Joined: 11/27/2017
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phoenix1291 wrote:
Dimon12321 wrote:
Dragon Spirit (1989)(The Hit Squad)[re-release].tzx MR5: C03972F2A9BCB0E47EB8DA208EC33B12
After completing level 7, the game loads the last level, level 8, then level 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, then again 0, 1, etc...
This actually looks to be a bug in the released game itself:
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.php?cat=96&id=1492
Try the bugfix tap file already on WoS or use the .dsk version I guess (unless this has the same problem). I guess quality control wasnt great back then :)
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phoenix1291 wrote:
I have another question, what are ipf files worth compared to dsk?
(I downloaded a "Sinclair - ZX Spectrum +3" pack that only contains this file format. I have the equivalent in dsk format, so it's more a matter of curiosity :D).
Its a format byt he software preservation society. Not sure if it really took off, but it is supposed to be more accurate for storing disk images. The only speccy emulator that uses it is Spectaulator iirc.
http://www.softpres.org/download
I might be able to support it eventually. They have developer api stuff for people wanting to use it, although the license looks a little unusual. Might just be easier to roll my own I guess.
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phoenix1291 wrote:
Could someone test on their side?
With Savage.tzx MD5: 3D9670676C20898AC63466CCE422B842 (the version you can find on World of Spectrum) I only get 2 fps, while with the other versions, the game goes at normal speed.
Is it just a problem on my side or an emulation problem?
i can check tomorrow.
In other news, latest build should fix the hard riving issue
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Actually, scrub that it. It doesnt work.
You have actually identified the first CPC format dsk image I have come across (rather than the newer Extended CPC format).
This is good. I'll get this fixed up soon.
Thanks!
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phoenix1291 wrote:
Nice work! :)
I'll try some games tonight and the next few days (if it helps, I can post videos below).
Awesome, thanks.
phoenix1291 wrote:
I don't know what the protection systems are on these two versions, but one of them is playable (and for the first time, I've had 100+ fps).
Not playable (The loader loops indefinitly): Chase H.Q. (1989)(Ocean Software).dsk MD5: 428DC442223B318F84CBF727FA94E37B
Playable: Chase HQ (Erbe - Serie 5 Estrellas).dsk MD5: 5B325B07EC94927E703A8D6B986365A7
The original release has the Paul Owens protection system, the spanish re-issue does not.
phoenix1291 wrote:
I just finished Cybernoid in dsk format, everything went well, no bug or other, but it seems to me that there is a sound problem with the +3 support, some effects are in mono and others in stereo, this is also the case on Chase HQ
Unless you can demonstrate that this is different behavior to the 128 and +2 I would say that this is normal.
The 128k spectrums have an equivilent of the 1 channel beeper used in the 48k, but also a 3 channel AY chip. The AY chip is mostly used for music and the beeper for sound fx. But in some 128k games the AY is also used for SFX.
Now, the actual 128k spectrums output all these 4 channels to mono, but there were 3rd party AY modifications available that gave a stereo out. Hence the stereo and channel configurations present in ZXHawk. For a truly authentic audio experience, probably just set the AY panning config to MONO :)
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The latest dev build now has a basic NEC UPD765A floppy disk controller implementation for the +3 machine, along with support for Spectrum *.dsk files (both CPCDSK and EXTENDEDCPCDISK formats).
The implementation is so far only partial and emulates the following FDC commands:
* Read Data
* Read Deleted Data
* Read ID
* Specify
* Seek
* Recalibrate
* Sense Interrupt Status
* Sense Drive Status
Not yet emulated:
* Write Data
* Write Deleted Data
* Write ID
* Read Diagnostic
* Scan Equal
* Scan High or Equal
* Scan Low of Equal
So far in the games I have tested none of the scan commands are used. I will get them implemented eventually though for completeness.
There are a few games that use the Read Diagnostic (Read Track) command (eg Platoon) and this will be implemented asap.
As you can also see none of the write commands are emulated yet. Again, these will come eventually. For now when a disk image is loaded into the virtual drive the writeprotected flag is set.
Also, currently there is only currently support for one dsk image at a time. Very soon I will implement the ability to swap disks (that are supplied through a multi-disk bundler file).
Lastly, there is currently no floppy drive timing emulation in place. When the controller requests a disk operation this happens immediately and results are returned when the CPU decides to query the FDC for them. Hopefully I can get better timings implemented eventually, but it's certainly not a trivial task.
Compatibility so far seems pretty good, with a few known issues.
Should be working:
* Standard disk loading schemes
* Speedlock protection games (mainly Ocean and Virgin releases - Robocop, Wec le Mons, Golden Axe etc..)
