Emulation core improvements:
* Add Covox interface emulation
* Disable accelerate loader while recording RZX files
Miscellaneous improvements:
* Fix typo in Opus Discovery option
* WidgetUI: Disable RollbackTo menu option for widget UIs
* Update description of speed option
* List Melodik as supported interface and rearrange audio interfaces
as a separate item
* Document --volume-covox option and update bash completion
* Work around invalid "used bits in last byte" field in TZX tapes
* Save SpecDrum level as unsigned in SZX snapshots
* Add support for storing Covox interface state
* Replace old ticket numbers from Trac to Allura
Emulation core improvements:
* Disable tape traps when playing/recording RZX files
Miscellaneous improvements:
* Fix typo in LOG disk format
* Replace old ticket numbers from Trac to Allura
* WidgetUI: Fix memory leak in file selector
* Fix allocator sizeof operand mismatch and remove dead assignment
* Remove prototypes of old plus3 disk functions
* Increase allocated memory to keep GCC7 happy
* Silently skip PLTT blocks in SZX snapshots
* Document missing disk identifiers
* Validate "used bits in last byte" field in TZX tapes
* Fix the load of PZX tapes with malformed strings
TODO: see cpu_arm_instr_dpi; non-zero steps but still under 256 is not implemented yet
to_be_translated(): TODO: unimplemented instruction:
ebf61a60: e28fc600 add ip,pc,#0
== Warning of unsupported host systems ==
This release includes changes to the configure script so that it will now report some host operating systems and
platforms as "unsupported". These are host setups which we do not have access to and are thus unable to test. They will continue to work in this 2.9 release (though configure will warn you about the unsupported status), but in a future QEMU release we may drop support for those hosts unless somebody volunteers to help us with maintaining them (and can provide build/CI machines).
This affects the CPU architectures:
* ia64
and the OSes:
* GNU/kFreeBSD
* DragonFly BSD
* NetBSD
* OpenBSD
* Solaris
* AIX
* Haiku
== System emulation ==
=== Incompatible changes ===
* Improvements to "-drive":
** "-drive"'s <tt>if</tt> option defaults to "none" on machines that do not have an onboard IDE or SCSI controller.
** "-drive if=scsi" does not work anymore with PC machine types, as it created an obsolete SCSI controller model. QEMU supports better controllers (megasas, mptsas, virtio-scsi) but which to use depends on the guest you are using.
** "Orphan" -drive options, where an <tt>if</tt> option is not supported by the emulated machine (e.g. "if=mtd" on x86) is now a fatal error. It had been triggering a warning since version 2.2.
=== Future incompatible changes ===
* Three options are using different names on the command line and in configuration file. In particular:
** The "acpi" configuration file section matches command-line option "acpitable";
** The "boot-opts" configuration file section matches command-line option "boot";
** The "smp-opts" configuration file section matches command-line option "smp".
:-readconfig will standardize on the name for the command line option.
* Behavior of automatic calculation of SMP topology when some SMP topology options for -smp are omitted (sockets, cores, threads) will change in the future. If guest ABI needs to be preserved on upgrades while using the SMP topology options, users should either set set all options explicitly (sockets, cores, threads), or omit all of them.
* Devices "allwinner-a10", "pc87312", "ssi-sd" will be configured with explicit properties instead of implicitly. This is unlikely to affect users.
* For x86, specifying a CPUID feature with both "+feature/-feature" and "feature=on/off" will cause a warning. The current behavior for this combination ("+feature/-feature" wins over "feature=on/off") will be changed so that "+feature" and "-feature" will be synonyms for "feature=on" and "feature=off" respectively).
Well, it’s the last Wednesday of the month, and I hope you know
what that means: it’s time for your regularly scheduled MAME release.
There aren’t a huge number of new working machines in this release,
but there are some significant improvements. Thanks to kazblox,
MAME now emulates some of the peculiarities of Famicom clone hardware,
and thanks to shattered, emulation of the Agat-7 Apple II clone is
improved. Peter Ferrie provided a superior Apple II language card
implementation. We’ve got lots of additions to the BBC and PC
software lists from Nigel Barnes and darkstar.
