0.83.7
- The primary DOSBox-X Wiki is now located at the
URL: https://dosbox-x.com/wiki (Wengier)
- Implemented the x86 dynamic core for both 32-bit
and 64-bit systems by re-porting the code from SVN.
Dynamic core now supports either the dynamic_x86
or the dynamic_rec core. The dynamic_x86 core will
be used by default for x86 and x86_64 platforms and
if "core=dynamic" is set, and Windows 9x can be run
in this dynamic core (although at this time may
encounter some issue with the S3 driver). You can
also explicit specify setting "core=dynamic_x86" or
"core=dynamic_rec" for either the dynamic_x86 core
or the dynamic_rec core. Also thank joncampbell123
for the 64-bit fix. (Wengier)
- You can now use your own save file (in addition to
save slots! There are now a "Use save file" toggle
item and "Browse save file..." for browsing save
files on your computer. A config option "savefile"
(in [dosbox] section) is added to specify a save
file to use at start. (Wengier)
- Save state feature now allows users to optionally
enter remarks when saving a state. A submenu group
"Save/load option" is added (under "Capture") where
you can toggle menu items "No remark when saving
state" (for disabling input of remarks when saving)
and "force load state mode". A menu item "Display
state information" is added as well to display the
information of the saved state. (Wengier)
- DOSBox-X will now use native dialog box to display
quit warnings and save state errors. (Wengier)
- Changed some DOS error messages (such as "Illegal
command" which now reads "Bad command or filename")
similar to real DOS systems. (Wengier)
- ADDKEY and INT2FDBG commands now appear as programs
on Z: drive instead of shell commands. (Wengier)
- Improved the -z (move virtual drive Z:) function of
MOUNT command. You can move the virtual drive as
many times as you want, and save/load states will
work even after you move the Z: drive. (Wengier)
- Enhanced the config option "freesizecap" to allow
the setting "fixed" which is the same as "false",
and a new setting "relative" is added, which will
be similar to the setting "fixed" but the reported
free disk size will also change relative to the
change of the free disk size ever since. (Wengier)
- Added support for Opus CD-DA tracks by porting and
cleaning up the source code from other projects.
Many thanks to Marty Shepard and kcgen. (Wengier)
- Support for FluidSynth MIDI Synthesizer is now
included in the MinGW builds by default just like
Visual Studio builds. Set "mididevice=fluidsynth"
and a soundfont file to use it. (Wengier)
- Enabled xBRZ scaler for Visual Studio SDL2 builds
just like Visual Studio SDL1 builds. (Wengier)
- Added menu item "Show Sound Blaster configuration"
under "Sound" menu to show the current information
about Sound Blaster, and also menu item "Show MIDI
device configuration" (also under "Sound" menu)
to show information about the current MIDI device
such as the soundfont file in use. (Wengier)
- Added "Mount multiple disk/CD images" option to the
mounting options of the Drive menu to allow users
to mount more than one disk/CD images to a drive,
swappable from the menu. Also added separators to
the Drive submenu to make it look better. (Wengier)
- Added new CPU types to the "Emulate CPU speed" menu
group namely 286-25MHz, 386DX-25MHz, 486DX4-100MHz,
486DX5-133MHz, Pentium-60MHz, Pentium-75MHz, and
Pentium-90MHz. Thanks again for the data provided
by the user maximus105. (Wengier)
- You can now select a special key (e.g. Alt+Tab,
Ctrl+Break, Ctrl+Alt+Del, etc) to be sent from the
key defined in the mapper editor. The key can be
selected (Ctrl+Alt+Del by default) from the "Send
special key" menu group in "Main" menu. (Wengier)
- Added full Ctrl+Break emulation at the BIOS and
DOS level, updated console emulation to match.
The "Pause" mapper shortcut is now moved to
HOST[F11/F12]+Pause instead of Ctrl+Pause so that
Ctrl+Break can work properly for users, and the
function to send the Ctrl+Break key from the menu
("Send special key" under "Main") is added. Also,
the PC-98 STOP key now functions the same as the
Ctrl+C and Ctrl+Break keys in IBM PC mode.