Games:
http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekadv.cgi?what=1®exp=&yrorder=1&format=DSK&scheme=S7http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekadv.cgi?what=1®exp=&yrorder=1&format=DSK&scheme=S6http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekadv.cgi?what=1®exp=&yrorder=1&format=DSK&scheme=S5http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekadv.cgi?what=1®exp=&yrorder=1&format=DSK&scheme=S4Known not working:
* Alcatraz protection scheme games (mainly US Gold releases - Turbo Outrun, x-out, etc..)
Games: http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekadv.cgi?what=1®exp=&yrorder=1&format=DSK&scheme=AL
* Paul Owens protection system (Untouchables, Cabal, Chase HQ)
Games: http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekadv.cgi?what=1®exp=&yrorder=1&format=DSK&scheme=PO
There is still a fair bit more work to do, but I really needed to get this out there for some community bug testing (as I have been working on this for about a month now).
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phoenix1291 wrote:
OperationWolf128.tap (OPRNWOLF.TAP MDR: 6F9317090227C02A0D55253C02EFE323, found on World of Spectrum)
(Work with Operation Wolf (1988)(The Hit Squad)[re-release](128k).tzx MD5: , found in "ZX Spectrum - Super Collection 2011")
Yup, i'll look into that soon (although you should always be using tzx over tap anyway - but thats besides the point :)
Thanks for the report.
-Asni
Joined: 11/27/2017
Posts: 86
Location: United Kingdom
I suppose I should probably respond to these old things as well...
phoenix1291 wrote:
I was wondering: on average, how much faster is loading an .dsk compared to an .tzx or .tap?
I'm launching the 128k version of Golden Axe and I'm already at ~20-30 minutes loading (and it doesn't seem to finish loading :D), so I was wondering?
Probably an issue with the tape image code. I've added it to the list so will take a look at some point.
As far as dsk loading goes, it will be MUCH faster than tape (when its finally up and running)
phoenix1291 wrote:
Oh, and will a list be added to GameDB?
I'm not too sure what would be involved in that. Might be for someone else to take on I guess. Unless I become 1000% percent more productive and get all the actual emulation stuff done first.
phoenix1291 wrote:
I also saw that this core takes between 20 and 30% of the processor, is that normal?
This is not the case with any other core it seems to me.
I don't actually know what normal is. I've tried to streamline the emulation where possible, but the core in the first instance was built for accuracy (hopefully) rather than speed. Once everything is working properly, then we can take a look at more perfomance benefits. But ultimately, it might end up being a core that requires more resources. Currently it will run at 300-500fps on a 3 year old i5 in my experience. This is actually MUCH better than a lot of other c#-based speccy emulators out there in the wild.
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phoenix1291 wrote:
I hadn't paid attention, but the "summary" when rereading a movie file is wrong.
It counts on 60fps, whereas it is 50, and therefore the length of the movie is wrong too.
But the video dump is in 50.
I use this version.
I'm not sure why that is, but it sounds like it should be an easy fix.
From that list, this was always a particular favourite of mine:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quazatron
It is actually based on the C64's Paradroid but I guess its different enough (some might actually say better:) ) that it can appear on that list.
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phoenix1291 wrote:
I must say that I finished a little over ten games and I didn't really encounter any problems, except these glitches in Wonder Boy and Power Drift.
Excellent news :)
Yeah, I'm still not sure whats going on with those two games. I can't see anything out of order with the memory paging.
I think I'll leave it for a while and come back to it in a while. Thats usually the best way to fix stuff ;)
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phoenix1291 wrote:
BC's Quest for Tires (1985)(Software Projects Ltd).Tzx MD5: D843DED0615F44E69EAD691456326E38
According to this manual:
Joystick
Pushing the stick left with the button pressed down slows
Thor down. Pushing the stick right while pressing the button
speeds Thor up.
Pushing the stick right makes Thor travel to the right.
Pushing the stick left makes Thor move to the left.
Pushing the stick upwards makes Thor jump.
Pushing the stick downwards make Thor duck.
Control Keys
[...]
P Select Joystick/Keyboard (1,2,3,4)
O Select Number of Players (1,2)
I Select Skill Level (1,2,3,4)
S Pause
1: Keyboard 3: Protek
2: Kempston 4: Interface II
I've press "P", then press "2" to select Kempton Joystick,
I've press "O", then press "1" to select One Player mode
I've press "I", then press "1" to select the first Skill level, then back in game, the player don't move...
You still need to press 'Enter' to start the game. Then the kempston joystick (and any other joystick) works as expected.
