ZSNES
SNES games emulator
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ZSNES News
Jan 25th, 2007 - Nach
I'm pleased to announce the 73rd release of ZSNES - ZSNES v1.51.

This release is mostly a bunch of bug fixes for things new and altered in v1.51.

On the emulation side of things, we now finally have 224 lines displayed correctly, and some minor timing fixes. Major emulation core changes won't be until a future release.

I would like to thank all those who reported bugs and sent in patches for v1.50, we've fixed roughly 3 dozen problems that cropped up with v1.50, including issues with loading older save states and various save state saving/loading problems, so this release should now be quite stable.

For SDL users who had sound issues before, we've made some fixes to that, as well as added support for libao sound output. Run configure with --enable-libao to get the new sound options compiled in. See zsnes --help for a list of drivers you can use. Feel free to play with each one and see which works best for you, there should be something to make everyone happy. Note however that certain older Linux versions have a bug in their threading which would cause all libao drivers to not output sound. If you're having such an issue, install a new Kernel.

Also requested many times in the past was separate input for each game. I'm pleased to announce that with our new PSR language, adding this greatly desired feature was a cinch, so enjoy!

Lastly, people who have enjoyed the movie features with v1.50 should be happy to see that we've expanded them even more. For those of you dumping to raw or AVI, you're now able to specify a logo file to use in the config file. You're now also able to dump past the end of a ZMV.

And saving the best for last, there is now a custom multipass lossy dump option with decent default settings so you can dump really tiny good quality AVIs of your runs (and tweak dumping settings to your heart's content in zmovie.cfg).



To those packaging releases for your distro, please see the notes for v1.50. Also make sure you review the configure options to provide the best build for your users. And please please include the documentation, located in docs/readme.txt and docs/readme.htm.


-ZSNES Team






Changes:

v1.51 - January 25, 2007
All Ports:
----------
 - Rejoice for finally having 224 lines and them being shown properly in all
   cases. [pagefault]
 - IRQ and timing fixes (fixes Chrono Trigger issues, Super Mario World, and
   others). [pagefault]
 - Fixed bug with certain commandline parameters permanently overwriting
   config file settings. [Nach]
 - Fixed bug with loading new ZMVs of a different version. [Nach]
 - Loading ZMV with ROM mismatch prints a message. [Nach]
 - Movie menu now has tabs and only shows proper options when available.
   [Deathlike, Nach, grinvader]
 - Slight improvement to the Custom Res functionality. [Deathlike, Nach]
 - Keep4_3Ratio option now only shows when necessary. [Deathlike]
 - PNG files now use extended height in extended height mode. [Nach]
 - Pausing, rewinding, and fast fowarding are disabled during movie dumping.
   [Nach, SamB]
 - You can now force a movie dump length shorter or longer than the actual ZMV
   length. [Nach, Deathlike]
 - Fixes for MEncoder check; added LAME check. [Nach]
 - Custom dumping with multiple passes implemented. [Nach]
 - Fixed some bad memory reads in command-line parser. Thanks grinvader. [Nach]
 - Now there's an option to switch to replay mode while recording movies when
   loading a state and vice versa. [Nach, Deathlike]
 - Fixed a bunch of bugs with certain save selection techniques not working
   right. [Deathlike]
 - Fixed gui font overwrite problem after fixing a cheat. The dots should be
   gone now. [Jonas Quinn]
 - You can now select the level of HQ filtering where applicable. [Deathlike]
 - Many tweaks made to reduce GUI mem usage on all ports. [Deathlike]
 - ZSNES now properly adheres to the command-line when Auto State Save/Load is
   used. [Deathlike]
 - Quick exit key now adheres to Auto State Save/Load. [Deathlike]
 - Inc/Dec Gamma toggles actually DO something. Gamma level is now definable in
   the config file. [Deathlike]
 - Fixed bugs with playing back ZMVs of 2+ players at once. [Nach]
 - Fix crash if you rewind farther than the game start in Kirby Super Star,
   Secret of Mana and some other games. [Jonas Quinn]
 - Fix crashing if using rewind in a movie before rewind slot is filled. Thanks
   BoltR. [Nach]
 - Readded the smoke effect. [Jonas Quinn]
 - Fixed the Winter Gold crash (but not the freeze). [Jonas Quinn]
 - Fixed crash in Super Demo World and possibly certain other large games.
   [Jonas Quinn]
 - Fixed loading many old ZSTs. [Jonas Quinn]
 - Fixed some bugs with movies which load from power on with SRAM. [Nach]
 - Fixed some issues with DSP-4 movies. [Nach]
 - Added ability to have game-specific input. Main input is now stored in
   zinput.cfg. [Nach, Deathlike]
 - Added option in Config->Options for Screenshot format. [Deathlike]
 - Fix crash on creation of ZMV if save path does not exist. Thanks Maximus.
   [Nach]
 - Logo support for AVI dumping. Set the logo file in zmovie.cfg; it can be
   gzip'd if you want. [Nach]
 - Pick state menu (default - F3) now has wraparound. Praise Pac-Man!
   [Deathlike]
 - Config file cleanup for more understandability. [Deathlike]
 - New Don't Save SRAM option. [Deathlike]
 - More GUI cleanup and tweaking, also reorganization. [Deathlike]
 - Removed the horrible-sounding Mono Surround Sound code. [Deathlike]
 - Source cleanup. [Deathlike, Phil^, Nach, grinvader]
 - Parsegen now allows one to define inside a PSR file to have it reject arrays
   from older config files. [Nach]
 - Our assembly syntax shortener now is case-insensitive with new
   case-insensitive string class. [Nach]
 - Archopt has updated flags, added GCC 4.2's -march=native support. [Nach]
 - Parsegen now has atoui() which should fix reading very large values. [Nach]
 - Ported more assembly to C. [Jonas Quinn]
 - Misc. bug fixes. [Deathlike, Jonas Quinn, SamB, Nach, grinvader]

DOS Port:
----------
 - Fixed snapshots key from attempting to take a PNG when it cannot.
   [Deathlike]
 - Removed old DOS debugger at last. [SamB]
 - Clock box option now does something in 8-bit modes. [Deathlike]

