Wiz Firmware Updates

[dogeymon]

I noticed at www.gp2xwiz.com there are firmware updates in the Support section. I tried recently putting the latest firmware update on my Wiz. The V 1.0.1 said that it solved the "tearing phenomenon" of the main menu and applications. Well alright, I thought! That means that diagonal tear across the whole screen when Sonic the Hedgehog is running is gone now right???

Well I updated my Wiz with 1.0.1, thinking it was actually 1.1.0. So, whoopsy. Then I went ahead and downloaded 1.1.0 and updated that on my Wiz with success. I played Sonic The Hedgehog right away and........ THE DIAGONAL TEARING WAS THERE! Ok, granted, it says the tearing phenomenon was solved in 1.0.1. But honestly, am I to assume that 1.1.0 doesn't have the same solutions as in 1.0.1? Am I to believe that the new upgrade brings the tearing phenomenon back?? I thought it was supposed to be gone now.


I'm confused.

 

[EvilDragon]

I noticed at www.gp2xwiz.com there are firmware updates in the Support section. I tried recently putting the latest firmware update on my Wiz. The V 1.0.1 said that it solved the "tearing phenomenon" of the main menu and applications. Well alright, I thought! That means that diagonal tear across the whole screen when Sonic the Hedgehog is running is gone now right???

It solves the tearing for the menu and apps running in correct resolution (240x320, not 320x240).
As long as devs use 320x240 for their games, tearing will be there (until GPH includes a fix in the SDL libraries and the apps are dynamically linking and using them)

Well I updated my Wiz with 1.0.1, thinking it was actually 1.1.0. So, whoopsy. Then I went ahead and downloaded 1.1.0 and updated that on my Wiz with success. I played Sonic The Hedgehog right away and........ THE DIAGONAL TEARING WAS THERE! Ok, granted, it says the tearing phenomenon was solved in 1.0.1. But honestly, am I to assume that 1.1.0 doesn't have the same solutions as in 1.0.1? Am I to believe that the new upgrade brings the tearing phenomenon back?? I thought it was supposed to be gone now.

The Tearing phenomenon is not a firmware issue, it's an issue how devs code the apps.
It's easier to just code in 320x240, but then the tearing will appear.

If they code in 240x320 (which is the correct format for the OLED) then they need to include some sort of internal rotation.

The latest version of PicoDrive has such fix included. Download it from the archive, put it on your card and enjoy Sonic without any tearing.

 

[Passy]

If you play Sonic with Picodrive 1.56 (newest version, download it here) get into the settings menu and make sure you enabled the anti-tearing hack. No diagonal screen of death anymore.

Edit/
Whoop, I just saw Evildragon already mentioned it, that's what happens when don't read the entire post.

 

[Exophase]

Oh sure, blame developers when 320x240 is the default mode the apps are ran under..

 

[dogeymon]

I noticed at www.gp2xwiz.com there are firmware updates in the Support section. I tried recently putting the latest firmware update on my Wiz. The V 1.0.1 said that it solved the "tearing phenomenon" of the main menu and applications. Well alright, I thought! That means that diagonal tear across the whole screen when Sonic the Hedgehog is running is gone now right???

It solves the tearing for the menu and apps running in correct resolution (240x320, not 320x240).
As long as devs use 320x240 for their games, tearing will be there (until GPH includes a fix in the SDL libraries and the apps are dynamically linking and using them)

Well I updated my Wiz with 1.0.1, thinking it was actually 1.1.0. So, whoopsy. Then I went ahead and downloaded 1.1.0 and updated that on my Wiz with success. I played Sonic The Hedgehog right away and........ THE DIAGONAL TEARING WAS THERE! Ok, granted, it says the tearing phenomenon was solved in 1.0.1. But honestly, am I to assume that 1.1.0 doesn't have the same solutions as in 1.0.1? Am I to believe that the new upgrade brings the tearing phenomenon back?? I thought it was supposed to be gone now.

The Tearing phenomenon is not a firmware issue, it's an issue how devs code the apps.
It's easier to just code in 320x240, but then the tearing will appear.

If they code in 240x320 (which is the correct format for the OLED) then they need to include some sort of internal rotation.

The latest version of PicoDrive has such fix included. Download it from the archive, put it on your card and enjoy Sonic without any tearing.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! THE NEW PICODRIVE ROCKS!!! It's soooooooo great to be rid of that tearing!!

Are there any other emulators for SEGA, Nintendo, and NEC systems that solved tearing problems??

 

[EvilDragon]

Oh sure, blame developers when 320x240 is the default mode the apps are ran under..

Did you see my post?
I wrote that they fixed the tearing by running in correct res since v1.0.1

Since then every dev can run code in 240x320 and rotate the screen - so no tearing anymore.

notaz showed that this is definately possible with PicoDrive and all the commercial games from GPH don't suffer the tearing anymore.
With the exact same firmware.

I'm not blaming any devs here, I'm just saying that at the moment, devs need to code in 240x320 instead of 320x240 (until such rotation is included in the libraries).

Quoting myself:

As long as devs use 320x240 for their games, tearing will be there (until GPH includes a fix in the SDL libraries and the apps are dynamically linking and using them)

So, what's wrong with what I said?

Sure it's a bummer that the OLED is 240x320, but that can't be helped.

Now you either be stubborn and say "It's the OLED's fault! Apps have to run in 320x240! Bah!" or you say "Okay, it's bad that the OLED is like that, but we can find a way around that".

 

[quartercast]

The Tearing phenomenon is not a firmware issue, it's an issue how devs code the apps.

I think it was this line he took offence to. Isn't that a bit of a simplistic stance to take?

