Sega GG + Nintendo GameBoy emulator for SP beta test

[Guest Skeese]

SG 2.0.12

1. Air Zonk (TG16) crashed after a minute or so of gameplay and SG exited itself. [sound enabled, Audio Rate 44 Khz, Throttle to 60fps, Touchscreen Controls on, Best Perf, 0 Orientation]

Edited May 3, 2010 by Skeese

[Guest Desmodus]

Hi ! Do you plan gameshark in SG ?

[Guest jonsmodaco]

I'm much closer to a 2.0 release build of SG. Here's a new EXE with many things fixed and a few things removed (e.g. File->Browse).

www.bitbanksoftware.com/sg.zip

I have also begun writing documentation which will eventually be accessible from within the program. Please take a look and let me know what you think so far:

www.bitbanksoftware.com/SG_Help.html

Skeese: Your issues with TG16 games should be corrected in this build. I found and fixed problems when running at 270 degrees on 480x800 displays.

Hi Larry, thanks for the new version. Are you still thinking of replacing the touch screen controls as I'd still much prefer single-tap to pause, double tap is a bit convoluted and can take a few goes. Thanks.

[Guest bitbank]

Hi ! Do you plan gameshark in SG ?

I briefly looked into GameShark and Game Genie support in the past, but didn't see a lot of interest from users. I would consider adding it after I finish the 2.0 official release.

L.B.

[Guest bitbank]

I didn't get to finish everything last night, but I finally finished the design of something I've been thinking about for a while. I wanted to add the ability to navigate the GUI with the wireless controllers and have the ability for SmartGear to drive other programs (use it as a "driver") from the wireless controllers. I simplified it and got it working. In the controller setup screen you have the option of using the P1 or P2 wireless controller to drive the GUI. What this does is generate fake key presses when you press buttons on the wireless controller. You can navigate every function in the GUI, load games, pause, exit games, etc. These fake key presses will only be sent when you're not playing a game, otherwise the controller will only affect the running game. The following keys have been mapped:

U/D/L/R = VK_xxx codes for d-pad arrows

A = Left soft menu key

B = right soft menu key

Start = Enter

Select = Back

I've also decided to leave this working in the unregistered version so that people can use their BGP100 or Zeemote in other applications (through SmartGear) for free.

I'll post a new build tonight.

L.B.

[Guest bitbank]

I've just uploaded 2.0.14. The documentation and code has been updated. The two big changes for this release are the pause screen paint has been cleaned up and the wireless controller can now be used to drive the GUI of SmartGear and in any program running on your device. In other words, SmartGear can be used as a "driver" to allow your bluetooth wireless controllers to work in any application.

smartgear.zip latest build

SG_Help.html

SG_Beta.html

This also fixes the problems with loading and saving games from the file menu and the strange paint problem I was seeing on the HD2 where the display would not paint after accessing menus a few times.

It's very quiet here today; does that mean the new build is working well?

Edited May 6, 2010 by bitbank

[Guest DrewLight]

It's very quiet here today; does that mean the new build is working well?

Sorry, it's been busy. I intend to test tonight.

Given the new Security Model, will registration still be "unlimited use per user"?

[Guest bitbank]

Given the new Security Model, will registration still be "unlimited use per user"?

Yes

[Guest eXShadowXe]

Hey there Larry, I must say that compared to the 1.x versions, the 2.x versions definitely run a lot smoother (running it on a blackjack 2 (AT&T) which is running windows mobile 6.1 Standard)

Getting to the point, in the newest beta build I find it rather unclear how to load a saved game. I kind of miss the ability to load from multiple save states for a single game. The only save/load feature I'm aware of in the beta is the quick save and quick load.

Also, back when you had the "browse" function with the animation preview in the beta, the menu itself did not show the file names in the list as the window for it was way too small (animation took up too much space) for the screen resolution. If you plan on including this feature in a future update, perhaps be a little more conservative with the preview size. Perhaps there is a way to detect whether the phone is running Standard, or Professional (screen resolution as well) and then display the menu based on the results.

I've attempted to use the shortcut feature but when I do create the shortcut, I find that nothing actually shows up (should be in the start menu, no?). I've browsed my phone for the .lnk files but have not found them anywhere.

Otherwise, I'm really enjoying the improvements.

Keep up the amazing work Larry.

[Guest bitbank]

Hey there Larry, I must say that compared to the 1.x versions, the 2.x versions definitely run a lot smoother (running it on a blackjack 2 (AT&T) which is running windows mobile 6.1 Standard)

Getting to the point, in the newest beta build I find it rather unclear how to load a saved game. I kind of miss the ability to load from multiple save states for a single game. The only save/load feature I'm aware of in the beta is the quick save and quick load.

Also, back when you had the "browse" function with the animation preview in the beta, the menu itself did not show the file names in the list as the window for it was way too small (animation took up too much space) for the screen resolution. If you plan on including this feature in a future update, perhaps be a little more conservative with the preview size. Perhaps there is a way to detect whether the phone is running Standard, or Professional (screen resolution as well) and then display the menu based on the results.

