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Author Topic: Is Amiga Emulation better than the real thing?  (Read 18228 times)

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Offline arkpandora

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Re: Is Amiga Emulation better than the real thing?
« Reply #44 on: April 24, 2008, 06:22:44 PM »
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For playing games I love using my real Amiga, but I also love using WinUAEX on my xbox.

It outputs at 50Hz, via RGB scart and looks awesome. Good stuff.


I had forgotten that animation in XBox emulators may well be normal without any hardware tinkering.  I will have to give it a try.
 

Offline Sig999

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Re: Is Amiga Emulation better than the real thing?
« Reply #45 on: April 24, 2008, 06:38:33 PM »
I've run UAE on Linux, and WinUAE on the windows box, and it's run very well, run lots of apps - games - without hassles. It's very capable. For some reason though, getting back into programming didn't 'do it for me' on it - Amithlon came close (but the hardware I had it running on gave up the ghost).

I had a few jerky scroll issues with emulation here and there, but nothing major - and when running it sans-Xwindows on Linux it was nigh flawless.... for me there was an undefinable 'something' that was lacking.

So I ended up buying an Ami2000 to remedy that.  There's just something about the look and feel of the machine that completes the experience for me....

Sig.
 

Offline AmigaHope

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Re: Is Amiga Emulation better than the real thing?
« Reply #46 on: April 24, 2008, 08:16:46 PM »
Er, I've been sending/receiving software over the net on my Amiga since 1988 or so. o.O

Admittedly my x86 box can transfer stuff way faster (it has gigabit ethernet whereas my Amy has only 10bT ethernet =) but since my internet connection never goes above 10Mbit anyway, it's only really relevant when transferring files between my own systems in my house. =)
 

Offline Krusher

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Re: Is Amiga Emulation better than the real thing?
« Reply #47 on: April 24, 2008, 08:26:09 PM »
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arkpandora wrote:
Today computers don't allow emulators to display animated PAL/NTSC screen modes, unless you manage to use the emulator on a 50 Hz screen mode (for PAL modes) ...


I don't know what your on about, but WinUAE on my laptop and external 22" widescreen tft works flawless (except for the occasional bugs/glitches due to not 100% compatibility).

Most games/demos work fine, like a real Amiga. Never saw jerkyness with screendragging or scrollers.
I enjoy playing Pinball Fantasies/Illusions just as much as I did on my real miggies.

Yes, emulation is different in that you don't have the hands on experience of a real Amiga, but other then that it runs circles around the real deal in almost every aspect such as speed, storage capabilities, internet useage etc.

Do I miss a real Amiga? Hell yeah  :boohoo:
 

Offline arkpandora

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Re: Is Amiga Emulation better than the real thing?
« Reply #48 on: April 24, 2008, 09:20:44 PM »
@Krusher

What are your operating system and screen mode ?  Do you use any special screen mode created by any special software tool ?

To my knowledge, in order to emulate PAL animation you have to get your OS and monitor to display a 50 Hz mode, or you have to select some option in WinUAE that will accelerate the display to 60 frames per second instead of 50.  However, in order to display animation properly, the emulator also needs to be synchronized with the emulator screen mode's refresh rate, but this may only be possible with some special screen modes and maybe certain graphic cards.  Some people say that in any case it is impossible to display both normal animation and normal animation speed, because 50 and 60 Hz VGA refresh rates are not exactly the same as PAL and NTSC refresh rates.  However, if the emulator is able to synchronize itself with the emulator's refresh rate, then you may have normal animation and only a small speed difference.

As far as I'm concerned, I have never seen nor obtained any decent animation in emulators.
 

Offline Krusher

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Re: Is Amiga Emulation better than the real thing?
« Reply #49 on: April 24, 2008, 09:31:21 PM »
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arkpandora wrote:
@Krusher

What are your operating system and screen mode ?  Do you use any special screen mode created by any special software tool ...

As far as I'm concerned, I have never seen nor obtained any decent animation in emulators.


I'm running Windows XP Professional SP2 @1680x1050 @ 60hz. Nothing special. Fot games, WinUAE is configured to use 800x600 @32bit and the FPS slider is at 50.

As far as I can see animation just looks the same to me as native Amiga's (and pc animation, for that matter)
 

Offline arkpandora

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Re: Is Amiga Emulation better than the real thing?
« Reply #50 on: April 24, 2008, 09:37:59 PM »
Thanks for the details.

What you say is strange : if emulation speed is normal, then in 60 Hz animation must be awfully jerky - as jerky as on a Samsung LCD TV ;-) - and you couldn't miss it.
 

Offline Krusher

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Re: Is Amiga Emulation better than the real thing?
« Reply #51 on: April 24, 2008, 09:43:50 PM »
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arkpandora wrote:
...

What you say is strange : if emulation speed is normal, then in 60 Hz animation must be awfully jerky - as jerky as on a Samsung LCD TV ;-) - and you couldn't miss it.


I know, but for some reason it looks normal to me. I can play Pinball Fantasies as if it was on a normal Amiga. And I know about the jerkyness effect, it's only non-existent  :-?
I don't even have the tearing effect!
 

