GroovyMAME 0.171 - SwitchRes v0.015m

[intealls]

Edit: Only seems to work with ddraw and d3d9ex, not d3d?? D3D still selects the progressive mode.

Because I accidentally edited your post I missed the part where you describe the workaround. By looking at your logs I can't see any relevant difference with/without workaround, apart from the crash obviously.

Exactly, this is what is strange. Also weird that it doesn't affect your machine, what GPU are you using?

I'm using super resolutions so the workaround is to add 720x480@60 below the 640x480@60 desktop mode in the user mode file. This caused (with the old build) DDraw and D3D9Ex to use 720x480@60i, and D3D 720x480@60p. With the new build, D3D9Ex uses 720x480@60i, DDraw and D3D uses 720x480@60p.

Is it possible to remove/replace the native modes completely?

Ok, let me know if you need anything.

MT does not seem to affect the result, attaching two logs of the latest build with/without mt without the workaround.

Edit: Also, there seems to be a forum bug related to the attachments. I *just* posted this and the download counter for these files must be corrupt (24/27). Now 38/38. I saw the issue once before in the original fix2 crash post. Who should we contact about this?

Thank for the logs. I've searched for error 08760877, it's S_PRESENT_MODE_CHANGED: https://msdn.microsoft.com/es-es/library/windows/desktop/bb172554(v=vs.85).aspx

It looks like we should reset the device if that happens, but I remind you reporting another issue about resetting the device in d3d9ex.

The reset problem was due to the window that's starting GM not getting focus upon exiting GM. So if a command prompt was used to start GM, upon exit, window focus is not restored to it. This caused issues with the Attact Mode frontend. To resolve the issue I simply hacked out the device reset upon exit for the ASIO GM 0.169 patch. But this is not in the official 0.169, and I figured it's better to try to find a clean solution.

[haynor666]

I had the similiar problem with attract mode (only static layouts) even with previous GM and tools. After quiting groovymame attract mode stays at black screen.
Also the similiar problem is with F.E.E.L. right now - http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,145933.msg1552864.html#msg1552864

EDIT. With VMMaker beta 5 under XP model2 emu does not work.

EDIT2. Back to VMMkaer 1.4 - model2 working again. Groovymame 169fix6 working with previous VMMaker 1.4b

[Calamity]

EDIT. With VMMaker beta 5 under XP model2 emu does not work.

What happens exactly?

[haynor666]

Emulator crashed upon entering full screen mode.

[Calamity]

Exactly, this is what is strange. Also weird that it doesn't affect your machine, what GPU are you using?

Ok so today I could reproduce your exact issue, it happend just like you said. I'll work on a fix, it's going to require some changes.

Is it possible to remove/replace the native modes completely?

That would require patching the driver even more. Currently GM tells apart native modes again, so it's not a problem, but this was missing from some of the "fix" revisions.

[CharlieFar]

Thanks Calamity for the time and effort you put into these releases.
Removing the hack makes Galaxian looks fantastic on my vertical setup!

[Doozer]

@calamity

I have a minor enhancement to increase the correctness of the refresh rate under Linux. The dotclock under xrandr is set with 3 digits precision. I have in my test enabled 6 digits output to see how the system behaves. With the actual code, the system is even making a bad rounding. Could that be added to the groovy patch?

current patch: bad rounding of the clock to 59.18Hz

Code: [Select]

   640x480_59.19 (0x27a) 23.530MHz -HSync +VSync
        h: width   640 start  656 end  720 total  800 skew    0 clock  29.41KHz
        v: height  480 start  481 end  484 total  497           clock  59.18Hz

higher precision patch: better dot clock (23.532MHz) with wanted v-refresh 59.19Hz

Code: [Select]

  640x480_59.185608 (0x278) 23.532MHz -HSync +VSync
        h: width   640 start  656 end  720 total  800 skew    0 clock  29.42KHz
        v: height  480 start  481 end  484 total  497           clock  59.19Hz


[Calamity]

Could that be added to the groovy patch?

Sure, post your patch. Anyway, have you actually checked if this translates in a refresh difference? IIRC GM already accounts for the 10 kHz dotclock aligment, thus the rounding.

[Doozer]

Could that be added to the groovy patch?

Sure, post your patch. Anyway, have you actually checked if this translates in a refresh difference? IIRC GM already accounts for the 10 kHz dotclock aligment, thus the rounding.

Having a 6 digits precision opens the door to future xrandr upgrades enabling better dotclock graphic cards to take an advantage.

[Calamity]

Having a 6 digits precision opens the door to future xrandr upgrades enabling better dotclock graphic cards to take an advantage.

