Scummvm 0.13 coming to psp?

[joostp]

Ah, thought you'd updated the keyboard graphics as well, if not, then indeed it's a bit hacky.
It may be better actually to switch to the common ScummVM virtual keyboard soon, that also frees up the select button for bringing up the old F5 menu...

As for replacing the Adlib soundtracks, that's actually not outside of ScummVM's scope, see also the recent Discworld enhanced audio release.
Since these soundtracks generally tend to use less CPU, while sounding considerably better than the Adlib emu, I'm personally very much in favour of using/supporting them 'officially' as much as possible.

[Pix2]

If you think thats hacky you should see how I implemented some of the soundtracks. I'd have to tidy them up if they were ever to be official but if I knew they would be supported, then I'd be happy enough to attempt it.

Its a question of legality more than anything. I know EA don't want anyone distributing the Kyrandia soundtracks so they are out of the question. I've already been down that road attempting to get permission from them and they were less than helpful. I'd expect my experience to be similar with other games.

[Jinx1337]

Well the new build will set the clockrate to 333mhz itself, possibly overriding whatever you had set beforehand.
There's just too many unoptimized new engines to get a good user experience at 222mhz.
In addition I've also increased the compiler optimization level, which should in theory produce slightly faster code.

You sure about that? I am using CWCheat to change CPU clocks on the fly, once ScummVM is up and running. It reports 222/111 mhz in Discworld 1 by default in the nightly SVN and works flawlessly, whereas in Pix's build it reports 333/166 by default and setting it to 222/111 decreases the game's speed a lot and I mean A LOT.

Changing the Mhz DOES affect the performance (tried setting it to 111/54 - received a slideshow); CWCheat always succeeds in overriding the CPU setting in every known PSP homebrew/game/popstation app.

This is how I always changed my clocks in ScummVM whenever I wanted to prolong the battery life.

Ending line is - I am sure it runs in 222/111 Mhz by default and makes DW1 amazingly flawless. I'll try to run DW2 in a minute and see what I get on different clocks.

Ah, thought you'd updated the keyboard graphics as well, if not, then indeed it's a bit hacky.
It may be better actually to switch to the common ScummVM virtual keyboard soon, that also frees up the select button for bringing up the old F5 menu...

I rather like the current OSK. Doesn't obstruct the view thanks to it's transparency and it feels minimalistic (even though it's really not). Is it hard to change the graphics?

Nevertheless, I can't help but notice that it is rather slow to type with (rendering old Sierra games nearly unplayable). Even the default Sony OSK that's residing in the firmware is faster (but much uglier + it blocks the view).

How about implementing the Danzeff OSK 'middleware'? I have been wondering about this ever since I tried the first PSP ScummVM build I got my hands on.

It is by far the most popular, commonly used and fastest OSK in all the PSP (and even XBOX1) homebrew apps. It comes with full sources, several skins/transparency settings already and manages to fit all the regular QWERTY keyboard keys in.
I ain't worth a damn dime when it comes to coding knowledge, but from what I have heard and read, it's piss-easy to incorporate into an app.

Ever considered using it JoostP? It would surely make those Space Quests an enjoyable experience on the PSP.

It uses the CTRL-F5 menu now, as that offers the "return to launcher" functionality. I would love to allow both F5 and CTRL-F5 menus, but couldn't think of a suitable set of keys.

Select + Start maybe? Or the Sound (note icon) Key + Select/Start?

Also, I just tried FOTAQ in the newest nightly build. Seems like saving the game still doesn't work?
Journal list always shows up empty.

Its a question of legality more than anything. I know EA don't want anyone distributing the Kyrandia soundtracks so they are out of the question. I've already been down that road attempting to get permission from them and they were less than helpful. I'd expect my experience to be similar with other games.

I've read your posts regarding the issue. A damn shame your Kyrandia fixes cannot be incorporated into the engine. Officially that is.

[joostp]

Well the new build will set the clockrate to 333mhz itself, possibly overriding whatever you had set beforehand.
There's just too many unoptimized new engines to get a good user experience at 222mhz.
In addition I've also increased the compiler optimization level, which should in theory produce slightly faster code.

You sure about that? I am using CWCheat to change CPU clocks on the fly, once ScummVM is up and running. It reports 222/111 mhz in Discworld 1 by default in the nightly SVN and works flawlessly, whereas in Pix's build it reports 333/166 by default and setting it to 222/111 decreases the game's speed a lot and I mean A LOT.

If you change it on the fly, then obviously not. I thought you meant setting the CPU clock prior to launching the app.

Ah, thought you'd updated the keyboard graphics as well, if not, then indeed it's a bit hacky.
It may be better actually to switch to the common ScummVM virtual keyboard soon, that also frees up the select button for bringing up the old F5 menu...

