Paula MOD Player With ST's?

[Darklord]

Has anyone gotten the Paula ACC MOD player to work with a standard ST?

It's meant for the STe line with it's improved audio and it works great on
my Mega STe.

The reason I'm asking is there is docs/software included in the Paula archive
that mentions running a small piece of software and then being able to use
it with stock ST's.

I've never been able to get that to work...

So has anyone been successful with this?

Thanks much.

[AtariCrypt]

Nah, it says that it needs DMA sound hardware when I try it. I expected that because I thought it was STE+ only tbh (erm, didn't read the docs I guess lol, but they mention Petra). Anyhow, works fine on my stock STe here, but I really need to use 12khz otherwise it's a bit too much.

[Darklord]

Right, it works absolutely fine on my Mega STe.

I just never could get it to work with anything without DMA sound
even though it says in the docs that it will work on a standard ST
with "Petra".

I finally gave up.

[danboid]

I've not tried it myself (under Hatari, my STFM is dead) but Gemini found Petra for us here, disk 3255:

https://www.atariuptodate.de/en/atari-p ... shop-music

You can find **Petra** and its companion player **Paula** on several Atari ST software archives. Because they were often distributed as Public Domain or Shareware, they are usually bundled together in "Music" disk images.

### 1. Where to Download
The most reliable source is **AtariUpToDate**, which catalogs specific disk series.

* **FloppyShop Archive:** Look for **FloppyShop Music Disk 3255**. This specific disk contains **Paula v2.6** and the **Petra** driver.

https://www.atariuptodate.de/en/atari-p ... shop-music

* **The MOD FAQ Archive:** While the original website listed in older guides (`zaba.simplenet.com`) is long gone, you can find the files on the [DHS (Dead Hackers Society)](https://dhs.nu) software section under "Music Players."
* **AtariMania:** Search for "Paula" or "Petra" in the utility section.

### 2. How to Install It
Once you have the files (usually `PAULA.PRG` and `PETRA.ACC` or `PETRA.PRG`):

1. **The Accessory Method:** If you have `PETRA.ACC`, place it in the **root directory** of your boot disk. It will load automatically when you turn on the ST.
2. **The Auto Folder:** If it is provided as a `.PRG`, you can try placing it in an `AUTO` folder so it initializes the sound timing before you launch the player.
3. **Run Paula:** Open `PAULA.PRG`. In the settings/options menu of the player, you should see an option to select the output device. On a standard ST, you must ensure it is set to use the **Petra driver** (YM/PSG output) rather than "DMA Sound."

### 3. Important Compatibility Note
Petra was written in the early 90s and has one specific quirk:
* **TOS Version:** Petra generally requires **TOS 1.4 (Rainbow TOS)** or higher to install correctly.
* **Workaround for TOS 1.0/1.2:** If you are on a very early 520ST with TOS 1.0, Petra might refuse to load unless you also have a "File Selector" cookie installed (like *Selectric* or *BoxKite*). If you find it's not working, upgrading your TOS chips or using a newer EmuTOS cartridge is the best path forward.

If you find Paula/Petra too fiddly to set up, I highly recommend **Hextracker**. It is much more modern, doesn't require a separate driver for the base ST, and handles the YM-mixing internally with much better stability.

[Darklord]

Hmm, the description says it won't run on a regular ST unless the "FSEL" cookie is present,
like Boxkite or the Freedom replacement file selectors give.

I don't use either one of those. Perhaps that's why I couldn't get it to work on my
STacy here.

I wonder how I can have the FSEL cookie without using that software. I tried them
in the past and didn't particularly care for them...

[Cyprian]

PAULA works on ST, just run PETRA and then PAULA. Nothing else (e.g. fsel) is needed.

PAULA_PETRA.png (22.71 KiB) Viewed 1143 times

[AtariCrypt]

Ohhhhh I've got to try this for myself now!! Nice one

[Darklord]

Okay, so I did some more experimenting.

I put my Pak 68/3 equipped STacy into compatibility mode. That makes it
essentially a stock TOS v1.04, 4 meg, 8mhz STacy, just like from the factory.

Petra and Paula do indeed run fine like that.

Fine. Now back to running it with the Pak 68/3 board enabled. Nope, again
I get the error message saying that Paula needs DMA STe sound or something
like Petra to make it work.

So I disabled all the software and made a clean bootup (no ACC's, no AUTO
folder programs, etc).

Petra and Paula work again.

Now I start enabling and disabling my various AUTO folder programs, ACC's
etc, to narrow things down.

After many reboots/restarts, it seems that if the ALTMON program (the one
that enables the extra 8megs of RAM from the STorm-ST board) has run, then
Petra and Paula will not work.

I even booted up clean, ran Petra and Paula (which worked), THEN ran the
ALTMON program from the desktop, and boom! - Petra and Paula stopped
working.

At least I know now what was causing it not to work here. Not a solution
mind you, but at least it's an explanation.

[alexh]

Alt-RAM is non DMA capable memory and cannot be used for samples. Only ST-RAM (0-4mb) is STe Audio DMA capable.

Once you've installed Altmon what decides which memory allocations go where?

I'm not familiar with TOS and memory management but in the Amiga when you request memory you have the ability to request from different regions or anywhere. There is specifically a 0.5mb-2mb region (ChipRAM) which is Blitter/Audio DMA safe and a larger 24-bit region which is HDD DMA safe. And then 24-bit to 32-bit memory which is CPU only.

I'm sure if you knew what you were doing you could patch Paula app to only use ST-RAM?

Someone is going to debunk this I'm sure but that is my guess.

Update: My bad. This is not an STe. And STorm-ST doesn't work in them anyhow. Erm I don't know then.

[Darklord]

One thing I didn't do was check the flags on Paula and Petra.

I'll do that next.

Thanks for pointing me in that direction Alex. It probably
won't make a difference but it's something else to check
on and rule out.