c64 C64 Dreams (massive curated C64 collection)

[Zombeaver]

42 minutes ago, Pixelpiper said:

Vice PAL - Core aspect ratio - no zoom

Vice PAL - MAXIMUM zoom with Core aspect ratio

Well, it's not going to hurt anything in this case. If you took away the top and bottom portions of that second screenshot that's exactly how it looks on a 16:9 screen with the bezel turned off. The settings I used before probably wouldn't look right on a 4:3 / 5:4 monitor either. Even with the original custom resolution the blue portions to the left and right were still visible if the bezel was turned off (because it's maintaining the aspect ratio, and doesn't actually crop at all). My suggestion would be to dial in a custom value in the resolution settings that crops (zooms) it appropriately (horizontally) for your display and then leave it there (which I think was basically your plan from the get go). Since you'll have more of the top and bottom visible anyway that should cover basically everything with one setting. You're just going to have a small amount unused space on the top and bottom in some (probably most) cases.

[Zombeaver]

11 minutes ago, Pixelpiper said:

What's the magic incantation to get that setting (or any) to stick?  On this config it doesn't seem like autosave is working and even manually saving config to retroarch.default didn't preserve it or aspect when restarting.

That's intentional. It's so people don't change something, intentionally or unintentionally, and then mess everything up.

You can make changes to either retroarch.cfg or config\VICE x64\VICE x64.cfg. The latter of which is a core override so any settings specified there take precedence over retroarch.cfg. Specifically what you're looking for is:

menu_unified_controls =  (which you want to be "false")

You can also make a change and then go to Overrides > Save Core Override though I don't recommend that, as it'll remove any settings from the override which are identical to what's in retroarch.cfg (it's that way by design, but I like having common use things listed in the core override for testing purposes, even if what's in the base retroarch.cfg).

[Zombeaver]

No, it's that way by design. It's because there's a core override in place. When there's an override, that's used and not overwritten unless you specifically tell it to overwrite it by going to overrides > save core/game/etc. override.

[Zombeaver]

32 minutes ago, Pixelpiper said:

Totally unrelated question...  Did you by any chance do anything to lock volume (or know how to)?  In my clean install, pressing "-" on the number pad adjusts the volume and because of testing with your setup, I find myself regularly pressing it.  Ideally I'd like to lock volume at 100% as I don't want any software volume control on this system.

It's not so much that I've locked it as I've simply changed what numpad minus does in Input  > Hotkeys. By default it's the hotkey to reduce the volume. In my setup it's "enable hotkeys".

It will default to 100% volume but I don't know if you mean you want an actual gain adjustment on top of that or not (as in, by default, it's 100% of a 0db adjustment which is "normal" volume). If you do want an additional gain adjustment, you can do that in Settings > Audio > Volume Gain. The maximum is 12db and the minimum is -80db. 12db will make it really loud.

[Zombeaver]

You can disable it. Just remove the binding. It's a hotkey like anything else. Just remove the bindings for volume up and down in hotkeys.

Find the hotkey you want to remove and press Del.

[Zombeaver]

Another quick status update:

All of the 300 new games are done, bringing the count to 2000.
All version updates are complete (86 games updated).
I've added Blast From The Past volumes 16-25.
I've updated the controller mapping image to reflect the addition of the virtual keyboard function, as well as note some special keyboard keys (Esc = Runstop, Tab = Ctrl, etc.)
I've added 55 new custom notes overlays bringing the total to 80. (I originally thought it'd be 100 for this release but I honestly feel like I'm scraping to come up with more that really warrant it at this point so I'm going to stick with 80)
I've added 16 new demos bringing the total to 50.
I've added 10 new SID track bringing the total to 60.
Zzap!64 issues 36-50 conversion is complete.
PRG/Group/Version info is now complete for all 2000 games. (phew!)
I've setup a simple configurator panel as I do with some releases on Zomb's Lair to allow for quick selection/adjustment of different settings:

I need to add custom controls to 1 game.
I've created a new bezel with the updated aspect ratio for Project Firestart but I still need to do it for Black Tiger, Retrograde, Supremacy and hopefully one or two new ones. I also need to do this for 4:3 NTSC games - that's done for the Project Firestart one.
I still need to do a bit of housekeeping before releasing the early version.

