Altirra 4.10 released

[phaeron]

3 hours ago, drac030 said:

If I had left a debugger window, say the "Memory 1" window, on a second monitor while last time closing the emulator, how do I call that window back to the main desktop screen, if that second monitor has been disconnected and is currently unavailable?

Select it from the debugger menu and then use Window > Close. You should then be able to reopen it in default docking location which will be visible.

 

I'll check the layout restore code since it isn't supposed to be able to restore panes off-screen, it's supposed to ensure they're visible.

[Pixelfetish]

20 hours ago, drac030 said:

Just tried it:

 

I) run Altirra

II) wait for startup

III) F8

IV) Debug->Window->Memory->Memory 1 *click*

V) Shift+Windows+Cursor left

VI) nothing happens

VII) Shift+Windows+Cursor right

VIII) nothing happens

 

You should Alt+Tab to the Window you want to move before. If the Window is not visible in Alt+Tab, here is a helpful thread.
https://superuser.com/questions/53585/how-to-move-windows-that-open-up-offscreen

 

[drac030]

On 5/18/2023 at 8:59 PM, phaeron said:

Select it from the debugger menu and then use Window > Close. You should then be able to reopen it in default docking location which will be visible.

Yes, this worked, thank you.

[Pixelfetish]

Hello, did someone manage to run this game? Altirra seems to run some games almost perfectly, but this one doesn't seem to run.
I did fiddle with the configuration, usually it crashes and asks for changing to PAL mode, which doesn't help,
but with AltirraOS I could format a scenario disk (after booting to the first graphics screen press C), and I had to switch the disk to R/W, and it did create one.
Then I could create 4 characters and form a party, but when I select Journey onward, it crashes again, even with AltirraOS.
The game ran perfectly on my standard Atari 800 XL, so even with such a system configured, it crashes.
Does anyone have a clue or can help?

Ultima_III.zip

Edited May 23, 2023 by Pixelfetish

[darwinmac]

Have you tried an official Atari OS? As great as AltirraOS is, it isn’t an exact clone of the original OS. It’s possible that Ultima III is using some undocumented feature of Atari’s OS. 

 

Bob C

[Pixelfetish]

1 hour ago, darwinmac said:

Have you tried an official Atari OS? As great as AltirraOS is, it isn’t an exact clone of the original OS. It’s possible that Ultima III is using some undocumented feature of Atari’s OS. 

 

Bob C

Yes, I think I have tried Version 2 and 3 and 4. Crashs right at the start.

[+DrVenkman]

8 hours ago, Pixelfetish said:

Hello, did someone manage to run this game? Altirra seems to run some games almost perfectly, but this one doesn't seem to run.
I did fiddle with the configuration, usually it crashes and asks for changing to PAL mode, which doesn't help,
but with AltirraOS I could format a scenario disk (after booting to the first graphics screen press C), and I had to switch the disk to R/W, and it did create one.
Then I could create 4 characters and form a party, but when I select Journey onward, it crashes again, even with AltirraOS.
The game ran perfectly on my standard Atari 800 XL, so even with such a system configured, it crashes.
Does anyone have a clue or can help?

Ultima_III.zip 52.23 kB · 7 downloads

So this is weird. When I have Altirra set to emulate my 1088XLD, it seems to load and run just fine for me even when I have things set to stock 64K memory, using a stock XL version 3 OS. I was able to create a party from scratch and start a game.

 

 

However, using a standard (non-U1MB equipped) XL/XE system, the game crashes. 

[+DrVenkman]

So now I'm curious if it's just that disk. I tried using the "clean crack" of Ultima III from Djaybee's long-running thread with a stock 64K XL/XE Atari setup in Altirra and I get a quick flash of the title screen, then a mess of garbled characters. With an XEGS or 48K 800 OSb, I just get a black screen after boot, with a single white cursor at the upper left. 

