Altirra 2.10 released

[bfollett]

 

Yeah, I put that in after people were getting stuck with broken window setups. Never figured out how people kept losing the display, but View > Display brings it back if you've accidentally closed it.

 

Protip: If you really manage to hose the configuration settings, the /resetall switch will blow everything away.

 

Well I can tell you this happened to me once, and I had simply clicked on the X in the corner of the display window when I meant to click on the X to close Altirra itself. There are so many menu options, I had to make a post to find out how to get the display back.

 

Bob

[Shannon]

This version has a bunch of fixes to save states:

http://www.virtualdu...-2.20-test4.zip

http://www.virtualdu...0-test4-src.zip

 

Generally you don't want persistent storage included in save states -- sucks if your save games get rewound when you load a save state -- but with a DOS failing to roll back the disks can result in filesystem corruption.

 

A bit of warning: currently Altirra does not restore any disk state, including bound images. This means that states will not work if saved in the middle of a disk load. I need to figure out how to handle restoring the disk image mappings.

Yeah that is one of my big concerns regarding savestates. It's almost a paradox in of itself.

 

Plus if you do store the disk image when creating a savestate.. and later load that savestate then any progress made is gone. So it's like a one way ticket when doing so.

[Mclaneinc]

Just an odd note, me and a friend were both having the same problem under beta 4, after playing for a while the XBOX360 pad would stop working, it might be after 5 mins or 15 but suddenly both the analogue stick and he D-Pad did nothing.

 

I zapped my config with resetall and did the same to him and (touch wood) it seems to have cured it.

[matosimi]

Hi phaeron, we've made game for abbuc sw contest and there is kind of "emulator" bug. its connected to save-state functionality.

game is one huge dos file which consists of many data and init blocks. when save state is created and loaded, it cannot continue to load next datablock and emulator will crash (after INIT block processing is finished with RTS).

It happens in altirra and also in atari800winplus so i dont know if u used some code or or got inspired by ideas in atari800winplus code, but it crashes same way. sometimes (very rarely) it will not crash and loading continues...,but some datablock is skipped so next level is scrumbled.

It works ok on realHW (where no save states are possible) so i would accuse emulator to be responsible for such crash :-) .

 

what do you think?

 

Regards,

Martin

[Rybags]

Run Executable is a virtual sort of operation in an emulator. ie there's not really any Dos or loader code resident in the emulated machine, the emulator itself will just use some tricks to inject your program segments into memory, and likely keeps track of where it is in the file in some working variables that aren't passed along in save states.

[phaeron]

Altirra does not use any code from Atari800WinPLus -- it's just the same basic problem of state not being saved. Actually, I'm surprised that A8WP would have this problem given its level of polish for when it was released.

 

Fortunately, the amount of state related to EXE loading is very small, so this would be easy to accommodate. I can just dump the remainder of the executable that's being loaded into the save state.

[carmel_andrews]

Nice to see you upgraded the zip or compressed file support, since i now noticed that it supports multiple files within one zip/rar etc, useful for those multi disk atari games

[phaeron]

Er, what? It still only opens one of the compatible files in a .zip and it's never supported .rar.

[Mclaneinc]

You have to excuse Carmel, he's lost the plot...

[Jacques]

What do I need to successfully emulate SIDE apart from the image of CF-card? I tried attaching SDX_SIDE rom as cartridge, but couldn't really make it work...

[Fox-1 / mnx]

Try "System -> Hard Disk"

[Jacques]

Thank you Cpt. Obvious I mean... This setting alone definitely doesn't make it work I have 4 GB image, so I set 4096 MB for geometry, the rest fills itself. But then I'd like to run SDX driver to use SIDE's SDX partitions, but for that SIDE's SDX-ROM needs to be load under cartridge, I guess... But SIDE's SDX images apparently don't work for that.

 

Phaeron, could you please explain step by step what needs to be done to be able to emulate SIDE together with SIDE's SDX partitions on CF-image?

