August 20, 2010

August 20, 2010

• NOTE: because of the many event-related changes in this release, all
  event mapping should be reset to defaults after starting Stella for
  the first time. As well, because of other internal changes, older
  save-state files are no longer valid.



• Many improvements to joystick handling code, particularly for analog
  axes. Navigating the UI should be much smoother now, and remapping
  events to analog axes should be less 'twitchy'.



• Added ability to assign and remap 'combo' events in emulation mode.
  Combo events are basically a sequence of normal events (up to 8)
  that are generated from a single event (ie, one button on a joystick
  could generate up to 8 events). Updated Input Settings UI to
  access and modify these events.



• Default mappings are now available in UI and emulation mode for the
  first 'hat' detected on a joystick/gamepad. Related to this, a hat
  now works exactly like an axis in UI mode (holding down a direction
  continues that direction until the hat is released/centered).



• Several major improvements to the debugger:
  
  
  
  • the disassembler can now process multiple entry points, and
    caches entry points as they're encountered (ie, the disassembly
    isn't 'reset' each time a bank change occurs or you exit and
    re-enter the debugger)
  
  
  • preliminary support for disassembling from zero-page RAM
  
  
  • re-added ability to change banks with the 'bank' debugger
    prompt command and within the ROM disassembly UI
  
  
  
  • user labels in disassembly are now supported again
  
  
  • 'runto' command is now case-insensitive, and shows a progressbar
    while searching through the disassembly
  
  
  • the debugger window can be resized between ROM loads (previously,
    the app had to be restarted)
  
  
  • fixed bug in Distella disassembler output, where it sometimes
    generated addresses above $FFFF
  
  
  • a vertical line separates the disassembly from the raw bytes
  
  
  
  



• Fixed behaviour of SWCHB and SWBCNT; pins set to output now remember
  the values previously written. Some ROMs use this functionality for
  extra storage. Special thanks to Omegamatrix of AtariAge for advice
  and test ROMs in this area.



• Fixed bug when reading from illegal TIA addresses; a Space Invaders
  hack was showing pink enemies instead of white ones. Again, special
  thanks to to Omegamatrix of AtariAge for advice and test ROMs in this
  area.



• Fixed bug in handling INPT4/INPT5 latches from VBLANK; a least one
  ROM was working in Stella when it didn't on real hardware.



• Added 'ramrandom' commandline argument, which is used to randomize
  all RAM in the system; otherwise, the RAM is zeroed.



• Added 'finishing touches' to some of the UI descriptions, giving a
  better explanation of the functions. Related to this, certain
  options now show a message box explaining the option in further
  detail (particularly the ROM Audit mode). As well, when starting
  Stella for the first time, a prompt appears to select a ROM
  directory.



• Fixed bugs in the ROM launcher when viewing certain PNG images not
  created by Stella. Related to this, the official PNG library is now
  included in the Stella codebase (version 1.4.3). Also added composite
  snapshots for those ROMs which consist of several games. Thanks go
  to Buzbard of AtariAge for these images.



• Added several fixes for crashes on 'small' systems (those systems
  where the maximum resolution is less than 640x480).



• Tweaked bankswitch autodetection for 0840, DPC+, E7 and UA schemes.



• Improved F8 bankswitch autodetection for Yars Revenge in 8in1 ROM.



• Updated DPC+ bankswitch scheme to latest specifications.



• Snapshots taken in continuous snapshot mode are now timestamped, so
  older files are never overwritten.



• Fixed a TIA segfault that could occur with certain ROMs.



• The 'center' application window functionality can now be changed
  without having to restart the application. Related to this, mouse
  positioning bugs when using the Linux version in OpenGL mode with
  SDL 1.2.14 have been fixed.



• Reworked the manual, dividing it into 'Getting Started' and
  'Advanced Configuration' sections. It still contains the same info
  as before, but hopefully in a better organized way.



• Updated Help dialog; it was showing incorrect info for some OSX
  shortcuts.



• Updated OSX build script to not crash when a previous build is
  detected, and to properly handle filenames with spaces.



• Updated included ZLib to latest release version (1.2.5).