mirror of https://github.com/bsnes-emu/bsnes.git
329 lines
9.9 KiB
Markdown
329 lines
9.9 KiB
Markdown
When you launch higan
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the main window appears,
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with a menu-bar across the top,
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a status-bar across the bottom,
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and a large area in the middle that shows
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the running game's video output.
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The Systems menu
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----------------
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This menu lists the systems higan emulates,
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Choosing any system allows you to play
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games for that system that you've already imported
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into higan's [game library](../concepts/game-library.md).
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See [Importing and playing games](../guides/import.md).
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You can customise this menu
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in [higan's Systems settings](higan-settings.md#systems)
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to hide systems you don't care about,
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or add a specific cartridge for any supported system.
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This makes it more convenient
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to play games that involve mini-cartridges:
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for example, you can
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add the Sufami Turbo to the list
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and load *SD Ultra Battle*
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in two clicks instead of three.
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**Load ROM File ...**
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opens a [filesystem browser](common.md#the-filesystem-browser)
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allowing you to choose a single ROM file.
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It will be imported and immediately start playing.
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See [Importing and playing games](../guides/import.md).
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The console menu
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---------------
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**Note:**
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The console menu does not appear
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until a game is loaded.
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Also,
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it's not named "console",
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it's named for the kind of console
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the loaded game runs on.
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For example,
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when playing a Game Boy game,
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you will have a "Game Boy" menu.
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The console menu contains commands relevant
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to the particular console being emulated.
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All consoles will have some of the following items,
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but few consoles have all of them.
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**Controller Port 1**
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allows you
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to connect different emulated controllers
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to the first controller port,
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if there is one.
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See [higan's Input settings](higan-settings.md#input)
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for information about configuring
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which PC controller inputs are used
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for the emulated controllers.
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This menu appears for the Famicom,
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even though the Famicom did not support alternate controllers,
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because the Famicom emulation core also emulates the NES,
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which did.
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**Controller Port 2**
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allows you
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to connect different emulated controllers
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to the second controller port,
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if there is one.
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See [higan's Input settings](higan-settings.md#input)
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for information about configuring
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which PC controller inputs are used
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for the emulated controllers.
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This menu appears for the Famicom,
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even though the Famicom did not support alternate controllers,
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because the Famicom emulation core also emulates the NES,
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which did.
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**Expansion Port**
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allows you
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to connect different emulated devices
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to the console's expansion port,
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if there is one.
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For the Super Famicom,
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the [21fx][21fx] is a homebrew device
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that allows a program running on a PC
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to control a physical Super Famicom (or SNES).
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This option allows the same program
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to control the emulated SNES,
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for development or testing.
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**Soft Reset**
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restarts the emulated console's CPU
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while leaving the console's memory untouched,
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like pressing the "reset" button
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on a physical console.
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This menu item does not appear
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for consoles that did not have a "reset" button,
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like hand-helds.
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It also does not appear for the Sega Master System,
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since that console's reset button is wired up like a controller
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rather than directly attached to the CPU.
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To reset the Master System,
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bind a keyboard or joypad button
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to the "Reset" function
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on the "Controls" controller
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in the "Hardware" port
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of the Sega Master System
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in [higan's Input settings](higan-settings.md#input).
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**Power Cycle**
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restarts the loaded game
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as though the emulated console were switched off and on again.
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**Unload**
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stops the current game,
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as though the emulated console were switched off.
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You can load a new game
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from [the Library menu](#the-library-menu).
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[21fx]: https://github.com/defparam/21FX
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The Settings menu
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-----------------
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The Settings menu allows you to configure things
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that aren't specific to any particular console.
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**Video Scale** determines the size
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of the emulated console's video output
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when higan is running in windowed mode
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(as opposed to fullscreen).
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**Video Emulation** applies various effects
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to the emulated console's video output
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to reproduce some behaviours
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that aren't technically part of the console itself:
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- **Blurring**
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simulates the limited horizontal resolution
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of standard-definition TVs
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by blurring together horizontally-adjacent pixels.
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For hand-held consoles,
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this simulates the slow response time
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of the cheap LCD screens these consoles used
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by blending each output frame with the previous one.
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- Games like
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*Jurassic Park* for the Super Famicom
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or *Chikyuu Kaihou Gun ZAS* for the Game Boy
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depend on this to emulate a transparency effect.
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- **Colors**
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simulates the way a console's display device
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differs from modern computer monitor's colour reproduction.
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In particular,
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it simulates the slightly-different gamma correction
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used by the Super Famicom,
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the dim, washed out colours of the original Game Boy Advance,
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and the pea-green display of the original Game Boy.
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**Video Shader** controls
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how the low-resolution video output of the emulated console
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is scaled up to suit modern high-resolution displays.
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[Using video shaders](../guides/shaders.md)
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describes all the options in this sub-menu.
