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Galaga and Galaxian Text Positioning
#334804 - 12/02/14 12:48 AM
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I see in the above games the score at the top of the screen and the ships at the bottom of the screen are right against the edge. Does anyone have an original machine that can check to see if this is the way it was or if there was some space between these items and the edge?
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| Sune |
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Re: Galaga and Galaxian Text Positioning
[Re: Mr Ric]
#334807 - 12/02/14 05:14 AM
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> I see in the above games the score at the top of the screen and the ships at the
> bottom of the screen are right against the edge. Does anyone have an original machine
> that can check to see if this is the way it was or if there was some space between
> these items and the edge?
But that would be pointless. Arcade monitors have picture size adjustment pots.
Although obviously designed to run on a 4:3 ratio display, very few arcade games output a 4:3 ratio resolution natively, and when they did the operator would still have to adjust the monitor to make the game fit the screen.
I've never owned a Galaga PCB but from what I understand, the starfield background runs independently and at a different resolution than the game graphics (?) and so I guess it's possible that the starfield extends beyond the text on a real Galaga PCB.
If I installed a Galaga or Galaxian PCB in my arcade cab (and uh...if I had one of those..) I would probably adjust the monitor so that the text was right against the edge, in order to get as large a playfield as possible.
In this case a decision was made by MAMEDev..they have to, in this case literally, draw the line somewhere.
MAME has zoom controls accessible from the OSD but zooming out won't give you more starfield.
S
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Re: Galaga and Galaxian Text Positioning
[Re: Mr Ric]
#334871 - 12/04/14 02:02 PM
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Games have a 'playfield' - which is the size of the physical area to which the software (game) can draw to - E.g. 320x240. The software will draw to positions relative to the playfield. The positioning or stretching of the monitor is irrelevant. The game cannot know how you have set the pots on the monitor. If you crank you brightness right up, you will usually see the true actual playfield area appear as a slightly darker area. Sprite misplacement is a common issue and I have seen this in several games. For example, Dig Dug (a few years ago now), and more recently Turtles. This one is easy to spot. Note at the start of the game, when the baby turtles walk to the left on the roof, their feet are actually 1 pixel into the roof itself. They should be actually walking on top of the roof. It is also apparent during gameplay - I simply haven't bother to report this. So sprite placement is a tricky thing to get right as separate hardware maps the sprites onto the playfield.
I have a Galaxian PCB so will check the relative position of the text tonight and let you know.
Kind Regards
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God, I miss those dark, musty arcades ....
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| gregf |
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Re: Galaga and Galaxian Text Positioning
[Re: JonBoyRetro]
#334882 - 12/04/14 07:50 PM
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>Games have a 'playfield' - which is the size of the physical area to which the software
>(game) can draw to - E.g. 320x240. The software will draw to positions relative to the
>playfield. The positioning or stretching of the monitor is irrelevant. The game cannot
>know how you have set the pots on the monitor. If you crank you brightness right up,
>you will usually see the true actual playfield area appear as a slightly darker area.
What you and Sune explained correctly points out one cannot reply on one reference since it is possible for operators to make various adjustments. The same thing can also be done with discrete audio outputs for some of the 1970s/1980s era games where operator can adjust the pitch frequency output, audio speed settings for specific sound effects etc.
>Sprite misplacement is a common issue and I have seen this in several games. For
>example, Dig Dug (a few years ago now), and more recently Turtles. This one is easy to
>spot. Note at the start of the game, when the baby turtles walk to the left on the
>roof, their feet are actually 1 pixel into the roof itself. They should be actually
>walking on top of the roof. It is also apparent during gameplay - I simply haven't
>bother to report this. So sprite placement is a tricky thing to get right as separate
>hardware maps the sprites onto the playfield.
I'd still say send in a report or at least post here since emuchat forum is visited a lot.
I enjoyed reading your past descriptive bug reports on MT, but fortunately online video means less time having to be spent describing in detail of when or where an emulation bug occurs since video or save states saves a lot of typing when posting bug reports.
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I have fired up my board and confirm that MAME looks okay. The text at the top appears smack against the top edge. With the ships at the bottom, it appears that there is a 1 pixel gap between the bottom of the ship and the playfield - you can see stars drifting below the ships - although hard to see. This looks to be the same in MAME. I attach an image which also clearly shows the playfield. Don't worry about the flag being low. It is simply because my little scart monitor cannot handle the width of the screen accurately and the image is 'bent' slightly. Hope this helps!
Sorry. Image is 2,027Kb but it doesn't seem to like it.
[ATTACHED IMAGE]
Edited by Gary Walton (12/04/14 10:55 PM)
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God, I miss those dark, musty arcades ....
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Re: Galaga and Galaxian Text Positioning
[Re: JonBoyRetro]
#334887 - 12/04/14 11:29 PM
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> I have fired up my board and confirm that MAME looks okay. The text at the top
> appears smack against the top edge. With the ships at the bottom, it appears that
> there is a 1 pixel gap between the bottom of the ship and the playfield - you can see
> stars drifting below the ships - although hard to see. This looks to be the same in
> MAME. I attach an image which also clearly shows the playfield. Don't worry about the
> flag being low. It is simply because my little scart monitor cannot handle the width
> of the screen accurately and the image is 'bent' slightly. Hope this helps!
> Sorry. Image is 2,027Kb but it doesn't seem to like it.
Upload it to imgur.com or something.
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Re: Galaga and Galaxian Text Positioning
[Re: JonBoyRetro]
#334894 - 12/05/14 03:39 AM
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> I have fired up my board and confirm that MAME looks okay. The text at the top
> appears smack against the top edge. With the ships at the bottom, it appears that
> there is a 1 pixel gap between the bottom of the ship and the playfield - you can see
> stars drifting below the ships - although hard to see. This looks to be the same in
> MAME. I attach an image which also clearly shows the playfield. Don't worry about the
> flag being low. It is simply because my little scart monitor cannot handle the width
> of the screen accurately and the image is 'bent' slightly. Hope this helps!
> Sorry. Image is 2,027Kb but it doesn't seem to like it.
Thanks for the info everyone and firing up your Galaxians Gary. Is it possible to upload the screenshot to an image site like MooglyGuy suggested?
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Re: Galaga and Galaxian Text Positioning
[Re: JonBoyRetro]
#334896 - 12/05/14 04:23 AM
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Re: Galaga and Galaxian Text Positioning
[Re: Mr Ric]
#334900 - 12/05/14 12:01 PM
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Re: Galaga and Galaxian Text Positioning
[Re: JonBoyRetro]
#334908 - 12/05/14 07:49 PM
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