TG16 / PCE emulator

2008/02/01 1.35 released

- The function to convert a "bad 3Mbit Rom-image file (overdumped with specific dump machine)" was added. Operating a "bad Rom-image file" troubles other PCE/TG16 emulators. The converted "just proper" image file can be used with a lot of other Free PCE/TG16 emulators, too. This is a "fair" method for the "PC Engine & TurboGrafx16" emulator and the PCE/TG16's fan.

- When setting it to "BigAudioBuffer Mode", the amount of the buffer was increased. As a result, tone quality has improved.

- "FullScreen Customize" menu was added to "Screen" menu. It is possible to use it by an arbitrary display resolution at full-screen. And, when the check is put on "FullScreen ResolutionAuto Change" of "FullScreen Customize" menu, "display resolution" can be automatically switched by "resolution of the game (width 256,336,512)". It is a function to use it on the display such as 15kHz cathode-ray tubes.

- In the SuperGrafx's game with black belt display right and left, the bug to which garbage had been ultra uncommonly displayed was corrected.

- Additionally, a detailed part has been improved and corrected.

>> Get it HERE.

BT client for the Mac

All Platforms:

+ Fix (potential) remote crash bug with extension protocol

+ Fix bug when verifying a torrent and pressing 'pause'

>> Get it HERE.

Front End

MAME Player 1.8.5

 

No need to delete your existing mp.ini if upgrading from 1.8.4

 

* Fixed 'Seconds to run' text box allowing blank entry to save (0 is the default).

* Fixed 'Seconds to run' text box allowing non numeric values.

* Fixed options dialog showing gamename.ini name when confirming a drivername.ini deletion.

* Fixed bug in show available/unavailable/fav menu items becoming wrongly checked.

* Added 'Game speed' slider to default options...advanced.

* Fixed main application caption not updating to new mame version, when changing a rom path (if your mame.exe has changed).

* Added a scrollbar (end of toolbar) to select up/down the setlist. (same as keyboard up/down and joy select).

>> Get it HERE.

Pinball machine emulators

What's new in Visual PinMAME:

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Version 1.58 (February 1st, 2008)

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- Added support for Stern's "The Sopranos"

 

 

Version 1.58 (February 1, 2008) - "The complete series"

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This is more of a bugfix release. It does not implement any new features besides the inclusion of Zaccaria's "Ski Jump", which makes this series complete (with the exception of sound).

 

The first and probably most important issue is the bug fix for the PPS-4/2 CPU used on Gottlieb System 1 games. Version 1.57 had a bug left that kept the bonus from accumulating properly (or counting down, for that matter), and another "bug" that kept the game diagnostics / adjustment menu from progressing through its items. Actually if you look at the data sheets for the PPS-4, it seems the emulation was *correct* in 1.57 and now we had to deliberately introduce a bug so it works!? Well, never mind now - as long as it plays fine.

 

Next, we are quite worried by the fact that many Gottlieb / Premier games have sounds missing, so some effort was put into getting these to work. Most notably, all of the drum sounds were missing from System80B games of the first generation. Well, not anymore now! Also, the general output volume of the SP0250 sound/speech chip was too low so far, making most bass sounds almost inaudible, so we cranked that up!

Finally, Gerrit turned off the channel suppression feature of the OKI6295 ADPCM chip, so now essentially every started sound will play until it ends, or until it's cut short by another sound playing on the same voice channel. This, of course, is a step back in terms of hardware accuracy, so it won't last long... it was done as a quick fix to show the hardware is capable of producing more sounds than in did in previous releases, and maybe to find a way of getting it right someday.

 

For all 6-digit display haters out there, we added support for Oliver's 7-digit Gottlieb conversion roms. Doing so, Gerrit also extended the "bios" system to these games: you can now keep the System80/A system roms common to all of those games in the gts80 / gts80a sets, without the need to copy them into each and every Gottlieb rom set. Same goes for the sound PROM used on early System80 and late System80A games: these may go into gts80s / gts80as, who in turn inherit from gts80 / gts80a. Sounds complicated? Well - it's not.

 

However, as MAME architecture does not support multiple inheritance for games, this produces one little problem: some Gottlieb games (using the sound and speech board) have sound-only clones with completely different roms. These three games (Volcano, Black Hole, and Devil's Dare) need to be split into different sets now, as they don't have a single rom file in common. Also, the new 7-digit common roms must go into their own sets (eg. spiderm7) because those games already inherit from their 6-digit parents, and thus can't inherit from a common set with support for the 7-digit system roms anymore. This sounds even more complicated? Erm - well, maybe a little.

 

So, have fun now and enjoy the most finite state of PinMAME there ever was.

 

Changes:

 

*** CORE/CPU ***

* Fixed two bugs in PPS-4 emulation (corrects Gottlieb System 1 games)

* Enabled missing drum sounds on Gottlieb System 80B games

* Increased general output volume of the SP0250 sound/speech chip

* Disabled muting option for OKI 6295 chip to produce more output in GTS3 games

* Fixed GI support for all five GI strings on Who Dunnit and JackBot

* Enabled sound solenoid outputs on Gottlieb System 1

* Removed tones from Cleopatra, Sinbad, and Joker Poker (those use chimes)

 

*** ROM SUPPORT ***

* Added Zaccaria Ski Jump

* Added Okaegi's 7-digit conversions of Gottlieb System80 games

* Added the "machinaZOIS" clone of ShaqAttaq, created by a Czech programmer team

>> Get them HERE.