Once this stuff is finished up I'll be releasing a version for testing here that will not be setup with Launchbox, since I've yet to even start that side of it yet. You'll just have to go into the Games folder then one of the subfolders for a game and start the .vbs inside to start the game.

[Zombeaver]

Spent a while working on some new bezels:

Bruce Lee:

Retrograde:

Times of Lore:Ultima III:

X-Out:

I still need to make some more for NTSC.

[jophran]

Great work @Zombeaver ! Do you ever sleep? ?

[Zombeaver]

Occasionally 

[jonnieboyrevel]

Hi Zombeaver

I just had a quick question regarding the !Automator.bat

I've used the bat to create the folders for a couple of games and they load up fine in Launchbox. However, the cmd window takes focus from the game and I need to either click back on thew game window or alt tab.

Do you have any suggestions as to how to solve this issue?

Thanks for any help you can provide and for creating such a great set of content.

 

UPDATE: Ignore my message. For some reason the vbs converter bit didn't happen. I've run it again and all is good.

Edited March 23, 2020 by jonnieboyrevel

[Zombeaver]

Yes, you don't start the .bat files, you use the .vbs files (which starts the .bat while hiding the cmd window).

What games are you wanting added? This is why I've asked (repeatedly) for any requests. They won't be in the next update at this point but I can add them to the list for the one after that.

[Zombeaver]

Okay so here's the version for testing. The version number is 0.20 instead of 0.19 because this one's kindof a milestone update so we're skipping. Shenanigans!

C64 Dreams v0.20-testing

I'm not going to post a changelog (which is quite extensive) at this point - I basically just want people to play around with it and let me know if they have any issues. The new NTSC bezels are done and cleanup is done. I still need to make custom joystick controls for one game (Renegade) but that can wait for the final release.

Reminders:

• This does not include Launchbox at the moment as that side of the update isn't done yet. It isn't needed to use these though. Just go into the Games folder and then into a subfolder for a game and start the .vbs file inside.
   
• There's a new configurator for quickly switching out shaders, overlays, and adjusting the base config.
   
• This should work out of the box for any 16:9 resolution. If you are using 4:3, 5:4, etc. it's going to need some manual adjustment. There are still 11 games that have 1080p-specific settings that won't be right on anything other than that resolution; and because the dimensions have changed somewhat, the previously provided settings for other resolutions will no longer be valid and new ones will be needed. The 11 games are listed below:

Alien Syndrome
Ballblazer
Brainway
Draconus
Forgotten Forest
Frogger Arcade
Gemini Wing
Genesia
Tiger Claw
Turbo Outrun
Zolyx

Everything else is setup in such a way that it should "just work" with any 16:9 resolution, including the three NTSC titles - Death Bringer, Donkey Kong (Atari), and Masquerade.

[an531]

On 3/25/2020 at 12:10 AM, Zombeaver said:

Okay so here's the version for testing.

Here are some of my issues/questions from using your release:

(1) When I run any game .vbs I get the follwing error: "The program can't start because libwinpthread-1.dll is missing from your PC. Try installing the program to fix this problem". I just double-checked that the old, v0.18 game .vbs work just fine.

(2) I thought that you are going through your C64 game database of choice alphabetically, but I see some titles from A to Z... What's your methodology? How far did you make it with this release?

(3) Is screen resolution automatically adjusted in this release? There are no .bats to adjust it now.

(4) When I click "Config Editor" in Configurator.exe, I get the following error: "CudaText has stopped working".

