DCEmulation

Nakamichi Proudly Presents

----------------------------------
The DreamSNES 0.9.8 INDEPENDENT BUG
LIST
----------------------------------

Wow! What a nice surprise!
404NotFound has just started a new 0.9.8 BUG/Incompatibility list before I even got to post my own O_o It's really nice to see some competition :) This will make bug tracking even more efficient,as the other team may discover some new bugs I might have missed.I'm gonna run this list independently from 404NotFound & the crew, so the DreamSNES team will get a much better bug report this time.

This time,I'll make the bug list less confusing,more accurate and all bugs will be sorted in categories from small graphic glitches to really bad crashing/freezing bugs and nasty code errors.

----------------------------------
ABOUT THIS LIST AND TESTING TO DO:
----------------------------------

Well,it was about time.
I burned 0.9.8 and started to re-test all those games which had bugs/issues (from the 0.9.7 BUG/Incompatibility list).

I'm now about 85% done (~250 games).

When I'm done with the remaining 15%,I'll go and test a fresh new batch of ROMs (just 300 more to go).

After I finish with those,I'll cherry-pick a 1,000 from the 'already tested' pile and re-test them, this time thoroughly.

Please DO NOT DELETE the previous 0.9.7 BUG/Incompatibility list!
All games which didn't improve with this version will be listed here and you should refer to the 0.9.7 bug list to see what was the problem with that game.I will NOT re-post those bugs in this list.

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BUG CATEGORIES
---------------------------------

Most of the "bugs" presented in the 0.9.7 list are common for many games,so I'll classify them into several GENERAL BUG categories:

SOUND BUGS:
- Sound Emulation bugs will be fixed when the new Sound Core is implemented.The new sound core should emulate ADSR sound envelopes correctly,so you won't experience any weird noises and long decay issues.Envelope height reading ensures accurate sound volume of all channels.Sound interpolation(Gaussian method) ensures SMOOTH sound without those awful aliasing artifacts.44kHz samplerate ensures that ALL sounds will be heard and everything will sound crisper,and lowpass filtering will give a boost to the now "dry" bass sounds.

REPEATING,SKIPPY SOUND AND VOICES:
- This issue which is 'seen' in a lot of games will be fixed when frameskipping is totally eliminated and emulation speed reaches at least 50fps.

FLASHING LINE BUGS:
- These bugs will be corrected when the CPU timing(speed) is emulated accurately.

TRANSPARENCY BUGS:
-There are MANY games which have this bug.When the current transparency emulation code is upgraded to the new code,ALL bugs will be gone.

UNEMULATED SPECIAL CHIPS:
- This is more an unimplemented feature than a bug. These issues will be gone when those special chips are emulated and implemented into the code.Examples of unemulated special chips:DSP-1,DSP-2,DSP-3,DSP-4,OBC-1,SPC7110,ST-010,ST-020,
SuperFX/SuperFX2/SuperFX3(it exists! Used in Starfox2 FINAL Beta),C4 chip is only PARTIALLY emulated,DSP-1 is only emulated for Mario Kart and nothing more...

COPY-PROTECTION HACK REGRESSION:
-These games have that "copyright" screen or "Not designed for use on SuperNES/Super Famicom" screen and are not playable.When the copy-protection hack is put back,these games will be playable again.

UNEMULATED GRAPHICS PACK SUPPORT:
- These issues will be gone when graphics pack suppot is implemented.Some games:Star Ocean,Street Fighter Alpha 2,Tengai Makyo Zero,Momotarou Dentetsu Happy and many others need graphic packs in order to work.This needs, a very large download of the packs besides the ROM file in order to work.But these packs are HUGE and won't fit into DC's RAM,so a streaming routine must be programmed in order to play Far East Of Eden Zero for example.

And finally,here comes the most important category.
All bugs besides those mentioned above (including the various graphical glitches and the NO SOUND bug in "Legend") are considered serious,so they will fall into the most wanted category:

-----------------------
*** MUST-FIX BUGS ***
-----------------------

- The "most wanted" category.Here you can find all those nasty bugs that CAN be fixed.This category includes games that RESET your DC,games that FREEZE your DC,games that give you a BLACK SCREEN,games that have MEMORY MAP errors,games that freeze mid-game,games with NON-RESPONDING controls,games with COLLISION DETECTION issues,games with the screen STRETCH BUG,games with SEVERELY messed-up graphics,etc.

