kat5200 Version 0.2 released

[eegt97]

This is the second beta release of my emulator for the Atari 5200 Super System. Major changes:

 

* Integrated GUI

* XML Configuration

* Improved Rom List

* Color Palette improvements

* Pitfall II title screen fixed

* Kaboom fixed (Thanks Dan B.)

* Rom Loading improvements

* D-Pad and Analog stick centering fixed (Thanks Paranoid for reporting this)

 

See the included documentation for details on setting up configuration. Please let me know any bugs or suggestions.

 

As I am writing this I am thinking a quickstart guide may be in order (I'll add to documentation):

1. Start kat5200 from command line or double clicking the icon in Explorer

2. From FILE I/O->OS File, set the 5200 BIOS file.

3. In the Cart window, press the Scan button, navigate to the desired rom directory, and press Ok to scan in the rom list.

4. Choose a game in the Cart list and press Load Cart, or load a file with the Load ROM button.

5. Press Back to Game.

 

Get it here

http://home.cfl.rr.com/jberlin/kat5200/index.html

[Paranoid]

Do I need to register the sdl.dll or do anything else to get this to run? I had no problems with the first version, but this one crashes on me straight away. I run the command line or click the .exe and I get..

 

Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library, Runtime Error! Program... kat5200.exe

 

This application has requested the Runtime to terminate it in an unusual way. Please contact the application's support team for more information.

 

When I click OK... the DOS window and the Kat5200 0.2 window both close.

[Paranoid]

I just looked at kat5200.log

 

I'm getting Error: Font File "fonts\default.bmp"... does not exist!

Please edit kat5200.xml to point to correct font file

Attempting to use internal default...

[Paranoid]

Oh... and thanks for the credit on the controller issue.

[eegt97]

Wow, I screwed this up obviously! Do you have a "fonts\default.bmp" when you extacted the files from the zip file? This file is the default font file for the GUI. When it tries to use the internal default it should work as long as the program has write access to the program directory.

 

It works fine for me but I'll take another look, maybe I have something else that allows it to run.

 

It's definitely a font issue, I remember that error when it couldn't find a font file.

Edited March 14, 2006 by eegt97

[eegt97]

Also, if you have the default.bmp file, edit kat5200.xml to point to this file with an absolute file path, maybe this will give a clue to what's wrong.

[Rybags]

Just installed it and worked fine, first go.

 

My system (recently reinstalled Windoze)

XP Pro (SP1), DirectX9.0c, VB6 runtime libs, .NET 2.1 Framework installed

[Paranoid]

I do not recall seeing a /font directory or not, but I specifically remember seeing a default.bmp file in the root directory. I'll make a /font subdirectory and copy the default.bmp there. I bet that'll fix it right up.

[Paranoid]

I know exactly what I did. I opened the ZIP file and dragged the contents from the zip file to the directory (which did not create recursive directories).

 

This time I extracted with recursive directories, and everything is working fine.

 

Duh...

[Paranoid]

Ok... so, I got it configured and running and everything is good. I'm really impressed with the graphical configuration and the mappable control...

 

But the stick is still doing it for me.

 

Starting kat5200 Emulator...

Loading ROM... C:\Program Files\emulation\5200 ROMS\adv2.bin ...SUCCESS

ROM crc32.... ab4a00a5

Loading BIOS... C:\Program Files\emulation\5200 ROMS\5200.BIN ...SUCCESS

Joystick 0 : Thrustmaster DT Rumble Initialized

Joystick 1 : Could not open!

Joystick 0 : Thrustmaster DT Rumble Initialized

Joystick 1 : Could not open!

frames/sec = 58.766891

 

This is a USB joystick. It is finding it... but I'm actually having a worse time with control with this version. I suppose it could be an issue with the Thrustmaster. I'll get it installed on a regular machine with a traditional joyport and try it out with a regular D-Pad tomorrow. Actually, I've got one right here. I'll give it a try and let you know what I find.

