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Cospefogo

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Posts posted by Cospefogo

  1. Ok guys, here's the thing; changes need to be made to the default screen sizes. The dimensions for vertical games are just plain wrong, no games look as they should. Also there are many games for which the scanline filter is not working correctly (not just rotated games). People shouldn't have to be manually tweaking their screens to get this stuff right, it should be right by default.

     

    Hej +T+!

     

    Yes, this is the great crusade of Pixel Perfect. If the player uses bilinear and other linear modes, with scanlines turned off, there will be no problems in the screen at all, beside the (at least for me) horrible blur. But at the moment when the player start using scanlines, if the screen is not in correct size/pixel aspect ratio, the scanlines will be broken. And to start the game with scanlines ALREADY set up and perfect, you will need to start the game in pixel perfect. This is our quest... adding the correct dimensions to each INI.

     

    For the vertical games, we can find easily the correct width (it's the height, but since the image is rotated, I call width). So, the scanlines get pretty correct, although they are in vertical orientation. BUT, for the height of the rotated image (width as in the original) things get a bit rude. Since most of the games become toooo tall for the TV screen, we choose for:

     

    --- A super perfect pixel perfect, where A LOT OF IMAGE get cropped (overscan) both top and bottom, or

    --- A partial pixel perfect, where you can shrink the image (yes I know, it gets a bit fat and flat) and have less overscan.

     

    When you search for the pixel perfect, there are at least three instances where you can reach the "correct" point. You can get a very wide pixel perfect (wider pixels), a correct exact size pixel perfect (square pixels), and a very narrow pixel (narrow width pixels) perfect. It could sound confusing, but its is simple. You just need to play with the adjustments until the "waves in the image" disappear.

     

    The thing is that different hardware uses different resolutions, as you know. So in order to get the scanlines uniform on as many games as possible my plan is to take advantage of the fact that FBL uses multiple cores. For example; Cave games run in a slightly different vertical resolution to Psikyo games so the Cave core and the Psikyo core will use different base values to keep the scanlines uniform and to appear more faithful to the original display.

     

    Yes, this should do the trick for most of the systems presented in FBL rom list. CPS1 and CPS2 have all the very same width x height, except for Mercs and another one that is rotated, if I remember well.

     

    Cave has its size, Psyko has it too...

     

    But thing gets problematic in NeoGeo, since the "official" documentation out there in sites and forums preach NeoGeo as 320x224 screen size games, however there are many titles that are 304x224, verified and tested by me and few other comrades.

     

    So, there are some different variables to take care off...

    It couls be wonderful to be able to open a game ALREADY in pixel perfect, right from a clean install... just like CoinOPS, but I think this could be a devilish job.

     

    In CoinOPS/MAME, if you check the game info while INSIDE the game (in game menu), it shows several data, like the screen size, refresh rate, rom name, etc etc. Maybe the game screen size is registered somewhere within the rom? Maybe it is possible to interpret this value and convert it the FBL screen size settings when opening the game?

     

     

    The only problem with this (and I stress that it is the only problem) is that it's going to drop a nuclear bomb on some of the 'pixel perfect' ini files you've been working on since the changes will need to be made to base values upon which your values are applied. I've been trying to think of a way to do this that will cause as little disruption to your project as possible, but I'm struggling. All I can think to do is provide you with details about exactly which values I've changed, for which games, and by how much. For the most part I think it should be a fairly simple case of running a find and replace script through your inis to correct them. In any case I won't do anything just yet until I've had some feedback from you.

     

    If you say me that this idea will not interfere or destroy the current INIs I am already using, this will be no problem at all. If you apply this new system, will my actual INIs (already set in pixel perfect and scanlines goold as gold) keep working normally?

     

    By the way, I am sending you a PM with *all* my inis.

    Please try some different vertical games to see how me and PhilExile use to play.

     

    I bet you will dislike our settings for vertical games (with cropped data out of the screen) but I personally prefere to play this way instead of playing the image blurry and shrink-ed on a very small screen.

     

    Please test:

    - Battle Garegga

    - Donpachi

    - PacMan

    - GunSmoke

    - Vigilante

    - Twin Hawk

     

    Regards,

    C.