 

[EvilDragon]

The Tearing phenomenon is not a firmware issue, it's an issue how devs code the apps.

I think it was this line he took offence to. Isn't that a bit of a simplistic stance to take?

In my opinion, this is not offending. It's just a true fact.
Nobody FORCES the devs to code in 240x320 to remove tearing, nobody can DEMAND it from the devs.

But still, as long as there is no lib-workaround or other screen in the WIZ, the only one who can resolve tearing for the programs are the devs who code them.

 

[shinneri]

There's nothing offensive with what he said.. He's just saying it's a software-caused issue that can be fixed by the devs.

One thing I don't understand is why is the tearing fix optional in Picodrive. Does it actually slow down the program some?

 

[Alex.]

As long as devs use 320x240 for their games, tearing will be there (until GPH includes a fix in the SDL libraries and the apps are dynamically linking and using them)

The last SDL fix really killed performance and had to be taken out, are GPH working on a different solution now?

 

[sam fisher]

GPH's SDL solution they put out there before wiz release made even simple games like Boomshine2x run at 25% of their previous performance levels.

 

[Exophase]

Did you see my post?
I wrote that they fixed the tearing by running in correct res since v1.0.1

Since then every dev can run code in 240x320 and rotate the screen - so no tearing anymore.

You are not completely correct: programs must still be launched in 320x240 mode or they would have introduced an incompatibility with software written prior to this. You can change the LCD mode, but it's not as if GPH documented how.. at least not until we got the Linux source, and even then it was a bit roundabit.

notaz showed that this is definately possible with PicoDrive and all the commercial games from GPH don't suffer the tearing anymore.
With the exact same firmware.

I'm not blaming any devs here, I'm just saying that at the moment, devs need to code in 240x320 instead of 320x240 (until such rotation is included in the libraries).

I'm not saying that it's impossible, obviously it is possible. However, there are some political issues on GPH's part that are eschewing interest in using such fixes (at least for me). GPH has not said very much to address this issue, but they keep promising a library that'll do it for us. I'm not at all confident about the performance of this. Nor am I interested in taking an easy approach to rotating as a post-process - I am very unhappy with the kind of performance this provides. GPH should have been more upfront about the issue, why it exists, and how to best correct it from the start, instead of basically sweeping it under the rug while giving others the impression that they can somehow fix it.

It should be possible to rotate using the 3D hardware, NOT via OpenGL ES because that dictates certain overheads when uploading textures but by hitting it directly. This is the probably the most accessible method that's still fast (and would give scaling too).

So, what's wrong with what I said?

Sure it's a bummer that the OLED is 240x320, but that can't be helped.

Now you either be stubborn and say "It's the OLED's fault! Apps have to run in 320x240! Bah!" or you say "Okay, it's bad that the OLED is like that, but we can find a way around that".

The problem I had with what you said is that you did blame the developers for saying "it's a problem with how dev coded their program." As far as I'm concerned the problem is with developers not circumventing a setup that GPH dictated, a circumvention which was not entirely obvious. If GPH would have went with 240x320 as default then this wouldn't have happened and you would have been free to blame developers for the tearing. But as it is you can't blame developers over GPH for a design decision GPH made in their software. GPH clearly stuck by this because they couldn't figure out a fast way to do 320x240, and probably because they didn't understand what was causing the tearing and thought there could be a workaround. I don't think you should really be addressing criticism towards me regarding this because I've been much more helpful in illuminating the problem and suggesting best methods of alleviation than GPH has been. Nonetheless, I hope you don't think I'm particularly offended because of my comment.

One thing I don't understand is why is the tearing fix optional in Picodrive. Does it actually slow down the program some?

Yes.

 

[EvilDragon]

Ah, I see.
Nope, it was not meant offending. It was just meant as a fact that the devs are currently the only ones who can fix that with their programs.

It was meant as a fact... I doubt any firmware updates could really fix that.

 

[coldfish]

The screen tearing issue is the one thing stopping me buying a Wiz.

Even though I already have a GP2X and the Wiz isnt much of a performance upgrade in comparison I'd still like to have one, but not with a borked screen.

GPh hurry up with a Mk2 (non-borked) version.

It's becoming more and more obvious if this Pandora thing (or something similar) ever gets released, GPh will be happily pushed aside.

 

[sam fisher]

Or the Pandora and the Wiz could happily co-exist as they are totally different types of device targetting at totally different people. I for one am unlikely (currently) to ever buy a Pandora (if I were to be given one then that is another matter) but I would a Wiz.

 

[coldfish]

I agree Peter,

At the price they're asking for Pandora, I'm unlikely to buy one too. But if something with similar performance with a price closer to Wiz should turn up I'd be all over it.

For me, the Wiz is a bit of a disappointment, apart from the battery and smaller formfactor it doesnt bring anything new over the GP2X. Top that off with the OLED screen shearing issue and it goes from being a passable GP2X replacement to a step backward.

I cant help but think GPh missed an opportunity?

 

[fettouhi]

I really hope that GPH will provide regular firmware updates because the touchscreen is still not very precise with the latest firmware and also many games took a performance hit with the new firmware. I'm not asking for an update every week but once month or every two months, a firmware update with bug fixes and maybe new features... would be nice .

Regards

André

 

[notaz]

I wrote that they fixed the tearing by running in correct res since v1.0.1

Since then every dev can run code in 240x320 and rotate the screen - so no tearing anymore.

Actually it also works in 1.0.0, GPH haven't fixed anything tearing related in their firmware updates so far (except hacking their own menu to run in 240x320 mode, which made it slower).