We’ve made substantial improvements to some of MAME’s non-emulation
features. The -romident verb is now much faster when used on a
folder or archive containing multiple files, and will identify ROMs
for emulated slot devices that aren’t inserted by default. The
-listxml output now includes all linked devices, and is produced
at least 30% faster. We’ve also improved -verifyroms so it covers
more devices and is faster when verifying ROMs for a subset of
drivers/devices.
MAME 0.184 includes support for plenty of newly dumped versions of
supported arcade games, including a rare US prototype of Shanghai
III, the world release of Super Crowns Golf, a version of Flashgirl
that shows the Kyugo logo, a German version of Raiden II, the
Japanese release of Radical Radial, and bootlegs of Bomber Man and
Phoenix. There are also several new chess computers, and even more
Aristocrat Mark V gambler sets. If you’re interested in the TI-8x
graphing calculators, it’s now possible to get an emulated TI-82
or TI-85 to communicate with another emulated instance or with a
program running on the host computer over a socket.
MAME 0.183
22 Feb 2017
Hi everyone! It’s been a busy month for MAME development, and we’ve
got a whole lot of surprises to unwrap today as we continue to
celebrate twenty years of MAME. First up, we’ve added some incredibly
rare systems to MAME. Omega is an Arkanoid-inspired arcade game
with a production run of about ten boards. Dodge Man is a rare Omori
title from 1983. The vertical version of Flash Boy, a DECO Cassette
title that borrows more than a little from a well known anime is
another very rare game that was at risk of becoming nothing but a
memory. Westinghouse Test Console #5 is possibly a one-of-a-kind
wire-wrapped prototype machine for field-programming some kind of
interlocking equipment (it has a rude easter egg – press X|TRAN in
calculator mode to see it). Less rare, but still awesome, are arcade
titles Galaxy Games StarPak 3, Sega Sonic Cosmo Fighter, and a U.S.
release of Puzznic with the digitised photos intact.
This release adds support for a number of electronic toys/handheld
games, including Atari’s Touch Me (a clone of Simon, which is itself
a clone of an Atari arcade game), GAF Melody Madness, Lakeside Le
Boom, and with possibly the most awesome title if not gameplay,
LJN’s I Took a Lickin’ From a Chicken. Many of these games have
colourful, clickable artwork. MAME is dedicated to preserving more
than just video games, and these systems are great examples of some
of the other experiences you can relive through emulation.
If you use MAME’s computer emulation and have been frustrated by
modifiers not working properly in natural keyboard mode, you’ll be
pleased to know that this release addresses that. Natural keyboard
mode now works properly with many more systems, including Amiga,
Sun and RM Nimbus. Speaking of Amiga, we’ve emulated a 3rd-party
variant of the Amiga 1200 keyboard and added support for many
different language variants, so chances are you’ll be able to use
keyboard that matches your Workbench language. And speaking of
keyboards, the Zorba keyboard now works properly, so you can try
out one of the last luggable CP/M machines.
Other improvements include fixing the crash on encountering invalid
cheats, allowing multi-part software list entries to load each part
on the correct interface, emulation of the Poly-Play light organ,
a brand new preliminary Interpro 2800 driver and Clipper CPU core,
support for VIC-20 and C64 speech synthesiser cartridges, support
for the Osborne-1 Nuevo Video 80-column modification, protection
MCU emulation in Bad Dudes vs. Dragonninja and Bouncing Balls, audio
improvements to a number of supported games, and optimisation of
the netlist emulation.
Some of these improvements might seem inconsequential, or apply to
systems you don’t use, but they often lie in common components used
by many other systems. For example, the Amiga 1200 and Zorba keyboards
use the same MCU family used in a lot of arcade games published by
Taito. The same change that fixes the Zorba keyboard also fixes
enemy spawning and timing in Xain'd Sleena. The Nuevo Video board
uses a common Motorola CRT controller, so improvements made to
support it stand to benefit a lot of other systems.
