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News from February 2002 | |
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Wednesday, February 27th, 2002
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MAME WIP for February 24th-26th
MAME WIP news for February the 24th through the 26th:
- 2002-02-26: Mike Coates added another bootleg of Pac-Man Hearts to the Pac-Man driver. Stephane Humbert fixed the DIP switch settings in it. Jeremy Witt submitted a patch for Burning Force ground plane offset bug. S. Glaize added Gal's Panic S2 to the Super Kaneko NOVA System driver. David Haywood added the World version of Dynasty Wars to the CPS-1 driver.
- 2002-02-25: Olivier Galibert made the full screen key configurable in Windows and fixed a few other user interface bugs. Ian Patterson also fixed a crash in the user interface. Uki added Quiz Gekiretsu Scramble (Gakuen Paradise 2) to the Quiz DNA no Hanran driver, fixed a sound problem in it and also wrote a driver for Mahjong Sisters. R. Belmont fixed the EEPROM code in the Psikyo SH-2 games and David Haywood added preliminary background graphics support to Space Bomber, unfortunately it doesn't work in any of the other games. Hiromitsu Shioya added stereo sound support to the Taito dual and triple screen games, and fixed the Taito F3 sound frequency.
- 2002-02-24: Olivier Galibert fixed a bug that caused SH-2 registers fail to appear in the debug mode. Quench fixed the missing DAC sound in Finalizer. David Haywood added speedups to the Psikyo SH-2 games driver. Yasuhiro Ogawa added the correct color PROM to the Hexion driver.
Check out the screen shots at the above links.
Raine32 v0.35 Released
No new games added to this release of the arcade emulator Raine32, but lots of fixes and improvements, particularly for sound. Download it
from the Arcae Emulators section.
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Tuesday, February 26th, 2002
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70 Million Visitors!
This has got to be some kind of milestone! Arcade@Home has just plowed through the 70 million visitor mark. What's amazing
is that's not page views like some sites quote as "visitors", it's the daily unique users. I should have a party at
100 million, or something.
I Hate JavaScript
I just had to show everyone how far the JavaScript cursor following things have gone. A working analog clock with the date spinning around
the face of the clock? If you have JavaScript turned off, you've got to turn it on and reload this page to see it. Don't worry, I'll
delete it tomorrow as it annoyed me as soon as I saw it (I just had to share my misery with others). Update: I couldn't stand the clock
anymore, I had to delete it.
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Monday, February 25th, 2002
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mame.dk Closed Part #2
An official message was posted as to why mame.dk's downloads have been turned off. We now know the reason was a copyright holder has
forced them to shut down. You may what to check out the UseNet newsgroup alt.binaries.emulators.misc
as that seems to be a good replacement for mame.dk (someone is always posting the full MAME collection there). mame.dk's banners and
pop-ups are gone, but the donation system still appears to be working, although in all likelihood donating won't change anything at this
point (but try if you feel obligated). mame.dk rose from the dead once before (about a year ago) so maybe it's possible for them to do it again.
Bizarre Arcade Games
Here's a kooky site that makes fun of some of the dumbest arcade games in MAME. My favorite game "Hustle" is, of course, idolized on
"Yllabian Space Guppy's Bizarre Arcade Game Archive". Here's an example description of the excellent ASCII arcade game Hustle:
WOW! Check out the ASCII graphics on this one! I didn't even have the courage to play it... If you do, let me know if it's any good. ;)
Yes, there really was an arcade game based only on ASCII characters. Lots of other games are listed along with equally funny
descriptions. Check it out at the above link.
DreamSNES v0.9.6 Released
The Nintendo SNES emulator for the Sega Dreamcast was updated to include the following:
- Fixed bug in saving.
- Fixed bug in multi-tap support. (Multiplayer in Bomberman works again.)
- Fixed interlace problems on PAL.
- Fixed glitches in stereo sound. Both ingame and in the menu.
- Support multiple mpeg layer 2 or 3 sound files in the sound directory. Song names and artists will be read from the id3 tag if it exists.
- Reenabled the "CPU optimizations" mode, which was accidentally disabled in the last release.