DREAMSNES BUGS:
-These BUGs are not game-specific,sometimes not even emulation related,but these can be found in the menus,in the MPEG player,in the graphic interface,in the minigames,misspelling of words in the texts,errors in the ROM/header scanning procedure,etc...

In addition ,now there will be :

COMMENTS/WHAT'S GOOD-WHAT'S BAD:
- The pros and cons of this version of DreamSNES.Wow,this new release kicks ass,but you'd really like to know if the previous versions were better in some areas.

and

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT:
- What should be added/changed/removed from the next version to improve in various aspects of emulation accuracy,aesthetics,ease of use,additional features,etc.

----------------------------------

I'm off to finish testing the last 40 games and then I'll be back with:

*A HUGE BUG REPORT with TONS of new bugs!

* MANY,MANY suggestions and comments about this new 0.9.8. release

* another surprise :)

=== THE BUG LIST BEGINS WITH THE NEXT POST ===
Make sure you read the whole thread.Beware,it's HUGE :)

I like surprises

_________________
EZTV | Watch TV Episodes Online

It's almost ready,just a few more paragraphs to type.Be patient.
Wait for the next post.



OT: Zack,do you have a good place where I can upload my newest demo tracks?

How big are they?

_________________
EZTV | Watch TV Episodes Online

Yup, i have no prob with you making a new thread, you post quality and that's good, i just keep the other one so the team only has one thread to look through that's sticky so they won't lose it.

I won't delete the previous 0.9.7 buglist, it'll still be there until the boards someday crash (though 007 keeps backups i think)

Good work! It seems you really know your stuff (i'll have to try to hunt down that SuperFX3 thingey )

Grrr...I was just about to smash my DC on the floor or break my PlanetWeb CD!

About 4 hours ago I was typing the BIGGEST BUG post EVER.It took me more than 3 HOURS to write it !!!
I was typing the whole **** thing on my DC and when I finally finished it and clicked on the SEND button,my DC locked up :((((


Sorry guys,you'll have to wait a bit more for the bug list...maybe in my next post.

Damn,DAMN Planet Web 2.6!

I had the BEST BUG LIST EVER! Booo.....

OK,not everything is lost.At least you'll get to hear my new track,when my rage goes off...Grrrr!

I decided to post the BUG report in 3 or 4 parts.
This way,I'll write less and my DC will not freeze this time.

I added another bug type to the first post.


COMING UP in my next post:
---------------------------------
DreamSNES 0.9.8.:the GOOD,the BAD and the UGLY!...and what should be added/changed in DreamSNES 0.9.9. to improve greatly upon this version.
---------------------------------

See ya next post...when the bug-hunting saga will begin...

Well,folks,the DreamSNES Team,DreamSNES freaks and all of you pardners,here's the big surprise I promised you before.

Take a seat,get some popcorn and look at the big screen.

Music Track Playing:
[For A handful Of Dollars by Ennio Morricone]
(you can even play this track if you have it on a CD or MP3 for an authentic atmosphere)

...........10
............9
............8
............7
............6
............5
............4
............3
............2
..........START



Nakamichi Presents

*****************************
*The H-U-G-E MEGA BUG Report*
*****************************

*** Western-Style! Yeehaw!***
(in 8 Chapters)
------------------------------
DreamSNES 0.9.8.
The GOOD,the BAD and the UGLY
------------------------------
CONTENTS:
*********
Chapter 1 - The GOOD
Chapter 2 - The BAD
Chapter 3 - The UGLY
Chapter 4 - The CHANGES/ADDITIONS NEEDED
Chapter 5 - The MOST WANTED (MOST TERRIBLE) BUGS
Chapter 6 - The FRESHLY FOUND BUGS
Chapter 7 - The GOLDEN 1,000 GAME LIST
Chapter 8 - The GREAT DUEL



CHAPTER 1 : The GOOD:
----------------------
(What's improved in DreamSNES 0.9.8. over DreamSNES 0.9.7.):

- C4 Capcom Chip support.Megaman X2 and Megaman X3 work now!,but there are still some bugs...

