AmigaVision (MegaAGS) 2023.07.17 Released with Improved Launcher Reliability

[limi]

We are happy to announce that the latest release of AmigaVision/MegaAGS is available!

AmigaVision is the ultimate, open source Amiga setup for MiSTer and
Analogue Pocket FPGAs, emulators, and real hardware.

This is a very minor update to the recent major 2023.06.06 release that focuses on improving reliability of loading thumbnail previews in the game/demo launcher, as well as some updates to WHDLoad configurations.

• More reliable loading of thumbnail previews in the launcher when returning from a previously loaded game or demo. This was especially noticable in the Pocket variant, since that device has slower disk access.
• Zine 11 disk magazine now works.
• Disambiguation between multiple versions of the same game (e.g. ECS vs AGA) in titles ended up accidentally listing them with a language code instead. This has been fixed.

Stay Updated & Help Us Make AmigaVision Even Better

If you find any bugs or settings that need improvements, file a ticket on the AmigaVision web site.

AmigaVision is an open source project, and we welcome contributions from the community. GitHub Pull Requests are very welcome!

You can follow us on Mastodon, Twitter or via RSS, and updates will be posted when new releases happen.

Enjoy the best of what the Amiga platform has to offer!

[limi]

For those of you that already have 2023.06.06 or 2023.07.07 installed and know your way around the Amiga file system, you can update just the launcher by copying the files in the attached zip file to the AGS: location.

[meauxdal]

The recent AmigaVision packs have been spectacular. Deepest thanks for the obvious love and care that have been put into these. Glad to hear the thumbnail bug has been resolved. This thing is pretty much perfect in my eyes, now, though I'll be sure to file a bug if I find anything amiss.

Essential stuff for Amiga lovers.

[lagerfeldt]

<3 I can't express my love and admiration for the AmigaVision project enough. It's incredibly curated and taken care of in terms of fidelity and attention to detail.

And while I know it's a project driven by love, is there anywhere to support the project financially? Doesn't seem to be a Patreon or similar.

[Higgy]

Thanks for update ZIP, I updated my installs last night.
I also edited the version .txt file (can't remember actual file name) so it says 2023.07.17 on the menu.

[bazza_12]

I also edited the version .txt file (can't remember actual file name) so it says 2023.07.17 on the menu.

about.txt

[limi]

Just remember what version you are actually running when reporting bugs

(There are a lot more fixes and updates than just the launcher)

[limi]

And while I know it's a project driven by love, is there anywhere to support the project financially? Doesn't seem to be a Patreon or similar.

No need, we are doing this because we want to preserve the platform and make it accessible to everyone. Enjoy!

[rhester72]

Were there any changes to Extras or just the main games HDF?

[limi]

Only the main configurations that produce the HDF image. No change to the Extras.

[rhester72]

OK - if it wouldn't add too much complexity, it might be helpful in the future if the dates on the files in the archive reflect actual changes so we don't have to redeploy everything every release. =)

[limi]

We only maintain the script to produce an image, any images downloaded are not under our control. The modification dates will depend on the date and time on the computer of the person running it.

In any case, checksums would be the way to verify any changes to individual files, dates are not reliable.

[sparkysanxion]

Quick question (not particularly about this version).

I don't usually have scanlines and shadow masks on, but thought I'd try out the presets that have been included in the more recent versions... But when I have the shadow mask on, it makes white things very "magenta".

I know I can just turn it off, out go choose a different mask etc etc, but is this something I am doing wrong? Or something with my setup?

PXL_20230719_222406911.jpg (1.05 MiB) Viewed 37298 times

[limi]

That is definitely not how the default setup looks like. I’ll let others chime in on what might be the cause.

[killersquirel]

I can't seem to find the updated download. I go to the AmigaVision website and click on download and accept the terms and then it looks like it's going to redirect to Archive.org and then I get a file not found error. What can I do?

[Lightwave]

I can't seem to find the updated download. I go to the AmigaVision website and click on download and accept the terms and then it looks like it's going to redirect to Archive.org and then I get a file not found error. What can I do?

Just type "AmigaVision" manually into the search field on archive.org, it's still there.

[prenetic]

That is definitely not how the default setup looks like. I’ll let others chime in on what might be the cause.

This is how mine looks too. I looked into why and it seems the provided preset/filter configurations use a copy of the 'MG Stripe (Magenta Green)' shadow mask which produces this tint. Is this intentional?

[limi]

MG Stripe does not produce that effect on our TVs. But yes, let’s discuss in that thread.

[Pokkai]

You folks are doing the Lord's work, a huge thank you.

