byuu says:
This release adds preliminary Nintendo / Famicom emulation. It's only
a week or two old, so a lot of work still needs to be done before it can
compete with the most popular NES emulators.
It's important to clarify: bsnes is primarily an SNES emulator. That
will always be its forte and my core focus. I have added Game Boy
support previously for Super Game Boy emulation, and I've added NES
support mostly for something fun to work on to break up the monotony of
working on one system for seven years now. Obviously, I'd like the
emulation to be accurate and highly compatible, but I simply cannot
afford to invest the same amount of time and money into any other
systems.
Still, either way the NES and GB emulation serve as fun side-diversions,
and allow for a unified emulator interface with all of bsnes' unique
features applied to all systems. My personal favorite feature is
mightymo's extended built-in cheat code database that now also includes
NES and Game Boy codes. And it even works in Super Game Boy mode now,
too!
I'm also not worried about speed at all: so long as NES/GB are faster
than SNES/compatibility, it's fine by me. Note that due to the NES audio
running at 1.78MHz, and Game Boy audio at 4MHz stereo, a more
sophisticated audio resampler was needed: Ryphecha (Mednafen author) has
graciously written a first-rate resampler: it is a band-limited
Kaiser-windowed polyphase sinc resampler. It is combined with two
highpass filters to remove DC bias. The filter itself is SSE optimized,
but even still, approximately 50% of CPU usage for NES/GB emulation goes
to the audio filtering alone. However, you now have the best sound
possible for NES and Game Boy emulation as a result.
The GUI has also been heavily re-structured to accommodate multiple
emulators from the same interface. As such, it's quite likely a few bugs
are still lurking here and there. Please report them and I'll iron them
out for the next release.
Changelog:
- license is now GPLv3
- re-structured GUI as a multi-system emulator
- added NES emulation [byuu, Ryphecha]
- added NES ICs: MMC1, MMC2, MMC3, MMC4, MMC5, VRC4, VRC6+audio, VRC7,
Sunsoft-5B+audio, Bandai-LZ93D50
- added NES boards: AxROM, BNROM, CNROM, ExROM, FxROM, GxROM, NROM,
PxROM, SxROM, TxROM, UxROM
- Game Boy emulation improvements [Jonas Quinn]
- SNES core outputs full 19-bit color (4-bit luma included) for more
accurate color reproduction (~5% speed hit)
- audio resampler is now a band-limited polyphase resampler [Ryphecha]
- cheat database includes NES+GB codes as well [mightymo, tukuyomi]
- lots of other changes
This was released beside bsnes v082r19. byuu didn't mention it in the
v082r19 release notes, but in a previous post mentioned that a number of
filters stopped working when bsnes switched to using RGB555 for all its
internal data.
byuu says:
This release features many substantial Game Boy emulation improvements
(all courtesy of Jonas Quinn), a new audio DSP class, and BPS patching
support.
Changelog (since v081):
- added new DSP audio engine; supports sample-averaging for the Game
Boy's high frequency rate
- GB: MMM01 images with boot loader at bottom of ROM can now be loaded
- GB: EI is delayed one cycle; fixes Bubble Bobble [Jonas Quinn]
- GB: fixed window -7 offset behavior; fixes Contra 3 first boss [Jonas
Quinn]
- GB: disable LCD interrupts when rendering is off; fixes Super Mario
Land 2 [Jonas Quinn]
- GB: fixed noise channel LFSR; fixes Zelda: LA lightning sound [Jonas
Quinn]
- GB: square channels use initial_length like the noise channel [Jonas
Quinn]
- UI: added BPS patching support; removed UPS patching support
- UI: when loading BS-X/Sufami Turbo/Game Boy games; display game title
instead of BIOS title
- UI: modified timestamps on screenshots for Windows/NTFS (which
disallows use of ':')
byuu says:
This release includes Nintendo Super System DIP switch emulation and
improved PPU rendering accuracy, among other things.
Changelog:
- added Nintendo Super System DIP switch emulation [requires XML setting
maps]
- emulated Super Game Boy $6001 VRAM offset selection port [ikari_01]
- fixed randomness initialization of S-SMP port registers [fixes
DBZ:Hyper Dimension and Ninja Warriors]
- mosaic V-countdown caches BGOFS registers (fixes Super Turrican
2 effect) [reported by zal16]
- non-mosaic BGOFS registers are always cached at H=60 (fixes NHL '94
and Super Mario World flickering)
- fixed 2xSaI family of renderers on 64-bit systems
- cleaned up SMP source code
- phoenix: fixed a bug when closing bsnes while minimized
Please note that the mosaic BGOFS fix is only for the accuracy profile.
