- Encapsulated xnes.dat (palette)
- Added joystick support (4-buttons, player 1 only)
- The emulator doesn´t crash more when unable to initialise graphics modes
- Primitive GUI removed to be improved
- New resolutions, with auto detection improved (a bit faster)
- Some changes in the messages.)
6/29/98
Redesigned Translations Page
Wow, I'm really going for a record day here! Now the translations page has been completely redesigned to get rid of the annoying borders on the tables, and make it fit in better with the design of the rest of the page. Also, I shrunk the font to make it fit better on the high caliber page.
New Survey!
I felt the need to create a light-hearted and almost completely unrelated survey! For most of you this really shouldn't be very difficult. Be sure to vote, and I'll post the results as soon as possible.
Redesigned Emulators Page
I completely redesigned the emulators page to make it easier to navigate, and also to maintain. I think it's, like, the third page I've redesigned this week. Boy, I need to get a life.
Dos4gw Extender
I added the dos4gw extender, as it is required to play several emulators. You can find it located on the site map under extenders.
6/28/98
Three New Documents and New Layout For the Docs Page
I have added three new docs to the documents page. These include NES Game Genie Code Format by Benzene, How NES Graphics Work: The Basics, and Marat Fayzullin's incomplete Nintendo Entertainment System Architecture. I have also created a new layout for the documents page, dividing the docs into different groups.
6/27/98
New Poll
In response to the new Web Board, I have added a new poll as well. Cast your vote now!
New Web Board!
Not much happened in the emulation world today, so I took the time to put together a web board for the site. Take a look at the new Web Board. You can use this board for questions, comments, general emulation conversation, or anything else that stikes your fancy, but don't abuse it.
Death to the Java Chat
The Java Chat was stupid, it's true. So I've removed it, and should be adding a web board in it's place later today.
6/26/98
Very Boring Day
Not much happened today that was worth noting. I changed the link to the SNEeSe site. That's about it.
6/25/98
Updates From the Spoony Bard
Version 1.01 of the Mitsume Ga Tooru translation has been added to the translations page. Also, I somehow missed version 1.01 of Sumo Wrestling, also from the Spoony Bard. You can get it from the translations page as well.
6/24/98
SNEqr Version 0.340 Released
A new SNEqr has been released today. You can find it on the emulators page. Here's what is new in this release:
- DOS4GW stub replaced with PMODEW, so people without DOS4GW can now use SNEqr (all 1 of you!)
- Now the GUI can be used entirely with the keyboard.
- Another important part of the screen renderer has been converted to assembly language, and existing assembly has been Pentium-optimized somewhat for memory usage and register pairing and u/v pipe usage, but to my dismay, whatever optimizations I make usually seem to not make a difference or slow it down slightly! However, I have a Cyrix and not a Pentium, so I'll shrug it off.
- CPU core optimized somewhat. Speed increase is noticable, but I just can't get it running as fast as SNEmul and zSNES! Or SNES9X, for that matter (SNES9X 1.0 runs faster than 0.24.) I guess I shouldn't be concerned, since the entry-level system these days is a P233MMX.
- I wrote a SNES demo to test mode 7... whoa! It was more complicated than I thought. However, I've finally unlocked the secrets of Mode 7! Now most games that use mode 7 rotation, scaling and 3D are playable. However, the emulation is still slow.
- I also figured out what was wrong with Indirect HDMA. Now FF5E, NG Trilogy, et al are playable.
- Obscure CPU bug fixed (typo: CMP [ - Wait for retrace/Leading Edge options enabled in GUI; they were implemented but I forgot to enable them.
- Revised algorithm for BG rendering; the new version is less memory-intensive, using 512KB less screen cache memory. Screen rendering should (in theory) run faster now, especially on computers like mine, with small caches and non-SDRAM.
- Fun little feature: when Show FPS is enabled (F4) you can also identify sprites with the mouse cursor! That's right, just put the mouse over something and a dotted line will appear around it if it's a sprite. Also its # is desplayed at the top of the screen. This might be useful to other emu authors etc.
- Auto-backtrack system revised: when you auto-backtrack, the point you backtrack to is NOT immediately lost from memory. See the section on this feature for more info. Also another related pseudo-bug was fixed.
- SNEqr now remembers when you turn off Show FPS so you can turn it off permanently.
- Crappy fade-out added to GUI.
- Config-file option added: AskB4Exit. Set to 0 if you don't want the annoying quit-confirmation message.
- Quit-confirmation dialog now appears when you press ESC to exit.6/23/98
New Version of Snemul!
