=============================================================================== SSSS tt lll lll SS SS tt ll ll SS tttttt eeee ll ll aaaa SSSS tt ee ee ll ll aa SS tt eeeeee ll ll aaaaa -- "An Atari 2600 VCS Emulator" SS SS tt ee ll ll aa aa SSSS ttt eeeee llll llll aaaaa =============================================================================== Release History =============================================================================== 1.4 to 1.4.1: (August 15, 2004) * Fixed PAL sound issues. PAL games now should sound correct (no distortion or missing sounds), but some games may still run too fast. This is still a work-in-progress, and will be fixed in Stella 1.5. * Cleaned up the SDL event gathering loop. This should hopefully fix the problems with "double-pumping events" reported by some Windows users. Event gathering and dispatching is now much faster as well. * Fixed a bug where the Control or Alt keys could be assigned to some event, but they could never be used. Control/Alt can now be used for any event. * Updated stella.pro file to work with the latest Good2600 ROMset release (Thanks go to Voch for helping to maintain the stella.pro file). * For the Windows port; removed requirement for ROM files to be named *.bin in the StellaX frontend. The ROM's can now have any name, but ZIP-files are not yet supported. * For the Windows port; fixed the problems with the included modified SDL library and Windows 98 users. Stella should now run in Windows 98. * For the OSX port; added preference to allow user to select the directory in which ROM images are stored. This sets the default directory to start the browsing for a ROM in, and doesn't preclude the user from selecting a file outside that directory. * For the OSX port; fixed preferences bug where Preferences changed before a game was opened were not being saved. 1.3 to 1.4: (July 17, 2004) * Codebase ported to SDL. The DOS and X11 ports have been discontinued. * Sound code ported to SDL. For the Linux versions, ALSA and OSS sound support has been discontinued. * The Linux, MacOSX and Windows ports are now based on the same codebase and are actively maintained. That means simultaneous (and hopefully more frequent) releases. * A new Windows port has been created, with the GUI based on StellaX. This is the first new release for Windows since Stella 1.2. (software mode is not yet optimized; OpenGL mode works much better) * A new Mac OSX port has been created by Mark Grebe. This is the first new release for Mac OSX since Stella 1.2. * Added OpenGL rendering support. * Added more refined in-game GUI. * Added event remapping. Emulation keys can now be remapped to the keyboard or up to 4 joysticks. * Added native Stelladaptor support. Joysticks, paddles, and driving controllers have been tested. * Digital sound support (used in games like Quadrun and Pitfall2) has been greatly improved. Sound generation is now more tightly synchronized with video updates. * Added support for switchable palettes. Currently you can switch between the current Stella palette, original Stella palette (pre-1.2 versions), and the z26 palette. * Added support for UA Limited style bankswitching (Funky Fish and Pleiades). * Switched to using high compatibility M6502 mode by default. This means old state saves from previous Stella versions will no longer work. * The meaning of the "-sound" command line option has been changed. This option now accepts either 'true' or 'false (1 or 0) to enable/disable sound. * Changed sound mixer functionality. The system volume/mixer settings will never be changed; volume changes in Stella will only affect the emulation itself. * Added "-video" command line option. This option accepts either 'soft' or 'gl', to use software/OpenGL rendering. * Added "-gl_filter" command line option. This option accepts either 'nearest' or 'linear', to use GL_NEAREST or GL_LINEAR filtering. * Added "-gl_aspect" command line option. This option accepts a decimal value specifying how much to scale the width of the emulation image (useful for giving an authentic 'square-looking' 4:3 mode). * Added "-gl_fsmax" command line option. This option accepts either 'true' or 'false, and specifies to use the maximum possible resolution when in fullscreen OpenGL mode (useful for Linux and for Windows on laptops). * Added "-fragsize" command line option. This option accepts the size to use for sound fragments. Linux/MacOSX works well with 512, Windows seems to need 2048. This value must be a power of two. * Modified "-volume" command line option. If you specify '-1', Stella will use the system volume. * Renamed the "-pro" command line option to "-altpro". * Renamed the "-fps" command line option to "-framerate". * Removed the "-center" command line option. Stella now automatically centers the window when possible. * Removed the "-paddle real" command line option, since it never really worked correctly (and Stelladaptor support adds that functionality anyway). * Removed all command line options relating to the X11 port (owncmap, display). 