x550 Calamity Driver HELP

[epicfatigue]

Hey All i am really finding it hard to set calamitys drivers up correctly.

I installed calamity driver ran the createres utility.

Displays found driver

however it is only finding 1 resolutions/??

What am i dong wrong

please help i ahve spend weeks mucking around with my arcade vga and it was usless the preset resolutions were 80% right and i hear this can handle 120 resolutions with an x550 radion.

I cant seem to find a help file anywhere!

I am using Windows XP64 bit WG K7000 Monitor.

[epicfatigue]

This is what i get.

-------------------------------------------------------------
:: VideoModeMaker :: - version 1.3 - por Calamity - 2008/2011
-------------------------------------------------------------
CRT_EmuDriver 1.2 found! Based on Catalyst 06.5

Extracting mame.xml...

Mame v0.146u4 (Aug 18 2012)

Importing video modes from Mame.xml...

 18 different video modes found.

Generating dynamic mode table... 8 redundant video modes found.
Reducing mode list... 0 video modes dropped.
 10 modelines generated.

Storing modelines in system registry...
System must be restarted for the changes to take effect.


Finished. Press any key...











; VideoModeMaker - Options
; ------------------------
   
; 1. MAME
; -------

; Path for Mame executable, in case we want to extract xml information from it.

   MameExe = "C:\Roms\mame\mame.exe"

; Path for Mame ini folder, in case we want to create an ini file for each game.
; Important: existing ini files will be overwritten.

   IniPath = "C:\Roms\mame\ini"

; Mame options.

   ListFromXML = 1      ; Processes Mame XML and get video mode list from it
   GenerateXML = 1      ; Extracts XML from Mame (only needed once)
   GenerateInis = 0   ; Creates an ini file for each Mame game, in the IniPath folder
   SDLMame = 0      ; Use SDLMame specific options

; Monitor orientation

   MonitorHorizontal = 1   ; 0 = Rotating monitor: horizontal and vertical games at their native resolution
            ;     Suitable for users that physically rotate their CRTs
            ; 1 = Horizontal monitor: horizontal games run at their native resolution and
            ;     vertical games are rotated to fit in horizontal monitor   

   RotatingDesktop = 0   ; Specifies if both desktop and monitor are rotated

; Aspect ratio for vertical games on horizontal monitor
;    4:3 (keeps original aspect ratio)
;    3:3 (stretches to square format)
;    3:4 (stretches to full screen)
;   h:v (custom aspect ratio)

   VerticalAspect = "4:3"


; 2. MONITOR
; ----------

; Monitor Type. Valid types: D9800, D9400, D9200, EGA, VGA, MULTI, H9110, PAL, NTSC, GENERIC, CUSTOM

   MonitorType = "CUSTOM"


; Monitor CUSTOM. These values will be used if MonitorType = "CUSTOM"
;
; monitor_specs_0-6 = "HfreqMin-HfreqMax, VfreqMin,VfreqMax, HFrontPorch, HSyncPulse, HBackPorch, VfrontPorch, VSyncPulse, VBackPorch, HSyncPol, VSyncPol, ActiveLinesLimit, VirtualLinesLimit"
;
;    * HfreqMin-HfreqMax: Minimum and maximum horizontal frequency, in Hz. Defines the range of horizontal frequencies the monitor is capable to sync.
;       The higher the horizontal frequency, the higher the vertical resolution available for the same vertical refresh.
;       The higher the horizontal frequency, the higher the vertical refresh available for the same vertical resolution.
;       The higher the horizontal frequency, the lower the horizontal amplitude of active video (narrower picture).
;
;   * VFreqMin-VfreqMax: Minimum and maximum vertical frequency, in Hz, Defines the range of vertical frequencies the monitor is capable to sync.
;
;   * HFrontPorch, HSyncPulse, HBackPorch: Horizontal timing and geometry, values in µs
;
;   * VfrontPorch, VSyncPulse, VBackPorch: Vertical timing and geometry, values in ms
;
;   * HSyncPol,VSyncPol: polarities, not in use! defaults to negative.
;
;   * ActiveLinesLimit: Vertical resolutions until ActiveLinesLimit value included, are generated as progressive, regardless the possibility
;                           of obtaining the required vertical refresh value.
;
;   * VirtualLinesLimit: Vertical resolutions above ActiveLinesLimit and below VirtualLinesLimit are virtualized, that is, an interlaced resolution
;                            bigger that the native one is generated, with the right refresh, and "hardware stretch" is applied.
;                            Vertical resolutions above VirtulaLinesLimit are generated as interlaced, without any stretching.

   monitor_specs_0 = "15625-16200, 49.50-65.00, 2.000, 4.700, 8.000, 0.064, 0.160, 1.056, 0, 0, 288, 448"


