barryharris.me.uk

Operation Thunderbolt

barry — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 18:19:16 +0000

I wrote a driver for Operation Thunderbolt. It has a lot in common with Space Gun so it was quite a quick one to finish up.

Statement from FB Alpha Team

barry — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:47:24 +0000

First off, apologies for anything that is lost in translation, either in the FBA Shuffle statement, or in our reply.

The following is from the FBA Shuffle statement posted here.

"We apologize for the miserable fact that all your faith failed you simply because of a worthless derivative. Although fbas has established a dominant position in the Central Kingdom, we still would like to help shed light on this problem, sharing some piece of code with all due respect and legitimate admiration to the official fba team.

fba treated us in an unfriendly and offensive manner. this made us feel very bad, and we answered blows with blows. Now it seems this mean and trivial purpose has been well achieved. To clarify we are not against the whole community, it's time to simply release the source code as it's not worth hoarding any more. We don't care about releasing the source code at all. However we deeply regret the way you stuck to the literal meaning while completely ignored the true significance of open source that is cooperation and tolerance.

Please accept our best wishes that fba could take over those "shiny ribbons" with fbas source code available. Meanwhile, we are sorry that someone obviously lacks the ability to distinguish joking and seriousness."

The current FBA team, the previous members, external contributors, and the MAME team (FBA has a lot of MAME code in) have all put in numerous countless hours to FBA. Dave (the creator of FinalBurn), released the source code under a license. That license stated that all releases made based on the code had to be accompanied by a source release. This is what is meant by open-source. We have always posted source code with our releases and always will. Unfortunately, some builds (FBA Shuffle) being the most blatant, believe they don't need to do this. From what I can ascertain, the Shuffle team believes that we have "stolen" some of their code. What I will say is that if we have used any code from Shuffle, we have always credited them, and that the code we have used from Shuffle pails into insignificance compared to the sheer volume of code Shuffle takes from our releases (which is usually done without credit).

The very essence of open-source is that the code is put into the public domain to be used by anybody. FBA has an additional stipulation that the code can't be used for commercial activities. If you don't want to release your modifications then you would need to find another emulator to use, or write your own.

By not complying with the license, you put the project in jeopardy. FBA contains a lot of code from MAME. We are currently in the process of applying for permission to use this code. If permission isn't granted then FBA will not exist. If we are not seen to be policing our license then we will not get permission to use the code.

We see that you have finally released the source code for your current build, and we thank you for that, but remind you that it is a continued requirement of any future releases. There is no need to distinguish between "joking and seriousness", just a need to comply with the license.

FB Alpha 0.2.97.08 Release

barry — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:55:17 +0000

Finally a new release is ready. Head to the FB Alpha page to download

Here's the whats new;

