Games behaving differently on the Next

PeterJ · Post by **PeterJ** » Fri Apr 24, 2020 3:47 pm

Hi, thanks for the reply. I definitely did the zero day update, but I may have the wrong SD Card in (As I used a spare). Let me check later.

Pegaz · Post by **Pegaz** » Fri Apr 24, 2020 3:55 pm

[mention]PeterJ[/mention]

Tested with SpecEmu in 48k, 128k (standard and usr 0 mode) and It should always look like the second picture (usr 0 mode) in your example.
It's strange that there are these inaccuracies in 48k mode, because the game should work perfectly there with VGA/Scart cable.

PeterJ · Post by **PeterJ** » Fri Apr 24, 2020 4:07 pm

I'm a plonker (For our non English friends - a foolish or inept person).

I had the wrong SD Card in. It works fine in all modes listed above with RGB SCART at 50hz.

Apologies again. I'm going back inside my box! I suggest everyone purchases a similar cable if they want a solution now.

Seven.FFF · Post by **Seven.FFF** » Fri Apr 24, 2020 4:10 pm

Using the latest Next distro for El Stompo I get the same as Peters USR0 screen in 128K mode (1), USR0 mode (0) and 48K mode (4).

Pentagon (P) and Next/+3 mode (N) are not suitable for running this game. Well, unless there's a build of El Stompo using Denis's Pentagon engine, but I can't see one.

I think I wrote somewhere on one of the many previous pages in this thread, that every program is not always expected to work in every single mode. The modes and advanced options are there to provide enough compatibility options so at least one mode will always work with a given program.

Because Nirvana+ does machine detection between 48K and 128K timings, then in this case both 128K and 48K mode work.

Please do make sure you're on the latest distro, everybody!

Seven.FFF · Post by **Seven.FFF** » Fri Apr 24, 2020 5:19 pm

I know not everyone appreciates explanations, but one of the compatibility changes introduced between last October and the current release was how ROMs are handled. Previously each machine personality had a fixed ROMset loaded at cold boot. Games loaded in the Next personality were always using the four NextZXOS ROMs accessed through +3 paging model, which were heavily patched for compatibility with existing games. Increasingly so over time, as more compatibility fixes were applied. But In the current release, we have a new hardware feature that allows any alternate ROMs to be loaded on demand, which is a boon for running TAP/TZX/Z80/SNA games.

Because Nirvana+ uses ROM checks for its model detection, under the old scheme it was only possible to patch the single ROMset for 48K detection or 128K detection, not both. Which is what Peter was seeing in his initial screenshots. Under the new scheme, the ROMs it checks are actually the original 48K and 128K ROMs, loaded on demand by the TAP loader. So the new scheme is more flexible and able to more closely approximate individual machines on the fly.

PeterJ · Post by **PeterJ** » Fri Apr 24, 2020 5:34 pm

Thank you [mention]Seven.FFF[/mention]. I certainly appreciate them.

RMartins · Post by **RMartins** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 3:08 am

Just did my daily work out, just reading this whole thread from start.

djnzx48 · Post by **djnzx48** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 5:27 am

Is it possible to use the Next with a widescreen TV/monitor while having it display at the correct aspect ratio? Every photo I have seen so far shows stretched pixels.

Swainy · Post by **Swainy** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 5:51 am

Only if your screen has a 4:3 mode I think.

PeterJ · Post by **PeterJ** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 7:14 am

RMartins wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 3:08 am Just did my daily work out, just reading this whole thread from start.

Wow, you are a glutton for punishment.

redballoon · Post by **redballoon** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 7:58 am

djnzx48 wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 5:27 am Is it possible to use the Next with a widescreen TV/monitor while having it display at the correct aspect ratio? Every photo I have seen so far shows stretched pixels.

Yip, that’s down to your television, as Swainy has said. Most of them allows you to change the aspect ratio of the screen on the input.

PeterJ · Post by **PeterJ** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 8:59 am

Yes, just checked all the TVs in our house (Mix of Sony, Samsung and Panasonic) and all have that facility. This is on the Samsung with HDMI:

This may annoy the purists, but I'm fine with it in 16:9 and accepting the stretch. The black borders annoy me more! I collect comedy shows from the 1970s and 1980s on DVD which are of course in 4:3. The stretch used to annoy me but I very soon got used to it. I then purchased a Panasonic DVD with upscaling built in (Only £40 on Amazon!) that works for me. You obviously still have the stretch, but with improved image quality on FHD displays. Its good to have the choice though.

Ast A. Moore · Post by **Ast A. Moore** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 9:28 am

PeterJ wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 8:59 am I'm fine with it in 16:9 and accepting the stretch.