I rather like the current OSK. Doesn't obstruct the view thanks to it's transparency and it feels minimalistic (even though it's really not). Is it hard to change the graphics?

Nevertheless, I can't help but notice that it is rather slow to type with (rendering old Sierra games nearly unplayable). Even the default Sony OSK that's residing in the firmware is faster (but much uglier + it blocks the view).

How about implementing the Danzeff OSK 'middleware'? I have been wondering about this ever since I tried the first PSP ScummVM build I got my hands on.

Ever considered using it JoostP? It would surely make those Space Quests an enjoyable experience on the PSP.

I would rather use a solution that is uniform across multiple ScummVM ports.

It uses the CTRL-F5 menu now, as that offers the "return to launcher" functionality. I would love to allow both F5 and CTRL-F5 menus, but couldn't think of a suitable set of keys.

Select + Start maybe? Or the Sound (note icon) Key + Select/Start?

I now changed it so the R-trigger acts as a modifier. Holding R while pressing start brings up the RTL menu, holding it in the launcher presents the "mass add" option, and regularly (during play) it's used for precise cursor movement.

Also, I just tried FOTAQ in the newest nightly build. Seems like saving the game still doesn't work?
Journal list always shows up empty.

Works for me. Are you sure you didn't set your savepath to something bogus?

[Jinx1337]

R button you say? But that's my double-click in Discworld 1!
Oh well, we can't have everything now, can we? Access to both menus at once surely make up for that.

Wasn't the d-pad used for precise movement all this time? It was perfectly fine; hope you didn't remove it!

Too bad about Danzeff OSK as it would really help these older titles which require a lot of typing, but I can perfectly understand where you're coming from.

If you change it on the fly, then obviously not. I thought you meant setting the CPU clock prior to launching the app.

Still, it's running 222/111 by default (single eboot version, if that matters). Flawless for DW1 but games like Simon or FOTAQ are kinda slow. Not a problem to me, but most do not know how to change their clocks. Just thought you'd like to check that up.

Regarding FOTAQ:

savegame path set up manually from "default" and still no dice. Double checked both "global" and "per game" options.

The build I'm using is "ScummVM 1.0.0pre043499 (Aug 18 2009 06:38:22)". I checked the BuildBot's site and await a more recent build.

On a side-note:

I think I found two tiny Discworld bugs where when you examine an item, subtitles appear (even if turned off) and Eric Idle (aka Rincewind) doesn't say his line. Not sure if these were originally in Discworld or are ScummVM's "fault". I'll check them out using Dosbox and report to bug tracker.

[Jinx1337]

As promised, my DW2 PSP venture of the recent 5 minutes:

Tried Discworld 2 :

with the mentioned nightly build;
crashes on startup (reboots the PSP). Doesn't work at all.

with Pix's "tinsel-only" build;
works albeit really, really slow in some areas. Music "hitches" every 5-10 seconds. Runs 333/166 by default. Not necessarily a flawless experience, although pretty playable.

[joostp]

R button you say? But that's my double-click in Discworld 1!
Oh well, we can't have everything now, can we? Access to both menus at once surely make up for that.

The old R-trigger is now mapped to triangle, so you can still use your double-click.

Wasn't the d-pad used for precise movement all this time? It was perfectly fine; hope you didn't remove it!

It was too, but the analog method is generally more comfortable.

Still, it's running 222/111 by default (single eboot version, if that matters). Flawless for DW1 but games like Simon or FOTAQ are kinda slow. Not a problem to me, but most do not know how to change their clocks. Just thought you'd like to check that up.

So do Simon and FOTAQ run better when you change to 333mhz? I don't understand why it says 222mhz for you, because here it's clearly faster.

[Jinx1337]

Still, it's running 222/111 by default (single eboot version, if that matters). Flawless for DW1 but games like Simon or FOTAQ are kinda slow. Not a problem to me, but most do not know how to change their clocks. Just thought you'd like to check that up.

So do Simon and FOTAQ run better when you change to 333mhz? I don't understand why it says 222mhz for you, because here it's clearly faster.

Yeah, they do. Including COMI, Inherit the Earth and other games I checked.
Like I said, I can also lower it to let's say 111/54 and receive a nice slideshow which is a proof that it properly reports and changes the clocks - it surely runs in 222/111 mode by def.

Pix's builds on the other hand are 333/133 mhz.

Are you saying that the SVN build I'm using runs 333/166 by default on your end?

Another thing I discovered is that you cannot enter the "SAVE" option using ScummVM's menu in the SVN. You can "LOAD" a game, however both "SAVE" and "RETURN TO THE LOADER" are greyed out.

Not going to be an issue once I grab the nightly build tomorrow, but still.

Also, remember what I said earlier about the cursor staying black and not blinking, therefore being almost invisible in the "classic" theme? It only happens in Discworld. In Monkey Island 2, for some reason, the cursor changes to pink.