Spectrum games are weird :)
Edit: And as I'm sure you have found out, this is one of these games that has to be run on 48k spectrum.
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phoenix1291 wrote:
Wonder Boy (1987)(The Hit Squad)[re-release](128k).tzx MD5: 4E9050EDF44EF733036CC05279F4A2DD is broken at Area 1 - Level 4.
I'll try another version later to see if the problem is present too.
Do you happen to have a savestate for this, maybe just before Area 1 - Level 4?
I've already spent 10 minutes trying to get there without success :)
(spoiler: I'm not very good)
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phoenix1291 wrote:
(I did the game in a classic run, A-B-C-D-E, during the first loop, no worries, but from the second, the text glitches)
Here is a link to the movie file: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1h15e9ERCrMTWLRLzCtzkqd7Z3GDlHy_-
(Power Drift (1989)(Activision)[a].tzx MD5: 82AB9CEC081AE83CFD9B323203728633)
I would be interested to know how fast can you play it?
I'll put the video here as soon as I can.
Oh, and I still have this speed problem (though, in the meantime I restarted my computer, well I still have as much open stuff, I must say), apparently, as described above, it only affects some games, and sometimes only some game versions, and this is probably due to my hardware, again, but for Power Drift, the maximum I could reach is 19fps and when I dump an avi (at basic resolution x4), I am at maximum 16fps with this game...
Yes, I see the glitches in the movie. I need to work out whether thats a zxhawk thing, or an issue with the original game.
Speed-wise I have no problem at all on my home machine. Its a solid 50fps clocked, up to around 300fps unthrottled on Power Drift.
Thats with Win7 x64, i5-3470, 12GB RAM and an HD 7450. So nothing really that special.
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Those artifacts aren't normal.
There is probably something simple going on with paging, or the shadow-screen implementation.
I haven't really got any time this weekend, but will look into it further next week.
-Asni
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Posts: 86
Location: United Kingdom
phoenix1291 wrote:
Ok, thanks for your answer about the Currah MicroSpeech. :)
I mainly use the 128k.
I'll test with the +2, but I don't know if this version is suited for the 48k?
Wonder Boy (1987)(The Hit Squad)[re-release](128k).tzx
Nope, that will be 128k only version.
128k and +2 are basically the same machine from an emulation point of view. I'll see if I can replicate the problem later.
Thanks,
-Asni
Joined: 11/27/2017
Posts: 86
Location: United Kingdom
phoenix1291 wrote:
Oh, and another question, does ZXhawk support Currah MicroSpeech?
In the list available here, 75 titles are listed as compatible with Currah MicroSpeech.
Not as yet. But its certainly do-able if people want it.
phoenix1291 wrote:
Wonder Boy (1987)(The Hit Squad)[re-release](128k).tzx MD5: 4E9050EDF44EF733036CC05279F4A2DD is broken at Area 1 - Level 4.
I'll try another version later to see if the problem is present too.
Can you confirm the model of spectrum you are running?
I have some suspicions about the +2a and +3 memory paging at the moment. Until I get round to verifying this, stick with 128k, +2 or 48k.
If the bug IS present in the 3 machines above, please let me know.
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phoenix1291 wrote:
I think a trained eye and ear, like yours, will detect if there is a problem in the video or audio emulation, which I would be unable to do on this machine.
Great, thanks!
That seems to be one of the great plus points about bizhawk's deterministic cores. The videos should always be great, even if your machine isnt :)
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phoenix1291 wrote:
I don't know if you have any recommendations, because the top 10 or whatever always quote the same games.
Depends on what kind of games you are in to :)
The YourSinclair readers top 100 had quite a few of the old classics for the system:
http://www.worldofspectrum.org/ystop100.html
My personal top 10 though (in no particular order) are:
Rebelstar II
Chaos
Colony
Way of the Exploding Fist
Target Renegade
Renegade
Death Wish 3
Fantasy World Dizzy
Super Robin Hood
Elite
I was never a massive fan of all the coin-op conversions (although some of them were very good) :)
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phoenix1291 wrote:
I'll try the same Outrun versions as before with the 48k model instead of the 128k to see if it makes a difference.
I will also test with the F2 key.
Thanks again!
So I *think* the tape trap stuff is finally working now in the latest dev build: https://ci.appveyor.com/project/zeromus/bizhawk-udexo/build/artifacts
This should means you shouldnt need to touch F1 or F2 at all.
The 128k Outrun AY music is actually quite nice, so I would always go for that instead if given the option :)
Your computer specs don't actually look that bad. Try with the latest build and see if it improves anything (maybe I did something silly with an earlier build).
Thanks,
-Asni
