New Super Mario Bros (demo)

[Turrican]

Nintendo does not allow even YouTube channels to use any music or video of their games
Hope they not care about this version.

https://venturebeat.com/2016/09/01/nint ... games/amp/

[Ersh]

When Mario is walking the background scrolls at 2 pixels, and when running it scrolls at 4. So there's no need for the game to 'select' the right pattern it can simply keep alternating between the two and they'll blend just fine.

I had some time to try it on a 50hz screen and the only time I noticed any hiccups is when you start/stop scrolling, then there seem to be a frame or two where the mixing skips a beat (or at least, so it seems).

Yeah, thanks. I now realise gigascreen is definitely 'on' in ZXDS. When I stop Mario and let him stand still, I can see that his body appears to be a 'solid' grey that the Spectrum could not manage otherwise. When he runs and/or the background scrolls, the stippling becomes evident. It looks amazing. I wonder why we never had this back in the day (or perhaps we did?)

I'm pretty sure ZXDS doesn't do frame blending for gigascreen. However the slow speed of the DS LCD will actually help reduce flickering, it should even be less noticeable than on a 50hz CRT.

[djnzx48]

When Mario is walking the background scrolls at 2 pixels, and when running it scrolls at 4. So there's no need for the game to 'select' the right pattern it can simply keep alternating between the two and they'll blend just fine.

The stipple problem does affect the sprites though, which move at odd pixel offsets. It's most visible with the Goombas and when Mario is jumping vertically.

[Ersh]

The stipple problem does affect the sprites though, which move at odd pixel offsets. It's most visible with the Goombas and when Mario is jumping vertically.

That's true. Being smaller, it's not that jarring though.

For those that have problems jumping over the pipes. While holding the run button, run left, run right and jump. Basic Mario stuff.

[Joefish]

Huh? That makes no sense!

[Ersh]

Huh? That makes no sense!

You can make the jump without going to the left first, just hold the run button at all times (no need to let go really).

In SMB on the NES you always clear those pipes even at a stand still, that doesn't work here, which means you can soft-lock the ZX version if you fall down the left side of a pipe that's too close to the border.

[Ersh]

You can make the jump without going to the left first, just hold the run button at all times (no need to let go really).

I'm tired today, what I meant was that you don't need to run left, turn and run right in order to make it. As long as you have around 2 blocks of running-space you should be fine.

[5MinuteRetro]

For those that have problems jumping over the pipes. While holding the run button, run left, run right and jump. Basic Mario stuff.

But what button is the 'run' button? There appears to be only left, right, down and fire - with fire being jump. And I can hold down right and Mario never gets to 'running' speed.

[Ersh]

But what button is the 'run' button? There appears to be only left, right, down and fire - with fire being jump. And I can hold down right and Mario never gets to 'running' speed.

In ZXDS either set the input to Kempston, then choose that in the games menu (Left/Right moves, Up = Jump and Fire = Run) or choose QAOPS and set the controls manually (O/P moves, Q = Jump, Space = Run).

[5MinuteRetro]

But what button is the 'run' button? There appears to be only left, right, down and fire - with fire being jump. And I can hold down right and Mario never gets to 'running' speed.

In ZXDS either set the input to Kempston, then choose that in the games menu (Left/Right moves, Up = Jump and Fire = Run) or choose QAOPS and set the controls manually (O/P moves, Q = Jump, Space = Run).

Ah... I think that's where I've been going wrong! I assume fire was purely for jump, so I'd been configuring accordingly. I didn't realise that there's a separate run control. I'll try it next week -- I left my DS at the office.

[PeteProdge]

MrTom has put the demo on a real Spectrum +2 and has captured the results...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bW6mo81voI

[Ast A. Moore]

This is not what exactly what it looks like on real hardware. I mean, I don’t know how he captures his Speccy’s video output, but on my Spectrum and CRT TV the flicker is not that apparent (when synced up properly).

[PeteProdge]

This is not what exactly what it looks like on real hardware. I mean, I don’t know how he captures his Speccy’s video output, but on my Spectrum and CRT TV the flicker is not that apparent (when synced up properly).

I'm chatting with Mr Tom in a Discord window.

His explanation, which he's asked me to post here: "it's cos I zoomed the image in to get rid of the massive borders. That and the YT compression did a number on it."

I would also do a capture, as a massive video nerd who likes to capture things at the right framerate, but my only ZX Spectrum blew up years ago. I only play Spectrum games through emulation.

Thus, I've only played the Super Mario Bros demo on Fuse, and it looks very much like Mr Tom's video.

Of course, I'd like to see differing views on this.

[Ast A. Moore]

Thus, I've only played the Super Mario Bros demo on Fuse, and it looks very much like Mr Tom's video.

I know. Hence my comment above.

Fix up your Speccy!

[4thRock]

That YT video should be at 50fps, not at 60fps ! Capturing at 60fps creates duplicate frames and also breaks the smooth scroll (on all games, not only this). Switching your PC's refresh to 50hz solves this problem on most emulators.

I'm no expert (so correct me if I'm wrong) but the closest digital equivalent of the Spectrum's output, with no scaling, is 384*288@50p.
That's the full borde, with a 256x192 active area in the middle.

