Stella Version 1.4 Released

[Albert]

Version 1.4 of the popular Atari 2600 emulator Stella has been released. This version of Stella was a long time coming and includes a great number of improvements from Stella 1.3, as well as a simultaneous release of Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux versions. The biggest change from Stella 1.3 is the codebase is now based on the Simple Directmedia Layer (SDL), which allows for better cross-platform support. You can download this newest release by visiting the Stella Home Page.

 

A partial list of features is:

• Codebase ported to SDL. The DOS and X11 ports have been discontinued.
  
• Sound code ported to SDL. For the Linux versions, ALSA and OSS sound
  support has been discontinued.
   
  
• The Linux, MacOSX and Windows ports are now based on the same codebase and
  are actively maintained. That means simultaneous (and hopefully
  more frequent) releases.
   
  
• A new Windows port has been created, with the GUI based on StellaX.
  This is the first new release for Windows since Stella 1.2.
  (software mode is not yet optimized; OpenGL mode works much better)
   
  
• A new Mac OSX port has been created by Mark Grebe. This is the first new
  release for Mac OSX since Stella 1.2.
   
  
• Added OpenGL rendering support.
   
  
• Added more refined in-game GUI.
   
  
• Added event remapping. Emulation keys can now be remapped to the keyboard
  or up to 4 joysticks.
   
  
• Added native Stelladaptor support. Joysticks, paddles, and driving controllers
  have been tested.
   
  
• Digital sound support (used in games like Quadrun and Pitfall2) has been
  greatly improved. Sound generation is now more tightly synchronized with
  video updates.
   
  
• Added support for switchable palettes. Currently you can switch between the
  current Stella palette, original Stella palette (pre-1.2 versions), and
  the z26 palette.
   
  
• Added support for UA Limited style bankswitching (Funky Fish and Pleiades).
   
  
• Switched to using high compatibility M6502 mode by default. This
  means old state saves from previous Stella versions will no longer work.
   
  
• The meaning of the "-sound" command line option has been changed.
  This option now accepts either 'true' or 'false (1 or 0) to enable/disable
  sound.
   
  
• Changed sound mixer functionality. The system volume/mixer settings will
  never be changed; volume changes in Stella will only affect the emulation
  itself.
   
  
• Added "-video" command line option. This option accepts either 'soft'
  or 'gl', to use software/OpenGL rendering.
   
  
• Added "-gl_filter" command line option. This option accepts either
  'nearest' or 'linear', to use GL_NEAREST or GL_LINEAR filtering.
   
  
• Added "-gl_aspect" command line option. This option accepts a decimal
  value specifying how much to scale the width of the emulation image (useful
  for giving an authentic 'square-looking' 4:3 mode).
   
  
• Added "-gl_fsmax" command line option. This option accepts either
  'true' or 'false, and specifies to use the maximum possible resolution when
  in fullscreen OpenGL mode (useful for Linux and for Windows on laptops).
   
  
• Added "-fragsize" command line option. This option accepts the
  size to use for sound fragments. Linux/MacOSX works well with 512,
  Windows seems to need 2048. This value must be a power of two.
   
  
• Modified "-volume" command line option. If you specify '-1',
  Stella will use the system volume.
   
  
• Renamed the "-pro" command line option to "-altpro".
   
  
• Renamed the "-fps" command line option to "-framerate".
   
  
• Removed the "-center" command line option. Stella now automatically
  centers the window when possible.
   
  
• Removed the "-paddle real" command line option, since it never really
  worked correctly (and Stelladaptor support adds that functionality
  anyway).
   
  
• Removed all command line options relating to the X11 port
  (owncmap, display).
  

[Buck]

Good Golly Miss Molly! It certainly was a long time coming, but wowzer -- Thats alot of schtuff!! Almost makes me wonder if a 2.0 instead of 1.4 designation wasnt warranted.

 

Maybe not, but great job Stella Team!

 

Buck

[Gregory DG]

Hmm.. Hasn't propagated to all the mirrors yet.

[Albert]

Good Golly Miss Molly!  It certainly was a long time coming, but wowzer -- Thats alot of schtuff!!  Almost makes me wonder if a 2.0 instead of 1.4 designation wasnt warranted.

 

Yeah, considering the changeover to SDL, which must have been fairly significant codewise, as well as the integration of StellaX into the Windows version, a new Mac version (finally, yay!) , and tons of features added and improvements made, a 2.0 designation does seem appropriate.

