Full Screen Choppy

[TeccaN9nja]

Hi, I just started using Zsnes again after a while of not using it. During the time, i picked up a new computer. On my current computer which runs Windows 8 I have found that I can't go full screen without the entire program dropping to an extremely lagged state. Has anyone else experienced this?

Thank you very much

[Yuber]

I have the same problem(I'm on W8 as well) and I'm not sure what the problem is, but I was able to somewhat fix it by setting the resolution to 640x480 DR F. for some reason, it's the only FS setting that'll actually run at a decent speed on my computer, but just like you this problem caught me off guard on shitty Windows 8.

I've since switched to SNES9x 1.53x64 and it works flawlessly other than little bugs related to the emu itself. If you decide to use 9x like me, set the audio to Xaudio2 to reduce crackling sounds and tweak the audio input rate & buffer length if you still get too much audio crackling. It's not a big deal though; it doesn't crack any more than ZSNES with the Xaudio2 settings on my system.

It took me a few weeks to get used to 9x, but it has much better sound and is slightly more accurate in general than the latest ZSNES.

I don't mean to disparage ZSNES, but this is the EXACT same problem I have and I've grown to prefer 9x. If you switch, DL some video shaders like 5xBR to make SNES games look amazing on high-res monitors(may cause massive slowdown depending on the shader). HQ4x+Bilinear filtering works if the shaders slow shit down too much.

UNRELATED: DL Classic Shell to get your Start menu back if its absence bugs you as much as it does me.

[TeccaN9nja]

Thanks for the tip. I tried Snses9x, but it doesnt seem to want to see my controller. I can configure it, but it wont use it when the game is going.

Though I have good news, I started fiddling around with Z's video settings. I found how to fix the problem: Set custom size and choose from the list "Custom S F" Which is the custom setting (in my case 1152 x 864) and the S means it will stretch the image and the F is full screen. If you choose one with the R it means it tries to keep the 8:7 ratio, which is what i think was causing the problem.


On your unrelated: I actually like the Metro screen. But I do use Advanced System Care from IObit and that has a "Classic Shell" typed thing too. Which is pretty cool if youre not into the Metro look to Win8

[Yuber]

Thanks for the tip man, but I tried it and I'm still getting some ridiculous slowdown, although it does improve the situation a bit. 640x480 DR F is the only setting that runs smoothly for me; my current gfx card is a hunk of shit and once I upgrade it in the next month or 2, I hope it speeds things up. I like to use ZSNES for the save state editors/fucking around in games I've beaten a million times.

As far as controllers go, I use a wired 360 pad in 9x and I've had no problems setting it up or playing games with it. Did you make sure to check the "enabled" box on the top left side of the input config screen next to the input #? That's the only issue I can think of that would prevent your controller from working during gameplay.

Chrono Trigger and FF6 run better in 9x imo because the sound is so much more accurate, plus I can use the 5xBR shader to make them look amazing along with hq4x or hq3xs/bold. 5xBR makes blurry bilinear filtering unnecessary. The HLSL version of 5XBR 3.7a is the only xBR setting that doesn't cause ridiculous slowdown for me.

[grinvader]

I have the same problem(I'm on W8 as well) and I'm not sure what the problem is

We already covered that, winders 8 doesn't hardware-accelerate ddraw7 stuff anymore.

I don't mean to disparage ZSNES

Feel free, it's not like it's aging nicely.

[Yuber]

I guess I forgot since I mentioned the FS slowdown issue in some of my earliest posts here. I'm guessing the dddraw 7 issue is why Kawaks and a few other emus gives me similar issues as well. I can only run Finalburn Alpha at full speed in DX9; the DX7 blitter gives me horrible slowdown.

Is there any way around this issue?

[grinvader]

Use another emu, or another OS.

... or code your own drivers for hardware acceleration and get them signed by microsoft :3

[Gonzo]

]I don't mean to disparage ZSNES

Feel free, it's not like it's aging nicely.

Yeah I pretty much consider Zsnes to be like Nesticle twelve years ago.

[adventure_of_link]

]I don't mean to disparage ZSNES

Feel free, it's not like it's aging nicely.

Yeah I pretty much consider Zsnes to be like Nesticle twelve years ago.

Great! So I guess I can expect the next version of ZSNES to really be called SNEStye, featuring a bloody hand for the mouse pointer, and blood or ooze or whatever dripping from the GUI?

[Gonzo]

]I don't mean to disparage ZSNES

Feel free, it's not like it's aging nicely.

Yeah I pretty much consider Zsnes to be like Nesticle twelve years ago.

Great! So I guess I can expect the next version of ZSNES to really be called SNEStye, featuring a bloody hand for the mouse pointer, and blood or ooze or whatever dripping from the GUI?

Call me weird, but fuck it, let's implement a zombie hand mouse pointer that drips blood(and the blood ooze from the GUI) for zsnes 2.0. I honestly think that would be awesome.



Seriously.





Awesome.

[odditude]

sardu did it 16 years ago (w/ genecyst). don't really need to resurrect it.
god, that makes me feel old.

[adventure_of_link]

don't really need to resurrect it.

I hope you know I wasn't being serious....

[odditude]

don't really need to resurrect it.

