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[Cospefogo]

QUOTE(nes6502 @ Oct 2 2006, 01:42 PM)

So, if I just return to the menu after taking a screenshot, how does that help in making multiple screenshots? I mean, if I return to the menu, the emulation hasn't changed so you'd be taking the same screenshot again but putting it in a differnt folder.

So the effect would be 8 previews that are identical (since it never returned to the game). And if that's the goal, I wouldn't bother taking all 8 screenshots. Just take one, and then copy them to the other folders. That would be much quicker. But why would you want all the screenshots to be the same in all 8 folders? Did I misunderstand?
So you are saying that on a real SNES, it renders at 597x224? So the pixels are more than twice as tall as they are wide?

Well, I think McLane was trying to say the following:
- He has many roms with no screenshots at all. So, he wants to enter the game,
take a simple shot, exit the game, pick another one, do the same, and so on.

This could happen to me, since my Snes roms on Xbox Hardisk are not "goodsnes"
file name compatible, so, I can't donwload the screenshots/previews packs from
internet since my filenames are different.

If I want to have previews/shots for all my roms, I will need to navigate
for all of them executing the Capture Screen process, and the guy
is suggesting second option to manage this feature in the emulator.

Or, maybe the simple and wisest way, is to open a FTP connection
and make all roms names compatible with the existent Preview packs
that float around in the web.

But again, there is a issue (I think!) --- Is there out there a complete
preview pack for all Super Famicom games? Snes there is,
but Super Famicom I think not!

About Timerever discoveries:
Even for me, with absolutely no tech knowledge about the real SNES
hardware, the dimensions 597x224 looks vey strange.
Maybe he misunder-spelled the 224? The F-Zero 2 shot
he posted is 597x448, sounds much more plausible.

C.

[nes6502]

QUOTE(Mclane @ Oct 2 2006, 05:53 PM)

Fraid so...

What I meant was that say i have 2000 games with a missing preview, what I want to do is load the game to a point I think shows the game best, take the screen shot and then move on to the next game I need a screen shot for.

Not for the same game

At the moment I have to load the game, take the screen shot, it then returns to the games emulation, I then right click the thumbstick, go down to exit and then back to the game selection screen and go onto the next game.

If after the point of taking the screen shot it said, "Return to game or exit to game selection Menu" then I bypass a chunk of in'ing and out'ing and I'm onto the point of loading the next game.

I know it sounds daft but depending on the renaming software you used to send the files over to the Xbox you may or may not have the same naming conventions for the packs of screenshots that are on the net so changing them is harder than just going down the game selection screen looking for games without screen shots

Trust me, it does make sense

So, an option that let's you return to the rom browser instead of the emulation after taking a screenshot? At this point there would be no way to return to the game you were just playing unless you restarted it. Is this correct?

Myabe i should just add a feature to ZsnexBox that will auto take the screenshots. For  example:

1) the user chooses a directory
2) the user sets how long they want the emulation to run for each game (like 15 seconds)
3) It automaticlly takes a screenshot after 15 seconds, exits the game, and goes on to the next game.
4) If the next game allready has a screenshot, it skips it and goes to the next game, etc...

I think that would be a cool feature. However, if you ran it on a folder with like 3000 roms it would take several hours to finish at 15 seconds per game.

It be an easy way to fill in all the blanks.

Would anybody out there be interested in something like this?

[Cospefogo]

QUOTE(nes6502 @ Oct 2 2006, 02:01 PM)

Myabe i should just add a feature to ZsnexBox that will auto take the screenshots.

ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!
Yes, count on me to make full use of this superb feature!

My suggestion --- User can choose for example if he wants
to wait 15 seconds, or press some button button.

Some games have looong intro movies that will
not help much if "screenshot'ed". The start screen usually is reached by
pressing a button. A, start, etc... The user can select that.

So, the script do the rest.
Wow!

Cheers!
C.

[Mclane]

QUOTE(nes6502 @ Oct 2 2006, 06:01 PM)

So, an option that let's you return to the rom browser instead of the emulation after taking a screenshot? At this point there would be no way to return to the game you were just playing unless you restarted it. Is this correct?

Yup, the whole idea of taking screen shots IMHO is to just fill in the blanks on missing screens, I would presume  most people would rather just quit the emulation and move onto the next screen so as to get the job done asap.

QUOTE(nes6502 @ Oct 2 2006, 06:01 PM)

Maybe i should just add a feature to ZsnexBox that will auto take the screenshots. For  example:

1) the user chooses a directory
2) the user sets how long they want the emulation to run for each game (like 15 seconds)
3) It automatically takes a screenshot after 15 seconds, exits the game, and goes on to the next game.
4) If the next game already has a screenshot, it skips it and goes to the next game, etc...

I think that would be a cool feature. However, if you ran it on a folder with like 3000 roms it would take several hours to finish at 15 seconds per game.

It be an easy way to fill in all the blanks.