Honestly, unless an actual difference is indeed measured, in my experience adding more digits only provides a false image of accuracy, but anyway.

[zod]

This all seems super confusing compared to my old Mame set ups... But. Before I go on. I would like to know if my crappy old PC will run GroovyMAME 0.169.

Just built it out of some junk I had laying around:

AMD 3000+ 2ghz, 1gb ram, Radeon 9200SE, WinXP SP3.

Been having a lot of trouble running different versions of Mame on my Sony BVM-20E1E.

Some are too slow.. most I cant get the picture good.

Mame32 0.84u3 works great but has problems. No Neo Geo roms work, cant play newer games, Some games (kung fu master) have weird screen wobble problems. I imagine this is to do with switchres not being enabled.

I have CRT emulation installed, 15hz soft mod installed etc.

Questions:

Can my PC handle GroovyMame?
Can I get Neo Geo roms working on my ancient version of mame?

UPDATE: GOT MAMEFX 156 WORKING AND MOST GAMES. Is it possible to get timing working correctly on other versions of Mame or do I need Groovymame to do that?

[Calamity]

Switchres 0.015l-final (cumulative fix)

- Added support for AMD HD 5000/6000/7000 series. You'll need CRT Emudriver 2.0 for Windows 7/8/10.

- ATI legacy cards (HD 2000/3000/4000): fixed halved refresh of interlaced modes on vsync with Direct3D (only if sync polarity is set to positive, details below).

- Removed frogger/galaxian patch. As suggested by haynor666.

- (fix 1-2) Correcty assign sync polarity to ATI legacy cards. This reverts initial 0.015l attempt to fix issue related to halved refresh of interlaced modes with Direct3D on Windows 7+. Now, manually forcing positive vertical sync polarity (+vsync) will effectively bypass the problem, although because most arcade monitors and TVs require negative sync polarity, this method won't work in most cases (out of sync video). However, if you use a device that properly handles the sync signals between the video card and the monitor, such as the UMSA, this method will work great.

- (fix 3) Solves crash affecting AMD HD 5000+ cards.

- (fix 4-5) (Linux) Fixes input for SDL 2.0.4 (Doozer). Caused by MAME window not receiving input focus in the absence of a window manager.

- (fix 5) (Windows) Fixes Powerstrip support.

- (fix 6) (Linux) Fixes bug with SDL build where GroovyMAME would freeze at the combination of -nomodeline_generation and -monitor lcd (reported by RobertJ)

- (fix 6) (Windows) Properly tell apart system modes.

- (fix 6-7) (Windows, AMD 5000+) Fixes crash caused by GroovyMAME attempting to switch the interlace feature of a given modeline in the same session, when using Direct3D 9ex (reported by intealls).

- (fix 7) (Windows, AMD 5000+) Correctly assing sync polarity to AMD HD 5000+ cards. Because AMD documentation is wrong, GroovyMAME/VMMaker where assigning the polarities the wrong way. This must be the direct cause of most out-of-sync issues reported till now. What happened is that GM assigned positive sync instead of negative, and vice versa. This is fixed now, but you'll need to update your crt_range definitions, both in VMMaker and GroovyMAME. By default, negative sync (0) is what should be used in most cases. Thanks to intealls for doing proper checks with an oscilloscope and R-Typer for double-checking.

- (fix 7) Use 6 decimal figures for refresh values (Doozer).

- (fix 7) (Linux) Disable -syncrefresh when DRI can't be accessed (suggested by Doozer).

- (fix 7) (Windows) Properly report the refresh when using Powerstrip with a -ps_timing string (reported by sean_skroht).

- (fix 7) (Windows) Fixes bug preventing -nomodeline_generation from working (reported by Cisek).

- (fix 7) (Windows) Fixes issue with Attract-Mode front-end loosing focus on GroovyMAME exit (intealls).

[sean_sk]

WOW you have been busy Calamity. Thank you very very much. This is awesome. Really looking forward to trying this out.
Hope we didn't stress you out.

[intealls]

Awesome job!

I just verified that the interlace problem is fixed.

Thanks a lot for your work, in our flat it's used pretty much every day, and it's a pure delight to see a new generation of graphics cards powering these lovely, lovely CRTs.

[Doozer]

Thanks a lot Calamity for this awesome version.

I have updated the Linux packages and added the 'final' keyword suffix.

[rCadeGaming]

                                      

[Calamity]

GroovyMAME 0.170 (Switchres 0.015l) is out.

[Doozer]

GroovyMAME 0.170 (Switchres 0.015l) is out.

