MUSIC-X - Screen Update using RTG

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Don't Panic. Please wash hands.

    Hello! :-)


    Thank-you for the update to P96 recently (3.3.3), which now allows me to use Music-X..

    However, When using RTG graphics, with the Planar option, the screen doesn't update in real-time; In the attached picture, you can see the text reveal, as I move the mouse...


    I have tried the options in P96 (Looking through Forum), and by trying ModePro, using "Force Planar".


    It looks like a known... "feature".. :) - Do you imagine it's something you will be able to fix in a future update?


    I'm grateful just to be able to run Music-X, with P96 installed; That's a huge plus! .. but Music-X, with RTG, would be amazing!


    Thank-you ..


    TBH, I don't know what I'm seeing in your screenshot. Maybe that's because I don't know what Music-X is supposed to look like.


    Also, if there's an issue with the mouse pointer, I'd like to know what hardware your RTG card is, and if it supports hardware sprites.


    Jens

    One thing about ModePro/Force Planar is that it really requires the gfx data to be present in chip ram, so the native Amiga blitter can work on it. This will allow software to work even if it hits the blitter registers directly ("hardware-banging"), without going through an OS function. That also means that P96 does not know which part(s) of the screen have changed since the last transfer. Moving the mouse will force re-reading the data from chip ram - if you have set P96 to use a soft-sprite, that is.


    The MMU won't help in this case, as it will only know about memory changes if the CPU has made these changes. If the blitter has moved data in chip ram without using any OS function, the CPU/MMU combo has no way of finding out. If OS functions would have been used, then P96 was clever enough to install patches on every "exit" of OS Blitter routines, where an "RTG refresh" function can be called.


    Sorry to name it like this, but poor software will result in poor performance with RTG. You will get *much* better results with a flicker fixer for programs that use native graphics in combination with hardware-banging.


    Jens

    Hi Jens,


    Yes, I could have explained the screen shot a little better! :-)


    It seems the issue is covered in the post by PainDictator:

    (https://forum.icomp.de/index.php?thread/3060-planar-emulation-improvements/)


    Thank-you for taking the time to reply - As I said before, I'm happy with what you're achieved with 3.3.3; Previously, I couldn't even have P96 installed, as Music-X would crash - At least now, I can use RTG and still use Music-X via RGB.


    Kindest regards & thanks! :-)