Edited September 6, 2012 by Jacques

[phaeron]

1. System > Hard Disk
   
2. Enable IDE emulation, and select SIDE as the hardware type.
   
3. Select your hard disk image (or a new file), and enter in the geometry size.
   
4. OK.
   
5. If you have a true firmware image (512K .bin file), go to System > Firmware > ROM Images and set it as the SIDE SDX firmware image.
   
6. If you have a flasher disk (.atr file), boot it and allow it to flash the SIDE firmware. Afterward you can use Save Firmware to generate a ROM image to bind directly in the ROM Images dialog.
   

Do not mount the firmware as a cartridge -- there is no cartridge mode for SIDE banking in that path and if you do manage to stick a cartridge in there you will be emulating an impossible and unworkable hardware configuration (it's the virtual equivalent of smashing two carts into your Atari with a hammer).

 

It could be that you have a partial ROM image, only 256K. The SIDE cartridge has a switch on it that allows you to toggle the firmware, and I think it works by swapping the two halves. Altirra currently doesn't emulate this, so either use the flasher instead or double up the firmware (copy /b side.bin+side.bin side512K.bin).

[serj]

found a very interesting bug, do not want to run the two-disc version of the demo "Numen".

single-disc version works fine.

attached video:

[Jacques]

Thank you very much Phaeron for your help, I'll test it this evening :-)

[Mclaneinc]

New Beta from Phaeron.....

 

http://www.virtualdub.org/beta/Altirra-2.20-test5.zip

http://www.virtualdub.org/beta/Altirra-2.20-test5-src.zip

 

 

Has the MyIDE 4.10 fix and rewritten keyboard/menu code. Option | Keyboard Shortcuts now allows you to rebind the command-based keys on the keyboard. Currently, this is all of them except the ones that correspond to Atari keys (F2:Start, F3:Select, F4:Option, F6:Help, F7:Break); these still cannot be reassigned yet although you can override them. You can bind to any command on the menu. For instance, binding Display:F7 to System.ToggleWarpSpeed will get A8WP-style speed toggling. The framework is also in place to allow the menu to be edited although there is currently no UI for doing so.

 

I had to redo the menus from scratch, so it's possible I might have broken some commands. If some of the items don't work or don't highlight correctly, let me know so I can fix them up.

[Mclaneinc]

I'm sure that was Mydos....or is MyIDE the same?

[serj]

somebody please lay out the files necessary to emulate MyIDE II.

[Jacques]

Phaeron, thank you very, very much! Now I have a SIDE emulation running perfectly. Great to have an exact equivalent of my real ATARI emulated. Altirra (and its Author) rules

[atari8warez]

@phaeron

 

Phaeron, how one would go about emulating Ultimate 1MB in Altirra. I have read that you added support for it, but I can't figure it out what exactly i should do for successful emulation. Thanks in advance.

[ACML]

I'm sure that was Mydos....or is MyIDE the same?

 

It's MYDOS and 2.2 test 5 does fix the problem! Thank you! Any idea when v2.2 final will be released?

[phaeron]

Phaeron, how one would go about emulating Ultimate 1MB in Altirra. I have read that you added support for it, but I can't figure it out what exactly i should do for successful emulation. Thanks in advance.

 

You need a special build of Altirra that has it:

http://www.virtualdub.org/beta/Altirra-2.20-u1mb5.zip

http://www.virtualdub.org/beta/Altirra-2.20-u1mb5-src.zip

 

I hadn't merged it back into mainline yet as I still need to clean a couple of things up, but it mostly works. You need to set the hardware configuration to XL/XE + 1088K + Ultimate1MB, then set the ROM image for it in the ROM images dialog.

 

Current caveats:

• You need an initial ROM image to start since Altirra doesn't have a placeholder ROM to boot a flasher disk.
  
• The keyboard mode must be switched from cooked keys to raw keys for the Help+Reset menu shortcut to work.
  