Unfortunately the older scanline-based compatibility renderer's code is
nearly unmaintainable at this point, so I haven't yet been able to
backport the fixes.
Also, I have written a new cycle-accurate SMP core that does not use
libco. The aim is to implement it into Snes9X v1.54. But it would of
course be prudent to test the new core first.
[...then in the next post...]
Decided to keep that Super Mario World part a surprise, so ... surprise!
Realized while working on the Super Turrican 2 mosaic fix, and from
looking at NHL '94 and Dai Kaijuu Monogatari 2's behavior, that BGOFS
registers must be cached between H=0 and H=88 for the entire scanline
... they can't work otherwise, and it'd be stupid for the PPU to re-add
the offset to the position on every pixel anyway. I chose H=60 for now.
Once I am set up with the RGB monitor and the North American cartridge
dumping is completed, I'll set it on getting exact timings for all these
things. It'll probably require a smallish speed hit to allow exact-cycle
timing events for everything in the PPU.
byuu says:
Finally, a new release. I have been very busy finishing up SNES box,
cartridge and PCB scanning plus cataloguing the data, however this
release still has some significant improvements.
Most notably would be randomization on startup. This will help match the
behavior of real hardware and uninitialized memory + registers. It
should help catch homebrew software that forgets to initialize things
properly. Of course, I was not able to test the complete library, so it
is possible that if I've randomized anything that should be constant,
that this could cause a regression. You can disable this randomization
for netplay or to work around any incompatibilities by editing bsnes.cfg
and setting snes.random to false.
The GUI also received some updates. Widget sizes are now computed based
on font sizes, giving it a perfectly native look (because it is native.)
I've also added a hotkey remapping screen to the input settings. Not
only can you remap inputs to controllers now, but those who did not know
the hotkey bindings can now quickly see which ones exist and what they
are mapped to.
Changelog (since v077):
- memory and most registers are now randomly initialized on power-up
- fixed auto joypad polling issue in Super Star Wars
- fixed .nec and .rtc file extensions (they were missing the dot) [krom]
- PPU/accuracy now clears overscan region on any frame when it is
disabled
- PPU/compatibility no longer auto-blends hires pixels (use NTSC filter
for this)
- added hotkey remapping dialog to input settings window
- added a few new hotkeys, including quick-reset
- phoenix API now auto-sizes widgets based on font sizes
- file dialog once again remembers previously selected file when
possible
byuu says:
Changelog (since v076):
- video filters and shaders now populate inside main menu; no longer
have to select them as files
- fixed 2xSaI, Super 2xSaI and Super Eagle on 32-bit platforms; still
buggy on 64-bit Windows
- fixed linear mirroring issues (fixes Mega Man X dash bug)
- fixed RAM memory mapping bug in Sufami Turbo games
- home folder is now %APPDATA%/bsnes or ~/.config/bsnes
- added paths.cfg file, which will allow you to specify custom paths for
any file types
- save states and cheat files for multi-slot games are based on slot
names instead of BIOS names
- fixed compilation warning on OS X with nall::decimal
- fixed calculation bug in nall::fp
- Makefile now has options variable, example: make options=debugger
- configuration files and cheat database can now reside in the same
folder as the binary itself
- updated to 2011-03-11 release of mightymo's cheat database
byuu says:
Most notable in this release is that sound support has been added to my
own Super Game Boy emulation. The GUI toolkit, phoenix, has also
received a complete rewrite; with the most visible change there being
that windows are now resizable.
Changelog (since v075):
* added sound emulation to Game Boy core
* fixed Super Game Boy save state
* support added HexEdit widget to Windows and Qt targets; debugger can
now be compiled on all platforms
* entering fullscreen now auto-hides mouse; and mouse capture is toggled
otherwise by F12 key
* fullscreen command and geometry caching works much better on GTK+ and
Qt targets
* phoenix rewritten from scratch; now supports resizable layout
containers
* phoenix/Windows no longer relies on buggy SetParent API to reparent
widgets
byuu says (since v073):
This release adds full low-level emulation of the NEC uPD96050
coprocessor, used by the ST-0010 (F1 Race of Champions II) and the
ST-0011 (Hayazashi Nidan Morita Shougi). The former was already playable
with HLE, but lacked timing emulation. The latter has never been
playable through emulation before now. But as with SD Gundam GX before,
you really weren't missing much.