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**Synchronize Audio**
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causes higan to wait for audio playback to complete
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before resuming emulation.
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This should reduce popping and glitching noises,
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and slows the emulation down to approximately the correct speed.
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If your PC cannot emulate at full-speed,
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(60fps for most consoles, 75fps for WonderSwan)
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this has no noticeable effect.
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**Mute Audio**
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causes higan to not output sound from the emulated console.
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The sound hardware is still emulated.
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**Show Status Bar**
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causes higan to show or hide the status bar
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at the bottom of the window.
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This option has no effect in fullscreen mode.
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See [The status bar](#the-status-bar) for more information.
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**Systems ...**
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opens [higan's Systems settings](higan-settings.md#systems).
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**Video ...**
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opens [higan's Video settings](higan-settings.md#video).
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**Audio ...**
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opens [higan's Audio settings](higan-settings.md#audio).
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**Input ...**
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opens [higan's Input settings](higan-settings.md#input).
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**Hotkeys ...**
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opens [higan's Hotkeys settings](higan-settings.md#hotkeys).
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**Advanced ...**
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opens [higan's Advanced settings](higan-settings.md#advanced).
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[svsa]: #why-do-synchronize-video-and-synchronize-audio-conflict
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The Tools menu
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--------------
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The Tools menu
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contains features for manipulating the emulated console.
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**Save Quick State**
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stores the current state of the emulated console
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into one of the quick state slots.
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See [Save States](../concepts/save-states.md) for more information.
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**Load Quick State**
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restores the emulated console to
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a state previously saved to one of the quick state slots.
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See [Save States](../concepts/save-states.md) for more information.
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**Pause Emulation**
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pauses the emulated console
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until this menu-item is selected again.
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This can also be triggered by
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the [pause hotkey](higan-settings.md#hotkeys).
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**Cheat Editor ...**
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opens [the Cheat Editor tab](higan-tools.md#the-cheat-editor)
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of the Tools window.
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**State Manager ...**
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opens [the State Manager tab](higan-tools.md#the-state-manager)
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of the Tools window.
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**Manifest Viewer ...**
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opens [the Manifest Viewer tab](higan-tools.md#the-manifest-viewer)
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of the Tools window.
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**Game Notes ...**
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opens [the Game Notes tab](higan-tools.md#game-notes)
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of the Tools window.
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The Help menu
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-------------
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The Help menu contains information about higan itself.
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**Documentation**
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loads the official higan documentation
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in your web-browser.
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**Credits**
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loads a list of people who have contributed to higan
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in your web-browser.
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**About**
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opens the About dialog,
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which displays basic information about higan,
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including the version number.
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The status bar
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--------------
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The status bar appears
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at the bottom of the main higan window,
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while "Show Status Bar" is ticked in [the Settings menu](#the-settings-menu).
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Before any game is loaded,
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the status bar displays "No cartridge loaded".
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When a game is loaded and running,
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the status bar displays the current emulation speed
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in frames-per-second.
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For PAL-based consoles,
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this should be around 50 FPS for "full speed" emulation,
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for NTSC and most portable consoles the ideal speed is 60 FPS,
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but the WonderSwan runs at 75 FPS.
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If the number is too low,
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you may need a faster computer,
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or a faster [video driver](../guides/drivers.md#video).
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If the number is too high,
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you may need to [Synchronize Audio](#the-settings-menu),
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or you may have pressed the "turbo" [hotkey](higan-settings.md#hotkeys).
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The status bar displays "Paused"
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if you have pressed the "pause" [hotkey](higan-settings.md#hotkeys),
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selected "Pause Emulation" from [the Tools menu](#the-tools-menu),
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or if "When focus is lost: Pause Emulation" is ticked
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in [higan's Input settings](higan-settings.md#input)
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and the main higan window is not the foreground window.
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To resume emulation,
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make sure the main higan window is in the foreground,
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select "Pause Emulation" from the Tools menu again,
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and/or press the "pause" hotkey.
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The status bar briefly displays "Selected quick state slot X"
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(where X is one of the Quick State slot numbers)
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when you press the "Increment Quick State"
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or "Decrement Quick State"
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hotkeys,
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to show which Quick State slot will be used
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the next time you press the "Save Quick State"
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or "Load Quick State" hotkeys.
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The status bar briefly displays "Slot X quick state does not exist"
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(where X is one of the Quick State slot numbers)
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when you choose a slot from the
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[Tools](#the-tools-menu) → "Load Quick State"
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sub-menu that has not had a save-state saved to it,
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or when you press the "Load Quick State" hotkey
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while the current Quick State slot has not had a save-state saved to it,
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The status bar briefly displays "Power cycled"
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when you choose "Power Cycle" from [the console menu](#the-console-menu),
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or press the "Power Cycle" hotkey.
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The status bar briefly displays "Display rotation not supported"
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when you press the "Rotate Display" hotkey
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while the emulated console does not support display rotation.
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