 

That "clean crack" also runs apparently fine when using an XL OS with Altirra emulating a 1088XLD (e.g., with a simulated U1MB in the system), and even when running Altirra OS! 

[phaeron]

Not seeing any issues with this on various configurations, myself. It does crash with a black screen and a cursor if you have a cartridge plugged in or equivalent (internal BASIC), but long before Journey.

 

I am amazed by how error prone the disk I/O design is, though. The game doesn't seem to have any checks whatsoever for inserting the wrong disk and will happily read or write the wrong disks. It'll even format the program disk if you hold down C too long during boot up.

 

[Pixelfetish]

16 hours ago, phaeron said:

Not seeing any issues with this on various configurations, myself. It does crash with a black screen and a cursor if you have a cartridge plugged in or equivalent (internal BASIC), but long before Journey.

 

I am amazed by how error prone the disk I/O design is, though. The game doesn't seem to have any checks whatsoever for inserting the wrong disk and will happily read or write the wrong disks. It'll even format the program disk if you hold down C too long during boot up.

 

Seems I have managed it too...with 320K Rambo RAM extension. But the real problem was, my self-created scenario disk wasn't working somehow. I used a double-density disk formatted with DOS 2.5 offered by Altirra in the drive menu.
I am so Windows-biased nowadays, I even can't get these old games running properly. Cursor keys with Ctrl? Totally forgot about that. Thanks everyone for your help.

Edited May 24, 2023 by Pixelfetish

[+DrVenkman]

18 hours ago, phaeron said:

It does crash with a black screen and a cursor if you have a cartridge plugged in or equivalent (internal BASIC), but long before Journey.

So that was interesting, and partly explains why I could get the game to boot with a U1MB (because with the U1MB PBI BIOS enabled, you can suppress internal BASIC, and you can suppress the 8K ROM space entirely). 

Tonight, I think I discovered that my machine profiles were corrupted somehow, because try as I might, even with the disk drive to Off, I was unable to boot to the Self-Test by holding Option (F4). Then I did one thing - I attached a random game cart, booted into the game, then detached the game cart. When the emulated Atari rebooted, it went right to Self-Test. Now, with every reboot, Option works correctly, as do the Altirra options for suppressing BASIC.

 

So it seems that attaching a non-BASIC cart, then detaching it again, somehow fixed whatever weird thing was going on in my Altirra setup.  And things were indeed messed up, as I couldn't even boot the game in a simulated 48K 800 (which has no internal BASIC) or 1200XL (likewise). Now both are working fine with the game. 

 

[Pixelfetish]

1 hour ago, DrVenkman said:

So that was interesting, and partly explains why I could get the game to boot with a U1MB (because with the U1MB PBI BIOS enabled, you can suppress internal BASIC, and you can suppress the 8K ROM space entirely). 

Tonight, I think I discovered that my machine profiles were corrupted somehow, because try as I might, even with the disk drive to Off, I was unable to boot to the Self-Test by holding Option (F4). Then I did one thing - I attached a random game cart, booted into the game, then detached the game cart. When the emulated Atari rebooted, it went right to Self-Test. Now, with every reboot, Option works correctly, as do the Altirra options for suppressing BASIC.

 

So it seems that attaching a non-BASIC cart, then detaching it again, somehow fixed whatever weird thing was going on in my Altirra setup.  And things were indeed messed up, as I couldn't even boot the game in a simulated 48K 800 (which has no internal BASIC) or 1200XL (likewise). Now both are working fine with the game. 

 

You forgot to activate the artefacting, unless you like it b/w.
But hence, I even formatted a SD disk with dos 2.5, then booted U3, pressed c, created the scenario disk until the message "copy complete" appears.
rebooted, created 4 characters, formed a party, and after selecting "journey onward" I just see the barebone GUI without any content and Altirra crashes.

