English Amiga Board - View Single Post - FS-UAE

FrodeSolheim · 12 February 2020, 18:35

This post will explain what I’m currently doing, and also gives you an idea of why there hasn’t been any development release in a good while

UPDATED: Please see this thread for more up to date information: http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=106562

I’m working on FS-UAE 4.0, which replaces many of the non-emulation related components. Don’t worry, FS-UAE should still feel familiar, only better. I also want to mention that many of the improvements in this post are already done.

Design goals include:

Better audio subsystem with lower audio latency.
Make better use of high-resolution timers to ensure the emulation runs smoothly also in fastest-possible CPU mode.
On-screen keyboard suitable for use with controller with realistic system-specific keyboards.
Support hot-plugging game controllers.
Create a better architecture which makes it easier to support different audio and video backends. Initial version with ALSA and SDL2 audio backends, and OpenGL and SDL2 video backends.
Ensure that FS-UAE works really well with G-SYNC and FreeSync monitors on supported systems.
Better internal book-keeping and visual graphs of performance and timing, to make it easier to identify issues and make sure the emulation runs smoothly.
Truetype font rendering for better readability and internationalization.
Better support for high-DPI displays.
Make the user interface adapt better to non-16:9 displays.
Support controlling the GUI with the mouse.
Deliver on the initial idea of making FSEMU suitable for integration with different emulators.

Probably:

Built-in file browser with controller support (mainly for floppy selection), an oft-requested feature.

Other bonuses:

Make it easier to specify (any) actions on game controllers in ports, independent of controller type but dependent on port mode. (e.g. port0_joy_lefttrigger = action_quit)
Custom names and automatic screenshots for save states.

And of course, update the UAE core to a newer version. Ideally on par with the latest WinUAE stable release when FS-UAE 4.0 is released.

No features are currently planned removed, but the initial development versions will come without some existing functionality. The changes due to the new architecture means that some code must be rewritten before everything will work again, and I want to release development versions before everything is in place.

The stuff that will probably not work in the initial development versions include:

Themes will not work initially.
Some video scaling options may have no effect initially.
Some video and audio options may have no effect initially (for example GPU texture format or audio frequency).
Net play support will be initially disabled.
Support for multiple mice will probably be initially disabled.
Joystick support may be limited to gamepad-like devices initially.

I would also like to mention that I’m considering allowing changes which are not backwards compatible. Since this release changes quite a lot already, it could be a good idea to reconsider a few design choices done years ago. So a few configuration options might change without being able to automatically convert old options to new options, and directory layout could change slightly (including how saves are stored). Don’t panic, and don’t read too much into this. We can discuss these things in the forum when we get more specific, and we should at minimum write a migration guide if there are incompatible changes.

(I'm also adapting the Vice emulator in parallel, with similar feature set, so there'll likely be a Vice-FS dev version soon as well

).

12 February 2020, 18:35	#1
FrodeSolheim FS-UAE Developer Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Førde, Norway Age: 43 Posts: 4,043	FS-UAE - Progress report This post will explain what I’m currently doing, and also gives you an idea of why there hasn’t been any development release in a good while UPDATED: Please see this thread for more up to date information: http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=106562 I’m working on FS-UAE 4.0, which replaces many of the non-emulation related components. Don’t worry, FS-UAE should still feel familiar, only better. I also want to mention that many of the improvements in this post are already done. Design goals include: Better audio subsystem with lower audio latency. Make better use of high-resolution timers to ensure the emulation runs smoothly also in fastest-possible CPU mode. On-screen keyboard suitable for use with controller with realistic system-specific keyboards. Support hot-plugging game controllers. Create a better architecture which makes it easier to support different audio and video backends. Initial version with ALSA and SDL2 audio backends, and OpenGL and SDL2 video backends. Ensure that FS-UAE works really well with G-SYNC and FreeSync monitors on supported systems. Better internal book-keeping and visual graphs of performance and timing, to make it easier to identify issues and make sure the emulation runs smoothly. Truetype font rendering for better readability and internationalization. Better support for high-DPI displays. Make the user interface adapt better to non-16:9 displays. Support controlling the GUI with the mouse. Deliver on the initial idea of making FSEMU suitable for integration with different emulators. Probably: Built-in file browser with controller support (mainly for floppy selection), an oft-requested feature. Other bonuses: Make it easier to specify (any) actions on game controllers in ports, independent of controller type but dependent on port mode. (e.g. port0_joy_lefttrigger = action_quit) Custom names and automatic screenshots for save states. And of course, update the UAE core to a newer version. Ideally on par with the latest WinUAE stable release when FS-UAE 4.0 is released. No features are currently planned removed, but the initial development versions will come without some existing functionality. The changes due to the new architecture means that some code must be rewritten before everything will work again, and I want to release development versions before everything is in place. The stuff that will probably not work in the initial development versions include: Themes will not work initially. Some video scaling options may have no effect initially. Some video and audio options may have no effect initially (for example GPU texture format or audio frequency). Net play support will be initially disabled. Support for multiple mice will probably be initially disabled. Joystick support may be limited to gamepad-like devices initially. I would also like to mention that I’m considering allowing changes which are not backwards compatible. Since this release changes quite a lot already, it could be a good idea to reconsider a few design choices done years ago. So a few configuration options might change without being able to automatically convert old options to new options, and directory layout could change slightly (including how saves are stored). Don’t panic, and don’t read too much into this. We can discuss these things in the forum when we get more specific, and we should at minimum write a migration guide if there are incompatible changes. (I'm also adapting the Vice emulator in parallel, with similar feature set, so there'll likely be a Vice-FS dev version soon as well ). Last edited by FrodeSolheim; 10 April 2021 at 20:48.