- The Hi-Res graphics sprite fix.
The following games are now fixed:

* Patlabor (J)
* Tokimeki Memorial (J)
* Picross NP Vol.1 (J)
* Picross NP Vol.2 (J)
* Picross NP Vol.3 (J)
* Picross NP Vol.4 (J)
* Picross NP Vol.5 (J)
* Picross NP Vol.6 (J)
* Picross NP Vol.7 (J)
* Picross NP Vol.8 (J)

and many other games that use the Hi-Res modes.

- The 3-second-hold-to-right analog stick menu.Very useful for non-keyboard DC users.

- The "Cartridge Reset" feature.
Awesome!

- Now I can REALLY see the effect of the CPU optimizations.The speed improvement in some games goes up to 30%! Wow!
But,the effect of this option doesn't change when you go to the menu and toggle it.You must enable/disable it first and then load a ROM,so the change will be applied.
WHY can't you turn it OFF/ON and see the effect WITHOUT loading another ROM and then loading again the same ROM? It would be great if you could do this on the fly.

- The "Exit To Main Menu" option.
Another VERY important feature.It saves your DC's PSU from too much stress.Now if you wish to change to another DC game,you don't have to TURN your DC OFF and ON! Every commercial game has this feature,whether it's by opening the DC's GD-ROM cover or by an "Exit Game" option.
Now DreamSNES has it too.

- It's now even faster than 0.9.6. was before! 0.9.6. was the fastest by far(Note: I don't like to turn OFF the transparencies to gain speed,so 0.9.6. was faster than 0.9.7. WITH transparencies ON,now 0.9.8. is even faster(or smoother) in some games!

- Games working now (without freezing???-not tested extensively yet):

* Kirby Super Star [SA-1] (U)
* Kirby's Dreamland 3 [SA-1] (U)
* Megaman X2 [C4] (U)
* Megaman X3 [C4] (U)
* Power Rangers Zeo Battle Racers [SA-1] (U)
* SD F1 Grand Prix [SA-1] (J)
* Cacoma Knight [???] (U)
* Dragon Ball Z Hyper Dimension [SA-1] (J)
* Dai Senryaku Expert WWII [SA-1] (J)
* SD Gundam G Next [SA-1] (J)
* Itoi Shigesato No Bass Tsuri No.1 [SA-1] (J)


Coming up in the next post:

*** Part 2:The BAD ***
by Nakamichi

See ya cowboys and cowgirls

This forum is just like a cup of sand, shake it enough and all the good stuff with info goes to the top.

TOPIC MADE ALL STICKY LIKE

i know it since my first version, 0.9.4, so it's not new at all

_________________

In DSNES 0.9.4. you could only access that with a DC Keyboard and it was not a REAL DC Reset.

The bug hunting western saga continues with Chapter 2 and the first part of chapter 3:

Camera,lights,...ACTION!

(Bang! Bang!...[swoosh]...BOOM!)

---------------------------------
Nakamichi PRESENTS:
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***THE MEGA BUG UPDATE***

Chapter 2 : The BAD:
----------------------
(What's BAD about DreamSNES 0.9.8. that should be fixed in a next release,probably 0.9.9.):

- Really buggy and unstable SA-1 code.More than 80% of all SA-1 games freeze at some point or another in the game.The old 0.9.3./0.9.4. SA-1 code was far more stable than this one.Almost no SA-1 game froze with those versions.What was said to be fixed in 0.9.8. was actually NOT!

