Layout shifts after returning from Stella

[retrometro]

I've searched archives and maybe I didn't use the right keywords so apologies if this is a known user error or bug.

I've recently downloaded a layout from the mala site:

http://www.malafe.net/files/layouts/atari2600.7z

When I look at it in the mala layout editor, it seems pretty straightforward.  A background and place holders for standard objects.  I also have other layouts from this guy posted on the mala site for the NES, Sega MS, Genesis, etc that have no problems.

When I launch Stella via MALA, exit stella and go back, the layouts are all jumbled up.  Here's a before launching and then returning from stella.  If I jump to mame or another layout and come back, everything is good again.  I've also tried setting the layout in the editor to "fixed" and that didn't matter either. 

Finally, the layout was done in 800x600 and so is my mala res even though it's supposed to scale.  In Stella, i have it go full screen using the desktop res and not change resolution.

Before launching stella full screen...


Returning from stella...

[loadman]

Is Stella the last emu in your list?

[retrometro]

Is Stella the last emu in your list?

No.  It's mame, stella, fceu, (one for sega ms and genesis), nulldc, and then vice.

[loadman]

OK.

I really need to know what happens with 1.06 (not release yet) as a few changes have been made in this area.

[beercade]

I just installed Chankast this weekend (Dream Cast) and Im having the exact same issue with it.  However it is the last emulator in my list (does this matter?)  It too is running in full screen.  My layouts are 1024x768 and this is so is my desktop.

[swindus]

There is an option on GUI -> Game Start/Quit: Reorder layout after game quit. Maybe this helps.

[retrometro]

There is an option on GUI -> Game Start/Quit: Reorder layout after game quit. Maybe this helps.

Sorry I didn't mention that I've tried this already.   No luck.

[retrometro]

Any ideas?  loadman?

[loadman]

Any ideas?  loadman?

I would be checking the file layout graphic elements (in a graphic editor) such as the background  to see if you can get them as close to the resolution you want them displayed in to save mala some work resizing on the fly. Just an idea

[retrometro]

Any ideas?  loadman?

I would be checking the file layout graphic elements (in a graphic editor) such as the background  to see if you can get them as close to the resolution you want them displayed in to save mala some work resizing on the fly. Just an idea

No luck.  Also, the graphic is 800x600 just like the template said. 

Do you think you can give it a try?   since it's on your site?

[loadman]

Any ideas?  loadman?

I would be checking the file layout graphic elements (in a graphic editor) such as the background  to see if you can get them as close to the resolution you want them displayed in to save mala some work resizing on the fly. Just an idea

No luck.  Also, the graphic is 800x600 just like the template said. 

Do you think you can give it a try?   since it's on your site?

I can take it off the site if you think it's broken. 

Sorry I have too much to do already 

Can someone else please test

[SGT]

I tested this layout.  It works like an other layout with Stella.  The only way that I can prevent the screen shift when returning from Stella is to set Stella's full screen resolution to the same as my Windows resolution.  For example in stella.ini:

fullres = 1024x768

Also set fullscreen=1 if you haven't already.


In your first post, are you saying you are already doing this?  It works fine for me.

[retrometro]

I tested this layout.  It works like an other layout with Stella.  The only way that I can prevent the screen shift when returning from Stella is to set Stella's full screen resolution to the same as my Windows resolution.  For example in stella.ini:

fullres = 1024x768

Also set fullscreen=1 if you haven't already.

In your first post, are you saying you are already doing this?  It works fine for me.

Thanks for testing man.   By screen full res, I mean that my windows res was the same as the layout res (800x600).  However, you're right about Stella.  I have that set to one of the lower resolutions so it'll look as close to what I remembered.

But yes, if I set stella's full res to 800x600 there's no problem.  But then it doesn't look so great scaled IMO.  So I guess the question is...

Is MALA freaked out by the way Stella exits or changes resolution or is Stella behaving so differently from other emulators when it exits/changes resolutions that MALA doesn't know what to do with the layout?

FYI, all my other emulators except for N64 and Dreamcast switches to a lower res than 800x600.

