Homebrew RetroArch - A new multi-system emulator

[Tetsuo Shima]

With the old FBA core I've noticed that a few games that didn't work in 0.9.8 (error or black screen) are working in 0.9.8.1 , like Black Tiger.
Shadow Dancer now plays fullspeed, and in Galaga the directions are not working.
Altered Beast has a strange problem: the enemies don't explode and the automatic scrolling stops there, so it's impossible to go on.
A big problem, however, is that trying many games one after another increase the chanches of freeze, so it's difficult to say what games are working and what are not (expecially when dealing with large roms)

 

[LibretroRetroArc]

With the old FBA core I've noticed that a few games that didn't work in 0.9.8 (error or black screen) are working in 0.9.8.1 , like Black Tiger.
Shadow Dancer now plays fullspeed, and in Galaga the directions are not working.
Altered Beast has a strange problem: the enemies don't explode and the automatic scrolling stops there, so it's impossible to go on.
A big problem, however, is that trying many games one after another increase the chanches of freeze, so it's difficult to say what games are working and what are not (expecially when dealing with large roms)

Can't be helped - that's what you get with a core like FBA that keeps getting bigger and bigger with every new release.

You're lucky a lot of the games still work as-is on the full FBA core - I would just recommend restarting FBA after loading one game and then selecting another ROM again - that increases the likelihoods it will fit into RAM and play (and yes, there might still be memory leaks floating around in FBA - I don't discount this - best I can do is try to locate them, mention it to the FBA devs and then the fix gets pushed upstream.

 

[nintygaming]

Well, that's why we have multiple cores then - you can choose whichever you like best. This is what Nestopia happens to sound like - whether you prefer it or not is your own opinion and it's your own decision as to which one of the two you'd rather use - it doesn't mean there is something wrong with the libretro port itself.

I should have said that the reason why I keep mentioning Nestopia's more tinny sound is because I think Nestopia looks more accurate with regards to color palette. So are you sure its not a "khz" difference that could be set to match a real NES like FCEU does?

 

[LibretroRetroArc]

BTW - ToadKing fixed the blitter bug - this will fix the PC Engine games.

Going to put out a new release with this implemented (0.9.8.2 I guess). It will not fix how Power Drift looks - I think that is a core issue (that only manifests itself on the Wii) that is unrelated to this issue until proven otherwise.

 

[LibretroRetroArc]

I should have said that the reason why I keep mentioning Nestopia's more tinny sound is because I think Nestopia looks more accurate with regards to color palette. So are you sure its not a "khz" difference that could be set to match a real NES like FCEU does?

If I can get maister to care enough I could probably try to persuade him to look at it again - but honestly I think he will just chalk it up to 'audiophilia'.

Can you make a recording again that illustrates what you're talking about?

 

[nintygaming]

If I can get maister to care enough I could probably try to persuade him to look at it again - but honestly I think he will just chalk it up to 'audiophilia'.

Can you make a recording again that illustrates what you're talking about?

I wish I had a way to do this correctly.

HOWEVER, here's a quick way to spot the difference. Load up Super Mario Bros. 3 in FCEUmm, and listen to the sound of Mario collecting coins, and listen to the sound of his feet when you instantly switch directions while running. Now listen to the same sounds in Nestopia, and I'm sure you will see the tinny sound. Like I said, I've tested FCEUmm and Nestopia side by side to the real NES (both using a/v audio), and FCEUmm sounds like the real thing. SO, based on that, when you compare FCEUmm and Nestopia, the goal is to remember that FCEUmm is the standard to compare to in this situation unless you have a real NES like myself.

 

[LibretroRetroArc]

RetroArch Wii 0.9.8.2 released now -

https://anonfiles.com/file/f40e8dd45dc7ba68f03d2bab3546adfd

ToadKing will frontpage this as well. CHANGELOG inside -

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
v0.9.8.2
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- [Genesis Plus GX] Updated to latest SVN - Lunar: Eternal Blue (MCD, JP)
works again
- [Gamecube Initial release of RetroArch Gamecube.
- [Wii] Fixed serious blitting bug that affected certain PCE games -
Dai Makai Mura, R-Type et al should display correctly now

For Gamecube you'll have to wait a day longer - a lot of badgering today and I still have yet to release an Xbox update - so you guys need to wait for a while.

 

[the_randomizer]

I should have said that the reason why I keep mentioning Nestopia's more tinny sound is because I think Nestopia looks more accurate with regards to color palette. So are you sure its not a "khz" difference that could be set to match a real NES like FCEU does?