 

..Al

[+stephena]

Good Golly Miss Molly!  It certainly was a long time coming, but wowzer -- Thats alot of schtuff!!  Almost makes me wonder if a 2.0 instead of 1.4 designation wasnt warranted.

 

Maybe not, but great job Stella Team!

 

Buck

 

I plan to release future releases a lot quicker, and have each release have a fewer number of features. The main problem that plagued this release was accurate sound generation. The other features were actually present in CVS for the past 7 months.

 

In retrospect, I probably should have released it back then, even with the sound problems ...

 

Steve

[+stephena]

Hmm.. Hasn't propagated to all the mirrors yet.  

 

Yes, I only uploaded it to Sourceforge about 2 hours ago. It could take until sometime tonight for it to reach all mirrors.

 

Steve

[Albert]

Hmm.. Hasn't propagated to all the mirrors yet.  

 

Yes, I only uploaded it to Sourceforge about 2 hours ago. It could take until sometime tonight for it to reach all mirrors.

 

If you can email me the files, I can post them in this thread so people can download them. I didn't even try downloading the links before posting news.

 

..Al

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Any mirror working already?

[Albert]

Okay, I have put copies the Windows, Linux, and Mac OS versions files up on our server here so people can get them right now:

 

Windows - stella-1.4-win32.zip

Linux RPM - stella-1.4-1.i586.rpm

OS X - StellaOSX1.4.dmg.gz

 

Enjoy!

 

..Al

[+stephena]

Okay, I have put copies the Windows, Linux, and Mac OS versions files up on our server here so people can get them right now:

 

Windows - stella-1.4-win32.zip

Linux RPM - stella-1.4-1.i586.rpm

OS X - StellaOSX1.4.dmg.gz

 

Enjoy!

 

..Al

 

Damn, this must be a new record. Only 4 hours after release and I just found a small bug in the Windows StellaX frontend.

 

If a game isn't listed in the stella.pro file it won't show up in the gamelist. All because of an 8-letter word left out in the source .

 

I guess I'll be doing a quick release right away ...

 

Steve

[Albert]

Okay, I've updated the Windows version on our server with the fixed Steve just sent me.

 

..A

[Trebor]

First my compliments to stephena. Excellent work. First Stella version ever to work great for me. I absolutely *LOVE* the remapping ability it is perfect. The only thing that tops it is the volume control and the automatic centering. Those issues have been an outstanding long awaited feature of any Atari 2600 emulator for Windows, and I'm thrilled to see it work so well in Stella. Thanks again, stephena.

 

Now, on to my observations. Bare in mind, I am running a P4 1.3GHz 640 MB RDRAM, Radeon 9600 PRO, Sound Blaster Audigy Gamer:

 

Following outstanding issues:

1. Display issue

"Cartridge.MD5" "66b92ede655b73b402ecd1f4d8cd9c50"

"Cartridge.Name" "H.E.R.O. (1984) (Activision) [a1]"

"Cartridge.Manufacturer" "Activision"

"Cartridge.ModelNo" "AZ-036-04"

"Cartridge.Rarity" "Rare"

 

Has the following setting:

"Emulation.HmoveBlanks" "No"

 

This causes the screen to appear choppy and flicker. I changed it to this:

"Emulation.HmoveBlanks" "Yes"

 

And it appears perfect.

 

2. Control issue

Cartridge.MD5" "240bfbac5163af4df5ae713985386f92"

"Cartridge.Name" "Seaquest (1983) (Activision)"

"Cartridge.Manufacturer" "Activision"

"Cartridge.ModelNo" "AX-022"

"Cartridge.Rarity" "Rare"

&

"Cartridge.MD5" "94b92a882f6dbaa6993a46e2dcc58402"

"Cartridge.Name" "Enduro (1983) (Activision)"

"Cartridge.Manufacturer" "Activision"

"Cartridge.ModelNo" "AX-026"

"Cartridge.Rarity" "Uncommon"

 

About 1/3 of the time, the game would not respond when pushed left or right. I had to "double pump" so to speak to get it to move (I.E. Press in the direction I want, let go of the key, and quickly press the key again).

 

 

Following feature request:

If possible an additional key 're-mappable' in addition to ESC to exit a game. Just like all the other re-mappable options. Making Exit a game re-mappable would be perfect. ESC is fine - but adding an additional key which is re-mappable would make it picture perfect.

 

Thanks again for all your hard work, stephena. Stella looks, sounds and plays fantastic.

[Voch]

Excellent. I can play Pitfall II on the glorious PowerBook 15" LCD! Yay!