Win Port:
----------
 - Updated and improved NTSC filter. [Blargg, pagefault, Deathlike]
 - Added 1600x1200 S Full to Windows port for consistency. Fixed details of
   1600x1200 S Win. [Deathlike]
 - Fixed crash with HQ4x in windowed mode with Hi-Res Mode 7 on. [Deathlike]

SDL Port:
----------
 - Fixed broken option on Mac OS X; load menu shouldn't crash anymore. Thanks
   phf. [Nach]
 - Made WIP launch message berate users for not using --enable-release if it
   was an official release. [Nach]
 - Added option to define configuration directory. [Aerdan]
 - Mac OS X config directory now defaults to Library/Application Support/ZSNES.
   [Nach]
 - Symlink support for matching ROM name to files. [Nach]
 - Updated and improved NTSC filter. [Blargg, pagefault, Deathlike]
 - More accurate NTSC ratio. [pagefault]
 - You can now use libao for sound, compile with --enable-libao, also see
   zsnes --help for a list of drivers to use. [Nach, Bisqwit, grinvader]
 - Unit testing done; off by one errors in audio sample output fixed. Thanks
   hakonrk and grinvader. [Nach]
 - Now supports ~ (home directory) in various places, most notably ROM loading.
   [Nach]
 - Fixed some filtering and video refreshing issues. [Deathlike]
 - Fixed Bilinear Filtering on startup. [Deathlike]
Dec 28th, 2006 - Nach
Time for a news update from your friendly ZSNES control center.

After searching the web for responses to our latest release, it seems some people are having problems that are easily fixable, and are just plain not following instructions.

First off to SDL port users: --enable-release should be passed to ./configure to specify you want WIP code removed, and use the best optimization possible. This can also fix certain sound problems that need audio streamed to the sound card as fast as possible.

To those of you complaining about curses packages, the ZSNES debugger uses curses, if you don't want it, pass --disable-debugger to ./configure (hint use ./configure --help to see options), DOS/Windows users who are compiling should pass DEBUGGER=no to the make command as well.

Linux users who are having trouble compiling, can try getting a Linux binary from here, but no guarantees they'll work for you.

64 bit users having trouble compiling should know that ZSNES is currently only x86-32 compatible and will not be x86-64 compatible for a while. It is advised in the mean time to setup a 32 bit chroot, or have 32 bit libraries installed and use either a precompiled binary or try to compile yourself in 32 bit mode by passing gcc/g++ -m32.

If you're wondering why a feature disappeared (and no I don't mean netplay), it was probably moved elsewhere, look around. Also check out our very exhaustive documentation here or more directly here. Even if you're doing okay, read the documentation anyway, there's many new features waiting to be uncovered.

Those wondering about how to use the debugger now that it's also available in Windows and SDL port should of course see our documentation. However as a quick starter you may just want to keep in mind to run ZSNES in a window, start up with -d, optionally load the ROM that way too, and keep the F1 key handy.

If the new movie dumping features has you puzzled, read the documentation, and also refer to this thread.

Lastly, if you're running into some bugs with some of our newer features, getting crashing issues on Mac OS X, or are a bit upset by a lack of old save state compatibility, know that we made some headway on all these fronts and you can get our latest development source out of SVN, details here. A new version with these fixes implemented should hopefully be out prior to February so keep this page bookmarked.

Happy Holidays from the ZSNES Team.
Dec 22nd, 2006 - Nach
I am pleased to announce another long awaited release of ZSNES. This time around we made many improvements to the software in general, fixed, and added many new features.
We also have made several updates to the emulation fixing bugs that were never addressed before.

People who maintain packages for various distros should use "./configure --enable-release --disable-cpucheck force_arch=i586 " to build this release, see the documentation for more details.

Please read our large but but comparatively modest change log of all the changes we made.

Enjoy the release and happy holidays from the ZSNES Team.



Changes:
v1.50 - December 22, 2006
All Ports:

For this release we spent much time rewriting, porting, improving many internal subsystems. ZSNES is a program with over 200,000 lines of source code and in this release, over 25% of that has been modified. Also around 15% of assembly has been ported to C. The upcoming list while large can't fully describe the amount of work and the amount of improvements made. Make sure to see the readme to find out how to use all the new features.
Subsystem Additions/Updates/Rewrites/Fixes/Improvements