Of course there are plenty of other improvements not listed here,
and you can read all about them in the whatsnew.txt file, or grab
the source or Windows binaries from the download page and join in
our 20th anniversary celebration.
* Fixed building with C++.
* Fixed building on Darwin (PR 51899).
* Added GTK3 as an option.
* Switched from SDL-1 to SDL-2.
* Depend and enable support for: lzo, jemalloc, snappy, png, curl, jpeg.
Make sure that /usr/include and /usr/lib${LIBABISUFFIX} always appear in the
search paths for headers and libraries, respectively.
Fix the broken ethernet support (and etc) on platforms like NetBSD.
Thanks hans for his valuable suggestions.
MAME 0.182
As we approach the 20th anniversary of the first MAME release,
we've got a really exciting update for you. There's so much awesome
stuff in this month's release that there's no way we can possibly
cover it all here. MAME is a team effort, and we'd like to thank
everyone who's contributed towards making this release as awesome
as we think it is. One very exciting addition is support for another
version of the East German Poly-Play system, with German and Czech
ROM sets providing ten games, six of which are new. Protection on
Future Flash/Laser Base has finally been emulated, so you can take
a look at Hoei's take on Missile Command. A dump of the damaged
microcontroller (MCU) from Tatakae! Big Fighter makes this title
and Sky Robo finally playable. Another eagerly awaited addition is
the Hot-B prototype Hangzo.
Serial ports have been hooked up on Race Drivin' allowing you to
link two MAME instances over TCP, reproducing the multi-player
experience with linked cabinets. To do this, use a null modem slot
device and configure it for 38,400 Baud, 8 data bits, even parity,
and 1 stop bit. It would also be possible to connect a MAME instance
to a real board set by forwarding the connection to a serial port
on the host system.
We've received a contributed PortAudio output module and integrated
it in this release. This provides a cross-platform low latency
audio output solution. Performance should be similar to Steinberg
ASIO on Windows 7 or later without the licensing issues, and better
than SDL audio on Linux. It can be enabled by setting the sound
parameter to portaudio on the command line or in an ini file. Of
course, all the other audio output modules are still supported, so
if you're happy with your current setup you don't have to change
anything.
Although we haven't added a huge number of new microcontroller
(MCU) dumps in this release, substantial work has gone into improving
systems where we already have dumps but the emulation is lacking.
MCU emulation was added to Puzznic, Joshi Volleyball and Gladiator.
For Puzznic, this places player data at the correct location in
RAM and supplies the game with a pseudo-random number sequence
rather than a stream of zeros. Joshi Volleyball now behaves better
in service mode, allowing coins and inputs to be tested. Gladiator
now honours the coinage DIP switches. The MC68705 core has had a
complete overhaul, and all drivers using it have been reviewed.
This fixes lots of subtle issues: for example Change Lanes will
now skip the full memory tests if configured to ignore them in DIP
switches, timings have improved in Arkanoid, and the Apple II mouse
card is slightly improved. We now emulate the '705 family well
enough to support stand-alone MCU programmer boards.
Other improvements include working sound in Pole Position bootlegs,
improved video in Winning Run, preliminary banked 256 colour mode
for the NEC PC-9821, kana input on the Sharp X1, a VME bus system
with preliminary support for the miniFORCE 2P21 chassis, additional
Aristocrat Mark 5 peripheral emulation allowing non-US games to
boot, Corvus hard disks for the DEC Rainbow 100, preliminary work
on Atari Stunt Cycle (displays the playfield), fixes for the Aussie
Byte and Otrona Attaché, and support for octal and binary numbers
in debugger expressions.
---------------------------------
4.7.2 to 4.7.3: (Nov. 21, 2016)
* Added preliminary support for the 3E+ bankswitching scheme, developed
by Thomas Jentzsch.
