Solarian II faster on a (plain) Mac II than a IIsi?

[John Hardin]

My father has a IIsi on which I've played Solarian II. I have a
(plain old) Mac II on which I would *swear* it plays "faster" (e.g.,
alien bombs (seem to) travel faster). The *only* possible advantage
that *my* configuration has (over my father's) is the FPU (i.e.,
68882). Can this be the explanation? (Or am I just imagining the
speed-up?)

Dazed and confused...
-jwh
--
John Hardin, MCC CAD Program | ARPA: har...@mcc.com | Phone: [512] 338-3535
Box 200195, Austin, TX 78720 | UUCP: ...!cs.utexas.edu!milano!cadillac!hardin

[RX...@psuvm.psu.edu]

>
>My father has a IIsi on which I've played Solarian II. I have a
>(plain old) Mac II on which I would *swear* it plays "faster" (e.g.,
>alien bombs (seem to) travel faster). The *only* possible advantage
>that *my* configuration has (over my father's) is the FPU (i.e.,
>68882). Can this be the explanation? (Or am I just imagining the
>speed-up?)
>
>Dazed and confused...

I think the problem (unfortunately) is the 32BitQuickDraw init. The routines i
n it take up much more processor time in order to handle the expanded color
requirements. I have an se/30 and Solarian is very slow (it jerks, shakes, and
does a few dances) with the 32BQD installed, even if it is set at 256 colors.
Taking it out of the system folder and restarting usually takes care of this.
The only problem is that the Si's have the video built into them. I haven't tr
ied my solution with an Si, but I have a feeling that it might not work.
Your suggestion that the absence of a math coprocessor may also be a problem
depends on whether Solarian uses one and how heavily. Since, until recently,
every color mac has had a math unit (i think) B.H. may have relied on one being
available.
In other words... no answers, just a few suggestions to try and
and a few more questions.

Good Luck,
RXF10@psuvm

[RX...@psuvm.psu.edu]

Oh, by the way, my personal best ..... 726k. Sounds high, but its a terrible
score for the amount that I have been playing. If anybody wants any tips on an
y levels up to and including the LIPS just send me a note asking and I'll see
if my roomates and I can come up with a few goodies.

Robert Falco
RXF10@psuvm

PS. Don't ask for any tips on winning...
I haven't done it...yet!

[Omar Souka]

The IIsi has on-board video which means that the application and the
screen are sharing the same memory. If the app wants memory when the
screen is drawing it has to wait. I've done some simple benchmarks that
show that a IIsi is about %30 faster in black and white vs. color (which
doesn't help much with Solarian)

Omar Souka E/Mail: so...@msc.edu
Minnesota Supercomputer Center AT&T: 612 625 7890
Minneapolis, MN FAX: 612 624 6550

[Chuck Hoffman]

I use a Mac-II (plain) at work, and I have a Mac-IIcx and Mac-IIsi at
home. The II (plain) has some trouble keeping up with the sounds. I
notice no difference in play action between the IIcx and IIsi. Am running
Solarian II version 1.04. All three have Apple high resolution RGB
monitors. The II (plain) has the board required to support the high
resolution monitor. All three running 6.0.7 and Multifinder. The
II (plain) is on an ethernet network. Similar INITs in all three.

- Chuck Hoffman, GTE Laboratories, Inc. | I'm not sure why we're here,
ca...@bunny.gte.com | but I am sure that while we're
Telephone (U.S.A.) 617-466-2131 | here, we're supposed to help
GTE VoiceNet: 679-2131 | each other.
GTE Telemail: C.HOFFMAN |