[Paranoid]

It actually crashed hard on that system when I tried to load the cart (adv2.bin).

 

It is too late. I'll try some more and try to post some decent info on what I am encountering tomorrow.

[eegt97]

Glad you got it work. That internal default font should work. Basically, guichan.dll needs a file to work or it crashes (as opposed to a memory buffer) so I try to write it to a file in the program directory. I'll take a closer look at that.

 

I was hoping the graphical interface would help. I know it's plain and ugly at this point!

 

Well, that sucks about the controller. I really thought I had that this time. Let me know what games your playing and I'll start looking at it again. I also use a USB joystick (Rumblepad 2) and it seemed to work fine. Maybe I need to pick up a Thrustmaster and try it. So basically this is the same issue where it won't center?

 

And let me know about that crash, sounds like I need to do a maintenence release that isn't so *sensitive*!

 

Thanks,

Brian

[eegt97]

Ok, I got the internal font issue fixed. I think I broke it with a last second change.

 

I also found an issue with the controller code. Is the problem only happening on the vertical axis (moving up and down)? If so, I think I got the fix.

 

Let me know if that's it and I'll put out another release tonight.

 

Thanks again for testing this out,

Brian

[eegt97]

Also, I know you like Countermeasure. One thing I found with that is that the game seems to do an auto-cal of the joystick at the start of each turn (many 5200 games did this). So what I found is that if I move in the stick (or D-Pad) in all 4 directions really quick, it works fine. Otherwise, you get a "slingback" effect.

[Paranoid]

So, the Thrustmaster is a strange stick, with an analog and a digital mode... when you're in digital mode, one of the thumbsticks and the D-pad have the same mapping. When you're in analog mode, the d-pad maps differently than the thumbstick.

 

Otherwise, it is like a hybrid between the PS2 (which it is compatible with) and the XBox controller.

 

When I am in digital mode, I have the problem with the up and down axis. It won't center or reset after an input in those directions. Once you start moving, you can't stop.

 

When I'm in analog mode, it is just real jittery and seems to want to pull to the right. It WILL stop in analog mode... but it is very twitchy. Oddly enough, it pulls to the right using this controller in GTA:SA... so that may be something to do with the stick itself, or the USB on this system.

 

On the system where it crashed, it just simply crashed. I had it in the same absolute path.

 

I'm going to try it on another system, with both the USB controller and a traditional joyport controller. I'll get back to you with my results on that. Let me do that before you consider buying a Thrustmaster. It is a good stick, and inexpensive, but it may be something unique to my setup.

[Paranoid]

So, I just did a bunch of testing, and my results were possibly even more confusing...

 

My systems are all XP Pro. I've got a P4 3.4ghz down here, the main system. It has no joyport, so I've only been able to test it with the USB controller. You know my results up there.

 

Upstairs I have an Athalon 1.1ghz. It only has a joyport (I guess I never hooked up the USB when I built it. Must be on the board). Anyhow, on that system, with a digital d-pad, I experienced the issue with up and down.

 

Down here I also have a P 2 450Mhz unit. This is the unit that was crashing. I guess I wasn't loading the cart right. I fixed that. Once I had it loading, I configured it for both the same d-pad as above, as well as the USB stick.

 

The joypad displayed the same problem with the up and down axis as the other two machines, so this seems pretty consistent regardless of machine or stick (it also happens with the USB stick in digital mode... so it must have to do with the digital as opposed to analog input).