Thanks :-D Linux 64bit builds are uploaded, I will upload the 32bit arcs tomorrow. It's time to rest here.

[lolo40]

A guy who I built a version of GM.163 for tells me that he's also getting the 26 modeline issue when running VMmaker on that version. He's dropped back to an earlier one and its fine. Unfortunately I can't verify this as my CRT is away for repair. I appreciate you're busy with other things right now but if there's anything I can do to help diagnose this bug please let me know.

You can use an older binary to extract the xml. Just use the xml from GM 0.161, and keep using GM 0.163 for actual emulation. This is not a bug, it's VMMaker that needs to be updated for the new 0.162 xml format.

Hi,
VMMaker 2.0 work now with the new xml format.

[Calamity]

http://git.redump.net/mame/commit/?id=a661821aa5e922932496cc90a2db8a8e67fc06df

 

[haynor666]

It's sad. Now I need force ratio 1:1 in D3D somehow for some games because my TV does not have regulation for horizontal size :/

[Calamity]

It's sad. Now I need force ratio 1:1 in D3D somehow for some games because my TV does not have regulation for horizontal size :/

Not sure what you mean. D3D provides the same scaling features as DDraw in my experience.

[haynor666]

But for some games I need resolution smaller that game actually tries to use for example Escape Kids - I need 288x240 because game outputs graphics only 288 pixels but game actually uses instead 321x240. Either I use 328x240 (large black bars) or use ddraw and use 288x240. Now when ddraw is gone I have to somehow force integer scalling and cutting picture instead of shrinking it.

EDIT.

Another problem might appear soon - http://mame32fx.altervista.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=33&start=140

[Calamity]

Another problem might appear soon - http://mame32fx.altervista.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=33&start=140

Hopefully you guys see now why I've been pushing for W7 and D3D the last couple of years.

[haynor666]

Do You planning restoring ddraw for groovymame? Right now I don't see any solution for halved refreshrates under windows 7 and legacy timings besides enabling positive sync.

[Calamity]

Do You planning restoring ddraw for groovymame?

No, I won't restore ddraw. My recent efforts have been in the direction of making DirectDraw (and XP) totally redundant for CRT use. See for instance our struggle for a reliable frame_delay on D3D in the ASIO thread. DirectDraw deprecation was a matter of time. DirectDraw is already buggy in Windows 7 (remind the hacks required for simple interlaced/progressive mode switching), but it's not even usable in W8/10, as it's software emulated due to desktop compositing.

Besides, the implementation of D3D9ex already replaces DirectDraw in the only field were it still standed: out-of-the-box low latency.

Right now I don't see any solution for halved refreshrates under windows 7 and legacy timings besides enabling positive sync.

Frame delay fixes that too.

(GM still relied on DirectDraw for interlaced modes but this behaviour was finally removed in 0.169).

[haynor666]

Ok, I'm glad to read that. So my only problem is now forced integer scalling.

[sean_sk]

Hopefully you guys see now why I've been pushing for W7 and D3D the last couple of years.

I don't know how the others feel but I'm glad you did. The great strides you have made in improving GroovyMAME have been remarkable and invaluable.
It's a shame that the improvements you've made in the functionality of D3D and D3D9ex haven't been taken up in mainline MAME. IMHO, GM has set the new standard for MAME in this area.
I'm glad my mate Sledge introduced it to me 4 years ago.

[Calamity]

Thanks, anyway credit for D3D9ex is for koopah & intealls.

[sean_sk]

Thanks, anyway credit for D3D9ex is for koopah & intealls.

Yeah for sure! Thanks guys for putting all that knowledge and insight to good use. 

[Sledge]

Hopefully you guys see now why I've been pushing for W7 and D3D the last couple of years.

I'm glad my mate Sledge introduced it to me 4 years ago.

so you're admitting to me being correct about something?
WOW!
If only you could have that attitude the rest of the time!!
 

[krick]

Calamity,

I've been out of the loop for a while and I'm looking to refresh my MAME machine with better hardware and updated GroovyMAME.

In light of the recent improvements to GroovyMAME/Switchres (and the removal of DDraw) what would you say is the "best" (most features, least drawbacks) setup these days in terms of OS + video hardware + drivers?

My current setup is WinXP x64 + ATI Radeon X600 XT.  My monitor is a 15KHz Hantarex Polo 25 + JPAC

I have a spare copy of Win7 and and ATI Radeon HD 4550 at my disposal.  I'm totally willing to buy a newer graphics card if it somehow makes things easier or better.  If you recommend a new card, what specifically should one look for?

I saw a mention of UMSA in the Switchres release notes to fix an issue with sync polarity.  Does that only apply to the HD 2000/3000/4000?