1.2 to 1.3: (February 17, 2003) * Improved TIA sound system so that games with digitized audio work * Added saving and loading of game state to the core; X11, SDL, and DOS versions current support saving and loading game state * Added support for F4 bankswitching method * Pitfall II DPC sound emulation completed * Fixed a bug which caused the difficulty switches to operate backwards * Changed DPC auto-detection to use file size so that Pitfall II mods work * Modified RIOT timer emulation so that startup values are random * Added 3F bankswitching auto-detection routine so that homebrews and demos work without a stella.pro entry * Updated the TIA message boxes so they look a little nicer * Latest stella.pro file included in distribution * Added some developer options to the core, and the ability to change game width, height, xstart, ystart, and others while the emulation is running. Added ability to switch between NTSC and PAL at runtime, and the ability to save the current properties to a file or to merge the changes into the stella.pro file; X11 and SDL versions supported for now (compile option) * External sound server for the X11 and SDL versions no longer required, as all sound code is now integrated into the core * Changed locations of the user's config files for the X11 and SDL versions; the user's stellarc file is now located in $HOME/.stella/stellarc, state files are located in $HOME/.stella/state/ and the stella.pro file is located in $HOME/.stella/stella.pro * Changed the way options are supplied on the commandline for the X11 and SDL versions. Now all commandline options take exactly the same arguments as in the INI file. * Added "-accurate" command line option to choose between accurate (CPU-intensive) timing or less accurate (CPU-friendly) timing to X11 and SDL versions. This is the final version of what was considered experimental timing code in Stella 1.2. * Added "-sound" command line option to choose which sound backend to use (alsa, oss, sdl) with the X11 and SDL versions. * Added the developer command line options to the X11 and SDL versions, which are only activated in developer builds: -Dformat, -Dwidth, -Dheight, -Dxstart, -Dystart, -Dmerge * Fixed window resize bug in the X11 port * Added "-nosound" command line option to the DOS port to disable audio * DOS port supports a "-vsync" option to synchronize emulation with the video blank of the video card * Changed VGA code in the DOS port to use a 60Hz 320x200 and a 60Hz 320x240 graphics mode * DOS port has been updated to run better under Windows NT, 2000, and XP. There are still issues with the sound, however, it is usable. * DOS port is using a new Sound Blaster driver created by Matt Conte which supports auto-detection of sound cards. * DOS port supports a STELLA_HOME environment variable that defines the location of config files. * In the DOS port the stella.pro file is searched for first in the current working director and then in the $STELLA_HOME directory * In the DOS port the ROM image is searched for first using the specified path, then in $STELLA_HOME/ROMS, and finally in $STELLA_HOME Cyberstella 1.2.1 (May 16, 2002) * Removed the built-in games until some legal stuff is sorted out Cyberstella 1.2 (May 10, 2002) * Initial release of a new WIN 32 port of Stella DOS 1.2 to DOS 1.2.1: (April 28, 2002) * Fixed a bug with control keys being confused with the pause key * Fixed a bug with the pause key causing the application to lockup 1.1 to 1.2: (April 21, 2002) * Improved illegal CPU instruction support. Thrust and Qb will now operate correctly. * Improved emulation of undefined TIA reads. The ball in Video Pinball finally bounces off of the paddles! * More accurate NTSC and PAL palettes. These palettes should be much more like the colors displayed on a real TV. * PAL color loss is now emulated. If a PAL game displays an odd number of scanlines then the next frame will be displayed in black & white. * TIA emulation improved to fix some problems with Pole Position, Fatal Run, Dolphin, Decathlon, Robot Tank, and Hole Hunter. * Support for Pitfall II has been added, however, the enhanced sound provided by the DPC chip found in the Pitfall II cartridge isn't currently emulated. * Support added for the Commavid (CV) bankswitching method. * Support added for the Megaboy cartridge. * Improved Supercharger emulation including a new BIOS that shows the vertical blue progress bars like the real thing. * Code for the emulation core has been updated to work with newer C++ compilers compliant with the C++ standard. * Basic message support added to the TIA emulation. This allows a short message to overlay the TIA frame. Currently, it's used when switching color modes and difficulty settings. * The internal data structure for the stella.pro file was changed from a resizable array to a binary search tree. This results in quicker startup times. * An SDL port of Stella is available (requires SDL 1.2.0 or greater) * Added option to not load in the whole stella.pro file when starting Stella. This option is enabled on the X11, SDL, and DOS versions. Win32 version is left alone since it's needed for loading multiple games from the UI. Saves on memory usage. * Added INI file option to the X11 and SDL versions. Options can be specified in this