From 246887d65c1a5df9930d704a3254a0cb57675917 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Tim Allen Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2017 17:22:34 +1000 Subject: [PATCH] Document which drivers people should use. --- docs/guides/drivers.md | 145 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-------- 1 file changed, 117 insertions(+), 28 deletions(-) diff --git a/docs/guides/drivers.md b/docs/guides/drivers.md index acf820eb..908e26b5 100644 --- a/docs/guides/drivers.md +++ b/docs/guides/drivers.md @@ -1,49 +1,138 @@ -TODO +Unfortunately, +there's no standard for +displaying video, +playing audio, +and accepting input from game controllers +that works on every operating system. +Or rather, +there's many standards, +and different ones work best +on different computers. +Therefore, +higan comes with "drivers" +for video, audio and input, +so you can find the one that works best for you. +To see what drivers you're currently using, +or to choose different ones, +go to +[the Advanced tab](../interface/higan-config.md#Advanced) +of the Settings window. -Note that when changing a driver, +Here are the most notable drivers +for each platform +for each category. +If your copy of higan +includes a driver not listed here, +it's probably a reasonable choice, +so try it out and see how you like it. + +**Note:** After changing any driver, you must restart higan for the change to take effect. +**Note:** +Video, Audio and Input +all have a special driver named "None". +This is a dummy driver that does nothing +(draws no video, +plays no audio, +accepts no input), +so don't choose it unless you're +trying to diagnose problems with other drivers. + Video ----- -TODO +On Windows: -The best option is "OpenGL" -(since it allows you to use -[custom shaders](#installing-custom-shaders)), -and the safest is "Direct Draw" (for Windows) -or SDL (for Linux). + - **OpenGL** is usually the best choice, + since it supports [custom shaders](shaders.md), + however it does require support for OpenGL 3.2 + which excludes some integrated graphics chipsets + and old graphics cards. + - **Direct3D** is a good choice + if OpenGL is unavailable. + It also allows + [Exclusive fullscreen](../interface/higan-config.md#video), + bypassing Windows' desktop compositor. + - **GDI** is the safest choice, + but performs very poorly at large sizes. + +On Linux: + + - **OpenGL** is the best choice, + since it's fast + and it supports [custom shaders](shaders.md), + but requires OpenGL 3.2. + You can check what version of OpenGL + your system supports by running + `glxinfo | grep 'core profile version'` + in a terminal. + - **XVideo** is also fast, + but may be low-quality, + and generally only supports the "Blur" shader, + not "None". + - **XShm** is the safest choice, + but performs very poorly at large sizes. Audio ----- -TODO +On Windows: -On Linux, -"PulseAudioSimple" is the most likely to work. - -On Windows, "DirectSound" is probably what you want. -"XAudio" targets XAudio 2.7, -(the last version to work on Windows 7), -so it requires the latest (June 2010) version -of the [DirectX 9 End-User Runtime][dx9] -to be installed. + - **ASIO** offers the lowest possible latency, + but is the least likely to work on any given computer. + - **WASAPI** offers low latency, + but is only slightly more likely to work. + It also offers + [Exclusive Mode](../interface/higan-config.md#audio, + which can improve audio quality and lower latency, + but may be better or worse than shared mode + in practice. + - **XAudio2** is a good choice, + but it requires the latest (June 2010) version + of the [DirectX 9 End-User Runtime][dx9] + to be installed. + - **DirectSound** is the safest choice, + and not a bad one. [dx9]: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35 +On Linux: + + - **PulseAudio** or **PulseAudioSimple** + are almost certainly the drivers to use, + since almost every Linux distribution uses + [PulseAudio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PulseAudio) + to manage audio output. + The two drivers should behave identically, + but some users report one working better than the other. + - **ALSA** is a good choice + for Linux distributions that do not use PulseAudio. + If PulseAudio is running, + this will wind up using PulseAudio's ALSA emulation, + or failing due to "sound card already in use", + unless you use a tool like `pasuspender`. + - **OSS** may be useful + for non-Linux platforms, + or for Linux systems with the third-party OSSv4 + kernel drivers installed. + For most Linux systems, + this will use ALSA's OSS emulation, + PulseAudio's OSS emulation, + or not work at all. + Input ----- -TODO - -On Linux, -"udev" is the most flexble, -but requires a modern Linux system, -while "Xlib" should work on other Unix-like OSs -but only supports a mouse and keyboard. - On Windows, -"Windows" is the only input driver available, -and automatically uses RawInput for keyboard/mouse, +"Windows" is the only driver available, +and uses RawInput for keyboard and mouse input, XInput for Xbox controllers, and DirectInput for other controllers. + +On Linux: + + - **udev** supports every input device, + but requires a modern Linux system. + - **Xlib** is the safest choice, + but only supports keyboard and mouse input.