Scaling 2x (pixel doubling) gives you 768x576@50p, which is a valid modern SD resolution.
So I'd say this is the ideal resolution for captures. Many emulators allow you to selected this mode for full screen.

You can then upscale the capture to 720p or 1080p for YouTube upload with minimal artifacts.

[5MinuteRetro]

In ZXDS either set the input to Kempston, then choose that in the games menu (Left/Right moves, Up = Jump and Fire = Run) or choose QAOPS and set the controls manually (O/P moves, Q = Jump, Space = Run).

Ah... I think that's where I've been going wrong! I assume fire was purely for jump, so I'd been configuring accordingly. I didn't realise that there's a separate run control. I'll try it next week -- I left my DS at the office.

Just to close this out for me... this worked. I didn't realise that 'fire' was 'run', so I'd been mapping 'jump' to the 'fire' button, so I couldn't run. I can now clear those pipes, no bother. And this really is a staggeringly-good demo!

[5MinuteRetro]

This is not what exactly what it looks like on real hardware. I mean, I don’t know how he captures his Speccy’s video output, but on my Spectrum and CRT TV the flicker is not that apparent (when synced up properly).

On ZXDS on my DS the effect is absolutely superb. Not quite 'static' but virtually no flicker, so the distinctly-un-Spectrum grey of Mario (for example) looks as-near-as-dammit solid when he's standing still. The trickery becomes more apparently when he (and other stuff) is moving, but I'm still agog about this effect. In fact, I'm about to start a new thread just to ask about it... (assuming there are no other gigascreen threads already -- I'll check before I post!).

[Ast A. Moore]

Many emulators allow you to select this mode for full screen.

Not all computers let you choose arbitrary refresh rates, though. My laptop, for instance, is locked at 60 Hz. Ain’t nothing I can do about it.

[Ast A. Moore]

I'm still agog about this effect.

Back in the day, some games used this effect for creating extra colors. Nether Earth comes to mind. It’s used (sparingly) in the radar.

[5MinuteRetro]

I'm still agog about this effect.

Back in the day, some games used this effect for creating extra colors. Nether Earth comes to mind. It’s used (sparingly) in the radar.

Can confirm... just this second tried it. Superb! I never played that game but I'm sure I would've noticed it as a kid, so I'm still surprised I didn't see this effect more commonly. Still, a whole new ZX thing to explore. I've created a new thread...

[Ersh]

On ZXDS on my DS the effect is absolutely superb. Not quite 'static' but virtually no flicker, so the distinctly-un-Spectrum grey of Mario (for example) looks as-near-as-dammit solid when he's standing still. The trickery becomes more apparently when he (and other stuff) is moving, but I'm still agog about this effect. In fact, I'm about to start a new thread just to ask about it... (assuming there are no other gigascreen threads already -- I'll check before I post!).

ZXDS is awesome. The screen refreshes at solid 50hz which gives you silky smooth scrolling and colour blending effects without hiccups. As I mentioned the DS' LCD is also slow and prone to blur, which actually reduce flicker in gigascreen graphics.

I use the emulator extensively and it's worked perfectly with almost everything I've thrown at it. Though there are a few instances where the DS' LCD blur gets in the way. In Paranoia Complex; the scrolling messages are impossible to read. In Death Star Interceptor; the turret lasers during the trench-run are difficult to see due to their speed combined with the LCD blur. Not the emulator's fault though.

[4thRock]

Many emulators allow you to select this mode for full screen.

Not all computers let you choose arbitrary refresh rates, though. My laptop, for instance, is locked at 60 Hz. Ain’t nothing I can do about it.

In that case you can try to speed up emulation a few % so that the screen refresh matches 60hz...

[4thRock]

I'm still agog about this effect.

Back in the day, some games used this effect for creating extra colors. Nether Earth comes to mind. It’s used (sparingly) in the radar.

Or Chuckie Egg to prevent attribute clash with the main character (but it's only attribute change, pixel data remains the same). On a CRT you can't see any flicker (I guess colors mix better than pixel patterns).

[5MinuteRetro]

Or Chuckie Egg to prevent attribute clash with the main character (but it's only attribute change, pixel data remains the same). On a CRT you can't see any flicker (I guess colors mix better than pixel patterns).

Oh man -- so it does! Thing is, that's quite flickery too, and it's a flicker that I remember from playing as a child. It's not very effective, to be honest, and seems only for 'Man', not the birds. Now I'm wondering what Super Mario Brothers' use of gigascreen gets right where others get wrong? Actually, I think I kinda know the answer: I think SMB's implementation is really more about pixel-blending than the creation of 'new' colours. By blending two offset pixel forms of Mario, the author has managed to create parts of his body that look like a near-solid grey. Ditto the reds on the bottom platform, and bits of green on the pipes.

[djnzx48]

I never considered the attribute flickering in Chuckie Egg to be an intentional use of the effect. I always thought that was an artifact of the way attributes were updated - you'd see flickering if the attributes of the player were drawn and then quickly reverted to the old value (to 'undraw' them).