Suggestion for a click-function, to limit the Auto-Warp speed, on very fast...
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#148 Suggestion for a click-function, to limit the Auto-Warp speed, on very fast gaming-PC's
Hello. I have a question. Denise is a really good emulator and I introduced a friend of mine to Denise. On last weekend, we’ve played various C64 games against each other on his PC and I noticed a problem there, during these sessions, which is not present on my computer.
While Auto-Warp for loading works absolutely perfect on my PC (which is about seven years old), it behaves differently on his brand-new PC. Windows can not be the problem (we use the same operating-system) and the config of Denise can also not be the problem (we also use the same), but there's one difference. His machine is so fast, that Auto-Warp runs at such high speeds there, that it sometimes causes loading-issues in some (not in all) C64-games. Loading the first file with the Auto-Warp is never a problem, this always worked like it should, but reloading (when the "only first file" option is disabled in the Auto-Warp function) can be a problem, depending on the game. I am sure, the reason can only be the high-speed of the Warp on his PC, which is almost double the speed on my PC, because his computer is a new state-of-the-art gaming rig and alot faster. It looks like, some games that reload additional data as you play, don't handle this well and it looks like, that this then can lead to issues, where loading stops completely or the game freezes.
I also have a suggestion, for a potential solution. There could be a new option in the "Miscellaneous" submenu, under the point "Autostart", called something like "Limit Autowarp-speed to: [....]," with a field behind, where the user could enter a specific value (I suggest in %). This would prevent issues on overly fast machines, when the user for example, limit the speed to 1500% (which is 15x) or something similar. I guess, sooner or later, a speed-limiting function like this, will be necessary anyway, given that PC's keep getting faster and faster. Users with older computers could simply leave this option disabled then (since they don't have Auto-Warp issues anyway), while users with new gaming-PC's, could set a maximum speed themselves, in the Denise-menu.
I would also specify a range there, behind this field, say: "100% - 2000%" or something similar, so it’s clear to the users, that they can’t go below 100%. Values lower than 100 should not be possible to enter, logically, because that would be slower than the normal speed and would make no sense at all. I think, sooner or later, a function like this, will be necessary anyway. Something like a 50x Auto-Warp, in combination with a speeder-kernel (which is a multiplication of the speed then to things like 1000x), could cause problems in alot of games. Not for loading the first file, this seems to work without any problem all the time, but when it comes to reloading in a game. What do you think, about something like this?
Regards,
Tomasz
Discussion
Anonymous
Sorry, there was one more thing, that I forgot to mention in my first entry. The issue isn't just, that a game might freeze, if the Auto-Warp speed is too high, we also discovered another problem on his PC. Some games which reloads, goes on with the gameplay automatically, after the reloading-process (without the player needing to press the firebutton) and if the Auto-Warp speed is very high in such a game, then there's another problem, that appears sometimes.
If you, for example, have an Auto-Warp speed of 50x and Denise stops the Auto-Warp just half a second too late, after the reloading-process, then 25 seconds of game-time will have elapsed, before the player can react again and in many action games, you’d already be done for by then. If the user can limit his Warp-Speed to 3x (300%) then only 1,5 seconds of game-time are gone and this makes a big difference. This is another reason, why a speed-limiting function for the Auto-Warp would be extremely useful on modern gaming-PC's.
Regards,
Tomasz
With so much different information, it's not that easy to figure out the problem. What's the connection between a game crash and warp being too fast? Which game produces errors or freezes with warp? Use the normal (non aggressive) warp. This one is more compatible and not as fast, just like you want.
Last edit: PiCiJi 2026-06-19
Hy, Thanks for quick response. To answer your questions:
(1) What's the connection between a game crash and AutoWarp being too fast?
The connection is,that the same game didn't crash in it's reloading-processes, when no AutoWarp is activated, but it does, when it's activated.
(2) Which games produces errors?
For example, we had problems (freezing) in games like: The last Ninja, Pirates, The Three Stooges
We had problems (game runs to long in Warp mode) in some games that goes on with the gameplay automatically (games that don't wait for the player, to press the firebutton, before resuming action after reloading): The Grand Monster Slam
(this is not a problem on my PC, where AutoWarp is around 7x, when the Warp stops half a second to late (I muss around 3 seconds of gameplay then, which is bearable most times), but of course this is a big problem on a PC, on which AutoWarp is over 40x, because then the player misses the next 20 seconds of gameplay and you are already dead, when the normal gamespeed is back again).
(3) Using the normal Warp, like you suggested, can help in some of these cases, but not in all (probably because Warp still is around 30x then), we already had tried this out before.
Regards,
Tomasz
I can't reproduce it. I need more information: CSDB link, where exactly it should warp, did the problem occur with a specific Denise version... I mean, was it working in the past ?
Nobody adjusts their warp speed for individual games. There’s the option to automatically stop the warp when the game checks for input. But I’m pretty sure you already knew that.