 

The USB stick in analog mode is "better" on this unit than on the P4 3.4ghz unit. It is still pretty twitchy and wants to pull to the right a bit... but it is nowhere NEAR as jumpy. It seems more like snap-back when I stop moving (and almost always to the right). I'm thinking the issue may be a conspiracy of events (because this stick works well with Atari 800 Win+ 4.0.) When I upgraded from the release drivers on the included CD to the latest drivers downloaded from the Thrustmaster website, I noticed that the pull to the right in GTA:SA become markedly more noticable. I tried to go back to the original drivers, but the problem remained, and I have now moved the 3.4ghz back up to the latest downloaded drivers. On the P2 450, I made a conscious effort to only use the CD drivers. So there may be a driver issue as well. I'll go ahead and upgrade that system to the latest downloaded drivers and see if the problem becomes worse there, too. Finally, I'm wondering if there are some timing issues that are amplifying the issue on my 3.4ghz as opposed to my P2 450. It seems possible that what might be a minor issue that you would hardly notice on the P2 might end up happening so much more often that it becomes a large problem on the P4, just because the P4 can process so many more of the false inputs per cycle.

 

But, there is definetly a problem with the digital input on the up and down axis, and like I said, even with the USB stick, I'm not encountering issues with Atari Win +... so there must be some way to make the joystick routines more tolerant.

 

Oh... finally, one thing I find with Countermeasure. Once I've moved the turret to a diagonal direction, it is VERY difficult to get it pointing back STRAIGHT up or down. Same thing with the tank movement. This seems to happen regardless of controller or machine, but is not difficult on the actual console or, again, with Atari Win +.

 

I don't mind the GUI at all, by the way. It reminds me of the Amiga Workbench scheme. It gets the job done, and I think it is a PLUS that it doesn't look or behave like a Win32 default window.

 

I hate to keep pointing out all the "bad" about this emulator, because otherwise, I love it. Once everything gets worked out, I can imagine situations where I've got some people playing 5200 games on the actual console, and other people playing games via emulation, up in my game room. I also look at this as a way to avoid paying $160 for a USB multicart put still being able to try games I would otherwise most likely skip. I've already got a dip-switch multicart, but it doesn't have a lot of the 8-bit ports or newer releases. It is certainly the pride of my 5200 collection, but I'd love to have a viable alternative for playing around with titles that aren't on it.

[eegt97]

Is Countermeasure the game that shows it the most? Are there others that bring out the issues in an obvious way?

 

Maybe my controller is a bad one to develop with as I don't see the issues (the bug I found was definitely analog, so I'm now confused about that). Like I said before with Countermeasure I had to move in all 4 directions to let the game do it's auto-cal then it worked fine.

 

I'm going to dig through my closet tonight and see if I can find some older controllers to try out. I'll also check what Atari 800 Win does to see if I can learn something from that.

 

Don't worry about reporting bad things about it, as that's the only way it can get good.

[Paranoid]

Um... Actually, the control issue with the snapping to the right and being real twitchy is MOST noticable in the Adventure 2 demo... which works great as far as control is concerned on the Atari 800 Win emulator.

 

Countermeasure, I didn't try the calibration thing, I'll give that a shot. But there, it isn't so much twitchy or seeming to pull to the side, as it is hard to get it to point the turret due north or south. It seems to favor diagonals once you're in motion.

 

These are the two main games I've been playing around with in emulation. I'll try a few more and see what kind of results I get there. Centipede strikes me as a good one to test this against.

[eegt97]

I stuck a new version out there (Windoze only) that I think fixes up and down issues (although I think it's analog). If you want try that and if it fixes that issue that will at least let me concentrate on the jitter and pull to the right.

 

You should just be able to copy the executable to wherever you have installed it previously.

 

Thanks,

Brian

[Paranoid]

Ok. We're moving in the right direction now. The up and down problem is fixed when I put my stick into digital mode (although it is still twitchy and pulling to the right in analog mode). I guess Adventure 2 isn't going to be the best program for testing in general, as I'm not sure how it responds to controller input on a real console, so I don't have an experience to compare it to. My frustration is that it is super responsive and moves quickly, but the character gets stuck on walls. The movement I get is *not* like the original adventure. My square ends up wandering around the screen like a drunk, bumping into and sticking on walls. It is hard to line up with objects so I usually end up grabbing the sword at a corner of the square rather than equally centered.

 

But, fixing the up and down makes a huge difference.