   * Ryan C. Gordon's ManyMouse support added. [Nach, pagefault]
     This allows the systems compatible with ManyMouse ((Windows XP, Linux via evdev if read permission set, Mac OS X) to handle each mouse plugged into the system separately. So now games with two mice using devices can be played with 2 player (or 1 player controlling both) on a single PC.
     Left Handed Mouse Support. [Nach, Deathlike, Jonas Quinn]
     So lefties can have the buttons for a particular mouse swapped if they so desire.
   * Rewrote directory handling system. [Nach, Jonas Quinn, grinvader, Deathlike]
     The old system dubbed "ZFile" only kept track of files in a limited manner allowing for many many bugs. The new system dubbed "ZPath" now tracks files and paths in a clean systematic manner to eliminate all file/path related bugs that have made previous versions annoying. All file handling code is now done in C and has many functions to make it easier for anyone else to jump right into this bit of development. This also allows for many new features to be written, and we wrote quite a few. A debug system has also been added making it easy to track file issues regardless of the operation system in question.
   * ZMV Rewritten - Movie Support. [Nach, grinvader, ipher]
     Added support for subtitles while playing a ZMV. [Nach]
     Can now load movies via command line parameter. [Nach]
     Added parameter to close ZSNES when movie is closed. [Nach]
     Our movie subsystem - ZMV has been completely rewritten from the ground up. Now features such as rerecording (via states and rewind), appending, mouse recording, Super Scope recording (buggy), chapters, start types, frame count, input compression, among other things is now all supported. Note ZSNES can still load old ZMVs, however it should be noted that ZMVs are somewhat version reliant and may desync on a version it was not recorded with. Also most of the new features will not work when using an old ZMV.
   * Can now dump ZMVs to AVI and WAV. [Nach, Bisqwit]
     For years users have requested being able to convert a ZMV to something else, it is now possible.
   * Added IPS multipatch support. Goes from IPS, IP0, IP1, IP2, ..., IP9. [Nach]
     So you can have IPS autopatching apply more than one to a game loaded.
     IPS files now loaded from save directory then ROM directory. [Nach]
     Making it easier for a user to auto patch.
     Fixed silly mistake with size adjustment of IPS patches. [Nach]
     So now the very rare broken IPS should work.
   * Rewind and ZST code fully merged rewind should now work where save states do (Fixes rewinding in Super Bomberman games). [grinvader, Nach]
     Can now use 100 save states instead of 10. [Deathlike, Nach, Jonas Quinn]
     SRAM is now stored in save states and can be optionally loaded from them. [grinvader, Nach]
     Can now select how many rewind states you want. [grinvader, Nach, ipher]
     Can now select how much time is in between rewinds. [grinvader, Nach, ipher]
     Our state saving subsystem has been completely rewritten (although another rewrite is planned) to fix many bugs that used to be present. With the ZST and rewind code merged, it also means no more issues where one works but not the other. This is also now all done in C making it easier to deal with, as well as allowing many new features as listed above.
   * Parsegen invented (thanks grinvader, gladius). [Nach]
     Binary and text config files merged into one and heavily updated. [Nach, grinvader, Deathlike]
     We invented a new programming language (PSR), and a compiler for it (parsegen), which allows one to keep track of variables in a simple manner for both developers and end users. Developers can just declare a particular variable to be tracked and forget about it, letting the system manage everything else, making it easy to add as many configuration options as one likes. For the end user, the config file is all in text, making it easy to modify any feature they like or features for advanced users not changeable from within the GUI. It also provides a level of future compatibility so users should normally not have to delete config files between versions. It also allows partial config files, so users can delete certain settings and have them restored to their defaults. All this is possible while maintaining a high level of flexibility.
   * Netplay, Modem, IPX code removed. [grinvader, Nach. ipher]
     As much as we hated to, we had to remove all computer to computer playing options in order to fix up the other subsystems since the code was spread throughout ZSNES. We hope to in future versions to reimplement it and also provide new features.
   * Created new macros and greatly eased GUI development and cut down on size of GUI code. [ipher]
     Cleaned up GUI and reorganized it. [ipher, Nach, grinvader, Deathlike, Jonas Quinn]
     Added tab support to the GUI and made good use of it. [grinvader]
     Rewrote the load game menu, it can now handle thousands upon thousands of ROMs at a time. [Nach, grinvader]
     Added a custom font system. [ipher, Deathlike]
     Nach input boxes (video, path) now have a normal blink rate. [Nach]
     Now using our custom GUI should be easier and more straight forward. Almost everywhere you look you should see a cleaner design and new features, and less bugs. See below for more specifics.
   * New unified ZSNES loader which is also less buggy. [Nach, grinvader, Deathlike, Jonas Quinn]
     Now command line options are handled in a more efficient manner, as well as making it much easier for us to add more.
   * Committed the ZSNES development toolkit. [Nach, grinvader]
     Code is now always in executable sections, fixes NX and many other issues. [Nach]
     Added utility to auto detect best -march option to compile with, SDL port uses it automatically. [Nach, grinvader]
     For various developers, we now added many utilities to make working on ZSNES much easier. Some of these utilities should be built into the assembler but aren't. These new utilities have also allowed us to easily track down several critical bugs and fix them effortlessly. We also have a utility now to aid the person compiling to get the best optimization out of their build perhaps now allowing them to use HQ4x or other filters that weren't possible before.
   * Updated build setups. [grinvader, Nach]
     Added file dependency utility. [Nach]
     All the build setups have been updated to make it easier and more flexible for one to compile ZSNES and encounter less bugs along the way. File dependencies can now also be calculated automatically (most notably for SDL), so one updating ZSNES doesn't run into weird issues with only half of a fix being compiled.
   * Ported much assembly to C. [grinvader, Deathlike, Nach, Jonas Quinn, theoddone33, pagefault, byuu]
     Removed dead code. [grinvader, Nach, pagefault, Jonas Quinn, Deathlike]
     Lastly on our big rewrite, a lot of old junk went, and many complex are annoying features are now in C meaning if you know C, now is a good time to start helping out ZSNES development.

Special Chips

   * Fixed all remaining bugs with the SPC7110. SPL4 and MDH are working correctly, now. Special thanks to John Weidman and Dark Force for working on reverse engineering. [Jonas Quinn]
   * Super FX updates (Starfox 2 now 99% working). [pagefault]
   * OBC-1 code ported to C and integrated properly, Metal Combat doesn't have graphical problems anymore, thanks Nach. [Jonas Quinn]
   * DSP-1 finished. [The Dumper, Andreas Naive, Nach]
   * SA-1 detection updated (Fixed loading of SD F-1 Grand Prix (Sample)). [Nach]
   * Partial Seta 11 emulation (thanks anonymous and Jonas Quinn). [Nach]
   * DSP-3 support (opcodes RE'd by Overload and Feather). Thanks Jonas Quinn for finding a bug in my glue code. [Nach]
   * DSP-4 Support (Top Gear 3000). [Nach, pagefault]
   * C4 emulation should be virtually perfect now. [Nach, Jonas Quinn]
   * Now got mapping done correctly for dual Sufami Turbo (thanks byuu), now have two sets of SRAM. [Nach, Jonas Quinn]

As for everything else, much was done including a multitude of emulation updates, it is even hard to count how many emulation bugs are no longer present. Several new features were also added.