  2. Hey guys!

    Let me add my touch here...

     

    I am not a expert in the coding thing but

    my eyes sharp when we talk about these matters.

     

    Both vertical rotated and horizontal traditional not rotated

    screen should be in at least one "dimension" in pixel perfect

    to get the scanlines to display correctly.

     

    For the horizontal traditional image, you should have

    your screen with the HEIGHT in pixel perfect exactly

    as the same original game screen.

     

    For the the vertical rotated, you should have the

    WIDTH of the rotated image to be accordingly to

    the original width of the game screen.

     

    If you are not within those values, you will get

    distorted/defective scanlines, with areas of different

    opacity/thickness.

     

    You can use the D-Pad and adjust with precision

    your image. It is very easy to find the correct

    spot using the new D-Pad feature while resizing

    the screen.

     

    Since the scanline filter is generated "inside" the

    game image, and not as a independent layer floating

    over it, any distortion in the screen will compromise

    the scanlines integrity.

     

    I hope to be helpful!

    Regards!

    C.

  3. Hej +T+,

    I like the idea very much!

     

    I also prefer to keep my consoles separated from the arcade ones,

    and I even have two different menus in my XBMC, one for Arcades

    and other for regular consoles.

     

    But I really appreciate this initiative, since, as I stated before,

    Final Burn Legends, NestopiaX and ZsnesXbox are the only

    emulators out there with great scanlines filter support, and this is GOD for me.

     

    If you release such version, I will be definitely get rid of my old FBL 1.3

    that I am keeping at the moment just for some great Genesis gems.

     

    Regards,

    C.

  4. Again, a tremendous thanks to +T+, iq_132, kenshiro, everyone else mentioned in the latest readme, and...last but not least.. nes6502 for porting such a great app to the Xbox game system.

     

    Ditto! Im loving the widescreen fix with scanlines, looks really authentic in 720p however the scanlines dont look right on vertical/rotated games, could you possibly take a look?

     

     

    I have not tested yet, but at least in 1.4 version with the rotated screen fix

    the scanlines were working perfectly fine ---ALTHOUGH THEY ARE ROTATED AS WELL.

     

    I have no tested the 1.5 version yet, but i doubt +T+ have changed anything

    regarding the scanlines, since they were working good since the previous fix in 1.4.

     

    Are you setting your screen (patiently) to pixel perfect?

    Its very simple to adjust the width of the image (on a rotated game) with scanlines turned on.

     

    Just try keep increasing (or decreasing) screen width and you will notice that there are

    some "waves" that come and go. There will be a point where no waves could be noticed,

    and this will be the pixel perfect width!

     

    Try using the D-PAD instead of the thumbstick to increase and decrease width

    on minimum amounts per touch.

     

    Regards,

    C.

  5. +T+,

     

    I need to recall tis subject again since

    the answer was not clear for me.

     

    Is there ay chance of having the games

    like Raiden and Toki getting its music fixed?

     

    On both games the sound (music only) is

    really, really, really slow. But all game and

    SFX are perfectly fine.

     

    Those are my favs...

    =/

     

    Regards,

    C.

  6. (...) but would there be any real advantage besides playing that one game?

     

     

    No other - absolutely none - emulator for Sega Genesis out there

    has scanlines filtering support over point hardware video.

    It is just FBL, NestopiaX on NES and ZsneXbox on SNES.

     

    :( :( :lol::P:(

     

    Regards,

    C.

  7. 1) grand theft auto vice city (ps2)

    2) starwars knights of the old republic (xbox)

    3) pikmin 2 (gamecube)

     

    Classic?

    Hahaha...

    For me those are very modern and recent games.

     

    MINE:

     

    CLASSIC:

    - Raiden (Arcade)

    - Shinobi (Arcade)

    - Double Dragon 1 (Arcade)

     

    MODERN:

    - Zelda Wind Waker (GC)

    - Mario Galaxy (Wii)

    - Katamari Damacy (PS2)

     

    C.