Offline arkpandora

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Re: Is Amiga Emulation better than the real thing?
« Reply #52 on: April 24, 2008, 09:50:53 PM »
If your animation is really normal then I don't understand why.

Unless WinUAE contains some new complex algorithm that creates virtual frames in order to emulate 50 Hz animation on higher refresh rates.
 

Offline Krusher

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Re: Is Amiga Emulation better than the real thing?
« Reply #53 on: April 24, 2008, 09:56:43 PM »
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arkpandora wrote:
...

Unless WinUAE contains some new complex algorythm that creates virtual frames in order to emulate 50 Hz animation on higher refresh rates.


Like 3:2 pulldown they use on converting 35mm film movies to NTSC/Pal?
 

Offline arkpandora

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Re: Is Amiga Emulation better than the real thing?
« Reply #54 on: April 24, 2008, 10:15:55 PM »
I don't know what you refer to.

I mean that WinUAE would draw 60 frames per second instead of 50.  To this end it would have to simulate what the eye would see at the same moment if there were only 50 frames.  But I suppose it would require a lot of processing power, as this would demand from the emulator that it anticipate the next frame and scale the image and colours with antialiasing techniques.

I will test the latest versions of UAE when I find the time.
 

Offline Krusher

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Re: Is Amiga Emulation better than the real thing?
« Reply #55 on: April 24, 2008, 10:21:37 PM »
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arkpandora wrote:
...

I will test the latest versions of UAE when I find the time.


I'm using v1.4.4 with all bells and whistles on (100% accurate and all that, even with floppy sound emulation on)
 

Offline bloodline

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Re: Is Amiga Emulation better than the real thing?
« Reply #56 on: April 24, 2008, 11:18:12 PM »
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arkpandora wrote:
Today computers don't allow emulators to display animated PAL/NTSC screen modes, unless you manage to use the emulator on a 50 Hz screen mode (for PAL modes) and synchronize the emulator screen's refresh rate with the emulated screen's refresh rate.  As I have never found any way to make emulators do this, in my experience emulators are unusable, so that I have to go on with using real Amiga computers although emulators could be a much more convenient option for me.


Absolute rubbish!

I was happily playing MegaLoMania on the latest Universall E-UAE* (with OpenGL rendering) on my 2.33Ghz MacBook Pro, last week. The graphics were perfect, there was aboslutly no difference than running it on my A500, except the disk loading was much faster as I had the "Turbo Floppy Mode" active.

I get really annoyed when people like you post some ignorant junk, without using even looking at the state of technology now. I got into the Amiga because it was the best thing available. I still like to ride the crest of the technology curve, but so many people here are stuck 18 years in the past.

Ok, 10 years ago... Amiga emulation was jerky and flawed. But now emulation is perfect. Get some new hardware and enjoy yourself.

-Edit- Just tested my old G4 PowerBook with the same E-UAE binary... worked a treat, perfect... I honestly don't know what piece of crap you are running UAE on...

*WinUAE is even better than E-UAE (But I can rarely be bothered to boot into windows).

Offline Krusher

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Re: Is Amiga Emulation better than the real thing?
« Reply #57 on: April 24, 2008, 11:42:09 PM »
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bloodline wrote:
... Get some new hardware and enjoy yourself...


I'm running WinUAE on a single core Intel Centrino laptop running at 1.6Ghz, hardly new or state of the art (heh, a familiar name amongst Amigans  :lol: ) hardware but it does the job.

Does E-UAE have the floppy sound in it? Just curious as I don't have a Mac.
 

Offline arkpandora

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Re: Is Amiga Emulation better than the real thing?
« Reply #58 on: April 24, 2008, 11:47:42 PM »
@Krusher

OK, I will remember.


@bloodline

This kind of unnecessary rude talk is a common problem in forums.  I know my hypotheses are clumsy, but I have absolutely no technical knowledge on the subject, so advices are more welcome than insults.  What makes you think that I am stuck 18 years in the past ?

My aim is precisely to replace my real Amiga by an emulator, at least on my desk as I'm lacking space.  To this end, a few years ago I tested several emulators on various PCs and various monitors including TVs, tried a few software hacks, without success as far as animation was concerned.

Now my main computer is a 2007 Apple Mac Mini, and I still haven't managed to obtain normal animation in UAE.  I am willing to buy a PC again if this is the only solution, but since my finances are not in a good shape, I am still gathering feedback.

Anyway you are using a Mac, so if I am ignorant, then please explain me how these issues have been solved and how you manage to obtain normal animation on your Mac.
 

Offline Krusher

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Re: Is Amiga Emulation better than the real thing?
« Reply #59 from previous page: April 24, 2008, 11:54:25 PM »
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arkpandora wrote:
... I am willing to buy a PC again if this is the only solution, but since my finances are not in a good shape, I am still gathering feedback.....


Actually I'd spare the cash and wait until Minimig gets ECS and more compatible or Natami. Macs are great for everyday use and just buying a pc for Amiga emulation just doesn't make sense to me.