; Tolerance for horizontal frequency, in kHz, enables extending the range defined by [ HfreqMin, HfreqMax ]
; The resulting allowed frequency range will be [ HfreqMin - HfreqTolerance, HfreqMax + HfreqTolerance ]

   HfreqTolerance = 0.010


; 3. MODELINE GENERATOR
; ---------------------

; Total number of modelines to generate. Here are the recommended values for each driver version:
; CRT_Emudriver, based on Catalyst 6.5 XP32:   160 modes (accepts up to 200, but above 160 HyperSpin will refuse to load)
; CRT_Emudriver, based on Catalyst 6.5 XP64:   120 modes
; CRT_Emudriver, based on Catalyst 9.3 XP32/64:   120 modes (accepts some more but above 120 you can get some blue screens)
; Regular Catalyst:             60 modes (won't accept any more)

   TotalModes = 120

; Method for mode table generation. If Mame xml is processed, that will create a lot of different video modes, so the mode table
; will be optimized keeping the most relevant ones, and dropping the rest, to keep below the TotalModes value.

   ModeTableMethod = 1   ; 0 = Static table: modelines are generated keeping their original vertical refresh. This
            ;     method is intended to be used in combination with ini files for each game.
            ; 1 = Dynamic table: a table of dummy modes is created using xres and yres values while ignoring
            ;     vfreq. This method is intended to be used in combination with Switchres or Groovymame. No ini
            ;     files are required using this method (you should disable the GenerateInis option).


; Minimum resolution values (these will be used instead of lower values)

   XresMin = 184
   YresMin = 192

; Minimum dotclock value allowed by the video card, in MHz (i.e. DotClockMin = 7.010)

   DotClockMin = 0

; Number of iterations used by the mode generator [0,5]. The higher the number of iterations, the bigger the accuracy of the vertical
; refreshed obtained, normally at the cost of increasing the horizontal frequency strictly required.

   Iterations = 0

; Specifies if the refresh label is multiplied by 10 before rounding (experimental).

   VFreqLabelx10 = 0

; 4. DRIVER
; ---------

; Path for the driver folder

   DriverPath = "C:\Share\crt_emudriver_6.5_1.2_x64_multisync\crt_emudriver_6.5_1.2_x64\Driver"

; If UpdateRegistry is enabled, UpdateDriver will only work if the driver version found in DriverPath matches the one installed
; in the system.

   UpdateRegistry = 1   ; Specifies if the video card registry section will be updated with the new video modes
            ; (will only work in combination with CRT_EMUDriver).
      
   UpdateDriver = 0   ; Specifies if the driver files in DriverPath will be updated with the new video modes, for
            ; future installations.

   AnyCatalyst = 0      ; Allows modelines to be installed for any Catalyst version. This option is experimental and
            ; known to produce some problems.

[krick]

I think something is wrong with your MAME exe.  When it generates the XML, there should be more than 18 different video modes.

[epicfatigue]

It's from groovy mame I tried twice what else could it be?

[krick]

I have no idea what's causing that problem.

Try uninstalling the video drivers
Then run the catalyst cleaner utility...   http://www.ultimarc.com/cat-uninstaller.exe
Then re-install the drivers...  http://mame.3feetunder.com/windows-ati-crt-emudriver/crt_emudriver_6.5_1.2_x64_multisync.rar

If that doesn't work, try a slightly older version of GroovyMAME.
Maybe the latest version's XML parsing is broken by something that changed in baseline MAME in the u4 update.

[epicfatigue]

Just to recap I just uninstall the current ones reboot then those reboot then run the res tool?

[epicfatigue]

tryed this with 2 versions of groovy mame both versions of drivers. and also with mame and mame64 same results.


Should i be running this from anywhere spassific ?

man this is getting to m,e

[Calamity]

Hi epicfatigue,

The XML version of MAME's been changed since v.0146, you need to use the last version of VMMaker, see here:

http://mame.3feetunder.com/windows-ati-crt-emudriver/

[epicfatigue]

Hey,

Yeah i just worked it out and came back to tell you all the good news!! hahah thanks for your help everyone however i am having an odd issue.

I am finding i am having the picture not sync correctly.

The imiage is pushed slightly to the right (well i mean 1/4)

IS there an option to fix this somewehere?

OMG i can throw out my arcade VGA now its usless compared to this!

[epicfatigue]

Hey Guys, been playing around with this OMG its nice to have all my games fitting,

However i ahve noticed that i have got some resolutions with the hz way to high.

I am Using a WG k7000 monitor its not multisync, is there away i can remove the resolutions that are using to high a hz ?

I have had a little more of a play with this picture moving to the left and the right. it seems that its intermintent. As in it only happens with some games like if i reload the one game 5 times i will get it to load correctly once.

