PC World 1999 June/PCWorld_1999-06_cd.bin/software/temacd/atari800/Whatsnew.txt

Text File | 1998-12-18 | 11KB | 186 lines

12-18-98    Ver 2.5c
  * Corrected small but very hard to find bug with some saved registry
    values blowing keyboard joysticks (again). Believe me I'm more
    tired of keyboard joystick problems than you are.
  * Small bug fix to prevent garbled screens when changing hardware
    mode in a stretched windowed mode with scanlines
  * Fixed a potentially confusing drive-path remember problem when
    a temporary disk was mounted (ie a loaded executable disk)
  * Fixed a small problem in saving/restoring the load exe path
  * DDraw windowed scanline mode was darker than GDI, fixed
  * This version invalidates older save-state files - they will need
    to be resaved.
  * Re-synced with the general Atari800 code base. Fixed a couple of
    Antic problems.
  * Fixed screen getting offset when switching hardware types.
  * Fixed the damn keyboard joystick not being detected (was only
    happening on machines that have no hardware joystick devices, and
    guess what - all of mine do. Grrr).
  * Joystick selections are saved permanently. If you change your stick
    config around (hardware wise), it won't crash, but you will probably
    have to reconfigure via the joystick selection dialog.
  * The scanline modes are now driven by highly tweaked assembly, mostly
    because I changed the way they worked: they now show half-lumen lines
    interleaved instead of black ones. In a couple of the available
    graphics modes (GDI) even though a lot more work is being done it's
    slightly faster than the older scanline mode.
  * Added keyboard accelerators for the following functions:
    Alt-C       Cartridge dialog
    Alt-D       Disk dialog (floppies)
    Alt-G       Graphics dialog (screen modes)
    Alt-H       Hardware dialog
    Alt-J       Joystick dialog
    Alt-K       Keyboard dialog
    Alt-L       Load Atari executable
    Alt-S       Sound dialog
    Alt-R    Rotate through artifacting modes (including off)
  * Last path used to load Atari executables is remembered
  * Some small code re-orgs (same functionality, but less code)
  * Fixed screen corruption in stretched-window modes when paused
  * Smarter about registry updates - doesn't have to reset ROM paths
    when these occur now. Also, for first time users tries to find the
    ROMS in either the working directory or "ROMS" subdirectory
  * Added different machine types in hardware selector for 320XE Compy
    and 320XE Rambo

12-05-98    Ver 2.5 (a "beta" release)
  * Consider this a beta release. It has not been tested extensively.
    I will be releasing again soon to sync up with the general Atari800
    code base and address some other issues of my own.
  * Any "sticky key" problems should be fixed on slow machines
  * Warmstart reappears on F5 as if by magic :-)
  * Arrgh! ATR images formatted while loaded into the emulator were
    getting corrupted headers (they were reformatted as XFD). Modified
    SIO code so that any valid ATR image (even megadisks) can be
    reformatted by Atari800win.
  * Added option to load Atari executable files individually instead of
    requiring a disk image. This will NOT work for files that require
    Atari DOS. I more or less lifted Ken Sider's routines right out of
    MakeATR (actually I initially wrote a multi-segment loader myself,
    but it sucked, so people can thank Ken for this feature). When you
    do this the EXE will replace the disk mounted in drive 1.
  * John Frias contributed some icons (mine are retired to no artistic
    talent land now).
  * Fixed a problem with the R-TIME cartridge returning the incorrect
    month. BTW This should come as a surprise to no one, but the R-TIME is
    not year 2000 compliant.
  * Fixed a small timing problem on keyboard input.
  * Blank scan line option added for some video modes. Read the readme.txt
    for why I still think this is a *really* stupid idea.
  * Built a new ZLIB DLL which appears much less touchy about alignment. I
    highly recommend you use the one included with Atari800win as your DLL
    in general (slightly larger but works much better).
  * Drive status can be set directly from the disk drive dialog. This is
    mainly so images can be switched to read-only on the fly for some demos.
    You cannot use the dialog to override actual file permissions - if the
    file is read-only to the OS, then it will always be read-only to
    Atari800win (and that's by design, not omission).
  * Corrected small joystick bug that prevented the keypad from working as
    joystick on port 1 while a real joystick was used on port 2.
  * Inserted a completely bogus wait after DDraw SetDisplayMode that
    corrects garbage sometimes left on the screen. This very much looks
    like a DDraw bug. The delay may not be long enough for all systems.
    Email me if you still see window garbage on your display.
  * 640x480 is now a "no visible menu" mode. Use F10 to get a menu (or the
    keyboard accelerators - e.g. Alt-A + L is Atari/Load Exe). Let me know
    if you find this a problem - I could make it configurable. 800x600 and
    up still have menus.