I hope you know I wasn't being serious....

i hope you know i was responding to Gonzo.

[Gonzo]

don't really need to resurrect it.

I hope you know I wasn't being serious....

i hope you know i was responding to Gonzo.

And I was being serious damn it.

[Yuber]

ZSNES is too dated, BSNES is too fucking slow, so imo 9x 1.53(plus newer test builds) is the best SNES emu overall right now. Vader told me that ZSNEs 2.0 isn't that far along, but I hope it retains its speed and beats 9x accuracy-wise. I have a budget desktop, but my CPU is 3.5ghz/6-core and BSNES still slows down pretty often. 9x's shader support is also a huge plus so I hope the next ZSNES includes shader support. Chrono Trigger+HQ3xS+5xBR 3.7a= absolutely fucking gorgeous image quality. 5XBR replaces blurry bilinear filtering.

I respect what BSNES/higan & its creators are doing, but holy fucking shit is it SLOW in accurate mode. 9x's SuperFX emulation and sounds bugs need a bit of work, but overall it's a fantastic emulator that runs CT and FF6, my 2 favorite games, almost flawlessly. The monster screams in CT are buggy in ZSNES, but it runs and sounds near perfect in 9x. Magic sfx in FF4-6 are also much better.

Sure you can run BSNES/higan in fast mode, but you might as well just use 9x if you need to do that.

[paulguy]

Accuracy mode only affects some visual effects in like 2 games. Compatibility core should still be reliable for emulation stability and be like a few times faster.

[grinvader]

Accuracy mode only affects some visual effects in like 2 games.

I know about Battle Blaze, do you know which is the second ?

[Gil_Hamilton]

Accuracy mode only affects some visual effects in like 2 games.

I know about Battle Blaze, do you know which is the second ?

Wasn't it Air Strike Patrol, the original "we need a dot-based renderer" demonstration case?

[paulguy]

I said "like 2". :p I know it's some very small value. Not to say it's a completely useless mode, but it's not really what should be used to determine system requirements.

[Yuber]

For example, BSNES runs the intro of FF6 at full speed, but once I get into battles and use shit like the bio blaster it starts slowing down a lot. Once I have a faster computer in several years I may switch to BSNES, but 9x runs everything I play near perfectly. SuperFX games have somewhat buggy graphics but are still very playable. BSNES is much more accurate than the more popular emus, but I've gotten so used to 9x that I don't want to switch again. Plus, there's no need to switch because I mostly play RPGs and I haven't noticed any flaws in the ones I've been playing.

I'm gonna find/buy an old CRT in the next week or 2 so I can actually enjoy my real SNES(and other older systems) since high quality upscalers plus all the other stuff required to make old games look great on high-res monitors are expensive as shit from what I've heard. PS1 games look especially awful on 1080p and even 720p monitors. To be fair they look dated no matter what, even upscaled in epsxe but a good CRT will definitely improve the situation. Most PS2 games as well have shitty enough image quality without adding an HD monitor.

I find it kinda funny that Tekken Tag(US) is still one of the prettiest PS2 games available, at least in terms of image quality. It even looks presentable on a 1080p monitor due to whatever software effect/AA Namco used to smooth it out. I bought a PS2 initially because I loved TTT so much and played the shit out of it in arcades.

edit: I was running higan in accurate mode.

[Toph The Earthbender]

thanks guys. I will try this. I have tried everything to get the choppyness to stop but I just found this topic. This used to happen to me on zsnes with windows 7 as well.

[Toph The Earthbender]

I tried some solutions in this topic and no dice

[Yuber]

9x doesn't run well for you? It's kinda in between ZSNES & BSNES/higan, and it runs everything I've tried at full speed(DX9 mode). I've tried messing with various FS modes in ZSNES, but 640x480 DR F is the only setting that runs well. I recommend switching to 9x until something even better comes along. Its sound emulation is miles ahead of ZSNES, and it actuallydoes games like FF6 and CT justice audio wise.

If 9x is slow for you, try disabling "hi-resolution support" & "blend hi-res images" in the video settings. To reduce audio crackling, use the "Xaudio2" plugin, enable "synchronize with sound core", and if you still have issues, mess with the input rate. I set it all the way down to 31800 and combined with the other 2 audio settings, 99% of the audio crackling is gone. If you still have sound problems, try increasing the buffer length. My computer is pretty slow and the default 64ms works for me.

[miteluode]

"Hi Resolution Support" is a specific mode that specific games use in specific instances... do not disable it, unless you want to see how dumb it looks.

i have no idea what "Blend Hi-Res Images" does, probably something that involves the actual "hi-res" filters.

[grinvader]

"Hi Resolution Support" is a specific mode that specific games use in specific instances... do not disable it, unless you want to see how dumb it looks.

i have no idea what "Blend Hi-Res Images" does, probably something that involves the actual "hi-res" filters.

Just a guess, but hires support should activate the 512-width screens that are used in SoM, SD3 and so on, while hires blending is necessary for Kirby's Dream Land 3 and Jurassic Park to look decent, comes from limitations of old tvs (they couldn't actually output 512 pixels per row, so the colours bleed into each other, which gives a transparency effect the games aimed at).