Post subject: VBA v20, v7.24 etc. (VBA-RR v24-interim for your testing)
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v8.24.0.393 "v24m": http://code.google.com/p/vba-rerecording/downloads/detail?name=vba-v24m-svn-r393.7z v7.24.0.395 "v24-alpha": http://code.google.com/p/vba-rerecording/downloads/detail?name=vba24-alpha-svn-r395.7z v1.7.2.560 (duh) "v20.2": http://code.google.com/p/vba-rerecording/downloads/detail?name=VBA%201.7.2%20v20.2.zip If you still remember v20, then v24-interim might remind you of it. The GB core of v24-interim was carried over from v20, with most of the fixes from VBA-M and a few fixes made by me applied. According to some tests, GB/GBC/SGB emulation is still inaccurate, but it is much better than v19-v23 for many games. GBA emulation isn't touched, though. The frame timing is changed from v20. Known desync issues in v20 are all resolved. For some reason, it can properly play 3 of the published GB/SGB movies that require v20, with only Pokémon Green out of sync at the end of the run. I made this unfinished release in the hope of finding out problems early. At the moment, Lua isn't supported for GB/GBC/SGB games, and game timing might change due to new fixes. Read Readme.txt for more information. And if someone can find out why Tonic Trouble has graphical glitches or why the Pokémon Green movie desyncs, please help! EDIT: The v23 branch is still being maintained, as the v24 branch doesn't seem to be always working better. The downloads are both updated.
<klmz> it reminds me of that people used to keep quoting adelikat's IRC statements in the old good days <adelikat> no doubt <adelikat> klmz, they still do
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When is it ready? When testing on the debug build I got from you, the emulation speed would drop down considerably, to even less than 1 FPS, when using the Out Of Bounds glitch in Wario Land 2. When I recorded this test movie, I experienced this horrible lag, but it's not there during playback. http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1964900405/WL2%20debugvba24%20test.vbm
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MUGG wrote:
When is it ready? When testing on the debug build I got from you, the emulation speed would drop down considerably, to even less than 1 FPS, when using the Out Of Bounds glitch in Wario Land 2. When I recorded this test movie, I experienced this horrible lag, but it's not there during playback. http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1964900405/WL2%20debugvba24%20test.vbm
The debug build I sent you was not optimized at all. Have you tried the latest svn build of v24?
MUGG wrote:
When is it ready?
My plan was to update the GBA core before the v24 release. But I haven't got time for that... unfortunately. Would people mind an essentially (fixed) v20.x release as v24?
<klmz> it reminds me of that people used to keep quoting adelikat's IRC statements in the old good days <adelikat> no doubt <adelikat> klmz, they still do
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klmz wrote:
MUGG wrote:
When is it ready?
My plan was to update the GBA core before the v24 release. But I haven't got time for that... unfortunately. Would people mind an essentially (fixed) v20.x release as v24?
Will the GBA core's update cause movies made before/without the fix desync?
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I haven't tried the latest svn build. Actually, for now I'm not in a hurry for TASing more GBx games since I can finally TAS gamecube games on Dolphin (which wasn't possible for years). Please take your time and make a proper v24. :)
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jlun2 wrote:
klmz wrote:
MUGG wrote:
When is it ready?
My plan was to update the GBA core before the v24 release. But I haven't got time for that... unfortunately. Would people mind an essentially (fixed) v20.x release as v24?
Will the GBA core's update cause movies made before/without the fix desync?
Probably. You may always use the v23.x and prior versions (I guess they would be kept being used for a long period as Snes9x-rr v1.43 has been) to watch them.
<klmz> it reminds me of that people used to keep quoting adelikat's IRC statements in the old good days <adelikat> no doubt <adelikat> klmz, they still do
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klmz wrote:
Probably.
In that case, since the desync will probably be due to more/less lag from greater emulation accuracy, and that may cause some trouble with timing in future runs, I think I'll just wait until the GBA core is updated.
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Hi klmz! I'm not sure if you did this, but thanks for fixing a glitch that slowed down the game for no reason! Anyway, while using the revision linked above, it seems that it is hard to read the lag counter; when the movie is plagued with lag, the counter for gbx games becomes halfway offscreen. It would be nice if the lag counter could be made so that it would be displayed beneath/above the frame counter, like what DeSmuME does. It would be very nice this could be fixed.
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Okay, wanted to check something so I dug my VBA 24 out. Now half an hour later I feel like making a small rant post because the way the dropdown menu is looks inconvenient. All the menu elements being thrown around and re-arranged is also the main reason I refrained from getting newer VBA versions for a long time, and I still prefer using VBA 21 over 23. It took me a while to find the hotkey config (in 'options>input'). Why is screenshot capture in tools and not in 'File'? What's auto convert? What's associate with savestates? I just think there's so much stuff I have no idea about and looks unnecessary. Next is a small bug report. I was playing playing Soulriver's TAS of Kirby's Dream Land 2 on VBA 21, then continued from it and noticed that autofire A doesn't press A every other frame but it basicly is like hold A... I checked on VBA 24 and it's still there... Also, how have you been klmz? You seem to have become inactive. I'd wish to say there's no hurry to address the above problems immediately... just saying.
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jlun2 wrote:
Hi klmz! I'm not sure if you did this, but thanks for fixing a glitch that slowed down the game for no reason!
Yes, I did that.
jlun2 wrote:
Anyway, while using the revision linked above, it seems that it is hard to read the lag counter; when the movie is plagued with lag, the counter for gbx games becomes halfway offscreen. It would be nice if the lag counter could be made so that it would be displayed beneath/above the frame counter, like what DeSmuME does. It would be very nice this could be fixed.
MUGG wrote:
Okay, wanted to check something so I dug my VBA 24 out. Now half an hour later I feel like making a small rant post because the way the dropdown menu is looks inconvenient. All the menu elements being thrown around and re-arranged is also the main reason I refrained from getting newer VBA versions for a long time, and I still prefer using VBA 21 over 23. It took me a while to find the hotkey config (in 'options>input'). Why is screenshot capture in tools and not in 'File'? What's auto convert? What's associate with savestates? I just think there's so much stuff I have no idea about and looks unnecessary.
It has been over one year since the last time I re-arrange old menu items (screenshot capture and hotkey config) IIRC. I made some that probably few people have been aware of e.g. while other contributors added some new features that also took some time for me to undestand their points. Perhaps a complete readme.txt or even a compiled/online help file is needed, but I'll explain to you those checkable options you mentioned (and one that probably nobody except a few was aware of): * Tools->Movie->Auto Convert: Automatically upgrades the loaded movie from VBM ver 1.0 to 1.1 (VBA-RR v23+), according to the VBM hearder. A converted movie is back-compatible. * Tools->Movie->Associate With Savestates: Stores on and loads from disk savestates with filenames like ROM_NAME-MOVIE_NAME-SLOT_ID.sgm instead of ROM_NAME-SLOT_ID.sgm. Perhaps this should be renamed and moved under Options->something. * File->Current Slot->Show Timestamps: Shows when the existing savestates 1-10 was modified last time on all three submenus of loading/saving/selecting savestates. Perhaps this should be moved under Options->something.
MUGG wrote:
Next is a small bug report. I was playing playing Soulriver's TAS of Kirby's Dream Land 2 on VBA 21, then continued from it and noticed that autofire A doesn't press A every other frame but it basicly is like hold A... I checked on VBA 24 and it's still there... Also, how have you been klmz? You seem to have become inactive. I'd wish to say there's no hurry to address the above problems immediately... just saying.
I haven't got much time recently since I've got busy in real life. There have been some major issues to resolve first. I'll take the proper time when I look into this bug. And lastly, the status of v24: * Problems that still exist in the latest SVN revision, if affecting GBx emulation timing, won't be fixed until v25 (expected to come in 2012). EDIT: unless it's a very dumb mistake that must be corrected. * It is still not decided whether to integrate/merge the GBA core from VBA-M (which was a fixed 1.8.x core) into/with v24. The BIOS part and GFX part have been done as they don't seem to affect old timing.... Well, the BIOS emulation does affect GBA timing, but the change seems to be either a matter of turning a frozen game (meaning no finished old movie showing this) into a playable game or just a matter of minor differences in timing that are neglectible (meaning old movies staying in sync). * The format of savestates in the formal release might change and be made incompatible with any old version/revision! Proper diagnostic information would be given, though. (rationale: for TASers, safety > convenience, and not having done that was also why I had made a merged version but not made it public.) Yes, I feel like hating to keep 3 branches of VBA-RR that have different timings.