Added a sample player to the Burn library to allow external samples to used with drivers [iq_132]
Added a module to display LEDs on screen [iq_132]
Ported MAME's M6805 core and added an interface for it to the burn library [iq_132]
Added an interface to the M68705 core for Taito games [iq_132]
Enabled the Y8950 emulation in fmopl.c and created a module for it in the burn library [Barry]
Fixed VSynch support in all blitters [Captain CPS-X]
Added a RGB hex display to the Palette Viewer [Barry]
Added support to the System 16 FD1094 interface for multiple CPUs [Barry]
Added memory callback support to the HD6309 core interface [Barry]
Added custom tile size support to the Generic Tiles Rendering module [Barry]
Added generic rendering for games using transparency tables [iq_132]
Added support to the Namco Sound module for stereo sound and fixed the mono output [iq_132]
Added CUS30 handling to the Namco Sound module [iq_132]
Enabled m6803_internal_register_r in the M6800 CPU core [iq_132]
Added driver for Air Buster [iq_132]
Added driver for games on Angel Kids hardware [iq_132]
Added driver for Baraduke [iq_132]
Added driver for Egg Hunt [iq_132]
Added driver for Fairy Land Story [iq_132]
Added driver for Ginga NinkyouDen [iq_132]
Hooked up the Y8950 sound in Ginga NinkyouDen [Barry]
Added driver for games on Lady Bug hardware [iq_132]
Added driver for Markham [iq_132]
Added driver for Mogura Desse [iq_132]
Added driver for Pushman [iq_132]
Added driver for Sky Kid [iq_132]
Added driver for Speed Spin [iq_132]
Added driver for Asuka & Asuka and similar games on Taito hardware [iq_132 (thanks to JackC for testing)]
Added driver for Welltris [iq_132]
Added clone of 1942 to the 1942 driver [Barry]
Added clone of Arkanoid to the Arkanoid driver [Barry]
Enabled clones of Arkanoid that require the M68705 CPU [iq_132][
Added bootleg of Final Fight to the CPS-1 driver [Barry]
Added clone of Pang 3 to the CPS-1 driver [Barry]
Added Street Fighter 2 (Double K.O. Turbo II) bootleg to the CPS-1 driver [iq_132]
Added clone of Dark Stalkers to the CPS-2 driver [Barry]
Added clone of Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara to the CPS-2 driver [Barry]
Added clone of Hyper Street Fighter 2 to the CPS-2 driver [Barry]
Added clone of Mega Man 2 to the CPS-2 driver [Barry]
Added clone of Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo to the CPS-2 driver [Barry]
Rewrote the Dec0 driver from scratch (currently preliminary) [Barry]
Added Dark Tower to the Double Dragon driver [Barry]
Added clone of Moon Cresta to the Galaxian driver [Barry]
Added clone of Scramble to the Galaxian driver [Barry]
Added WOW New Fantasia to the Gals Panic driver [BisonSAS]
Added clone of Ghosts n' Goblins to the Ghost's n' Goblins driver [Barry]
Added clone of X-Men to the Konami driver [Barry]
Added clone of Airwolf to the Kyugo driver [Barry]
Added clone of Last Duel to the Mad Gear driver [Barry]
Added clone of King of Fighters '95 to the Neo-Geo driver [iq_132]
Added clone of Samurai Shodown II to the Neo-Geo driver [Barry]
Added clone of Samurai Shodown IV to the Neo-Geo driver [Barry]