Download it from the Console Emulators section.
a.c.e. v1.9 Released
The CPS1, CPS2, Neogeo, System 16 and System 18 emulator ACE was updated to include the following:
- Added the ability to read Nebula .dat files (thanks ElSemi). All CPS2 games whose code roms have been decrypted are playable, now.
- Added Waku waku 7 (neogeo).
- Improved clipped sprite blitting a bit.
- Finally an (almost) serious readme.txt file 8-)
- Fixed the annoying left memory deallocation on chip bug (this is for the freaks at emuita.it trying to translate into Italian all the new ace features. now translate this 8-)
Download it from the Arcade Emulators section.
Kega v0.03 Released
The newish Sega Genesis and Sega CD emulator didn't want to be outdone by Gens so it also got a new release. Here's what's new:
- Fixed all SegaCD Graphics Conversion Functions.
- Many SegaCD Compatibility Issues fixed.
- Many Genesis Compatibility Issues fixed.
- Reworking of DirectDraw code - should no longer give people any trouble.
- Major GUI Overhaul.
- Shortcut Keys added.
- Modifications to YM2612 SuperHQ mode, now sounds slightly better in some cases.
- Added Full Screen support, with Right Mouse Click popup menus. Popup menus are not available in NORMAL video mode, you should switch back to windowed to access the menus.
- Added TV Mode rendering option - this mode emulates the output of a TV pretty well, look at the title screen for Vectorman 2 for an example.
- Changed the FPS display, it now appears at the bottom left of the screen, and can be enabled or disabled through the options menu.
- SegaCD LED display can also be enabled or disabled.
- Added message display.
- Save State files are now using the modified Genecyst format agreed upon by Stef and I. The Save State files should be compatible with Genecyst and Gens versions > 1.70.
- Added Save State Slots and Quick Load/Save options.
- Added "cool" (?) TV Static effect when console is powered off.
- Minimising Kega now causes it to go *completely* idle.
- Fixed (hopefully) strange timing problems caused by Windows stuff running in the background.
Download it from the Console Emulators section.
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Saturday, February 23rd, 2002
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mame.dk Downloads
You'll find two banners and two or more pop-ups per page on mame.dk but no ROMs (downloads have been disabled for a few days now).
Don't bother "donating" because the only thing you'll get is a start bar filled with more pop-up windows than you can shake
a stick at. But don't worry, UseNet is still a great source for MAME ROMs and ROMs for many other systems.
alt.binaries.emulators.misc is one of the best groups to check out.
MAME WIP for February 23rd
MAME WIP news for February the 23rd:
- 2002-02-23: David Haywood added Gunbird 2 to the newer Psikyo games driver, it works fine except for the background graphics and sound. Kale submitted a fix for Express Raider not accepting more than 1 coin.
Check out the screen shots at the above link.
Gens v1.80 Released
Gens is the best Sega Genesis and Sega CD emulator and it's been updated to v1.80. Here's what's new:
[SEGA CD]
- CDD and CDC emulation improved.
- Fixed the bug with mono MP3 (broken accidently in Gens 1.70)
- Perfect Synchro fixed (can't break anymore a game which work in normal mode).
- PCM timing fixed.
- Minor bugs fixed.
[GENESIS]
- Sprite overflow flag fixed (thanks Steve Snake).
- VDP rendering engine tweaked a bit.
- Save state modified:
- Better compatibility with Genecyst.
- Old saves states (with Gens version < 0.76) are probably not correctly supported anymore.
- Others minor fixs.
[GENERAL]
- News render modes : 50% and 25% scanline interpolated.
- Game Genie feature easier to use.
- More complete language support added, check the new english language.dat file to get more infos about the new translations possibilities.
- Kaillera client updated to version 0.9
- Some shortcuts added or modified.
- Minor other changes.
Download it from the Console Emulators section.
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Friday, February 22nd, 2002
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SNEeSe v0.662 Released
SNEeSe may not be the best or most popular SNES emulator, but it's not for a lack of trying. Here's what's new in this release:
- Render: Corrected mode 7 EXTBG (priority-per-pixel) emulation (thanks to anomie and Neviksti)
- PPU: Corrected OAM register emulation (thanks to anomie and Neviksti)
Download it from the Console Emulators section.
