Is it ok to use the latest revision of VBA to TAS GBx games? Or is it still inaccurate in Emulation?
Also, I'm curious about differences in lag. What if someone finds an improvement in the old versions of VBA, but finds out due to lag differences, it's slower on the new versions of VBA. Should the old version be used? Or should the more laggier but accurate version be used?
Is it ok to use the latest revision of VBA to TAS GBx games? Or is it still inaccurate in Emulation?
Assuming that you are talking about that on the v24 branch, there are some facts:
* Movies that desync for the judges are very likely to get rejected.
* We accepted a few movies that recorded with non-stable releases of emulators.
* The GB and SGB emulation in the latest revision hasn't changed much compared to v20. Movies of GB/SGB games usually play fine with v20.
* VBA-rr v20 was "officially recalled" but not disallowed with the rules.
These are some clues, but it's recommended that you should ask someone whose words carry more weight for sure.
And yes, it is still inaccurate in emulation compared to some other GBx emulators (and the real GBx hardware of course), though much better v19.
jlun2 wrote:
Also, I'm curious about differences in lag. What if someone finds an improvement in the old versions of VBA, but finds out due to lag differences, it's slower on the new versions of VBA. Should the old version be used? Or should the more laggier but accurate version be used?
We'll neglect the extra lagged frames if we can be convinced that they result from better accuracy in emulation rather than lazy/sloppy lag control (aka. lag reduction).
<klmz> it reminds me of that people used to keep quoting adelikat's IRC statements in the old good days
<adelikat> no doubt
<adelikat> klmz, they still do
The freeze glitch in Drill Dozer has been fixed in the latest working copy of mine thanks to the fixed BIOS emulation code from VBA-M. I am unsure about if this fix could cause desync to any old GBA movie if I transplant this fix onto the v23 branch.
<klmz> it reminds me of that people used to keep quoting adelikat's IRC statements in the old good days
<adelikat> no doubt
<adelikat> klmz, they still do
<klmz> it reminds me of that people used to keep quoting adelikat's IRC statements in the old good days
<adelikat> no doubt
<adelikat> klmz, they still do
Hello again klmz. I would like to report a bug in VBA-v24-alpha. Apparrently, games that require motion sensing like Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble don't work because motion sensing doesn't work.
Hello again klmz. I would like to report a bug in VBA-v24-alpha. Apparrently, games that require motion sensing like Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble don't work because motion sensing doesn't work.
Not surprised... motion sensing has been broken for a very long time AFAIK. It is planned to be fixed in v25.
EDIT: Other broken stuff:
* Frame Search.
* V-Sync (it has never worked right anyway, though).
* Full-screen with OpenGL and maybe D3D.
<klmz> it reminds me of that people used to keep quoting adelikat's IRC statements in the old good days
<adelikat> no doubt
<adelikat> klmz, they still do
Joined: 3/2/2007
Posts: 123
Location: Lake Havasu, Arizona
i have some things to report.
well first of all i've been usually using a old version of VBA from many years ago
Version 19.2 re-recording i know it's super old and all...and well there's 1 thing that's happened that really bugs me...i checked the latest version today avaiable for download which is 23.5 and it still happens :(
the problem is about the sound. If vsync is on, and 0 frameskip, once in awhile like every 20 or 30 seconds, the sound is all static-y and messed up for a few seconds until it goes back to clear and normal...then repeats again every 30 seconds on average. i figure this must be something wrong with the emualator, not the comp because i've been on a total of 3 computers, and 1 laptop and this always happens no matter what.
I dont know if there's some very specific combination of settings that need to be enabled/disabled or something. :( it doesnt ever make a difference wether "accurate emulation speed"...or accurate sound pitch is chosen...it doesnt fix it either way. and considering theres dozens of emulation and sound settings...i dont know what would possibly fix this :(
-----------------------
1 more thing, this is about "enable background input"
I was trying to work on coding something on my NES megaman rom hack this morning, trying to study a little animation on megaman zero 1 GBA, and i have to use frame advance to go 1 frame at a time to watch it..
i need background input on both fceux and visualboy advance as im trying to compare some stuff im working on...but for whatever reason...VBA doesnt ever respond to the frame advance ..fceux does just fine...doesn't matter if i totally pause fceux and stuff...just vba wont ever work period 1 bit during frame advance..for background input, i made sure that one option was not checked that said "pause emulator when inactive" thing. i dont know what's up with that, im assuming it aint supported ??
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kuja killer wrote:
i need background input on both fceux and visualboy advance as im trying to compare some stuff im working on...but for whatever reason...VBA doesnt ever respond to the frame advance ..fceux does just fine...doesn't matter if i totally pause fceux and stuff...just vba wont ever work period 1 bit during frame advance..for background input, i made sure that one option was not checked that said "pause emulator when inactive" thing. i dont know what's up with that, im assuming it aint supported ??
Background input is only a feature supported by FCEU(X). However, any emulator that supports lua (including VBA) can achieve it by inducing a "bug". Run any lua script that uses input.get() and your emulator will start receiving background input.