- Added functions "CopyToClipboard" and "QuickRun" to
the mapper editor so that you can use shortcuts to
activate them (default shortcuts: HOST(F11/F12)+A
and HOST(F11/F12)+Q respectively), and a default
shortcut HOST(F11/F12)+V is added to the clipboard
paste function. Meanwhile, FullCore and SimpleCore
shortcuts are removed from the mapper. (Wengier)
- Added two new menu items in the "Shared clipboard
functions" menu group under "Main", including "Copy
all text on the DOS screen" which will copy all
screen text to the clipboard, and "Stop clipboard
pasting" which allows user to stop pasting in the
middle of pasting long clipboard content. (Wengier)
- The mouse copy/paste feature is now available for
non-Windows systems on SDL2 builds. Also, pasting
from the clipboard with a mapped shortcut is also
available for Linux/X11 on SDL1 builds. (Wengier)
- Added "Use US keyboard layout" toggle menu item in
the "PC-98" menu group under "Video" to select
whether to force the default US keyboard layout in
PC-98 mode, same as the "pc-98 force ibm keyboard
layout" config option in [pc98] section. Also moved
the "PC-98 PIT master clock" options from the "DOS"
menu to this menu group. (Wengier)
- The full dosbox-x.reference.conf file is renamed to
dosbox-x.reference.full.conf. The original file
dosbox-x.reference.conf now contains common config
options instead of all config options. (Wengier)
- The CONFIG command and Configuration Tool will now
save common and modified config options by default.
The -all command-line option (or "Save all options
to the configuration file" checkbox) will force to
save all config options. A new -mod command-line
option is added to CONFIG command to save modified
config options only, and a new -norem command-line
option is added to not write remarks. (Wengier)
- Updated the Windows installer to default to the
"typical" installation. For the full installation
start menu items will be added for DOSBox-X builds
copied to subdirectories. A new checkbox "Write
common config options (instead of all) to the
configuration file" is added which when checked
will only write common and modified advanced config
options to the config file. Furthermore, for both
"typical" and "full" installations the Windows
installer will now also copies the DLL files
inpout32.dll (32-bit) and inpoutx64.dll (64-bit) to
the DOSBox-X install directory for use with the
direct parallel port passthrough feature. (Wengier)
- Improved Flatpak support for Linux. (rderooy)
- Improved message for the -help command-line option,
adding for example -silent and -socket command-line
options in the help messages. (Wengier)
- Added -silent command-line option to run DOSBox-X
silently (without showing the DOSBox-X window) and
then exit after executing AUTOEXEC.BAT. (Wengier)
- Fixed command-line option -socket not working for
the null-modem feature. (Wengier)
- Fixed issue that aspect ratio not being respected
in full-screen mode when a GLSL shader is enabled
with an OpenGL output. (Wengier)
- Fixed toggle in the "Frameskip" menu group did not
change when selecting a different option. (Wengier)
- Fixed shelling from programs may not work when the
shell config option is set. (Wengier)
- The default country setting ("country" option in
[config] section]) now defaults to auto-detection
if possible, or 81 (Japan) in PC-98 mode. (Wengier)
- Increased the default maximum DOS files (adjustable
from [config] section) from 127 to 200. (Wengier)
- Improved resetting with LOADLIN program. (Wengier)
- Improved Gravis Ultrasound (GUS) implementation to
make it more accurately represent the GUS DMA state
as expected by the running DOS software.
- The archive attribute will no longer automatically
be applied to directories on non-Windows systems.
