The Sinclair QL Forum

swensont wrote: Wed Dec 18, 2024 4:00 pmI can re-run my tests to see.

And also QPC2!

I've retested and with SMSQmulator 2.31, QSTAR1 does not run. I just get a cyan screen. With sQLux that loads the PE, QSTAR1 does not run. Just get a black screen.
if I start QSTAR1 on sQLux with just TK2 loaded, it runs fine.

I'm not saying that QSTAR1 not working with the PE or SMSQ/E is a bad thing, just that it did not work for me.

Tim

Post by RalfR » Wed Dec 18, 2024 9:19 am

> And also QPC2!

I don't have access to a Windows system to run QPC2 nor do I have WINE loaded to test it (and am not interested in loading WINE).

I guess I should mention the platforms that I test on to be clear.

Tim

Ok, I didn't realized that

For anyone trying to follow the link on page 5 to Simon Greenaway's github page by clicking on the link in the PDF,the displayed link is correct, but the link itself is missing a hyphen between sQLux and menu, so gives 404 Page Not Found.

swensont wrote: Wed Dec 18, 2024 4:43 pm I've retested and with SMSQmulator 2.31, QSTAR1 does not run. I just get a cyan screen. With sQLux that loads the PE, QSTAR1 does not run. Just get a black screen.
if I start QSTAR1 on sQLux with just TK2 loaded, it runs fine.

I'm not saying that QSTAR1 not working with the PE or SMSQ/E is a bad thing, just that it did not work for me.

Tim

I think this was flagged before.
Sadly, I cannot test on SMSQmulator - it doesn't work on Windows.
I retested on QEmulator with PE, and you are (partially) right!
When QStar starts it shows a light green screen (actually a green+cyan checkerboard)!
But if you press 1 or 2 the game starts in english or spanish - and works!
Instead of the light green screen it should have shown the splash screen, which is loaded with LBytes init_dat,131072.
Strangely enough the uncompiled basic code works perfectly and shows the screen - but the compiled code does not.

So, when you see the cyan or the black screen, just press 1 and the game will start.

Andrew wrote: Wed Dec 18, 2024 7:55 pm <>
Sadly, I cannot test on SMSQmulator - it doesn't work on Windows.
<>

SMSQmulator works beautifully on Windows! What seems to be the problem?

pjw wrote: Wed Dec 18, 2024 8:56 pm SMSQmulator works beautifully on Windows! What seems to be the problem?

I tried to run SMSQumulator for Java 21/ Java 17/ Java 11 on my PCs (Windows 10 Pro + Java 8 update 421, Windows 11 Pro + Java 8 update 431) but failed with error "A Java exception has occurred"
Obviously we need a JAVA 8 version of SMSQmulator.
There is no JRE for the newer JAVA versions and I do not want to install a huge SDK.

I have java v17.01 on my W11 machine, and v20.01 on my W10. I cant tell which SMSMQmulator Ive got 21, 17 or 11, but I usually start with the top one and work my way down. Having said that, the version of SMSQmulator that comes with QLE runs on either of my machines. I use those mainly for testing my software in a non-familiar environment.

There are a few minor differences here and there between SMSQmulator and QPC2, but most of the time I dont notice. SMSQmulator is less resource demanding than QPC2, so I use it on my laptop as QPC2 otherwise keeps the fan running continuously.

One of the differences between SMSQmulator and QPC2 is in the QL screen emulation department. I guess QPC2 is more "polished" when it comes to that. However, SMSQmulator is still very much alive, so Im sure if you get in touch with Wolfgang he'll have a go at trying to sort out any issues.

swensont wrote: Tue Dec 17, 2024 2:40 am It's been a few years since the last issue, but Issue #9 is now available:

http://swensont.epizy.com/smsqzine09.pdf

and the accompanying zip file:

http://swensont.epizy.com/smsqzine09.zip

Tim

Thanks for the issue #9, it was a nice reading.