<klmz> it reminds me of that people used to keep quoting adelikat's IRC statements in the old good days <adelikat> no doubt <adelikat> klmz, they still do
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VBA-RR + VBA-M: http://code.google.com/p/vba-rerecording/downloads/detail?name=vbarer_24_vbam.7z The GBA part seems to be different. Generally, it has more lags and is thus slower than before, but in some games like Donkey Kong Country 2 it has less lags. The GBx part is unchanged from normal v24(-alpha). EDIT: This is now deprecated.
<klmz> it reminds me of that people used to keep quoting adelikat's IRC statements in the old good days <adelikat> no doubt <adelikat> klmz, they still do
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klmz wrote:
VBA-RR + VBA-M: http://code.google.com/p/vba-rerecording/downloads/detail?name=vbarer_24_vbam.7z
Woohoo! Thanks alot, klmz!
klmz wrote:
The GBA part seems to be different. Generally, it has more lags and is thus slower than before, but in some games like Donkey Kong Country 2 it has less lags. The GBx part is unchanged from normal v24(-alpha).
Will the timing affect the next version of VBA-RR? If not, is it safe to use this revision to start TASing GBA games?
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Can this new version be used right away or is it still Beta? I don't plan to do a TAS with it any time soon, just asking. Also, thank you so much!
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jlun2 wrote:
klmz wrote:
VBA-RR + VBA-M: http://code.google.com/p/vba-rerecording/downloads/detail?name=vbarer_24_vbam.7z
Woohoo! Thanks alot, klmz!
klmz wrote:
The GBA part seems to be different. Generally, it has more lags and is thus slower than before, but in some games like Donkey Kong Country 2 it has less lags. The GBx part is unchanged from normal v24(-alpha).
Will the timing affect the next version of VBA-RR? If not, is it safe to use this revision to start TASing GBA games?
In theory, this version is more precise emulation-wise. However, as it is usually laggier than the current versions which are already laggier than the actual GBA, I don't think it is more accurate in practice. But for those games like Kim Possible 3, I think it is a huge leap forward. Anyhow, this version should be examined before it is put into use for TASes.
<klmz> it reminds me of that people used to keep quoting adelikat's IRC statements in the old good days <adelikat> no doubt <adelikat> klmz, they still do
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Apparently old .sav files aren't compatible with your VBA-24-m-rr. Is that to be expected? It acts as if no file has been saved. Old savestates do load but the emulator would act strangely... The emulation would be a tad slower and the audio would be considerably low pitched. I could still finish testing what I wanted to test with this. So far I only knew that the sprite-flickering and lag was fixed for Mario & Luigi in VBA-m, but I didn't know whether it fixed the other emulation problems with this game. * Sprite-flickering and lag = fixed * Graphical glitch in Woo Hoo university = fixed * Peach guiding emulation glitch = fixed I'm gonna check on that last problem when I have the time.
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MUGG wrote:
Apparently old .sav files aren't compatible with your VBA-24-m-rr. Is that to be expected? It acts as if no file has been saved.
Was it only with games using particular types/sizes of saves? Did you try to import/export the .sav files?
MUGG wrote:
Old savestates do load but the emulator would act strangely... The emulation would be a tad slower and the audio would be considerably low pitched. I could still finish testing what I wanted to test with this.
That's expected.
MUGG wrote:
So far I only knew that the sprite-flickering and lag was fixed for Mario & Luigi in VBA-m, but I didn't know whether it fixed the other emulation problems with this game. * Sprite-flickering and lag = fixed * Graphical glitch in Woo Hoo university = fixed * Peach guiding emulation glitch = ? I'm gonna check on that last problem when I have the time.
That might be RNG-related.
