MiSTer FPGA Forum

We’re excited to let you know that MegaAGS 2022.02.22 is now available!

If you don’t know what MegaAGS is, it’s a carefully curated and tuned Amiga games and demo scene collection for the Amiga core on MiSTer. It takes advantage of many of MiSTer’s quality-of-life capabilities around shared drives, high-resolution RTG support, and integer zoom/scale options, in addition to also working on the original Amiga hardware.

It aims to be the de-facto Amiga setup for the MiSTer, and lets you explore the massive Amiga game and demo scene library with a user friendly launcher and lots of different categories to help you navigate the vast game library of the Amiga, as well as providing an introduction to the Amiga demo scene for people unfamiliar with it — which, interestingly, is nominated as a UNESCO cultural heritage.

What’s new in this version?

500+ additional per-game 5×PAL scale settings

This brings the total to over 1200 hand-tuned scaling settings for games and demos in MegaAGS. Every single game in any of the top lists or curated lists has now received a dedicated, hand-tuned per-game scale/crop/offset to maximize screen usage while still keeping integer scaling and correct aspect ratio.



If you want to read more about what the per-game 5×PAL setting does, check out the original announcement when we introduced the feature here. The launcher will show you whether it’s using 4×, 5× or 6× scaling. You can always disable this in the Options section in the MegaAGS launcher if you prefer that. This setting will persist across reboots. Note that 1080p resolution in MiSTer’s settings is required for proper scaling in 5× and 6× modes.

New 6× scaling mode

What’s cooler than 5×PAL scaling? Of course, the obvious next step is… 6×PAL scaling!


What does 6× scale do? The Amiga demo scene has increasingly seen new demos (and even old ones) that use a 16:9 aspect ratio, and there are also older demos that used a “cinematic” frame that work great with modern 16:9 displays. We added a new Widescreen category under the demo scene that fills the screen edge-to-edge. There are 44 demos that are capable of that currently.

Some examples of how it looks:


You do need to set the OSD settings to Audio/Video → Aspect Ratio → Full Screen, and then you can watch these demos in their full screen 16:9 glory.

Note that this is not stretching! It’s using a 6× scale to make the 16:9 aspect ratio cover the full display. The original pixel aspect ratio is preserved.

MT-32 MIDI game support

You can now play the small selection of games with MIDI support, these are located under the Special Hardware category. Since Amiga had hardware that can play sampled audio, it didn’t have a lot of MIDI games — but PC ports like the Sierra and LucasArts games do support it. Thanks to LamerDeluxe for this contribution!

New custom aspect ratio

This is a work-in-progress, and while there is no one “true aspect ratio” on Amiga CRT monitors — since they had adjustments for vertical and horizontal stretching — we have compared the MiSTer HDMI output to Commodore 1942 and 1084 CRT monitors, and have arrived at a 40:27 aspect ratio for all games that are not NTSC. The launcher will tell you what aspect ratio to use, but the majority use this new 40:27 setting. This is also the default if you follow the installation instructions in the ReadMe file and copy the config settings to your MiSTer. You can of course also add it manually.

Other improvements

• Added and updated several games to their latest versions, and additional games released in 2021 and 2022, e.g. Metal Gear Solid. Check out the Games by Year category to try these.
• Several more games have been adjusted to use 5×PAL instead of erroneously using NTSC, which sometimes would speed up the music. You can override these in the Options section, as always — some people are used to playing e.g. Giana Sisters in NTSC, at 120% speed and frame rate. We always aim to use the settings that the original developers were most likely using. But do let us know if you find any games that seem to use the wrong configuration. Report any issues here.
• The AGS launcher has received several improvements, special thanks to StatMat (of OneLoad64 fame) for adding several quality-of-life improvements!
• New curated/top lists have been added, e.g. “45 Games That Defined the Amiga 500” from the YouTube channel “It’s a P/XEL thing”

…and many, many small improvements that we won’t cover here.

Grab your favorite beverage, turn down the lights, turn up the volume, and watch these classic widescreen 16:9 Amiga demos in 6× scale full screen on your HDTV! Looks especially mesmerizing on OLED with the fast pixel responsiveness and true blacks.

Also, remember — friends don’t let friends watch Amiga demos and games on modern displays without scanlines!

• If you are unfamiliar with the Amiga demo scene, and want some suggestions for Widescreen 16:9 demos with incredible soundtracks to try in 6×, here are some personal favorites: Rule 30, Fisherhawk, Hologon, Blast From the Past, My Lucky Number, Emperor of the North Pole. Don’t forget to set Aspect Ratio in the MiSTer OSD to Full Screen before launching!
• A few of the demos have static/interstitial screens that will be slightly cropped, but we haven’t done this to demos that have major parts missing. If you want 4×/5× scale instead, they are available in the listings outside the Widescreen category.
• Do note that some of the Amiga demos access the hardware directly, which means they can corrupt the memory after they are run. This means that you may have to reboot the core every once in a while when checking out demo scene releases. This is true to real hardware behavior, FWIW.

