WinUAE 50hz vsynced with 1:1 pixel mapping is just amazing!

[jimmy2x2x]

I have been playing around with WinUAE recently and have finally got it to run at 50hz vsynced with 1:1 pixel mapping and it is just amazing, the silky smooth scrolling of Turrican 2, Xout, Sensible Soccer has really opened up the emulator for me.

It might not sound like much, but if you had a miggy back in the day, the smooth hardware scrolling was a major feature that set it apart from the ST.

Anyway, this page is what got me started:

http://freespace.virgin.net/machine.head32/winuae/powerstrip/winuae.html

On my card 8800gtx - I could get the screen mode (640x512) but not the correct sync: 103hz - so the emu vsynced at 52hz, mainly smooth but had a constant and annoying judder.

I used powerstrip in the method described in the above link to tweak my 1280x1024 (4x 320x256 standard amiga res) down to exactly 50hz.

Turned off all graphical filters, enabled double buffering and it is glorious!

Another system to benefit from this is C64 emu Vice, I can now play Uridium, Sanxion, Delta and countless others in their intended glory!

My system for reference:

Win XP x86 SP3
8800GTX drivers: 266.58
Powerstrip: 3.83 build 635
Dell 19" CRT drivers: 1600x1200 Svga driver (not the usual plug and play driver)

Not sure if any other emulators or mame roms run @ 50hz, but those 2 Commodore machines are near and dear to my heart and I'm buzzing about this

[LeedsFan]

I  have only just started using WinUAE this last week. It's an awesome emulator and there are so many options and settings available. But there are that many it kinda makes it confusing. I haven't managed to get it integrated into my Hyperspin setup yet. From what I can see only the CD32 games will be cab friendly as everything is on the one disc image. I wanted to get Traps n Treasures set up but it's only available as 2x floppy images so I have to press End+F1 to "swap discs". Some games need to run on older Amiga hardware too (such as the 500+) like PP Hammer. It won't run under 1200 emulation.

What setting would you suggest for a 1900x1080 monitor? Would I need Powerstrip?

[jimmy2x2x]

You don't really need powerstrip to get it up and running, I wanted to get the closest display possible for my cab and thats why I used it.

I would strongly suggest you look into WinUAE Loader, in a nut shell it allows you to play *many* Amiga games with a click of a mouse - forget about making custom configurations or swapping disks - this system handles it all for you!

Takes a little time to configure, but well worth the effort.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=76077.0

[EVEGames]

Not sure if any other emulators or mame roms run @ 50hz, but those 2 Commodore machines are near and dear to my heart and I'm buzzing about this

+1 and then some, Jimmy.  C64 was my first computer, and the Amiga 500 was my second.  I have not yet tried the method you describe, but it's on my to-do list now, and damn near the top.  Cheers and Ahoy! 

-EVEGames

[Brenry]

are you .EU or US ?  They changed something recently with winuae because I used to HAVE to use 50hz for my resolution, creating an unbearable flicker on my arcade monitor or crt vga.  If your display is NTSC you might just create a normal 60hz resolution and focus on getting clarity in your 15khz resolution.  With triple buffer on set to a 60hz resolution and lowering the fps to 50 it results in smooth video with no static or stuttering anymore.

I pulled out my C128 yesterday and played Commando.  NTSC systems back then definately played at a faster tempo, and really comes down to a matter of preference on your memories of growing up.  Its just that flickering is bs.

[jimmy2x2x]

UK here, you shouldn't HAVE to use 50hz - not sure why it is forcing that on you.  I can use any supported refresh of my monitors on various systems.

The 60hz triple buffer option isn't too bad but cant compare to vsynced 50hz, you still still juddering in scrolling games - my go to game is Turrican 2: kill the first few enemies and scroll left and right - you can see it straight away.

Regarding NTSC - I was under the impression that the Amiga enjoyed the majority of its success in PAL regions - especially England and Germany. I understood it wasn't such a huge hit in the NTSC regions, resulting in limited software supply for those regions.

[Brenry]

Nice.  Re C= .. it was an American company.  Was very popular in the US as it blew away IBM's CGA/EGA color pallette and Apple's monochromone 7 inch display.  It's also what TV stations used for their graphic effects.

If you are working with the c64 emulation (another bugger when it comes to getting smooth scrolling) .. the CCS64 emulator included two .exe files in the package.  Rather than using CCS64.exe, CCS64-2005.exe many people have found to give them perfect scrolling when locking at 50.12 refresh.

[jimmy2x2x]

I will certainly try out CCS64-2005.exe - thanks for the headsup!

Very interesting about the Amiga, I was always under the impression that it had a limited user base and slim games distribution in the States.

I have also noticed that most of the quality games for the Amiga seemed to have been developed in Europe.

[jimmy2x2x]

After playing around with C64 emulation for a while now, the only solution that gives me perfect sync everytime is a hacked version of WinVICE v1.20 - syncs to whatever your refresh rate is, (closer to 50hz or multiples of 50 for best results)

and can be found here: http://www.mediafire.com/?34c46116gx40br6

drop the .exe into your existing winvice dir

[Brenry]

r

Jimmy I need smooth Amiga playback too.. so I ordered an Amiga 1200 from the UK \o/

You should too, there's a ton of them on the .co.uk ver of ebay for 20-40 GBP.  Plop in a compact flash card and your set

[jimmy2x2x]

That is an excellent solution, but I really need it to be contained within my arcade cabinet.

Didn't know you could use a compact flash card, I should look into it

[Epyx]

Not sure if any other emulators or mame roms run @ 50hz, but those 2 Commodore machines are near and dear to my heart and I'm buzzing about this

There are a few others.  Agreed though...my favourite two computers (other than the pc which makes emulation of them possible!) are the C64 and Amiga and I still have the actual hardware but usually just emulate them for ease.  Also have an 8800gtx but also get good results on the arcade cab with my arcadevga card.

All these years later and Amiga Mods and C64 sids still sound so ahead of their time eh?

[jimmy2x2x]

All these years later and Amiga Mods and C64 sids still sound so ahead of their time eh?

For me those machines exceptional audio represents the pinnacle of computer music.  These days its Hollywood music for the most part, lost all its charm.

Crying shame!