This fixed issue with PLAYMIDI.EXE from Gravis
Ultrasound when listing directories. (Wengier)
- Applied hack to allow the low DMA channel detection
in the SB16 DIAGNOSE program to work. (Wengier)
- The default setting of the clip_paste_speed option
has been changed from 20 to 30, which will help
prevent lost keystrokes when pasting from the host
clipboard for some programs. (Wengier)
- With Pentium CPU setting (cputype=pentium) DOSBox-X
no longer reports FDIV bug by default. An advanced
config option "report fdiv bug" is added to report
such CPU bug when set to true. (rderooy & Wengier)
- Added support for the XDG_DATA_HOME environment
variable for config directory in Linux. (rderooy)
- Added support for compiling with pcap for Windows
MinGW builds. (Jookia)
- Added config option "windowposition" (in [sdl]
section) to set the window position at startup in
the positionX,positionY format. (tomba4)
- Added config option "raw_mouse_input" (in [sdl]
section; SDL2 builds only) to bypass the operating
system's mouse acceleration & sensitivity settings.
Implemented by NicknineTheEagle.
- Added config option "startquiet" (in [dos] section)
which when set to true will silence the information
messages before launching Windows programs to run
on the Windows host. A toggle menu item "Quiet mode
(no start messages)" is added to the "Windows host
applications" menu group in "DOS" menu. (Wengier)
- The menu "Show details" (under "Main") is renamed
to "Show FPS and RT speed in title bar". (Wengier)
- Add menu group "Text-mode" under "Video" menu to
change some text-mode related video settings, such
as changing the number of rows and columns. A zip
package named TEXTUTIL.ZIP is added to the Z drive
that contains various utilities (such as CGA.COM,
EGA.COM, 132X25.COM, 132X43.COM) to change current
video setting from the command line. Also added a
config option "high intensity blinking" which when
set will display high intensity background colors
instad of blinking foreground text. The menu item
"Allow 9-pixel wide fonts" is moved from the menu
group "Compatibility" to here. (Wengier)
- Added "Debugging" menu group under "Help" menu, and
moved items from the "Video" Debug and "DOS" Debug
menus and the debugger here (debug builds only).
Also allowed to hide/show the console or debugger
window in Windows debug builds. With the menu item
"Console wait on error" checked the Windows console
window will wait for the ENTER key before closing
itself after an E_EXIT occurs. (Wengier)
- Updated MPXPLAY to latest version 1.65. (Wengier)
- Integrated SVN commits (Allofich)
- r4386: Correct MPU-401 clock-to-host function to
operate independently of playing. Fixes hang at
exit when playing Roland music in demos by The
Phoney Coders. Clamp tempo to valid range.
- r4384: ICW1 on the PIC clears the Interrupt Mask
Register. Fixes Antagony and quite a few demos that
expect IRQs to be unmasked.
- r4382: Refine adlib timers a bit more and make
reading the Adlib take a bit more time.
- r4378: Prevent some possible deadlocks with sti
in dynrec core.
- r4375: Improve compatibility with older Intel
chipsets
- r4374: Add a bit of hack so cycles=max/auto 90%
keeps on working inside batch files after r3925.
- r4371: Fix regression in Clue: Master Detective.
- r4370: As an adjunct to r4369, make the reference
counts of standard device handles equivalent to
those of real DOS.
- r4369: Compatible side-effect behavior of DOS in
the file close function.
- r4368: Improve error codes for some DOS file functions.
- r4367: Change FPU_FBST to only write 18 decimals
instead of the wrongly 19, this makes it possible
to switch 64 integers which in turn fixes some
rounding issues. (jmarsh)
- r4282,r4283: Switch to a different way to calculate
DBOPL table offsets.
- r4280: Prevent GenerateDMASound from running with
input of 0.
- r4279: Remove DMA_TRANSFEREND and replace with
DMA_MASKED.
- r4277: Remove cases not needed after r4276
- r4276: Remove defunct code related to the initial
display mode of the system BIOS during video mode
changes.
- r4274: fix externals.
- r4273: Make frameskip an integer.
- r4269: Use fabsf when return value is a float.
Small warning fix.
- r4265: Some more cleanups and memleak fixes.
- r4264: Pick some lowhanging fruit. (some memory
leaks and unused variables)
- r4262: missed one
- r4261: These actually use float as input.
- r4258: Rename bios tester to biostest and make it
debug only to avoid people trying to load real
bioses.
- r4257: Add simple program that allows you to boot
into a bios image for running cpu tester bios.