 

Voch

[+stephena]

First my compliments to stephena.  Excellent work.  First Stella version ever to work great for me.  I absolutely *LOVE* the remapping ability it is perfect.

 

To be fair, I swiped that idea from Mame. If you've ever used Mame, you'll notice that the interface is quite similar.

 

The only thing that tops it is the volume control and the automatic centering.  Those issues have been an outstanding long awaited feature of any Atari 2600 emulator for Windows, and I'm thrilled to see it work so well in Stella.  Thanks again, stephena.

 

Those were fully my idea, so I guess I can take credit for that For the next release, the volume control will be integrated into Stella itself, so a slider will appear onscreen and let you change the volume while the game is playing.

 

Following outstanding issues:

1.  Display issue

"Cartridge.MD5" "66b92ede655b73b402ecd1f4d8cd9c50"

"Cartridge.Name" "H.E.R.O. (1984) (Activision) [a1]"

"Cartridge.Manufacturer" "Activision"

"Cartridge.ModelNo" "AZ-036-04"

"Cartridge.Rarity" "Rare"

 

Has the following setting:

"Emulation.HmoveBlanks" "No"

 

This causes the screen to appear choppy and flicker.  I changed it to this:

"Emulation.HmoveBlanks" "Yes"

 

And it appears perfect.

 

I see the flickering you mention, but the fix you suggested doesn't work for me. But the fact that you have it working at all means that it's definitely something in the stella.pro file. Could you run that game, and while playing press 'Ctrl S'. This will save the properties for the ROM to a file. Please post that file here so I can take a look at it.

 

2.  Control issue

Cartridge.MD5" "240bfbac5163af4df5ae713985386f92"

"Cartridge.Name" "Seaquest (1983) (Activision)"

"Cartridge.Manufacturer" "Activision"

"Cartridge.ModelNo" "AX-022"

"Cartridge.Rarity" "Rare"

&

"Cartridge.MD5" "94b92a882f6dbaa6993a46e2dcc58402"

"Cartridge.Name" "Enduro (1983) (Activision)"

"Cartridge.Manufacturer" "Activision"

"Cartridge.ModelNo" "AX-026"

"Cartridge.Rarity" "Uncommon"

 

About 1/3 of the time, the game would not respond when pushed left or right.  I had to "double pump" so to speak to get it to move (I.E. Press in the direction I want, let go of the key, and quickly press the key again).

 

I didn't notice a problem with those ROMs, but I did notice something similar with Dig Dug. By any chance do you have a joystick or Stelladaptor plugged in? If so, try either remapping the events to not use the joystick, or unplug your Stelladaptor. Let me know if that makes a difference.

 

Following feature request:

If possible an additional key 're-mappable' in addition to ESC to exit a game.  Just like all the other re-mappable options.  Making Exit a game re-mappable would be perfect.  ESC is fine - but adding an additional key which is re-mappable would make it picture perfect.

 

I first didn't want to make Quit remappable since (a) Escape has a special meaning to the emulator (exit menu, erase mapping, etc) and (b) I didn't want the case where a user erases the mapping for Quit, and hence wouldn't be able to quit.

 

It never occurred to me to leave Escape for Quit and offer another key to do it as well. That's quite easy to do, and I'll implement it in the next release.

 

Thanks again for all your hard work, stephena.  Stella looks, sounds and plays fantastic.

 

Thanks for the support. And I promise everyone that it won't take another 16 months for a release ;|

 

Steve

[+stephena]

Excellent.  I can play Pitfall II on the glorious PowerBook 15" LCD!  Yay!

 

Voch

 

Yes, I bet Mac users are really getting an update, considering that the last release for the Mac was version 1.2. Although the Windows port was unmaintained for almost 2 years, at least they got an update to 1.3. While I'm responsible for the SDL core, thanks must go to Mark Grebe, the author and maintainer of the OSX port.

 

BTW Voch, are you still maintaining the stella.pro file? If so, I'd appreciate an updated webpage address for it.

 

Steve

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Yes, I bet Mac users are really getting an update, considering that the last release for the Mac was version 1.2.

Yup, now they can finally play a lot of modern homebrews (including mine).

[Trebor]

To be fair, I swiped that idea from Mame. If you've ever used Mame, you'll notice that the interface is quite similar.

 

Actually, I did notice the strobg similarity. However, taking from MAME or not, it is still a long awaited request of mine Especially, remapping of Select, Reset, Difficulty switches, as well as controller keys.

