Minimig AGA for the MiST v1.0 : Slam Tilt support !

[mahen]

After a first beta release at the end of 2014 and 6 more months of collaborative work, Rok Krajnc and the Minimig / MiST / FPGA community release a new version of the Amiga AGA core for the MiST FPGA board labelled "1.0".

One may refer to it as minimig-mist-v1.0.

It contains a huge list of fixes which significantly improve the compatibility :
- fixed AGA color table issues
- fixed erroneous detection of HAM, HAM8 & EHB modes in AGA
- fixed AGA BPLXOR implementation
- implemented AGA bitplane scandoubling
- implemented AGA sprite scandoubling & SSCAN2 SH10 coincidence detection
- implemented proper AGA bitplane scroller with quarter pixel scrolling precision
- fixed AGA BPLCON4 values delay
- playfield CLUT offsets fixed
- ECS sprite attach enabled for both odd and even attach bit
- turbo options for chipRAM & kickstart
- new 8kB two-way, write-through, look-through CPU cache with separate instruction & data caches
- CPU PACK & UNPK instruction fixes by Till Harbaum
- updated very fast CPU by Alastair M. Robinson (in the newcpu build)
- CIA TOD bug fixed
- HRTmon with custom registers mirror
- chipset config applied only on reset
- config display added on boot screen

This list won't necessarily appeal to many of us, non-technical users, but the Slam Tilt compatibility definitely will !

Official site & download : http://somuch.guru/minimig/minimig-mist/
Make sure you read the readme.txt !

[mahen]

The compatibility increase is HUGE. The MiST is now turning int a real A1200 replacement with great features (midi ports, hardfiles & floppies support, turbo mode, aga, scanlines, bilinear filtering...).

[mahen]

> So the MIDI ports are confirmed to work then? Good!!!

Well, I don't know if they are supported at the moment, to be honest I assumed they would be supported eventually, as they are built-in. They are supported by the ST core though. Really looking forward to using Music-X, as it was used to create some of my favorite CDs (Montage, Dreamcast... by Dr Awesome aka Bjorn Lynne

[mahen]

Here's the official site but there are other resellers...

http://lotharek.pl/product.php?pid=96 (version without MIDI ports)
http://lotharek.pl/product.php?pid=143 (with MIDI ports)

[mahen]

Sysinfo reports the speed of a 65 MHz 68030, pretty good, I watched some mid 90s CNCD / Haujobb / TBL demos with no problems

[mahen]

I guess it's a matter of taste... I grew to appreciate it actually. It is sturdy and looks like it will last forever HDMI/DVI might be implemented in the future... I guess it's better to have VGA support to keep the compatiblity with more screens. Well, if all screens still have VGA support nowadays ? Eventually it should be replaced though, you're right !

The number one issue is not the output of the MiST actually, but the fact you need a monitor that correctly supports 720x576 and 50 Hz (no matter if it's a VGA or HDMI input).

Which is not a problem with a Raspberry + UAE based device. But rendering and overall experience is SO MUCH better with a Minimig / MiST ! (IMHO)

[mahen]

I think those modes can be output over HDMI/DVI too, as both the FPGA Arcade and the Indivision AGA MK2 have DVI output. We should ask people who have both the Minimig/MiST and the FPGA Arcade Replay, like Laurent from Amedia. I think they give similar results. Compatibility may differ, however.

One important difference is that you only have SCART output with a Minimig/MiST though, not with an FPGA Arcade.

There are pros and cons in both cases !

But I would like to emphasize, again, the fact the screen plays a big role. I remember using my A1200 in SCART mode on a decent LCD TV : the result was HORRIBLE. Similarly, before using my current Iiyama LCD, I had horrible results with a Minimig and an LG LCD monitor : it did support 50 Hz but didn't have the right pixel clone and scrollings were not smooth at all. I guess TVs generally support more modes.

ANYWAY... If you find a proper screen, IMHO, the result is awesome. A great balance between pixellisation and bluriness that is even difficult to achieve with a real Amiga  and an emulator (on a LCD I mean... an Amiga looks great on CRTs of course). Probably due to the fact it outputs at 720x576 while also enabling the use of scanlines & filters.