This would seem to be the inverse of a similar issue with the Pirates! booter and the Tandy machine type, which had a black background instead of blue (sea) in 0.74, but is now blue in SVN.

1     case 0x3d9:
2         vga.tandy.color_select=val;
3         if (vga.mode==M_TANDY2) vga.attr.palette[0xf] = vga.tandy.color_select&0xf;
4-        else vga.attr.palette[0] = vga.tandy.color_select&0xf; // Pirates!
5         tandy_update_palette();
6         break;

Startflight writes 0x27 to port 0x3d9, so in its case palette index 0, to which it has previously written 0 (black), is changed to 7 (white). Removing the palette index 0 tweak as in the above diff gives Starflight a black background, but the black background in Pirates! returns.

Was that the r3647 change?

2010-10-01 19:39 h-a-l-9000 […]
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2010-10-01 19:39 h-a-l-9000

* [r3647] src/hardware/vga_draw.cpp, src/hardware/vga_other.cpp,
src/ints/int10.cpp, src/ints/int10_modes.cpp,
src/ints/int10_pal.cpp: - implement Tandy special 4-color palette
handling
- remove 3d8/3d9 from PCJr mode (PCJr didn't have it)
- update INT10 palette functions accordingly
- add a level of indirection to Tandy and PCjr palette deconding
to fix video recording with on-screen palette changes
- enable line-by-line emulation for Tandy too
- machine-specific implementation of the color when display is
disabled (vgaonly too)
- enable the light pen stub on all machines that it is documented
for
- mask off a bank-selection bit that is not used under a specific
circumstance

Fixes Alley Cat palette on PCJr, Gauntlet, Ghostbusters, Pirates!
on Tandy, Video recording on Tandy/PCJr where the palette is
changed on-screen

Sounds like it fixed 3+ known games but broke this one. Maybe a more complex fix is needed?

In stock .74, with the Tandy machine game appears type like this :

In the latest SVNs, vanilla and Yhkwong's, game appears like this :

The black background is correct, I confirmed it with my Tandy 1000SX. Obviously there seems to be an issue with setting the background color, since the other colors are unaffected. Problem is not limited to this screen.

Possible Tandy regression since 0.74? (Starflight)

Did you really just discover this independently of me? Creepy!

I'm sorry, I honestly didn't check that someone else posted it, but I blame HunterZ for drawing my attention to this fascinating game. Please consolidate or delete.

I tested the EGA version of the game on my Tandy 1000SX and can assure everybody that the background is supposed to be black!

No worries, I just thought it was funny that we discovered it at the same time. Merged threads.

Are you able to test Gauntlet, Ghostbusters and/or Pirates! on your Tandy against the behavior in DOSBox 0.74 and SVN?

HunterZ wrote:

No worries, I just thought it was funny that we discovered it at the same time. Merged threads.

Are you able to test Gauntlet, Ghostbusters and/or Pirates! on your Tandy against the behavior in DOSBox 0.74 and SVN?

I think something can be arranged along those lines 😀

While we are on the subject of Starflight, I think I have the old starflt.com version, the one without EGA support. It has a (c) 1986 on the title screen. My version does not seem to detect a Tandy machine properly, either in DOSBox or on the real McCoy. It displays CGA 4-color graphics instead of 16-color graphics as claimed in the readme file. Additionally, options 2, RGB and 3, Color Composite, give the same graphics in this version, using Mode 4. Interestingly, selecting option 1 gives Mode 5 graphics in this version and Mode 6 graphics in the later version. The dithering algorithm for the Hercules graphics mode, Option 4, seems to have changed between the old and new versions. Text is more legible with the earlier version with Hercules.

The "old" version has only these options:
- Black & White
- RGB
- Composite
- Hercules

The "new" version also adds 16-color EGA as a 5th option.

From what I can tell with DOSBox, if you run with machine=tandy then choosing either of the RGB or Composite options will cause the game to run in 16-color Tandy mode.

With machine=CGA, RGB is 320x200x4 and Composite is 640x200x2, and both modes look better with composite emulation enabled.

For what it's worth, I've come across two different "old" versions (i.e., without an EGA option).
One has STARFLT.COM dated 31/07/1986, and gives 16 colors with machine=tandy when RGB is selected. The other has the same file dated 22/08/1990 and behaves as GH suggests (only 4-color CGA graphics in tandy mode).

Couldn't make sure which one(s) appear at http://www.starflt.com/ because that website is about as navigable as Brainfuck source code.

starflt.com used to have both of the versions I listed, with the "old" one having 16 colors with machine=tandy (although apparently it used to have the older, CGA-only version - discussion here: http://icc.starflight3.org/index.php?topic=588.0 ). They recently hid the file to avoid copyright issues once GOG started selling it, which is unfortunate since GOG only offers the EGA version.

I've recently discovered that the EGA version is buggy (lots of "not enough storage" errors if you explore planets too much, followed soon by fatal crashes) and lacks animations from Tandy/CGA modes (comet on Binary Systems screen, spinning planet on title screen, opening/closing space dock doors, etc.).

Questions:
1. Does anyone know of any functional/stability differences between the two "old" pre-EGA versions?
2. What is the "fractal landscape" stuff people are talking about as being in the "old" version(s) but not the "new"/EGA version? I can't tell a difference.

Yeah, I think I read about the EGA version bugs on Mobygames. Between that and missing animations I guess the older version is the one to play...

Haven't really tested the game to find out more yet. Though it's definitely on my "need to play" list, just because it's a spiritual father to Star Control II 😉

Starflight is the first boxed PC game I ever owned, and I still have the boxes and contents for both Starflight games over 25 years later 😀 They definitely planted a seed in my brain about open-world exploration RPGs, as I still consider them to be my favorite kind of video game.

I hadn't really played it since the mid-'90s, but the CRPGAddict blog just finished the sequel, so I decided to try playing the original again - this time without a walkthrough. So far it is still holding up well as a fun exploration RPG.

I am not sure that there are three versions of Starflight for DOS, I think there are only two.

In my non-EGA version, the readme file accompanying it talks about getting 16 colors on a Tandy 1000 "Tandy 1000 users will get the optimal 16 color display mode with either RGB or Composite monitors." I think the executable was either badly cracked or damaged.

I found another non-EGA version, and the title screen with the Tandy machine mode looks exactly like the screenshot HunterZ posted in his first post. Doing a file compare between the two STARFLT.COM files shows only one contiguous series of approximately 16 bytes where there are differences.

Then I found a debug script in a text file that talks about getting the game to work on certain EGA cards, and guess where script tells you to patch the game? Right where the differences were!

It's possible, since the game does have codewheel copy protection. It may have been cracked by someone without access to a Tandy machine to test it on, and they could have broken support for it as a result.

You were too quick for me, check the post as edited for a better theory.

Ah! Yes, I remember seeing a link on starflt.com to a document describing how to patch the "old" version for EGA support.

Speaking of Gauntlet, Ghostbusters and Pirates! with Tandy machine and latest SVN,

Gauntlet seems to work fine (like EGA except 320x200 resolution)
Ghostbusters is playable (some line flickering, apparently game requires strict timing)
Pirates! gives a blank screen and refuses to progress after making the hardware selections. CGA and EGA work fine, and with the same settings in .74 game is playable except for the black sea water issue.