Last edit: PiCiJi 2026-06-20
Hy. The reason, you can't reproduce it, is most likely, that your PC can not produce such a fast warp, that the first problems occur. I also wondered about that, when I saw it the first time. At the moment, on the upmost PC's, there are no issues at all with the warp, also not on mine. It looks like, it all comes down to the warp becoming too fast, so when it gets past a critical point. I'm sure, other people will report a similar problem sooner or later, it's just a matter of time, as more users buy increasingly fast computers.
Yes, I already knew this option, to stop the Autowarp, when the game checks for input, but in our experience this sadly can only help in some games and in others not, for whatever reason. I guess, if warp-speed is too high, then even this can no longer prevent some games from running too long too fast. You have to bear in mind, that a quarter of a second, here can very quickly turn into 20 seconds of missed gameplay, when a PC has so much power, that the warp becomes extremely fast.
No one is asking for the ability, to adjust the warp speed, for every single game and hardly any user would want to do that, either. It's simply about setting an overall upper limit on the speed one time and save this, so that the kinds of problems described, can no longer occur on modern, ultra-fast gaming PC's. Sooner or later, something like this will be necessary anyway, given that PC's keep getting faster and faster.
Regards,
Tomasz
Well, I also have a fast PC and no problems. If the warp crashes at extreme speeds, that needs to be fixed. Limiting the warp so the gameplay isn't affected just feels wrong, or rather, it devalues the warp. The only thing I could imagine would be to set a second free speed.
A free speed can already be set in Denise. But this isn't a warp, though it could be misused as one.
Hy. The "free speed" option (the "customize speed" function), that we already have in the FPS-menue, could also be used for this, because in the end, it amounts to the same thing. However, if you use this customize-speed function, accessible via the FPS-display menu, to limit the warp speed, two things need to be addressed to the user:
(1) it must be made clear (perhaps via a clickable function in the AutoWarp menu) that this sets the warp-speed to the value, specified under "customize speed" in the FPS menu.
And (2) you have to account for the fact, that speeds, lower than the standard 100% can be also entered there, in this field, even though they wouldn't make sense for warping (but they can make sense for emulating a certain game e.g.). That means, users have to change this user-defined speed from time to time, while this would not be necessary, if this would be another function, directly in the AutoWarp submenu.
Therefore I consider that approach far more convoluted and harder for the user to grasp, than simply having a dedicated warp-limiting function directly in the AutoWarp menu. Something labeled, for instance, "Limit Auto-Warp speed to [....]%" or "Use [....]% for AutoWarp." That way, it’s immediately obvious to any user, what the function is for and what it does and the user only need to insert a value there, one time. For example, the user limit the autowarp-speed to 30x one time and that's it. Nothing more to do and 30x is more than enough for every game.
It's predictable, that problems will eventually arise in this point, as PC's get faster and faster and especially when a speeder-kernel is active too, that multiplies the warp-speed on top of that. That’s why I think, an Auto-Warp limiting function is simply the logical and sensible choice, sooner or later. We tried around with another PC (another friend of mine) yesterday and with roughly 15x Auto-Warp speed plus an active speeder-kernel, reloading times in the most games, are already nearly instant-loading today, assuming the kernel also accelerates the ingame reloading processes in a game (that's not the case in all games, but in some).
And when already 15x Auto-Warp speed plus an active speeder-kernel is nearly instant-loading, it’s easy to imagine, that a 40x Auto-Warp combined with a speeder-kernel could lead to issues, because this is nearly three times faster Auto-Warp and multiplied with the speeder-kernel acceleration this means around 500x faster acceleration, combined to the 15x Auto-Warp combined with a speeder-kernel (15x warp-speed x 20x speeder-kernel = 300x loading-acceleration) and (40x warp-speed x 20x speeder-kernel = 800x loading-acceleration). Difference between 300x and 800x acceleration is immense, of course, and foreseeable, that there can (and will) be problems in some games.
But of course it's your decision, if something like a limit-warpspeed function will be included or not, I just reported a bug, that occurs on my buddy's PC, because I think, bugs should be reported, so they can be fixed.
Regards,
Tomasz
Hello again. We investigated this further in the meantime, using various fast gaming-PC's, here among friends and found no issues at all, with reloading at Autowarp- speeds of up to around 30x. Problems seem to arise beyond that point, though this varies, depending on the specific game.
Regards,
Tomasz
Just to make it clear again, because I forgot - I only speak about "reloading", inside of a game, that consists of more than one file. We could not find any kind of problems so far, when onefilers were loaded from a diskfile, even not with the highest Warp-speed. But "so far". However, I wouldn't rule out the possibility, of problems arising here too, if, sometime in around ten years, some gaming-PC's maybe were able, to run Denise at 100x speed or something like that.
Tomasz
on todo list
Thanks, that's good!
Regards,
Tomasz