That place in heaven is full of heroes, and you're one of them! You said multiple times that adding DPC+ support would be impossible, but you've tried anyway just for the heck of it. One game is running full speed, so I believe we can reach 60fps for at least couple others. We are cheering on you, madman!
Homebrew Stella-DS Improved
- Thread starter wavemotion
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The average speed for space rocks is around 35fps. To me it is playable, it is like an easy mode but we can play the title 
Well done Dave !
Well done Dave !
Yeah... it's kinda weird to play it in slow motion. And there is some glitch with the rocks on the left edge of the screen that I have to debug.The average speed for space rocks is around 35fps. To me it is playable, it is like an easy mode but we can play the title
I've managed another frame or two on DPC+ and will put out a 5.5 shortly.
The following ARM-assisted DPC+ games will now play reasonably well and you'll get enjoyment on StellaDS:
Chaotic Grill (easily 60 as it uses DPC+ features except ARM code)
Evil Magician Returns II (averages 60)
The Goons (averages 59)
Epic Adventure (averages 58)
Egg Venture (averages 58)
Space Cactus Canyon (averages 57)
The End (averages 57)
Grizzle Wap (averages 57)
Rail Slider (PAL60) (averages 56)
City Defense (averages 55)
Tyre Trax (averages 53)
The following play well enough to enjoy but you can tell they are not full speed:
Orb (averages 50)
Unholy (averages 50)
The Deep (averages 50)
Stratovox (averages 50)
Space Chaos (averages 47)
The following are just too slow...
Stay Frosty II (averages 35)
Space Rocks (averages 35)
Scramble Arcade (averages 37)
Those are not DPC+... those are CDFJ and CDFJ+ which are another level of complexity - 4x the fast fetchers, fast jump support, variable ARM code and RAM... It's bananas
The older Champ Games used DPC+ (Scramble and Space Rocks) but he's since moved on to an even more powerful engine. I can't run Scramble or Space Rocks above half-speed... so CDFJ games will be half that again. It's not worth the effort.But... in the meantime... 5.5 is released!
https://github.com/wavemotion-dave/StellaDS
Oh damn, I didn't know they were completely different mappers. It's kinda bonkers you managed to get these running in the first place, so I won't expect extremely complex homebrew to play at 60fpsThose are not DPC+... those are CDFJ and CDFJ+ which are another level of complexity - 4x the fast fetchers, fast jump support, variable ARM code and RAM... It's bananas
But... in the meantime... 5.5 is released!
https://github.com/wavemotion-dave/StellaDS
I'll gave 5.5 a try now
With a fresh cup of coffee I fixed the graphical glitches in Space Rocks. They are hitting Player/Missile RESET too early after an HMOVE. The new versions of Stella perfectly emulate the Atari TIA chip but the older version I use (the accurate version is too slow) uses the old Stella way of detecting these illegal moves on a game-by-game basis and corrects the position. I've debugged and added the correction for Space Rocks so that the rocks and ships no longer graphically shift on the left side of the screen.
I'm also 90% sure I know what the other glitch is... a semi-long pause occasionally in gameplay. I think that's because we're running out of time to run the ARM assembly for this game as it's complex... you can circumvent that by pressing SELECT to launch the game which will run in full-speed / unthrottled which won't rely on timers. At least until I can actually get the speed needed to play it properly
Lastly - the game will gain a few frames of performance if you use solid rocks instead of the "vector" default outlines... probably less intensive for the game to generate that.
I'm also 90% sure I know what the other glitch is... a semi-long pause occasionally in gameplay. I think that's because we're running out of time to run the ARM assembly for this game as it's complex... you can circumvent that by pressing SELECT to launch the game which will run in full-speed / unthrottled which won't rely on timers. At least until I can actually get the speed needed to play it properly
Lastly - the game will gain a few frames of performance if you use solid rocks instead of the "vector" default outlines... probably less intensive for the game to generate that.
Last edited by wavemotion,
Wow this sounds crazy! You're really digging your self into the DS. Great work @wavemotion !
You guys are gonna crap your pants when you see the speed improvement I got in the ARM Thumbulator code
Oh my frickin' god!!You guys are gonna crap your pants when you see the speed improvement I got in the ARM Thumbulator code
View attachment 331746
Version 5.6 is released! https://github.com/wavemotion-dave/StellaDS
V5.6 : 14-Oct-2022 by wavemotion-dave
If you try this on a DSi please let me know how the DPC+ games are running... you'll find most are playable at full speed and even Space Rocks and Frantic (look for the last DPC+ version from 2014... the 2020 version uses CDFJ) are playable now. I've tried 35 DPC+ games and can report that most play full-speed and those that are really complex will at least be playable on the DSi.
