ZX ULAX emulator

[PeterJ]

Thank you [mention]Lethargeek[/mention],

That first link worked.

[PeterJ]

Thanks for all your assistance over PM [mention]Lethargeek[/mention]. I'm now up and running. Do you hope to add a menu system in the future? Maybe similar to ZEsarUX?

Loving Slightly Magic. Amazing!

[Lethargeek]

Do you hope to add a menu system in the future? Maybe similar to ZEsarUX?

maybe, but it's very low on my priority list right now
my standard menu system is Total Commander with Ctrl+Enter command line combo
it's just so much faster and much more convenient for me than drag&drop or usual dialogs

[PeterJ]

[mention]Lethargeek[/mention] kindly said that I could add here suggested games for converting. How about Biff?

https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.php?cat=96&id=515

Peter

[Lethargeek]

[mention]PeterJ[/mention], ok, this looks like a simple case, check tomorrow for the preliminary version

[Pegaz]

I also tested ZX ULAX on my LCD TV today and the scroll is perfectly smooth with 50Hz refresh rate.
Then, I tried with the noflick test program, which confirmed that the synchronization was perfect, precise than the one I saw on SpecIDE or Spectaculator.
Personally, I'm not a fan of fancy GUIs and I always value emulation accuracy the most, so this emulator looks very promising to me.
I just really miss the full screen mode and I wish we had it as an option...
btw, I've been playing enhanced "Intensity" for the last half hour and it looks great!

[Lethargeek]

I also tested ZX ULAX on my LCD TV today and the scroll is perfectly smooth with 50Hz refresh rate.
Then, I tried with the noflick test program, which confirmed that the synchronization was perfect, precise than the one I saw on SpecIDE or Spectaculator.

that's because i decided to sync the emulation to the video, not the sound as it was usually done
OTOH a few sophisticated AY demos might not work as intended with a flexible sound system

I just really miss the full screen mode and I wish we had it as an option...

maybe i will make "desktop fullscreen" (a fake border covering everything outside the window) once i figure out how to do it seamlessly

[Ast A. Moore]

(avoiding the adverts for very attractive young Russian ladies who are apparently looking for a husband in London)

Peter, sometimes I just don’t understand you . . .

[Lethargeek]

[mention]PeterJ[/mention], you can look for Biff adaptation in the same folder as the last time

there are two variants: one fast with ugly "glass" items and one big with repainted items to make them appear masked

i'm still not completely happy with the paint job but maybe it's ok for you

[PeterJ]

Many thanks [mention]Lethargeek[/mention],

I will have a play tonight.

Peter

[PeterJ]

Thanks [mention]Lethargeek[/mention],

Certainly the second variant is by far my favourite. I too am not sure about the colours at the moment, but for WiP it is very good. Thank you again.

Out of interest, does anyone else in the UK have problems downloading the emulator from the Russian Cloud site sometimes. Often either my browser just does nothing when I click download or I get a web-server time-out. I have tried it on multiple browsers, and via a VPN (PiVPN) and I get the same issues. Just interested if it is only me.

[Lethargeek]

public beta 15 - as [mention]Pegaz[/mention] requested, here's a new fullscreen mode with extended border to preserve some border effects and get an actually FULL screen (but if you don't like it, turn it off in the ini file and enjoy the black bars). Hotkey is F11 (as a consequence some rarely used keys changed and moved, see emuL-info.txt for details). Note it's a "desktop fullscreen" and it doesn't change any video settings. Have no idea what happens if some other process changes the video mode while the emulator is running (it's a bad idea in any case, esp if refresh rate was changed).

Also small update for game pack (old quazatron colorization improved slightly).

[PeterJ]

Thanks [mention]Lethargeek[/mention],

Download worked perfect this morning.

[Pegaz]

public beta 15 - as @Pegaz requested, here's a new fullscreen mode with extended border to preserve some border effects and get an actually FULL screen (but if you don't like it, turn it off in the ini file and enjoy the black bars). Hotkey is F11 (as a consequence some rarely used keys changed and moved, see emuL-info.txt for details). Note it's a "desktop fullscreen" and it doesn't change any video settings. Have no idea what happens if some other process changes the video mode while the emulator is running (it's a bad idea in any case, esp if refresh rate was changed).

Also small update for game pack (old quazatron colorization improved slightly).

Thanks [mention]Lethargeek[/mention] , I really appreciate it, full screen works really nice.
Is it possible to use some command line switch or setting in the ini file, so that the emulator starts in full screen mode by default?

[Pegaz]

Hmm, I don't know how this Subject: "Re: try fullscreen" appeared, I just did qoute and reply, as usual ...
It seems ok now, never mind, no harm done...