[loadman]

Is MALA freaked out by the way Stella exits or changes resolution or is Stella behaving so differently from other emulators when it exits/changes resolutions that MALA doesn't know what to do with the layout?

If you work out what exact scearios you think MaLa is not coping with rez changes I can put it on my list to check/fix. Thanks for testing everyone

[retrometro]

Is MALA freaked out by the way Stella exits or changes resolution or is Stella behaving so differently from other emulators when it exits/changes resolutions that MALA doesn't know what to do with the layout?

If you work out what exact scearios you think MaLa is not coping with rez changes I can put it on my list to check/fix. Thanks for testing everyone

Here's my draft:

0)  I used the 2600 layout at malafe.net but SGT reports that other layouts breaks too
     http://www.malafe.net/files/layouts/atari2600.7z

1)  Screen resolution 800x600  (SGT reports that it broke 1024x768 too)

2)  Stella versions from 2.7 to a year or two earlier versions
3)  Stella set to launch full screen
4)  Stella's full screen resolution is not the same as the desktop (800x600 in my case)

5)  Launch a stella game, exit, and then the layout will be shifted.  Restarting MALA or changing emulators within MALA will fix the layout display.

[NelsonPJ]

I posted back in October about a similar problem with switching res and returning to Mala.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=86102.msg903869#msg903869


What I've done as a workaround is dedicate a button on my CP to switch the "flip" the display.  This was the only command I could find in Mala that would redraw the current layout.  If Mala gets messed up returning from an emulator, I hit the button once to "flip" the display (which is then drawn correctly) and then I hit the button again to display it "right side up".

It would be nice to have an optional command to "refresh" the Mala screen, so I'd only have to hit a button once if the display got messed up.

[retrometro]

right now it's two actions.  i go to another emulator and then back.

hopefully loadman will incorporate the fix in the next release

[mr_doles]

I am actually running some tests on this right now.  I use that same layout and stella 2.6.1 and had no problems at all.  I saw that version 2.7.6 was out and thought wow I am behind.  I upgraded to the new version and bam had the same issue you are seeing.
I just reghosted my machine back to before the upgrade and don't have any problems.  I am going to get all the settings written down on version 2.6.1 and do the upgrade again and match them up to see what happens.
There may have been a change in the 2.7 series that broke this.

[mr_doles]

Well after a lot of testing (and reghosting) I have come to the same conclusion as the others.  The only fix is to set the fullres in the stella.ini to 800x600.  Any other changes (and I mean any other changes) to the video settings with cause the layout oddity.  Strangely though when I was running  at 2.6.1 the ini file was set to 1280x1024.  When I changed it to 800x600 it screwed everything up, when I put it back to 1280x1204 it was still screwed up.  Only by ghosting back did it get fixed.  My options were to leave it alone (which is what i should have done) or upgrade and set the ini to 800x600, which is what I did.  Regardless it is on the newest version and working in MaLa so I got a new image and I am going to leave it alone.

But yes, if I set stella's full res to 800x600 there's no problem.  But then it doesn't look so great scaled IMO. 

Mine does not do a true full screen at 800x600 (not sure if it would at a lower res) but I am on a LCD and can only go as low as 800x600.

[SGT]

I'm curious to know if you're using the latest Mala beta...

[mr_doles]

I'm curious to know if you're using the latest Mala beta...

No I am still using 1.05

[SGT]

Just tried it with the beta.  Windows desktop resolution is 1280x960, Stella is set to 640x480.  Thing is when the emulator ends and Mala pops back up, the screen looks fine for a second or two then the mix up occurs.  I don't understand why its not jumbled as soon as the emulator ends?

[SGT]

I may have found a fix.  In stella.ini there's a setting that I haven't really noticed before.  "launcherres" is down near the bottom of the file.  I set it to my desktop resolution and the Mala layout is restored properly after a second.  That is with my desktop resolution at 1280x960, I ran stella at 640x480 using the fullres parameter in stella.ini and Mala restored properly.  There is a split second of a jumble, then its okay.  This split second of jumble might could be resolved by delaying the return to Mala for a second or two.  Can someone duplicate this?