You know what day it is? It’s MAME 0.226 day! A lot has happened
in this development cycle, and plenty of it is worth getting excited
about! First of all, there’s a change that affects all systems with
keyboard inputs, including most computers. MAME now allows you to
activate and deactivate keyboard and keypad inputs per emulated
device in the Keyboard Mode menu. When a system has multiple
keyboards (for example a computer with a terminal connected to a
serial port), you can choose which keyboard you want to type on
rather than effectively typing on all the keyboards at once. If a
system has multiple devices with keyboard inputs, MAME will start
with only one enabled by default. Sadly, MAME doesn’t have mind-reading
capabilities yet, so it may not always choose the keyboard you want
to type on. If you find you can’t type on an emulated computer,
check that the right keyboard is enabled in the Keyboard Mode menu.
Another batch of layout/artwork system updates are ready this month.
More image formats are supported, several long-standing alignment
and clipping bugs have been fixed, more parameter animation features
are available, and external artwork loads faster. Lots of systems
using built-in layouts look prettier, but Cosmo Gang probably shows
the biggest improvement in this release (yes, the electromechanical
redemption game). Try it out in MAME 0.226, and maybe do a before/after
comparison to see how far we’ve come.
Apple II systems have seen some significant development this month.
Firstly, a number of issues with demos using raster split effects
have been fixed. The Apple II has no hardware support for raster
effects, so these demos rely on open bus read behaviour to work
out what the video hardware is doing. Getting this to work requires
precise emulation of memory access timings. Secondly, two parallel
printer cards are now working: Orange Micro’s popular Grappler+
and Apple’s Parallel Interface Card. The Grappler+ is well-supported
by Apple II software and provides a better out-of-the-box experience
if you want to try one of them.
Sega’s Tranquillizer Gun was a somewhat ambitious title for 1980,
but was largely overlooked at the time. It’s finally fully emulated
in MAME, with audio emulation and protection simulation being added
in this release. We’ve also added support for Must Shoot TV, an
unreleased prototype developed at Incredible Technologies. Step
into the shoes of disgruntled ITS Cable employee Chuck and go on
a rampage!
Far more has been added this month than we can cover in detail
here, like another batch of TV games (including several Vs Maxx
titles), support for Mattel Aquarius CAQ format cassette images,
and working Sega Mega Play games.
RPCEmu is an emulator of Acorn's Risc PC and A7000 machines. It is a work in
progress and should be considered of Alpha Quality.
The latest version is available from, this also has links to compilation
instructions for various platforms.
http://www.marutan.net/rpcemu/
The User Manual is available from
http://www.marutan.net/rpcemu/manual/
RPCEmu requires a RISC OS ROM image to work; check here for details:
http://www.marutan.net/rpcemu/manual/romimage.html
RPCEmu is licensed under the GPL, see COPYING for more details.
0.83.6
- Improved internal Voodoo card hardware emulation,
such as fixing the font issue with the 3dfx version
of Tomb Raider when using non-Glide mode. Portions
of the code are ported from DOSBox ECE. (Wengier)
- Added OpenGL shader support by porting the feature
from DOSBox SVN. GLSL shaders are now supported in
both SDL1 and SDL2 builds, and this also allows
pixel-perfect scaling to be enabled for the OpenGL
outputs. The config option "glshader" (in [render]
section) can be used to specify a GLSL shader file
or a built-in shader when the output is set to
"opengl" or "openglnb". For example, you can use
the setting "glshader=sharp" (built-in shader) or
"glshader=pixel_perfect" (with GLSL shader file)
for the pixel-perfect scaling mode. The Windows
installer will also copy several GLSL shader files
to the "glshaders" subdirectory of the DOSBox-X
install directory to be used directly. (Wengier)
- Support for FluidSynth MIDI Synthesizer is now
included in the Windows Visual Studio builds by
default. Set "mididevice=fluidsynth" and a sound
font (e.g. GeneralUser_GS.sf2) to use it. (Wengier)
- Updated the MUNT MT32 emulation library to its
latest version 2.4.0. A few new MT32 config options
(starting with "mt32.") are added to [midi] section
of the DOSBox-X configuration. (Wengier)
- The DOSMID and MPXPLAY programs have been built
into DOSBox-X, both can be found on the Z drive and
feature full-screen user interfaces with support
for command-line usages (use /? option for help).