Many thanks, it is an already great collection becoming even better.
I noticed that Uridium 2 is still PAL 60. The game was intended for 50Hz and runs to fast with 60Hz.

Thanks! Will take a look. We do try to push shoot’em-ups to 60hz when we can do it without affecting music etc, since it’s a much better experience for fast “twitchy” games. So I guess I should have qualified it by saying that those are the exception to the rule. Is the music too fast, or is the game suffering under 60hz? It’s a game I mostly played on the C64, so I’m not super familiar with the feel of the Amiga version.

great!
But where to get the files?

Sorry, we don’t distribute the image for copyright reasons — we just maintain the script that builds it — so you will have to find someone else that can help you with getting it set up. It’s the same for every MiSTer core, pretty much — e.g. SNES games or game packs are not distributed on the forums either.

hooooo.. I know nobody.
that's fine, I'll still use the previous version which is still no bad at all.
thanks for your hard work on it!

You might be able to find a link to it on reddit. I found it with google

Search for it on the Internet Archive site, you might get lucky

Thanks for the release and all info limi. Trying it out today (showing off MiSTer to a visitor today)

limi wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 6:36 am Thanks! Will take a look. We do try to push shoot’em-ups to 60hz when we can do it without affecting music etc, since it’s a much better experience for fast “twitchy” games. So I guess I should have qualified it by saying that those are the exception to the rule. Is the music too fast, or is the game suffering under 60hz? It’s a game I mostly played on the C64, so I’m not super familiar with the feel of the Amiga version.

The intended frame rate is stated on the back cover of the box

https://www.mobygames.com/game/amiga/ur ... rId,96976/

I am using Video Processing -> Sony Trinitron settings. The result is not great because scanlines are not being equally distributed. Very obvious in games (I am testing with Banshee).

Using Sony Trinitron settings with C64 core with vertical crop enabled gives me perfectly distributed scanlines, so I guess I am either doing something wrong when it comes to the AGS/Minimig core or something is inherently wrong.

Any ideas?

Chris23235 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 11:36 am The intended frame rate is stated on the back cover of the box

https://www.mobygames.com/game/amiga/ur ... rId,96976/

Perfect! We’ll make sure it’s fixed in the next version.

Insert Disk Two wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 11:39 am I am using Video Processing -> Sony Trinitron settings. The result is not great because scanlines are not being equally distributed. Very obvious in games (I am testing with Banshee).

Using Sony Trinitron settings with C64 core with vertical crop enabled gives me perfectly distributed scanlines, so I guess I am either doing something wrong when it comes to the AGS/Minimig core or something is inherently wrong.

Any ideas?

Unless you are doing black frame insertion (BFI), horizontal scan lines can perceptually appear problematic, depending on your display. I recommend vertical scan lines for vertical shoot’em-ups.

(Not saying that there couldn’t be issues with the core and/or scanline implementation)

tonywatto wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 9:25 am Search for it on the Internet Archive site, you might get lucky

looks like i was lucky!

thanks for all who've contributed to this!

limi wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 11:44 am

Insert Disk Two wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 11:39 am I am using Video Processing -> Sony Trinitron settings. The result is not great because scanlines are not being equally distributed. Very obvious in games (I am testing with Banshee).

Using Sony Trinitron settings with C64 core with vertical crop enabled gives me perfectly distributed scanlines, so I guess I am either doing something wrong when it comes to the AGS/Minimig core or something is inherently wrong.

Any ideas?

Unless you are doing black frame insertion (BFI), horizontal scan lines will perceptually appear problematic, depending on your display. I recommend vertical scan lines for vertical shoot’em-ups.

I don't have this issue with anything else other than AGS. For some reason vertical cropping is not working correctly.

Insert Disk Two wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 11:47 am I don't have this issue with anything else other than AGS. For some reason vertical cropping is not working correctly.

That is indeed interesting. I will take a look.

limi wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 11:49 am

Insert Disk Two wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 11:47 am I don't have this issue with anything else other than AGS. For some reason vertical cropping is not working correctly.

That is indeed interesting. I will take a look.

I did some more testing...

Sensible World of Soccer = bad scanlines*
Saint Dragon = good scanlines (I can see game actually cropping)
Woodys World x5 Pal60 = good scanlines (but game is too fast like this)
Woodys World forced 50hz = bad scanlines

Hope this helps!

*With Bad Scanlines I mean non properly distributed scanlines when using Video Processing -> Sony Trinitron or JVC. This happens generally when display is stretched, not integer scaled

Thanks, I'll have a look at this!

Congrats to the team!

Couple minor changes to the startup-sequence and you have a nice CD32 image as well.

Thank you so much for this! I am reliving my childhood with this!

Only question I have is:
Is SimAnt (non low res version) known to not work? (or am I doing something wrong?) it just returns to the AGS menu after launching.

Thank you and I look forward to future versions as time permits!

Insert Disk Two wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 2:54 pm I did some more testing...