09-09-98        Ver 2.4a - a "doh" version
  * Sigh. Single comparison failure led to keyboard joystick not working
    under NT. Fixed now. Otherwise this build is identical to 2.4

09-08-98        Ver 2.4 - large update, some beta features
  * A request: I am looking for an image of the 8-bit Epyx game "Hellfire
    Warrior". I'm not sure if it was available for the Atari, but it was
    for the Apple][. I own this game, but only have the TRS-80 disk image.
    If you can help, please e-mail [e-mail]

  * Big feature: support for save states (also known as "snapshots"). You
    must have ZLIB working (the DLL supplied with Atari800Win must be in
    the path) to use this. Saved states saves _everything_ about your Atari
    itself, the entire contents of memory, where you are in a program, etc.
    A save state does NOT save your display, input, or sound settings. When
    you load a state save, the Atari will be paused on a black screen. Hit
    F9 to start the saved state. Saved state file sizes will vary based on
    the machine type and what it was doing / had loaded.

    Use the File menu to access the Load/Save state features. There are two
    types of save: normal and verbose. Verbose is ONLY necessary if you have
    patched ROMS that somebody else wouldn't have. Verbose saves are larger.

    Save states should be considered a somewhat beta feature. Changes might
    affect the format as other Atari800 ports adopt it, making the current
    format obselete. Keep in mind that even if you snapshot a program it
    may still want to access the disk later; and save states do NOT save
    disks. If you know a program accesses the disk, you will have to keep the
    disk handy with your save state to resume later. Save state are machine
    independent; they will be useable on other ports of Atari800.

  * Machine language routines here and there; small speed difference. I
    spent considerable time rewriting some large sections in assembly, and
    found there was little speed increase in them even when heavily
    optimized.I'll continue investigating asm for things like Antic though.
  * Atari crashes are much less dramatic now, as you don't have to exit
    Atari800Win. The screen will simply go black, you then have the
    opportunity to change settings, and there is a new Atari/Restart menu
    option to fire the machine up again (Ctrl-F5 will also work).
  * Added 512x384 mode. Should help those on slow machines without 320
    modes. Shows full overscan and on most cards has that "scanline" feel.
  * Completely rewrote the keyboard handler, many changes include:
    - A few layout changes; see README.TXT
    - Insert/Delete work correctly (char normally, line when shifted)
    - Clear character now on the Windows Home key
    - Option/Select/Start can be held down in combinations,fixes some demos
    - When holding a regular key, pressing then releasing a second key will
      have no effect (the first key will stay held).
    - Hold down a regular key, hold down a second. Release the first key.
      The Atari will register the second key as being held down after
      exactly 1 frame of no keys.
    - F1-F4 exist only for XL, returns no keyboard code for other machines.
    - Help returns no code for non XL/XE machine
    - With CTRL + SHIFT held, the following keys do NOT work on purpose:
      J K L ; + * Z X C V B F1 F2 F3 F4 and HELP
    In many cases the new behavior my seem more limiting than before; but
    it is now highly accurate compared to the real hardware. Many hours in
    testing with a real XE back this up. Since there is considerable new
    code there may be an errant key here or there; please e-mail me if you
    find keyboard oddities (or if you find things fixed!)
  * Keyboard templates option added (Options/Keyboard.. menu). This is a
    complicated feature for expert users, consult the README for details.
    Do not mess with it if you don't understand the purpose. Briefly, It
    allows you to remap almost the entire keyboard to anything you wish
    to define. Helpful for games that use whacked out directional keys like
    the Ultima series or if you want to exactly duplicate the Atari layout.
  * Keyboard joystick reworked. Now handles combination keys (numpad4 +
    numpad8 = diagonal up/right). Ignores your Windows key delay/repeat
    settings and works right off the keystroke (instant feedback).
  * Checkbox for "use AGP memory", which controls whether a surface is
    allocated as "local video memory" in Ddraw terms. This is basically
    for DDraw windowed modes, and could be faster, much slower, or no
    change on any particular card - you'll just have to try it and compare.
  * Fixed a problem with small graphics selector dialog used in 320 modes.
  * All full screen modes clear their backgrounds.
  * Bolder, more ambitious icons, less filling but taste great. Any icon
    artists out there?
  * Machine type and speed shown in window title (status bar in full screen)
  * Finally remembered to add keyboard click. You will notice a slight delay
    between the keystroke and sound, can't be helped at present.
  * Fixed a display bug that had crept in when in windowed mode with the
    display partially off the desktop
  * If you exit while running full speed, the next time you launch sound
    will be (correctly) disabled until you switch back to normal speed
  * Pause shows paused text on Atari screen (for full screen modes)
  * Fixed crash bug that sometimes occurred changing artifacting modes.

08-03-98        Ver 2.3 - Compressed images, artifacting updated
07-12-98    Ver 2.2 - 5200 fixes, disk indicators, source code release
06-28-98    Ver 2.1 - Artifacting, emulation fixes
06-21-98    Ver 2.0 - Bugfixes from beta
05-03-98    Ver 1.9 - beta 2, merged code, mmsystem sound, timing fixes
03-21-98    Ver 1.9 - beta release, code base Atari800 0.9.0
09-16-97    Ver 1.4 - Sound updates, recording, DirectInput changes
08-26-97    Ver 1.3 - Small crash patch
08-24-97    Ver 1.2 - Sound
08-13-97    Ver 1.1 - Bug fixes
08-08-97    Ver 1.0 - first public release.