DOSMID can play MIDI/RMI/MUS audio files, whereas
MPXPLAY is a powerful and flexible audio player
with support for a variety of formats including
AAC/AC3/APE/FLAC/MP2/MP3/MPC/OGG/WAV and more with
playlist support. (Wengier)
- The mounting options "Mount as Hard Disk", "Mount
as CD-ROM", "Mount as Floppy", "Mount disk image"
and "Boot from disk image" (previously only for
Windows) in the "Drive" menu and the "Quick launch
program..." in the "DOS" menu are now available
for non-Windows platforms as well. (Wengier)
- Added "Shared Windows clipboard functions" menu
group under "Main", which allows you to enable
or disable the different ways for DOSBox-X to
communicate with the Windows clipboard. (Wengier)
- Added config option "dos clipboard api" in [dos]
section to control whether to enable the DOS APIs
for communications with the Windows clipboard for
DOS applications. (Wengier)
- Added config option "clip_mouse_button" to select
a mouse button (middle, right, or none; with right
mouse button being the default) for copying to and
pasting from the Windows clipboard. (Wengier)
- The mouse wheel movements will be automatically
converted into up/down arrows by default for the
intergrated DOS now. You can also enable it for
the guest system from the "Main" menu ("mouse wheel
movements" -> "Enable for guest systems also") or
from the config file. (Wengier)
- Added "Emulate CPU speed" menu group (under "CPU")
to emulate the speed of a specific CPU class. The
cycles to emulate are approximations of the actual
CPU hardware, and they are available thanks to data
provided by the user maximum105. Also added config
option "cycle emulation percentage adjust" in [cpu]
section for users who would like to make relative
percentage adjustments (between -25% and 25%) in
case it is necessary. (Wengier)
- Added SORT command from FreeDOS. It can be used to
sort input, e.g. "TYPE FILE.TXT | SORT". (Wengier)
- Added DELTREE command to delete a directory and all
the subdirectories and files in it as in a real DOS
system. Please use it with caution. (Wengier)
- The command for starting the Configuration Tool has
been renamed from "SHOWGUI" to "CFGTOOL". A new
command-line option -gui is added to CONFIG command
to start the Configuration Tool as well. (Wengier)
- DOSBox-X now includes ZIP.EXE and UNZIP.EXE from
InfoZip for zipping and unzipping files in DOS.
Both programs will appear on the Z drive. (Wengier)
- The powerful DOS CD player called SJGPLAY has been
built into DOSBox-X. You can now find the program
CDPLAY.EXE in the Z drive for playing Audio CDs in
DOS, which supports both graphical and command-line
usage, and you will also find a text file named
CDPLAY.TXT in the Z drive for a quick usage guide.
A zip package including full documentation and some
extras will additionally appear as SJGPLAY.ZIP in
the Z drive. This freeware program was written by
Steve Gray and is now included in DOSBox-X with
explicit permission of the author. (Wengier)
- DOSBox-X will now by default show a quit warning
if a DOS program or game, or a guest system is
running. The previous behavior can be set with
"quit warning=autofile". (Wengier)
- The welcome banner when DOSBox-X starts has been
improved for a better looking and should provide
more helpful instructions for users. (Wengier)
- Add new "Help" menu which includes menu items
"Introduction", "DOSBox-X homepage", "DOSBox-X Wiki
guide", "DOSBox-X support" and "About". (Wengier)
- Improved the message when automatically re-running
the executable which failed with the "Packed file
is corrupt" error. Also added the "autoloadfix"
config option which when set to "false" will not
automatically re-run such programs. (Wengier)
- The display for several section names in DOSBox-X's
graphical configuration tool has been capitalized
or modified otherwise to look better. A default
shortcut key HOST(F11/F12)+C is added for starting
the graphical configuration tool. (Wengier)
- Added the "Show advanced options" checkbox in the
main screen of the Configuration GUI to toggle
whether to display all config options for the
sections. If unchecked (default), it will show
common config options instead of all of them. A
new config option "show advanced options" is added
which when set to "true" will make the checkbox
checked by default. (Wengier)
- Added code to cap the scan line length given to
the VESA BIOS given the video mode. This prevents
VBETEST.EXE from doing test patterns smaller than
the actual display, which can happen with 32bpp
320x200 modes and 1MB or less video RAM.