Would anybody out there be interested in something like this?

Sound great as it stands...The timing might be awkward for some rambling RPG intro's (even with fast forward) but those could be one of the few 'manual' screen shots by the user.

I'd presume most people only really want an 'in game' shot as title pages just seems bloody useless to me, fill the other media slots with something novel like box shots or the like.

[Cospefogo]

QUOTE(Mclane @ Oct 2 2006, 02:37 PM)

I'd presume most people only really want an 'in game' shot as title pages just seems bloody useless to me, fill the other media slots with something novel like box shots or the like.

Well, to be sincere, a 'IN-GAME' shot is what define better the game itself.
Sometimes the intro screen does not show much beyond a simple "Press Start Button."
But, in any case, this is enough, at least for me.

C.

[XaRaNn]

Well Timrever thanks for doing some research,

The 597x224 doesn't make sense, its 448 if anything.

Even the screenshot you posted is 597x448.

This still doesn't tell us where and how the 256 is scaled to 597, and how that effects display on an actual connected to a real SNES.

I've skimmed thru the whole NTSC filter thread on zsnes board, all sorts of info comes up (as well as 600x224 resolution).
It is just too technical for me to understand because of my lack of knowledge of the underlying subjects.
I did not see any mention of where the 600(or597)pixels wide screen comes from tho.

[joemommasfat]

I have a request.  Would it be possible to add the ability to make a game a favorite while playing the game and in the "right stick click menu"?  Sometimes I like a game but don't want to quit playing to add it, then I forget to when I am done playing.

Also, about the screenshots, I know that there are a few screenshot projects around, for instance the no-intro and offlinelist projects have put some together.  They are compiled by a community of people (I contributed a bunch to offlinelist about a year ago) and I bet they'd let you use them as long as you asked permission and aknowledged them.

[nes6502]

QUOTE(joemommasfat @ Oct 2 2006, 08:48 PM)

I have a request.  Would it be possible to add the ability to make a game a favorite while playing the game and in the "right stick click menu"?  Sometimes I like a game but don't want to quit playing to add it, then I forget to when I am done playing.

Also, about the screenshots, I know that there are a few screenshot projects around, for instance the no-intro and offlinelist projects have put some together.  They are compiled by a community of people (I contributed a bunch to offlinelist about a year ago) and I bet they'd let you use them as long as you asked permission and aknowledged them.

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see any SNES screenshot packs at either of those sites.

[joemommasfat]

Here is the no-intro screenshot website.

http://no-intro.dlgsoftware.net/main.php?lang=1

I must admit, I haven't tried to download the packs yet myself, but as far as I can tell, you get access to them by joining the forum (and maybe making a post or two).

[nes6502]

QUOTE(joemommasfat @ Oct 2 2006, 09:47 PM)

Here is the no-intro screenshot website.

http://no-intro.dlgs...main.php?lang=1

I must admit, I haven't tried to download the packs yet myself, but as far as I can tell, you get access to them by joining the forum (and maybe making a post or two).

Wow. Thanks. I think I went to another site. But this one does look like it has over 3000 screenshots named with CRC values and easilly converted to goodsnes format. I may have to see if I can download this pack, but it wasn't obvious how to do so. Maybe I have to join the forum like you said.

[the-tyrant]

QUOTE(nes6502 @ Oct 2 2006, 01:25 PM)

No. That's what happens when you make an image designed for a 4:3 tv fit a 16x9 display. It's stretched horizontally. This is why I have never upgraded to a 16x9 tv. All the games I play are designed for a 4:3 display. To play them on a 16x9 TV, I 'd have to either stretch the image horizontally or have black bars on the left and right side.

Well when I put the red border on the edge I have black bars on the left and right already but the aspect ratio is still not correct. I understand that i will have black bars on the left and right side but would love and option  to help get me the correct aspect ratio on a 16x9 screen. I love the way Xport's emulators lock the aspect ratio while resizing. if you could add a feature to do that it would be wonderfull. And please don't think I am complaining, I have nothing but praise for the hard work you are doing. I love the emulator. thanks.

[Consoleman!]

Timerever,

After some thought, I also believe that the horizontal resolution output by the NTSC filter would be closer to 448, since a 597x224 image should produce thick black borders on both sides of the TV screen.  The game may enter the NTSC filter at 512×224 (hi-res mode), but that 224 number would likely be doubled in order to fill in the empty real estate on the TV screen.

nes,

If you add in XY coords, are you going to use Point Filtering?  One catch in this, as mentioned earlier, is that Point Filtering only works properly at fixed resolutions, and not all games play at the same resolution.  Once you set a resolution in ZsnexBox, that's the resolution you'll be forced to use in all games, so games that don't match the set resolution must be used with a Linear Filter.  Setting these odd resolution games to use the Linear filter works fine, but you'll have to manually switch between Point Filtering and Linear each time you switch between games that work better with one or the other.  Being able to save these settings individually for each game would eliminate this hassle, but this would come at the expense of your being hassled into programming such a feature in!