- The sound is HORRIBLE! Crappy 11kHz again?...No!!!
A quick note to the DreamSNES team:
No 11 kHz again please,because everything sounds muffled and many of the SNES sounds,especially the higher-pitched ones(high strings,cymbals,hi-hat,whistles,shakers,etc.) are not present at all.
The optimal sample rate should be 32kHz[SNES-quality,implemented in the newest Snes9x 1.39a official],or 44.1 kHz to live up to the DC standards.
DreamSNES 0.9.6. had waaaay better sound than what we have right now with 0.9.8.
The smartest choice is to include an option in the DreamSNES menu to select from 11,22,32 and 44.1 kHz.
This way,those who play games and want speed can go for 11kHz,mono or disable the sound,and those who do play RPGs,games with techno music,use the SNES music composing program,or listen to SPC files converted into ROMs for use with DSNES will select 32kHz or 44.1 kHz.
(Note:playing SPCs converted as a ROM doesn't emulate any graphics,so even at 44.1kHz there wouldn't be much slowdown,and you can enjoy fullspeed real SNES-quality music on your DC)

- MP2 files,for example the DreamSNES 0.9.3. Christmas song play at very high speeds! Awful!
Also,support for MP3 files encoded at higher bitrates (256kbps or more) should be included.
At the moment,192kbps MP3 files work good with 0.9.8.

- Nitpick: the IHI logo text has still those word spelling errors. :)

- WHY is the OK/Apply button in the menu switched from "A" to "B",and the game select button is still "A"???

- The "PAUSE" keyboard key :
I didn't want THIS kind of an emulation pause feature.You shouldn't HOLD the "PAUSE" key to pause the emulation,but the key should act as an ON/OFF switch for the emulation pause,like the speedometer[S3] key or like in MamedDC.


Chapter 3 : The UGLY! (Part I)
----------------------
(the biggest,baddest scumbags[not those bloody bank robbers :)] that must be eliminated quickly before the new version comes out):

- TONS of bugs !!!(will be posted in the "Most Wanted BUGs Chapter")

- Found 3 amazing GENERAL PROGRAM BUGs:

BUG #1 (and how to trigger it):
I started DreamSNES and went to the option menu and accessed the minigames section and selected to play the "QIX" game.I played a game and got to input my name in the high score list.Then I played another game,and another one,inputting different names in the score table after each play.Then,when I had my fourth game and got to input the name,all the names were messed up.There was an ugly mess of kanji / kana characters and various symbols,instead of my previously entered names.
I used "Autosave OFF" and had a Puru Puru pack in my first slot of controller 1.I have only 1 controller and a DC keyboard plugged into the second controller slot.

BUG#2 (and how to access it):
I selected the "QIX" game,left the AI-played demo with play instructions and watched it for a while.I left the game like that for 45 minutes (or an hour) and the DC locked up!

BUG#3 (and how to get bitten by it) :) :
I loaded DreamSNES 0.9.8. and used a 0.9.3. disc w/ROMs as a ROM disc.I inserted the disc and while I waited for the game list to load completely,my DC froze with some weird orange/red colors displayed on the TV,so I had to reset it.It's that Christmas MP2 song that screwed up the program.

ANOTHER BUG:
I was testing Mario Kart (US) and suddenly my DC reset itself ! Hmmm...
(I'm sure It was NOT my DC's fault.I don't have any problems with my DC resetting with any game.(my PSU is fixed really good and my DC laser outputs a good deal of power to read any CD/GD now).


BONUS CHAPTER
--------------

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it:

SNES9x 1.39a is out !!! TONS of bugfixes! Yay!
Finally! SNES9x 1.39a [official] is out for download on Snes9x.com!
What does this mean for us DC DSNES users?
Since DSNES uses Snes9x code and the DSNES team updates the DSNES code from the newest Snes9x sources available,this means that if they can implement the improvements/changes/bugfixes/new sound core/SPC7110,S-DD1 code and other stuff,we'll have much,much more accurate and bug-free SNES emulation and support for many now unplayable games! Awesome!

Snes9x 1.39a has many changes/improvements,but not all are important for us DSNES users,so I made a list of the MOST IMPORTANT fixes/additions that could be implemented in a future DSNES release.