PeterJ · Post by **PeterJ** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 9:34 am

I just can't cope with the borders [mention]Ast A. Moore[/mention]!

R-Tape · Post by **R-Tape** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 5:56 pm

My VGA cable arrived today, so after disinfecting it in aqua regia for several hours I plugged it all in and it works fine. The 4:3 display is a bit smaller than the HDMI equivalent, so I'm not sure if that's the TV or my choice from the test screen. Either way it's fine. I'm currently using headphones, but once I get some speakers it'll be ready to roll.

Buzzsaw+, GLUF etc all showing multicolour correctly, Dingo only slowing down rarely (same as on a real speccy). Woot!

Sokurah wrote: ↑Tue Apr 21, 2020 10:59 am I haven't seen this until now, but I'm guessing it might have something to do with sound?

I tried reducing the LD A,R loop and it still did it. Playing on an emulator or normal speccy it occasionally spills over a frame when there's a confluence of the extra life heart and something being fired.

I'll see if I can find the source and make some changes. Don't expect it this week though

I don't know if you're thinking about a special fix for HDMI, but if so then it might not be worth it as the Next HDMI issue is being fixed. If you mean stopping the slowdown on a normal speccy, then no pressure—I love this game and it's become one of those cute little flaws

PeterJ · Post by **PeterJ** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 6:59 pm

[mention]R-Tape[/mention]. Any reason why you aren't feeding sound through the TV? Does your Scart lead have a separate audio cable?

redballoon · Post by **redballoon** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 7:40 pm

Was fully expecting my RGB SCART to arrive today but sadly didn’t. Ach well. Updated to the latest files in preparation, though. Still adding games to the SD card, each game with their own folder containing the TAP, TZX and/or Z80 file and a Poke folder. There’s a way to connect the Next to your home network using WiFi so I wouldn’t need to copy the games folders, for example, the SD card and just leave them on my laptop. Anyone tried this yet?

PeterJ · Post by **PeterJ** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 7:47 pm

Yes, I've connected mine to WiFi, but not tried transfering files. It's very easy to set-up.

https://youtu.be/P6kyx-XukR0

I would love to be able to connect to the internet via the terminal emulator for the Raspberry Pi, so I could run things like text based web browsers, but apparently that's not possible sadly. Not sure why.

redballoon · Post by **redballoon** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 7:52 pm

Oh no, I’ve set the WiFi up ok, I meant you can also connect your Next to your local network so you don’t have to transfer games to the SD card. You can just open them (I think) from where they are on tour network.

Edit: found the tweet with the details!

https://twitter.com/chrisoregan/status/ ... 27010?s=21

Seven.FFF · Post by **Seven.FFF** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 7:58 pm

PeterJ wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 7:47 pm but apparently that's not possible sadly. Not sure why.

There’s no physical WiFi hardware on the Pi Zero.

PeterJ · Post by **PeterJ** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 7:59 pm

Seven.FFF wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 7:58 pm
PeterJ wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 7:47 pm but apparently that's not possible sadly. Not sure why.
There’s no physical WiFi hardware on the Pi Zero.

I just thought it could connect maybe through the esp8266?

Is the version of NextPi shipped with the machine the latest version from last September? I'm assuming the only way of updating it is to take the machine apart to access the microSD card of the Pi Zero?

PeterJ · Post by **PeterJ** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 8:00 pm

Very nice [mention]redballoon[/mention].

You will need Python3 installed. I will try on my Ubuntu box on Sunday and let you know how I get on.

Seven.FFF · Post by **Seven.FFF** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 8:10 pm

The Pi can’t see the ESP. The Next can see both of them but not at the same time. The ESP is a WiFi modem intended for IoT hobbyists which speaks AT commands, it’s not a general purpose plug and play network card for PCs.

Seven.FFF · Post by **Seven.FFF** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 8:15 pm

There has only been one release of NextPi. So far there’s nothing to update, but when there is it will either be updatable from a Next program (for small updates) or from a micro USB stick (for larger updates). The mechanism for both of these is still being written and tested.

Games can already update programs and scripts to the RAM disk to run things on the Pi on demand. For example WarHawk uploads and plays the sid file seamlessly during the main menu. I’m not aware of anything yet released which uploads and runs custom code, but the mechanism is there and does work.

PeterJ · Post by **PeterJ** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 8:17 pm

Yes, I've used the ESP8266 to create a little webserver project with the Arduino software suite. Just read the notes from the developer portal and it confirms as you say that it's a no-go sadly. Would have loved to have used the Lynx web browser in the terminal!

https://wiki.specnext.dev/Pi:Main_Page

Spectrum Computing

Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next

Re: Games behaving differently on the Next