High-Res Atari 2600 Graphics

[Albert]

/news/Interlacing/index.htmlSpurred on by discussions in the Stella Atari 2600 Programming List on how to force the Atari 2600 to generate an interlaced display, programmer Billy Eno (Warring Worms) put together the first binary using this technique, giving double the normal vertical screen resolution on the 2600. This technique allows the Atari 2600 to achieve a resolution of 525 lines vs. 262 that all existing 2600 games have been limited to.

 

Credit for this achievement can be attributed to many participants in the Stella list, but Billy was the first one to demonstrate it on real hardware. A new version of the Atari 2600 emulator z26 has been released with support for two demos that have been written thus far. You can download Billy's demo here, and a demo from Glenn Saunders (along with source) here. In addition, you can view a screen capture of actual TV output of Glenn's demo here, as well as a snapshot of the demo running in z26.

 

This development should allow the creation of games with double the vertical resolution previously allowed. It's even possible that older games can be modified to take advantage of this new technique.

[MattyXB]

What do I wrong? I don't get such a nice picture. I get only this one here. And I have try it with the switch -!, -!1 and -!0. But nothing work with the new Z26?

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Maybe the video mode is wrong, try Alt-6.

[MattyXB]

Maybe the video mode is wrong, try Alt-6.

 

No, seems not to work by me. What must I write in the BAT file, to open this bin correct?

 

My BAT file look like this:

z26.exe cube_imp.bin -!

 

And I have try it too with these:

z26.exe cube_imp.bin -!1

z26.exe cube_imp.bin -!0

 

Nothing work. only this picture as I post it at the top?

 

PS: I have download the emulator:

z26 -- An Atari 2600 Emulator (1.57) -- Aug. 25, 2002

[Eckhard Stolberg]

It should be:

 

z26 -! cube_imp.bin

 

or

 

z26 -! -e cube_imp.bin

 

if you want to experience the 30 Hz interlace flicker. For z26 command line options always have to be between the executable name and the binary name.

 

 

Ciao, Eckhard Stolberg

[MattyXB]

It should be:

 

z26 -! cube_imp.bin

 

or

 

z26 -! -e cube_imp.bin

 

if you want to experience the 30 Hz interlace flicker. For z26 command line options always have to be between the executable name and the binary name.

 

 

Ciao, Eckhard Stolberg

 

Don't work by me. I have try all these commands. But always the same bad picture.

 

There mus be an other problem with my computer.

[Scott Stilphen]

I'm getting the same picture as Matty. Same thing on a real system (with the Cuttle Cart).

 

Btw, I've always put my command line options AFTER the filename and it's always worked for me

[MattyXB]

I'm getting the same picture as Matty.  Same thing on a real system (with the Cuttle Cart).

 

Btw, I've always put my command line options AFTER the filename and it's always worked for me

 

Great, then I am not the only one, who has this problem.

 

And one other thing I wonder, by me Snow White has work great on an older version from Z26 (1.54), without any problems.

 

But I want this nice pictures too. I hope newer version from this emulator will work better.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

z26 works perfect for me.

 

[Wiffer]

I also have the same problem with it not showing correctly.

 

Could it by chance have to do with what type of video card we are using with this new mode?

 

I have a NVIDIA GeForce2 GTS/GeForce2 Pro card in my system.

[Cybergoth]

I also have the same problem with it not showing correctly.

 

I'd assume that maybe john didn't update the Z26 version on the webpage itself? Try this link (right-click / save-as):

 

http://www.biglist.com/lists/stella/archiv...08/xxx00012.xxx

 

- rename .xxx to .zip after downloading

- might need uncooking if zip dosn't unpack it properly after renaming.

 

Greetings,

Manuel

[MattyXB]

I also have the same problem with it not showing correctly.

 

Could it by chance have to do with what type of video card we are using with this new mode?

 

I have a NVIDIA GeForce2 GTS/GeForce2 Pro card in my system.

 

I have a Voodoo 3 3000, but this will not work. I don't know, if this have something to do with the video card?

 

 

I also have the same problem with it not showing correctly.

 

I'd assume that maybe john didn't update the Z26 version on the webpage itself? Try this link (right-click / save-as):

 

http://www.biglist.com/lists/stella/archiv...08/xxx00012.xxx

 

- rename .xxx to .zip after downloading

- might need uncooking if zip dosn't unpack it properly after renaming.

 

Greetings,

Manuel

 

I have download this Z26, but this is an older version then this on the Z26 Website. And this version work too not correct with this ROM.

[+Propane13]

Hmm.. if it's failing on actual hardware (by Cuttle cart), then it could be working or failing because of system used (I know some 6502 derivatives eliminated illegal op-codes). What real hardware has this been verified on?

 

Thanks,

-John K. Harvey

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I too get the same screen Matty does with the Bin released here at AtariAge. I am also using version 1.57 of z26. I have also tried the various command line switches given above and simply do not get the same thing that the screenshots posted show. I will try the bin file from the Z26 site and see what happens...

[Eckhard Stolberg]

OK, one really dumb question then. What are you guys expecting to see? The demo from John's site is not the one that produced the screenshots that Albert put up here on AtariAge. Those came from a different demo that Glenn Saunders posted to the Stella mailing list, where you should be able to find it.

 

The screen capture function in z26 can't do interlaced screen shots. It will only capture one of the two fields that make up a complete frame. So Matty, are you really only seeing every other scanline, like on the screenshot, or does the emulator show the picture you have posted, but with twice as many scanlines. If it's the later, that's how it is supposed to be. If it's the former, there really is a problem with z26.

 

The video modes in z26 are quite tricky, but we didn't create a new mode for the interlaced display. It's the normal mode 6, except that we are now filling the odd scanlines too, instead of skipping them. If mode 6 works for you on other games (where every second scanline is supposed to be blank), then there probably isn't a problem with your video card.

 

 

Ciao, Eckhard Stolberg

[MattyXB]

I have make this picture with PC Atari, but I have the same picture on Z26.

 

Ok, then I have use a wrong ROM, sorry.

 

But I have think, its the same,because this ROM was posted with the screenshot.

 

Ok, I have found the other ROM.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Agreed!

 

So Eckhart is telling us that the rom image released for this is showing us exactly what it is supposed to show...I was expecting to see that same image that was being shown in the news listing for this.

 

I am sure that Albert wasn't aware that the rom being given didn't show the display he was given the screenshot for...

[Eckhard Stolberg]

OK, the binary used to generate the screenshots on AtariAge is the one linked from this message. The screenshot function in z26 will only capture either the even lines or the odd lines, but the interlaced mode should show the even lines and the odd lines at the same time. So if you really are seeing exactly what's on the screenshot, then there is a problem with your setup. If you are seeing the even and the odd scanlines at the same time, then this is what the display for the demo posted on John's website is supposed to look like.

 

 

Ciao, Eckhard Stolberg

[Albert]

I am sure that Albert wasn't aware that the rom being given didn't show the display he was given the screenshot for...

 

Nope, I didn't do this intentionally. I'll fix the news posting so it points to the correct demo, as well as to Billy's demo. My bad.

 

..Al

[Scott Stilphen]

Well, that explains it then! Thanks for clearing that up Eckhard.