<klmz> it reminds me of that people used to keep quoting adelikat's IRC statements in the old good days <adelikat> no doubt <adelikat> klmz, they still do
Post subject: final final edit
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It was some kind of directory problem again, since I had moved the emulator folder elsewhere. The .sav file works now, and I tested the Peach guiding emulation bug on VBA 24, and it turns out it was fixed. On VBA 21, Peach was captured as soon as she left the screen, whereas on a real GBA and on VBA 24-m, Peach was allowed to leave the screen a certain distance or for a certain amount of time (I'm not sure). So, every known emulation glitch in Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga has been fixed in VBA24-m! I can't wait to TAS this game after I finish my route test movie. :D
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Thank you so much for new VBA. I tested DKC2 with it. Yes, Lags are definitely reduced. (It's almost accurate compared with actual GBA I think) I found no glitch except low-pitch sound from reading old savestate. :)
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There are several bugs in this version: Games: Several GBC games are glitched, such as Donkey Kong Country and Asterix Search for Dotmatrix. Cheat Engine: -On the cheat list, if you have two codes and uncheck one to disable it, the other one gets disabled too. -When searching for a cheat, you often find the codes in the ram bank change, which makes the code start with "90" instead of "01". This works fine on v24, but it doesn't work on previous emulators. I get a "invalid Gameshark code" message on previous versions. I don't know which version is at fault though, VBAv24 for making a code that only works in that version, or the other emulators for not having a more advanced cheat option? Request: Please please disassociate save states from retaining all the options, cheats and configurations. I hate that every time I load a save state, it reverts all my options, cheats and configuration to the way it was when I made the save state.
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I haven't got a clue of the cause of the load-game sound problem (it only affects Channel DirectSound A/B?), But anyway, as soon as you transplant a savestate from one emu core to another, you create a hybrid path of emulation, which cannot be granted to be "realistic" and even working at all.
ReyVGM wrote:
There are several bugs in this version: Games: Several GBC games are glitched, such as Donkey Kong Country and Asterix Search for Dotmatrix. Cheat Engine: -On the cheat list, if you have two codes and uncheck one to disable it, the other one gets disabled too. -When searching for a cheat, you often find the codes in the ram bank change, which makes the code start with "90" instead of "01". This works fine on v24, but it doesn't work on previous emulators. I get a "invalid Gameshark code" message on previous versions. I don't know which version is at fault though, VBAv24 for making a code that only works in that version, or the other emulators for not having a more advanced cheat option? Request: Please please disassociate save states from retaining all the options, cheats and configurations. I hate that every time I load a save state, it reverts all my options, cheats and configuration to the way it was when I made the save state.
The GBC HDMA bug this time was due to an old careless mistake that I mixed the wrong code with v24. It has been fixed upon the latest revision (SVN commit a.k.a. source code only). As to the fixed v24 release and other bug-fixes/feature-requests, you'll have to be patient, or try to get another dev for them, as I am not on it right now or any time soon.
<klmz> it reminds me of that people used to keep quoting adelikat's IRC statements in the old good days <adelikat> no doubt <adelikat> klmz, they still do
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klmz, I would be glad if you could provide a download link to the fixed v24, since I'm not familiar with svn. Thanks in advance. However, since I'm only going for GBA TASing anyway, it shouldn't matter, I think.
Tompa
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ReyVGM wrote:
Cheat Engine: -On the cheat list, if you have two codes and uncheck one to disable it, the other one gets disabled too.
I don't get this bug, are there any more details you can give
ReyVGM wrote:
When searching for a cheat, you often find the codes in the ram bank change, which makes the code start with "90" instead of "01".
That does sound more like a feature than a bug
ReyVGM wrote:
Please please disassociate save states from retaining all the options, cheats and configurations. I hate that every time I load a save state, it reverts all my options, cheats and configuration to the way it was when I made the save state.
I agree with that, I'll add it to the feature request
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Tompa wrote:
http://code.google.com/p/vba-rerecording/downloads/list There you go!
The fixed VBA 24-m isn't on there (yet). Nevermind, though - The GB/C problem shouldn't matter for me.
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I put them (both v24 ones with and without the new GBA core) on. EDIT: Should I create a new SVN branch???
<klmz> it reminds me of that people used to keep quoting adelikat's IRC statements in the old good days <adelikat> no doubt <adelikat> klmz, they still do