Well,here they are:

SNES9x 1.39a official MOST IMPORTANT ADDITIONS/FIXES LIST:
--------------------------------

- Legend (U) has sound.Hack added to get the sound working.
- Marko's Magic Football (E) finally works.
- Shien's Revenge (U) is now working and fixed!
- Yoshi's Island (the PAL version) FINALLY works!
- Ballz 3D fixed! Now it works!
- Super Castles (J) fixed.
- Ogre Battle (U) green lines bug fixed.
- FF Mystic Quest (U) text bug fixed.
- Strike Gunner (U) fixed.
- Flashback (U) bug fixed.
- Dai Kaijuu Monogatari 2 (J) FINALLY works as a 40MBit ROM.
- Fixes for some nasty bugs in Star Ocean (J)
- Over 100(!) BUGs fixed for various games(some guy sent them a HUGE bug report.Was it one of you guys???)
- Greatly improved BS(Satellaview) ROM mapping.Satellaview games FTW!
- RTC(S-RTC) and RTC detection emulated for Dai Kaijuu Monogatari 2 (J).Nice!
- 32kHz(RealSNES) samplerate option added.Awesome!
- DSP-1 code improved(updated) !
- S-DD1 emulation is now working the same as in ZSNES. Wow.
- SPC7110 support !!! (The most amazing thing the Snes9x team has done in a long time!)
- Anti-Resonance's new sound core!The most wanted thing.Fixes almost every sound bug and gives much more accurate emulation than this ROUGH sound core used now.
- New BRR decoder & caching system.
- Fixed some noise sound bugs.
- Various game-specific hacks removed.This means much better emulation and less code.
- 44.1kHz instead of 44kHz sound.
- Fixed BS ROM detection.
- Virtual Mouse/gun cursor is improved
- Fixed and improved ROM info display & better tracking of corrupt dumps(good for bug testers)

What's NOT added,but will be in Snes9x 1.40:

- Cubic/Gaussian sound interpolation (much needed)
- Accurate emulation of Super FX games (that's even better)
- TONS of new bug fixes.

Well,that's all folks (for now).
See ya next episode for some more WILD,WILD WEST ADVENTURE!

Nakamichi

I'm back and ready to give you the third part of this H-U-G-E BUG List,but now there's going to be a slight change in the "scenario" by adding extra "BONUS" chapters for your enjoyment :)

This time we're going to watch the remaining part of Chapter 3:The UGLY(Part II) and a SPECIAL BONUS Chapter that will blow you away! :)

But first,I missed to write something in my previous post about the Snes9x 1.40 what's going to be added List:

- Low Pass filter/Bass boost.Currently,the sound of DreamSNES is flat without and of that meaty bass the real SNES has.Adding a LP filter will boost the bass and make the sound more lively.

Well,now it's time for some wild west ACTION!
Get some popcorn,Doritos,Pringles,Ruffles,a bag of fried chicken,or Soy Sauce/Brown Rice crackers* [*you probably don't eat these,but I do :)] or whatever and enjoy the rest of the DreamSNES 0.9.8. story.

3

2

1

Nakamichi PRESENTS:
----------------------------------- The H-U-G-E BUG List
-----------------------------------
Chapter 3:The UGLY (Part II):
-----------------------------
(what is the worst about DreamSNES 0.9.8. that must be fixed ASAP):

- NEW BUG Discovery! [Yeeee-haw!]:
Found a NASTY BUG in the MP3 player! Here's how I triggered it:
I made a ROM CD with ROMs put in the CD root and 83 MP3s(all 128kbps and lower) put in a SOUND folder.Loaded DSNES 0.9.8. and then swapped with the ROM/MP3 CD.When I got into the options and pressed right on the D-PAD to flush the remaining data of the Bubbleghost MP3 and load one of my MP3s,DreamSNES began scanning the names of the MP3s and after a short while,my DC was RESET!
I tried several more times,but always the same outcome.A very bad BUG indeed.
Just out of curiosity,I tried this ROM CD with 0.9.7. and 0.9.6. and got better results,believe me or not:
With 0.9.7.,all of the titles were scanned without resetting the DC,the first song was played,but when it got to the second,the DC has RESET :(
With 0.9.6. though,the first and second track were played,but the DC RESET at the third song :(
Dang!
I wanna listen to my MP3's with DreamSNES,boo... :)
So,DreamSNES team,please fix this terrible BUG,so I can listen those MP3s on my favorite DC MP3 player - the amazing DreamSNES!