Version 0.78 of Snemul was released today. You can find it on the emulators page. Here's what is new in this release:
- Many bugs fixed/improvements in the GUI
- Added the possibility to display the game in the background (use the old Full Screen icon to enable/disable it, and use ESC to hide/show the GUI)
- fixed some bugs in 8 bits mode
- fixed a bug in sound DSP. Now Secret Of Evermore works :)
- fixed another bug in horizontal scrolling
- fixed a bug when words were read from the ports
- optimized the CPU a bit
- fixed a bug in transparency effects
- added fast 8192 colors effects for subscreen/mainscreen add/sub(thanks a lot to zsKnight :)
- fixed/implemented Full Screen increment(now Final Fantasy Mystic Quest looks better :)
- fixed a bug in SPC700(now Terranigma works :)
- fixed a bug in HDMA
- implemented TCALL SPC700 instruction
- fixed another bug in old joypad reading method
- optimized 32768 colors effects for fixed color add/sub
- Sidewinder and GamePad pro support
- SNEmul used the new Allegro 3.0+WIP.
- other bugs fixed
I did a major overhaul on the layout (again). I added a site map to the front page to make it easier to navigate the site, and added java chat for anyone who's interested. Woo hoo, the second update in a single day!
Transcore Added to Translations Page
I have added another new translation group. This time it is Transcore, who is translating 7th Saga 2: Mystic Arc, and Villgust. Their patches can be found on the translations page, and the group has been added to the links page.
6/20/98
Version 0.13 of Glorious Light of Heracles 2 Translation
Another new version of GLOH2 has been released, with an error in the previous release fixed, and items translated. You can get it from the translations page.
6/18/98
Version 0.12 of Glorious Light of Heracles 2 Translation
A new version of the translation has been released at the Spoony Bard. The major difference is that the windows have been resized to make the game look more professional, also the spell names have been fixed. You can pick up the patch on the translations page.
6/15/98
Version 1.00a of Snes9x DOS Released
A minor bug fix release of Snes9x DOS. There is still no GUI for version 1.00a, but this should fix any joystick problems you may have been having (no humor intended). You can download version 1.00a from the emulators page.
6/14/98
New Version of Snes9x DOS Released!
Much time has passed, but the long awaited release of Snes9x DOS has finally come! There are two new versions of Snes9x DOS. Version 0.96 includes a GUI, and in somewhat more stable. Version 1.00 has no GUI, and is less stable, but has some minor improvements over version 0.96. FX support has been added, indeed. Here is what's new in version 1.00:
- 16-bit colour support added.
- Sound echo support added.
- Sound pitch modulation added.
- New ROM type and interleaved detection code.
- Added AND multi-graphic window combo support.
- Preliminary Super FX chip emulation
- Lots of PPU/SPC700/CPU emulation fixes
- Microsoft Sidewinder support
6/13/98
Dragon Warrior Editor updated to v0.99b
Obviously just a small update, but the Dragon Warrior Town Editor has been updated to version 0.99b. You can get the latest version on the utilities page. Here's what is new:
- correct tiles in dungeon maps
- more features in Map Finder
6/12/98
Dragon Warrior Town Editor
This new utility allows you to edit the towns of Dragon Warrior and also the Dragonlord's Castle. You can get version 0.99a on the utilities page.
6/10/98
Version 0.73 of SNEmul
There isn't much new in this release, but there are some bug fixes. Version 0.73 of SNEmul. Here's what is new:
- added sprites/tiles editor
- better joystick support(see snemul.cfg)
- fixed a bug in vertical scrolling that made some ROMs to crash
- fixed VRAM read. Many gfx glitches removed...
- added primitive dual window support
- 0.72 snapshot format was no more compatible with 0.6 format. That's fixed (although the palette of old snapshots will be not restored correctly)
6/8/98
Version 0.72 of SNEmul
I believe that it was actually released a while ago, but it did not come to my attention until just recently. Version 0.72 of SNEmul has hit the streets. This update is mostly bug fixes and some minor updates. Here is what's new:
- fixed a bug un HiROM mapping, now Illusion of Gaia works :)
- removed a bug in SPC700 that made some games to hang at the beginning
- fixed an other bug in SPC700, now DKC1 works :)
- fixed a bug in port $2102
- fixed vertical and horizontal scrollings(especially for 16x16 tiles), now EVO works :)
- fixed flipped 16x16 tiles
- added transparency effects clipping windows
- speeded up palette update, colors add/sub, scrollings effect, etc. (all thoses optimizations give a 4 FPS increase)
- SNEmul now uses 16 bits video modes instead of 15 bits video modes
- implemented NTSC timing(SNEmul now play NTSC game faster)
- added a timing option to choose between Auto/NTSC/PAL timings
- added tiles/sprites viewer. you can select the palette with the right mouse button
- added truecolor graphics(the GUI looks nicer :)
- added palette viewer
- added a dialog to config the joypad keys
- fixed a bug in full screen modes
- fixed many bugs and removed mouse glitches
- now SNEmul play more game without gfx glitches
6/5/98
We try to pick up where we left off--
Summer vacation is here, and with that comes the time required to maintain the page. With my newfound freedom I was able to fight my way through the storage and uploading problems and hopefully we can pick up where we left off almost a month ago.