Finally, a new release.

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Comments (20)

This version includes a big change in the Z80 CPU interface. Specifically MAME's Z80 core is now used for all games. This should give better results and make the program more portable. We have done a lot of testing but if you notice any new problems please let us know and we can fix them.

This version also includes changes in the EEPROM code and input assignment code. As well as the changed save states for the ZET interface, these render old config and save files pretty much useless. It is advised to delete the contents of the config\games folder before using this version. Savestates are a bit hit-and-miss at the moment anyway. I plan to pay some attention to savestates in the next version and hopefully boost compatibility.

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Comments (28)

A new FB Alpha. A lot has changed, both in the program and also the files (some are now redundant), so an install into a fresh folder is recommended.

For more details click more below.

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Comments (26)

A test version of FB Alpha with just the Megadrive games enabled. There have been significant improvements to the current released version.

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Comments (8)

Here's the what's new;

• Moved Namco sound to it's own module and updated the Pac-Man driver [Barry]
• Added driver for Galaga [Barry]
• Added driver for Pass [iq_132]
• Added a hack to get Knights of Valour 2 Plus working [XingXing]
• Tidied up the SoftFX blitters [Barry]
  • Updated the Enhanced blitter to allow more filters
  • Added support to the ini file for long long integers to support the Enhanced blitter
  • Added hq2xS, hq3xS, hq2xBold, hq3xBold, EPXB and EPXC filters from SNES9X ReRecording
  • Added SuperEagle, 2xSaI, Super 2xSaI filters from VBA ReRecording
• Fixed issue with board roms in ClrMAME XML DAT generation [Barry]
• Changed ampersands in the ClrMAME XML DAT output to their HTML entity [Barry]
• Some updates to the Megadrive driver via the online generator [nj7, JackC, arturf]
• Fixed some rom sizes in non-working parents [Barry, pointed out by JackC]
• Fixed license2rtf.pl to allow hyphens in URLs [Barry]
• Matched all sets to MAME 0.129u6

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Comments (17)

The SoftFX filters were getting a bit of a mess, so I've tidied them up, and updated the enhanced blitter to support more than sixteen filters, as well as updating the configuration file to support long long integers. I have also added some more filters (see image below).

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Comments (1)

I have added support for hiscore.dat in FB Alpha. Due to the problems this file caused in MAME before support was removed I have imposed the following restrictions on it's use;

• Support is only turned on when the option Save high scores when supported is enabled. This is off by default.
• Support is only turned on when a driver specifically declares support for it.

The reason why I have insisted on a driver specifically declaring it's support is so that hiscore support can be tested in games and only enabled if it is verified to work well. I have currently done the Galaxian driver and only enabled hiscore support in games that work well. I do not intend on doing many more drivers as I don't have the time to test them all. I hope that users will test drivers for themselves and let us know their experiences.

To test a games hiscore support you need to place the hiscore.dat in your hiscore directory and enable the Save high scores when supported option. You also need to compile your own version of FB Alpha and enable hiscore support in the driver you want to test. To enable hiscore support in a driver you edit the BurnDriver struct and adding BDF_HISCORE_SUPPORTED to the flags member.

In pretty much any circumstance, this would involve changing;

to;

Then recompile and test the game. If hiscore saving works then let us know. The easiest way to do that would be to post at NeoSource.

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Comments (2)

Several people have been requesting that support is added to the Megadrive driver for their favourite games. The driver currently contains my favourite games that work. There are simply too many games in the driver for us to test them all and enable ones that work. To this end, I am giving users the opportunity to add games to the driver.

To do this, firstly you need to download a version of FBA, with all Megadrive games enabled. iq_132 has made one available and you can download it here. Once you have tested a game you can update it's status using this page. Registration is required - this is because we want to log changes and if necessary block any people who abuse the system.

The process is simple. Simply enter the short name of the driver you tested (e.g. g_soni) and click the Amend button. Update the details according to your testing and then click the Amend button to change the details. Strictly speaking, most details shouldn't change. The only fields I expect will change, are;

• Year
• Manufacturer
• Number of Players
• Genre
• Status
• Notes

Each field should be self-explanatory. The Notes field should be used to record your testing experience and to explain any problems with the game, etc., so we can look at fixing things when the driver is more mature.

With each new release of FB Alpha I will generate a new driver file from this database and any games marked as working will be automatically included. All game details will be updated using the data stored here so we should be able to get more complete info on each game, (e.g., genre, year) than we have now.

So, if you want to see more Megadrive games in FB Alpha, you really don't have any excuses anymore.

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A long list of new things this time so I'm not going to put it on the front page. Click more for the list of new things and the downloads.

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Comments (5)

Here's the what's new;

• Added a driver for games on Galaxian hardware, 177 new sets [Barry]
• Added support for insane sample Galaxian sound sample hardware and the various AY8910 interfaces in the Galaxian driver [Barry]
• Moved PPI8255 module to the burn folder so it can be accessed by all drivers [Barry]
• Added support for a third PPI8255 [Barry]
• Added driver for Aquarium [iq_132]
• Added driver for Dark Seal [iq_132]
• Added driver for games on Deniam hardware [iq_132]
• Added driver for games on Midas hardware [iq_132]
• Changed the left and right sound channels in the CPS-3 driver [Barry]
• Fixed the speed-up hacks for Jojo's Venture [Barry]
• Improved analog controls in the Sega drivers when used with analog devices [Captain CPS-X]
• Added some clones to the Toaplan2 driver [Barry]
• Added some new Phoenix sets to the CPS-2 driver (provided by bonky0013) [Barry]
• Some renames of roms in Neo-Geo decrypted sets as reported by pmc2 [Barry]
• Fixed the aspect ratio in the Arkanoid driver [Captain CPS-X]
• Added support to the Game Information dialog for Select, Versus, How To, Scores, Bosses and Game over previews [Barry]
• Added configurable path support for the above new previews [Barry]
• Fixed issue with selection dialog when clicking filters too fast [Captain CPS-X]
• Added buttons to the selection dialog for tasks in the context-sensitive menu [Captain CPS-X]
• Moved the options in the selection dialog to their own tab [Captain CPS-X]
• Tidied the selection dialog [Captain CPS-X]
• Tidied the rom and support path dialogs and made them less cumbersome [Captain CPS-X]
• Changed the PNG load functions to use PNGlib [Captain CPS-X]
• Added support for loading support files from zips [Captain CPS-X]
• Added filter for Galaxian hardware to the selection dialog [Barry]
• Matched all set to MAME 0.129u3 [Barry]
• nb, the source is now doule-zipped similar to MAME for better compression

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Comments (16)