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Amiga User Forum · Emulations

#Slow Shapeshifter

18 messages in this thread

#215382From: Steve BrightmanOct 15, 1995 11:02 AM

I just installed Shapeshifter, but its terribly slow. I have an A2000/40, half-meg ROM image, 50M file disk. I'm also using a 1-bit display on my ECS machine. It took me the better part of a day to load 7.5. It takes about 30 minutes to boot. Windows open and close incredibly slowly (more than 10 seconds). I know the 1M ROM would be faster if I could get it. And the SCSI option would also be faster if I register. However, before I register I would like some confidence it will run fast enough to be usable, which it currently is not. I don't know if a 1-bit screen should be so slow, is it reasonable expect to a Picasso for example to run color faster than this ? Or, am I doing something else wrong? Would appreciate any performance comparisons of before and after registration. Thanks, Steve Steve Brightman Daring to be different – Amiga on the Internet – Lotus on the Interstate

#215427From: Van Hoyweghen KarlOct 15, 1995 4:44 PM

Steve, >> I know the 1M ROM would be faster << The speed-difference from a 0.5MB to a 1MB rom was quit big on my system, around factor 3. >> And the SCSI option would also be faster << This is the main reason. Using a DeviceDisk instead of a FileDisk slows SS up a lot. I found using a filedisk was unworkable. I'm using a SyQuest-cart to boot both Emplant and SS. >> I don't know if a 1-bit screen should be so slow << Graphic-cards do wonders to these kind of emulations. SpeedoMeter rates my CV64-setup a bit more than half the speed of real Mac video. Regards, Karl Van Hoyweghen on AutoPilot 1.80 Z7 A4000/40-Tower (karl.vanhoyweghen@ping.be)

#215541From: Steve BrightmanOct 16, 1995 8:40 PM

Karl, once again I'm indebted to you. I guess I'll go ahead and register – I don't think it will break the bank 🙂 Steve Brightman Daring to be different – Amiga on the Internet – Lotus on the Interstate

#215431From: Paul IdolOct 15, 1995 4:48 PM

>>half-meg ROM image<< This is my first guess as to the problem. The SS docs (in the questions section) say that the emulation can be slower on a 4000 than on a 3000 if you're not using a 1MB ROM image. >>I don't know if a 1-bit screen should be so slow, is it reasonable expect to a Picasso for example to run color faster than this ?<< I don't know what settings to suggest for your machine, but my mouse pointer even was jerky until I selected MMU refresh. (I have a RetinaZ4 w/ Cybergraphics.) So the settings can make a big difference. Otoh, anything above 8bit color is still massively slow for me. And yes, the Picasso would make a very nice difference for you. Mr. Zombie

#215514From: Paul GerhardtOct 16, 1995 5:41 PM

Paul & Steve, I tryed SS WITH a 1meg ROM image on my 4000. Still slow as frozen molasses! WAY TO SLOW for me to even consider switching from Emplant. *Watching the sun set over Candlewood Lake CT* -Paul Gerhardt-

#215543From: Steve BrightmanOct 16, 1995 8:40 PM

Paul, Did you use a real partition or a filedisk ? How many colors, and what display ? TIA, Steve Brightman Daring to be different – Amiga on the Internet – Lotus on the Interstate

#215662From: Paul GerhardtOct 17, 1995 9:28 PM

Steve & Paul, I tryed SS with a filedisk and a 1meg rom image on my 4000. It was totally unusable in any color mode. In B&W mode I could get it to work but still slower than Emplant in 256 color mode. I was prepared for slow file access, but even things that required no disk access were too slow. I understand that SS is OK with a graphics board, but on my AGA 4000 It was not worth me exploring since Emplant was and still is working fine for me. *Watching the sun set over Candlewood Lake CT* -Paul Gerhardt-

#215742From: Paul IdolOct 18, 1995 7:48 PM

Paul- The answer is that you really need a gfx card for ShapeShifter to be of any use at all. I tried to get it running acceptably on Bill Chadwick's 4000, and it wouldn't. The Emplant runs faster in 16 colors on my 3000's native video than ShapeShifter did in 256 colors on his 4000. Otoh, SS is quite snappy on my RetinaZ3. Mr. Zombie

#215782From: Kenny GreenOct 19, 1995 5:51 AM

There is also a mesage thread on usenet in the amiga.emulations forum that says there is a file that fixes the slow graphics prob for AGA machines which you are experiencing. Some guy said it was much faster with that patch. Look up usenet.