Added Ironclad to the the Neo-Geo driver [iq_132]
Added kof96ep, kof97pla, kf2k1pls, kf2k1pa, cthd2k3a, kf2k2plb, kf2k2plc, kf2k4pls, mslug5b, kof96cn, kof96ae, kof97cn, kof97xt, kof98ae and kf2k2ps2 to the Neo-Geo driver [Barry]
Added Popeye-Man to the Pacman driver [Barry]
Added preliminary driver for Rally X [Barry]
Added clone of Alien Syndrome to the Sega System 16B driver [Barry]
Added clone of Super Hang-On to the Sega Hang-On driver (enabled in debug builds only because it doesn't work) [Barry]
Added clone of Mega Blast to the Taito F2 driver [Barry]
Enabled clones of Tiger Heli that require the M68705 core [iq_132]
Added Demon World, Fire Shark, Rally Bike, and Vimana to the Toaplan-1 driver [iq_132]
Added Knuckle Bash 2 to the Toaplan-2 driver [iq_132]
Added clone of Outzone to the Toaplan-1 driver [Barry]
PGM Changes [iq_132]
- 02-27-2010
  - Added kov2a and kov2b (kov2b is disabled) partially dumped sets
  - Thanks to JackC for helping sort a few sets.
- 12-05-2009
  - Added Happy6in1 (XingXing)
  - Added newer 68k bios (XingXing)
  - Added fake dip switch to switch beween 68k bios versions
  - Added kovsh103 (XingXing)
  - Added martmastc102 (XingXing)
  - Added region dips for martmastc102
  - Added proper dump for demon front (alt) (XingXing)
  - Added several pgm bootleg/hacks from MAME Plus
  - Added proper dump for orlegendc
  - Labeled region dips as "fake" as they are really hacks since PGM games usually have their regions supplied by the protection devices.
Corrected the CPU clocks in the Outrun driver as per MAME 0.135u4 [Barry]
Fixed a memory issue when exiting the CPS-1 driver [iq_132]
Fixed a crash when loading games in the Blood Bros. driver [BisonSAS and iq_132]
Fixed graphics in My Angel 2 [iq_132]
Emulated the M68705 in Legend of Kage rather than simulate it [iq_132]
Added layer disable to the CPS-3 driver [iq_132]
Fixed CPS-3 sound synch when using non-standard frame rates [Captain CPS-X]
Fixed a romname in mslug4nd [kenshiro]
Fixed init bug in Guardians in the Seta-2 driver [kenshiro]
Added UniCode titles and fixed some details in the Cross Pang driver [BisonSAS]
Fixed crash in the D-Con driver [BisonSAS and iq_132]
Corrected dipswitches in the F-1 Grand Prix driver [BisonSAS
Fixed graphics in Fantasia II (Less Explicit) in the Gals Panic driver [BisonSAS]
Fixed crash in Ultra Balloon (SunA16 driver) [Bruce Lee and iq_132]
Various fixes in the Tao Taido driver [BisonSAS]
Added a new support file importer module [Captain CPS-X]
Added option to use a background image in the menu bar [Captain CPS-X]
Updated the jukebox and improved Neo-Geo support [Captain CPS-X]
Converted the driver list generation perl script to C++ and changed the documentation output to HTML [Captain CPS-X]
Fixed an issue when loading tracklists in the jukebox [Captain CPS-X]
Updated the megadrive driver to the latest one generated from the database on barryharris.me.uk [Barry]
Matched all sets to MAME 0.136u3 [Barry]
Updated libpng to version 1.4.0 [Barry]
Fixed a MSVC compile issue with the latest libpng [Captain CPS-X]