   * Many Mode 7 fixes, also implemented anomie's Matrix formula (Fixed Energy Breakers world map, IOG intro, Battlemanicas Battlecoptor intro). [Jonas Quinn]
   * Added some preliminary NMI and IRQ timing, proper behavior of H-IRQ when V-IRQ is active, flickering fix in H-IRQ timing. [pagefault]
   * Fixes for DMA, HDMA, so we can have the recent improvements without breaking tons of other game. (SSF2, SFA2, FFMQ, TOP, CT, YI, Probably others). [pagefault]
   * Init DMA values to FF, thanks Overload. [pagefault]
   * Fixed windowing issues in Dragon Quest, Star Ocean, Final Fantasy V, Gradius and probably other games. [Jonas Quinn, pagefault]
   * Fixed transparency issues in several games including U.N. Squadron, Final Fantasy 3u/6j and Star Ocean. [Jonas Quinn, pagefault]
   * Fixed SRAM Mapping. Ys III, Dezaemon, Tokimeki Memorial, Dragon Knight 4, Fire Emblem - Thracia 776, *should* all work nicely now. [Jonas Quinn, Nach]
   * Fixed a special chip SRAM bug. [Nach]
   * Fast ROM is now actually set. [Nach]
   * Straightened out the 48Mb/64Mb ROM map. [Jonas Quinn, Nach]
   * Fixed Uchuu no Kishi Tekkaman Blade. [Jonas Quinn]
   * Fixed ENVxbehavior. [pagefault]
   * Some fixes regarding WRAM. Some Open Bus. Thanks _Demo_ & byuu. [Nach, pagefault]
   * Fixed the source of the Super Turrican crash. It also fixes my current Robotrek game. I pray this doesn't break anything else... [Deathlike]
   * Behold true ROM mirroring. If your translation breaks now, fix it. [Nach, grinvader]
   * Evened out ROM scoring quite a bit. A bunch of beta ROMs which didn't load before now should. Special thanks to Cowering for the Reset Vector Popular Opcode Check code. [Nach]
   * Say goodbye to speedhacks. [pagefault]
   * Changed cycles for scanline 0. [pagefault]
   * Removed special timing for EHi roms. [Jonas Quinn]
   * Fixed game title in SPC files for EHi Roms. [Jonas Quinn]
   * Workaround to fix crashing of certain games (Sim City Pal and Super Tetris 2 + Bombliss) on resolution change. [Jonas Quinn]
   * Silly DSP code removed, should fix a lot of games (including EWJ2) [pagefault].
   * Fixed program counter in RET macro, Dirt Racer now plays with some blinking, making progress :) [pagefault]
   * Implemented some RTO (fixes some FF3 issues). [pagefault]
   * Many hacks removed (we now have less than a dozen, and we have the least of all the emulators that use hacks). [pagefault, grinvader, Nach, Jonas Quinn]
   * Fixed small screen extra line issues (fixes Super Metroid annoying line issue, so now that guy who keeps on coming into the channel annoying us about it can rest in peace). [pagefault, Nach]
   * Fixed bug in hires mode (for example Lufia 2 ending). [MaxSt]
   * Fix some randomness in the SPC core for now. [pagefault]
   * Fixed loading of small ROMs. [Nach]
   * Fixed a bug when the background was cleared to a strange color. [pagefault]
   * Updated the bg scroll registers, fixes a couple of games (thanks anomie, byuu). [pagefault, grinvader, Jonas Quinn]
   * Memory mapping code is now somewhat sane and can be followed. [grinvader, Nach]
   * Updated timing. [pagefault]
   * Readded corrected noise frequencies. [TRAC]
   * SPC RAM cleared properly on soft reset. [pagefault, Nach]
   * Fixed some init glitches. [Nach]
   * Pass some more tests on the test cart. [pagefault, Jonas Quinn]
   * SPC700 init to ffc0. [byuu]
   * Proper logic when when drawing sprites while subscreen is present, fixes SMRPG characters disappearing when entering buildings. [pagefault]
   * Removed the Sound Buffering option because it isn't doing anything. [Jonas Quinn]
   * GUI/Exiting SRAM saving only saves if SRAM Check+Save is off or it's on and SRAM has been modified recently without save. [Nach]
   * Super Scope buttons are now configurable. [Deathlike]
   * srand() is performed once! and always once per z execution. Water effect B now also has a lot more effecting. [Nach]
   * Cleaned up GZip reader. GZip reader now also support transparent reading, namely a regular file with a .gz extension for no apparent reason. [Nach]
   * Added "Show Clock Box" and "Show Rom Info On Load" to the Options menu. [Deathlike]
   * Fixed some bugs that were discovered with Valgrind. [Nach]
   * Changed the default keys for Player 2 to saner defaults. [Deathlike]
   * Fixed some memory leaks. [Nach]
   * Remove B CPU core. [pagefault]
   * No more TURB! [Nach]
   * FPS now displayed correctly for large numbers. [grinvader]
   * Fixed crash after SuperFX savestates are loaded. [Jonas Quinn]
   * No more alpha for PNGs. [Nach, grinvader]
   * Removing unused and probably out of date SPCDUMP. [Nach]
   * Prevented 'auto state save/load' & 'auto increment state slot' from interacting. Former takes precedence. [grinvader]
   * ZSNES will no longer jump back into the GUI randomly if you press F2 / F4 or some other buttons repeatedly. Special thanks to Dan for the clues on how to recreate it. [Jonas Quinn]
   * Added 12 hour clock toggle. [pagefault]
   * GUI special case horizon fixed, thanks Motley, Dan. [Nach]
   * Crammed a "Documentation" button right below the "WWW.ZSNES.COM" button. [ipher, Nach]
   * Fixed crash after enabling Sound Interpolation mid game. Fixed Gaussian always selected bug when MMX Support is disabled. Some options that are only available with MMX enabled are now hidden if MMX is disabled. [Jonas Quinn]
   * Fixed Clear2xSaIBuffer to clear the first line, too. [Jonas Quinn]
   * Removed off by 1 line fix. [Jonas Quinn]
   * Fixed burning effect in executables compiled with GCC. [Jonas Quinn]
   * Removed some DOS only code from other ports and vica versa. [Jonas Quinn]
   * Added "+ Gamma" and "- Gamma" hotkeys to the Misc Keys menu [pagefault, ipher]
   * Hacks can now be disabled via command line (-dh). [Jonas Quinn]
   * Get_Date returns correct year now. [Jonas Quinn]
   * SPC filenames are no longer truncated if there is a dot in the filename. [Jonas Quinn]
   * Made gui option save config override dontsave option. Fixed bug #13. [Nach]
   * Fixed crash when mmx is disabled and 25% scanlines with interpolation is enabled (bug #142). [Jonas Quinn]
   * Fixed corrupted graphics when alt-tabbing. [pagefault]
   * Can now display batter power status on laptops. [Nach, pagefault, ipher, David Lee Lambert, drizztbsd]
   * Stupid (and old) mistake successfully corrected after manual tracking, fixed bug #52, and probably lots of other sound issues upon state load... [grinvader, Jonas Quinn]
   * Added new video modes. [Aerdan]
   * Fixed vars in bss section that had no space reserved. Fixed bug #18 on bug tracker. [Jonas Quinn]
   * ZSNES now decodes shift-jis headers correctly... but the font is still limited to 5x5. [grinvader]
   * GCC 4.0 support. [Nach]
   * Fixed a jump to not disable ENV when it shouldn't. [Jonas Quinn]
   * Optimization to frame draw code, only draw frames that change. [pagefault, Nach]
   * Added error message if hard patching fails. [Nach]
   * Fixed the exit procedure. [Nach, Jonas Quinn]
   * Updated license. [Nach]
   * Option to allow Up+Down/Left+Right for speedruns' sake. [grinvader]
   * New variable slow down/speed up options. [grinvader. ipher]
   * Lower memory usage. [Nach, Jonas Quinn, Deathlike]
   * Panic key now resets offset mode and windowing state. [pagefault]
   * Primary Buffer option shouldn't be reversed anymore. [Jonas Quinn]
   * Added pause and frame increment options (buggy). [Nach, grinvader, ipher]
   * Key combos for player 5. [ipher]
   * Mode 4 offset change overflow fix in rendering code. [pagefault]
   * Fixed crashes related to wrong MMX detection. [Jonas Quinn, Deathlike, hector]
   * Major framerate improvement when using new graphics engine. [pagefault]
   * JMA: Fixed some bugs in decompression. Improved performance. Lower memory requirements. Support for JMA v1 files. [Nach]
   * Changed video change accept key to spacebar. [Nach]
   * Added info on load if ROM is patched. [Nach]
   * Fixed 100% CPU usage when no game is running. [pagefault]
   * ZSNESW can now be compiled in MinGW without any fancy NASM patches. [TRAC, Nach]
   * Fixed bugs with SRAM Check+Save option. [grinvader, Nach, Jonas Quinn]
   * Initialized many vars which were not. [Nach]
   * Added comments so people have more of a clue. [pagefault, grinvader, Nach, ipher]
   * Fixed warnings. [Nach, theoddone33, grinvader, Jonas Quinn]
   * Configure script fix for Gentoo users, and debug builds now use -O0, because we can. [grinvader]
   * Partial scons support [theoddone33, Aerdan, Snarius]
   * Added CPU parameter for specific CPU optimizations when compiling for an MS platform. [Nach]
   * Added debug build support for MS ports. [Nach]
   * Can now compile without JMA support. [Nach]
   * Greatly updated, overhauled, and unified documentation. [AspiringSquire, Deathlike, Nach, Jipcy, Noxious Ninja, Richard C., xamenus, and others]

