Controller issue

[JohnnyDreamguns]

Hi

I'm experiencing a controller issue using the 22th_December_2021 version of PiTrex baremetal that I'm not seeing when using the SD card image from 26th March 2021

The videos below will hopefully explain what I'm seeing. When using the 22th_December_2021 version the controls are not fluid like they should be and diagonal top left is not working at all

SD_DRIVE_22th_December_2021.zip - shows the issue
https://youtube.com/shorts/1tPtsSelinA

pitrexbaremetal_26th_Mar_2021.img.zip - how it should be behaving
https://youtube.com/shorts/57hpMtoHtXg

I noticed this person is describing the same issue:

Let me know if I can help you diagnose the issue

Love the Pitrex and this system, I've got Star Wars working on it, mind blowing, thanks for the hard work

Cheers
John

[JohnnyDreamguns]

Using a Raspberry Pi Zero WH

[malbanGit]

My answer here is the same as on my blog, since to my knowledge I never got an answer back:

_I startet using GIT a little bit later, so I don’t know exactly what changes I did.
Pls contact me using my email directly (see contact) if interested in further examiniation – I’d have to try different things to get to the gist of the problem. Obviously I need your help, since I can not recreate your problem with my Vectrex.

Some questions now:
– is it the same using an analog and a digital joystick?
– what “diagonals” (up/left or up/right, down/left or down/right)
– does changing the value of “CYCLE_EQUIVALENT” (in the ini files of pitrex / or vectrex) change anything?_

Apart from than - an issue within the PiTrex repository would have been more apropriate :-).

[JohnnyDreamguns]

Thanks for the reply and apologies didn't know there was a raspberry pi repo, I followed the link here from your blog, thought this was the right place

In answer to your questions
– is it the same using an analog and a digital joystick?
"Yes just got a digital pad from retrogameboyz and it has the same issue"

– what “diagonals” (up/left or up/right, down/left or down/right)
"The issue is with up and up/left:
Up = Up/Right
Up/Right = Up/Right
Right = Right
Down/Right = Down/Right
Down = Down
Down/Left = Down/Left
Left = Left
Up/Left = Up"

– does changing the value of “CYCLE_EQUIVALENT” (in the ini files of pitrex / or vectrex) change anything?
"I tried some different values for CYCLE_EQUIVALENT by changing the variable in the vectrex.ini file

Went down to 50 and went as high as 850.

It caused some flickering but it didn't make any difference to the controller issue, saw the same results as I did with it set to the initial value of 665"

Thanks
John

[malbanGit]

You specifially mentioned Version March 26 2021.

Do you know anything about the versions in between:
12 April 2021
7 May 2021
15 June 2021
14 December 2021

I am asking - because I simply can not reproduce the fault. And doing a difs of sources also do not reveal any changes to the Vectrex implementation that might have caused any differences.

[JohnnyDreamguns]

The only two downloads I've found were on this page:
http://vide.malban.de/pitrex/pitrex-baremetal-download

If you can send me download links for those other versions I'll test them out

[malbanGit]

http://vectrex.malban.de/pitrex/SD_DRIVE_14th_December_2021.zip
http://vectrex.malban.de/pitrex/SD_DRIVE_15th_June_2021.zip
http://vectrex.malban.de/pitrex/SD_DRIVE_7th_May_2021.zip
http://vectrex.malban.de/pitrex/SD_DRIVE_12th_Apr_2021.zip

Also:
I compiled a "vectrex exact" version:
http://vectrex.malban.de/pitrex/vectrexexact.img

This contains the sources of the vectrex part from March - but the "pitrex" sources from December.

I still don't know why it would behave differently - but you can give this one a try also (copy into the directory "piZero1" and try with any vectrex exact (or Vectopia - which you used for the text - right?)

[malbanGit]

Actually - I am onto something - don't test yet - it might not be necessary!

[JohnnyDreamguns]

Too late : )

Tested these two and they both work fine:
http://vectrex.malban.de/pitrex/SD_DRIVE_14th_December_2021.zip
http://vectrex.malban.de/pitrex/SD_DRIVE_15th_June_2021.zip

[malbanGit]

Ok, I found the issue.
I could not spot it earlier - since I already fixed it :-). Probably before anyone reported it - I just did not release a new version.

Sooo - it is nice that it is fixed "internally" on my drive - but right now I cannot compile a new "release" without getting into other trouble.
I will see that I can consolidate the lose ends on my side and at least build a patched version.

Reminder:
File: pitrex-baremetal/vectrexBase/main.c
line: 525
The while loop conditional must also include the "-0x10".

I'll close this issue, when I release a new version.

[JohnnyDreamguns]

That's great, glad you got it identified

I'm happy using version SD_DRIVE_14th_December_2021 in the meantime

Cheers!