FB Alpha 0.2.97.07 Release

barry — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:27:19 +0000

Finally, a new release.

Ported YM2413 core from SMS Plus and added an interface for it [Barry]
Added a seperate timer to the YM3812 interface allowing the chip to be used with other FM chips and updated all the drivers that use it [Barry]
Added support to the AY8910 core to handle the ports outside of the init function, and updated the YM2203 interface to use them [iq_132]
Fixed a stupid bug I introduced in the K051649 core [Barry]
Added timer support for the M6502 CPU [iq_132]
Seperated the op code area for the M6502 CPU [iq_132]
Fixed cheat support in the SH-2 CPU core [iq_132]
Small fix to the Z80 core to reset the registers [iq_132]
Fixed typo in the HD6309 core as per MAME 0.132u4 [iq_132]
Added a palette viewer for games on Cave, CPS-1/2/3, Megadrive, Neo-Geo, PGM, Psikyo and Toaplan hardware and any game using the generic tiles module, which covers most games [Barry]
Fixed the XML Dat file output to properly support ampersands in rom names [Barry]
Made the maximum rom name length 100 characters instead of 32 [Barry]
Added a warning to BurnTransferCopy when BurnTransferInit hasn't been called [iq_132]
Fixed an issue with reporting some sound options in the System Info dialog that came about when changing the sound interface to plug-ins [Barry]
Removed the active Z80 core from the System Info dialog as the ZET interface only supports one core [Barry]
Added support for Vista, Server 2008 and Windows 7 detection to the System Info dialog [Barry]
Added an Atari filter to the game selection dialog [Barry]
Added driver for Blood Bros. and Sky Smasher [iq_132]
Added driver for D-Con and SD Gundam Psycho Salamander no Kyoui [iq_132]
Added a preliminary driver for games on DEC-8 hardware [iq_132]
Added a preliminary driver for Gauntlet [Barry]
Added driver for games on Karnov hardware [iq_132]
Added driver for Konami Twin 16 hardware [iq_132]
Added Bells & Whistles and Sunset Riders to the Konami drivers [Barry]
Added Lightning Fighters, Punk Shot, Quiz Gakumon no Susume, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Turtles in Time, Thunder Cross II to the Konami drivers [iq_132]
Added driver for Mitchell hardware [Barry]
Added driver for games on NMK16 hardware [iq_132]
Added driver for games on Psikyo SH hardware [iq_132]
Added driver for Return of the Invaders [iq_132]
Added driver for scooter Shooter [iq_132]
Added Atomic Point and Snapper to the Sega System 16B driver [Barry]
Added driver for Speed Rumbler [iq_132]
Added preliminary driver for Toki [iq_132]
Added driver for Vendetta, press F2 whilst booting to pass the ROM test [iq_132]
Added driver for games on Yun Sung 16 hardware [iq_132]
Added driver for WWF Superstars [iq_132]
Added bootleg of Street Fighter 2 to the CPS-1 driver [Barry]
Added Street Fighter II - Champion Edition Accelerator! bootleg to the CPS-1 driver [Barry]
Added Street Fighter II Quicken Pt-I bootleg to the CPS-1 driver [Barry]
Added sf2m9, sf2m10, sf2m11 and sf2m12 to the CPS-1 driver [Barry]
Added clone of Dungeons & Dragons to the CPS-2 driver [Barry]
Added clone of Battle of Atlantis to the Galaxian driver [Barry]
Added a clone of Dambusters to the Galaxian driver [Barry]
Added Kamakazi III to the Galaxian driver [Barry]
Added various games and clones to the New Zealand Story driver [iq_132]
Added clone of Pacman to the Galaxian driver [Barry]
Added Phoenix Part 2 to the Galaxian driver [Barry]
Added clone of Space War S to the Galaxian driver [Barry]
Added clone of Strategy X to the Galaxian driver [Barry]
Added clone of Metal Slug 4 to the Neo Geo driver [Barry]
Added clone of Outrun to the Outrun driver [Barry]
Added a clone to the Shadow Force driver [Barry]
Added Back Fire to the Tecmo driver [iq_132]
Added clone of Hellfire to the Toaplan-1 driver [Barry]
Added clone of Battle Garegga to the Toaplan-2 driver [Barry]
Added clone of X-Men to the X-Men driver [Barry]
Fixed potential memory leak in the Tengai driver rom loading [kenshiro]
Fixed the palette decoding in Dambusters to work with the correct PROM dump [Barry]
Added Z-Rejection support to the K053245 module, fixing sprites in Bells & Whistles and Sunset Riders [iq_132]
Added a module for the Konami K053936 IC module [iq_132]
Added shadow support to the Konami IC chips where necessary [iq_132]
Fixed Cue Brick [Barry]
Fixed an issue with coin inputs in the 2 Player versions of Crime Fighters [iq_132]
Fixed the Haunted Castle driver [iq_132]
Fixed an issue with the Konami Twin 16 driver when compiling with VC [Barry]
Added support for the new graphic roms in gradius2 [Barry]
Fixed savestates in the Gyrus driver [iq_132]
Fixed the sound in Scooter Shoorer [Barry]
Tidied up the Mad Gear driver to support the new sets and increased interleave which fixes the music [Barry]
Modified the Power Instinct driver to use the generic drawing routines [iq_132]
Added Mobile Suit Gundam EX Revue and the Sammy shooting games to the Seta2 driver [iq_132]
Fixed the gun inputs in the Sammy shooting games [Barry]
Added the ability to read from the X1-010 sound chip and hooked it up in the Seta2 driver, improving the sound [Barry]
Fixed memory leaks in the Shadow Force driver's graphic rom loading [kenshiro]
Tidied the Toki driver and added sound [Barry]
PGM Updates [iq_132]
- Fixed kov2106 thanks to the FBA Shuffle team :) [iq_132]
- Added a few small speedups
  - Only recalculate the whole palette when needed now rather than every frame [iq_132]
  - Clear all video buffers in one loop [iq_132]
- Fixed a crash when doing line scroll (see kovsh intro - fire stage background) [iq_132]
- Fixed sound after save state load [iq_132]
Megadrive Updates [Barry]
- Fixed an issue with games' buggy sound programs expecting certain results back [Barry]
- Added support for some custom banking cartridges [Barry]
- Updated the web-based Megadrive driver database with the new games from HazeMD 0.14a [Barry]
- Removed rom editing capability from the web form [Barry]
- Updated the web-based Megadrive driver generator to support games with multiple roms [Barry]
- Added a check to the driver generator to make sure any non-working parents are included in release builds if they have working clones [Barry]
Matched all sets to MAME 0.134u3 [Barry]
Changed the dat file output using the ROM_VERIFY compile-time flag to produce the XML datfile type [Barry]
Updated libpng to version 1.2.40 [Barry]
Updated the compile guides to work with the newest available tools [Barry]

You can download the new version on the FB Alpha page.