DOS Port:

   * Fixed sample rate to not be able to select 32000 Hz or bigger rates when they are not available under certain circumstances. [Jonas Quinn]
   * 8 bit modes now save images as BMP. [Nach]
   * Can now compile without a debugger. [Nach, Jonas Quinn]
   * Can choose old or new debugger. [SamB]
   * Fixed ROM loading from the command line for DOS when a VESA2 mode is selected. [Jonas Quinn]
   * Now runs proper clean up code on exiting. [Nach]
   * Updates to input code, now supports more parallel pads. [Deathlike]
   * Can now set via command line player 1 and 2 to any input.
   * Rewind can now be used. [Nach]
   * Quick load menu now shows full internal names or if LFN, as much as the other ports show. [Nach]

Win Port:

   * Fixed a really strange crash problem on Windows 2003 systems. [pagefault]
   * You can now use gamepad in the background without ZSNES having focus. [pagefault]
   * Fixed bugs so ZSNES can be ran in VMWare. [pagefault]
   * Can pause emulation in the background. [pagefault]
   * Fixed black screen after the computer was locked. [Jonas Quinn]
   * Fixed inline assembler in winlink.cpp when compiled with optimizations. [Jonas Quinn]
   * Added custom video modes. [Deathlike2, Nach]
   * Debugger now works in this port. [SamB, pagefault]
   * Added KitchenSyncPal and fixed a lot for KitchenSync issues [Deathlike, Poobah]
   * Added ForceRefreshRate as a replacement for Force60Hz. I'm sure someone will fail reading the cfg file for help. [Deathlike]
   * Added Keep 4:3 ratio as requested a while back by gltamarin. This is useful for laptops/LCDs that use non 4:3 resolutions. [Deathlike]
   * Can now set joystick sensitivity. [Deathlike]
   * Can now view ROMs by SNES internal name. [Nach, Deathlike]
   * Changed default option the Windows port uses due to sanity reasons. Also, a check was added to prevent the black screen (and maybe double vision) issue. A message box will now pop up to tell you what options you have. [Deathlike]
   * Disable Screensaver Option now disables all annoying power management stuff. [Deathlike]
   * Changed "High Priority Mode" to "Use A Higher Priority" and Above Normal Priority is used on NT. [Deathlike]
   * Nach input boxes (video, path) now allow pasting via ctrl+v. [Nach]
   * Added NTSC filter. [Blargg, pagefault, ipher]
   * Fixed strange sprite priority bugs after switch to window/fullscreen. [Jonas Quinn]

SDL Port:

   * Fixed bilinear filter in GUI [grinvader]
   * Fixed video change freeze problems in port. [Nach]
   * Make sound processing use less CPU cycles. [Nach]
   * Fixed input responsiveness for controllers 3+. [bssteph]
   * Added freedesktop.org file [pagefault]
   * Fixed screen refresh for SDL software modes when toggling hq2x. [grinvader]
   * Fixed a key repeating bug when changing resolutions. [grinvader]
   * Fixed bug where mouse buttons were conflicting, right mouse click by itself on 3+ button mouse. [Nach]
   * Updated wheel handling. [Nach]
   * Added a Variable OGL mode to center ZSNES output with proper ratio. [NBondoux]
   * Added custom video modes. [Deathlike2, Nach]
   * New scancode handling system, should fix problems with non US keyboard and Mac OS X. Thanks hector.
   * Debugger now works in this port. [SamB]
   * Can now set joystick sensitivity. [Nach]
   * Added Keep 4:3 ratio as requested a while back by gltamarin. This is useful for laptops/LCDs that use non 4:3 resolutions. [Deathlike]
   * Can now view ROMs by SNES internal name. [Nach, Deathlike]
   * Hopefully fixed numlock keypad quick select in the F3 menu. [Deathlike]
   * Fixed bug when trackballs are present, also cleaned up joystick code a bit. [spoon0042]
   * Make stack non executable for ELF. Thanks drizztbsd. [Nach]
   * Mac OS X support. [Nach, hector, BRPXQZME]
   * Removed dangerous checking of environment variable for user's home path. [Nach]
   * Fix compilation on OpenBSD. [pagefault, Nach]
   * Added NTSC filter. [Blargg, pagefault, ipher]
Nov 19th, 2006 - Nach
It's been a while since news has been posted, but in the mean time we've been doing a load of work on ZSNES.

We've since moved our online repository to BountySource located here. If you want directions to get the latest source, see this thread.

We hope to be able to release the upcoming version of ZSNES before year's end. It will include >2000 improvements and bug fixes over our last release. Including but not limited to:
  • Movie Rerecording
  • ZMV to AVI dumping
  • WAV/MP3 creation
  • Mac OS X (Intel) support
  • Fixes to our video renderer
  • DSP-3, DSP-4 (Support for Top Gear 3000), Seta-11, and enhanced Sufami Turbo support
  • Plain text fully editable config file
  • Many many bug fixes and usability updates over the v1.4x branch


So stay tuned!
May 16th, 2005 - Nach
I just wanted to say that no, we aren't dead.
In fact, we've been making a lot of progress towards our next release, see the forum for more details.

-Nach
Jan 20th, 2005 - _Demo_
Due to popular demand, we made a quick bug fix release. Enjoy!
-ZSNES Team

--------------------
What's New:
 
DOS Only:
Fixed label for Fullscreen/Widescreen options. [ipher]
 
SDL Only:
DESDDIR support. [theoddone33]
 
All Ports:
Corrected output of BRR decode for invalid ange values (>12). [TRAC]
Fixed sustain level 4 (5/8). [TRAC]
More window boxes now have borders. [ipher]
Close zip files properly when IPS is not found in zip (fixes crashing with certain zlibs). [Nach]
Cleaned up some code. [Nach, ipher, grinvader]
Ported chip detection to C, improved BS detection. [Nach]
Ported rewind to C (thanks Nach, TRAC). [grinvader]
New reminder text. [grinvader, AspiringSquire]
Rollback of "Improved accuracy of base rates used for ADSR, GAIN, noise, and echo emulation". [ipher]
Jan 18th, 2005 - _Demo_
ZSNES v1.41 Released!

This is mostly a bug fix release for stability.
We also added some small new features and made other minor improvements.
See the what's new for the exact details.

-ZSNES Team  

----------------

What's New:

DOS Only:
- Fixed a number of keyboard shortcuts in the GUI. [ipher]

Win Only:
- Get_Date() now returns the proper value. [Nach]
- Correct timing when compiled with MinGW (Special thanks to Jonas Quinn for all his help in getting ZSNESw compiled with MinGW and working). [Nach]
- More informative error messages when some DirectX component fails to load. [Nach]
- Return 0 instead of random value on exit (keeps certain frontends happy). [Nach]
- Fixed keyboard shortcut for "Trap Mouse Cursor". [ipher]
- Changed text in netplay window to be more clear about TCP/UDP. [pagefault]
- Updated ZSNESw compilation instructions in install.txt. [Nach]

SDL Only:
- Get_Date() now returns the proper value. [Nach]
- Fixed a memory leak. [Nach]
- Fixed buffer underflow in sound code when rate was changed several times. [Nach]
- Save files can now be correctly saved in locations other than ~/.zsnes. [Nach]
- Updated video selection menu. (Thanks, Aerdan!) [ipher, Nach]
- 256x224 R Full for is now actually 256x224, not 320x240. (Thanks, Pieter Hulshoff!) [ipher]
- 640x480 ODS Win is now actually 640x480, not 512x448. [ipher]
- Added 1280x1024. [ipher]
- Changed text in netplay window to be more clear about TCP/UDP. [pagefault]
- Homepage button to open browser now appears in about box. [Nach]

All Ports:
- Improved accuracy of base rates used for ADSR, GAIN, noise, and echo emulation. [TRAC]
- Fixed GUI escape stack corruption if .srm file could not be written to. [Nach]
- Stereo settings now obey config file. [Nach]
- Fixed framerate loading from config file. [ipher]
- ZSNES no longer hacks itself in order to access variables; this eliminates a few issues we had. [Nach]
- Source code cleanup. [Nach, ipher]
- Makefile overhaul; ZSNES can now be cross compiled. [Nach, ipher, malcster, SamB]
- Fixed some invalid memory reads. [Nach]
- Ported config file creation/loading to C. [MKendora, Nach]
- Percent of execution now takes h-blank values into consideration. [pagefault]
- Fixed some Winter Gold FX crashes. [Nach]
- Filtered GUI is now enabled by default. [Nach]
- Save location can now be edited in the GUI. [Nach]
- Added option to enable/disable auto IPS patching. [Nach, ipher]
- Saving last ROM info to rominfo.txt can now be turned off. [ipher, Nach]
- Organized options menu, and split off save related options into its own menu. [ipher]
- Moved Super System DIP switches to the chip configuration menu. [ipher]
- More boxes have borders now! [ipher]
- New one-time user reminder text. [grinvader]
- Updated about box. [Nach, ipher]
- Overhauled toaster support. (Not kidding) [Nach]
Dec 25th, 2004 - _Demo_
We are releasing the new ZSNES version 1.40 today. We hope you will enjoy it!

