Short info update: Optimization still ongoing.

Also starting to update my 0.132 based current Mame source soon to 0.133.

Steffen

@acefnq

Yes, due to the SNES using digital joysticks and most joysticks for USB being analog. Basically what WarpSNES does is a digital joystick emulation using some threshold values

BTW: What file did you delete to make it work? Some guy on AW.net deleted a config file but it still crashed for him, appearently still at the same place. As so many people made it working after deleting the config, I suspect he was doing something wrong...

Steffen

Hi!

Several people now reported to me about WarpSNES not working on OS 4.1. I now know what the problem is. You just have to delete the config file (which stores some stuff about Screenmodes which did change during the OS update) and WarpSNES works again! My Amiga is not yet working
again (will fix that one soon), but I had some people test it out for me, and in fact it did work!

Despite this, a new version is "in the planning", updating WarpSNES to the latest SNES9x source code (WarpSNES is a port of a Linux-SNES-Emulator called SNES9x, back then
I used the different name as there were 3 independent SNES9x ports which was - confusing).

MagicSN

@ssolie: I am already using -mstrict-align and the problem still appears. I checked the ASM code which crashed and it was a loading of a float. So it seems -mstrict-align did not do the trick, probably due to a too old compiler.

@abalaban

You are right. I am using the cygwin-cross-compiler. I am using the latest one I could find which was already quite old (from 2007). My guess is this version is too old for it. If anyone has the recent compiler for cygwin, please tell me where I can get it.

And I am still interested in a A1/Peg2 based tester for Mame, so I can see if it runs on a non-Sam system in the current compile.

MagicSN

@rwo

Yes, I examined the code now, and there is something like that in the structure causing the crash:

UBYTE8 ...;
ULONG ...;
float ...;

so the float ends up on a non-aligned address, which after what you wrote is a problem.

I added -mstrict-align to the compile but not to the link, this did not help (do I need to add it to the link as well?)

Now I am trying something else: Including 3 Pad-Bytes after the UBYTE Just hope such a problem is not at a different location as well!

I will also phone Thomas Frieden at some times and ask him if he has a suggestion, though

Steffen

@BillE

Well, let's hope Mame 0.131 will finally work after this recompile

I *think* to remember that it was possible on OS 4 to make alignment exception not cause a crash (but did not have a working Amiga for some while, so not sure right now), I think to remember there was some ENV Variable or such... Can someone tell if I remember right?

I have an alignment exception in one of my programs which looks like a data structure is not aligned to 32 Bit boundaries (which AFAIK is a problem on the Sam).

Also: Would -mstrict-align help?

MagicSN

As an editor I would use GoldED (not sure if still in development but it is an extremely nice editor with syntax highlighting, 3 different copy+paste buffers etc.), and as was
said gcc as compiler (gcc supports both C and C++). You might also check www.os4depot.net and www.hyperion-entertainment.biz for SDK and additional libraries archives.
You will find a lot of library packages known from Linux and other Operating systems in Amiga OS 4 versions there (SDL, a GL implementation, ODE, libjpeg, libpng, zlib,...).

Depending on preference you can either compile on your Amiga (which enables you to use
GoldED which I find personally ways superior to any programmer editor on PC platforms) or
you can compile on a PC (Win/Linux/etc.), connect the two machines using Samba. This
has the advantage that if you produce some crashy executables, you can reboot your Amiga
without having to open all editor windows again or losing your shell's history. Both has it's
advantages and disadvantages.


MagicSN

@unimon

I will look into WarpSNES In detail once I am finished with updating Mame&Mess to the most recent version.

MagicSN

@kas1e

Well, if you use the Direct Video RAM function (screen locking) there is really *no* difference between SDL and non-SDL code. Only difference is how the screen is opened...
You could even call the same rendering functions (providing to one the video RAM lock acquired by CyberGfx or P96 API, to the other the lock to the SDL Surface.

The point is there are several kinds of SDL Surfaces...

- YUV Surfaces -> Overlay Support, Direct Video Rendering
- RGB Surfaces directly sitting in Video RAM -> You can directly render into it
- Highlevel Surfaces -> Using SDL's own ASM optimized Refresh functions (still slower than directly hitting Video RAM of course)

Some "lazy" SDL programmers do not support the upper two things (and early SDL-versions do not support them either).

But I cannot see how the same memory copy function is slower if the screen was opened through SDL than if it was opened through OpenScreenTags. It makes no sense.

Steffen

@kas1e

On the comment "native Amiga version always preferrable", I still not understand what the difference between a direct Video RAM access using program doing that "native" and one which uses the direct Video RAM access functions of SDL is (using the ASM optimized refresh methods of SDL). True, it is possible to not support direct hardware refresh which would be slower.

Actually IMHO a SDL exe which also uses all features for speedup is preferred to both a native code (due to better portability for a program ported from Linux at least) and SDL without direct hardware access. The "native code" also only can directly render into the buffer, the difference is mainly the calls how the screen is opened.