 

Edited April 1, 2020 by an531

[Zombeaver]

1 hour ago, an531 said:

(1) When I run any game .vbs I get the follwing error: "The program can't start because libwinpthread-1.dll is missing from your PC. Try installing the program to fix this problem"

I don't know what to tell you there. Nothing is different about them than what's in every prior release. libwinpthread-1.dll is already in the Retroarch folder so I'm not sure why it thinks it's missing.

I've had a couple other people test (and I've tested on multiple PCs myself) and no one else is reporting that error. Did you extract all the folders or try to merge with an existing set? As with every prior update so far, do not do that. Extract this, in its entirety, somewhere fresh. This is not meant to be merged or placed on top of existing files. The only other thing I can suggest is maybe make sure that the archive isn't "blocked" on your PC by right-clicking on it, going to properties, and clicking unblock.

1 hour ago, an531 said:

(2) I thought that you are going through your C64 game database of choice alphabetically, but I see some titles from A to Z... What's your methodology? How far did you make it with this release?

I am going alphabetically but I regularly check CSDb.dk for new releases as well (you have to in order to keep up) and when something new catches my eye I add it in. Sometimes I'll just browse through every release by a specific group like Remember, Hokuto Force, or Triad and just pick out things that look interesting from there (since I already know I like these groups, that can be a good place to start). I'm at the end of "G" ("Gu" to be more specific) though in terms of Gamebase64 screenshots.

1 hour ago, an531 said:

(3) Is screen resolution automatically adjusted in this release? There are no .bats to adjust it now.

Please read what I put in the post.

1 hour ago, an531 said:

(4) When I click "Config Editor" in Configurator.exe, I get the following error: "CudaText has stopped working".

I don't know what to tell you there either. CudaText is literally just a portable text editor for editing the .cfg file. This could again be the result of not extracting everything or not unblocking the archive.

[an531]

16 hours ago, an531 said:

(1) When I run any game .vbs I get the follwing error: "The program can't start because libwinpthread-1.dll is missing from your PC. Try installing the program to fix this problem". I just double-checked that the old, v0.18 game .vbs work just fine.

16 hours ago, an531 said:

(4) When I click "Config Editor" in Configurator.exe, I get the following error: "CudaText has stopped working". However, I don't even know what that function does, so I don't know if I should even click it or not

It's getting kinda late here, but I wanted to have a look at this baby before I go to sleep to have nice (C64) dreams. I'll check back tomorrow.

Turns out this was a filepath problem. I named and extracted the archive as "C64 Dreams v0.20 [Zombeaver; test]". Windows doesn't mind a semicolon, but it gives errors with the .vbs files and other stuff inside the release...

Edited March 25, 2020 by an531

[Zombeaver]

Good to know and glad you got it sorted!

[Zombeaver]

Alright, so everything's done. Everything's imported, media added for everything, made a couple more custom note overlays, cleanup's done... at this point I'm just going to do some final testing and we should be good to go. If anybody is having any issues with the testing version, let me know, otherwise I should have it out in the next couple days.

[Z3R0B4NG]

 

I would really love if somebody could make a good set of 3D box art for the C64 (and for eXoDOS as well for that matter).  
Any thoughts on that topic?

Somehow the more computer based stuff doesn't seem to get a lot of love from Emumovies & Co. and just in general, even the 2D box art does not seem all that well preserved.

You got a post over on their forums? Maybe do some more recruiting/advertising once you drop this release? (just thinking out loud, i'm sure you got your workflow)
I mean i do what i can with artwork to add to the Launchbox DB, but artwork for C64 and MS-DOS is a pain compared to console stuff and i don't have the skills to do 3D artwork or i'd be all over that myself (heck, i'm happy i figured out how to do transparent backgrounds for PNG files by now but my skills pretty much end with MS-Paint ?).

off topic:

On 3/25/2020 at 2:39 AM, Pixelpiper said:

I did spend a couple of days making an online tool to help filter and construct 1G1R Redump file lists for most CD-based systems

That sounds interesting, REDUMP doesn't provide a parent/clone set for 1G1R, i'm sure i could free up some serious space on my unRAID server if that was a thing and with CD based systems it might actually be worth it, you got a post somewhere about that or a link?