FB Alpha 0.2.97.06 Release

barry — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:11:38 +0000

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.

Fixed the ZET interface when used with MAME's Z80 CPU core and removed support for all other Z80 CPU cores [Barry]
Updated lots of drivers to work with the changes to the ZET interface [Barry]
Updated some more drivers to work with the ZET interface changes [iq_132]
Improved existing Konami IC chip emulation and added support for some new chips [iq_132]
Ported the K0051649, K053260 and K054539 sound cores from MAME [iq_132]
Fixed the K0051649, K053260 and K054539 sound cores sample rate support [Barry]
Added a seperate timer to the YM3526 interface allowing the chip to be used with other FM chips [Barry]
Added support for the M6801 CPU in the M6800 interface [Barry]
Finally, and I do mean finally fixed the bug in the RF5C68 core, giving full sound in Sega System 18 [Barry]
Fixed the issues with the YM2203 core [Barry]
Big update to the cheat interface supporting multiple CPUs [iq_132]
Added savestate support to the Namco Sound module [Barry]
Converted the Galaga driver to use the ZET interface and added savestate support [Barry]
Converted the Sega System 1 driver to use the ZET interface [Barry]
Converted the MC8123 Sega System 16B games to use the ZET interface [Barry]
Converted the games in the Galaxian driver that used a custom interface to use the ZET interface [Barry]
Fixed savestate support in the M6809 CPU interface [iq_132]
Fixed savestate support in the M6800 series CPU interface [Barry]
Replaced the EEPROM code with a port from MAME [iq_132]
Updated the Battle Bakraid, Cave, CPS-1, CPS-2, ESD 16, Kaneko 16, Midas, Space Gun and Zero Point 2 drivers to work with the new EEPROM code [Barry][iq_132]
Fixed problem with the low-pass filter in the DirectSound plugin [Barry]
Added lots of Konami games [iq_132]
Added driver for Bubble Bobble and clones [Barry]
Added driver for Arabian [iq_132]
Added a bootleg of SCI to the Taito Z driver [Barry]
Added a clone of Forgotten Worlds to the CPS-1 driver [Barry]
Added clone of The Combatribes [Barry]
Added clone of Final Star Force [iq_132]
Added clone of The Legend of Kage[iq_132]
Fixed the DAC sound in King & Balloon [Barry]
Fixed Mighty Monkey and clones and enabled in release builds [Barry]
Enabled the Kangaroo driver in release builds now that the ZET interface changes made it work [iq_132]
Added support for hardware specific input presets, cps.ini, neogeo.ini and pgm.ini [Barry]
Added a Save preset button to the input dialog to save the currently defined inputs into a hardware preset file [Barry]
Updated the help file with details of the new items in the Input Dialog [Barry]
Fixed some issues with saving and reading files for drivers with more than 8 characters in their name [Barry]
Fixed an issue when updating the previous games list with drivers with more than 8 characters in their name [Barry]
Widened the short gamename column in the selection dialog [Barry]
Disabled the rather annoying system beep in DEBUG builds [iq_132]
Matched all sets to MAME 0.131u3 [Barry]

You can download the new version on the FB Alpha page.

FB Alpha 0.2.97.05 Release

barry — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 13:45:05 +0000

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.

The what's new is below;

