Stella 6.7 released (and concerning the future of Stella)

[rxd]

I wish the new UI had an exit button instead of having to use CTRL-Q

My Mame Cabinet has a trackball that functions as a mouse but the controls don't have a keyboard so it's kind of a pain to exit the emulator....

 

Edited September 25, 2022 by rxd

[+stephena]

16 minutes ago, rxd said:

I wish the new UI had an exit button instead of having to use CTRL-Q

My Mame Cabinet has a trackball that functions as a mouse but the controls don't have a keyboard so it's kind of a pain to exit the emulator....

 

It does; you just have to enable it in the options.  Options -> User Interface -> Launcher -> Display bottom buttons.

[DeafAtariFromKansas]

11 minutes ago, rxd said:

I wish the new UI had an exit button instead of having to use CTRL-Q

My Mame Cabinet has a trackball that functions as a mouse but the controls don't have a keyboard so it's kind of a pain to exit the emulator....

 

Options > User Interface > Launcher.. mark on Display Bottom Buttons, it will appears.

 

[rxd]

Well that was easy. Thanks for the help guys...

[Rom Hunter]

Why is the NTSC version of Congo Bongo shaking like mad in Stella?


 

[Thomas Jentzsch]

13 minutes ago, Rom Hunter said:

Why is the NTSC version of Congo Bongo shaking like mad in Stella?

That's because the game has no constant scanline count. You can decrease the jitter emulation sensitivity in developer options.

[Rom Hunter]

Ok, thanks Thomas!

 

[DeafAtariFromKansas]

On 12/16/2022 at 3:17 AM, Thomas Jentzsch said:

That's because the game has no constant scanline count. You can decrease the jitter emulation sensitivity in developer options.

What the different between PAL and NTSC version of Congo Bongo? I've seen NTSC causes jitter a lot, while PAL does not,

Thanks Thomas for tip on NTSC version of Congo Bongo, so I replace PAL with NTSC and set Jitter to 1 (was 2) it seems work,

[Thomas Jentzsch]

31 minutes ago, DeafAtariFromKansas said:

What the different between PAL and NTSC version of Congo Bongo? I've seen NTSC causes jitter a lot, while PAL does not,

The PAL version has a constant scanline count.

[Keatah]

Is the sound code the same in both 6.4 and 6.7?

[Drunk_Caterpillar]

I might have missed something but did Stella v6.7 ever get ported to the Retron77? Latest version I've found on the website or the Git is 6.6. 

As a personal anecdote, I really enjoy my Retron77 when combined with the latest versions of Stella and a decent 2600dapter. I understand that it is fairly underpowered and limited hardware, and it's not really the Stella devs' job to support it, but all the same it has been fun to enjoy the 2600 library on my modern TV. Hoping that at the very least the Retron77 build will eventually be updated to 6.7, and future releases will come out for it too. Thanks for all the hard work.

 

[Edit] Did some digging and it sounds like the v6.7 Retron77 build is being held back because Hyperkin used some pretty low-grade memory for the R77, and heat is causing issues over prolonged sessions? It'll be interesting to see how this plays out in the long term. It's a bummer that Hyperkin used such poor components, but considering how terrible the experience is on an R77 without the community Stella updates I guess it's not especially surprising. Classic Hyperkin move. 

Edited December 27, 2022 by Drunk_Caterpillar

[Thomas Jentzsch]

On 12/27/2022 at 9:11 AM, Keatah said:

Is the sound code the same in both 6.4 and 6.7?

Yes.

[Keatah]

Another question. If a new bankswitch scheme comes out, or an existing one needs tweaking, would that get done? A point release maybe?

[Thomas Jentzsch]

54 minutes ago, Keatah said:

Another question. If a new bankswitch scheme comes out, or an existing one needs tweaking, would that get done? A point release maybe?

During our break, probably nothing will happen. Else it would be implemented into e.g. 6.8.

[Rodney Hester]

On 12/27/2022 at 5:08 PM, Drunk_Caterpillar said:

[Edit] Did some digging and it sounds like the v6.7 Retron77 build is being held back because Hyperkin used some pretty low-grade memory for the R77, and heat is causing issues over prolonged sessions? It'll be interesting to see how this plays out in the long term. It's a bummer that Hyperkin used such poor components, but considering how terrible the experience is on an R77 without the community Stella updates I guess it's not especially surprising. Classic Hyperkin move. 