And yes, I am aware current xMame does not do the direct hardware access way, nor does it support Overlay. The new version (based on 0.131 Mame source) will, though.

Steffen

@Menthos

Was never needed on my system. But I do not have latest OS 4 installed (due to non-working A1).

About joytype setting: Sorry, forgot to document this. Originally I did not document this, as AmigaInput was not public yet (years ago ). Will write a note next time.

Still looking for someone who would write an Installer Script for Mame. Any volunteers?

@Mrodfr

I am pretty sure it is the harddrive. Anybody having an extra harddrive with fully installed OS 4 lying around by any chance? ^^ (I still can enter BIOS, but no harddrive will boot up)

@Lio

As not expected. If I say it works it should be expected to work, not the other way round, wouldn't you say?

AmigaInput support is definitely in this version. It is probably a matter of configuration (I think there was something in xmamerc). Actually thinking of it I think AmigaInput was in the last version as well (at least I played it with that version on my A1, I am now pretty sure of it).
What value have you set the joytype (in xmamerc) to?

As to 128 MB not enough for Mame: Well, I cannot change that.

@Granada

Do not panic. You are comparing apples to oranges. "Early-Day" SDL-ports used a quite different SDL-implementation than xMame. The problem was not SDL, but that this early SDL-implementation was not very efficient. For this reason at some point it was redone from scratch. Still, despite this fact, people come up with the old "SDL is slow" myth again and again. It is not true.

BTW: xMame for OS 4 has always been SDL-based.

About the recent port: So it *does* work now, with the correct config?

BTW: On speed of loading you might try a call of addbuffers... this sometimes does wonders ... and that it is slower might be simply due to the fact that with the new version (due to more added emulations) the executable size is around 10-12 MB bigger... and this takes loading time... remember Mame is a product from the PC world...

Steffen

@kas1e

Well, try running it with a rom, not without parameters. About the DSI I still suspect something wrong about the settings, my tester could run games without problems. It MIGHT also be that the old problem of xmame (crash when run without a rom) is back. Not 100% sure if my tester tried it without running a game, with just the exe name.

The output you posted seems to indicate that it tries to start the emulation despite not been able to load the rom files (probably you do not have the rom files for pacman - which Mame uses as default game if the user did not supply the name of the game he wants to play - installed ^^).

I wrote my tester if he could email me his config, though, so I could make it available on os4depot for easy installation.

Steffen

@kas1e

Well, the problem is even testing it deeply with having the hardware won't help, if I have the correct config, and the guy where it does not run doesn't config it correctly (which is what I highly suspect)

This is how a correct Mame Setup looks:

Mame:
artwork/
Bkup/
Ctlr/
Data/
Docs/
Lang/
Prvc/
Roms/
Samples/
Snap/
Undo/

xMame.SDL

Note: This is from an old version, some directories might differ in the recent one. You might download the Binary version from Windows or Linux to get those Directories.

Well, next time I will include the directory structure of the data files, promised

Steffen

@kas1e

Did you do the Mame: assign and also create all the required directories (Mame:cfg, Mame:roms, etc.) ? From your description I suspect that not. If this is not done it will not work.

That os4depot overwrote it comes to me in a surprise BTW. I gave it by purpose a different filename so it is not overwritten.

Steffen

I highly suspect potential two issues:

1. a non-compatible config file (might be partially my mistake, I included the one from the old version, I will ask my tester to provide his config file for me, which worked fine)
2. Not enough stack (try 2000000)

Another thing is: Did you run it from GUI or shell? If GUI, try from Shell, I think my tester ran it from Shell.

As it worked on other Amiga's it cannot be a principial problem with the exe. A snoopdos log sent to my private email might also help.

About my Amiga, I have an A1, but there seems to be some problem with it, it does no longer work :( BTW: Are Peg2 still available anywhere?

Steffen

Hi!

After a long absence from the Amiga scene I am now with the release of the new version of xMame for OS 4 officially back. You can download it at os4depot.

At that place I want to say "thanks" to all the people who emailed me, and especially to Davide Palombo who did not cease to email me about xMame and got me into it again.

Actually this version might be a "short-lived" one, it is based on xMame 0.106, and I am quite far on a new Mame OS 4 port based on Mame 0.123 already. But as the new port is basing on a complete new codetree (xMame is discontinued on Linux) I cannot tell for sure when this new version will be released. But definitely it won't take as long as last time !!! Promised !!!

xMame for OS 4 1.06 is tested only by external testers, as I currently have no working Amiga. But seems it does it's job

There might be a new WarpSNES in some time as well, but no promise there at the moment. I am also thinking of updating the Mess port.

I left the old binaries on os4depot as some people might want the old version still, due to compatibility with old rom files.

"Neogeo-only" and "cps-only" versions won't exist anymore, the new codetrees (both 0.106 and 0.123) do not allow those anymore. So for such games you need to run the full version of mame now (I left the old versions of NeoMame and CpsMame in place though).

Steffen Haeuser
tirionareonwe@gmail.com <- note my recent email address