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A new emulator is currently in the works. If all goes well, there should be a release within the next couple of weeks.

Second, according to the folks at the MSX Resource Center, there is an MSX ROM mapper database, licensed under GPL. This may well mean the end of ROM type selection for fMSX. Special thanks to Manuel Pazos and Manuel Bilderbeek for their help.

If you can help with similar information for the Atari800 (ROM CRC and ROM type information), please let me know.

Great time to be part of open source development, to be sure.

This is mostly a bugfix release. Here’s what’s new:

• Bugfix - many games, especially MegaROM games did not load correctly in the previous version (thanks Victor)
• Added Fast Forward button mapping - while disabled by default, you can map any button to fast-forward emulation in the Controls menu
• Custom mapper types can now be embedded in source code. This version includes built-in support for Zanac Ex and Mon Mon Monster. Contact me if you’d like to add additional mappings

This version no longer includes a version compiled for firmware 1.50.

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New features in this version:

• Games/applications that require MSX Audio/MSX Music will no longer crash the emulator if either is disabled in System settings - there will simply be no Y2413/YM8950 audio
• ROM type settings are now saved between sessions - up to 500 different ROM’s can be tracked by CRC32 value

The second feature requires some experimentation, and I welcome any feedback you may have. As mentioned, the limit is 500 ROM’s - this is not counting the “auto-detect” ROM’s, for obvious reasons. The list is updated when ROM type is changed via the System menu - to remove an entry from the list, simply set ROM type to “auto-detect”.

Searching through the CRC values is done in linear time, when a ROM is actually loaded, but for 500 entries, this is not likely to take long (I’m not sure how long reading/writing these entries will take to memory stick, however).

The list is loaded from stick when the emulator starts up, stored in memory while the emulator runs, and saved back to stick when emulator is exited.

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If you find this feature helpful and are willing to help, please see the previous post

UPDATE Version compiled for firmware 1.50 does not work. Please use the 2.00 version

One feature that both fMSX and Atari800 could use is auto ROM type selection, as I’m sure I’m not the only person who finds selecting correct type of ROM an annoyance. I’d like to ask those of you who are dedicated fans of fMSX or Atari800 for help.

The method I have planned involves mapping a ROM CRC32 value to specific cart type, maintaining the settings in a growing list. Bunch of these lists would eventually be consolidated into a larger “super list” that would be included with the emulators, effectively eliminating the process of cart type selection (for vast majority of carts, anyway).

If anyone is interested in working to create such lists, please let me know by leaving a comment. Alternatively, if you’re aware of an existing list (perhaps for a different port), it would be great if you could point out the location. Thanks

This is just a small note to let you folks know that work on wifi netplay is continuing as before.

For fans of fMSX, look forward to an update that will fix the crashing of the emulator when MSX Music/MSX Audio are accessed while disabled in System settings. Because this is a small fix, this release is not planned for the immediate future, but if enough people show interest, a bugfix release will follow. Those who know how to, or don’t want to wait can compile from svn.

Mislabeled settings are the reason why FMPAC games failed to run even with MSX Music enabled. Versions up to (but not including) 3.5.2 incorrectly labeled the MSX Audio engine as MSX Music and vice versa.

Version 3.5.2 fixes this issue and is now available for download. Note that if you don’t want to download it (it adds nothing but a correction to the typo), simply reverse your settings for MSX Audio and MSX Music and try running your favorite FMPAC-based games again. Note also that running FMPAC-based games with MSX Music disabled will hang the emulator.

The FMPAC diagnostic cartridge, Aleste 1 and 2 have all been tested and run fine and with sound. Please note, however, that the MSX Music engine requires more CPU power, so you will need to increase the CPU frequency (and disable vertical blanking/vsync) if you want full-framerate MSX goodness.

Special thanks to Victor Sartori for his help in tracking down the issue.

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In open defiance of all that is sane, I actually got a chance to lay some significant groundwork towards ad-hoc networking. The recent addition is pretty significant, and if all goes well, an ad-hoc capable emulator should not be too far off. (And yes, that is ridiculously vague, but my work and family obligations make precise estimations all but impossible. And let’s not forget about the greatest game ever made being out.)

It has also been brought to my attention that FMPAC still doesn’t function correctly in fMSX PSP, so look forward to a fix of that as well.

The new version of fMSX PSP is now out. Here’s what’s new:

• PSP version brought up to par with Marat’s official release
• Sound should now function correctly following a state load - though since fMSX PSP uses a different sound engine, this may not work as expected (please report!)
• MSX MUSIC bug fixed - the FMPAC ROM should now be loaded correctly. If someone gets a chance to confirm this, please let me know
• When switching games, latest save state will be automatically highlighted

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While I continue waiting for days on end for my next GameFly rental, I wanted to let you know what’s been going on lately.

First, fMSX 2.5.1 release is coming up tomorrow. This release should fix mostly sound issues, and bring fMSX PSP up to par with the official distribution.

Second, a ColEm release should be around the corner, though it will mostly be a maintenance release.

Finally, it may interest some of you to know that I’m currently trying to implement adhoc gameplay for one (and then many?) of the emulators. Things are going well so far, so here’s to hoping…

UPDATE Gaah, I meant 3.5.1, not  2.5.1

As many of you may have noticed, fMSX has recently been updated to version 2.5. For us PSP folk, the importance of the release is mainly in its fix of sound playback when loading save states. This is a great fix, as I often saved two separate states when playing SD Snatcher, to prevent this sort of issue.

Another great feature of this release is that the source code now includes full Unix code, which may help others port this great emulator to other platforms.

Stay tuned!