Feedback is always appreciated - even if I've heard from you before
V5.6 : 14-Oct-2022 by wavemotion-dave
- Massive speedup improvement for DPC+ games. Most play full speed on the DSi.
- Fixed graphical glitches on Space Rocks homebrew.
- Other cleanups and optimizations across the board to shine things up.
If you try this on a DSi please let me know how the DPC+ games are running... you'll find most are playable at full speed and even Space Rocks and Frantic (look for the last DPC+ version from 2014... the 2020 version uses CDFJ) are playable now. I've tried 35 DPC+ games and can report that most play full-speed and those that are really complex will at least be playable on the DSi.
Feedback is always appreciated - even if I've heard from you before
Last edited by wavemotion,
I saw that Grizzards v1.1 was posted today at https://star-hope.org/games/Grizzards/download.html
This is a 64K Turn-Based RPG for the Atari 2600 - That's 16x larger than the normal addressable memory space on the venerable 2600! And yes, StellaDS plays it fine - it supports save key for progress. Be sure to grab this one - it's a major accomplishment on many fronts.
This is a 64K Turn-Based RPG for the Atari 2600 - That's 16x larger than the normal addressable memory space on the venerable 2600! And yes, StellaDS plays it fine - it supports save key for progress. Be sure to grab this one - it's a major accomplishment on many fronts.
Version 5.7 is released! https://github.com/wavemotion-dave/StellaDS
V5.7 : 18-Oct-2022 by wavemotion-dave
For now that's a wrap... I'm getting close to burn out again on this one as I just shift bits around looking for another half-frame of performance. The DPC+ stuff with ARM Thumbulator is pretty nice - most of the DPC+ games run full speed... the notable holdouts are Space Rocks (upper 50s and close enough to full speed), Stay Frosty 2 (averages mid-50s but fluctuates) and Scramble (50-ish plus or minus). The other 40 DPC+ games I tried are full speed on the DSi with TWL++ or Unlaunch. Special thanks to @CrashMidnick for his help in testing. I hope people enjoy the result - the effort was monumental
I'm going to move on to adding some long-missing features to A7800DS.
V5.7 : 18-Oct-2022 by wavemotion-dave
- Fixed Sword of Surtr so it plays properly.
- Added TWIN STICK controller so games like Rail Slider are playable!
- More DPC+ optimizations... Space Rocks is almost full speed!
- Minor cleanup across the board.
For now that's a wrap... I'm getting close to burn out again on this one as I just shift bits around looking for another half-frame of performance. The DPC+ stuff with ARM Thumbulator is pretty nice - most of the DPC+ games run full speed... the notable holdouts are Space Rocks (upper 50s and close enough to full speed), Stay Frosty 2 (averages mid-50s but fluctuates) and Scramble (50-ish plus or minus). The other 40 DPC+ games I tried are full speed on the DSi with TWL++ or Unlaunch. Special thanks to @CrashMidnick for his help in testing. I hope people enjoy the result - the effort was monumental
I'm going to move on to adding some long-missing features to A7800DS.
I downloaded the latest 5.7.nds file and placed it into a folder where i have other homebrew. I get stuck on two white screens on my DSi using latest twilightmenu++. I also notice that same error happens with a version of NesDS that I wanted to try out...I have a homebrew port of Mario64 in the same folder that works fine... I don't recall changing any twilightmenu++ settings... is there something i need to do to make these work?Version 5.7 is released! https://github.com/wavemotion-dave/StellaDS
V5.7 : 18-Oct-2022 by wavemotion-dave
- Fixed Sword of Surtr so it plays properly.
- Added TWIN STICK controller so games like Rail Slider are playable!
- More DPC+ optimizations... Space Rocks is almost full speed!
- Minor cleanup across the board.
For now that's a wrap... I'm getting close to burn out again on this one as I just shift bits around looking for another half-frame of performance. The DPC+ stuff with ARM Thumbulator is pretty nice - most of the DPC+ games run full speed... the notable holdouts are Space Rocks (upper 50s and close enough to full speed), Stay Frosty 2 (averages mid-50s but fluctuates) and Scramble (50-ish plus or minus). The other 40 DPC+ games I tried are full speed on the DSi with TWL++ or Unlaunch. Special thanks to @CrashMidnick for his help in testing. I hope people enjoy the result - the effort was monumental
I'm going to move on to adding some long-missing features to A7800DS.
