NEOCD/SDL DC V7

Ian Micheal · Post by **Ian Micheal** » Thu May 20, 2004 10:07 pm

17.5000 was to much it was super slow and the shadows stoped flashing and it speed up and slowed down it was really bad. 19.0000 was ok not the same there, and does not work the same as the double command at all. Lot of people dont seem to know we dont have the power to do this just because i made it look that way with smoke and mirrors means you have to give up some thing nothing comes for free. Shadows and grafix errors on some games is the after efffect.

If i did release, it i get complaints all night, like last time about it being to slow to play, and shining a bad light on the dreamcast and sending more people to the x box because it's not playable. Im not releasing any thing thats running up to shit would not of started this if that was the case allways going to underclock it my neogeo mame emulation is the same way. Playable with sound.

Only way is to cut the cycle's used by the main cpu. Right now we cant do that by optmizing. So the way i have it is the only way right now. You can play it on the pc if you want shadows. Or we can code an up down overclocking / underclocking menu. Im Not making 2 version for "1" that put's me and the dreamcast down, by running slower jerky and rubbish just to get some to me flashing shadows that i would of hated on the real machine i think it's a pesudo improvement. Only thing i hate on the machine so far.

Many of other people like the way i get things playable when there impossable to get that way due, Simple fact is we dont have enff cpu cycles to emulate this at fullspeed using c and poorly genrated GCC sh4 code.

Allways going to be error's live with them or dont use it simple. Im not worryed about accurate emulation were on a console that has 200 mhz to less to emulate this at fullspeed think your sefl very lucky i have it feeling like it's running nicely.

Sure it's fine to worry about this on a pc with a 450mhz cpu and above but were on a sh4 200mhz cpu cant be done with out massive short cuts.

BaldMonk · Post by **BaldMonk** » Thu May 20, 2004 10:50 pm

hehe, I didn't mean to offend you Ian, if that's the way it came across when I asked about this.

Thanks for taking the time out to experiment with it.

*still playing Savage Reign*

I'm pretty good a Samurai Spirits, so I don't my energy bar to be showing, lol... and I'm more than happy with the release... infact, extatic.(is that how you spell it?)

Link · Post by **Link** » Thu May 20, 2004 10:52 pm

Hi,

Yo! In the last few days I have gotten to try this out and I actually think its going really good so far man. A stitch more speed and I think you've got it. (either way when I see the level of work you and the team put into this I can't help but smile.) You were right on the single boot disk style thing man ,real smooth. Never let the shadows get the best of ya Ian/Reaper

(pun intended) I and many others recognize the fine level of work done already. Just know we are behind you. For my part I'm gonna go wupp something in KOF95 and 96

Peace!

Ian Micheal · Post by **Ian Micheal** » Thu May 20, 2004 11:59 pm

Yeah there lies the problem you say it needs a touch more speed now. Any lessing of frameskip or underclocking makes it slower then now there's the point i made before. It's going to take time. between now and V1.0. Which is my target perfect version. Im going to have to learn some Sh4. Re traslate the c files into sh4 asm. memory.c needs to be sh4 asm for a start. Sound needs to be totaly redone to use kos routine have most of that covered addapt (genesis plus Fm emulator and routines).

I might make a mame neogeo emulation to work with it for speed/ as well see what i can gain from mame source/ new source.

m68k cpu is to slow to work at the correct speed on dreamcast.

Right now you have a good version to tide you over for , the long wait that it might be for the next version there, is no more left to underclock or frameskip or to gain speed other then more optmizing of the maths Which im looking into.

It's faster then any other 16 bit emulator with this sort of grafix. there is no other cdrom emulator for dreamcast other then bleemcast i mean cd console system.

I can play it with out geting a head ach.. for 3 months work it's come a long way 7 versions. each were faster and better to use.

I been working on porting this since i first seen so in real terms lot longer then 3 months. just this time i asked the scene to help me and the team of people are wonderfull and every one helped me out.

Thanks again.

DCmad · Post by **DCmad** » Fri May 21, 2004 1:03 am

i think we can hold on to v0.7 till v1.0 its complete. ian learns more on each bit of work he does. mind RADQuake, it's using tricks ian learned with neoCD. and so on
take your time man, just keep us up to date, this board would be full of noobs claiming the project giveup, like they did with dreamsnes.
so, just let us know what happens, and we can wait, enjoying v0.7
this is the way i see things, hope i'm not beeing any moron...

Dynamite Force · Post by **Dynamite Force** » Fri May 21, 2004 2:35 am

Excellent work! Keep it up, guys!

Just want to let you know that Samurai Showdown RPG runs at nearly full speed. Obviously, there's no CDDA audio. Anyway, hope you guys can get it working in future versions!

Ian Micheal · Post by **Ian Micheal** » Fri May 21, 2004 3:44 am

Games with CDDA ARE#
-AERO FIGHTERS 2 (Working CDDA)
-BREAKERS (Working CDDA)
-DOUBLE DRAGON (Working CDDA)
-PULSTAR (Working CDDA)
-Mahjong -Final Romance 2 (Working CDDA)
-METAL SLUG1 (Working CDDA)
-METAL SLUG2 (Working CDDA)
-MAGIC DROP 2 (Working CDDA)
-RAGNAGARD (Working CDDA)
-STREET HOOPS (Working CDDA)
-Quest of the Jongmaster (Working CDDA)
-TURF MASTERS (Working CDDA)
-VIEWPOINT (Working CDDA)
-WINDJAMMERS (Working CDDA)

I would Say play these games or if your buying games get the one's that work with CDDA as stated.

