Picasso 96 driver for ECS/AGA

[utri007]

http://aminet.net/package/driver/moni/Native

It speed up screen and saves chip ram, just like FBLit would do.

[Mark sealey]

Will this be better than using Fblit on my 020/33 A600 ECS...? OD3.1.4 ?

[jayminer]

From what I've read on a1k.org it's noticably slower than FBlit, but some more tests and comparisons would be interesting!

[utri007]

Short test yesteday tells that is about same, when using OS or playing games, like Napalm and Foundation. There is little more chip ram free, with this compared to FBLit.

Wondering if this has any effect to 3D games, for me it seems that it drops down fps with Quake.

With FBlit you need to promote app to use it, this is used all the time. It has has pros and cons.

[Mark sealey]

cool...might give this a try.

[Romanujan]

Maybe slower... but try with FText and CpuBlit, these patches do bring additional speed up (tested with TGTest benchmark of AIBB).

[Gorf]

Thanks Thomas! Very cool!

[gulliver]

Originally Posted by Mark sealey

Will this be better than using Fblit on my 020/33 A600 ECS...? OD3.1.4 ?

Better in the sense that is still being supported, is doing things in a friendly OS manner and will enable you to use RTG only applications without having to use a real graphics card.

It is certainly slower in some operations than FBlit because this is not a hack and does things respecting the OS structures.

[utri007]

Originally Posted by gulliver

Better in the sense that is still being supported, is doing things in a friendly OS manner and will enable you to use RTG only applications without having to use a real graphics card.

It is certainly slower in some operations than FBlit because this is not a hack and does things respecting the OS structures.

Screen mode like solution would be nice. Currently it is take it or leave it, turning it OFF is difficult.

[Romanujan]

Originally Posted by gulliver

and will enable you to use RTG only applications without having to use a real graphics card.

Really? I thought this is not as advanced driver as CGX-AGA.


----


Nevertheless - at least it is easy to setup. FBlit has gazillion of options, hard to understand without knowing the OS internals. With this OS release use this options, with that release use that options, but if using CGX-AGA this one has to be disabled, and if using PeterK icon.library, set this and that, etc.


FBlit configuration is too error prone IMHO.

[nickey]

Laszlo 'Pheonix' Torok (developer of MooVid, Savage shapeshifter driver), wrote that a very early version of P96 AGA driver was ready in 1998...

source:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!to...re/PYixqghlhog

[kolla]

Originally Posted by Romanujan

Nevertheless - at least it is easy to setup. FBlit has gazillion of options, hard to understand without knowing the OS internals. With this OS release use this options, with that release use that options, but if using CGX-AGA this one has to be disabled, and if using PeterK icon.library, set this and that, etc.

The "Native" driver faces the same challenges as FBlit, so I totally expect to see tooltypes and/or env variables come up to work around the same issues that FBlit has had to work around. P96 already comes with tons of options and tweaks like this. At least FBlit just has one config file.

[Mark sealey]

I tried this driver on my a600 furia 020/33 OS3.1.4 peter k icon lib 45. when booted i had icons but no txt on screen...under icons and Menus.....need test further though.

[kolla]

Originally Posted by Mark sealey

I tried this driver on my a600 furia 020/33 OS3.1.4 peter k icon lib 45. when booted i had icons but no txt on screen...under icons and Menus.....need test further though.

Confusing.
OS 3.1.4 comes with icon.library 45.22, while PeterK's icon.library is v46.4 - so which one do you really use?

From the symptoms you describe, it sounds like you are using FText.

[Thomas Richter]

Originally Posted by kolla

The "Native" driver faces the same challenges as FBlit, so I totally expect to see tooltypes and/or env variables come up to work around the same issues that FBlit has had to work around. P96 already comes with tons of options and tweaks like this. At least FBlit just has one config file.

No, it does not. There are no tooltypes to configure, and there are no issues to work around, and there is no config file you need to play with. You click on the icon and it works. If it does not, then make sure that you disable other hacks and patches into graphics.

Unlike FBlit, P96 already replaces all (!) bitmap/bob/... handling functions of graphics anyhow. If there would be "holes" in the system, RTG would not work in first place because RTG bitmaps are not in graphics memory either. The only thing this "driver" does is that it instructs P96 to use the same planar blitting/bob/xxxx functions for native graphics than those for planar RTG systems.

[kolla]

@Thomas
Shouldn't you help Mark Sealey instead of replying to me?
Or should he now contact IComp to find bugs in P96?

[Thomas Richter]

Originally Posted by kolla

@Thomas
Shouldn't you help Mark Sealey instead of replying to me?
Or should he now contact IComp to find bugs in P96?

To find bugs I believe nobody needs to contact anyone. To report bugs: This goes to iComp, probably CC to me. I do not know which support plan Jens has to offer, or who is making support for him. I am not his support partner if this is what you ask.

Except that, I just can repeat what I had said before: Remove all patches, install a clean system with original components.

[utri007]

Thomas : Any change to get it faster? performance it is noticeable slower than FBLit.

[kolla]

Originally Posted by utri007

Thomas : Any change to get it faster? performance it is noticeable slower than FBLit.

You read what he said, all issues are not with "it", they are with P96 - you want faster P96, you must buy P96, register as user, and file complaints with Jens@IComp.

[SpeedGeek]

Why do people here expect P96 to be faster (or just as fast) as Fblit? Did you compare the size of the P96 library + drivers to the Fblit library + executable? Do you understand that P96 has a "Lot" of code to handle PC graphics board (SVGA) chips?

If you are too lazy to RTFM the docs, you can use the default settings for either Fblit or P96. But you might be able to tweak the performance a little if you modify the default settings (at you own risk). The only reason Fblit "Appears" more difficult to configure than P96 is probably because it's too technical for some users.