[PeterJ]

Changed for you [mention]Pegaz[/mention]. When you reply or quote a post you can edit the subject field.

[Lethargeek]

Is it possible to use some command line switch or setting in the ini file, so that the emulator starts in full screen mode by default?

maybe some later version, as it will need a major interface overhaul
in fullscreen you can't see any emulator state info as it's in the window title
but at least the switch between the modes is instant

[Lethargeek]

the OP changed to reflect the current state of things and the actual download links (thanks to [mention]PeterJ[/mention])

[Lethargeek]

a wip dux driver for the recent The Lost Treasures of Tulum
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2656
if anybody wants it without the color clash

it's so small i put it here just as a text:

Code: Select all

; tile
105F84	C088 0131 0113
105F8B	C888

; sbuf2scr
10131C	0111 0 0111

; hero
1013AC	C006
1013B0	0131 0530 0 0330 0113
1013BC	C888
; attr
101343	01F1 C333 001F
801344	0 FFFF FFFF FFFF FFFF FFFF FFFF FFFF
; enemy
101AE6	C006
101AE9	1013B0	5
101AF2	C888


;;;; tags

809B2F	FFFD 8001 8000
-5	FFFD -7A1116 8000
809B31	809B2F	-1A
809B56	809B2F	-1C

[Lethargeek]

and another one for Bonnie and Clyde
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2660

Code: Select all

; reg-colors
7F000A	fffd 1100 -7A1117
7F000B	fffd 8001 -7A1117
7F000C	fffd 8001 8000
7F000D	fffd 8001 -7A000F
7F000E	fffd -7A1110 -7A111F
; darker bg
7A0007	4210

; scr2buf
107D23	0111

; sprite
1091D6	C30A
1091D7	0131 0530 0 0330 0 0113 0 0
1091DF	1091D7	26
109212	C888
109224	0131 0113 0 0
109228	109224	12
109264	109224	16
109286	0131 0113
109289	-1091D6
10928A	1091D7	2E
1092B8	C888
1092BA	0131 0113
1092D3	-1091D6
1092D4	1091D7	16
1092EC	109224	6
1092F4	1091D7	16
10930A	C888

; bullet
109760	C0EA
109763	0131 0330 0 0113 0 0110 0 0110
10976E	109763	4
109772	C888
109777	C0FA
10977A	109763	4
10977F	109763	4
109784	0131 0530 0 0330 0 0113 0
10978B	109784	14
1097A0	10977A	9
1097A9	C888
1097B7	0131 0113

; safe
109BD1	01FC
109BE4	01FD
109BEA	01FC
; Bonnie
109EA5	01FB
; item
109EB7	01FE
109EBB	01FE
10A040	01FE
10A067	01FE
10A075	01FE
10A086	01FE

; Bonnie restore
109E03	0131 0113 0 0
109E07	109E03	1A
; Bonnie, items, safe
109EBD	C30F 0 C30F
109ED1	C888
; item restore
10A04F	109E03	E

; coins
10A4C5	C0E0
10A4CD	C0E0
10A4D3	C0E0
10A4D5	1091D7	7
10A4DC	10A4D5	15
10A4F3	C888

(this is as much as could be done without searching for individual sprite gfx)

[Lethargeek]

public beta 16
fake border in fullscreen improved (extra lines @ top & bottom before extension, still not ideal for taller resolutions)
some other minor video optimizations; some ini defaults changed; reset (Home key) also resets border timings

Bonnie and Clyde & Tulum added to the game pack (also improved a bit Academy+ pentagon-fix)

[Lethargeek]

(updated Bonnie and Clyde yet again after two original fixes made today)

[Lethargeek]

public beta 17

now it's possible to toggle fake border in runtime (RAlt+F12)

and to cycle 3 picture fit modes in fullscreen (RAlt+F11) -
- fit "full" ZX borders (~352x288) - not recommended with fake border
- fit ULAX raster (~352x256) - same as in the windowed mode
- fit ZX raster (~256x192) - when border size isn't that important
(usually will be a bit more depending on particular desktop resolution)

former RAlt+F11/F12 functions (adapturbo extra cycles) are now RAlt+F2/F3

[Pegaz]

This zx raster mode is very useful on my lcd tv, because the screen was not big enough in default zx ulax mode.
I really like how this emulator is progressing...

[Lethargeek]

btw [mention]Pegaz[/mention], do you use your TV as the primary display? have you experienced any problems in a dual-screen setup?

sadly, i cannot figure out how to detect a mode change without reinitializing SDL every suspicious event or using the dreaded winAPI

so for the correct operation the emulator needs to be started in a display mode it's supposed to work in without any later changes