BONUS CHAPTER:

BREAKING NEWS!!! StarFox 2 on DreamSNES in ACTION!
-------------------------------

No,this is NOT fake,this *is* REAL!
I've seen it with my own eyes running with 0.9.6,0.9.7. and 0.9.8. with SOUND !!!
So,you're probably wondering how can this be possible when DSNES doesn't even detect the ROM exists on your CD?
After I failed to run this ROM on Snes9x 1.39MkII on a PC,somehow,I managed to get this game running on my Dreamcast!
On the DC it runs well(well,with broken SuperFX emulation,flashing sprites and polygons,but when the DreamSNES team fixes the SuperFX emulation,it will be a sight to see!).
Well,what was the trick,you probably ask...
Just to know:Even if you get the ROM to be detected by DreamSNES,you'll get only a black screen and no sound :(

STAY TUNED for Part II of this amazing "discovery" in my next DreamSNES 0.9.8. BUG post.
It will tell you about how to actually get it running on your DC without that black screen!

Note:The ROM I used is NOT the FULL Beta I told you about a while ago.Nobody has this Full Beta yet :(
I'm using the Playable Beta with debug(test) options:stage select,sound test,program/port test,etc..
There are 4(!) different betas circling aound on the 'net:

- Early Beta (0.1),most common,unplayable,you'll find it everywhere,FX2
- Beta (1.0),common,playable,hard to find,FX2
- Debug Beta (1.1),rare,with a hack,not much people have it,very hard to find,used FX2 chip for testing
- FULL Beta (nearly 100% finished),very rare,only 10 people have it,impossible to find,used FX3(!) chip for testing

Beta 1.1 and Full Beta are NOT listed in the GoodSNES 0.999.5 list,so they're nearly impossible to find(RARE).

I'm now listening to the amazing "Ending Credits" song from StarFox 2 with 0.9.6.! I love it!
The music runs in fullspeed with stereo sound in the debug options menu.
But the game runs awfully slow,at about 20% speed :(
At least the soundtrack is very good!

Part IV coming soon!
Stay on-line :)

It's been a long while since I posted a bug update.
That's because I'm still angry at what happened on Nov. 18 when I finished the third part of the HUGE BUG Report.
I was writing the fourth chapter,I spent 2 hours of typing and almost 1/2 an hour of editing/correcting the text,and when I got to send it,the server was down! Dammit! I was typing everything with PlanetWeb 2.6 (DC),and all of the text was erased forever because of that damn,damn DCEmu server!
Argh!
This happened two times since I started this BUG list.
I'm gonna take a short break now.But I'm not giving up. You'll get your hands on the fourth part of the BUG Update really soon.

--------------------------------
Nakamichi's H-U-G-E BUG Report
--------------------------------

--------------------------
BONUS CHAPTER: StarFox 2 Beta RUNNING on DreamSNES! (Part II)
--------------------------

Well,now you'll see why it didn't ran before,but it does now.
I mentioned before there are 4 versions of the StarFox 2 Beta ROM.The first two betas are not even detected with DreamSNES,but detected with Snes9x.
But you cannot PLAY them even with Snes9x.Only ZSNES runs them.
But now there's Beta 1.1 out on the 'net which actually gets detected with DreamSNES,but doesnn't work neither in DreamSNES,nor in Snes9x 1.39a.
So,you probably ask,how did I managed to get it working?
Well,there is a trick to fool the DreamSNES ,and then start Starfox 2 beta 1.1
Here's how you can do that:

1. Get the StarFox 2 Beta 1.1 ROM.Good luck finding it,since it's not in the GoodSNES 0.999.5. list.It's RARE.

2. Run DreamSNES 0.9.6.,0.9.7. or 0.9.8. (I recommend 0.9.6. so you can enjoy 22kHz sound in the Sound test).Versions older than 0.9.6. DON'T run the ROM,so don't try to use them.What a shame,the FX emulation was not broken in these old versions.Now the graphics flash badly :(