It may be how Nestopia resamples the audio as it's being outputted, I do notice it, but it's not as predominant as the tinny audio in Snes9x Next (most games aren't affected), though that right there is a bug in the APU code.

 

[nintygaming]

It may be how Nestopia resamples the audio as it's being outputted, I do notice it, but it's not as predominant as the tinny audio in Snes9x Next (most games aren't affected), though that right there is a bug in the APU code.

Perhaps comparing them both on the same PC will tell the final tale? Still, I thought that Nestopia was suppose to be superior in accuracy.

 

[the_randomizer]

Perhaps comparing them both on the same PC will tell the final tale? Still, I thought that Nestopia was suppose to be superior in accuracy.

On the PC, the sound is perfect and has no tinny sound, so there's something the Wii isn't doing right. FCEU on the PC has issues with audio/video sync and has higher requirements. I'll post recordings soon.

 

[nintygaming]

RetroArch Wii 0.9.8.2 released now -

https://anonfiles.com/file/f40e8dd45dc7ba68f03d2bab3546adfd

ToadKing will frontpage this as well. CHANGELOG inside -



For Gamecube you'll have to wait a day longer - a lot of badgering today and I still have yet to release an Xbox update - so you guys need to wait for a while.

I hate doing this.....

PCE Fast still has tearing issues during vertical scrolling, and non-uniform textures (yes, I deleted ALL original config files before copying 0.9.8.2 to my SD Card)

HOWEVER, I think I can help you guys find what's causing the problem. I found a way to get rid of the tearing issue in vertical scrolling. Basically while playing Bonk's Revenge in the first level (almost all vertical scrolling) I was able to eliminate the tearing in 239p mode by reducing overscan from 0.00 to -0.06. This stopped the tearing. But of course, the horizontal scrolling started tearing as a result.

Here's another tip. When Overscan is set to 0.00, alot of stuff on the bottom is cut off more than usual. However on Wii Mednafen, nothing is cut off on the bottom in Double Strike (239p) mode. And of course, everything looks proper on Wii Mednafen. ALSO, here's another tip, the screen is more in the center on Wii Mednafen in double strike mode.

So it appears that ether....

A. 239p modes are not truly 239 vertical.

or

B. The PCE Fast core is conflicting with 239p, doesn't like it or something?

These are the only conclusions I can come up with, because Wii Mednafen shows no issues at all with PCE Fast when set to 239p.

 

[nintygaming]

On the PC, the sound is perfect and has no tinny sound, so there's something the Wii isn't doing right. FCEU on the PC has issues with audio/video sync and has higher requirements. I'll post recordings soon.

Wow you beat me to it! I hate sounding like an old fart, but I think emulators should be as accurate as possible, and I'm sure you would agree too. So basically you were able to compare Nestopia and FCEU and they both sounds identical?

Also, how long do you have to play FCEU on the Wii before the audio/video goes outta sync because I haven't noticed it yet?

 

[LibretroRetroArc]

I hate doing this.....

You hate doing WHAT? Because we did exactly what we promised.

The core issues with PCE Fast were fixed - it's no longer the garbled mess it is. Whether or not it measures up to your demands of pixel perfection, frankly, I don't give a damn about.

PCE Fast still has tearing issues during vertical scrolling, and non-uniform textures (yes, I deleted ALL original config files before copying 0.9.8.2 to my SD Card)

Insignificant and inconsequential. The GX scaler is not perfect to begin with - and honestly, this 'pursuit' for 'pixel-perfect accuracy' is becoming so idiotic and stupid it's making byuu's followers look sane.

If Toad King still wants to bite his tongue he can continue to do so - however, I'm outta here for a while - I have more productive stuff to do rather than trying to entertain your idea that the Wii is ever going to output things 'exactly like the original hardware' - upscaling at the end of the day is still upscaling - you can dance around that all you want, but 'accurate' it still isn't.

Honestly - since when did 'playing games' turn into 'gotta be as accurate as possible!!!' - it's becoming serious audiophile wankery.

You can continue badgering Eke-Eke and Tantric some more - I wonder at which point they will finally snap as well.

 

[LibretroRetroArc]

Also, how long do you have to play FCEU on the Wii before the audio/video goes outta sync?

It was the other way around - NEStopia instead of FCEU, remember?

Anyway, I'm calling it a day here.

 

[nintygaming]

You hate doing WHAT? Because we did exactly what we promised.

The core issues with PCE Fast were fixed - it's no longer the garbled mess it is. Whether or not it measures up to your demands of pixel perfection, frankly, I don't give a damn about. This is becoming so ridiculous and idiotic that it makes byuu and his followers look sane.