Ok, I'm worn out today, heh. Been nitpicking every little nuisance since morning.

Not trying to be an asshole here, just doing what I can to help.

[joostp]

It's strange because I set it the same way Pix does, at pretty much the same point.

Can you check tonight's build when you get a chance? I changed some cursor stuff that might fix the issue you were seeing, and would also be good to know if it's still 222mhz for you.

[Jinx1337]

It's strange because I set it the same way Pix does, at pretty much the same point.

Can you check tonight's build when you get a chance? I changed some cursor stuff that might fix the issue you were seeing, and would also be good to know if it's still 222mhz for you.

Will do. Not sure at what time the download link updates though (GMT+1 here). I can see that BuildBot compiled the newest source already (http://buildbot.scummvm.org/buildbot/bu ... builds/681), but the downloads still point to the version I'm currently testing.

I am also curious about that FOTAQ issue.

[Jinx1337]

Ok, so I tried the newest build (043526).

1) It's 333/166 by default this time, Discworld 1 still runs super-fast when I set it to 222/111.

2) Modern theme is back! Awesome! It's much more pleasant to view.

3) FOTAQ still did not work for me. This time however I accidentally discovered that saves show up if saved in slots other than 1! Peculiar issue? Whenever I try to save in slot 1, save disappears when I re-enter the journal.

Oh well, at least I can save now in other slots. But could you please double-check that on your end joostp? I wonder if I have a case of MS stick corruption.


Other than that, awesome job on the recent optimization. Every game I tried worked around 1/3 faster faster than before in 222/111.

What's the deal with Discworld 2 Tinsel eating up PSP's memory though? Can it be worked out? I'm looking forward to those optimizations Pix promised (I'm almost done with DW1 now, heh).

edit:

Tried DW2 with the newest SVN out of curiosity and to my surprise not only it started but also played rather well! Much faster than before (although it could still use some optimization). Music still occasionally breaks for a half a second every now and then (MS Stick access LED is blinking at that time) and it's slower in places with lots of movement.

Definitely playable though.

Anyway to compress music into OGGs? Could that fix the hitching issue?

[joostp]

3) FOTAQ still did not work for me. This time however I accidentally discovered that saves show up if saved in slots other than 1! Peculiar issue? Whenever I try to save in slot 1, save disappears when I re-enter the journal.

Oh well, at least I can save now in other slots. But could you please double-check that on your end joostp? I wonder if I have a case of MS stick corruption.

I saved in slots 1-3, no problems. You could indeed try a new/formatted memory stick.

Other than that, awesome job on the recent optimization. Every game I tried worked around 1/3 faster faster than before in 222/111.

Great.

Tried DW2 with the newest SVN out of curiosity and to my surprise not only it started but also played rather well! Much faster than before (although it could still use some optimization). Music still occasionally breaks for a half a second every now and then (MS Stick access LED is blinking at that time) and it's slower in places with lots of movement.

Last night I made a change that should allow ScummVM to use the extra memory of PSP Slim models. Untested, because I don't have a Slim&Lite, but it seems to work.

Anyway to compress music into OGGs? Could that fix the hitching issue?

No idea.

[Jinx1337]

Anyway to compress music into OGGs? Could that fix the hitching issue?

No idea.

I still think that hitching has to do with overall slowness of the game more than with MS Access. It breaks and hitches more when I downclock the PSP.

Still, good job!

I'm waiting for what Pix has up his sleeve with Tinsel engine optimization.

[Ephaelon]

PSP Slim, 5.00m33-6
XMB set to 333/166 for ingame
nightly build 043526
for all attempts, going to CWcheat shows 333/166

Discworld 1: buttery smooth

Discworld 2: definitely playable, slightly jerky. shows off-color pixels in dark spots (hard to explain) that disappear when the scene animation changes

Broken Sword 2: after my problems before (being forced to save after every step forward for fear of the game hanging and forcing a reboot at every scene change) especially in Quaramonte, glad to say that after multiple attempts to hang the game by entering and exiting areas, talking to people, and repeating, the game has yet to freeze up on me. Also, the suspend mode works a charm. No problems with speech or anything upon resuming.

Kyriandia 1: silky butter

Kyrandia 2: the game itself is smooth, animations etc., but moving the mouse around is jerky.

[Pix2]

I'm waiting for what Pix has up his sleeve with Tinsel engine optimization.

Think you've got the wrong of the stick as I don't recall mentioning optimising Discworld 2. Good to hear that its now running ok though - pity I'm using a phat psp. Guess I'll have to wait for someone to write a dynamic engine loader or pick up a slim.

If I was going to have a go at speeding any engine up it would be groovie. 7th guest is so nearly playable & I've got the soundtrack all ready to go.