WinVice fullscreen problem through Rocket Launcher

[AnonymousMOS]

WinVICE will not go completely fullscreen when loading through Rocket Launcher. I always have the "status" bar at the bottom like it's windowed. Does anyone know how to fix this? Thanks in advance!

[bundangdon]

I'm not sure if this will work for you but what I do with WinVice is that I first start the program on its own, set it to full screen (alt + enter) and then exit (alt + x). Then, when you use it with rocketlauncher, it will automatically start in full screen and when you press 'esc' it will exit normally hope that helps!

 

[AnonymousMOS]

4 hours ago, bundangdon said:

I'm not sure if this will work for you but what I do with WinVice is that I first start the program on its own, set it to full screen (alt + enter) and then exit (alt + x). Then, when you use it with rocketlauncher, it will automatically start in full screen and when you press 'esc' it will exit normally hope that helps!

 

Thanks for the help! :-) I tried changing some stuff based on what you said, and I do now have fullscreen, but it doesn't work well with bezels. WinVICE crashed, locked and I had to reboot to get it out of memory.  Do you use bezels with WinVice?

[bundangdon]

Yep! Here's a screenshot I just made, using the bezels with WinVice and Rocketlauncher together. If you have any problems with WinVice, you can also use the retroarch core which I've heard is working well. The only problem is I can't figure out how to speed up the tape/disk drive with retroarch

Edited September 21, 2017 by bundangdon

[AnonymousMOS]

Can you tell me what version of WinVICE you're using? 

I'd like to stick with WinVICE. Been using it for years. I know it pretty well. :-)

Edited September 21, 2017 by Ranthalion75

[bundangdon]

35 minutes ago, Ranthalion75 said:

Can you tell me what version of WinVICE you're using? 

I'd like to stick with WinVICE. Been using it for years. I know it pretty well. :-)

I'm using the latest nightly version. You can get it here http://vice.pokefinder.org/

Edited September 21, 2017 by bundangdon

[Zombeaver]

I know this wasn't the question, but I feel compelled to give my normal PSA that CCS64 is amazing for C64 emulation. The "Maximum 1541 Speed" option alone puts it a step above anything else out there in my opinion - you still get True Drive accuracy but with practically nonexistent load times, all while requiring no input from the user whatsoever. It detects when the game is loading data, automatically engages a warp mode to increase the emulation speed, and when the load is complete it drops the speed back to normal, again automatically. I can't overstate how killer of a feature it is, and I've yet to encounter any other emulator that has an equivalent.

WinVice and Hoxs64 are both good emulators though, don't get me wrong. I've used a whole lot of them, including stuff like PC64 (was okay at the time, better options now), Frodo (bad), and micro64 (good but overly convoluted), and I'd still put CCS64 at the top. I'd put WinVice and Hoxs64 basically tied for second though. Both are good emulators, but neither have Maximum 1541 Speed.

Sorry, PSA over

[bundangdon]

I agree CCS64 is the better emulator and I really like that Maximum 1541 Speed option/feature which you recommended a few months ago (in a previous, similar post), but it has some weird issues with Rocketlauncher. For example, when I use fade screens, CCS64 crashes. And when it starts up (without fade screens) it jumps up on the screen in a rather erratic fashion, and not quite as smooth the way winvice appears on screen (with fade screens and bezels). However, if you know a way to fix these issues, then I'll be the next to jump on board the CCS64 ship

Edited September 21, 2017 by bundangdon

[Zombeaver]

I don't use RocketLauncher, so there's nothing I could really recommend on that end. Personally, if something external was interfering with my ability to use the emulator that I wanted to use... I wouldn't use whatever's causing said interference. There's nothing saying you have to use RocketLauncher for literally every platform/emulator. I'd consider the benefit of a fade screen to pale in comparison to the minutes and hours of your life saved by not having to sit through the myriad loading screens present in so many C64 games (or at best the hassle of having to manually turn on and off warp features in Vice/Hoxs/etc.) but I know everyone has different priorities. There might be a way to fix those issues with RL, I don't know, but it certainly wouldn't stop me from using CCS64 if there wasn't.

I love the hell out of Retroarch, and I use it for almost everything where a core is available, but if there's an external option that's significantly superior, I'll still go with it over Retroarch. I've used the Vice core in RA too. It's cool. Looks good. Shaders are always good. Manual screen adjustment, extensive input options, overrides, and myriad other RA benefits are fantastic.

...................doooooesn't have Maximum 1541 Speed so it's still a big "nop" haha

[AnonymousMOS]

12 hours ago, bundangdon said:

I'm using the latest nightly version. You can get it here http://vice.pokefinder.org/

Okay, I just updated.  I had a slightly older version, but I still have the same problem. Is it possible to send your vice.ini?  Seems like I have something set that doesn't like working with RL. Also, where did you get your bezel?  I like the one you're using a lot!  :-)

 

@Zombeaver As for CCS64, it was one of the first emulators I ever used way back in the late 90s. I left it after I found WinVICE. I did try CCS64 again using the latest version, but I still hate the menu interface. I ran into problems using it with RL too.  I also don't like the idea of using RetroArch for computer emulation. I am, however, using it for every console I emulate. So the quest to fix WinVICE with RL and bezels is still on.  :-) Thanks for the suggestion though.