[mr_doles]

No go for me...
Screen Res = 800x600
stella.ini > launcherres = 800x600
stella.ini > fullres = 640x480
Exited out of stella and layout still messed up.

[SGT]

I have the "reorder layout after game quit" box checked in Mala, and I'm using the beta.  I'll try a desktop of 800x600.

[SGT]

Ok... just tried a windows desktop of 800x600 and stella at 640x480 and the Mala layout is okay.  I should point out that I'm using Stella 2.4.2.0.

[mr_doles]

I have the "reorder layout after game quit" box checked in Mala, and I'm using the beta. 

Just tried that and still the same issue

I should point out that I'm using Stella 2.4.2.0.

I was on 2.6.1 and have upgraded to 2.7.6 (still not sure why).

I should also point out that it looks the best for me at 800x600.  At this res it is centered in the screen, meaning there is black bars around the whole screen.  At 640x480 it does take up more of the screen, but it is pushed to the right, ie black bar on top, bottom, and left.  No difference if center screen option is on.  I am going to leave it at 800x600 and be happy with it.  I do wish I could get it to true full screen though.

[mr_doles]

This is going to drive me up the wall.  I have read all the fixes from OpenGL, refresh rate, and ini changes.  Nothing seems to work.  I did get the 640x480 to go full screen left and right so it does look so much better then 800x600.

[mr_doles]

I don't know if this helps in any way shape or form to determine what might be happening.
When you exit out of stella the background picture is shifted down and to the right as you see in the pictures posted on this page.  If you go right back into stella and exit out it shifts even more down and to the right.  Continuing to do this will move the background right off the screen.  Not only that but the "starting..." box moves down with it.  It does not go off the screen, it only goes as low as the bottom right hand corner.  I was hoping for a out of bounds error message (or some error) when the background picture went off the screen that might give a clue, but it did not.

[SGT]

Installed the lastest version of Stella.  It doesn't use a stella.ini file in the Stella installed folder like the old version I was using.  It creates a stella folder in "My Documents" and creates a stella.ini file there.  I set launcherres there like I did to get the old version working, and the layout is scrambled. 

Strange  going on here.

Edit:
It works about 50 % of the time....  Uggghhh!!!

[SGT]

Okay, there appears to be a timing issue between when Stella quits and finishes fooling with the resolution and when Mala reorders the layout (if the checkbox is checked).

Note that I am not using Mala's hotkeys to force Stella to exit so that any Stella screen resolution restoration routines are executed.  I configured Stella to use the ESC to quit.   I then tried using closemul.exe to launch Stella from Mala and set the quit timeout in closemul.ini to 3000.   Not sure why this works, but Mala now reorders the Mala layout after a couple of seconds 100% of the time after quitting Stella.

Granted for a second or two, I get a jumbled layout.  But at least Mala is reordering it properly now every time with this new version of Stella.

Edit:  If I set quit timeout too low as in less than a 100, Mala cannot reorder the layout. However the lower the number, the quicker Mala reorders the layout and the less time I see a jumbled layout.

[retrometro]

Thanks for looking into this guys.  Has Loadman thought about this behavior in his current development?

[loadman]

Thanks for looking into this guys.  Has Loadman thought about this behavior in his current development?

What are you asking for?    I don't really use other emu's (let alone stella). I reply on the of help other users like SGT, so you are going to have to be specific about what you need (if anything) 

SGT: Do we need a delay somewhere ?

[SGT]

SGT: Do we need a delay somewhere ?

I'm not sure.  The delay from when Mala realizes the emulator is finished and when Mala reorders the layout (if the checkbox is checked) seems to be long enough as it is.  If you shorten the delay, Mala cannot reorder the layout.  If you increase the delay, the time the layout is jumbled increases.  The optimal delay time will probably differ between systems.

Right now, people can use closemul to create this delay.  This delay needs to be as small as possible while still allowing Mala to reorder the layout.  I'm willing to bet everyone's optimal setting will be different.  Mine is 100 right now.  I am guessing that in closemul that is 100 milliseconds.

Stella is doing something funky to cause Mala's layout to be jumbled in the first place.  No other emulator that I use causes it and I use quite a few.   You don't even have to launch Stella from Mala.  You can launch Stella separately with Mala minimized and Mala's layout will be jumbled when it is finished.