Merry Christmas

The ZSNES Team

------------

What's new:

DOS Only:

* - Fixed cublic spline interpolation. It should actually save the option now! [pagefault]
* - Fixed other various DOS sound bugs. [Nach, pagefault]
* - Fixed a frameskipping bug. [pagefault]

Linux/SDL/POSIX Only:

* - Updated icon. [cdbsi]
* - Updated Linux video code to Windows Version. [pagefault]
* - Fixed problems with nVidia cards. [Diablo-D3]
* - Fixed audio problems with broken drivers. [Diablo-D3]
* - Added 48khz sound support. [pagefault]
* - Updated joystick input support. [theoddone33, Sander]
* - Fixed Savestate incrementor, this caused some crashes. [pagefault]
* - Cleaned up the Linux Autoconfigure [Diablo-D3]
* - Added a couple of things for the start of BeOS compatibility. [theoddone33]
* - Fixed 16->32bpp LUT Related bug. [kode54]
* - Added hardcoded alt-enter fullscreen toggle. [theoddone33]
* - Added dialog for why the video mode couldn't be set. [theoddone33]
* - Added Circle buffer patch (savestate fix). [zinx]
* - Fixed problem with man page when installing (when man1 directory doesn't exist). [hpsolo]
* - Fixed cmd line sound quality. [pagefault]
* - Fixed zlib and libpng issues. [theoddone33, pagefault]
* - Updated libpng Version checking [theoddone33]
* - Added -lm to acinclude.m4 so AC_TRY_RUN doesn't return negative on some systems looking for libpng. [theoddone33]
* - Overhauled Makefile. [theoddone33]
* - Fixed install target, -D should not be used. [theoddone33]
* - Added the name of the start address to the error message, when mprotect fails. [theoddone33]
* - Update config.sub. This allows configuration on 64bit targets, and requires autogen.sh to be rerun. [theoddone33]
* - Added HQ2X filter! [MaxSt, pagefault, zinx]
* - Snapshots now use the full ROM file name. [Nach]
* - Prefixed Snapshots with leading zeroes. [Nach]
* - Renamed Linux Version to SDL. [pagefault]


Windows Only:

* - Updated icon with Windows XP compliancy. [cdbsi]
* - Added new disable screensaver code. [pagefault]
* - Added a CPU utilization fix. [kode54, pagefault]
* - Added 48khz sound support, updated sound code, and fixed sound bugs. [pagefault, Nach, ipher, StatMat]
* - Fixed a couple of input bugs, such as one concerning the 5th joystick and another that made the mouse get stuck in an endless loop. [pagefault]
* - Removed alternate timer. [pagefault]
* - Fixed Netplay freezing bug. [pagefault]
* - Many new video features, including (but not limited to): HQ2X, HQ3X and HQ4X graphic filters, support for hi-res and D modes in 32bpp windowed mode (now default), new aspect ratio code for scaling, and the KitchenSync (usable only via the commandline). [MaxSt, pagefault, Darkfalz]
* - Fixes for video code errors, such as those that occured when alt-tabbing in fullscreen, MMX interpolation fixes, and blitter fixes. [pagefault, zsKnight]
* - Snapshots are now numbered and use the full ROM file name. [Nach]
* - Renamed Windows version. [pagefault]
* - Win port can now also be compiled with MinGW (but we won't support it till the next release). [Nach]


All Ports:

* - Added multiple timing tweaks, fixed various emulation bugs, and many other technical updates, including (but not limited to): SPC core updates (with improved sound decoding), safer memory allocation in certain areas, HIRQ and VIRQ fixes, color add/sub and color bleeding fixes, HDMA improvements, sprite priority and flickering fixes. Many more games work :D. [pagefault, _Demo_, Nach, TRAC, Overload, theoddone33]
* - Overhauled a lot of code, such as checksum calculation and mirroring code. Overhauled and added much better EHi/Hi/Lo ROM code, improved reset vector, changed much hard coding to variables. Fixed more SRAM bugs than can be counted. Made optimizations to complex loading functions, syntax, memory init (Thanks kode54), execution, and initialization code. Also greatly improved PAL/NTSC detection. Also now has much better chip detection and gives more informative chip names. More games which never loaded before now load properly, such as Dai Kaiju Monogatari 2 now loads and plays great without the Dejap patch. [Nach]
* - Cleaned up, overhauled, removed, and ported a lot of code (asm to C). [pagefault, MKendora, Nach]
* - Overhauled IO latch behavior, added proper latching behavior and other latch fixes (such as proper latching of bit 7 on $4201), and added proper behavior of RDIO regs. [pagefault]
* - Removed many, many hacks. [Nach, pagefault]
* - There have been some modifications and reorganizations of the GUI, including new path setup and chip configuration windows and a reorganization of the Game Key window. [pagefault, Nach]
* - Updates to the video code, with enhancements of triple buffering, better input support in the video dialog, and other general video code updates and bug fixes, such as a fix for the 60hz mode. [pagefault, MaxSt]
* - New extra options are now available in various locations, like the "GUI burning effect", new commandline options, a new quick key to control players 1/2 with 3/4, and smaller message text. Some obsolete ones have been removed. [pagefault]
* - Some changes in the Input configuaration: Hitting "Set Keys" is now prevented if controller is set to "None". Also, if no controller is selected, the settings of the individual keys are now locked. [Nach]
* - Updated default configuration, in general. For example, stereo sound is now enabled by default at 32khz, with gaussian interpolation. [pagefault]
* - Signed saturation fix for gaussian interpolation (Thanks kode54). [pagefault]
* - Fixed several Netplay issues. [_Demo_, pagefault, Nach]
* - Fixed some of our .zmv movie recording problems. [Nach]
* - Fixed a small bug in SPC saving. [pagefault]
* - Fixed issues with config file saving. [pagefault, Nach]
* - Fixed PNG snapshot filenames and PNG height. [StatMat, Nach]
* - Fixed DIP switch 2 on Super System. [pagefault]
* - Fixed an auto frameskip issue (Thanks MKendora). [pagefault]
* - Fixed rewind when using commandline filename. [StatMat]
* - Fixed some issues when loading ROMs via command line. [Nach]
* - Removed ROM info that appears when loading via command line. [Nach]
* - Added a command-line savestate fix. [StatMat]
* - Fixed an annoying savestate bug. [pagefault]
* - Super Bases Loaded 2 works better, due to a fix in DSP-1 mapping. [_Demo_]
* - Horai Gakuen works better, due to a special fix. [_Demo_]
* - Lufia 2 problems are now fixed. [pagefault]
* - Emerald Dragon now works - again. [pagefault]
* - Many updates on the SPC7110, such as normal timing, special ratio removal, and better pack loading code. [_Demo_, pagefault, Nach]
* - Removed SPC7110 logger and S-DD1 test. [grinvader]
* - Removed support for interleaved SuperFX ROMs. [Nach]
* - Added several improvements and memory map adjustments for more accurate BS emulation. [Nach, pagefault]
* - Added call init code for DSP-2,3, and 4. [pagefault]
* - Added better support for split ROMs with headers and detecting interleaved ROMs. [Nach]
* - Added support for many more ROM extensions. [Nach]
* - ROM info now dumped to rominfo.txt on game load. [Nach]
* - Added more information lines on ROM load, such as CRC32, video, and bank information. [pagefault, Nach]
* - Added support for some NSRT features, such as NSRT header support and support for ROMs using NSRT's JMA compression format. [Nach]
* - Zipped ROMs no longer need a temporary directory. [Nach]
* - Added better handling of bad files. [_Demo_, Nach]
* - Implemented soft IPS patching functionality, with in-zip file support, buffering, and RLE support. [Nach]
* - Added a compatibility update to PPU. Passes one more electronics test (Thanks MKendora!). [pagefault]
* - Fixed variable types in many locations, ZSNES can now play games without hacking the binary to make code segments writable. [Nach]
* - Added motion blur (Thanks ipher for fixing the entry in the GUI). [pagefault]
* - Made ZSNES more HTPC friendly. [pagefault]
* - Fixed many compiler warnings, added compiler optimizations, and more compiler fixes and code cleanups. [Nach, MKendora, theoddone33, pagefault, ipher, SamB]
* - Unicode support partially supported. Will complete later. [pagefault]
* - ZSNES now displays the day it was compiled in the about box. [Nach]
* - Updated authors.txt, support.txt, thanks.txt, and todo.txt. [pagefault]


