How about vertical screen centering?


Nutzo

Member
Joined
Apr 23, 2003
Messages
155
Would it be possible to add an option to center the ST display vertically on the GP32, so you'd have two think black bars, one on the top, one on the bottom, instead of the thick black are on the bottom?

The reason I ask is because I think it'd look nicer (lame reason, I know), plus if you have a FLU, the top of the display tends to be a tad darker than the bottom area.

Just an idea, just ignore if you hate it Skeezix. :)

------------EDIT-----------
OOPS, I should've posted this in "CaSTaway GP feedback" thread, I'm sorry about that. I didn't look carefully at the pinned stuff before posting and I haven't visited this board much before.
 
Change the vertical offset on the fly and shift the display up when the keyboard is used. Then shift it back down when keyboard is off.

That would work. :)
 
But it'd be somewhat more work... you'd probably have to run the emu at an extra frameskip or something at a guess if you were doing that... at least.
 
Well, non semi transparent background like in Frodo emu would do the job. I also would like to see screen centered vertically (we could choose from menu working mode: normal: screen up - like its implemented right now and centered - like Nutzo suggest.
Also considering it as only suggestion would be great to replace all those written text like: joystick/cursor and replace them with small icons similar too those disc A disc B icons flashing during loading.
And one more thing. Would be also great to use right key as a switcher not only from mouse to cursor but also to joystick (also in in keyboard mode not only in mouse mode)
Thats all what comes to my mind when i think right now how to make this superb emu more perfect :)
 
Well, non semi transparent background like in Frodo emu would do the job. I also would like to see screen centered vertically (we could choose from menu working mode: normal: screen up - like its implemented right now and centered - like Nutzo suggest.
Also considering it as only suggestion would be great to replace all those written text like: joystick/cursor and replace them with small icons similar too those disc A disc B icons flashing during loading.
And one more thing. Would be also great to use right key as a switcher not only from mouse to cursor but also to joystick (also in in keyboard mode not only in mouse mode)
Thats all what comes to my mind when i think right now how to make this superb emu more perfect :)
Left shoulder always toggles to/from keyboard, so if you're in joystick mode alreayd, then left shoulder will toggle to keyboard and back, so its pretty good. We didn't want to have right shoulder go mouse -> cursor -> anything-else since then its too much work to get it where you want it. Most of the time you're either in joystick/keyboard or mouse/keyboard or mouse/cursor, and those are all covered.. just for joystick you use the optiosn menu to get to joy mode and then you're cool. I think we've nailed it pretty good :)

As to vertical.. the reaosn I dont' render the keyboard onto the display is .. notice in Frodo how it slows down like crazy when yo do that? ;)

See, he has to render the screen and then render the keyboard onto it every frame; I just render the keyboard once at the bottom, and update it when you change selection etc.. this way, there is a zero performance hit for having the keyboard up. (big win!)

If someone wants to draw a graphical keyboard (a few versions of it.. unselected, selected, key-held-down) I could work on it,.. but ideally stll have it at the screen buttom.

I could have the screen jump up when you open the vkeyboard, but that would then be intrusive if your'e toggling the keyboard on and off, so I skipped that too.. besides, its ever so slightly more efficient to always know the screen is in one area, and thus that the bottom 40 pixels are always mine to play with.. the ST enevr writes there in low/med res, so I know I can write somethign there and it'll stay until I clear it.

That said.. I am thinking of making a mouse-follow-mode for medium res.. instead of showing every other pixel to make medium res work on gp32, make an option to show medium res but half a screen at once, and follow the mouse so you can have a window over the virtual medium res. Could be cool, but few games use medium res..

jeff
 
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Also considering it as only suggestion would be great to replace all those written text like: joystick/cursor and replace them with small icons similar too those disc A disc B icons flashing during loading.

Oooh, thats an interesting idea. Never ocurred to me.. I used text since I wanted to be able to customize it.. ie: In Custom Mode it shows "Custom XXX" where "XXX" is your last config files "print" statement. This lets ou say "print NorthAndSouthMode" and then you see "Custom NorthAndSouthMode" so you know what mode you're in. (ie: you can create configs that load other configs.. so when you hit a button it loads another config up.. so you could have 3 or 4 sets of controls for somethign complex like a flightsim). So knowing what mode your'e in helps..

But I coudl draw a little joystick or the like, and if custom mode just show a little (what?) quesiton mark? with the word "NorthAndSouthMode" beside it.

Performance wise it wouldn't matter.. since the modeline is rendered only once until it changes, etc.

jeff
 
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Seen as your on the 'joystick', 'mouse' text subject, if you do replace them, or not, any chance you can make that text go away when in keyboard mode.... its annoying as you cant see the top left of the keyboard :)
 
The first Atari ST's were sold with the same joystick that the 2600 had, an icon of one of those would be cool. Mouse and keyboard would be easy as any would do, but for the custom icon I really like the idea of just using the Atari logo (can never have enough of those :) ) then some text.
 
The first Atari ST's were sold with the same joystick that the 2600 had, an icon of one of those would be cool. Mouse and keyboard would be easy as any would do, but for the custom icon I really like the idea of just using the Atari logo (can never have enough of those :) ) then some text.
I don't think I ever saw them include a 2600-style joystick; we always had the Wico batsticks with them :)

I'm sort of wondering about the fuji.. now that Infogrames thinks they're Atari, are we open for trouble if we use their logo? (ie: I would imagine your'e supposed to license it if you're making money.. for free stuf fthey probably wouldnt' care. But since I also do have other things for cash, I worry about it. maybe they coudl come kick my ass :/)

jeff
 
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Then make it so we can use a fuji symbol instead of a generic one, and release it separately as say a single post by a "new user" here who's got it as their sig... We replace the generic one with the fuji, and infogrames can't sue someone who doesn't exist :)
 
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