[bundangdon]

Point well said @Zombeaver. I think it all comes down to personal preference. If you're looking for a more speedy performance, then CCS64 is probably the better option but if you want a more smooth option which plays along well with Rocketlauncher, then Vice is the better choice. @Ranthalion75 I can't remember exactly where I got that C64 bezel but i'm pretty sure it was included in a large .zip file with several other systems and downloaded from here or the hyperspin website a few years back. However i'll upload it and my vice .ini here later today

[AnonymousMOS]

5 hours ago, bundangdon said:

Point well said @Zombeaver. I think it all comes down to personal preference. If you're looking for a more speedy performance, then CCS64 is probably the better option but if you want a more smooth option which plays along well with Rocketlauncher, then Vice is the better choice. @Ranthalion75 I can't remember exactly where I got that C64 bezel but i'm pretty sure it was included in a large .zip file with several other systems and downloaded from here or the hyperspin website a few years back. However i'll upload it and my vice .ini here later today

Awesome!  Thanks!  I should be able to figure out what the problem is with the .ini. and your bezel looks much more retro than the one I'm using now. :-)

[bundangdon]

Here ya go!

vice.ini

_Default.zip

Something I just noticed also is that Rocketlauncher won't start up Vice without an .ini file which I've copied from the "users\<name>\appdata\roaming\vice" directory into the Vice (emulator) directory itself

[AnonymousMOS]

Well, I've got it working, and I found the problem.  I was trying to use The cycle exact x64sc. Apparently, that isn't compatible with RL. Looks like you have to use the basic x64. All good now, and looking all retro spiffy with the nice bezel you sent me.  Thanks a bunch!  :-)

[bundangdon]

3 hours ago, Ranthalion75 said:

Well, I've got it working, and I found the problem.  I was trying to use The cycle exact x64sc. Apparently, that isn't compatible with RL. Looks like you have to use the basic x64. All good now, and looking all retro spiffy with the nice bezel you sent me.  Thanks a bunch!  :-)

No problem! Glad to hear that you got it figured out.

[JamesBond@ge]

On 9/21/2017 at 3:29 PM, Zombeaver said:

...................doooooesn't have Maximum 1541 Speed so it's still a big "nop" haha

Zombie Beaver, lovely man. What is your command line for CCS64 please?

[Zombeaver]

Just now, JamesBond@ge said:

Zombie Beaver, lovely man. What is your command line for CCS64 please?

CCS64 doesn't need anything special in the command line. Any special settings (like Maximum 1541 Speed) are defined in CCS64 beforehand. Afterwards you're just throwing a rom at it through LB. You can enable Maximum 1541 Speed by going to Special -> Maximum 1541 Speed: On - Quiet (On does the same thing except it shows a message box on screen when the feature activates).

[mothergoose729]

In VICE you can start the game with warp mode automatically toggled. It isn't as good as the feature in CCS64 as you have to manually disable it, but its better than nothing. VICE also lets you create the VICE equivalent of M3U file for seamless disk switching, and you can set the port number for your joystick in the command line, so you don't have to manually switch it for those games that use Port 2. 

If you turn off true 1541 drive emulation you also get a nice speed boost. Only a handful of games really need it. 

I stick with VICE for these reasons. It also has the ability to emulate tons of other commodore machines, if you are a collector of emulators as I am :).

[Zombeaver]

VICE is a good emulator, but it doesn't have Maximum 1541 Speed.

The m3u and joystick thing are neat, but every game requires some amount of loading, only some games are multi-disk or require joystick swapping. Most games use port 2. The ones that require port 1 take less than a second to switch. Neither one of those are as much of a QOL improvement as Maximum 1541 Speed imo.

I think the statement that "only a handful" of games require True Drive emulation is overselling it frankly. It's more common than you might think. And the beauty of Maximum 1541 Speed is that you're getting the speed benefit without losing True Drive emulation.

[JamesBond@ge]

1 hour ago, Zombeaver said:

CCS64 doesn't need anything special in the command line. Any special settings (like Maximum 1541 Speed) are defined in CCS64 beforehand. Afterwards you're just throwing a rom at it through LB. You can enable Maximum 1541 Speed by going to Special -> Maximum 1541 Speed: On - Quiet (On does the same thing except it shows a message box on screen when the feature activates).

Thanks for your quick reply mate. I'm sitting here toying with the big three (WinVICE, CCS64 and HOXS64) as I type this. I'm leaning towards CCS64 because of the Maximum 1541 Speed that you've mentioned :-). I've also noticed that CCS64 has a better aspect ratio than WinVICE. The screen seems to be more 'fuller' (for want of a better phrase) in CCS64, whereas WinVICE seems to have these big black borders around the game screen.

Do you know of a way to launch .crt (Cartridge files) with CCS64 in LaunchBox? I'm having trouble with that one.

Edited October 24, 2017 by JamesBond@ge