- VESA BIOS Set Scan Line Length fixed to properly
report and handle scan line length for 16-color
SVGA planar modes. VBETEST 16-color modes now
display correctly.
- Added option to control whether VESA BIOS panning
(the original VBE call) waits for vsync.
- Moved video related config options from [dosbox]
section to its own [video] section. These options
in existing config files will be automatically
redirected to the [video] section from the [dosbox]
section when DOSBox-X starts. Windows installer can
also move such config options from existing config
files automatically. (Wengier)
- Cleared modem phone book before parsing it. Thank
NicknineTheEagle for the improvement.
- Improved the help message of MOUNT command. Also
added option -examples to show its usage examples,
similar to IMGMOUNT and IMGMAKE commands. (Wengier)
- Fixed freeze when trying to reboot the internal
DOS when using a different code page and it is in
CGA or EGA emulation modes. (Wengier)
- DOSBox-X will now try to use the internal DOS date
and time (instead of always using the host date and
date) for file modication timestamps. (Wengier)
- Added menu item "Expanded memory (EMS)" under "DOS"
menu to dynamically enable or disable EMS memory
at run-time. You can now also modify EMS memory
with CONFIG command from command-line. (Wengier)
- Added config option "drive z hide files" (in [dos]
section) to hide or remove files listed (separated
by spaces) from the Z drive. If a file has a "/"
prefix (e.g. "/INTRO.COM"), then the specified file
will have the hidden attribute ("DIR /A" will list
all such files) instead of completely disappearing
from the Z drive. (Wengier)
- You can now add your own programs or files to the
Z drive! Put your programs or files in the drivez
directory located in the DOSBox-X program folder
or the DOSBox-X configuration directory, and they
will automatically appear on the Z drive. If any of
the files have the same names as the built-in ones,
they will replace the built-in files. For example,
you can replace the built-in EDIT.COM and XCOPY.EXE
programs (from FreeDOS) with MS-DOS counterparts.
Windows installer will now automatically create a
drivez directory with a README.TXT file in it too.
For subdirectories support please use MOUNT command
to mount local directory instead. (Wengier).
for it's theory of operation in gxemul and how to configure it.
- Add address filtering to the LANCE and Tulip emulation.
These changes have already been upstreamed in the main gxemul repository.
Bump package version to gxemul-0.6.2nb1.
bsnes is a multi-platform Super Nintendo (Super Famicom) emulator, originally
developed by byuu, which focuses on performance, features, and ease of use.
XRoar - a Dragon/Tandy Coco emulator
XRoar is a Dragon emulator that runs on a wide variety of platforms.
Due to hardware similarities, XRoar also emulates the Tandy Colour
Computer (CoCo) models 1 & 2. Some features are:
* Emulates Dragon 32, Dragon 64, Dragon 200-E, Tandy CoCo 1 & 2, and
compatibles.
* Emulates DragonDOS, Delta and RSDOS disk systems.
* Emulates the Orchestra 90-CC stereo sound cartridge.
* Supports both raw and translated keyboard modes.
* Reads and writes virtual cassettes (compact '.cas' files and audio
files).
* Reads and writes VDK, JVC and DMK format virtual floppy diskettes.
* Saves and loads machine snapshots.
* Provides a GDB target for remote debugging.
* Games Master Cartridge support, including SN76489 sound chip.
* MOOH RAM expansion + SPI support.
* Glenside IDE support.
Upstream changes:
3.5.3 2020/09/26
- Fixed screen flicker when using hardware acceleration.
- Added System Information dialog.
- (Android) better handling of external storage.