Insignificant and inconsequential. The GX scaler in the Wii is not perfect to begin with - and honestly, this 'pursuit' for 'pixel-perfect accuracy' is becoming so idiotic and stupid it's making byuu's followers look sane.

If Toad King still wants to bite his tongue he can continue to do so - however, I'm outta here for a while - I have more productive stuff to do rather than trying to entertain your idea that the Wii is ever going to output things 'exactly like the original hardware' - upscaling at the end of the day is still upscaling - you can dance around that all you want, but 'accurate' it still isn't.

Honestly - since when did 'playing games' turn into 'gotta be as accurate as possible!!!' - it's becoming serious audiophile wankery.

You can continue badgering Eke-Eke and Tantric some more - I wonder at which point they will finally snap as well.

The thing that I hate doing is reporting issues. Because doing so, results in pissing you guys off apparently. I had no intentions of pissing you off, and for that I apologize. I didn't really have any demands anyway. I thought that the purpose of this thread was to mention issues, but maybe I was wrong.

Wii Mednafen displays 239p perfectly, so I'll just use that. Its not like TG16 had many great games to begin with anyway. I just thought it would be nice to experience some of those gems on Retroarch with the simpler GUI, but its not like its necessary.

 

[LibretroRetroArc]

The thing that I hate doing- is reporting issues. Because doing so, results in pissing you guys off apparently. I had no intentions of pissing you off, and for that I apologize. I didn't really have any demands anyway. I thought that the purpose of this thread was to mention issues, but maybe I was wrong.

Reporting issues is perfectly alright - WITHIN REASON. Sending me and ToadKing tens of mails every day and then setting up back-and-forth email arguments between Tantric, Eke-Eke and lots of other people involved ISN'T. Honestly dude, you don't know when to call it quits? You're OVER-DEMANDING - anybody ever tell you that? I have a lot of other stuff to do besides this Wii port - and I haven't gotten through most of it because of entertaining this stupid stuff in the first place.

And BTW - Wii Mednafen is dead - and you know it as well, otherwise you wouldn't be badgering me over that as well since it seems you prefer the 'nicer GUI' and you want to have your cake and eat it too when it comes to the audio/video sync of RetroArch - and I take it of course you would want a RetroArch FBA with a SNES9x GX-style GUI as well - and on and on we can go. And what you don't get is that all of this stuff all sounds good and fine to you because you are not a programmer and you don't have to write all this shit. Actually take up programming and find out that despite your insatiable demand for 'accuracy', you'll never be able to get that out of the Wii to begin with - yes, it has a 224p display mode - but you still have to do upscaling on a texture to even get it to appear 'properly' to begin with.

 

[nintygaming]

Reporting issues is perfectly alright - WITHIN REASON. Sending me and ToadKing tens of mails every day and then setting up back-and-forth email arguments between Tantric, Eke-Eke and lots of other people involved ISN'T. Honestly dude, you don't know when to call it quits? You're OVER-DEMANDING - anybody ever tell you that? I have a lot of other stuff to do besides this Wii port - and I haven't gotten through most of it because of entertaining this stupid stuff in the first place.

And BTW - Wii Mednafen is dead - and you know it as well, otherwise you wouldn't be badgering me over that as well since it seems you prefer the 'nicer GUI' and you want to have your cake and eat it too when it comes to the audio/video sync of RetroArch - and I take it of course you would want a RetroArch FBA with a SNES9x GX-style GUI as well - and on and on we can go. And what you don't get is that all of this stuff all sounds good and fine to you because you are not a programmer and you don't have to write all this shit. Actually take up programming and find out that despite your insatiable demand for 'accuracy', you'll never be able to get that out of the Wii to begin with - yes, it has a 224p display mode - but you still have to do upscaling on a texture to even get it to appear 'properly' to begin with.

After I told Tantric about your amazing SNES9x Next emulator, he told me he could (if he wanted to) use SNES9x Next "if" its better, which it is. You told me you would help him if he wanted help. I simply relayed the message because you said you wouldn't mind helping him, so if you didn't want the message relayed, then you mislead me a little. Anyway, sorry about that.

And nearly all of my messages to Toad King, Ekeeke, and you, were me trying to understand how things work in regards to speed hacks in certain games, understanding "original" video modes, understanding the 512 vs. 256/640 vs 320 pixel scaling, and understanding what goes into compiling these apps, and that's pretty much it. In other words, I was only asking VERY simple questions about how some of this stuff works, and didn't make any demands. But it seems as though asking those questions was overstepping some boundaries that I didn't know existed.

And by the way, I didn't make any demands to those guys, neither did I make any to you. I reported issues to you in this thread mostly because I thought that was what I was suppose to do. Its not like I'm trying to get you fix things immediately, or at all, that's your decision.