3. Start the ROM preceding the StarFox 2 Beta 1.1 in your roms list.Run that one for 15 seconds,and then load StarFox 2 Beta 1.1.It RUNS!!! Wow!
I tried the same with Snes9x 1.39a on PC and it DOESN'T WORK.
So,this is kinda exclusive news right now: to see StarFox 2 Beta 1.1 running on DreamSNES because on ZSNES it runs,but the graphics are not displayed correctly.
So,ONLY with DreamSNES you can now see StarFox 2 'the way it's meant to be seen' You can actually BEAT the game and see the ending if you discover the DEBUG commands and listen to all tracks in the DEBUG opions menu.It even shows the framerate :P
Until Sns9x 1.40 comes out with fixed Super FX emulation,this is the only way to experience StarFox 2 as close as possible to the REAL thing.(unless you can make a cartridge and run it on a REAL SNES,as The Dumper did[He's a freak :)])

4. But beware: Due to broken SuperFX emulation,the whole game will flash and run at very bad(low) speed.Corneria will NOT take Damage because this is a DEBUG beta.This beta ROM is only worth for the soundtrack now(the music runs 100% in the debug option menu with 22kHz STEREO sound with DreamSNES 0.9.6.,so enjoy! :)

----------------------------------
STARFOX 2 BETA 1.1 DEBUG CODES:
- EXCLUSIVE ! -
----------------------------------

hold(L+R) then press X --> Framerate/sprite indicator toggle ON/OFF

hold(L+R+A+B+X+Y) [in-game] -->
Arwing Self-Destruct (Game Over)

hold(L+R+SELECT+START) --> Reset Game (Go to Nintendo logo)

hold(L+R+A) [at the star map] -->
99% Corneria Damage

hold(L+R+X) [at the star map] -->
100% Corneria Damage and see the really bad ending

hold(L+R+START) [at the star map] --> Clear all stages(only the final stage is left to play),destroy Andross' serpent enemy(s) on the map after completing all stages.

hold(L+R+B) [at the star map,after completing all stages except the final] -->
Andross dispatches a serpent enemy.
The more you do this,the more enemies he sends to hunt you on he map.

----------------------------------

That's all for now.
In Part V you'll read about what has to be changed/added to DreamSNES to be the best SNES emu ever:user-friendly,nearly everything accurately emulated,bug-tester friendly,cool additional features and really good use of DC's capabilities.
Until then,see ya.

Part V coming soon
Don't miss it! :)

Ladies and gentlemen,
Get ready for part V of Nakamichi's H-U-G-E BUG Report/FR thread

In Part 1 of this post,you'll read about the changes/additions needed to make DreamSNES the best Snes emu ever on any system(including the PC :)

But you'll also get to read about something else in yet another BONUS Chapter.

So,let's get started.

First, here's the

BONUS CHAPTER :
--------------------------------
NEW updates to the Work-In-Progress Snes9x code(The most important ones for us DSNES users)
--------------------------------

- "Soft Reset" added instead of the old "Reset" in the menu.This kind of reset is more software-like than the old "Reload ROM from RAM Buffer" thing.

- Gaussian Sound Interpolation added (but needs more debugging)

- TURBO Buttons added! (Cool!)

- Fixed the 2x/4x screen stretch bug.

- Fixed the Mode7 graphics in Dezaemon and Y's III

- Starfox 2 hack added to make this game run from first loading.

- Gunforce and Genocide 2 fixed.

- "Multitap 5" mode added as an on/off toggle option and set to OFF by default so more games work now.

- Mode 7 priority fix for all three F-1 Grand Prix games.Does that mean the cars are visible now ?!?

- Uniracers 2P Mode bug fixed.

- Mode 7 interpolation screen flip fix.

- Sargeant Saunders BG Priority bug fixed.

- Bahamut Lagoon Sound Test fixed.

- Interlace modes and pseudo hi-res modes fixed.

Can't wait for the next unofficial Snes9x release.After this one,Snes9x 1.40 is gonna be released,finally.


And,now...