Another thing to keep in mind is that while some games play at 256×224, others play at 256×240.  Games of both resolutions could conceivably be set to run with Point Filtering (512x448 & 512x480), but this would require ZsnexBox to remember more than one resolution setting.

[Consoleman!]

QUOTE(the-tyrant @ Oct 2 2006, 05:18 PM)

And please don't think I am complaining, I have nothing but praise for the hard work you are doing. I love the emulator. thanks.

I remember when nes first announced having an interest in porting Zsnes to the Xbox.  Several people dismissed his idea as a pipe dream.  Since that time, he's not only proved his project credible, but he's made his port of Zsnes the most feature complete SNES emulator on any platform.

While this may come across as praise -- I'm merely stating facts.  You know you've accomplished something impressive when the facts and praise blur together.

[Timerever]

QUOTE(nes6502 @ Oct 2 2006, 05:42 PM)

So you are saying that on a real SNES, it renders at 597x224? So the pixels are more than twice as tall as they are wide?

No I've mistyped that, it's 597x448. Sorry

QUOTE(Cospefogo @ Oct 2 2006, 06:00 PM)

About Timerever discoveries:
Even for me, with absolutely no tech knowledge about the real SNES
hardware, the dimensions 597x224 looks vey strange.
Maybe he misunder-spelled the 224? The F-Zero 2 shot
he posted is 597x448, sounds much more plausible.

Again, yes sorry, I've mistyped it, it's 597x448.

QUOTE(XaRaNn @ Oct 2 2006, 07:41 PM)

Well Timrever thanks for doing some research,

The 597x224 doesn't make sense, its 448 if anything.

Even the screenshot you posted is 597x448.

Yes that's correct, I've mistyped it, it's 597x448, sorry about that.

QUOTE(XaRaNn @ Oct 2 2006, 07:41 PM)

This still doesn't tell us where and how the 256 is scaled to 597, and how that effects display on an actual connected to a real SNES.

I've skimmed thru the whole NTSC filter thread on zsnes board, all sorts of info comes up (as well as 600x224 resolution).
It is just too technical for me to understand because of my lack of knowledge of the underlying subjects.
I did not see any mention of where the 600(or597)pixels wide screen comes from tho.

Well this is what happens AFAIK:
1. The SNES graphic chip/processor/whatever render the image at 256x224
2. The TV encoder chip on the SNES resizes it to 298x224
3. The emulator will now double this values for filtering (stuff like 2xSaI or hq2x): 298*2 = 596 ; 224*2 = 448 or leave them alone if no filtering needs to be done (aka setting the image filter to None)

Don't ask me why Bsnes goes from 596 to 597, I don't know, but since byuu's goal is to make Bsnes the most accurate possible, including cycle-exact emulation putting Bsnes minimum system requirements at a 2Ghz CPU I bet there's a good reason to that. But I also think it's safe to assume that it might be a Bsnes only quirk, so we should be able to use 596x448 safely I think.

As for the NTSC filter to using 600x448 it's probably extra pixels used internally to do the filtering process, I say this because Bsnes includes this filter and if you activate it you still get the 597x448 resolution. Just check this screenshot, it's the same screen but using the NTSC Composite filter, it's still 597x448:


Finally how to correctly resize the pixels? Simple math will do it: 298/256 = 1,1640625
So the pixel ratio of a SNES is according to Bsnes 1,1640625:1
Just try it, it works and it's not a trimmed value, it's a perfect division: 256*1,1640625 = 298 no more no less.

[law56ker]

QUOTE(nes6502 @ Oct 2 2006, 12:01 PM)

So, an option that let's you return to the rom browser instead of the emulation after taking a screenshot? At this point there would be no way to return to the game you were just playing unless you restarted it. Is this correct?

Myabe i should just add a feature to ZsnexBox that will auto take the screenshots. For  example:

1) the user chooses a directory
2) the user sets how long they want the emulation to run for each game (like 15 seconds)
3) It automaticlly takes a screenshot after 15 seconds, exits the game, and goes on to the next game.
4) If the next game allready has a screenshot, it skips it and goes to the next game, etc...

I think that would be a cool feature. However, if you ran it on a folder with like 3000 roms it would take several hours to finish at 15 seconds per game.

It be an easy way to fill in all the blanks.

Would anybody out there be interested in something like this?

Yea it would be a cool feature either, how would it work exactly would the player play the game so you had an actually in game screenshot or could they just let it take title screenshots.

I guess either option would work. Maybe you could have the game start and have like a automatic button sequence that would start the game on it's own so you wouldn't have to start it on your own. Or maybe the user could set the button sequence they want to let the emulator go into the actually gameplay part of the game and take an screenshot then exit.

I've always prefered in game screenshots compared to title screenshots.