And I've only mentioned a few issues (nestopia sound issue, vertical screen tearing in 239p for PCE fast, no automatic resolution switching for those games that use it, and 2 other issues that were my fault all along). You make it sound as though I've listed 100's of issues. I guess your in a bad mood, or the argument that you said you go into with Tantric and Ekeeke has caused you to take your frustrations out on me?

And for the record, I don't care about Final Burn Alpha, nor do I really care about a fancy GUI (though other people that I speak with do). So those comments about FBA and the GUI toward me was kinda random.

 

[LibretroRetroArc]

After I told Tantric about your amazing SNES9x Next emulator, he told me he could (if he wanted to) use SNES9x Next "if" its better, which it is. You told me you would help him if he wanted help. I simply relayed the message because you said you wouldn't mind helping him, so if you didn't want the message relayed, then you mislead me a little. Anyway, sorry about that.

And nearly all of my messages to Toad King, Ekeeke, and you, were me trying to understand how things work in regards to speed hacks in certain games, understanding "original" video modes, understanding the 512 vs. 256/640 vs 320 pixel scaling, and understanding what goes into compiling these apps, and that's pretty much it. In other words, I was only asking VERY simple questions about how some of this stuff works, and didn't make any demands. But it seems as though asking those questions was overstepping some boundaries that I didn't know existed.

And by the way, I didn't make any demands to those guys, neither did I make any to you. I reported issues to you in this thread mostly because I thought that was what I was suppose to do. Its not like I'm trying to get you fix things immediately, or at all, that's your decision.

And I've only mentioned a few issues (nestopia sound issue, vertical screen tearing in 239p for PCE fast, no automatic resolution switching for those games that use it, and 2 other issues that were my fault all along). You make it sound as though I've listed 100's of issues. I guess your in a bad mood, or the argument that you said you go into with Tantric and Ekeeke has caused you to take your frustrations out on me?

And for the record, I don't care about Final Burn Alpha, nor do I really care about a fancy GUI (though other people that I speak with do). So those comments about FBA and the GUI toward me was kinda random.

I didn't get into any argument with either Ekeeke or Tantric - I actually maintain a very good relationship with Eke-Eke- there is definitely no bad blood there and he knows just as well as me that few other people would have helped him out in that situation with the scam artist that was selling Genesis Plus GX for money on App Stores, and I put that straight. So people can talk all they want about me being an abrasive character - and I have my faults, I don't deny them, I don't put on a facade like others - but when it comes to integrity, I deliver in spades and I keep true to my word.

But the possibility was there nonetheless for this entire thing to devolve into another arguent - these guys are getting sick hearing about me and RetroArch and all it's doing (IMHO) is creating hostile and ill feelings towards something because of the comparisons being made.

I feel bad in a way for blowing up at you but you have to understand that both me and ToadKing have grown a bit tired of the never-ending flood of messages - it's really sapping into our workload and you just have to restrain yourself a little - and I mean, really.

Mention it once for sure - but don't mention it OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN - go through this thread for the past three pages and you repeat the very same issues constantly. We get it the first time - no need for endless badgering.

 

[Quietlyawesome94]

I see what you mean by Wii drama.

*tips hat*

*leaves*

 

[nintygaming]

I didn't get into any argument with either Ekeeke or Tantric - I actually maintain a very good relationship with Eke-Eke- there is definitely no bad blood there and he knows just as well as me that few other people would have helped him out in that situation with the scam artist that was selling Genesis Plus GX for money on App Stores, and I put that straight. So people can talk all they want about me being an abrasive character - and I have my faults, I don't deny them, I don't put on a facade like others - but when it comes to integrity, I deliver in spades and I keep true to my word.

But the possibility was there nonetheless for this entire thing to devolve into another arguent - these guys are getting sick hearing about me and RetroArch and all it's doing (IMHO) is creating hostile and ill feelings towards something because of the comparisons being made.

I feel bad in a way for blowing up at you but you have to understand that both me and ToadKing have grown a bit tired of the never-ending flood of messages - it's really sapping into our workload and you just have to restrain yourself a little - and I mean, really.

Mention it once for sure - but don't mention it OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN - go through this thread for the past three pages and you repeat the very same issues constantly. We get it the first time - no need for endless badgering.

All is well. I'm not mad or think bad of you in anyway for blowing up at me .......it happens you know?

Just for the record, let me clear something up here. If an issue keeps persisting in a new release - even if it was assumed to be fixed - would I be overstepping in any way whatsoever if I brought up the issue again (ie; mentioning that it was not fixed?)?