JStella 0.75 released, mmmkay?

[Mauvila]

JStella 0.75 has been put up on SourceForge here...

 

A couple of big things have been done:

1. I fixed a CPU bug so that Thruster et al. work, mostly.

2. I create BufferedImages in a different way, which at least on my machine, completely eliminates any slowdown whatsoever, even with the window maximized, or a freakishly large applet.

 

If you are using the Java Applet feature of JStella, please check the website for JStella to see the new recommended applet tags, as well as the advanced configuration options available.

 

Thanks,

JLA

 

From the release notes:

-unofficial opcode support : rla

-can manually specify cartridge type

-can manually specify display height

-can lock applet in paddle mode

-fixed some CPU bugs

-now recognizes .a26 files

-multiple applets (main + options applet) are available

-JavaScript can act with applet

-now uses user's machine to help effect graphics optimization

 

Note : games (states) saved in version 0.7 are not compatible with versions 0.75+...

[+SpiceWare]

Sweet, I'll update my page when I get home

[Gregory DG]

Updated my JStella page. Although I can't remember which games didn't work before (other than Thrust, which sort of works now.)

[Mauvila]

Sweet, I'll update my page when I get home

 

Don't forget to check out the new options that are available, like forcing it into paddle mode, and getting rid of the panel.

JLA

[+SpiceWare]

New way of passing the ROM works in Safari, you just made a lot of Mac users happy

 

I've set the display height to 210. The bottom 10 pixels of the image is white, even in the easter egg which displays beyond row 200. You can see this in the screenshots - "with paddle" is cut in half in JStella but not Stella.

 

 

If the control panel is separate then key presses(such as F5 for difficulty switch) are ignored until you click on the control panel.

 

There's a very minor slowdown on my MacBook when the screen flashes for a king death. The iMac G5 still slows down a lot.

 

Love the params. When you have time, AUDIO=STEREO and initial values for the difficulty switches would be greatly appreciated

[Mauvila]

New way of passing the ROM works in Safari, you just made a lot of Mac users happy

 

I've set the display height to 210. The bottom 10 pixels of the image is white, even in the easter egg which displays beyond row 200. You can see this in the screenshots - "with paddle" is cut in half in JStella but not Stella.

 

 

If the control panel is separate then key presses(such as F5 for difficulty switch) are ignored until you click on the control panel.

 

There's a very minor slowdown on my MacBook when the screen flashes for a king death. The iMac G5 still slows down a lot.

 

Love the params. When you have time, AUDIO=STEREO and initial values for the difficulty switches would be greatly appreciated

 

For some reason, it's showing the wrong part of the screen...it would appear that the canvas is displaying stuff from before Y=34, and ending a little too early...I'll look into it...

 

I think the reason I'm not getting slowdown anymore is because of the graphics card, maybe. But the quasi-bug with the threads still exists...I'll also look into that.

 

As far as the params go, if you know JavaScript (which I don't), it will be easy (at least in the next version) to configure stuff, which is probably the best way to go. I need to find someone who knows both JavaScript and Java who can implement a design that will allow not only configuration stuff, but switches etc...two way communication.

JLA

[+SpiceWare]

For some reason, it's showing the wrong part of the screen...it would appear that the canvas is displaying stuff from before Y=34, and ending a little too early...I'll look into it...

I combined the two images - they line up correctly. They might look shifted due to the dragon's wings being in different position.

 

I think the reason I'm not getting slowdown anymore is because of the graphics card, maybe. But the quasi-bug with the threads still exists...I'll also look into that.

could be. My iMac has a NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra, the MacBook has the integrated Intel GMA 950.

 

As far as the params go, if you know JavaScript (which I don't), it will be easy (at least in the next version) to configure stuff, which is probably the best way to go. I need to find someone who knows both JavaScript and Java who can implement a design that will allow not only configuration stuff, but switches etc...two way communication.

JLA

nope, but I suspect a few examples would be enough to figure it out. I can envision a "6 switch console" just below the game window with the switches setting and showing the state.

[Mauvila]

The bar-at-the-bottom-of-the-applet was a stupid mistake on my part...it has been fixed. It may have helped with the slow-down as well, but maybe not...that probably still needs to be addressed.

 

You can build the latest version from the source on the CVS. I have also placed the latest build jar at http://jstella.mauvila.com...check the virtual directory listing to find the jar.

 

 

The slowdown is not necessarily a draw-the-whole-screen thing...if the frame drawing becomes too intense, theoretically, it should just skip a frame or two, but the changes behind the scenes (registers, player position, etc.) should still be up-to-date, regardless of when the frame is updated The slow down means that the calculations are being delayed, possibly by the graphics, even though they are in a different thread. But I haven't really figured out what is going on yet...

 

 

JLA

[+SpiceWare]

No problem- make those myself I've updated my site, looks good w/out the white stripe

 

The screen flashes in MM are accompanied by sound effects - is it possible that rapidly changing audio and video cause the slowdown?

Edited September 12, 2007 by SpiceWare