[Simh] Problem with QVSS graphics display

[Mark Pizzolato]

On Monday, May 20, 2019 at 3:24 AM, Peter Allan wrote:
> Encouraged by the recent release of simulated vaxen with QVSS graphics, 
> I have tried out a couple of these with very different results.

Actually, the recent release was for QDSS graphics.  The QVSS has been 
available for almost 6 years!

> 
> Firsly I tried a microVAX II and put the line
>
>   SET CPU MODEL=VAXstation in the .ini file.
>

QDSS Graphics is selected with SET CPU MODEL=VAXstationGPX.
QVSS Graphics is selected with SET CPU MODEL=VAXstation

[...]

> My computer is a standard PC running CentOS 6.10. The version 
> of SDL I am using is 1.2, so I suspect that, yet it works fine on the 
> microVAX II.

First, you are using SDL 1.2.  Later today, I'll explicitly be removing 
any support for building with any SDL version earlier than 2.0.
Dual libSDL support was needed 6 years ago when the QVSS 
graphics were first added since at that time, SDL 2.0 was just 
being released and it wasn't generally available on several common 
platforms.  There are substantial differences between the API's 
provided in SDL 1.2 and SDL 2.0, so some messy code will be 
eliminated and we really can't maintain or provide equivalent
functionality with both.

> I built the simulators from the code on github. The git commit 
> id is 05f84879 for both of them.

Please pick up the latest code from GitHub and try again.  Besides
potential libSDL issues, there have been changes which would 
certainly affect QVSS functionality.

> 
> My vax.ini file is:
>
> SET CPU NOIDLE
> SET CPU IDLE=VMS
> SET CPU MODEL=VAXstation
>
> ATTACH NVR nvram.bin
>;
>; Set up the disks
> SET    RQ0 RA81
> SET    RQ1 DISABLE
> SET    RQ2 DISABLE
> SET    RQ3 CDROM
> ATTACH RQ0 system
> ATTACH -r RQ3 cd
>;
>; Line printer
>;
>;;ATTACH LPT printer
>;
>; Card Reader
>;
> SET CR DISABLE
>;
>; Disable RL cartridge disks
> SET RL DISABLE
>;
>; Disable unused tape drives
> SET TQ TK70
> ATTACH TQ0 tape1
> SET TQ1 DISABLE
> SET TQ2 DISABLE
> SET TQ3 DISABLE
>;
>; Disable TSV11 magnetic tape drives
> SET TS DISABLE
>;
>; Set up the ethernet interface
> SET XQ MAC=08-00-2B-AA-BB-CC
> ATTACH XQ eth0
>;
>; Allow telent connections to the DZV11 serial interface
> SET DZ LINES=4
> ATTACH DZ 10003
>;
>; Start the CPU
> SET CPU CONHALT
> DEP BDR 0
> BOOT CPU
>;
> EXIT
>
> I am hoping that I have done something wrong, but I can't see what.

For now, with libSDL2 and the latest codebase you'll probably need:
      sim> SET QVSS CAPTURE
before the SET CPU MODEL=VAXSTATION{GPX}

Captured Keyboard & Mouse mode is currently needed for reliable 
behavior.  It will be an option in the future.

At this time support for QDSS graphics on the VAX simulator is not 
yet working, but it works fine on the MicroVAX II and the other 
recently released simulators.

- Mark