Joined: 3/2/2007
Posts: 123
Location: Lake Havasu, Arizona
well i dont require it anymore actually. was just only checking one little thing on mm zero 1, but im done already anyway so it dont matter anymore.
but the static problem i mentioned earlier is annoying though. :( i've tried all sorts of combinations of sound settings and other stuff, but nothing ever seems to get rid of this static that happens every now and then. :( and since it's happening in the latest version, and in one from years earlier...
i wish i was able to like record it happening so you could hear what i mean, but heh. i recorded a quick little 10 second avi and stopped it when the static started and stopped, play back the avi in media player classic or whatever, but it's 100% crystal-clear the whole way. :-\
the problem is about the sound. If vsync is on, and 0 frameskip, once in awhile like every 20 or 30 seconds, the sound is all static-y and messed up for a few seconds until it goes back to clear and normal...then repeats again every 30 seconds on average. i figure this must be something wrong with the emualator, not the comp because i've been on a total of 3 computers, and 1 laptop and this always happens no matter what.
I dont know if there's some very specific combination of settings that need to be enabled/disabled or something. :( it doesnt ever make a difference wether "accurate emulation speed"...or accurate sound pitch is chosen...it doesnt fix it either way. and considering theres dozens of emulation and sound settings...i dont know what would possibly fix this :(
It is not any sound bug. From what I have observed, it is a timing problem that typically occurs with a LCD whose refreshing rate is typically fixed at approximately 60Hz (while a CRT monitor typically uses a refresh rate of 72-100Hz). When the emulator is forced to slow down (usually at 96% speed) to align its video frame output (approximately 60fps) with the V-Blank whose frequency is also approximately 60Hz as it cannot skip any frame that for some reason missed the previous V-Blank, the sound buffer will be underflown and thus the sound will become "static-y".
Similar problems occur with some other emulators when you enable V-Sync with a LCD, just for your info.
Then a solution besides using a CRT (but with which you shouldn't need V-Sync anymore...ironically) or enabling frame-skip? None at this moment, sorry.
EDIT: To make it simple,
1) if your monitor's refresh rate is less than or (approximately) equal to 60Hz, you will have this trouble with V-Sync.
2) if your monitor's refresh rate is greater than 60Hz, you are unlikely to encounter it.
EDIT 2: Or in a more general way:
The highest speed throttle you can achieve with V-Sync enabled and without frame-skipping is: (your monitor's refresh rate)/60Hz * 100%. You will encounter the problem if this value is less than 100%.
kuja killer wrote:
1 more thing, this is about "enable background input"
I was trying to work on coding something on my NES megaman rom hack this morning, trying to study a little animation on megaman zero 1 GBA, and i have to use frame advance to go 1 frame at a time to watch it..
i need background input on both fceux and visualboy advance as im trying to compare some stuff im working on...but for whatever reason...VBA doesnt ever respond to the frame advance ..fceux does just fine...doesn't matter if i totally pause fceux and stuff...just vba wont ever work period 1 bit during frame advance..for background input, i made sure that one option was not checked that said "pause emulator when inactive" thing. i dont know what's up with that, im assuming it aint supported ??
VBA uses window messages for menu hotkeys including the one for frame-advance. When the main window loses the keyboard focus, it no longer receives the messages, so the hotkeys don't work anymore. Meanwhile, the controller input uses DirectInput that can be still acquired even when the keyboard focus is lost, which is how the current background-input works. For some legacy reason, Fast-forward, GS and Screen Capture also take this routine to be mappable onto a joypad. Frame Advance doesn't utilize such a hack due to implementation difficulties. It can, but what about Save/Load? And Read-only? And whatever else features? The ultimate solution shall be universal.
I an unsure of whether adelikat's workaround using Lua suits your needs, but it sounds fine.
<klmz> it reminds me of that people used to keep quoting adelikat's IRC statements in the old good days
<adelikat> no doubt
<adelikat> klmz, they still do
Here's another emulation glitch in GB The Smurfs.
Go to the Boss after Act 9, stand near the ledge on the right. Press 'down' a few times to grab and let go of some present boxes, until you can't grab any more presents. As a side-effect, the dragon's head will be gone.
I haven't checked it just now, but on the real console you can't run out of present boxes nor does the dragon's head vanish, as far as I know.
Here's another emulation glitch in GB The Smurfs.
Go to the Boss after Act 9, stand near the ledge on the right. Press 'down' a few times to grab and let go of some present boxes, until you can't grab any more presents. As a side-effect, the dragon's head will be gone.
I haven't checked it just now, but on the real console you can't run out of present boxes nor does the dragon's head vanish, as far as I know.
Which version?
<klmz> it reminds me of that people used to keep quoting adelikat's IRC statements in the old good days
<adelikat> no doubt
<adelikat> klmz, they still do
ROM or emulator? I think all versions (both)...
Here's something else: If I let the VBA21 window open (doesn't matter if a game is running or not) and do something else for an hour or two, then decide to load a game or continue emulating, emulation speed is as if fastforwarded. I can't slow it down. I don't know if it happens with VBA23 or 24.
