BigPEmu and BigInstinct Network Updates
BigPEmu and BigInstinct have both had minor version updates (1.221 and 1.01, respectively) to add desync detection and fix a Linux network plugin issue:
Added some cheap hash-based desync detection to the network protocol. The host will now be alerted when a desync occurs in State Sync mode. (desyncs are only known to occur when settings don't match across players or a script is causing emulation to operate non-deterministically)
Removed unnecessary zlib dependencies from the network plugin in Linux builds. (thanks to SabreAZ for helping me test this)
Added a -nomenubg command line option.
In addition, there are a couple of new script features in this version of BigInstinct (stuff I was already close to wrapping up last weekend):
Added a "same colors" option to the ki_gameplay module. This option has multiple settings: default/legacy (never allow the same color index), always, and "only when not using the same character."
Added a "no AI combo breakers" option to the ki_gameplay module.
Network protocol has been bumped for both versions, so they won't connect to older versions. Not that attempting cross-version netplay is ever a good idea. The BigPEmu user manual has also been updated to discuss network desynchronization and how to prevent it (the same thing applies to BigInstinct): https://richwhitehouse.com/jaguar/index.php?content=userman#sect_112new
Download BigPEmu: https://richwhitehouse.com/jaguar/index.php?content=download
Download BigInstinct: https://richwhitehouse.com/ki/index.php?content=download
If you downloaded the Patreon BigPArc in BigInstinct 1.0, you may get a warning about the version mismatch when you first load 1.01. You can resolve that by using the Network -> Download Content menu item again to download the updated archive for 1.01.
I'm not planning to keep up this release cadence, but I didn't want anything to discourage folks from using the network functionality, so wanted to get new builds out with those additions/fixes ASAP.
Thank you as always, and please enjoy! Now back to the weekend to try to reset the stress level before Monday sinks its teeth in.
Comments (15)
Is there a way to run Big Instinct in portable mode? Edit: also, I can't register on your site for Big Instinct. The link is not clickable
Hey, came across some spare funds so I signed up to help support you. Unfortunately it looks like your site is down and none of the links work?
https://richwhitehouse.com/ki/index.php?content=download and https://richwhitehouse.com/jaguar/index.php?content=download are both working fine for me right now, as are the zip links on each download page. I see you only made this post 34 minutes ago, so if there was an outage it must have been brief. If you're still unable to access the site/links, my only thought is that you're on a network or in a country that has chosen to make the site inaccessible for some reason. VPN is always an option if that's the case, but I haven't heard of anyone else having difficulties of that nature with my domain.
Is there a way to test the “lag” on a frame by frame basis as can be done on RetroArch (see link) https://youtu.be/KsU7zQw3VKI
Hi Rich, my name is Roger Alvarez and I'm from Chile. I really liked your work with Killer Instinct regarding the emulator and the hitboxes. I've heard that you're working on making a glitch-free competitive version of Killer Instinct Arcade. If that's the case, it would be a huge milestone for players in Chile. Sending you a hug, brother!
Here from Chile as well. Thanks Rich for the great work!
Awesome! I think an Android version might be super cool, to play KI in full speed on cheap ARM based handhelds.
The latency feels better with the indications given to "B", it loses some audio effects but feels very close to the arcade, specially in KI2 where the input timming is so important. Amazing job Rich!
Are you going to create a Mac version of BigInstinct?
It's not currently on the agenda, it's so fast that I don't think there's much need/reason, it's likely to run full speed even in slow virtualized environments.
Incredible! Thanks so much Rich! For clarity, is there any more time going to be devoted to improving the latency in the offline mode to better match the arcade? Or is this the best it’s going to get? (Or if there are any offline latency adjustment settings, would you mind verifying how to access/adjust them? TIA!)
There are options to fine-tune the software input latency stack to perfection already. The relevant ones are: System -> Thread Run Ahead: Optimal latency would be "None", but may stutter or drop frames on systems prone to small timing inconsistencies. Video -> Force Synchronization: When enabled, basically forces the CPU to run lockstep with the GPU, minimizing the time from input sampling to video presentation. This may just not be viable on some systems if there is too much latency built into the GPU hardware and/or driver stack. Then of course there is System -> Emulator Run Ahead. Setting that to 1 is safe in KI because the arcade version already has a 1 frame delay between when input is processed and when the frame is presented. So in theory if you have an extremely well optimized driver/hardware latency stack on your PC, you could achieve "better than arcade hardware" input latency with this option. Unless you have something on the hardware/driver side introducing bad latency (like your GPU or controller), you should be able to use these options to get input latency very comparable to the arcade hardware.
appreciate you Rich
Hi, thank you for all this, it's wonderful; I have a question: will it ever be available for MisterFPGA?
Thank you! As for whether KI itself will get MiSTer'd, nothing I'm doing is really laying the groundwork for that. I'm focusing on tech to achieve extremely good performance in software emulation without relying on any dynarec or title-specific AoT, but the relevant hardware is already very well and publicly documented, so I don't think I'm breaking any ground that would be useful for a MiSTer core.