  8. you have never played space harrier in the arcade cos?

    it is the best arcade cab of all time in my opinion,a huge hydraulic cab that made you feel seasick. :lol:

     

    Hej Fu!

     

    Never... I never played.

    I live my live until today all the time in 2 small cities in the southern Brazil.

    We never had a lot of arcades here.

     

    And when we had, I was too young and never had money to play

    all games in a arcade center.

     

    I used to go there and keep watching people play... It was nice!

    And all times I tried to play the classic games I just spent money

    dying instantly. I am not a super skilled guy in the arcade world.

     

     

    * * * * *

     

    Hej +T+!

     

    I wonder... What do you think about a MAXIMUM COIN INPUT option?

    This could be great to bring a bit more of "reality" to the arcade

    emulation. Who used to go to the arcade center and get a full bag

    of coins and play with no limits? I think I never saw deep pockets

    like that in the arcade era.

     

    Also, it could bring more challenge. Some people are inclined to

    just keep inserting coins in the emulator all the time and they

    simple get no fun at all from the game... "Why should I worry if I

    have infinite lives?"

     

    My idea is something like:

     

    OPTION for COIN LIMIT:

    1 coin / 3 Coins / Free Coins

     

    This could be a global setting.

    When you set to one, and when you enter the game and insert this single

    coin, the emulator register it and the button for coin input gets disabled.

    Ha ha ha... Ideas from a non-programmer guy.

     

    Technically, do you think this is feasible?

     

    Regards!

    C.

  9. Well...

     

    In my humble opinion I think Pixel Perfect should not be mixed

    in the same "pot" as game graphics quality and age.

     

    Pixel perfect is just a way to correctly display the game

    screen in perfect accuracy to the original one, but it

    does not matter if this is being done in a Pac Man screen,

    Castlevania Symphony of the Night or any other newer

    game.

     

    Going back to the subject, I prefer gameplay,

     

    It's rare for me to embrace long fancy modern games

    while I have MAME ever ready just waiting for me.

    I have a ton of fun playing Flicky, Raiden, Shinobi,

    Final Fight and many others... And I really don't

    care if the graphics are old and out-dated.

     

    I think I love that graphics...

     

    Hmmm... Am I being contradictory?

    Maybe the graphics are more important?

    Hahaha...

     

    No no... It's the fun who is really important.

    A game must be fun 100% of the gameplay time.

    If it gets boring and presents no challenge,

    I get rid of it instantly.

     

    There is a tendency nowadays of games

    with NO GAME OVER AT ALL. Flocking chit!

    This is ridiculous... The games are turning into

    MOVIES! People now just watch 50% of the

    game and play other 25%, while the last

    25% are tutorials!

     

    Things are getting worse everyday...

     

    C. C. Cospe

  10. One quick question for anyone who might know - are there any analog settings for Sega games, as analogue steering on Turbo Outrun, Power Drift Hang on, space harrier etc etc. Gameplay is a bit harsh without it.

     

    Looking forward to great addition, cheers all.

     

    I was curious about this too.

    I never played the original machines, so I don't know

    how exactly the controller sensitivity should look like...

     

    Maybe this setting already could be performed by

    the analog sensitivity option?

    Or dead zone option...

    Something like that... The one we see in the ingame menu.

     

    Regards!

    <C>

  11. Phil? Any words?

     

    Probably in a few weeks. I'm taking a break from this right now because I feel like I'm getting a cold - which makes me more cantankerous and impatient than usual. :lol:

     

     

    ...cantankerous...

     

    Never heard such word in my whole life.

    One more added to my vocabulary.

    =)

     

    Hope you get better soon!

    We need to make that XTV skin works together.

     

    Regards,

    Z.

  12. How do I run Sega Genesis games in FBL?

    Aha! I wondered how long it would take before somebody spotted this. Support for Genesis games has been removed, FBL is now arcade games only. If you want to play arcade and console games under the same UI then you know where to go.

     

    Yeah!

     

    I agree with it. I myself consider playing consoles games under * that other emulator * some sort of heresy.

    However, FBL is the only emulator able to run Genesis out there WHO DELIVERS A SOLID SCANLINE FILTER EXPERIENCE.

    I really wanted to play Genesis Shinobi's with this great feature.

    Well, anyway, it's the progress moving things forward!

    :D

     

     

    And,

     

    A bug report:

     

    On the actual latest test release (with D-Pad tweak + 10x11 pixel ratio fix) the ingame

    menu is broken under 720p mode. When you call the ingame menu from a game, it

    appears displaced to the right, completly out of the screen. This affects only the text menu.

    The ingame shot keeps on its correct position. I tried to adjust this block of text inside

    Skin Text settings but it was completly ok there - as it should be, and modifying simply

    does not help at all.

     

    Then, I changed to 480p mode and the ingame menu was fine.

     

    Can you check this?

     

    C.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    C.

  13. Dear +T+,

     

    Using some good old magic (from the DOS era) me and PhilExile

    were able to import - and create - inis in pixel perfect for all

    current supported games in FBL. So, in my opinion we can leave

    this bug thing behind. At the moment we are refining and distilling

    our creation, and as soon as possible it will be delivered to the public.

     

    Phil? Any words?

     

    C.

  14. Êpa!

     

    There is something that made me sleep bad last night...

    Since I was working with pixel perfect, testing roms, adjusting

    skins and other similar operation, my TV was mute, because

    I had a hell of a Miles Davis playing out loud in the background.

     

    BUT, when I did turn the TV sound back on and comfortably

    sat down for a refreshing gaming session with »Raiden«,

    I found out that the music/bgm is completely slow!

    Looks like the BGM is playing in slow motion.

     

    I hope this issue could be fixed...

     

    Regards!

    »=<^c^>=«

  15. Yes, I did change the default NG bios to MVS. Unibios are great to have as an option but I don't care for them personally. I prefer the authentic arcade bios as the default. :lol:

     

    Hej!

     

    I prefer the bios where I can play the fighting

    games in all bloody gore violent mode.

     

    =)

     

    What are the differences between the BIOSes?

     

    Ah, and I just noticed the old garbled green screen back!

    No problem for me!

     

    C.

  16. Very informative video there Cospefogo, I'm beginning to catch the pixel perfect bug now :lol:

     

    Does Metal Slug 3 @720P not load at all for you then ? (It did load for me)

     

    Yeah BigBy!

     

    Metal Slug 3 did not run @ 720p here, in both versions.

     

    I need to be in 480p.

    1.6 Xbox with original ram hardware.

     

    Regards,

    C.

  17. Dear +T+,

     

    I just reverted my FBL 1.4 to 480p.

    Then, I deleted the actual AOF3.INI file from FBL 1.4.

     

    Then, I did open AOF3.INI from FBL 1.3 and added the aspect ratio line

    *before* importing it into FBL 1.4.

     

    After doing so, I got the screen *almost correct*.

    The only problem found was a, let's say, something like 1 row of pixel distortion in the height of the screen.

    Its a full horizontal line easily spot when you have scanlines turned on.

     

    EDIT:

    The width was also wrong by one row of "pixels".

     

    For as much as I would like to have this solved, I think in the end we

    should move forward and let this behind. After migrating definitely to 1.4,

    we pixel lovers will need to adjust all games again, one by one. This is the only

    solution I can see now. I don't know what more to do!

    =)

     

    Take a look on the pictures:

     

     

    fbl14-1.jpg

     

    fbl14-2.jpg

     

     

    To Phil:

     

    The idea I had this afternoon that could save us all from

    eternal damnation, was to gather a list/pack of dumb empty

    files, each one for each game, and fill them automatically

    using some text script in a software, or even cutting and

    pasting inside a editor.

     

    But we will need a pack of CPS1 and CPS2 empty INI files.

    A pack of NeoGeo 320x224 empty INI files.

    A pack of NeoGeo 304x224 empty INI files.

     

    Then, we set in PixPerfect one game from each pack in FBL 1.4.

    Copy the generates NeoGeo INI, the generated CPS1+2 INI,

    and paste it accordingly, on each dumb empty INIs.

     

    But my idea dies when we talk about all other misc games,

    each one with a different screen size.

     

    Well...

    A lot of work in all paths!

     

    C.

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