Game won't start at 640x480 resolution

[scatterfish]

For about a week now, I've been trying to set this up on my machine and no matter what I do, the game always errors out with "Video Initialization Failed!"

The machine is running Windows 7 and the desktop resolution is 640x480 native. With just a 640x480 display alone, the game will fail with the message above. If I have a second monitor plugged in with a resolution higher than 640x480 the game will start but only in windowed mode. Having a fullscreen config file doesn't seem to make a difference, nor does a refreshrate file. I have also tried using 720x480 resolution but it still fails.

I have tried everything from various refresh rates to various color depths to EDID emulation but nothing has worked. I haven't found any debug prints or log files to help either. I know this project isn't actively developed anymore but any help would be appreciated. I can provide any additional information if needed.

[AllenSeitz]

I'm interested in solving this problem but I don't have any easy suggestions for you today. The code is set to open a window that is hardcoded to 640x480 or it dies.

The 'problem' is probably coming from your graphics card or its driver, not your monitor. I don't think you can fix it with EDID spoofing although that was a good idea to try. What you probably would need to do is somehow hack your graphics card or onboard graphics to legitimately support 640x480 fullscreen, which I bet it does not. Laptops especially were the first to drop support for this ancient resolution. Do you have a laptop?

Which is why I call this a 'problem'. I don't blame your computer for refusing this request because no one should be asking for 640x480 borderless true-fullscreen in this day and age.

Honestly what needs to happen is that I need to stop dragging my feet on the update for the Update. If I ever somehow get this project to compile again I'll definitely increase the width and height of the window AND make it variable. Furthermore I'll probably implement some form of letterboxing for widescreen to make it actually work.

In the meantime I think the only things you can do are try other computers, and try running DMX in a Windows XP emulator. I'm sorry about that.

[scatterfish]

About the computer and graphics cards, I'm using an old HP Compaq Elite 8300, first with a Radeon HD 5450 to use CRT Emudriver, then after my original CRT got damaged I switched to a Radeon HD 4350 using unmodified drivers and am using component out directly from the card to drive a consumer TV.

I'm willing to try Windows XP if you think it will help, I first tried Windows 10 a few times, then Windows 7, so taking another step down to XP wouldn't be too hard.

I'm also glad to hear that there's still a future for this project, because I think it's great and if there's something within my capacity that I can do to help I would definitely be willing to.

[AllenSeitz]

I'm surprised that computer doesn't work. It seems about perfect. I have this game running on Windows 10 in a public location (I forget what hardware) so actually maybe I just don't know all the factors.

What this game really needs is a complete refresh. I'm still thinking about it, but there are barriers. When I started this project it was no problem to take the game's original 320p textures and double them to 640p. I didn't have to create anything original and the game just worked.

What I have now is still basically what Konami made in 2001, which does not work in 16:9 at all. Furthermore those bgas which are technically 320x196 animated pngs look worse and worse every year. The future is probably to piggyback off of DDR A, Dance Rush, or Stepmania, or to try to make a completely original game entirely. But then I run into the issue of the controller and motivation.

I love Dance Maniax, but basically nobody has a machine or a home controller. And if you play DMX on a keyboard then it is just inferior Stepmania. (The old 4 key autoscratch!) I could invest lots of time in this project but the number of people it reaches is just vanishingly small. According to my Google Analytics I get less than 10 installs a month. In the last 2 weeks I've had just one. (It was probably you, lol.)

There's also the issue of the content and the intent. Dance Maniax Update was originally designed to be a Windows port of Dance Maniax that escaped the limitations of the System 573. It was supposed to be a drop in replacement if your arcade hardware died with the added bonus of making your 2000-era game feel a bit more like a 2010-era game. (Custom modded songs weren't part of the original idea.) I know this project is a giant ball of copyright infringement, but back in 2012 that was okay. Now it kind of is not okay, and I'm not sure how attached I want to be to a project that cannot survive without it?

So that's where I'm at now. I can't imagine a future where I make a new and original game inspired by Dance Maniax (because of the controller issue) and I can't imagine a future where I maintain the copyright infringement status quo either. But I do want to at least the minimal maintenance on this project, and new issues and comments motivate me. So thank you for that.

[scatterfish]

I personally am not concerned with 16:9 support because I am using a 4:3 standard definition CRT in an actual Dance Freaks machine (tangential, but the option to switch to Dance Freaks title graphics would be super cool!). My cabinet came without a 573, but I planned from the start on using DMX Update anyways.

A friend of mine is a fellow Dance Maniax enthusiast and actually plans on designing a home controller for people to build and/or buy, although the timescale for that is unknown.

As for the content of the game, it's survived this long without getting Konami'd, and for those with actual cabinets I think the game is as close to an ideal solution as it could be. I don't see how it's any different from 2012 to today, the game lived and died in 2000, never to be revisited since.

[veroxzik]

Hello, aforementioned friend 👋

As mentioned, I have my heart set on pursuing both a detailed set of DIY plans for home controllers, as well as a production ASC for sale. DMX is my favorite rhythm game and I truly want others to experience it as well!

My own DMX cab is still en-route and I am planning and hoping to run DMX Update on it, though scatterfish's troubles through the process is a little worrying to me if it is this difficult to get up and running in the modern day. I'd also be interested in helping in any way I can to provide support to keep the project updating!

[FishamanP]

FWIW I've had zero video issues with Emudriver on 10, 7, or XP. 640x480i works fine without any special steps.

I believe the issue is related to using the card's TV-out port. I have no personal experience with these ports, but they may appear as a separate monitor, causing multi-monitor related issues.

[scatterfish]

Prior to using the HD 4350 with the TV-out, I was using an HD 5450 using CRT Emudriver and it still did not work, so that is definitely not the issue.

[FishamanP]

Have you installed the DirectX End-User Runtimes?

[scatterfish]

A good thought, but yes I have the legacy DirectX runtimes installed (June 2010 redist) and still no luck, unfortunately.