Tidied source to compile cleanly with GCC 3.4.5, GCC 4.3.3 and the latest Microsoft SDKs [Barry]
Wrote compile guides for the above which are available on my website [Barry]
Replaced the readme.txt with a detailed Windows help file [Barry]
Replaced the whatsnew.txt with a HTML document and added a link to it from the help menu [Barry]
Updated libpng to the current version (1.2.35) [Barry]
Made a new higher quality icon, with support for the nice big vista icon [Barry]
Ported MAME's Konami CPU core [iq_132]
Fixed an issue with the M6809 interface [iq_132]
Fixed Konami core to compile with VC [Barry]
Added Signed Write support to the DAC core [Barry]
Added control over the volume of the DAC core [Barry]
Added option to control whether the DAC core adds to the current buffer or not [Barry]
Big update to the Megadrive driver [Barry]
- Greatly improved timing
  - Changed the YM2612 to use the 68000 for timing since the Z80 can be disabled
  - Properly supported PAL
  - Updated the reset routine to support switching between regions
- Changed to MAME's Z80 core - it works much better
- Basic SRAM support
- Added support for most games that require special init functions
- General tidy-up and many small fixes
- Most games now work - testing is under way to enable games that are working (see my site for details on how you can help this effort)
- Updated to the latest driver generated from the database
Added driver for 1943 [Barry]
Added driver for F1 Grand Prix [iq_132]
Added driver for games on Fuuki FG-3 hardware [iq_132]
Added driver for Gyrus [iq_132]
Added driver for Haunted Castle [iq_132]
Added driver for Lethal Crash Race [iq_132]
Added driver for Vigilante and games on similar hardware [Barry]
Added clone of Chase HQ to the Taito Z driver [Barry]
Added clone of Mighty Pang to the CPS-2 driver [Barry]
Added clone of Night Warriors to the CPS-2 driver [Barry]
Added clone of Operation Wolf to the Taito Misc driver [Barry]
Added support for the Neo-Geo Deck BIOS [Barry]
Made the Neo-Geo BIOS select more intuitive [Barry]
Improved the PGM driver, see changes.txt in the PGM folder for full details [iq_132]
Simulated the protection in Oriental Legends Special/Super making it playable [XingXing]
Fixed background colours and added savestates to 1943 [iq_132]
Fixed an issue with some sprites in World Cup '90 [Barry]
Fixed text layer in Metal Slug 4 Plus [kenshiro]
Added XAudio2 Sound plugin, partially based on FBA Shuffle [Barry]
Fixed an issue with the Neo-Geo driver flags, fixing Memory Cards and Button Macros [Barry]
Added the full range of button combinations to the Neo-Geo macros [Barry]
Added macro support for the PGM driver [Barry]
Changed the parent filters in the selection dialog to behave in the expected way [Barry]
Fixed MAWS links [Barry]
Moved the FPS display in the DirectX 9 blitter to the top right [FBAShuffle]
Matched all sets to MAME 0.131 [Barry]

For the downloads go to the new FB Alpha on this site.

FB Alpha Megadrive Test Release

barry — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:30:15 +0000

A test version of FB Alpha with just the Megadrive games enabled. There have been significant improvements to the current released version. The following is a list of the major changes:

Greatly improved timing
- Changed the YM2612 to use the 68K for timing since the Z80 can be disabled
- Properly Supported PAL
- Updated the reset routine to support switching between PAL and NTSC timings
Changed to MAME's Z80 core - works much better
Basic SRAM support
Added support for most games that require special banking, etc.
General Tidy-up and fix of many small things
Tested many games and the vast majority work well

I have reopened the database on my web-page to allow users to update the driver with working status, etc. You need to be registered on the site and logged in. Click here to enter the database. Enter the name of the driver you tested (eg, g_soni) and click Amend. You can see the name of the driver in the game selection dialog. If you can't see it then enable the Use Zipnames option.

Once you have clicked the Amend button, you are presented with a form with the following fields:

Driver Name (read-only)
Clone of: this should in most cases be left alone)
Title: (this should in most cases be left alone)
Year:
Manufacturer:
Number of Players:
Genre:
ROM Name: (this should in most cases be left alone)
ROM Size: (this should in most cases be left alone)
ROM CRC32: (this should in most cases be left alone)
Status: (working, not working, gfx/sound problems)
Init Function: (this should in most cases be left alone)
Dip Switch Type: (this should in most cases be left alone)
Notes: (any notes based upon your testing that may help identify problems)

When you have made your changes click Amend.

The Megadrive driver that is used in FBA releases is generated from this database so if you want to see more games added please use this test release and post your findings in the database.

Click here to download the test build.

FB Alpha 0.2.97.04 Release

barry — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 11:27:31 +0000

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

You can download the new version here;

SoftFX Blitters

barry — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 19:33:44 +0000

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).

hiscore.dat Support

barry — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:42:02 +0000

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;

BDF_GAME_WORKING

to;

BDF_GAME_WORKING | BDF_HISCORE_SUPPORTED

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.