 

I see the flickering you mention, but the fix you suggested doesn't work for me. But the fact that you have it working at all means that it's definitely something in the stella.pro file. Could you run that game, and while playing press 'Ctrl S'. This will save the properties for the ROM to a file. Please post that file here so I can take a look at it.

 

Funny thing is I tried the same ROM again, and the flicker is back once more for me too...strange I did as you requested and the file is attached - However, it's the same as the information that appears in the Stella.Pro file.

 

I didn't notice a problem with those ROMs, but I did notice something similar with Dig Dug. By any chance do you have a joystick or Stelladaptor plugged in? If so, try either remapping the events to not use the joystick, or unplug your Stelladaptor. Let me know if that makes a difference.

 

I do not have either a Joystick or a Stelladaptor mapped to the events of joystick movement. The only thing mapped for the event(s) is Keypad 8, Keypad 2, Keypad 4, Keypad 6 - Up, Down, Left, Right for player one respectively.

 

Bare in mind I did not 'extensively' test the emulator for this issue yet. I though at first it may be an 'Activision' ROMs issue at first, since the two games I noticed were Activision titles. However, it looks like an overall input issue if Dig Dug is in the mix as well. I did notice when trying the games again, it appeared not to happen as frequently...Perhaps (And I may be speaking at of completely ignornace here), it may be a poller/polling issue of the controller or input device (Be it keyboard or joypad)?

 

It never occurred to me to leave Escape for Quit and offer another key to do it as well. That's quite easy to do, and I'll implement it in the next release.

 

Perfect! Thank you

 

Thanks for the support. And I promise everyone that it won't take another 16 months for a release ;|

 

Great to hear. Hey, quality takes times :wink: I look forward to the next release...One last thing, the screenshot function of Stella replaces spaces in the ROM titles name with '_' (underscores) when creating the screenshot file name. Is it possible for Stella to use the *exact* ROM name, leaving spaces in the screenshot file name as it appears for the ROM name? In, other words, the ROM name: 3D Tic-Tac-Toe (1978) (Atari).bin - when taking a screenshot, creates the file: 3D_Tic-Tac-Toe_(1978)_(Atari).png.

 

Is it possible for Stella to create the screenshot: 3D Tic-Tac-Toe (1978) (Atari).png instead? This would actually represent *exactly* how the ROM is labelled. Perhaps using underscores for spaces in the ROM file name when creating the screenshot file can be left as an option.

 

Thanks again.

h.e.r.o.__1984___activision___a1_.zip

[Trebor]

Ok, add Tron - Deadly Disc as well as E.T. and confirmed Dig Dug with Controls "stuck" or need to be "double pumped". Again, seems to be a random issue. Sometime occurring more often than at other times.

 

I noticed it wasn't just left and right movement either - Both with E.T. and Tron - Deadly Disc, the Up and Down movement would not respond either at times along with the Left and Right movement.

[+stephena]

Ok, add Tron - Deadly Disc as well as E.T. and confirmed Dig Dug with Controls "stuck" or need to be "double pumped".  Again, seems to be a random issue.  Sometime occurring more often than at other times.  

 

I noticed it wasn't just left and right movement either - Both with E.T. and Tron - Deadly Disc, the Up and Down movement would not respond either at times along with the Left and Right movement.

 

Did you try 'unplugging' all joysticks and Stelladaptor devices, and not just remapping them? In my case with Dig Dug, the joystick plugged into the Stelladaptor was interfering with the keys on the keyboard. When I unplugged it, everything worked fine.

 

It seems to be a problem with random jitter from the joysticks being injected into the event system and screwing things up.

 

As for the '_' vs spaces in snapshot filenames, I guess I could get rid of it. I just figured most people didn't want spaces in a filename. Something else fo the next release ...

 

Steve

[Voch]

BTW Voch, are you still maintaining the stella.pro file?  If so, I'd appreciate an updated webpage address for it.

 

Gah! I've been outed! I thought everyone forgot I did that! I haven't really tinkered with it since I started collecting real Atari hardware. Here is a link to my last update (Jan 17, 2002), but I'm sure the one included with the emulator is newer.

 

I'd love to get involved in maintaining the profile again now that Stella has been rejuvinated but I don't know if I have the time or the will. Maybe the devs should check it in to CVS and let people tweak it (if it's not there already)? Or we could set up a debate thread here at AtariAge and I could grab the suggestions from there? Has anyone in in Stelladev been maintaining it?

 

Voch

[Voch]

Yes, I bet Mac users are really getting an update, considering that the last release for the Mac was version 1.2.

Yup, now they can finally play a lot of modern homebrews (including mine).

