VOGONS

Search

Common searches

FRACTINT graphics corruption

Topic actions

First post, by P4R4D0X

Posted on 
User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

While I was browsing the PC/XT/AT MESS topic on Emuversal found this nice fractal software called FRACTINT. The guys over there were comparing the tool emulated inside MESS and DOSBox so I thought I might try it as well. It should be on page 98 and 99 in the topic with some DOSBox talk.
Topic: http://forums.bannister.org/ubbthreads.php?ub … r=76084&page=99

So I went to the official website and grabbed the latest one from their servers: FRACTINT Version 20.04.12
Link: http://www.fractint.org/ftp/current/dos/fract … nt-20.04p12.zip

File: fractint-20.04p12.zip
MD5: 4AA9AC4B5EF3221F87DD3A7FDA079E02
SHA-1: 938ECC5191ED7DF78CAB3AC24EAA475E3F3B1C6F

Extracted the files, reset my DOSBox configuration file for 0.74 and SVN, mounted my test folder and ran FRACTINT. Then I pressed ESC to see main menu and selected the following video mode: IBM 256-Color VGA/MCGA 320x200 256 color

It will render correctly for the first time and you will see the following image. You will get a beep when it's ready.

fractint_000.png
Filename
fractint_000.png
File size
4.36 KiB
Views
868 views
File license
Fair use/fair dealing exception

Ok, now press Escape to go back to the text mode main menu then select return to image. This is what you will get...

fractint_001.png
Filename
fractint_001.png
File size
1.27 KiB
Views
868 views
File license
Fair use/fair dealing exception

It looks weird, because it should be the same image. Now press space and you will see a preview window in the bottom right corner and a cursor. You can use the mouse to draw the image you are supposed to get.

fractint_002.png
Filename
fractint_002.png
File size
2.35 KiB
Views
868 views
File license
Fair use/fair dealing exception

Now there's another thing you can do. Go back to the menu and return to the image to see the white lines again. But this time don't press the space bar instead left click on the screen. You will see a dot lined border. Now move the mouse around but don't click yet, because it will redraw the screen with the correct image. If you do this for a while and you got the patience you can fill the entire screen and clear the white lines as well.

fractint_003.png
Filename
fractint_003.png
File size
9.94 KiB
Views
868 views
File license
Fair use/fair dealing exception

Found another thing as well. You can interrupt the rendering of the fractal by pressing Esc and you can select continue calculation to complete the image. Except you get this, or something similar, depending on when you paused the process.

fractint_004.png
Filename
fractint_004.png
File size
6.01 KiB
Views
868 views
File license
Fair use/fair dealing exception

Now here's the weird part. I tried to experiment with the machine type and found out that this glitch can be reproduced with vgaonly, svga_s3, svga_paradise, vesa_nolfb and vesa_oldvbe. But the Tseng Labs ones work fine: svga_et3000, and svga_et4000. So yeah, reproducible in DOSBox 0.74 and SVN.

I only found one topic on VOGONS with this tool that has to do with DOSBox.
Link to the topic: Topic 10142

Is this really an video emulation bug or just again a "buggy by design" type software? I don't see anything useful in the debugger either. Here are some logs:

  30619439: EXEC:Parsing command line: FRACTINT.EXE
  30619442: EXEC:Execute FRACTINT.EXE 0
  30619442: FILES:file open command 0 file FRACTINT.EXE
  30619551: FILES:file open command 0 file C:\FRACTI~1.04P\FRACTINT.EXE
  30624194: MOUSE:New video is the same as the old
  30624282: FPU:8087 only fpu code used esc 3: group 4: subfuntion :1
  30821319: FILES:file open command 0 file C:\FRACTI~1.04P\fractint.cfg
  31391929: FILES:file open command 0 file C:\FRACTI~1.04P\FRACTINT.EXE
  31392054: FILES:file open command 0 file C:\FRACTI~1.04P\FRACTINT.EXE
  31392168: FILES:file open command 0 file C:\FRACTI~1.04P\FRACTINT.EXE
  31430137: FILES:file open command 0 file C:\FRACTI~1.04P\sstools.ini
  31453771: FILES:file open command 0 file C:\FRACTI~1.04P\maps\default.map
  31957227: FILES:file open command 0 file EMMXXXX0
  31957236: IOCTL:07:Fakes output status is ready for handle 5
  31957357: FILES:file open command 0 file EMMXXXX0
  31957366: IOCTL:07:Fakes output status is ready for handle 5
  31957409: FILES:file open command 0 file EMMXXXX0
  31957418: IOCTL:07:Fakes output status is ready for handle 5
  31958866: FILES:file open command 2 file TARGPLUS
  31959005: INT10:Set Video Mode 3
  31959005: MOUSE:New video is the same as the old
  31959028: INT10:Function 12:Call 30 (select vertical resolution)
  31959142: INT10:Set Video Mode 3
  31959142: MOUSE:New video is the same as the old
  32098823: VGA:h total 100 end 80 blank (80/98) retrace (85/97)
  32098823: VGA:v total 449 end 400 blank (407/442) retrace (412/414)
  32098823: VGA:h total 0.03178 (31.47kHz) blank(0.02542/0.03114) retrace(0.02701/0.03082)
  32098823: VGA:v total 14.26806 (70.09Hz) blank(12.93341/14.04562) retrace(13.09230/13.15585)
  37985741: FILES:file open command 0 file C:\FRACTI~1.04P\fractint.cfg
  42408904: INT10:Set Video Mode 13
  42408904: VGA:Blinking 0
  42511472: VGA:h total 100 end 80 blank (80/98) retrace (84/96)
  42511472: VGA:v total 449 end 400 blank (407/442) retrace (412/414)
  42511472: VGA:h total 0.03178 (31.47kHz) blank(0.02542/0.03114) retrace(0.02669/0.03051)
  42511472: VGA:v total 14.26806 (70.09Hz) blank(12.93347/14.04568) retrace(13.09235/13.15591)
  42511472: VGA:Width 320, Height 200, fps 70.086303
  42511472: VGA:double width, double height aspect 1.200000
  54116175: INT10:Set Video Mode E
  54116182: IO:Read from port 03BA
  54116259: INT10:Set Video Mode 3
  54116259: VGA:Blinking 8
  54253919: VGA:h total 100 end 80 blank (80/98) retrace (85/97)
  54253919: VGA:v total 449 end 400 blank (407/442) retrace (412/414)
  54253919: VGA:h total 0.03178 (31.47kHz) blank(0.02542/0.03114) retrace(0.02701/0.03082)
  54253919: VGA:v total 14.26806 (70.09Hz) blank(12.93341/14.04562) retrace(13.09230/13.15585)
  54253919: VGA:Width 640, Height 400, fps 70.086592
  54253919: VGA:normal width, normal height aspect 1.000000
  57371112: IO:Read from port 03BA
  57371150: INT10:Set Video Mode E
  57371150: VGA:Blinking 0
  57371157: IO:Read from port 03BA
  57371247: INT10:Set Video Mode 13
  57371263: IO:Read from port 03BA
  57499398: VGA:h total 100 end 80 blank (80/98) retrace (84/96)
  57499398: VGA:v total 449 end 400 blank (407/442) retrace (412/414)
  57499398: VGA:h total 0.03178 (31.47kHz) blank(0.02542/0.03114) retrace(0.02669/0.03051)
  57499398: VGA:v total 14.26806 (70.09Hz) blank(12.93347/14.04568) retrace(13.09235/13.15591)
  57499398: VGA:Width 320, Height 200, fps 70.086303
  57499398: VGA:double width, double height aspect 1.200000
Go to top of page Go to top of page
Back to DOSBox Games/Apps
Close window
Close window