I've attempted to use the shortcut feature but when I do create the shortcut, I find that nothing actually shows up (should be in the start menu, no?). I've browsed my phone for the .lnk files but have not found them anywhere.

Otherwise, I'm really enjoying the improvements.

Keep up the amazing work Larry.

I'm glad the speed changes are noticeable. The load/save menu is still in the same old spot - when paused, you can load or save up to 5 states from the file menu. You can also run a game by double-clicking on a savegame file from file explorer because I register the filetype "sgsav". I realize the browse feature didn't work on all phones. It was written for 480x800 displays and it will take some time to make it work well on all resolutions and orientations. The shortcut files are created in \windows\start menu\programs\games\. This won't work properly on non-English phones (yet). I plan on having the 2.0 release version ready in the next couple of weeks (including a new Desktop PC EXE).

L.B.

[Guest hockeyfan]

Hi Larry,

Sorry for being MIA the last few weeks. I'm normally very eager to test your new releases...but my wife recently gave birth to our daughter, so I've been very busy the last few weeks. I guess there are some things in the world that are more important than SmartGear! :P Anyways, I will try to get as much testing done as possible with your beta builds in the next few days, and will promptly report back any issues I find.

Thanks!

[Guest bitbank]

I've seen posts on the XDA developer's forum that the "Callstel" version of the BGP100 gamepad sold in Europe has differences from the MSI/Chainpus version and doesn't work with all software. Does anyone here have one and does it work properly with SmartGear? If not, please post its bluetooth six byte address so that I can add support for it.

Thanks,

L.B.

[Guest Alexvrb]

I can do translucent controls, but the reason I didn't do it that way is to avoid having your fingers block your view of the game. Since I am not the target audience because I really dislike touchscreen controls, everyone else please chime in and let me know how you would like the touchscreen controls to be implemented.

L.B.

Well, I don't currently have a bluetooth controller, so testing smartgear on my Omnia 2 is going to be hard without touchscreen controls. I don't care if they're transluscent, or if they're completely invisible (not rendered at all). Either way, I can't seem to get them working. Just having them working would be enough for me to make sure everything runs ok. I've tried resetting them to defaults, no dice. However, I did download the latest version about an hour ago (www.bitbanksoftware.com/sg.zip) and the games now display great! :P Before they would only display on a fraction of my screen, no matter what setting I used, and they wouldn't rotate properly either. So that's a big change. Sound works, too, and it seems to run PSIV OK, though I can't get in-game to verify performance. The sound isn't Genesis-perfect, but perfect sound would require a LOT more horsepower. It does seem to sound worse in PSII, however... it's missing notes, like there's a channel missing. I don't know if its just my device, however. It's set to stereo and 16 bit sound @ 44khz, I'll have to fiddle with it more another time.

Also I noticed some image tearing during the PSII intro, as its scrolling around the world map. Any suggestions on minimizing tearing? It's set to Fit2Window, I don't see a vsync option, though to be fair... I have no idea what the refresh rate is on this device! This is the first time I've ever had to wonder what the refresh rate of my phone display was. >.<

[Guest bitbank]

Well, I don't currently have a bluetooth controller, so testing smartgear on my Omnia 2 is going to be hard without touchscreen controls. I don't care if they're transluscent, or if they're completely invisible (not rendered at all). Either way, I can't seem to get them working. Just having them working would be enough for me to make sure everything runs ok. I've tried resetting them to defaults, no dice. However, I did download the latest version about an hour ago (www.bitbanksoftware.com/sg.zip) and the games now display great! :P Before they would only display on a fraction of my screen, no matter what setting I used, and they wouldn't rotate properly either. So that's a big change. Sound works, too, and it seems to run PSIV OK, though I can't get in-game to verify performance. The sound isn't Genesis-perfect, but perfect sound would require a LOT more horsepower. It does seem to sound worse in PSII, however... it's missing notes, like there's a channel missing. I don't know if its just my device, however. It's set to stereo and 16 bit sound @ 44khz, I'll have to fiddle with it more another time.

Also I noticed some image tearing during the PSII intro, as its scrolling around the world map. Any suggestions on minimizing tearing? It's set to Fit2Window, I don't see a vsync option, though to be fair... I have no idea what the refresh rate is on this device! This is the first time I've ever had to wonder what the refresh rate of my phone display was. >.<

I'm actually looking into solutions for all 3 problems (touchscreen controls, screen tearing and Genesis sound). I have some ideas to solve all 3, so I will be posting new code this weekend as I fix things. I'm glad you feel that things have dramatically improved with the display and sound. I rewrote all of the display code with new knowledge of ARM optimization and it now paints the display about as fast as possible. More to come soon...

L.B.

[Guest bitbank]

I just uploaded 2.0.15. I fixed the choppy framerate and I believe I have fixed the missing sounds in Genesis. Please give it a try and let me know.

L.B.