I am not sure about the weird glitch in The Smurfs. It might be some object count limit (the dropped presents weren't removed from the game). This might affect other games.
MUGG wrote:
Here's something else: If I let the VBA21 window open (doesn't matter if a game is running or not) and do something else for an hour or two, then decide to load a game or continue emulating, emulation speed is as if fastforwarded. I can't slow it down. I don't know if it happens with VBA23 or 24.
Perhaps you activated Options->Speed->Turbo Mode by mistake.
<klmz> it reminds me of that people used to keep quoting adelikat's IRC statements in the old good days
<adelikat> no doubt
<adelikat> klmz, they still do
I am not sure about the weird glitch in The Smurfs. It might be some object count limit (the dropped presents weren't removed from the game).
Yes. WRAM addresses D9E0~DAAF get used up when picking up many present boxes. If you go to the other side of the room, they unspawn and you can pick up more presents.
Joined: 8/15/2005
Posts: 1941
Location: Mullsjö, Sweden
One suggestion... As of now, when you set the sound to "Mute" and load a save state where you didn't have the sound set to mute, it will come back. If that could be changed to still have the sound muted, would make me glad.
Edit: Another thing, more serious this time. I was TASing some Drill Dozer with v24 before, everything was working fine with no issues.
But now when I opened it up again, tried to make a save state (Shift+F3 in this case) a window appeared that said "GDB connection" appeared, something I had never seen before. I tried to close it, but it didn't work. Only thing I could do was to shut down the emulator through the task manager.
I then tried to find out what made the window appear. So I browsed through all the hotkeys and found the GDB thing under the debug section. And for some weird reason it had many many many hotkets set for it, something I have never touched.
These includes SEVERAL of: Alt, alt+, CtrlShift, Ctrl+Shift and many more. I was able to delete all of the "Alt" ones, I think (As you can't even view all hotkeys set for it) but most of these weren't even possible to remove as hotkeys.
The conclusion is that everytime I want to use shift or ctrl, the GDB Connection window appears and I have to restart the emulator. Explanation, please?
One suggestion... As of now, when you set the sound to "Mute" and load a save state where you didn't have the sound set to mute, it will come back. If that could be changed to still have the sound muted, would make me glad.
Sorry for keeping you waiting. This should be easily fixible. Sooner or later.
Tompa wrote:
Edit: Another thing, more serious this time. I was TASing some Drill Dozer with v24 before, everything was working fine with no issues.
But now when I opened it up again, tried to make a save state (Shift+F3 in this case) a window appeared that said "GDB connection" appeared, something I had never seen before. I tried to close it, but it didn't work. Only thing I could do was to shut down the emulator through the task manager.
I then tried to find out what made the window appear. So I browsed through all the hotkeys and found the GDB thing under the debug section. And for some weird reason it had many many many hotkets set for it, something I have never touched.
These includes SEVERAL of: Alt, alt+, CtrlShift, Ctrl+Shift and many more. I was able to delete all of the "Alt" ones, I think (As you can't even view all hotkeys set for it) but most of these weren't even possible to remove as hotkeys.
The conclusion is that everytime I want to use shift or ctrl, the GDB Connection window appears and I have to restart the emulator. Explanation, please?
It might be the INI file that got corrupted, though I can't say for sure. You may toy with vba.ini by yourself and see if the problem will be reproduced while you are using the emulator in normal ways.
<klmz> it reminds me of that people used to keep quoting adelikat's IRC statements in the old good days
<adelikat> no doubt
<adelikat> klmz, they still do
Joined: 8/15/2005
Posts: 1941
Location: Mullsjö, Sweden
http://www.mediafire.com/?tq9634sypq1f1ac
That's the ini file at least. I can't really spot what is wrong with it. It seems to be working fine as long as I don't use those buttons, shift and ctrl. But I can't tell for sure.
When I removed the ini file to reset it from scratch, it all worked fine. But I can't tell what caused it in the first place, as I didn't do anything out of the ordinary (As far as I know), just some normal TASing... Oh well.
About the sound: Thanks a lot. Would be nice if you could fix!
Here's something else: If I let the VBA21 window open (doesn't matter if a game is running or not) and do something else for an hour or two, then decide to load a game or continue emulating, emulation speed is as if fastforwarded. I can't slow it down. I don't know if it happens with VBA23 or 24.
Perhaps you activated Options->Speed->Turbo Mode by mistake.
I figured it out now. CNTRL is my fastforward hotkey. And when I press CNTRL+ALT+DELETE to go to the task manager, VBA thinks I'm still holding CNTRL. It might be Windows 7-exclusive since pressing the button combination doesn't directly bring you to the task manager, unlike in XP.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRVVVENnFak
Yeah, it's CTRL+Shift+Esc. CTRL+Alt+Esc = Start Menu. It's been that way pretty much since Windows 95, as an alternate way to get start with the keyboard for older systems that didn't have a windows key.