I don't think that's why, because nothing's going to fix that memory.  I believe the plan was to let people use an early beta that works even with the broken memory for those affected by it, but 6.7 was delayed due to a paddle issue.  In testing of near-final 6.7, I also saw some slowdown in FX-heavy games that I'd never seen on the R77 before, but never heard back after reporting it, so *shrugs*

[coach41]

Alright - been years since I logged into my account here.  But I've gotten back into some retro stuff due to me purchasing the Kinhank Super X2 Console.  The initial reasons for me to get the X2 was to get to the 5200 Library which isn't readily available in any of the Atari Flashback packages (except for the one on the Nintendo Switch).  I was also looking to get to Space Dungeon which is on the 5200.  But the X2 had the arcade version which is fine for me.  I guess I like the rare games to play.  LOL

 

But why am I here in the 2600 discussions?  Well, it occurred to me that the X2 could play some of the 2600 ROMs.  I got the Pac-Man 8K to work but Galagon (possibly due to some coding around Quadtari) doesn't work.  So i grabbed Stella to play Galagon on my Mac.  Also saved Pac-Man 8K to my Mac.  Who would have thought that a 5200 / Apple II user would be playing 2600 home brews on a 2600 emulator?  I have to say that Galagon and Pac Man 8K are worth playing even compared to their arcade cousins. 

 

But I am.  I purchased Galagon to support the developers.  I made a donation to the Stella team as a thank you.  I didn't play the 2600 growing up but was aware of everything happening with it.  Happy to see development still going on and like to support "small businesses".  

 

Just wanted to mention this to folks.  Keep up the work as there will always be people looking back at the old games and systems out there. 

Edited January 17 by coach41

[+Random Terrain]

I just installed the new version of Stella and got this error when trying to run it on a Windows 10 computer:

 

 

I tried reinstalling and got the same message again.

[alex_79]

Stella release page says that for Windows you need the "Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2017". Did you install that?

Edited January 30 by alex_79

[+Random Terrain]

4 minutes ago, alex_79 said:

Stella release page says that for Windows you need the "Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2017". Did you install that?

 

Thanks. I just checked and it looks like the latest version I have is 2015. I'll downlead the 2017 version and see what happens.

[+Random Terrain]

21 minutes ago, alex_79 said:

Stella release page says that for Windows you need the "Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2017". Did you install that?

 

Thanks again. I installed the 2017 version, restarted my computer, reinstalled Stella just in case it needed the other thing in there first and now it's working.

[+splendidnut]

The Stella Team could probably get rid of the need for the Visual C++ Runtime libraries by compiling the Windows version with Mingw/GCC instead.

 

But, usually other modern Windows programs also require the Visual C++ Runtime libraries, so they usually are already installed.

[Atariboy]

Is there a way to get Stella to recognize the LT and RT buttons that correspond to the triggers on a Xbox gamepad? I'm trying to map everything how I want it on my arcade stick so that I can use Stella independent of my keyboard and mouse, but the inability to use these last two buttons is hindering that a bit.

 

The home button on here also would be convenient to use, but similarly doesn't work within Stella (I was picturing mapping that to the exit to menu function for when I want to exit my current game).

[Thomas Jentzsch]

14 minutes ago, Atariboy said:

Is there a way to get Stella to recognize the LT and RT buttons that correspond to the triggers on a Xbox gamepad? I'm trying to map everything how I want it on my arcade stick so that I can use Stella independent of my keyboard and mouse, but the inability to use these last two buttons is hindering that a bit.

 

The home button on here also would be convenient to use, but similarly doesn't work within Stella (I was picturing mapping that to the exit to menu function for when I want to exit my current game).

If you try to map the buttons in Stella, are they not detected at all?

[Atariboy]

The RT and LT buttons aren't detected at all within Stella with two different arcade sticks, one connected via USB and the other connected by Bluetooth.

 

The home button brings up a Windows screen when I press it while trying to assign it in Stella, showing live performance data for my PC like my CPU temperature, capture settings, and some audio things like Spotify. So it's technically working while I'm within Stella. but it isn't actually recognized by Stella itself. So that one's a dead end since even if Stella recognized it, I'd have to figure out how to disable the Windows functionality that's apparently tied to the home/guide button on X-input controllers.

Edited February 2 by Atariboy

[+stephena]

There are some buttons that Windows 'traps' and doesn't pass on to apps.  If the 'HOME' button is one of those, there's nothing Stella can do; it never actually receives the key press/release event.  The triggers should be detected, though.  Unless they're analog, and you're trying to assign them to a digital event.  I'm not sure what happens in that case.