MacMAME v0.58 Released
If you're looking through your grape colored computer case, you're probably be glad to see that MacMAME has been updated to v0.58. Here's what's new:
- In sync with the Win32 0.58 build. Many internal changes were made as a result. [Brad Oliver]
- Fixed issue with the debugger palette. [Kent Miller]
- Killed a bunch of lingering Mac-specific bugs in some games. [Brad Oliver]
- As promised in the readme for 0.56, MacMAME now supports a minimum of MacOS 9.0 and CarbonLib 1.4 or a minimum of MacOS 10.1. This lays the groundwork for a big push towards adopting a lot of OSX-specific features while still keeping classic support alive. [Brad Oliver]
Download it from the M.A.M.E. section.
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Wednesday, February 20th, 2002
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MAME History.dat v0.58
The MAME History.dat file was updated to v0.58 to include games added in the latest release. Download it from the MAME Utilities section.
MAME Highscore.dat v7.92
The unofficial MAME Highscore.dat file which adds the ability to save high scores was updated to v7.92. Download it from the MAME Utilities section.
Kaillera Client/Server Updated
The ultra-cool networking MAME32 Kaillera updated the client to v0.9 and the server to v0.86. Download them from the M.A.M.E. section and
then play against each other at 63.217.26.20.
Wireless Networking
I've been having just too much fun with my new wireless networking toy. My laptop is getting a real work-out and my family sees me more.
At first I thought it would just be a toy, but it's really convienent. Can't wait till spring when I can move my office to the patio.
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Monday, February 11th, 2002
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MAME WIP February 8th-11th
MAME WIP news for February 8th through the 11th:
- 2002-02-11: Bryan McPhail fixed the screen not updating when using the debugger or pausing the emulation. Aaron Giles sent in an R3000 CPU core and a driver for Police Trainer, complete with sound.
- 2002-02-10: David Haywood sent in a driver for Pass, and Stephane Humbert did the inputs and DIP switches in it, however it doesn't have correct sound yet. Shiriru submitted a fix for the Cave driver, fixing a lot of graphics glitches. Kale submitted a fix for the scrambled graphics in Kuri Kinton prototype.
- 2002-02-09: David Haywood updated the Quiz DNA no Hanran and Quiz Gakuen Paradise driver for 0.58 and re-submitted it. Stephane Humbert fixed the DIP switches, inputs and a few other problems in the Galaxian driver, and re-added the Scorpion bootleg running on the Galaxian hardware.
- 2002-02-08: Mike Coates added a bootleg of Frogger that runs on the Galaxian hardware. Aaron Giles fixed the bug in FM timers which affected Final Fight and lots of other games. Aaron Giles also fixed an Yie Ar Kung-Fu speed problem caused by a wrong interrupt.
Check out the screen shots at the above links.
Back from Boston
Just got back yesterday from a trip to Boston. It was so warm here yesterday I rode my motorcycle again. The weather has been insane here.
55-60+ degree days in January and February just don't happen in northern Ohio. Although, it is snowing now so maybe we will have a winter
after all.
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Thursday, February 7th, 2002
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MAME32 v0.58 Released!
The Windows version of MAME with a built-in front-end was updated to the v0.58 source. Download it from the M.A.M.E. section.
Buck Rogers & Gridlee Samples
Sound sample packs for two new MAME games were added. Download the Buck Rogers and Gridlee samples from the MAME Samples section.
XMame v0.58.1 Released
The Unix/X11 port of MAME was upted to v0.58.1. Download it from the M.A.M.E. section.
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Tuesday, February 5th, 2002
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MAME v0.58 Binaries!
The binaries for MAME v0.58 are now on-line. Check out the newly supported games below and download it from the M.A.M.E. section.
MAME v0.58 Source Released
MAME v0.58 was released! However, no binaries yet. First one to compile MAME v0.58 gets a cookie. Here's what's new:
- Gun Force 2 [Chris Hardy]
- Angel Kids [David Haywood]
- Noboranka [Stephane Humbert]
- Steel Force [David Haywood, Stephan Humbert]
- Mug Smashers [David Haywood, Stephan Humbert]
- Captain America [Bryan McPhail]
- Lemmings [Bryan McPhail]
- Flyball [Stefan Jokisch]
- Grand Cross [David Graves]
- Mayday (set 3)
- Alpha One (prototype of Major Havoc)
- Blaster (kit)
- Buck Rogers (encrypted)
Download it from the M.A.M.E. section.
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Monday, February 4th, 2002
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MAME WIP February 3rd
MAME WIP news for February 3rd:
- 2002-02-03: David Graves sent in a playable Grand Cross Pinball driver, although it lacks sound emulation. Stephane Humbert fixed the DIP switch settings and input ports in Mug Smashers. Bryan McPhail submitted the Captain America driver and ARM CPU core written by him and Phil Stroffolino. Captain America (image set 2) is almost perfect and includes sound, but the other games in that driver don't work - Fighter's History uses a protection chip, Dragon Gun and Locked 'N Loaded use a different sprite RAM format which is not yet emulated, and Tattoo Assassins works with sound, but lacks the graphics ROMs. Bryan McPhail also sent in a fix for Robocop 2, which now has support for the 8bpp tilemap mode as used in the attract mode.
Check out the screen shots at the above links.
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Sunday, February 3rd, 2002
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Visual PinMAME v1.11 Released
If you haven't tried out Visual Pinball/Visual PinMAME combination, you're really missing out. Visual PinMAME was updated to v1.11 and includes the following:
- Baby Pacman fans will be very happy!
- See the whatsnew file for all the goodies..
- *IMPORTANT NOTE: This release has not been beta tested and may contain many bugs! We wanted to get a release out now, because for the next month or so, we won't have time, and we thought we should at least get the bugs from last version fixed and out the door.
Download it from the Pinball Section.
VisualBoyAdvance v0.8 Released
The best Nintendo GameBoy Advance emulator does a one-up on the competition with the release of v0.8 which includes the following:
Core changes:
- correctly initializing IO registers when running without BIOS
- support for GSA ROM patching codes and button codes
- support for CodeBreakerAdvance codes
- support for separate frameskip for GBA and GB roms
- reworked the cheat system internal (should improve speed a bit)
- added a small interrupt latency to avoid interrupt loop
- fixed 16-bit DMA transfers with decrement options
- fixed semi-transparent OBJ bug
- fixed Gameshark Advance snapshot import
- fixed crash when passing filename without a path on command line
- fixed ARM LDR/STR with ASR shifted register instructions
- fixed some disassembly bugs
- fixed sound mixing (reversed sound)
- fixed misaligned 16-bit reads
Gameboy changes:
- fixed sound mixing (reversed sound)
- fixed vertical scrolling bug (Kefren bars demo)
- fixed speed up bug changing sound quality during emulation
Windows changes:
- disable screen saver when emulating
- added option to pause the emulator when window not active
- added keyboard shortcut for recent files
- added support for more keyboard keys when configuring controls
- added sound recording to a wave file
- fixed Add code dialogs to allow multiple codes entered at once
- fixed DDraw clipping bug (should work when window partially offscreen)
SDL changes:
- added command line flag for frameskip
- added command line support for bios file
- fixed configuration file comments on control configuration
Download it from the Console Emulators section.
Nemu64 INI v2.5.0 Released
The official Nemu64 INI file was updated to v2.5.0 which includes new comments, corrections and cleanup. Download it from the Nintendo 64 section under the heading "Nemu64 Utilities & Info".
Gens v1.70 Released
The best Sega Genesis emulator just keeps getting better. Here's what's new in v1.70:
[SEGA CD]
- Bug with memory fixed.
- PCM sound fixed (but still a bit buggy sometimes).
- SCSI CD/DVD ROM drives are now correctly supported.
- Memory mode register fixed.
[GENESIS]
- Bug in 2 Cells V-Scroll fixed.
- Bug with dword 68000 predec EA mode fixed.
- DBtr instruction fixed in Starscream 68000 core.
- Minor fix in V counter (added in Gens 1.56)
- Z80 initial state fixed.
- Hilight / Shadow effect fixed.
[GENERAL]
- Gens manual support added: You can now have a context help, you need to download the Gens manual (made by Red5) then configure the path in the Gens options.
Download it from the Console Emulators section.
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