Sega GG + Nintendo GameBoy emulator for SP beta test

[Guest pyth27]

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Edited August 24, 2016 by pyth27

[Guest bitbank]

Hi Larry,

Were you able to include the minor GUI enhancement I had suggested a few months, as discussed in this post? It would help to differentiate between different save game files.

Thanks!

Just added it and it works well. The save and load menu items show up as "Slot 1 - Empty" or "Slot 1 - 03/21/10 21:06". Thanks for the suggestion :).

L.B.

[Guest jeiyuu]

Larry,

Glad to see this project is still alive and well. i just upgraded mine and my girlfriend's phones. Got her an android based phone and I thought, "where are all the cool games for windows based?" I'll be downloading the newest build now. Happy to say I also have a TP2 now (keyboard!). Keep up the good work.

[Guest bitbank]

Larry,

Glad to see this project is still alive and well. i just upgraded mine and my girlfriend's phones. Got her an android based phone and I thought, "where are all the cool games for windows based?" I'll be downloading the newest build now. Happy to say I also have a TP2 now (keyboard!). Keep up the good work.

I'm glad to be working on it more intensely again too. What probably got me putting more effort into the project was getting my TP2 which doesn't have a d-pad and pushing me to check out bluetooth wireless controllers and that led to the idea of bluetooth networking and all the rest. The most satisfying changes have been the improvement to sound and performance issues. There are a few areas left to finish before I call it an official build, but I'm getting closer. Here's what's left on my todo list:

1) Better touchscreen controls

2) Improve gui with "animated" features (may delay for future release)

3) Clean up save/load support

4) Wrap up networking features

5) Finish performance improvements to 270 degree code.

I'm considering supporting other platforms (e.g. AtariST), but I will hold off on that until I have everything finished with what I currently support.

I'll try to release a build tonight when I have some time.

L.B.

[Guest hockeyfan]

Just added it and it works well. The save and load menu items show up as "Slot 1 - Empty" or "Slot 1 - 03/21/10 21:06". Thanks for the suggestion :).

L.B.

Hi Larry,

Glad to hear! ;) Looking forward to trying out the final build with all these exciting new changes! Might and Magic 2 with full sound

I know you mentioned a while ago that adding in support for NES MMC Mapper 5 was a long ways off, but I was just wondering if you had made any progress since then and/or if that's still in the pipeline for future releases of SmartGear...

Thanks!

[Guest bitbank]

Hi Larry,

Glad to hear! :) Looking forward to trying out the final build with all these exciting new changes! Might and Magic 2 with full sound

I know you mentioned a while ago that adding in support for NES MMC Mapper 5 was a long ways off, but I was just wondering if you had made any progress since then and/or if that's still in the pipeline for future releases of SmartGear...

Thanks!

New build is up...

1) Added shortcut creation (under file menu). Currently the shortcuts are created in \Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Games. That seems to work on my TP2, but won't work on non-english systems. I need to clean this up for international devices.

2) Added new touchscreen control method (directions only). This is permanently enabled (for now). Press and then slide in a direction. To pause/un-pause now requires a double-tap. Let me know how this works.

3) Added file time/date info to the save/load menu. The only systems which have working save/load are NES/TG16 (for now). Will be working on this more for the next build.

www.bitbanksoftware.com/sg.zip

version 2.0.5

L.B.

[Guest ScreamingFalcon]

It is EXTREMELY unlikely to have any type of transfer of save files between my emulator and others unless I specifically try to copy their file layout. My save files contain a compressed dump of the emulator memory along with cpu registers and private variables.

Is there some specific emulator that you'd like to exchange files with? Perhaps if it was something that a large % of people wanted, I could support reading another emulator's save files.

L.B.

From what I've seen, most other emus I use just dump the battery backup save into a file as opposed to a full-on save state like you use. Those are the save files I'd like to be able to pull over for if you are able to support the SNES in the pile of systems soon so I don't have to start over on EarthBound, among other games.

[Guest bitbank]

New feature idea - soliciting feedback...

This is not a "new" idea for emulators, but probably something never offered on mobile phones. A rewind/replay feature. I can imagine a simple implementation where you are given the chance to roll back the clock a few seconds when paused. I can see a menu item available when paused such as "Instant Replay-> 10 Seconds, 5 Seconds, 2 Seconds..."

Thoughts?

L.B.

[Guest serafinpabon]

LB please check your pms. i have a question for you

[Guest bitbank]

Got my HD2 today from T-Mobile. I'll be writing up some onscreen controls for SmartGear this weekend because it's truly impossible to play games on a touch-only device. Only 2 of the 5 front buttons seem to work for gaming (call and back). Wireless joysticks work, but you can't always carry one with you.