Sensible World of Soccer = bad scanlines*
Saint Dragon = good scanlines (I can see game actually cropping)
Woodys World x5 Pal60 = good scanlines (but game is too fast like this)
Woodys World forced 50hz = bad scanlines

Would you mind checking real quick with those games if toggling between Original and 40:27 aspect ratio makes a difference? I don’t have time to test until the weekend, and it would be great to rule that out since you know what to look for.

Insert Disk Two wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 2:54 pm I did some more testing...

Sensible World of Soccer = bad scanlines*
Saint Dragon = good scanlines (I can see game actually cropping)
Woodys World x5 Pal60 = good scanlines (but game is too fast like this)
Woodys World forced 50hz = bad scanlines

Hope this helps!

*With Bad Scanlines I mean non properly distributed scanlines when using Video Processing -> Sony Trinitron or JVC. This happens generally when display is stretched, not integer scaled

Quite strange. I am quite confident that also the 4X viewport modes will yield an integer scale ratio at 1080p, with 270 visible lines. Maybe your TV does something unexpected when fed a 50Hz signal? But if so that should also impact 5X crop modes at 50Hz. How does Another World look?

I'm attaching a bad photo of my TV with the core running in 4X PAL mode.

Hi,

Again, not sure if I am doing anything wrong but I noticed that on "All New World of Lemmings" The bottom of the screen seems to be cut off when playing a level. (seems like the screen is shifted down since there is black space on the top of the screen) It doesnt seem to do this in the main menu of the game only after you start a level.

gooface wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 11:52 pm Hi,

Again, not sure if I am doing anything wrong but I noticed that on "All New World of Lemmings" The bottom of the screen seems to be cut off when playing a level. (seems like the screen is shifted down since there is black space on the top of the screen) It doesnt seem to do this in the main menu of the game only after you start a level.

Thanks for the report! That one is indeed wrongly configured. I'll blame limi for that oversight.

Optiroc wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 11:59 pm

gooface wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 11:52 pm Hi,

Again, not sure if I am doing anything wrong but I noticed that on "All New World of Lemmings" The bottom of the screen seems to be cut off when playing a level. (seems like the screen is shifted down since there is black space on the top of the screen) It doesnt seem to do this in the main menu of the game only after you start a level.

Thanks for the report! That one is indeed wrongly configured. I'll blame limi for that oversight.

No problem! Just enjoying what you guys are doing here

Any feedback for my question above? (wondering if its a limitation of the core or not?) I am still kinda new with the Mister and learning the ropes.

gooface wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 9:20 pm Thank you so much for this! I am reliving my childhood with this!

Only question I have is:
Is SimAnt (non low res version) known to not work? (or am I doing something wrong?) it just returns to the AGS menu after launching.

Thank you and I look forward to future versions as time permits!

gooface wrote: ↑Thu Mar 03, 2022 12:01 am Only question I have is:
Is SimAnt (non low res version) known to not work? (or am I doing something wrong?)

Thank you and I look forward to future versions as time permits!

Indeed that one had an issue with the configuration too. I only use the lo-res versions of the Maxis games personally, but the hi-res versions was added by request semi-recently without testing. Should work in upcoming releases!

To add a bit of nuance: While adjusting All New World of Lemmings now we face a dilemma. All screens are rendered in a 200 lines viewport, so 5X scale should work just great in theory. But the game shifts the screen vertically between menu and in-game screens by a pretty large amount. So the options are to use a 4X scale which introduces large borders but makes everything visible at all times, or to use a 5X crop and optimize for the important stuff (the in-game screens). In this case there will be cropping of the menu screens if chosing a 5X scale; they are shifted up too much. But there is no critical information cropped, as far as I can see, so I will pick a new viewport setting that will display the game screen perfectly, but introduces a bit of annoying cropping in the menu screen. It can be a tricky balance, and something that we're adjusting over time as oversights like this are discovered.

bfbiii wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 8:48 pm Couple minor changes to the startup-sequence and you have a nice CD32 image as well.

If you let us know what kind of changes you made, we can probably find a way to include that in the next version.

Optiroc wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 11:59 pm Thanks for the report! That one is indeed wrongly configured. I'll blame limi for that oversight.

Haha, yes — with 1200+ settings, there are bound to be some that slipped through the cracks.

Glad to see an update! I originally bought my MiSTer for Amiga and NeoGeo support so I'm glad to see an update for this package. The NES, Genesis, PC-Engine and PSX cores are just gravy.

I had an A500 and then A1200 back in the day so it's great to easily enjoy old favorites and all the other games I never seen.

limi wrote: ↑Thu Mar 03, 2022 1:16 am

bfbiii wrote: ↑Wed Mar 02, 2022 8:48 pm Couple minor changes to the startup-sequence and you have a nice CD32 image as well.

If you let us know what kind of changes you made, we can probably find a way to include that in the next version.

For CD32 you would want to comment out the call for DF0: buffers as well as calls for the shared folder. That's pretty much it. It was a bit more involved with the build before this one.

I may move this to a 128GB card and add peterk's library, speed up icons with Native monitor support (add back in the normal monitor resolutions), Akiko fix for the TF330 card, MMU library as well... yours is an impressive build to start with