[Pixelfetish]

7 minutes ago, Pixelfetish said:

You forgot to activate the artefacting, unless you like it b/w.
But hence, I even formatted a SD disk with dos 2.5, then booted U3, pressed c, created the scenario disk until the message "copy complete" appears.
rebooted, created 4 characters, formed a party, and after selecting "journey onward" I just see the barebone GUI without any content and Altirra crashes.

I accidentally created a new comment, just wanted to add the created scenario disk which won't work.

 

Ultima 3 Secenario Disk 2.atr

Edited May 25, 2023 by Pixelfetish

[+DrVenkman]

15 minutes ago, Pixelfetish said:

You forgot to activate the artefacting, unless you like it b/w.

I usually emulate the way my real hardware is configured - my default is S-video most of the time (so no artifacting). I was mostly just curious about why your game disk wouldn't boot and it led me down a little rabbit hole. 

 

BTW, I used your originally-posted (B) disk yesterday, created 4 new random characters, and I can use those to "Continue Journey"

 

[phaeron]

3 hours ago, Pixelfetish said:

I accidentally created a new comment, just wanted to add the created scenario disk which won't work.

 

Ultima 3 Secenario Disk 2.atr 90.02 kB · 0 downloads

It looks like you've accidentally created your scenario disk by copying the program disk (side A) instead of the player master disk (side B).

[kenp]

Can't stay away as I figured but I'm watching and trying to learn things for later.  If I can ask a possibly stupid question ...  Suppose I have a Windows 10 machine running the best version of Altirra it can, would a physical hard drive like an 810 be connectable through an SIO2PC type cable to the Altirra emulator running in that PC?

Edited May 25, 2023 by kenp

[phaeron]

2 hours ago, kenp said:

Can't stay away as I figured but I'm watching and trying to learn things for later.  If I can ask a possibly stupid question ...  Suppose I have a Windows 10 machine running the best version of Altirra it can, would a physical hard drive like an 810 be connectable through an SIO2PC type cable to the Altirra emulator running in that PC?

Nope, you can't connect real SIO devices to the emulator, you need to image the disk beforehand or after.

[Pixelfetish]

4 hours ago, phaeron said:

It looks like you've accidentally created your scenario disk by copying the program disk (side A) instead of the player master disk (side B).

Thanks a lot Avery. 

 

I am really bothering, I know. But now I have another slight problem. The arrow keys. They won't work as intended.
Remapping the arrow keys to gamepad is off.
When I press Down, it goes North. the other three Arrow Keys are not recognized.
When I press CTRL, Left and Right are recognized, but Down stays North, UP does nothing.
It isn't as easy as it seems.

 

[Pixelfetish]

Funny, I can't edit my own post above anymore....is there like a editing timer? After two hours you cannot edit your post anymore?

However, I have solved the problem by remapping the raw keys with custom binding.
= as Cursor UP
/ as Cursor DOWN
+ as Cursor LEFT
* as Cursor RIGHT

 

according to this layout in the pic it should be different. UP/DOWN are quirked. But it works.

Edited May 25, 2023 by Pixelfetish

[+DrVenkman]

2 hours ago, Pixelfetish said:

is there like a editing timer? After two hours you cannot edit your post anymore?

I think the standard window for editing is 30 minutes. For AtariAge paid members, it’s 30 days. For some important posts (usually by hardware or software developers with threads that get crazy active. Al or another Moderator can grant someone indefinite edit rights to a specific post (so, for example, the first post in a huge thread can stay updated with the latest download links or information).

 

[lemiel]

M: is probably RAMdisk, maybe under OS or/and in extended RAM. (I am guessing, never seen XDOS, but I saw M: somewhere else used as RAMdisk, probably in cassetes/turbo tools.)

 

Not only XDOS makes this strange HATABS writting, some other DOSes do the same, overwritting other entries. We discussed it on AtariArea.

 

We were going (I did not have roper mood to do this earlier) to write some question about adding possibility to simply refresh H: definition in HATABS. But now It is written already.

 

We are (I did not check) not sure if H: is always available, even in BASIC, without any DOS. As in Atari800Win.

Edited May 25, 2023 by lemiel
Bad form of see

[_The Doctor__]

M: disk is normally ramdisk on CPM /S100 machines... it makes sense that you've seen it many other places, since we are creatures of habit building on what came before

[phaeron]

https://www.virtualdub.org/beta/Altirra-4.20-test13.zip
https://www.virtualdub.org/beta/Altirra-4.20-test13-src.7z

• AltirraOS: Updated to 3.36 with compatibility fix: CIO now returns C=1 for programs that assume the C flag state on run.Custom devices: Fixed broken R-Verter sample custom device.
• Cartridge: Added support for CAR types 76, 78-93, and 160, which were already supported but no longer require advanced config overrides. (Credit to Jindroush for driving the cross-emulator coordination work.)
• Custom devices: Custom device system retargeted onto new socket framework.
• Devices: Fixed devices dialog sometimes not updating in real-time for device status changes.
• Devices: Added support for copy/paste of devices as text.
• Debugger: Memory window now accepts general address expressions.
• Disk: Improved accuracy of Happy 1050 hardware memory map.
• Host device: Directory reads no longer return EOF Y=$03 code.
• POKEY: Added emulation of altered results with truncated/restarted pot scans.
• UI: Undocked windows are now moved on-screen if completely off screen on layout restore.
• UI: Added workaround for Windows UWP touch keyboard sending the wrong key encodings for special keys.

 

On 5/25/2023 at 2:48 AM, Pixelfetish said:

However, I have solved the problem by remapping the raw keys with custom binding.
= as Cursor UP
/ as Cursor DOWN
+ as Cursor LEFT
* as Cursor RIGHT

 

according to this layout in the pic it should be different. UP/DOWN are quirked. But it works.

 

Mapping between PC and Atari keyboards is a bit odd in that area, yeah, because the keys don't match. What you're seeing is due to the 'natural' keyboard layout, where the mapping is designed to match characters -- which means that the arrow keys don't get mapped in that cluster, because they would conflict with characters like Ctrl+[. Thus, you need to use the actual arrow keys instead. You can use the 'direct' layout instead, which maps by location and gets closer. But even then it's a bit weird since the keys aren't exactly the same places -- one example the "| \" key on the PC needing to sub in for "* ^" despite being above instead of left to Enter. Plus, things get even more weird for international keyboards, thus the ability to customize the keyboard.

[spicyjack]

On 1/17/2023 at 8:56 AM, pmgraphics said:

The site where I grabbed VINTAGE TV.cgp from no longer in exists, thus it's probably not being updated.

Short thread hijack...

 

@pmgraphics, the original file was posted to the libretro forums, and the mega.nz download link in that forum post is still working, in case anybody else wants to download a copy.

 

 

Edited May 31, 2023 by spicyjack
Made the thread hijack shorter...

[spicyjack]

On 5/27/2023 at 3:41 PM, phaeron said:

https://www.virtualdub.org/beta/Altirra-4.20-test13.zip
https://www.virtualdub.org/beta/Altirra-4.20-test13-src.7z

I have a bug report... Altirra with a virtual IDEPlus v2 does not work with any IDEPlus BIOS newer than version 1.6.  Current IDEPlus v2 BIOS version is 1.9.

 

My host system: Altirra version 4.20-test13 (from the zipfile above) running under WINE (version 8.0.1) on MacOS Ventura (13.2.1)

The info for the emulated system is below in the "Altirra Configuration" spoiler below.  Note that I swapped the IDEPlus BIOS disk when loading and testing different BIOS versions, so take that particular disk entry with a grain of salt.
 

How I found the bug: I tried yesterday to get IDEPlus v2 working in Altirra starting with the latest BIOS (1.9), but no luck.  I couldn't even use the START+RESET combo to enter the IDEPlus v2.  After trying BIOS version 1.9, I went back to BIOS version 1.6, which worked, and then went forward in BIOS versions until I found where things stopped working. 

 

I was running Altirra 4.01 under WINE when I started to set this all up, and just now upgraded to the above test13 release, and I get the same result in both versions.  I have not tested any older versions of Altirra for this bug. 

 

Here's what I saw in Altirra with the different IDEPlus v2 BIOS versions:

• 1.6 (CRC: EBA5834C): works, the IDEPlus clock driver in SDX loads with no errors, I can load the BIOS into the empty firmware, save it to a file, then run KMKDIAG.COM v1.47 to view the PBI device and the virtual disk; DISKINFO.COM and DEVINFO.COM work with no issues.  I was able to partition and format a new test virtual disk using flashjazzcat's FDISK.COM, and use this test virtual disk as a reference during subsequent troubleshooting. START+RESET loads the IDEPlus menu, and XLD.COM and XMENU.COM work.
• 1.7 and 1.8: don't work; IDEPlus clock driver does not load in SDX, I loaded the BIOS, saved it to a file, I could see the PBI device and virtual disk in KMKDIAG.COM v1.47, but if I change disks in SDX 4.49g to one of the new drives, I get error 138, device does not respond.  DISKINFO.COM and DEVINFO.COM do not show any devices or disks.
• 1.9 (CRC: 4CEE2FDF): doesn't work; IDEPlus clock driver does not load in SDX, I was able to load the BIOS and save it to a file, I could not see any PBI devices at all in KMKDIAG.COM v1.47 until I set the option <I> BIOS ID bytes: ignore.  After setting that option, I can run the "Test attached disk(s)" option and it will return the correct disk geometry for the virtual disk.  After exiting KMKDIAG.COM, changing disks to one of the drives on the virtual disk returns error 138, device does not respond.  DISKINFO.COM and DEVINFO.COM do not show any devices or disks, XLD.COM and XMENU.COM do not work, START + SHIFT/RESET prompts to load from cassette.  I could also see the IDE device if I halted the emulator and typed .ide in the debug console.

If I load up BIOS version 1.6 again in IDEPlus v2 after testing any of the newer versions, I can see the disks and partitions that I created previously using FDISK.COM, and run DISKINFO.COM/DEVINFO.COM/XLD.COM/XMENU.COM and hit START + SHIFT/RESET with no issues.

 

Here's the text from Altirra Configuration:

Spoiler

Base system    NTSC 800XL (1088K)
Additional devices    KMK/JZ IDE v2
OS firmware    Atari XL/XE OS ver.2 [1F9CD270]
Mounted images    Disk: boot.altirra.ideplus_sdx.sssd.90k.2023-05-29.atr [7A70134C] Disk: xferdisk.dsdd.2021-06-04.atr [1EAC345C] Disk: ideplus-bios-1.7_20200218.atr [5F907354] Disk: ideplus-2012-07-08-sparta.atr [261CDE2A]

 

XVER.COM says:

Spoiler

SpartaDOS X 4.49  9-01-22 19:24:15

Build: IDE+2.0, pass-through

 

To get a copy of the BIOS image, I used the following steps:

Spoiler

1. Start Altirra with the IDEPlus v2 device loaded in Configure System, but without a BIOS image loaded in the Firmware dialog.
2. Load a floppy with the files from the BIOS .arc archive, and run the appropriate BIOSXX.COM file from the floppy.
3. Follow the promots from BIOSXX.COM to load the BIOS.
4. Once the BIOS was loaded into the virtual firmware, use "File -> Save Firmware -> Save KMK/JZ IDE / SIDE / MyIDEII Main Flash" in Altirra to save the BIOS as a raw image file.
5. Once the firmware was saved to a raw image file, it was added back to the current Profile using the Firmware dialog.

Please let me know if you need any more info, disk images, screenshots, or checksums, and I'll be happy to paste them here.  Thanks!