When moving to the newer cards HD 5000/6000/7000, do they have dot-clock issues like the HD 2000/3000?


EDIT: I think I need to update my mirror page.  It looks like my downloads are not up to the latest version on eiusdemmodi.

[haynor666]

If I remember correctly dot clock issue is absolete with cards HD5xxx and futher.

The new HD5xxx, HD6xxx family due to ADL timings does not suffer from halved refresh rates (at least my HD5450 seems to be working fine) but interlaced picture is blurry. For the best solution was use HD4350 and set positive sync to get proper refresh rates with interlaced modes. Sadly HD5450 is far below for DEmul though more than enough for Makaron or nullDC. Also due to small problems with Taito Type X games and Deathsmiles II I'm staying for now with XP. In next year mame could only be x64 program and designed for Vista and upward - http://mame32fx.altervista.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=33&start=140

For people that uses mame only - move to windows 7 x64 if your hardware is capable and use latest Calamity driver.

[Calamity]

If I remember correctly dot clock issue is absolete with cards HD5xxx and futher.

The new HD5xxx, HD6xxx family due to ADL timings does not suffer from halved refresh rates (at least my HD5450 seems to be working fine) but interlaced picture is blurry. For the best solution was use HD4350 and set positive sync to get proper refresh rates with interlaced modes. Sadly HD5450 is far below for DEmul though more than enough for Makaron or nullDC. Also due to small problems with Taito Type X games and Deathsmiles II I'm staying for now with XP. In next year mame could only be x64 program and designed for Vista and upward - http://mame32fx.altervista.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=33&start=140

For people that uses mame only - move to windows 7 x64 if your hardware is capable and use latest Calamity driver.

Come on haynor...

All are pros if you upgrade to HD 5000+ cards: no dotclock issues, no halved refresh issues, no monitor detection issues.

I'd argue the "blurry" interlaced modes thing is more of a feature rather than a problem. Saying "blurry" is saying too much, just slightly filtered. Ironically for years we've seen hundreds of posts saying "HELP ME!! My screen flickerz! How do I fix it??" Well, this filter reduces flicker dramatically. Anyway, suggesting this is a reason not to upgrade is absurd. The HD 4xxx don't even support DirectX 11, they're not fully Windows 7 capable cards, although they may work very well.

Besides, the 5450 is just a cheap entry level card. The new drivers support up to summer 2012 cards. Cards that will run DEmul or whatever without breaking a sweat. Quite soon, problaby all current AMD cards will be supported. Check this thread for some 7000 cards that have been tested.

Taito Type X games are based on a hacked launcher, they're not even native PC games. And eventhough we've seen that in most cases they can be fixed and run fine. Indeed I thought we had already worked out all the issues you reported (Spica Adventure, SF IV videos, etc.).

A different story is emulators that simply are outdated for W7 (ddraw), or simply poorly coded, as we've been discussing in the compatibility thread.

[big10p]

Hmm, interlaced modes look fine on my 5450 (once I've adjusted the modeline VTotal to make my monitor play ball). Breeze to install CRT emudriver on too, compared to my 4350.

[haynor666]

Calamity, I suggest anyone to move to 7 x64 but due my small problems with some Taito Type X games (not video related, still some problems with inputs in Deathsmiles II and graphical glitches like missing half of plane in Raiden III) I might stay with XP for last time. Since mame now have serious problems on XP this probably be last XP installed by me

About blurry picture - interlaced resolutions looks ok in Taito Type X games and some 3D games in mame but does not look good in Disc of Tron or any 2D game that use interlaced resolutions. Frontends also does not look too good in my opinion :/

[Calamity]

GroovyMAME 0.171 is out.

What's new in SwitchRes v0.015m

- (Windows 7+) Preliminar support for the new BGFX renderer (currently only DirectX 11). Mode setting is implemented. Dynamic resolution switching may be buggy yet. Frame delay not implemented yet.

- (Linux) New implementation of the SDL 2.0.4+ input fix (Doozer).

- (AMD ADL) Fix for refresh value being shown incorrectly on internal UI. (Reported by haynor666).

[donluca]

So, is GM now only compatible with w7 and more recent OS?

Or does it still retain compatibility with WinXP and DDraw?

[Calamity]

So, is GM now only compatible with w7 and more recent OS?

Or does it still retain compatibility with WinXP and DDraw?

It is still compatible with XP, using the D3D video option.

[donluca]

Got it.

So 0.170 is officially the last release to support DDraw, correct?

From now on WinXP will have to use D3D and Win7+ will use D3D9ex.