If we are on the subject of Spectaculator Enhacements...
I develop my assembly code using TASM which outputs a bin file.
Spectaculator 7 supports the loading in of bin data (RAW / BIN filetype) which is great. It asks for the start address (which it remembers next time). All fab so far.
I would LOVE the ability for Spectaculator to monitor the file and auto reload it when the file is modified. e.g.
File Monitoring is pretty easy to do nowadays via the modern Windows API so it shouldn't be too much work to implement. It could monitor until the app is closed and would only need to monitor one .bin file at a time.
(Yes, I know I could use Basin's built in Assembler etc. but I like TASM along with my preferred Text Editor (Textpad) for the coding work.
My wish is that they add "slow down"(steppable from 100% speed to (say) 2% speed) whilst tracing registers and realtime memory/assembler dump in a seperate resizable window.
That would be rather a cool feature.
as would an "untrace" which does the same but backwards.
Maybe with vtr type controls < " > etc to do the business?
I didn't think about this when I first read your post.
Are you talking about the feature in Spin where you can slow down, and speed up the emulated speed? (Z80CPU Speed / Emulation Speed)
Is that not possible in Spectaculator???
... or are you talking about something completely different?
Too be honest I was sure you could adjust the speed so for the first time in ages I booted up a Virtual XP machine and loaded Uridium............and you can change the speed of gameplay!!!!!
BUT ONLY TO MAKE IT FASTER!!!!
Jon - Make it go slower too will ya? (It's not cheating - it's just watching in awe as a roundhouse connects in exploding fist in slow motion for example.......)
"I should use simulator loosely 'cos I don't think it's quite like this on the beach with helicopters and fires and the jumping beach buggy" - paulisthebest3uk 2020.
Spectaculator is only at 7.0.1 so I doubt a version 8 would be around the corner with, or warrent v8 with those features.
I would like to see some slight changes, but some is cosmetic or makes it easier for me to make TZXs or Microdrive images etc. This could possibly be true for other emulator wish lists. Don't worry, there's no demands or assumptions that they will ever happen.
I'd like to see:
* Fix for Microdrive when you choose "Format Cartridge" from the ZX Microdrives window. If you format like this you can only input lower case names. I've just tried formatting a blank cart within Spectaulcator and you can have upper case characters:
FORMAT "m";1;"Popie"
The "Format Cartridge" only allows lower case so you'd get "popie" as the cart label.
Not really a big issue, but something I've noticed when dealing with carts over time.
* I'd love to see "Magnetic Windows" where each window can be attached/detatched from each other. The kind of glue together, probably sounds better as magnetic ?
A quick google search found me a little app called allSnap which seems to do a similar thing to all apps, so I just tried it on spectaculator ;-). It'd be better if the smaller windows could snap to the main one though ?: http://www.ivanheckman.com/allsnap/
* Ability to load from Line-In/Mic and mirror to WAV/CSW/TZX/OUT. Mirror to WAV could be
very useful if you're having trouble and you're loading blocks manually. It it loads into the emulator, then you should have a recorded block that will also reload, so it should make it easier to get those tricky noisy blocks converted.
* Ability to delete a block in a TZX. Of course by default it shouldn't be enabled, but it's sometimes useful to delete a block or two, or even rearrange them. This can all be done in Taper or Tapir, so again it doesn't matter too much, just might make it easier.
Perhaps have the facility to upload a saved game to your skydrive account in the same way that live gallery does.
I recon that is far too propriety to be realistic. I am guessing that you might be the the only person to keep their TZX files on skydrive!
While we are at it, how about a quote of the day feature with quotes from Timmy Mallet? :grin: :grin: :grin:
[offtopic]Humm, Firefox appears to be bring out minor updates each week at the moment. 3.0.10 read to install has just popped up on my screen. .8 and .9 each only lasted a week[/offtopic]
Comments
I develop my assembly code using TASM which outputs a bin file.
Spectaculator 7 supports the loading in of bin data (RAW / BIN filetype) which is great. It asks for the start address (which it remembers next time). All fab so far.