Edited March 31, 2020 by Z3R0B4NG

[Zombeaver]

1 hour ago, Z3R0B4NG said:

I would really love if somebody could make a good set of 3D box art for the C64 (and for eXoDOS as well for that matter).  
Any thoughts on that topic?

Somehow the more computer based stuff doesn't seem to get a lot of love from Emumovies & Co. and just in general, even the 2D box art does not seem all that well preserved.

The problem is that a lot of these games have no official art. Many of them were just made by [insert random dude in his garage]. Big publishers like Activision, EA, etc. had the budget to release nice, high quality packaging for their games, but there are significant portions of the C64 library that were just hobby projects that found their way out into the public in one way or another. The closest you're going to get for those games is something like Lassiveran's box set which I'm already using wherever possible, and there's still plenty that are missing. 3D boxes, specifically, are less common than normal boxes already, and without official art to work with in many cases there will likely always be large gaps, unless someone were to A) do their own custom boxes similar to what Lassiveran's done or B) made 3D box versions of Lassiveran's art.

I do plan on making my own custom boxes for ones that don't have official art eventually, although I don't plan on doing 3D boxes.

1 hour ago, Z3R0B4NG said:

off topic:

On 3/24/2020 at 9:39 PM, Pixelpiper said:

I did spend a couple of days making an online tool to help filter and construct 1G1R Redump file lists for most CD-based systems

That sounds interesting, REDUMP doesn't provide a parent/clone set for 1G1R, i'm sure i could free up some serious space on my unRAID server if that was a thing and with CD based systems it might actually be worth it, you got a post somewhere about that or a link?

This needs to be taken to PMs.

[Zombeaver]

1 hour ago, Pixelpiper said:

Every commercial C64 release had box art, posters, magazine ads, etc.

Which is what I said, yes.

1 hour ago, Pixelpiper said:

Back in the C64 heyday, the presence of homebrew titles wasn't significant and none of that stuff received wide scene release or distribution.

That is a pretty bizarre statement. There are many, many titles all the way back in the 80s that fall right into this category - there are quite a few in this collection which itself is already cut down through curation. Magazines like Compute! and diskmags like Magic Disk 64 and Game On released many such games regularly; nearly all of which had scene releases as well (that's what's in the collection). This is not to mention just other weird stuff like Mario's Brewery (which I actually have a cart of sitting right here); which I guess technically does have "official" art if you count what's on the cart (there was no box, as far as I know)

This type of thing really wasn't that uncommon. There were something like 10,000~ commercial titles for the C64. There are 25,000+ titles on Gamebase64 (which is missing a lot of stuff from the last couple years). Not all of those 15,000 titles were made in the 90s.

Frankly, it's not particularly relevant whether a game was released in 85, 95, or 2005. It's all the same library. A PC game that's released on Steam or, hell, itch.io in 2020 isn't inherently any more or less important than [insert PC game from 10+ years ago] on the basis of some kind of esoteric notion of a "heyday". It's the same library. The only metric that actually matters is whether or not something is actually worth playing. Some of them are good, some of them are shit (a statement that safely spans both commercial and non-commercial releases), and it turns out that, in this case, there are lots of good ones that have no official art.

1 hour ago, Pixelpiper said:

so if there's no art present, a screenshot would suffice for something really worth keeping

Which is what's already been done, yes. Those are what's being discussed to begin with though. Many (not all, of course) of the games that have official art already have 3D boxes. The games that don't, don't. In the case of the ones that don't have official art, Lassiveran's boxes fill in some of the gaps for traditional boxes, but not 3D boxes. Personally, I don't like 3D boxes that much so I'm not planning on making any, but I will eventually make my own normal boxes for the missing gaps (and probably replacing Lassiveran's boxes as well, just to make it a bit more consistent).