Turrican 2 MS-DOS AGA conversion

[Muzza]

Originally Posted by ross

About the DMAWait this is the relevant code (TFMX 7V player module V1.3, versionnum = $0892):

Huh... stupid me didn't notice that this DMAWait code was already in there, but commented out (and missing a few bits). I had added it new using the WHDLoad patch code as reference as to where to insert the DMAWaits.

The two differ slightly (WHDLoad has an extra DMAWait and calls them at slightly different positions), but both appear to work from my testing. I've changed my code to match the Eagle Player one as it seems a little neater.

[Don_Adan]

For me looks good, 8 lines wait. Maybe jotd can test T2 title music under EP and check if it sounds ok or not? I think it can be problem related to interrupts handling. Perhaps the only difference between T2 code and T2 AGA code is memory used for TFMX 7V replay. Chip memory for T2 and fast memory for T2 AGA.

[Muzza]

Originally Posted by Don_Adan

You are good. You will able to use adapted and modified by me original Chris Huelsbeck and Jochen Hippel TFMX 7V source.

Where can I get these from?
EDIT: Nevermind, I think I misunderstood - I thought you were saying there are special versions of the music samples that make the higher quality mixer more apparent.

Originally Posted by Don_Adan

Ok, then no SMC problems. This player was tested on 68000 7 MHz, 68030 50 MHz, 68040 25 MHz and 68060 50 MHz. And no problem was known me. Maybe jotd and Ross can check replay source for possible problems?

There was SMC in there still, but I just fixed it yesterday. When I first implemented this, I had problems getting it working (it was early days in my Amiga programming 'career') and I compared the source from eagle player to the raw ASM ripped from the original binary and restored what I could in an effort to get things working. So I think I have a frankenstein mix of original, Eagle Player and my own efforts. My recent changes have probably restored it to be more similar to Eagle Player.
Currently I have the new mixer on a switch (currently turned off, but I'd consider enabling it if the higher quality music is worth it).

[Muzza]

I've noticed that when emulating in WinUAE with a 68060 and chipset_hacks=0x8 there are problems with the loading and in-game music too (which use a different player). Not as obvious as the main menu but it is there.

[Redster]

This is fantastic, thanks for your efforts

[Apollon]

Originally Posted by Muzza

Holding down green on the CD32 pad should give you the maximum possible firing rate, as the fire button is registering on every frame.
Are you sure that it is slower that using a hardware auto-fire on a different joypad? It doesn't seem possible. A video might be helpful.

Sorry that I'm only answering now. Unfortunately I can't because I don't have the possibility to record. But as soon as I have the opportunity, I will do so.

[Muzza]

I took a break for a while, but here is an updated build with various fixes in it.
Dropbox version here.

-Special builds for the A500 Mini (*)
-Player can drop mines when in Gyroscope mode.
-Super Weapon is now working (you get it once per life).
-TFMX music playback fixes for 68040/60, both menu and in-game music.
-Floppy version should now run on a 68060
-Bosses re-balanced for health and not so easy to kill with power lines.
-Fix for World 2-2 Boss leaving graphics behind when it dies.
-Parallax related performance improvements in World 2-2.
-Fixed black borders in the main menu.
-Music volume is now consistent throughout.
-Many other minor fixes.

(*)
The A500 Mini seems to struggle to keep up at times, especially when the copper list is complex. This shows up as the music playing slowly, the game slowing down, or graphical corruption in the status bar.
To work around these problems, I've modified the emulation settings to use settings like 'Fast Copper' and 'Immediate Blitter' and also turned off Sprite/Playfield collisions (which this game does not use).
I then modified the game code to rely on the Immediate Blitter setting, meaning it does not have to use a blitter queue. This results in much better performance on the A500Mini, but it is not perfect, and some of the problems occasionally show up. In particular on World 3-3 (the fast spaceship level). This build also relies on their being a lot of FAST Ram available to speed up loading times.
Do not expect the A500Mini version to run under any other emulation settings, and certainly not on a real Amiga.

EDIT: Also I've only tried the A500 Mini version with the original firmware. If anyone tries it with the latest firmware please confirm if it works.

[DanyPPC]

A500 mini is not an Amiga, it's simply an emulator on a limited hardware respect a standard PC, so I think the games should not be affected and / or modified in relation to this little console.

I think that to perfectly emulate an Amiga you need better hardware.

[Muzza]

Originally Posted by DanyPPC

A500 mini is not an Amiga, it's simply an emulator on a limited hardware respect a standard PC, so I think the games should not be affected and / or modified in relation to this little console.

I think that to perfectly emulate an Amiga you need better hardware.

Ideally that would be the case, but it didn't run nicely as it was (and I had been getting feedback from people who were trying to run it). With this custom build it now it runs much better.

It is actually quite a nice experience to play this game on the A500 mini despite the problems. The controller works well, there is no configuration to mess with, the loading is nice and fast. For people that want a console experience without the pain that comes with a real system or setting up WinUAE, it is pretty good IMHO. So I'm happy to support it as best as I can.
Hopefully in the future the emulation will be improved and a custom build would not be required any more.

[DanyPPC]

Originally Posted by Muzza

It is actually quite a nice experience to play this game on the A500 mini despite the problems. For people that want a console experience without the pain that comes with a real system or setting up WinUAE, it is pretty good IMHO. So I'm happy to support it as best as I can.

This is true and your attitude does you honor.

Hopefully in the future the emulation will be improved and a custom build would not be required any more.

Here I am dubious, because the problems come from inadequate hardware.

[Superman]

I just tried the mini version on the updated 1.1.1 firmware and I just get a black screen.

[alexh]

Originally Posted by DanyPPC

A500 mini is not an Amiga, it's simply an emulator on a limited hardware respect a standard PC, so I think the games should not be affected and / or modified in relation to this little console.

I think that to perfectly emulate an Amiga you need better hardware.

I think they have sold too many A500 mini's for it not to now be considered "another Amiga" and be a target for new software.

Yes there is probably limited scope to improve the A1200 AGA emulation (in the short term) due to the limitations of the underlaying single threaded performance but something like Muzza's solution, turning down emulation accuracy for improved performance and then writing Amiga code to support the lower accuracy as an alternate build is commendable.

[dlfrsilver]

Originally Posted by Muzza

Ideally that would be the case, but it didn't run nicely as it was (and I had been getting feedback from people who were trying to run it). With this custom build it now it runs much better.

It is actually quite a nice experience to play this game on the A500 mini despite the problems. The controller works well, there is no configuration to mess with, the loading is nice and fast. For people that want a console experience without the pain that comes with a real system or setting up WinUAE, it is pretty good IMHO. So I'm happy to support it as best as I can.
Hopefully in the future the emulation will be improved and a custom build would not be required any more.

Hi Muzza, 2 bugs to report :

- The 360° weapon doesn't work
- When pressing '*' on my A1200 keyboard, my amiga locks up, i can only quit by doing the 3 fingers salute.

[kremiso]

floppy pal test here, nothing to report this time
thank you for the fixes, expecially for the bosses

[TCD]

Just had a quick go and this is pretty amazing I love the game and the PC graphics aren't 100% my cup of tea it's great to the the option. Well done!

[nikosidis]

Thank you very much for the hard work you are doing on this.
Turrican rocks!

[Muzza]

Originally Posted by dlfrsilver

- The 360° weapon doesn't work

Which version are you playing and with what controller? I'm not seeing a problem myself.

[Muzza]

Originally Posted by dlfrsilver

- The 360° weapon doesn't work
- When pressing '*' on my A1200 keyboard, my amiga locks up, i can only quit by doing the 3 fingers salute.

Running on a real A1200 with a CD32 pad, I was able to reproduce the 360 weapon not working once. It fixed itself after I turned auto-fire on the pad (for the Blue button) on and off again. After that it hasn't happened again, even after hard reboots. Sometimes programming for the Amiga is so much fun.

Similarly the '*' lock up problem isn't easy to reproduce either. I've tried the floppy version on a real A1200, and the WHDLoad version under WinUAE. No lock ups so far, and I can't see any reason in code it would be a problem.

[Muzza]

Originally Posted by Superman

I just tried the mini version on the updated 1.1.1 firmware and I just get a black screen.

Reluctantly updated my firmware. Yes, it crashes now with 'illegal instruction $10'. Sigh...

[Muzza]

New release on dropbox here.

This fixes the A500 Mini version to run on the v1.1.1 firmware. It also fixes the performance problems with World 3-3. Also WHDLoad versions now have a nicer icon.

It seems the A500 Mini now needs a .uae file alongside the .lha file. The old version would run as long as you entered the menu for it first (which generated the .uae file). The whole system with both a json file and .uae files is a bit of a mess if you ask me...