[mr_doles]

Okay, there appears to be a timing issue between when Stella quits and finishes fooling with the resolution and when Mala reorders the layout (if the checkbox is checked).

I figured the timing was part of it but thought the reorder would correct it. 

Note that I am not using Mala's hotkeys to force Stella to exit so that any Stella screen resolution restoration routines are executed.  I configured Stella to use the ESC to quit.

I do use MaLa's hotkey's to close Stella and still get the problems.

What are you asking for? I don't really use other emu's (let alone stella). I reply on the of help other users like SGT, so you are going to have to be specific about what you need (if anything) 
SGT: Do we need a delay somewhere ?

I think we are close to finding something here just not sure what  or if anything will be able to be done about it.  Maybe if there was a way to set the delay time on the reorder?

I should be able to test out on my system the stuff SGT is suggesting as I am using closemul as well.  I have some sunday family time today but will play with these settings tomorrow and report my findings.

[SGT]

I figured the timing was part of it but thought the reorder would correct it. 

The reorder WILL correct it if given the time do so.

I do use MaLa's hotkey's to close Stella and still get the problems.

You CANNOT use Mala's hotkeys and get my method to work.  Mala's hotkeys are intended for use when the emulator itself cannot be configured to use the key of your choice to close the emulator.  Force closing Stella prevents Stella from doing some cleanup/restoration that apparently must be done.

Maybe if there was a way to set the delay time on the reorder?

Even with a delay, you have a momentary jumble of the layout.  Simply having an adjustable delay before reordering the layout doesn't fix this fact.  I question whether people would be happy with even a momentary jumble?   

Stella is obviously doing something non standard with the display settings because Mala's layout is messed up even if you don't start Stella from Mala.  You can minimize Mala and change the resolution yourself manually and Mala's layout is NOT jumbled.  I think we need to determine what is the root cause of the problem.  That is, what is Stella doing that no other emulators do.   This is open source, I believe, and is portable across different operating systems.

[mr_doles]

So right now I have stella running at 640x480 and exiting every time to MaLa with the layout not jumbled.  I am not using a delay in closemul nor do I have Reorder layout checked and I do not have a momentary jumble.     I have rebooted many times and changed emus and run different games, each time no jumble at all.  I am afraid to do more testing since it works.  May ghost it as it stands first.

I think I did figure out why the launcherres needs to be set to 800x600 (or whatever your windows res is) though.  When I was testing the closemul quit delay I noticed Stella closed then the launcher was open for a second then it closed.  The launcher is the last thing open before Stella shuts down.  So possibly changing the resolution 3 times (stella to launcher to MaLa) may have been an issue. 

I am letting closemul handle the exit and not stella or MaLa

So here is my setting right now:
MaLa: Stella emu kicks off closemul, command line "%path%\%rom%.%ext%", no hotkey used, and Reorder layout after game quit is not checked
Closemul.ini: Exit Key=27, Program=stella.exe, Quit Management=7, nothing else set.
Stella.ini: video=soft (not using openGL), fullscreen=1,fullres=640x480,center=1,launcherres=800x600
Windows resolution = 800x600

[SGT]

So here is my setting right now:
MaLa: Stella emu kicks off closemul, command line "%path%\%rom%.%ext%", no hotkey used, and Reorder layout after game quit is not checked
Closemul.ini: Exit Key=27, Program=stella.exe, Quit Management=7, nothing else set.
Stella.ini: video=soft (not using openGL), fullscreen=1,fullres=640x480,center=1,launcherres=800x600
Windows resolution = 800x600

Changed everything to what you have and it does not work for me.   Guess I'll have to stick with what I have.  I may try a different 2600 emulator.

[mr_doles]

Well I am ghosting the machine now and will do some more testing to see if I can't pin point something but at this point I don't expect to figure out anything.  Something different for everyone so far.

[mr_doles]

Changed everything to what you have and it does not work for me.

Do you have your quit timeout in closemul set to 0 or blank.  If I set it to 0 it breaks if I leave it empty it works.