file instead of entering them on the commandline. Any options entered on the commandline override options in the INI file. File is called stellarc. For the X11 and SDL versions, it can be in either $HOME (as $HOME/.stellarc) or in /etc (as /etc/stellarc). The one in $HOME has higher priority than the one in /etc. * Added snapshot support to the X11 and SDL versions. Pressing F12 saves the current screen in PNG format. Requires PNG library. * Removed stella.pro file from the binary, resulting in large space savings. The stella.pro file is no longer optional. For the X11 and SDL versions, it can be in either $HOME (as $HOME/.stella.pro) or in /etc (as /etc/stella.pro). The one in $HOME has higher priority than the one in /etc. For DOS and Win32 versions, the stella.pro file must be in the same directory as the executable. * Added pause functionality to the core. Implemented in DOS, X11, and SDL versions for now. 1.0 to 1.1: (February 26, 1999) * DOS and Linux versions support real Atari 2600 paddles using a special PC game port adaptor * Linux version uses the new 1.2.x joystick driver API * Added support for the "-display" option to the X Window version * Added support for private colormaps to the X Window version * Fixed a few bugs in the Supercharger emulation - A major bug in the ROM loading routine was fixed - Multi-loading in "Escape from the Mindmaster" works correctly - All Supercharger games load and execute at this point * Added a small hack to the TIA code to fix a display problem in "Escape from the Mindmaster" * Improved TIA emulation to support the RESPx multi-sprite trick 1.0b1 to 1.0: (October 7, 1998) * DOS version supports 320x200 and 320x240 graphics modes * Several portability issues have been resolved * Preliminary support for Chris Wilkson's Megacart bank-switching scheme * BSDI target included in makefile * Improved Users Manual in several "popular" formats 0.7 to 1.0b1: (July 25, 1998) * Supports the following controllers: Joysticks, Paddles, Booster-Grip, Keyboard and Driving * Supports the following bank switching methods: 2K, 3F, 4K, AR, E0, E7, F4SC, F6, F8, F8SC, FASC, FE * Properties are associated with games using their MD5 checksum calculated on the entire ROM image * Uses the new 'stella.pro' file format for game properties * Includes Erik's latest stella.pro properties file * New frame rate throttle code for X windows GUI * Based on the new and improved M6502 CPU emulation * Improvements to TIA emulation - Support HMOVE blanks - Improved Cosmic Ark star field effect - Some support for the RESPx multiple sprite trick - Support NTSC and PAL palettes * Improvements to PIA emulation (timing) * Improved Supercharger emulation 0.6 to 0.7: (June 7, 1997) * Improved emulation speed of TIA and 6507 * Added Starpath Supercharger support * Added Tigervision bank-switching support (3F bank-switching) * Added pause game feature for Unix and DOS * VCS files combined into a single builtin property file * Added TIA HMOVE "feature" to support Cosmic Ark stars * Improved TIA VSYNC code so that it works more like the real thing (0.6 VSYNC code caused the graphics of some games to be off such as Alien and Battle Zone) * Added two 6507 emulators: one is designed to act more like the real thing, while the other is designed to be as fast as possible (required for Supercharger support) * Changed TIA peeking so lower nibble of byte read is the same as the TIA address being accessed (Warlords now works) 0.5 to 0.6: (January 18, 1997) * Fixed collision detection problem (Freeway works) * Changed PIA timing code to fix screen jitters * Added new bank-switching methods: F4SC (Fatal Run), E7 (Burgertime) * Fixed some code in the TIA emulation that caused SEGFAULTS * Improved frame rate throttling code to work better on fast machines * Improved TIA emulation (missle graphics are fully emulated now) * Included Bob Colbert's "Okie Dokie" game * Uses version 1.1 of the TIA Sound library by Ron Fries 0.4 to 0.5: (November 17, 1996) * Added sound support * Added new bank-switching methods: F8SC (Defender II), FASC (CBS RAM+) * Changed TIA so peeking $E and $F return $F not $0 for Haunted House * Changed PIA timing code to fix screen jitters in Frogger * Addressing scheme rewritten * Optimized 6507 memory accesses * Randomized memory in PIA upon startup * Removed auto-disabling of objects at the start of a frame so you can't walk through walls in Adventure * Changed the X windows terminal update method to make it faster and easier to understand 0.3 to 0.4 (August 28, 1996): * TIA code has been optimized some * Some games can be played with just a ROM image * New search method for ROM images (no more STELLA_PATH) * Delta screen update supported * Better error handling added to the "core" 0.2 to 0.3 (July 12, 1996): * Keyboard joystick support is much better (Daniel Marks) * Paddles are now supported via the mouse (Bradford Mott) * Many portability issues have been resolved (Keith Wilkins) * Fixed a problem with the 6507 ADC and SBC instructions that caused some games (Enduro) not to work correctly (Bradford Mott) * Power Macintosh port (Aaron Giles) * Windows 95 & NT port (Jeff Miller)