• All hooked devices must be disabled, including H:, printer, and RS-232. The problem is that Ultimate1MB occupies all of the address spaces that Altirra normally uses for CIO device hooks.
  
• VBXE, Covox, and SoundBoard emulation must be disabled as the decode hookups to U1MB are not implemented yet. Having these enabled will break the boot or PBI BIOSes.
  
• PBI button functionality is not yet accessible because Altirra doesn't emulate the SIDE menu button.
  
• Fast boot should be disabled as the fast boot code doesn't know how to deal with the kernel ROM bank switching.
  

[Mclaneinc]

Phaeron or flash, what exact do I need to see this in operation please.

 

Pointers to any needed roms would be helpful.

 

It just looks so nice I'd love to try it....(unless it needs any real external hardware?)

 

EDIT:

 

After a re read I see that the button you pressed in your video Flash isn't emulated yet BUT I'd still like to see it all working, never played with the SIDE stuff so I'd love a little tutorial if possible, I did see the one a few posts above but it seems to suggest the need for an emulated HD image which when I looked at the settings it wanted to know sectors and cylinders which threw me.

 

Suppose I want to make a 1Gig drive, what do I put in and what software to use it.

 

Sorry, never played in the HD stuff in the day (don't think I even heard of HD projects for the Atari)

 

EDIT 2: The Revenge.... I also noted that Sergey also asked about the settings to be explained, as the miserable person is not talking to me for some reason its a waste of time asking him if he found out.

 

Sergey

Edited September 18, 2012 by Mclaneinc

[Mclaneinc]

Thanks to Sergey I have the needed rom and it boots into the Ult1mb nicely...

 

I saved the config of the boot screen and then found I could not re enter it with F5, is there a command to get you back to that?

 

The only key that gave any response was X but I don't know what it does or the parameters.

 

But would some kind person tell me how to set up the SIDE bit with the emulated HD image, ie what params for a 1gig HD (or less if needed) and how to add the atr's to it etc.

 

I know its a big ask but I was always told you don't get if you don't ask.

 

Cheers from a poor old fart.

 

Sorted out how to make the image file but now I don't know what I have to do?

Edited September 18, 2012 by Mclaneinc

[flashjazzcat]

This includes the most up-to-date PBI ROM, and FDISK is also included:

 

U1MB PBI and FDISK.zip

 

Also in the archive is the partially completed ATR browser (MATR). You don't need the SIDE button to use this; the button is solely for the purpose of rotating the drive numbers of mounted disk images.

 

With a blank image file mounted using Altirra's HDD dialogue, boot and run FDISK. Select whether you want a FAT32 partition and define the size of the APT region of the disk. You should be presented with an empty partition table which you can then fill up with partitions. Note: to clear dialogues which require no Y/N response, just press Return, or Esc to cancel.

 

Write the partition table to disk with Ctrl+W, then exit to DOS. The partition table should immediately be active, and you can go ahead and FORMAT your partitions.

 

If your HDD image file has a FAT32 partition, you can go ahead and write it to a real CF card (with - for example - a hex editor), or mount the image (somehow) and format said partition on the PC and fill it with ATR files. Then reverse the procedure (i.e. mount the card in Altirra, or image the card again and mount it), and you'll be able to mount ATR files by running MATR at the SDX prompt (or DOS menu if you're using a different DOS - note FDISK and MATR should work with most DOSes now).

 

If you browse to an ATR, press enter, then select a drive number from the list (usually "A:"), then come out of MATR and do a "COLD /N", the system should boot from the ATR. Full R/W support is provided, at approximately half the read speed and a quarter of the write speed of a real APT partition of the equivalent density. So you can boot and use productivity software on an ATR in the FAT32 partition, or even boot from an ATR image of a 32MB APT partition. Backing up real APT partitions becomes somewhat more convenient: mount an empty 32MB quad-density ATR and then sector copy the whole partition across to the ATR on the Atari.