I would LOVE the ability for Spectaculator to monitor the file and auto reload it when the file is modified. e.g.
File Monitoring is pretty easy to do nowadays via the modern Windows API so it shouldn't be too much work to implement. It could monitor until the app is closed and would only need to monitor one .bin file at a time.
(Yes, I know I could use Basin's built in Assembler etc. but I like TASM along with my preferred Text Editor (Textpad) for the coding work.
http://www.zx-spectrum.cz
That would be rather a cool feature.
as would an "untrace" which does the same but backwards.
Maybe with vtr type controls < " > etc to do the business?
With a H:M:S* stamp** ticking*** in one corner****
* on/off (i.e. optional)
** [strike][or even FPS][/strike] Optional :-P
*** count up or down
**** Choose-A-Corner, or Place-It-Yerself
I wrote about it here some time ago and Jon Needle's answer was "But that would be cheating" ;-) So I guess he isn't very keen on this idea.
Oh, we wouldn't like cheating would we? ;)
Another (but probably out of the question) idea would be an "out of environment" editor/assembler/disassembler/debugger, which has "undo" features.
By which I mean, you can setup & possibly test your code without destroying what is already in the virtual speccy memory, or even undo changes.
I know what I mean, but it probably doesn't make sense.
I didn't think about this when I first read your post.
Are you talking about the feature in Spin where you can slow down, and speed up the emulated speed? (Z80CPU Speed / Emulation Speed)
Is that not possible in Spectaculator???
... or are you talking about something completely different?
Too be honest I was sure you could adjust the speed so for the first time in ages I booted up a Virtual XP machine and loaded Uridium............and you can change the speed of gameplay!!!!!
BUT ONLY TO MAKE IT FASTER!!!!
Jon - Make it go slower too will ya? (It's not cheating - it's just watching in awe as a roundhouse connects in exploding fist in slow motion for example.......)
I would like to see some slight changes, but some is cosmetic or makes it easier for me to make TZXs or Microdrive images etc. This could possibly be true for other emulator wish lists. Don't worry, there's no demands or assumptions that they will ever happen.
I'd like to see:
* Fix for Microdrive when you choose "Format Cartridge" from the ZX Microdrives window. If you format like this you can only input lower case names. I've just tried formatting a blank cart within Spectaulcator and you can have upper case characters:
FORMAT "m";1;"Popie"
The "Format Cartridge" only allows lower case so you'd get "popie" as the cart label.
Not really a big issue, but something I've noticed when dealing with carts over time.
* I'd love to see "Magnetic Windows" where each window can be attached/detatched from each other. The kind of glue together, probably sounds better as magnetic ?
A quick google search found me a little app called allSnap which seems to do a similar thing to all apps, so I just tried it on spectaculator ;-). It'd be better if the smaller windows could snap to the main one though ?:
http://www.ivanheckman.com/allsnap/
* Ability to load from Line-In/Mic and mirror to WAV/CSW/TZX/OUT. Mirror to WAV could be
very useful if you're having trouble and you're loading blocks manually. It it loads into the emulator, then you should have a recorded block that will also reload, so it should make it easier to get those tricky noisy blocks converted.
* Ability to delete a block in a TZX. Of course by default it shouldn't be enabled, but it's sometimes useful to delete a block or two, or even rearrange them. This can all be done in Taper or Tapir, so again it doesn't matter too much, just might make it easier.
Cheers
Andy
I recon that is far too propriety to be realistic. I am guessing that you might be the the only person to keep their TZX files on skydrive!
While we are at it, how about a quote of the day feature with quotes from Timmy Mallet? :grin: :grin: :grin:
[offtopic]Humm, Firefox appears to be bring out minor updates each week at the moment. 3.0.10 read to install has just popped up on my screen. .8 and .9 each only lasted a week[/offtopic]
A sample of Timmy saying "Bleauhhhh" :-)
anyway some form of storage where they could be held.
Where the quotes could be held? :P
:grin: