Re: [Atari800-users] Removal of win32 (directx backend, not to be confused with SDL one)

[<be...@em...>]

Just chiming in to say I agree with this. I have to use xboxdrv to force the use of the joypad on my ps3 controller, otherwise it will use the analog nub. Also, at one point, the sounds from SIO activities changed. The loading beeps don't really sound like beeps any more and the "farting" SIO sounds sound very tinny, trebly, or thin.

Otherwise it's perfect! Been using it for thirty years or whatever. I'm not a fan of Altirra. I tried it once via wine and did not like it.



On Mon, 22 Apr 2024 09:39:51 +0200 (CEST)
<zy...@po...> wrote:

>
> Hello,
>
>
>
>
>
>
> the discussion related to removal of outdated or non-maintained backends
> somehow provoked
>
>
>
> me to think about the future direction of the atari800 emulator, namely
> choice of the future
>
> features and enhancements.
>
>
>
>
> When I am thinking of the current "market" with the emulators, I see the
> following (this is, of course, subjective).
>
>
>
>
> Retro-Developers
>
> I would say, this piece of market is dominated by Altirra, because of the
> emulation accuracy, very capable debugging tools, and native GUI.
>
> I don't believe atari800 can compete here, not now, not in the future.
>
>
>
>
> Windows Retro Gamers
>
> I would also say that this market is taken. Both by Altirra and the most
> recent versions of XFormer. Of course, since SDL has decent support for
> Windows,
>
> there is no reason to give the Windows-SDL port up. However, we have no
> reasons to believe that there is a high demand for win32 binaries of atari
> 800.
>
> Not sure what the download statistics would say.
>
>
>
>
> Non-Windows Retro Gamers.
>
> This is where atari800 has minimum or no competition and can excel, and in
> my opinion this is where the functions of the emulator should expand mostly.
>
>
> What is lacking (and that topic was discussed before) is good support for
> non-keyboard controllers (gamepads, joysticks etc.) and good ability to map
> non-keyboard controllers to both joystick and non-joystick input. Also, the
> main menu of the emulator doesn't appear to be simple to use.
>
>
>
>
> That is not easy. The way I see it, the following would be needed.
>
> - Cut off targets that are no longer viable.
>
> - Keep the pace with the developments in SDL. Consider supporting targets
> such as sdl12, sdl12-compat, and SDL2.
>
> - Rethink how controls work in the emulator. Perhaps introduce a layer of
> virtual emulator controls, where one or more physical controls could be
> mapped to the virtual controls. This would allow mappings such as map JS
> button 4 and F1 both to the ENTER_MENU emulator virtual control, etc.
>
> - Rethink the structure of the main menu to be more friendly for gamers.
>
>
>
>
> I know, a lot of words....
>
>
>
>
> Michael
>
>
>
>
>
>