Frodo(snaff) did it - is it possible here

Alphabetically file listing The amount of games on smc is rather large - and trying to find them is becoming a little lengthy - this would make things easier

Writing Directly to Disk Image This would be handy writing directly to disc as this would make the whole save process simplier(I've had trouble with some games.

Clearer Menu\Text On the file selection screen - that black\navy blue is a little hard to view - I personally suggest a White BG and Black Text - with maybe a dash of green(Like the st desktop). Also the in-emulator text is clear(especially on save)

Anyone else agree?

-This wasn't meant as picking holes - its already the best emulator out there - but just in case Skeezix was looking for more ideas...

Auto Frameskip; I've just not had chance to worry about it yet.. sound was priority. Now onto other challenges So auto frameskip.. I guess the way to do it is to measure the number of times we hit the bottom of the screen, and if it gets too low, start incrementig frameskip until it reaches 99 or a reaosnable number of refreshes per second, and then back down? We'll have to see. I dislike the idea of auto-frameskip myself, sinceI don't like "magic". I like to be in control.

Gamma can be done quit easily (just change my multiplier); but you clip. ie: It already uses full range of GP32 colour.. the ST dark maps to GP32 dark, and ST high maps to GP32 high. I can make it brioghter, but then your darks become brighter, and yourbrighters.. stay the same? Non-linear? Or else they become white and half your colour space is white. Drag.

Alpha file listing. We'll see. I'm thinking of moving the file picker to the same sort of menu as the Options Menu, but with a semi-scroll-bar. When I did the overhaul, I'll alphabetize it

Writign direc tto disk is bad; virii dont' you know More to point, sometiems oyu do not want to corrupt your original disk. ie: If you format it in the emu, do you really want to format it your SMC based original? So it'd ahve to copy it.. and thats mroe magic. I dont' want the emu automatically makign copies of all the disk images all the time. Furthermore, I like to be in control and discard at leisure. Also very important.. writing to SMC is *very slow*. It'd be awful to wait while it writes to SMC.

Thast why you can do it yourself.. let it write to RAM nice and fast, and at your leisure, save it out to SMC for permanence. Seems the best way.

Clearer text will come when I move the disk picker to the menu system. As you know, the menu is really clear.

Nitpickign is okay. I dont' mind. I dont' take it personally. We wall want the best of the software. My job is merely to define how mcuh I can do, and to pick the best choices of what has been suggested. I dont' take it as a slam.. I been in the biz too long for that

all suggestions welcome

jeff

 

[ldaneels]

Hi, I just tried the new version & the sound is great & clear.
Several points / wishes, though:
- sound seems to be too fast at frameskip 0 (try mortvielle manor to see what I mean - it's like on fast forward - or Elvira 2). Imagine that, the emus with everything is too fast ! Now that's irony.... Well, at least I can play Mortvielle manor & understand what they say (which is good since there is no other way around it)
- is it possible to bind the insert disk option to a key (like the Left shoulder button) or a combination of keys (L+R) ?
- Possibility to select the directory in which you are looking for roms (this way you don't have to have 200 roms in a single directory)
- A contrast option (yes, that again) would be very nice. That is if you can find a way to make the change linear...
- A few games are still flashing like mad during gameplay (Elvira 2, E-motion for example). Is this fixable ?
Thanks again for the great emu & keep up the awesome work...

Loic

PS: you are out to win that coding contest, aren't you ? Quite likely you will win it... I have been in emus forever & your is simply one of the most advanced I have seen (well, everything is relative, PC has a slew of near perfect emu, but the challenge with the GP32 is not the same either)

 

[deathterrapin]

For the brightness/contrast adjustment, proper gamma correction isnt a simple multiplication, its some non-linear function, so the values dont get all clipped to white at the top, the values in the middle of the range move most, the values at the ends of the range hardly change.
Obviously a simple multiply would be faster though.

 

[stickofjoy]

For the brightness/contrast adjustment, proper gamma correction isnt a simple multiplication, its some non-linear function, so the values dont get all clipped to white at the top, the values in the middle of the range move most, the values at the ends of the range hardly change.
Obviously a simple multiply would be faster though.

perhaps as black- how he does it in GPengine?

 

[deathterrapin]

I wouldn't know, I got my GP32 on friday but I'm still waiting for my smc to be delivered :-S