- (Android) Targetted at Android SDK 29.
3.5.2 2020/06/15 (released Android version only)
- (Android) Fixed file selection dialog to show files in external storage
(again).
- (Android) Changed file/folder open operation in file selection dialog
from double tap to single tap.
Whether it’s the Autumn harvest moon, or the ornamental plum blossoms
are blowing in the Spring breeze, it’s time for something special:
MAME 0.225 is out today! We’ve got some big updates that benefit
everyone! First of all, MAME’s sound output system has been
overhauled, with better sample rate conversion and mixing. This
makes pretty much everything sound sweeter, but on top of that,
the Votrax SC-01 speech synthesiser has been tuned up. Does anyone
here speak Q*Bertese? SC-01 speech has been added to the Apple II
Mockingboard card, too. While we’re talking about Apple II cards,
Rhett Aultman has ported the CS8900A Crystal LAN Ethernet controller
from VICE, allowing MAME to emulate the a2RetroSystems Uthernet
card.
Other across-the-board enhancements include more artwork system
features (you’ll start to see this show up in external artwork
soon), an option to reduce repeated warnings about imperfectly
emulated features, and several internal improvements to make
development simpler. Significant newly emulated system features
include the Philips P2000T’s cassette drive from Erwin Jansen, the
Acorn BBC Micro Hybrid Music 4000 Keyboard, internal boot ROM
support for the WonderSwan hand-helds, and initial support for the
NS32000 CPU.
Newly emulated systems include several TV games from MSI based on
arcade titles, a couple of Senario Double Dance Mania titles, Sun
Mixing’s elusive Super Bubble Bobble, a location test version of
Battle Garegga, a couple more versions of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure,
and three more Street Fighter II': Champion Edition bootlegs. Some
of the immediately noticeable fixes this month include 15-bit
graphics mode refinements for FM Towns from r09, gaps in zoomed
sprites on Data East MLC and Seta 2 fixed by cam900, Galaga LED
outputs lost during refactoring restored, and clickable artwork
remaining clickable when rotated.
PCSX-Reloaded is a forked version of the dead PCSX PlayStation emulator, with
a nicer interface and several improvements to stability and functionality.
PCSX-Reloaded uses the PSEMU plugin interface to provide most functionality;
without them, you will not be able to use it to play games. PCSX-Reloaded
provides a number of plugins to provide basic functionality out of the box.
Are you ready kids? MAME 0.224 (our August release) is out now! As
always, there’s plenty to talk about. First of all, the Magnavox
Odyssey² and Philips Videopac+ G7400 have had a major overhaul,
with many graphical errors fixed, most software working, and support
for the Chess and Home Computer modules. The Gigatron 8-bit homebrew
computer, created by the late Marcel van Kervinck and based entirely
on 7400-series logic chips, is now working with graphics and
controller support. Acorn 8-bit expansions continue to arrive, with
several additions for the BBC Micro and Electron. Speaking of
expansions, regular contributor F.Ulivi has delivered serial modules
for the HP Integral PC and HP9825/HP9845 families.
Analog arcade audio continues to advance. If you’ve played Namco’s
Tank Battalion, ancestor of the NES classic Battle City, you’ll be
acutely aware of the limitations of the sample-based audio. That
has been addressed this month, with netlist-based audio emulation.
For Midway, 280 ZZZAP sound has been further refined, and netlist-based
audio has been implemented for Laguna Racer and Super Speed race,
which use similar circuitry. Sega G-80 games have received some
long-overdue attention, with netlist-based audio added for Astro
Blaster, Eliminator, Space Fury and Zektor, as well as better
Universal Sound Board emulation for Star Trek and Tac/Scan, and
more accurate CPU timing. Other games receiving netlist-based audio
are Destroyer and Flyball from Atari, and Fire One and Star Fire
from Exidy. On the topic of audio emulation, the ultra low cost
GameKing now has preliminary sound emulation, making the games feel
more complete.