We have also greatly improved support for special hardware in ZSNES v1.40.
These require special mention: :)

- SuperFX core updates:
pagefault

- SA-1 core updates:
pagefault

- C4 core updates:
Research: anomie
Main Code: Nach
Special thanks to The Dumper and TRAC!

- DSP-1 core updates:
Data Retrieval: pagefault, Overload, The Dumper
Main Code: pagefault, Overload, The Dumper, neviksti, Andreas Naive, _Demo_
Integration: MKendora, Nach
Processing Code: pagefault, Nach

- DSP-2 Emulation:
Data Retrieval: Overload
Research: Overload, neviksti, MKendora, The Dumper, CaitSith2
Main Code: kentaro-k.21
Processing Code: pagefault, kentaro-k.21
Special thanks to Lord Nightmare!

- S-DD1 Emulation:
Data Retrieval: The Dumper, Dark Force, zsKnight, Gary Henderson
Research: Andreas Naive
Main Code: anomie
Processing Code: _Demo_, Nach
Special thanks to all the other developers and users who worked on this hard project!

- ST010 Emulation:
Data Retrieval: The Dumper, MKendora
Main Code: The Dumper, Overload, Feather, Nach
Processing Code: The Dumper
Code Fixes: pagefault

- Sufami Turbo Support (preliminary):
Nach
Aug 12th, 2003 - Radio
There is now an official ZSNES WIP page. It's been up for quite a while and was posted in the forums. The builds come directly from ZSNES' sourceforge repository and contain any and all recent changes made to ZSNES. There are a number of new features including the ability to use filters in 32bpp windowed mode and the addition of a new filter, thanks to MaxSt.

While these are not official releases, bug reports will still be accepted. Just make sure you are using the latest WIP when you report bugs.

The ZSNES WIP page can be found here. (Link has been updated)

update:

Nach is now an official ZSNES developer.
May 6th, 2003 - _Demo_
After a few problems the message board is finally back online with a new system. Old messages have been restored from a backup but passwords have been reset.

You can access the message board at board.zsnes.com.
Mar 17th, 2003 - _Demo_
Radio made a new site design with easy updates and some new features that should be added soon. We will try to update news a little more often :)

Thanks Radio!

Now some old news :

- Console classix added support for zsnes to their system a long while ago.

- we are working on restoring the old forum message in a new message board system.
Jul 15th, 2002 - _Demo_
Version 1.36 of ZSNES has been released. It mostly contains game specific fixes.
Jun 24th, 2002 - _Demo_
A problem with sound emulation has been found. If you don't hear any sound, simply reinstall the emulator in an empty directory, start it, exit then start it again. We will most likely release a fix version in a few days.
Jun 23rd, 2002 - _Demo_
After a long time since the previous release we decided to release ZSNES 1.35. There are no major changes since 1.337 but a good amount of little things have been added or modified.
Dec 3rd, 2001 - pagefault
Well after a long period of downtime we are finally back (for good this time). Right now we are working on getting the site cleaned up by fixing links and updating some of the information on the page. The message board will be down until we get everything else up and running but that shouldn't take too long.

A new version of ZSNES is planned to be released sometime this month maybe after the server is back to normal for a while. The new release is a fairly large release (not nearly as big as 1.337 but still a fair size) Lots of enhancements have been added to the DOS port thanks stainless's hard work and dedication to it.

For people who have donated to the ZSNES project and have not heard anything from us, we have not forgotten about you! Your donations have been received we just have had problems with the email account and had no way to send our thanks for your generous offer. If you have donated and would like your name added to the list of donators please e-mail us at donate at zsnes dot com and we will add it ASAP.
Total News Posts: 35 // Back Pages (1 2 3)