Thanks it will improve in time.

ethoscapade · Post by **ethoscapade** » Fri May 21, 2004 5:32 am

ian, you've done a positively killer job so far. don't let the little touches like shadows get you down.

i, for one, don't care in the least about blinking shadows (then again, i only play metal slug, and i don't think that has any, so i should be one to talk) if it helps performance.

i've been playing DSnes with transparency off for years, and i don't even find it that terrible - in games like mario world or contra, i adjust to it, in metroid and megaman x, i swap it for sound when i have to go underwater, and in link to the past...i use my GBP.

all i'm saying is that if you can get this thing running just a touch faster, like people have said (don't worry about MS2, that couldn't even be done fullspeed on the neoCD, try and get everything BUT MS2), i don't care if you take those shortcuts.

Ian Micheal · Post by **Ian Micheal** » Fri May 21, 2004 9:16 am

Yeah Im looking hard at every part of it trying to save cycles any were with some maths bases anwser. loop unrolling is my first im going to do this since GCC and sh4 side that does not work or not any were near like a human can do it.

Not a bad thing to highly optmize every bit of the code. it's not really needed ont he pc version.

Any one wants to read the little loop unrolling mini tut i did it's here.

http://www.imrtechnology.ngemu.com/optitips.htm

Example is pretty much used a lot in programing classes and books.

Mikey242 · Post by **Mikey242** » Fri May 21, 2004 9:41 am

It looks like you have a lot more planned for this emulator, thats good. Also thanks for the list of CDDA games that work, now I know what I can get

.
Good luck with the cycles and optimisation (I can image its quite tedious).

BaldMonk · Post by **BaldMonk** » Fri May 21, 2004 4:44 pm

What??? Has it really been 3 months? Wow, it still feels like it's only been out for a VERY short time. I really did never think I'd have the chance to play Metal Slug on the dreamcast, and with all the fighters that are now playable, it's a DREAMcast come true. Now the dreamcast truely is the home of fighters.

Oh, which reminds me. Breakers now hangs when you do a jump kick. But I think it wasn't working at all in the older versions, so thats great you can get in game now eh? Actually, Neo CD is the onyl thing I've been playing on my DC for the last week or so... Oh how I love it so.

Ian, check PMs.

DCmad · Post by **DCmad** » Fri May 21, 2004 6:18 pm

* still playing Top Hunter *
lol
what's the fighting game runing the better without gfx errors?

just to point, i don't see many differences betwen metal slug on neodc and ms on my old saturn, except for the sfx...

BaldMonk · Post by **BaldMonk** » Fri May 21, 2004 6:54 pm

Lots of them run well without errors. Hmmm, let me think... Kabuki Klash runs VERY well, Savage Reign runs well, but at a certain area of the screen your characters get obscured by the background, but then reappear after a second, and Real Bout Fatal Fury Special runs VERY well.

Post by **Quzar** » Sat May 22, 2004 3:07 pm

He started porting it March 16 iirc so its been more like 2 months right?

DCmad · Post by **DCmad** » Sat May 22, 2004 11:32 pm

ok, i just finished top hunter.
neodc was very good in performance, the only glitches i found was:
-everytime a main character loses a life (HP=0) or gets a powerup, the sprite desapears briefly. i think it's because when it comes back there's a flashing meaning momentanoeous invencibility. and as we all may know, there's a little mess with flashings.
-in the fire world, 3? boss fight and in part of the scenary, a layer of background doesn't show.
-a small sprite eror in the space scene on the ending. anything realy important, but i noticed it.

anything of this loweed my playing experience, neodc realy amzes me, and i bare can wait for the cdda and sfx implementations. now i will borrow real bout fatal fury special and enjoy a good fighting

Ian Micheal · Post by **Ian Micheal** » Sat May 22, 2004 11:46 pm

Yeah Top hunter is great game..

Well Offical i started 2 months ago in the real world ive been working on this a lot longer. I have tryed to port this for over 8 months or more.

i started on this 3 months ago this attempt When i asked for help was 2 months ago. This emu is a lot of work to port with out fosters help on the translated ASM files we all still be working on it.

In The end asking for help from the scene and the great guys out there got done Team effort does work.

DCmad · Post by **DCmad** » Sun May 23, 2004 1:45 pm

Isn't it what makes the dcemu scene so strong?

Link · Post by **Link** » Wed May 26, 2004 11:43 pm

Hi again,

Hey Ian, I noticed something really odd. I don't understand why but the newer installments in the KOF series and whole samurai shodown series seem to play at just normal speed. By that I mean no slowdown. (What gets me is KOF 94 is slower then 99......One would think it would be reverse since 94 is older..... hmmmmmmm really kinda odd lol.) I really enjoy this emulator. In fact , Neo CD, The GBA Emu and Superfamicast have my full attention at the moment. I still stand in awe of the DC scene man. It is coders like you and the Neo team that really make DC the greatest. Thank you once again. (off to kill something in Samurai Shodown1-4 >:) )

Take Care,

Link · Post by **Link** » Thu May 27, 2004 2:52 pm

Hi yet again,

Hey Ian, I just tried Last blade1&2 so far those and Fatal Fury 1 don't load. I tried them on the PC version and they load but the menu is messed up (They can still be played though). I'm going to try and make a report as I try different games of what I find works and doesn't. I will post my findings. I hope it helps.

So far I am getting a real kick out of these fighters.

Thank you again for all the work you are doing on this emulator

SaviorX · Post by **SaviorX** » Thu May 27, 2004 2:57 pm

it doesn't load crap rips. get originals