Thoughts?

L.B.

[Guest ScreamingFalcon]

New feature idea - soliciting feedback...

This is not a "new" idea for emulators, but probably something never offered on mobile phones. A rewind/replay feature. I can imagine a simple implementation where you are given the chance to roll back the clock a few seconds when paused. I can see a menu item available when paused such as "Instant Replay-> 10 Seconds, 5 Seconds, 2 Seconds..."

Thoughts?

L.B.

That could be fun, say like for backing up a few steps if you messed up on something and want to take it back. Another option would be to be able to make a "replay" from that dump that could be used for recording your glory and showing off to friends.

[Guest rushmore]

LB please check your pms. i have a question for you

Hello LB, there are versions of Morphgear that play well on the HD2 and use multi-touch. Good examples on Youtube of them in action. Due to the size

of the screen, portrait mode on the top and the controls on the bottom (of course) works out well. I miss Smartgear since shelving my Dash. I use a G1 and N900 right now, but may buy the HD2 from Tmo- just waiting on confirmation Flash 10.1 is not going to make it to the HD2 (I will not get the HD2 if not).

Rather than Atari, how about Amiga for a next platform to add?

Thanks!

Edited March 26, 2010 by rushmore

[Guest bitbank]

Hello LB, there are versions of Morphgear that play well on the HD2 and use multi-touch. Good examples on Youtube of them in action. Due to the size

of the screen, portrait mode on the top and the controls on the bottom (of course) works out well. I miss Smartgear since shelving my Dash. I use a G1 and N900 right now, but may buy the HD2 from Tmo- just waiting on confirmation Flash 10.1 is not going to make it to the HD2 (I will not get the HD2 if not).

Rather than Atari, how about Amiga for a next platform to add?

Thanks!

Hi Rushmore,

Thanks for the feedback. I'll take a look at the ST versus Amiga issue. I owned an ST, so for nostalgic reasons I want to see it running, but there seems to be much more interesting support for the Amiga.

I'll be spending lots of time on the HD2 this weekend. Some strange GDI bugs are happening on the current version (2.0.5) of SmartGear. The multitouch available so far on the HD2 is quite disappointing since it's a hack into a hack (HTC's pinch/zoom logic). I hope my contact at HTC can shed some light on how to get real multitouch working. I'll post new code as soon as I have something stable. BTW - the HD2 is REALLY fast. A quick performance test shows it running things 2-3X faster than my TouchPro2 and that was fast to begin with.

L.B.

[Guest rushmore]

Hi Rushmore,

Thanks for the feedback. I'll take a look at the ST versus Amiga issue. I owned an ST, so for nostalgic reasons I want to see it running, but there seems to be much more interesting support for the Amiga.

I'll be spending lots of time on the HD2 this weekend. Some strange GDI bugs are happening on the current version (2.0.5) of SmartGear. The multitouch available so far on the HD2 is quite disappointing since it's a hack into a hack (HTC's pinch/zoom logic). I hope my contact at HTC can shed some light on how to get real multitouch working. I'll post new code as soon as I have something stable. BTW - the HD2 is REALLY fast. A quick performance test shows it running things 2-3X faster than my TouchPro2 and that was fast to begin with.

L.B.

Tons more games on the Amiga. The Amiga emu for Android plays most games full speed with sound on a 528mhz clocked G1, so the HD2 should play everything smooth as butter :)

The HD2 with Smartgear and working multi-touch would rock, but the killer for me is no Flash 10.1. I got used to Flash 9.4 on my N900 and Flash 10.1 is amazing. It will be a true crime if Flash 10.1 does not come to the HD2. Could you ask your contact if HTC is going to push for Flash 10.1?

No official support for any MS OS but WM7- in spite of the fact that Flash 10.1 has been shown on the HD2 already by the Adobe Flash team (working very well, too).

Edited March 26, 2010 by rushmore

[Guest DrewLight]

I'm considering supporting other platforms (e.g. AtariST), but I will hold off on that until I have everything finished with what I currently support.