 

Oh yeah! I forgot about playing the homebrews. I was just so fascinated by the speech in Quadrun...

 

I finally broke down and ordered a Stelladaptor for myself, too (as did everyone else apparently...they're on backorder). Now I need to figure out how to pack a 2600 joystick, paddles, and steering controller into my notebook bag. Maybe I'll get rid of that pesky AC adpater...

 

I also just looked at the the stella.pro that's included with Stella 1.4 and it looks to be way, way ahead of the one I have. Apparently it has been taken care of without me, as I assumed it would.

 

Voch

[Trebor]

Did you try 'unplugging' all joysticks and Stelladaptor devices, and not just remapping them? In my case with Dig Dug, the joystick plugged into the Stelladaptor was interfering with the keys on the keyboard. When I unplugged it, everything worked fine.  

 

It seems to be a problem with random jitter from the joysticks being injected into the event system and screwing things up.

 

I own 2 USB Saitek P880 joypads, which I did (now) unplug, and still the same issue persist concerning controls "not responding". Again, it's random, sometimes more frequent then at other times.

 

As for the '_' vs spaces in snapshot filenames, I guess I could get rid of it. I just figured most people didn't want spaces in a filename. Something else fo the next release ...

 

All my ROMs have spaces between the words and descriptions - including my Atari 2600 collection. I would *really* appreciate it if Stella could take snapshots and name the files *exactly* as the ROM is listed. Thanks again, stephena - That would be wonderful for the next release.

[+stephena]

BTW Voch, are you still maintaining the stella.pro file?  If so, I'd appreciate an updated webpage address for it.

I'd love to get involved in maintaining the profile again now that Stella has been rejuvinated but I don't know if I have the time or the will. Maybe the devs should check it in to CVS and let people tweak it (if it's not there already)? Or we could set up a debate thread here at AtariAge and I could grab the suggestions from there? Has anyone in in Stelladev been maintaining it?

Voch

It's already in CVS; it's been there all along. I've added changes to it every now and then. I can take care of it, I just didn't want to duplicate effort if you were doing it as well.

I also just looked at the the stella.pro that's included with Stella 1.4 and it looks to be way, way ahead of the one I have. Apparently it has been taken care of without me, as I assumed it would.

I added the ability to Stella (quite some time ago) to dynamically change Xstart, Ystart, Width, Height, and Format while the emulation is running, then press 'Ctrl S' to merge those properties into the stella.pro file. It beats having to edit it manually, and it really helps to see the changes immediately. About the only reason to directly edit stella.pro at this point is to set HMoveBlanks or add a new entry, and I intend to add those eventually as well.

 

Steve

[+stephena]

All my ROMs have spaces between the words and descriptions - including my Atari 2600 collection. I would *really* appreciate it if Stella could take snapshots and name the files *exactly* as the ROM is listed. Thanks again' date=' stephena - That would be wonderful for the next release.[/quote']

OK, that's no problem to add (just the removal of one line of code, actually). But to be clear, I would be naming the snapshot as the name listed in the stella.pro file, which won't necessarily be what the ROM is actually called. So that behaviour won't change.

 

On a slightly different topic, if you (or anyone else) want to keep up to date on bugs fixed/reported, you really should consider subscribing to the stella-main mailing list. Instructions are located on the Stella webpage.

 

Steve

[Trebor]

Crap, that means it's a bug. I'll need to test this some more, and I'd appreciate if others could confirm they have similar problems. Since it doesn't seem to be joystick related, I'll have to check other areas. What type and model of keyboard do you have, what OS do you use, etc. Maybe it's a USB keyboard issue??

 

Dell PS/2 Keyboard Model RT7D00. I own a Dell Dimension 8100 - P4 1.3 Ghz - 640 MB RDRAM 800Mhz. My Mouse is a 'Dell' Microsoft Intellimouse 1.2A PS/2 port. Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 1 and all critical updates installed.

 

Not that I believe it matters, however, I am running Direct X Version 9.0b. No conflicts on my system, and everything else all programs (I.E. Applications, Games and Emulators) run fine with no outstanding issues.

 

OK, that's no problem to add (just the removal of one line of code, actually). But to be clear, I would be naming the snapshot as the name listed in the stella.pro file, which won't necessarily be what the ROM is actually called. So that behaviour won't change.

 

Okay, thanks.

 

On a slightly different topic, if you (or anyone else) want to keep up to date on bugs fixed/reported, you really should consider subscribing to the stella-main mailing list. Instructions are located on the Stella webpage.

 

Thanks again...I may look into that...