* Fixed HMOVE positioning bug that occurred under certain circumstances.
Thanks to Omegamatrix of AtariAge for the bug report and patch to fix
the issue.
* Added 'trapm', 'trapreadm', 'trapwritem' commands to debugger prompt.
These are similar to the non-'m' versions, except that they also trap
on all mirrors of the given address.
* Fixed bug in debugger 'reset' command; it wasn't resetting the
bankswitching, so after a reset the banks were in an undefined state.
* Updated UNIX configure script to fix a bug where it fails in
cross-compilation under certain circumstances. Thanks to Vlad
Zakharov for providing a patch to fix this issue.
4.7.1 to 4.7.2: (Mar. 25, 2016)
* Fixed bug when entering and exiting the debugger; sometimes the
character corresponding to the '`' key would be output in the
prompt area.
* Updated DPC+ Thumb ARM emulation code to latest from David Welch.
In particular, this fixes incorrect handling of the V flag when
adding and subtracting, but also fixes compile-time warnings that
I couldn't get rid of before.
* Updated UNIX configure script to work with GCC 6.x compilers, and to
remove references to obsolete compiler versions that can no longer
be used to compile Stella.
4.7 to 4.7.1: (Feb. 13, 2016)
* Improved TV 'jitter' emulation; the recovery time can now be spread
over multiple frame, to simulate a real TV taking multiple frames to
recover. Related to this, added new commandline argument
'tv.jitter_recovery' to set the recovery time. Finally, enabling
the jitter effect and the recovery time are now accessible through
the UI. Special thanks to SpiceWare of AtariAge for the initial idea
and implementation.
* Fixed bug with 'Medieval Mayhem' ROMs; the paddle range was set too
low, and as a result the number of players couldn't be selected.
* Fixed bug when using more than two input controllers with the same
name; each controller after the second one was named the same as the
second one. This caused the joystick mappings to be lost, since there
was only information about two controllers being saved.
* Indirectly fixed issues with Stelladaptor/2600-daptor devices and
paddles having too large of a deadzone in Linux. Currently, this
involves running an external application to set the deadzone,
since SDL2 does not yet expose this information. The program is
called 'evdev-joystick', and will be released separately from Stella.
* Updated internal ROM properties database to ROM-Hunter version 11
(thanks go to RomHunter for his tireless research in this area).
Related to this, updated the snapshot collection.
4.6.7 to 4.7: (January 25, 2016)
* Improved paddle emulation in several ways:
- Added ability to specify the maximum range of movement for paddles
when using a mouse or digital device to emulate the paddle. This is
useful since on a real console most paddle games use very little of
the paddle range, and could result in moving the mouse onscreen with
nothing appearing to happen (when in effect it was as if you turned
a real paddle all the way to the end of the range). This eliminates
issues in (for example) Kaboom, where there was a huge 'deadzone'
when moving to the left. All applicable ROMS in the internal
database have been updated.
- The range for paddle emulation now takes an integer from 1 - 20,
indicating how much to scale movement (ie, how fast the onscreen
paddle will move when you move the mouse). The movement itself
is now also smoother than before.
* Fixed bug in 'Score mode' in TIA emulation; the TIA object colours
were correct, but the associated priority was sometimes incorrect.
* Fixed bug in ROM launcher; selecting 'Options -> Game Properties' after
loading a ROM would always point to the last opened ROM, not to the one
currently selected.
* Fixed bug in storing ROM properties; in some cases, a copy of the
ROM properties was being stored in the external file when it was
exactly the same as the internal entry.
* Added 'CV+' bankswitching scheme, developed by myself and LS_Dracon
(of AtariAge). This scheme contains RAM like the CV scheme, and
also switchable 2K ROM segments by writing to $3D.
* Added more C++11 updates all over the codebase, and ran Stella
through Coverity for the first time. I'm proud to say that Stella
now has a 0.00 defect rate!
