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flynn Visitor

Joined: 23 Nov 2002 Posts: 15
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Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2002 11:34 pm Post subject: Art Of Fighting - zooming problem ? |
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Hi all.
I've got a little question about the Arcade CDRom version of Art Of Fighting and Magic Engine 0.99 Beta 5 (Win).
I've never played the game on a real PC Engine but I know the zoom FX of this game was a little weird (not as good as the NG version). However, there's an abnormal flickering (rather screen corruption) FX when zooming happens.
Is this the real behaviour of the game ? Do I need to tweak my PCE.ini to add accurate screenmodes, or disable some options ? Or is it a known problem related to ME ?
Thanks in advance for your answers. |
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Jabberwok Elder

Joined: 24 Apr 2002 Posts: 532 Location: Quebec, Canada
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Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2002 11:57 pm Post subject: |
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If I had the game I could help, but can you post screenshots? Screen corruption is definitely a bad sign. Is this game an original or 'backup'? _________________ If you translate Pole Position in French with babelfish you get 'Position de Polonais'... I think it's hilarious... from a French point of view. |
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flynn Visitor

Joined: 23 Nov 2002 Posts: 15
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Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2002 12:57 am Post subject: |
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The game is an original one, just out of plastic wrap (I'm legal freakie).
Here are 2 screenshots in windowed mode - maybe an hint - http://perso.wanadoo.fr/spaceparanoids/AOF.png
You'll notice in the enlarged window (the 1st is the usal one) a little screen corruption at the top.
When I try it in windowed mode, the window keeps resizing at the speed of light. Could it be a special PCE screenmode not handled ? |
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Kaminari Elder

Joined: 19 Apr 2002 Posts: 1432 Location: Paris, France
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Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2002 1:41 am Post subject: Re: Art Of Fighting - zooming problem ? |
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flynn wrote: | but I know the zoom FX of this game was a little weird (not as good as the NG version) |
No kidding
Quote: | When I try it in windowed mode, the window keeps resizing at the speed of light. Could it be a special PCE screenmode not handled ? |
All pure conjecture, but from what I could see of it...
The 'zoom' of the PCE version actually seems to be a very fast resolution change. Thus, the zoom-in is displayed as a 256x224 screen mode, and the zoom-out as a 336x224 screen mode -- coupled with a vertical software distorsion (to make sure the graphics ratio remains proportional).
It works very well on a real PCE, but ME has serious problems switching on the fly between the two resolutions. Art of Fighting is definitely a very tricky and impressive piece of code.
Note to David: on the real machine, what I completely fail to understand is how the status bar can remain exactly the same whatever the resolution change... like if it remained 'hard-displayed' in 256x224 and the lower part of the screen was switching back and forth between the two resolutions  |
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dmichel Admin

Joined: 04 Apr 2002 Posts: 1166 Location: France
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Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2002 6:00 pm Post subject: Re: Art Of Fighting - zooming problem ? |
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flynn wrote: |
When I try it in windowed mode, the window keeps resizing at the speed of light. Could it be a special PCE screenmode not handled ? |
No no, it's normal behavior.
Although MagicEngine is not supposed to switch resolutions back and forth like that, it should keep the bigger sized window, did you disable the 'res_lock' option in the pce.ini file?
Kaminari wrote: |
Note to David: on the real machine, what I completely fail to understand is how the status bar can remain exactly the same whatever the resolution change... like if it remained 'hard-displayed' in 256x224 and the lower part of the screen was switching back and forth between the two resolutions  |
This can be done by changing the resolution in the middle of the screen, but I thought that the PCE couldn't do that, but may be it's possible, the PCE is an amazing console.  _________________ David Michel |
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flynn Visitor

Joined: 23 Nov 2002 Posts: 15
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Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2002 7:12 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, I disabled it for testing purposes.
When it is enabled, the screen flickers as hell, even in pause mode.
Here comes 2 screenshots taken from the "pause mode" with res_lock on. Maybe it will help you to sort you what happens.
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/spaceparanoids/AOF1.PNG
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/spaceparanoids/AOF2.PNG
Screen seems stretched in the first one.
Maybe programmers used screenmode switching and horizontal stretching together, in order to simulate a zoom FX. |
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dmichel Admin

Joined: 04 Apr 2002 Posts: 1166 Location: France
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Posted: Tue Nov 26, 2002 1:56 am Post subject: |
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flynn wrote: |
When it is enabled, the screen flickers as hell, even in pause mode. |
Yes, the top bar flickers but that stops the window from resizing all the time. I don't think that the display bug can be easily fixed, there's no support for resolution switching in MagicEngine, that would be a lot of work to implement that now.
Quote: | Screen seems stretched in the first one.
Maybe programmers used screenmode switching and horizontal stretching together, in order to simulate a zoom FX. |
Yup. They doing some smart stuff in AOF. _________________ David Michel |
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Kaminari Elder

Joined: 19 Apr 2002 Posts: 1432 Location: Paris, France
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Posted: Tue Nov 26, 2002 2:31 am Post subject: |
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Another totally weird feature of the PCE (not supported by ME) is the 'quadruple display mode'. Some games have the hidden ability to divide the screen into four smaller but identical displays. It seems like a hardware feature. You have to see it by yourself on a real console
You can try it with Yôkai Dôchû Ki (HuCard) from Namcot. At the title screen, push Run button while pressing I, II and Select simultaneously. The 'Information Board' screen will appear. Type SPEED-UP (a message will be displayed in Japanese) and do a soft reset with Select + Run. The game will reboot in quadruple display mode.
Now that's something for the Tips & Tricks forum, I guess  |
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Jabberwok Elder

Joined: 24 Apr 2002 Posts: 532 Location: Quebec, Canada
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Posted: Tue Nov 26, 2002 2:40 am Post subject: |
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Same thing for shadow of the beast BUT I always thought it was a bug. Maybe NEC was the first company planning to do 4 player split-screen games? _________________ If you translate Pole Position in French with babelfish you get 'Position de Polonais'... I think it's hilarious... from a French point of view. |
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Kaminari Elder

Joined: 19 Apr 2002 Posts: 1432 Location: Paris, France
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Posted: Wed Nov 27, 2002 1:44 am Post subject: |
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Didn't know Shadow of the Beast featured this mode too
I'm pretty eager to give it a try. Would you mind unveiling the tip?  |
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Jabberwok Elder

Joined: 24 Apr 2002 Posts: 532 Location: Quebec, Canada
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Posted: Wed Nov 27, 2002 3:49 am Post subject: |
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Hummm.... looks like it doesn't work in Magic Engine. Does your trick with Yôkai Dôchû Ki works with ME?
Anyway, if you still have access to a real console, you can do it :
Start the game, go to the title screen, input the invincibility code ( II, I, I, II ). Start playing. I know it works in the caves, never tried it in the overworld . So in the cave press select, this will freeze the character. You can now move freely, go up until you reach gfx garbage ( some tiles I think ). Press button II & move. Repeat this a few times in different places & the game will eventually switch to 4 screens. I will try to make it work under ME just to make sure...
NOT a scientific trick, but it works . _________________ If you translate Pole Position in French with babelfish you get 'Position de Polonais'... I think it's hilarious... from a French point of view. |
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