I'd love to see a good ColecoVision, Atari, and Vectrex emulator for Windows Mobile, but I'm not sure they fit the same generation as the consoles in SmartGear. Maybe older systems like that could be handled in a sister emulator. (WiseGear? :P )

Edited March 29, 2010 by DrewLight

[Guest bitbank]

I'd love to see a good ColecoVision, Atari, and Vectrex emulator for Windows Mobile, but I'm not sure they fit the same generation as the consoles in SmartGear. Maybe older systems like that could be handled in a sister emulator. (WiseGear? :P )

I may spin off another product, but it seems easier just to put everything together since they share most of the same infrastructure. The only thing that will have to change is the loading procedure since many of the home computer files are not uniquely distinguishable.

[Guest bitbank]

Just a quick update. I should have a build out in the next couple of days, but wanted to give you the current progress:

1) I'm stuck on a weird problem only on the HD2 where after accessing dialog boxes 2 times (e.g. About, Settings, Benchmark), the main window stops painting properly.

2) I'm almost completed rewriting the save/load game logic to now use a single file format that uses a registered file extension (SGSAV). You can now open a saved game by opening it from the file menu or it will launch SmartGear into the game if you open if from the File Manager. The secondary effect of this is it gets me one step closer to doing the replay/rewind feature.

3) I'm half done wrapping up the 270 degree bitblt code.

4) I will be adding a virtual gamepad touch control so that HD2 owners can at least play non-action games :P. It's really sad, but it's very difficult to play button smashing games on a touch display (even when 2 fingers work together).

L.B.

[Guest hockeyfan]

Hi Larry,

When you release the new final build of SmartGear with all the enhancements (including the sound fix for the Genesis ROM "Might and Magic 2"), will we be able to use our old save files that have been created with earlier versions of SmartGear?

Thanks!

[Guest ScreamingFalcon]

I may spin off another product, but it seems easier just to put everything together since they share most of the same infrastructure. The only thing that will have to change is the loading procedure since many of the home computer files are not uniquely distinguishable.

Gotta love that Z80 chipset!

[Guest rushmore]

I may spin off another product, but it seems easier just to put everything together since they share most of the same infrastructure. The only thing that will have to change is the loading procedure since many of the home computer files are not uniquely distinguishable.

Is this due to input lag? Morphgear mod with multi touch seems to work well on the HD2 with Mario games. No Smartgear would mean no HD2 for me- need my Turbografx shooters :P Morphgear is weak compared to Smartgear, both in compatability and playability.

[Guest bitbank]

Is this due to input lag? Morphgear mod with multi touch seems to work well on the HD2 with Mario games. No Smartgear would mean no HD2 for me- need my Turbografx shooters :P Morphgear is weak compared to Smartgear, both in compatability and playability.

What I meant by the comment is that home computer files tend to be all .BIN and .DSK and there is sometimes no way to tell them apart. SmartGear currently figures out the system type based on the filename extension. If I were to add home computer emulators, then I would need to add a way to specify the system when you load the file (e.g. add file menu items such as "File->Open AtariST").

L.B.

[Guest bitbank]

Hi Larry,

When you release the new final build of SmartGear with all the enhancements (including the sound fix for the Genesis ROM "Might and Magic 2"), will we be able to use our old save files that have been created with earlier versions of SmartGear?

Thanks!

Unfortunately the answer is a definite no. Do you have some important save states that you've spent a lot of time creating? I'm rewriting most of the game infrastructure to be more object oriented. Specifically to allow all of the emulators to be thread-safe and allow multiple instances. I also rewrote the save/load file handling to share common code and have better features (e.g. registered file extension SGSAV) and the ability to load a save state to start a game.

L.B.

[Guest hockeyfan]

Unfortunately the answer is a definite no. Do you have some important save states that you've spent a lot of time creating? I'm rewriting most of the game infrastructure to be more object oriented. Specifically to allow all of the emulators to be thread-safe and allow multiple instances. I also rewrote the save/load file handling to share common code and have better features (e.g. registered file extension SGSAV) and the ability to load a save state to start a game.

L.B.

Well, I do have many saved games, but I guess I don't mind replaying them. However, will this repeat itself with each new major release of SmartGear? Will SmartGear 2.0x game saves be forwards-compatible with SmartGear 3.0x?

[Guest slimyspartagus]

Hi, I downloaded the new smart gear to test it last night, but i did not have time to actually try it and now the demo has expired. Could you make the demo/trial version longer so I can try it?

[Guest bitbank]

Hi, I downloaded the new smart gear to test it last night, but i did not have time to actually try it and now the demo has expired. Could you make the demo/trial version longer so I can try it?

Sorry for the expiration date. It was really a reminder for me to wrap things up as quickly as possible. I'm right in the middle of a major change to the code, so I don't have a stable build to release. I'll try my best to at least get something stable late tonight.

L.B.