#215818From: Paul IdolOct 19, 1995 3:15 PM

I haven't been able to get to that newsgroup with AMosaic. I tried news://comp.sys.amiga.emulations but it told me that it couldn't get that information. Was the address wrong? Could you upload the patch here? Mr. Zombie

#215920From: Kenny GreenOct 20, 1995 11:39 AM

I'll see if I can get it. Hey, why don't you just go to usenet via cserve (go usenet). You can use autopilot/hands on, or otherwise to access usenet, subscribe to amiga emulations as you have it in your message, and you're cooking. Cya

#215937From: Van Hoyweghen KarlOct 20, 1995 1:34 PM

Paul, >> I tried news://comp.sys.amiga.emulations but it told me that it couldn't get that information. << Make sure you have the env-var NEWSSERVER set. If you use the CIS PPP-link, set it to news.compuserve.com. And the address is wrong too. You may not give the '//' if you want to access news. Just use 'news:comp.sys.amiga.emulations'. Why make it easy 🙂 Regards, Karl Van Hoyweghen on AutoPilot 1.80 Z7 A4000/40-Tower (karl.vanhoyweghen@ping.be)

#215605From: Paul IdolOct 17, 1995 12:00 PM

Paul- What setup are you using? What display mode? Are you using a filedisk? Also, have you read the docs section on the video settings? My mouse pointer wouldn't even track smoothly until I set them properly, though my settings won't help you probably since I have a gfx card. Mr. Zombie

#215542From: Steve BrightmanOct 16, 1995 8:40 PM

Paul, Thanks for the reply. Evena jerky pointer would be a big improvement. Right now I guess where to put the mouse and a second a so later the pointer responds ! I'll register and hope ! Steve Brightman Daring to be different – Amiga on the Internet – Lotus on the Interstate

#215600From: Paul IdolOct 17, 1995 11:59 AM

Steve- >>I'll register and hope !<< Well, good luck. I haven't really experimented to see how well SS stacks up against the Emplant. I don't have much choice–for a while, I have to replace my Emplant with my Ad516, so it doesn't much matter. <G> One thing I do know is that while SS can do greater than 8bit depths, that's not of much help. 🙁 I tried 800×600 with 32k colors to check out the Apple Company Store Quicktime VR demo, and it was beyond slow. Totally useless. And that's with a WarpEngine 3040 and a RetinaZ3 w/ Cybergraphics. Oh well. For 8bit screens, though, it seems snappy. Mr. Zombie

#215847From: Steve BrightmanOct 19, 1995 8:15 PM

Thanks for the comment Mr Z ! Steve Brightman Daring to be different – Amiga on the Internet – Lotus on the Interstate

#215795From: Ron MoncreiffOct 19, 1995 8:58 AM

Steve, The 50M file disk is a little big. Maybe you could cut it in half and use two. Also add alot of buffers, say 2000 to each device containing the disk file(s). The added buffers will make a lot of difference. Ron

#215848From: Steve BrightmanOct 19, 1995 8:15 PM

Actually I started with 10M only to find it too small for the OS. Since the thing was so slow loading I went with 50 to be safe. I really just wanted to check out the program, I have a whole partition I can use once I'm registered. Good suggestion on the buffers, I'll try it out. Thanks, Steve Brightman Daring to be different – Amiga on the Internet – Lotus on the Interstate