 

I'll try and fit in playing a few games on both Kat and Atari Win + in both digital and analog mode over the next day or two, and then report back.

[eegt97]

Well, Paranoid, I can tell you that in my job I do a lot of test software and test cases and one thing that pisses me off is when I can't break something that I know I should be able to and this is one of those cases.

 

I could only make one of my older controllers work with win2000 and xp and it seemed to work fine. The other ones I don't have drivers for and my linux box doesn't have a game port. Maybe I'll pick one of those up and/or one of those Thrustmaster DT controllers to see if I can repeat the problems. I also have the Atari 800 Win Source and I'll take a look to see how they do things.

 

Let me know if that new version out there does anything for you and I can tell you that I'm on this issue like stink on, well you know what.

 

I really appreciate the time you've taken to test this out, I owe you a virtual beer or something. It certainly would be nice to get someone else to report on this problem with a different controller.

 

Thanks,

Brian

[Paranoid]

I just ran through and played Countermeasure, Berzerk and Centipede.

 

Countermeasure plays fantastic. In analog mode, it is very difficult to get the turret to face straight up or straight down. It is also difficult to get the tank to move in these directions. Not *that* important, as most of your movement and attacks are generally at a diagonal in this game. But, it works FINE in digital mode. Plays very nice with the d-pad.

 

Berzerk is difficult either way. It works ok with the digital d-pad. Too twitchy with it in analog mode.

 

Centipede. Unplayable in digital mode. You zoom to one of three places on the screen, center, far left or far right. In analog mode, it works, but is a little sketchy as it is hard to land precisely where you need to be. It works, you just have to really concentrate.

 

I'm wondering if there is a USB, PC style analog joystick on the market, even something like the old Kraft sticks. It seems like it is either joypad/d-pad or flight stick type controls, or digital joysticks. It seems like that would give me the closest approximation of an Atari 5200 joystick short of getting one of those USB modded 5200 sticks.

[eegt97]

I was playing around with Atari800 Win and checking the source. What they do that makes your stick work is to have a 50% dead zone in the center. The problem is that they take away all that analog range. I found that Super Breakout was totally unplayable and that Centipede was very jerky. Since this is so important for the 5200 as opposed to the 8-bits, maybe I can make this a parameter in the GUI and that way you can find where the jitter stops. Also, instead of just dropping the 5200 analog range inside the dead zone, I'll start it at the edges.

 

I'm totally confused that the fix made your D-Pad work, but I'm just going to let that go. I'll try to get another release out there tonight.

 

Thanks,

Brian

[Paranoid]

It must be something odd with the Thrustmaster... although, it made my Gravis PC Gamepad DPad (which is digital also) work, too, where before it was showing the up and down problem, too.

 

I'll try Super Breakout and Centipede in Atari 800 Win and see what my results are like. I figured there was some sort of dead-zone, and a configurable one -would- be a GREAT feature for a 5200 emulator, anyhow, if it cane be done. It all goes back to those darned 5200 controllers. I love them, but they certainly complicate emulation.

[Trebor]

With the following setup:

Win XP Corporate SP 2 with all Patches/Updates

Radeon 9800 Pro

SB Audigy Gamer

Saitek P880 USB Controllers (x2)

P4 2.8 Ghz 640MB RDRAM

 

kat5200 version 0.2 runs really well. I can set D-Pad for use on both controllers mapping the HAT function for Up-Down-Left-Right. I run it from a command line via Game Launcher. I love the Palette options and the fact that I can use my D-Pad for the Up-Down-Left-Right movements (Analog sticks don't feel right for 5200 games on this controller, regardless that the system did use as analog 'stick'.).

 

Anyhow, two things (One a request) concerning this fantastic emulator:

 

1. Is it possible that if you launch from command line, the emulator will exit instead of going to the menu/gui ?

 

2. Just needs improved sound...I know in the works

 

That rest is great. Thanks for reading and distributing the emulator. I appreciate it.

 

-Trebor