[...]
Also new in this release is my own Game Boy emulator. It is being used
to provide native Super Game Boy support, built directly into bsnes.
This core is released under the GPLv2, but I am willing to grant a more
permissive license for other SNES emulators, if anyone is interested.
Of course I cannot compete with the quality of gambatte, and certainly
not from only a weeks' worth of work. Currently, there is no Game
Boy-side sound output and there are quite a few bugs remaining in its
emulation core. I would appreciate any help on this, the Game Boy is not
my forte. So yes, we are taking a step back today, so that we may take
two steps forward in the future.
[...]
Lastly, the debugger is still Linux-only, but it is now stable enough to
be considered usable. Check it out if you like, compile with -DDEBUGGER
to enable it.
byuu says:
- added pause shortcut ('P' key, as pause/break is too finicky)
- pause and auto-pause show on status bar
- added a debugger skeleton, very very primitive and completely unusable
- don't try it yet
- added software filter support
Also included is the new snesfilter library. It has all of the filters
the old one had, as well as scanline filters since that's not in my GUI
anymore
If you want scanlines and other software filters, then you can either
make your own hybrid two-in-one software filter, or make a pixel shader
(I don't have one of those yet.)
byuu describes the changes since v067:
This release officially introduces the accuracy and performance cores,
alongside the previously-existing compatibility core. The accuracy core
allows the most accurate SNES emulation ever seen, with every last
processor running at the lowest possible clock synchronization level.
The performance core allows slower computers the chance to finally use
bsnes. It is capable of attaining 60fps in standard games even on an
entry-level Intel Atom processor, commonly found in netbooks.
The accuracy core is absolutely not meant for casual gaming at all. It
is meant solely for getting as close to 100% perfection as possible, no
matter the cost to speed. It should only be used for testing,
development or debugging.
The compatibility core is identical to bsnes v067 and earlier, but is
now roughly 10% faster. This is the default and recommended core for
casual gaming.
The performance core contains an entirely new S-CPU core, with
range-tested IRQs; and uses blargg's heavily-optimized S-DSP core
directly. Although there are very minor accuracy tradeoffs to increase
speed, I am confident that the performance core is still more accurate
and compatible than any other SNES emulator. The S-CPU, S-SMP, S-DSP,
SuperFX and SA-1 processors are all clock-based, just as in the accuracy
and compatibility cores; and as always, there are zero game-specific
hacks. Its compatibility is still well above 99%, running even the most
challenging games flawlessly.
If you have held off from using bsnes in the past due to its system
requirements, please give the performance core a try. I think you will
be impressed. I'm also not finished: I believe performance can be
increased even further.
I would also strongly suggest Windows Vista and Windows 7 users to take
advantage of the new XAudio2 driver by OV2. Not only does it give you
a performance boost, it also lowers latency and provides better sound by
way of skipping an API emulation layer.
Changelog:
- Split core into three profiles: accuracy, compatibility and
performance
- Accuracy core now takes advantage of variable-bitlength integers (eg
uint24_t)
- Performance core uses a new S-CPU core, written from scratch for speed
- Performance core uses blargg's snes_dsp library for S-DSP emulation
- Binaries are now compiled using GCC 4.5
- Added a workaround in the SA-1 core for a bug in GCC 4.5+
- The clock-based S-PPU renderer has greatly improved OAM emulation;
fixing Winter Gold and Megalomania rendering issues
- Corrected pseudo-hires color math in the clock-based S-PPU renderer;
fixing Super Buster Bros backgrounds
- Fixed a clamping bug in the Cx4 16-bit triangle operation [Jonas
Quinn]; fixing Mega Man X2 "gained weapon" star background effect
- Updated video renderer to properly handle mixed-resolution screens
with interlace enabled; fixing Air Strike Patrol level briefing screen
- Added mightymo's 2010-08-19 cheat code pack
- Windows port: added XAudio2 output support [OV2]
- Source: major code restructuring; virtual base classes for processor
- cores removed, build system heavily modified, etc.
Tim Allen