Sorry if it's me, but how do I make the MEGA AGS window full-screen on PC? Is there an ini file I can set the resolution, scanlines, etc, from? I may well be missing something totally obvious, but I'd like to adjust some base settings.

Update: I found it by opening your FS-UAE file in Notepad, it maybe worth adding that to the base Documentation, for people like me who are new to the pack . Great work, again.

[limi]

Update: I found it by opening your FS-UAE file in Notepad, it maybe worth adding that to the base Documentation, for people like me who are new to the pack . Great work, again.

Indeed, we want to spend some time making the emulator experience a bit better soon. The included FS-UAE config file right now is just what we are using for casual testing; we should spend some time getting it as good as possible under emulators, even though the project originally targeted the MiSTer platform.

[dakidski]

EDIT. I'm a fool, I missed Lost Treasures of Infocom, lol. Silly me.

I'm using AmigaVision on a MiST 1.4 running the Minimig AGA core, and it runs just fine. (If it is missing some features, I'm not noticing it.) I'm outputting analogue video on a Nokia CRT VGA monitor. I automount both MegaAgs and MegaAgs-Saves on boot, and everything runs like a dream.

I have some feedback. I realize that this is mainly due to which particular Whdload installs are available. But, there a way too few text adventures on AmigaVision! I realize that Hitchhikers Guide and Journey, both from Infocom, are available, but what about the other Infocom classics? There are no way around them if you want to show off the Amiga's game library.

What would be great, would be a text adventure spotlight/focus/gameography.

If not by Whdload directly, then it could be done by one of the many Z-machine interpreters, such as Inform: http://aminet.net/package/game/text/Inform6

Also check out what the Apple II community have done with Pitch Dark: https://archive.org/details/PitchDark

Just my thoughts. Otherwise I'm like totally happy, this project is amazing. Peace and love.

[bazza_12]

I'd love to see simcity 2000 + supporting packs in the next release..

[rsn8887]

On the AmigaVision webpage, it says to always run in 40:27 aspect ratio. But in the readme supplied with AmigaVision, it says to manually switch the aspect ratio setting in the MiSTer OSD depending on PAL 4x, PAL 5x, PAL 6x, etc. for each game.

Which is correct?

[Optiroc]

On the AmigaVision webpage, it says to always run in 40:27 aspect ratio. But in the readme supplied with AmigaVision, it say to manually switch the aspect ratio setting depending on PAL 4x, PAL 5x, PAL 6x, etc. for each game.

Which is correct?

For the last two or three releases, 40:27 is always the correct AR setting. The image fed to the scaler will have its crop adjusted dynamically to produce the correct PAR.

[rsn8887]

Thanks for the info.

I found one odd very minor thing today.

In Curated Content->Denofgeek->34 Fire Force, the screenshot is wrong for some reason. The screenshot shows a Space Invaders clone:

20230814_171536-screen.png (186.94 KiB) Viewed 35820 times

The real game looks like this:

ff.png (99.86 KiB) Viewed 35821 times

The name of the game should be "Fireforce" not "Fire Force".

EDIT: I made a GitHub issue about this minor thing: https://github.com/amigavision/AmigaVision/issues/115

[limi]

On the AmigaVision webpage, it says to always run in 40:27 aspect ratio. But in the readme supplied with AmigaVision, it say to manually switch the aspect ratio setting depending on PAL 4x, PAL 5x, PAL 6x, etc. for each game.

Which is correct?

For the last two or three releases, 40:27 is always the correct AR setting. The image fed to the scaler will have its crop adjusted dynamically to produce the correct PAR.

I fixed the ReadMe file a couple of weeks ago, so it will be correct in the next release:

https://github.com/amigavision/AmigaVis ... a78bc860f8

[freed]

hello, I would like to run this MEGA AGS 2023 on my mist? is it possible? how to proceed? Thank you for your answers.

[tgm0]

hello, I would like to run this MEGA AGS 2023 on my mist? is it possible? how to proceed? Thank you for your answers.

You'll find your answer inside the "## Setup for MiSTer" paragraph in the MegaAGS-ReadMe.txt file.

[limi]

And as I don’t have access to a MiST board, let me know if the instructions need clarifying or updating.

[rsn8887]

I wonder if MegaAGS for Pocket could be split up into 3 games hdf, 4GB each, plus the one hdf for saves, to get more games on Pocket. I know there’s the 4GB hdf limit on Pocket but it does allow mounting 4 hdf simultaneously. 3 separate hdf would give 12 GB for games. It might be enough for all the games.

Currently some games are sorely missing from the Pocket version such as Marvin’s Marvelous Adventures.