Thanks all

Also is there a better setting then custom when i generate my resolutions so i can just auto remove not working rates for this baby.

Thanks all!

[epicfatigue]

Hey All,

So i have done some more reading across the forum, and from what i can tell i need to define my monitor when running the res tool,

However i am alittle unsure of how to set it.

The monitor is a WG k7000,

Should my clock be set to 0 for a X550 card?

And where do i define it as not being a multisync monitor ?

Thanks all sorry for being such a nub !

[epicfatigue]

Anyone able to help me or point me in the right direction of where i can locate documentation on how to tell res maker to only select the correct frequenies for my moniror?

[krick]

The basic idea this...

First you specify one of the pre-defined monitor profiles in VMMaker or specify "CUSTOM" and provide your own custom profile, then when you run VMMaker, it generates a list of resolutions optimized for your monitor's capabilities.

Second you need to specify either the same pre-defined profile in GroovyMAME, or provide the same custom monitor specs that you used for VMMaker.

It doesn't appear that anyone has come up with a monitor preset for the WG K7000, so you probably want to just use the CGA or GENERIC monitor profile.

[epicfatigue]

K well ill try selecting Generic Monitor and CGA in groovy see if they solves it.

If not is there anywhere i can do some reading on understanding how to create a custom setting to suit a WG k7000.

%Update%

So i tested all the resolutions using the Srcade OSD tool.
They all work perfectly.
However it appears to be groovy  that is selecting the refresh rate, is there a section in here where i can just have it to leave it as it is (15hz)

[Calamity]

Hi epicfatigue,

If the resolutions created by VMMaker work well, then it's a matter of opening vmmaker.ini and copying the monitor_specs line there into mame.ini. Please pay attention to the slight format differences, read the final notes here: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,116023.msg1230485.html#msg1230485

Now, attach here a log of one of your problematic games to help us identify the issue: groovymame romname -v -md 4 >romname.txt

All the reading available is spread in individual posts in this forum. Hopefully we'll have a wiki before the end of the year.

[epicfatigue]

kool

Have done that looks pretty good going to have a run through and find some examples.

Looks like its all going well.

Will update soon

[krick]

Hi epicfatigue,

The XML version of MAME's been changed since v.0146, you need to use the last version of VMMaker, see here:

http://mame.3feetunder.com/windows-ati-crt-emudriver/

Maybe its time to update the CRT_Emudriver packages with the latest VMMaker.  I think there's 3 or 4 new PCI device IDs that need to be added as well.

[epicfatigue]

have found a few issues, but i am going to continue to play with them and get back to you guys will a perfect working combo so you can add a K7000 to your list of presets

[epicfatigue]

Hey,

I was just wondering, i have noticed that groovy mame does not always pick the right resolutions.

And i was wondering if i went and made an ini for every single game (i know i know slow as hell) would that work perfectly?

Or will not all the resolutions be interlaced?

which moves onto my next question how do i tell if the res is interlaced or not.

Thanks guys !!.

Also whats the best program to generate ini files for games.

[krick]

The whole point of GroovyMAME is that effectively generates its own ini file on the fly when you run a game (though it's not saved anywhere).

If you manually generate INI files, you're kind of defeating the purpose of using GroovyMAME in the first place.


You should be able to tell very easily if a resolution is interlaced by looking at it.  It will flicker in an unmistakable way.  On a 15KHz arcade monitor, 640x480 will be an interlaced resolution, as will 800x600 if the monitor supports it.

If you have a specific game that is giving you trouble, post a log here please...

groovymame.exe romname -v -md 4 > romname.txt

[Calamity]

I was just wondering, i have noticed that groovy mame does not always pick the right resolutions.

Hi epicfatigue,

While it's true that the algorithm for picking resolutions has some specific problems, GroovyMAME actually picks the best resolution in 99% of the situations, provided you build the proper mode table and make a reasonable set up of the monitor_specs options.

I remember when I started with this, all was so confusing. 

And i was wondering if i went and made an ini for every single game (i know i know slow as hell) would that work perfectly?

Actually VMMaker can generate inis if you want but that's intended for regular MAME, not GroovyMAME.

IMPORTANT NOTE: forcing GroovyMAME to pick a resolution by means of an ini file doesn't work! (that's probably the issue the guy in the other thread is seeing). I'm fixing this for the next release too.

What you do is to play with the last values in the monitor_specs lines that tell GroovyMAME how to deal with out of range situations.

[epicfatigue]

Ah fantastic!

That sounds like the winner for me.

Could you provide me an example of how it works?  (monitor_specs options)
Im a very fast learner and do alot of programming for a living so i am sure i can pick it up.
Hell im happy to spend my time helping in whatever way i can.

When i first had a look at the program i searched for documentation right away however i dont have the time to reverse engineer the program lol.

If you have the spare time if you could give me an example of how it works or point me to a thread where there is an example already ill have a play.

Because that sounds like the right option for me.

I also had another problem.
My fav game Gauntlet Legends doesnt appear to load up in groovy however it does fine in the latest mame64.

Any ideas there?

[krick]

The monitor spec options are documented in comments in the VMMaker ini file and they're more or less the same as the monitor specs used by Soft15KHz, which you can read about here...

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,66402.0.html

There's some info in the switchres thread...

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,106405.0.html

There's some general info in Spanish in this thread...

http://postback.geedorah.com/foros/viewtopic.php?id=1424

...or translated to English via Google Translate:
http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=es&tl=en&u=http://postback.geedorah.com/foros/viewtopic.php?id=1424

[Calamity]

Hi epicfatigue:

We're dealing with this right now in this other thread (by the end): http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,122313.0.html

; monitor_specs_0-6 = "HfreqMin-HfreqMax, VfreqMin,VfreqMax, HFrontPorch, HSyncPulse, HBackPorch, VfrontPorch, VSyncPulse, VBackPorch, HSyncPol, VSyncPol, ActiveLinesLimit, VirtualLinesLimit"


;   * ActiveLinesLimit: Vertical resolutions until ActiveLinesLimit value included, are generated as progressive, regardless the possibility
;                           of obtaining the required vertical refresh value.
;
;   * VirtualLinesLimit: Vertical resolutions above ActiveLinesLimit and below VirtualLinesLimit are virtualized, that is, an interlaced resolution
;                            bigger that the native one is generated, with the right refresh, and "hardware stretch" is applied.
;                            Vertical resolutions above VirtulaLinesLimit are generated as interlaced, without any stretching.

[epicfatigue]

Hey All,

Sorry for the late reply family issues,

I have had a quick crack at this and some things are not adding up for me.

based on the default setting

monitor_specs_0 = "15625-16200, 49.50-65.00, 2.000, 4.700, 8.000, 0.064, 0.160, 1.056, 0, 0, 288, 448"

dividing Hfreq by Vfreq  you get 240,325 but i am seeing 288,488 am i looking at this the wrong?

because my monitor is a k7000
http://www.wellsgardner.com/pdf/Spec/K7000.pdf

; monitor_specs_0-6 = "HfreqMin-HfreqMax, VfreqMin,VfreqMax, HFrontPorch, HSyncPulse, HBackPorch, VfrontPorch, VSyncPulse, VBackPorch, HSyncPol, VSyncPol, ActiveLinesLimit, VirtualLinesLimit"

; monitor_specs_0-6 =  15100-15100, 47.00-63.00,HFrontPorch, HSyncPulse, HBackPorch, VfrontPorch, VSyncPulse, VBackPorch, HSyncPol, VSyncPol, 239,321


How are these calculated?
HFrontPorch, HSyncPulse, HBackPorch, VfrontPorch, VSyncPulse, VBackPorch, HSyncPol, VSyncPol

and my monitor is 15.1KHz, is there flexibility on this? like 15.00 to 15.70 or something?

[Calamity]

Hi epicfatigue,

dividing Hfreq by Vfreq  you get 240,325 but i am seeing 288,488 am i looking at this the wrong?

Those values are user-defined limits. Depending on what combination of Hfreq and Vfreq pairs within their respective ranges you pick, you'll be getting different results when dividing them. Besides, those values account for active lines, while your division provides total lines (active + blanking).

and my monitor is 15.1KHz, is there flexibility on this? like 15.00 to 15.70 or something?

This must be a poor documentation issue, your monitor needs to be more flexible, otherwise the vast majority of pcbs wouldn't work. I'd try something like this:

monitor_specs0 15625-15800, 49.50-63.00, 2.000, 4.700, 8.000, 0.064, 0.160, 1.056, 0, 0, 288, 448

Leave the rest of the values unmodified, they will be good enough.

[epicfatigue]

Hey,

I have done some testing with the below specs,

Have not seen a problem yet other then the tabletop games having black lines but i believe thats because they are normally flipped.

I have tried over 800 games no issues will continue till iv gone though them all.


Looking like you might be able to make a preset value for K7000 using

monitor_specs0 15625-15800, 49.50-63.00, 2.000, 4.700, 8.000, 0.064, 0.160, 1.056, 0, 0, 288, 448


Thanks for everyones help

But before i go i have noticed one thing.

The ArcadeVGA 3000  (currently not in use) appears to produce a nicer looking picture, the colors are brighter and they pixels seem to be smoother.

Any idea how i can get my X550 to look the same??
If the arcade vga didnt have such limited resolutions i would be using it sigh