[Guest DrewLight]

Is there a performance hit for the recent Genesis changes? I've noticed some slow-down in some of the Genesis games I play (NHL 9x series).

[Guest bitbank]

SG 2.0.12

1. Air Zonk (TG16) crashed after a minute or so of gameplay and SG exited itself. [sound enabled, Audio Rate 44 Khz, Throttle to 60fps, Touchscreen Controls on, Best Perf, 0 Orientation]

I have been able to reproduce a trap in the drawing code when running at 90 degrees on a 480x800 display and running TG16 games. It happens immediately for me. I'll see about a fix for the next release. SmartGear has trouble with a few TG16 games such as Air Zonk and the horizontal scrolling gets messed up. You see this about a minute into the game. I've tried to fix this issue, but don't have any good documentation on the TG16. I will eventually take a look at improving TG16 compatibility, but very soon I will have a fix for the trap I saw.

L.B.

[Guest Skeese]

When in-game and paused going into Settings, the text disappears off the screen to the right [keyboard in, Best Perf, Touchscreen Constrols enabled, 0 Orientation]

[Guest Skeese]

On the main screen of SG, how come my GBC games have different titles above the screenshots of the games (POKEMON_SLV for Pokemon Silver, and YUGIOUDS for Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories), whereas over the screenshot of the TG16 games, it just says Turbo Grafx?

Edited May 13, 2010 by Skeese

[Guest bitbank]

On the main screen of SG, how come my GBC games have different titles above the screenshots of the games (POKEMON_SLV for Pokemon Silver, and YUGIOUDS for Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories), whereas over the screenshot of the TG16 games, it just says Turbo Grafx?

Some game cartridges have information about the game and others don't. GBC and Genesis games include the game name in the ROM image. For TG16 and GameGear I compare a checksum of the rom with known games and maintain a list of names.

L.B.

[Guest Alexvrb]

I just uploaded 2.0.15. I fixed the choppy framerate and I believe I have fixed the missing sounds in Genesis. Please give it a try and let me know.

L.B.

OK the missing sounds seem to be there now... but the volume on the channel in question (in testing with PS II) seems to be lower than it should be. Could barely hear it compared to the other channels. Maybe that was the problem in the first place? Double checked it against a real system and against Kega Fusion. In both Kega and on a model 2 genesis, those "doo da do doo" notes at the beginning of the intro sequence are much more audible. They might be "softer" on a model 1 (I don't own a model 1 anymore), but certainly not that quiet. Anyway, I doubt it will affect very many tracks, so don't worry about it too much. Also, the intro for PS IV sounds great!

Might just be me, or my phone, but tearing is still evident. However, it doesn't *seem* to be as prevalent. Kudos to you, the Genesis side of SmartGear is improving! That reminds me, where does smartgear store its settings? I deleted the folder where I placed the executable, and downloaded your latest (2.0.15 beta, verified by checking "About"), and discovered it had retained my settings.

Oh - thanks for using regular ol' zip files. They unpack on my phone nicely, so I don't need to hook my phone up to my PC to get the newest version. Actually I would probably just have downloaded it on my PC, repacked it, and emailed it to myself to download on my phone. But you still save me a couple of steps. :)

[Guest DrewLight]

I've purchased an HP iPAQ 210, and I was wondering if it is possible for SmartGear to map keys to the Windows Button. I've tried AEBPlus, and I can change what the Windows button does, but I can't get SmartGear to recognize the keypress when mapping the buttons.

Edited May 16, 2010 by DrewLight

[Guest ScreamingFalcon]

Oh - thanks for using regular ol' zip files. They unpack on my phone nicely, so I don't need to hook my phone up to my PC to get the newest version. Actually I would probably just have downloaded it on my PC, repacked it, and emailed it to myself to download on my phone. But you still save me a couple of steps. :)

Larry only uses zip format for his beta versions. When he ramps up the next full release, it will be available in both self-installing executable and cab file.

As much as I'd love to do the beta beat, I rarely have time to play around on my phone or anything else these days. I'll wait for the next big release. Great program for my Ozone, Larry! Just anxiously awaiting the SNES stuff!

Edited May 17, 2010 by ScreamingFalcon

[Guest serafinpabon]

which bluetooth gamepad would be better for smartgear? the bgp 100 or the zeemote? and where online can you find either one for purchase?

[Guest bitbank]

which bluetooth gamepad would be better for smartgear? the bgp 100 or the zeemote? and where online can you find either one for purchase?

The Zeemote is a higher quality product and performs better in almost every way, but the ergonomics of it are very different from the BGP100. I find it more comfortable to play with the BGP100. The Zeemote also costs more ($40) than the BGP100 ($24). BUT...if you have a device with the Widcomm bluetooth stack, then unfortunately I only support the BGP100 (for now).

You can get the BGP100 from Dealextreme.com for $24 shipped. It takes a while because it's coming from China, but I've had good experiences with that company. The Zeemote can be purchased from BestBuy online for $40.

L.B.