My pleasure, Dave !
Thanks for this new update
Post automatically merged:
Try this :
1) Backup your _NDS folder + boot.nds located at the root of your SD card to your computer
2) Delete them from the SD card
3) Download TWL++ (for DSi !) again and copy the _NDS folder + boot.nds on your sd card
4) Retry
Latest StellaDS + latest TWL++ work on my side.
Last edited by CrashMidnick,
If you're getting close to burn out again, it might also be a good idea to optimize A5200DS and get some extra performance out of it. I've recently tried a fan-made port of Bosconian on my DSi, and it runs perfectly fine most of the time. But when a voice sample plays it slows down to a crawl. I suspect it's much different than Berzerk, maybe you know something more about it?Version 5.7 is released! https://github.com/wavemotion-dave/StellaDS
V5.7 : 18-Oct-2022 by wavemotion-dave
- Fixed Sword of Surtr so it plays properly.
- Added TWIN STICK controller so games like Rail Slider are playable!
- More DPC+ optimizations... Space Rocks is almost full speed!
- Minor cleanup across the board.
For now that's a wrap... I'm getting close to burn out again on this one as I just shift bits around looking for another half-frame of performance. The DPC+ stuff with ARM Thumbulator is pretty nice - most of the DPC+ games run full speed... the notable holdouts are Space Rocks (upper 50s and close enough to full speed), Stay Frosty 2 (averages mid-50s but fluctuates) and Scramble (50-ish plus or minus). The other 40 DPC+ games I tried are full speed on the DSi with TWL++ or Unlaunch. Special thanks to @CrashMidnick for his help in testing. I hope people enjoy the result - the effort was monumental
I'm going to move on to adding some long-missing features to A7800DS.
Last edited by Cris1997XX,
Yeah, the voice sampling on the 5200 causes too much swapping of memory and I can't keep up... but the same game written for the Atari 8-bit (where it was originally written - the A5200 is a port of that) runs flawlessly on the XEGS-DS emulator (voice sounds awesome). The Atari 8-bit has so much more memory than the poor 5200
Thanks once again for all your hard work, playing scramble arcade on a DSi is great.Version 5.7 is released! https://github.com/wavemotion-dave/StellaDS
V5.7 : 18-Oct-2022 by wavemotion-dave
- Fixed Sword of Surtr so it plays properly.
- Added TWIN STICK controller so games like Rail Slider are playable!
- More DPC+ optimizations... Space Rocks is almost full speed!
- Minor cleanup across the board.
For now that's a wrap... I'm getting close to burn out again on this one as I just shift bits around looking for another half-frame of performance. The DPC+ stuff with ARM Thumbulator is pretty nice - most of the DPC+ games run full speed... the notable holdouts are Space Rocks (upper 50s and close enough to full speed), Stay Frosty 2 (averages mid-50s but fluctuates) and Scramble (50-ish plus or minus). The other 40 DPC+ games I tried are full speed on the DSi with TWL++ or Unlaunch. Special thanks to @CrashMidnick for his help in testing. I hope people enjoy the result - the effort was monumental
I'm going to move on to adding some long-missing features to A7800DS.
You're quite welcome dj - always glad to see anyone use this emulator and enjoying the experience!
Not a new build but did check in two long-standing improvements to the "starfield" effect that should now properly show the stars in Stay Frosty and Rabbit Transit. Cosmic Ark was the first to exploit a strange behavior in the Atari TIA video chip where if you hit the registers at exactly the right time, you could trick it into doing some cool and funky patterns usually referred to as a "starfield effect" (the color dots that move around in Cosmic Ark). Stay Frosty and Rabbit Transit use the same effect but slightly different methods that were not properly emulated before - they are now.
Not a new build but did check in two long-standing improvements to the "starfield" effect that should now properly show the stars in Stay Frosty and Rabbit Transit. Cosmic Ark was the first to exploit a strange behavior in the Atari TIA video chip where if you hit the registers at exactly the right time, you could trick it into doing some cool and funky patterns usually referred to as a "starfield effect" (the color dots that move around in Cosmic Ark). Stay Frosty and Rabbit Transit use the same effect but slightly different methods that were not properly emulated before - they are now.
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