Work on UK gambling systems has continued, with several more
Barcrest, BWB and JPM games working in this release. There are also
a number of new European gambling games, including several Cherry
Master and Jolly Joker sets. A significant number of arcade driving
games have had additional internal layouts optimised for use on
wide aspect ratio displays added. Other advances in home computer
emulation include Apple IIe RGB monitor mode support, Apple II CMS
SCSII II card support, and proper emulation speed for the VTech
Laser 500.
Version 0.13.6
This version is backwards compatible with save states from SameBoy 0.11.x
and newer.
New/Improved Features
* Prevent SameBoy from asking for notification permissions until that
feature is needed by an HuC-3 game
* Improved user interface on macOS Big Sur
* The SDL frontend now has the ability change the default window size
Bug Fixes
* Fixed a bug that caused the Quick Look previews to include a border on
macOS Big Sur
* Fixed a bug where the RTC might drift when loading older saves or
states, or when pausing SameBoy for a long time
pkgsrc change: add a BUILDLINK_TRANSFORM that should fix the build
on powerpc (and possibly sparc64), from he@.
MAME 0.223 has finally arrived, and what a release it is – there’s
definitely something for everyone! Starting with some of the more
esoteric additions, Linus Åkesson’s AVR-based hardware chiptune
project and Power Ninja Action Challenge demos are now supported.
These demos use minimal hardware to generate sound and/or video,
relying on precise CPU timings to work. With this release, every
hand-held LCD game from Nintendo’s Game & Watch and related lines
is supported in MAME, with Donkey Kong Hockey bringing up the rear.
Also of note is the Bassmate Computer fishing aid, made by Nintendo
and marketed by Telko and other companies, which is clearly based
on the dual-screen Game & Watch design. The steady stream of TV
games hasn’t stopped, with a number of French releases from
Conny/VideoJet among this month’s batch.
For the first time ever, games running on the Barcrest MPU4 video
system are emulated well enough to be playable. Titles that are
now working include several games based on the popular British TV
game show The Crystal Maze, Adders and Ladders, The Mating Game,
and Prize Tetris. In a clear win for MAME’s modular architecture,
the breakthrough came through the discovery of a significant flaw
in our Motorola MC6840 Programmable Timer Module emulation that
was causing issues for the Fairlight CMI IIx synthesiser. In the
same manner, the Busicom 141-PF desk calculator is now working,
thanks to improvements made to Intel 4004 CPU emulation that came
out of emulating the INTELLEC 4 development system and the prototype
4004-based controller board for Flicker pinball. The Busicom 141-PF
is historically significant, being the first application of Intel’s
first microprocessor.
Fans of classic vector arcade games are in for a treat this month.
Former project coordinator Aaron Giles has contributed netlist-based
sound emulation for thirteen Cinematronics vector games: Space War,
Barrier, Star Hawk, Speed Freak, Star Castle, War of the Worlds,
Sundance, Tail Gunner, Rip Off, Armor Attack, Warrior, Solar Quest
and Boxing Bugs. This resolves long-standing issues with the previous
simulation based on playing recorded samples. Colin Howell has also
refined the sound emulation for Midway’s 280-ZZZAP and Gun Fight.
V.Smile joystick inputs are now working for all dumped cartridges,
and with fixes for ROM bank selection the V.Smile Motion software
is also usable. The accelerometer-based V.Smile Motion controller
is not emulated, but the software can all be used with the standard
V.Smile joystick controller. Another pair of systems with inputs
that now work is the original Macintosh (128K/512K/512Ke) and
Macintosh Plus. These systems’ keyboards are now fully emulated,
including the separate numeric keypad available for the original
Macintosh, the Macintosh Plus keyboard with integrated numeric
keypad, and a few European ISO layout keyboards for the original
Macintosh. There are still some emulation issues, but you can play
Beyond Dark Castle with MAME’s Macintosh Plus emulation again.
In other home computer emulation news, MAME’s SAM Coupé driver now
supports a number of peripherals that connect to the rear expansion
port, a software list containing IRIX hard disk installations for
SGI MIPS workstations has been added, and tape loading now works
for the Specialist system (a DIY computer designed in the USSR).