CHAPTER 4 (Part 1):
------------------------------
THE CHANGES/ADDITIONS NEEDED:
------------------------------
(What has to be changed/added to DreamSNES to make it the best emu ever)


- Add the 50/60 Hz,Stereo/Mono/Mute,CPU Optimizations,Transparency options to the analog stick menu and/or map them to the DC keyboard.This will save a lot of time when testing and it will greatly reduce DC's motor/laser wear and tear,because I change options constantly and when the motor stops at about 5 minutes of not loading data,when I go to the menu,it is activated again.And all I want is just to change a single option from the menu for a brief second.
Another smart solution to this problem will be to add an option to Disable the MPEG player in the main menu,so the DC will not access the CD to play the MP3s if I want so.
These options mapped to the DC keyboard will save much time (and nerves).I HATE to hold the stick 3 seconds when I can change an option on the fly with a touch of a single keyboard key.

- "Soft Reset".It's different than the "ROM Reset",because it doesn't simply RELOAD the ROM again from the DC's RAM again,but it acts more like the REAL SNES Reset button.The benefits are that some games NEED this feature to be used to unlock hidden game secrets or to change games in a multi-game "arrr har-har" cartridge.

- TURBO Buttons. Much,much needed...saves your DC joypad from much abuse in shooters and WRESTLING games :)

- Make those Gun/Mouse games playable with a DC Joypad,like it is in NesterDC 7.0,so I can test these games too.

- Add "Reload same ROM" to the analog stick menu.This does not act like a Cartridge or Soft Reset,reloading the ROM from RAM buffer,but reloads the same ROM again from the CD.This is much important for bug testing because Cartridge/Soft Reset DOESN'T HELP when there is a nasty bug that screws up some games,so I have to reload the same ROM again from the CD in order to track that bug.I HATE loading the Next ROM and then the Previous ROM,just to do a simple ROM reload.

- This is VERY IMPORTANT!:
Retain the scanned headers/ROMList Filenames of the games in memory after the ROMs are scanned.Empty this buffer only when the DC's CD cover is opened or after you select an option "Rescan" to rescan the ROMs from the CD.
This will greatly speed up bug testing,because the same CD doesn't need to be scanned hundreds of times when I select the random games I want to test from a ROM CD.Add the fact that I use multisession ROM CDs with NO ROM List,and how my poor old DC struggles to read a 700MB 6 times multisession CD full of ROMs to get to the LAST ROM header. Ouch!

- Map the SNES buttons to keys on the DC keyboard,so I can use the DC keyboard as an extra controller,so I can test those 3,4 and 5-player multitap games and track the bugs.
There are only a few people who have more than 2 DC controllers,
most DC users that have a keyboard want to use it as well,not just to pick up dust :)

- Add a 200% speed "TURBO" mode,overclocking the SNES CPU by 2x,so it will greatly speed up testing BS(Satellaview) games,where you have to wait 5 to 10 minutes just for a game to start! This option will cut that time in half.And also can be used to speed up annoying text in various text-heavy games.

- Make DreamSNES read ROMs(and MP3s) from ANY folder,not just from ROMS and the CD ROOT,like NesterDC does. This way I can use any PC ROM CD filled with various programs,not just SNES Roms,I can use all my MP3 CDs to play them with DreamSNES,where all songs from different artists are in separate folders,and use all my ROM CDs which worked with 0.9.3./0.9.4. but don't work now with 0.9.7./0.9.8.

- Add a screen centering option.and an option to have "borders"(like the 50Hz mode) when set to 60Hz.
This mode will be called "60Hz Widescreen".It gives you the feel of those 16:9 DVD movies,and it's perfect for use on 16:9 TVs.
I use the slow 50Hz-mode with NTSC games,just to get this 16:9 screen ratio.I would really love to see my games in full 60Hz speed in 16:9 mode.

- Narrow the fonts in the game select menu,so the WHOLE header names can be displayed.Now I see only part of the whole header/name.This is also important for Translations to the DreamSNES options to languages which require more text to explain the same things explained in English.

- Quick Load/Quick Save to RAM(not to VMU).This will also save time for testing,because I can experiment with various cases,while starting from a same "snapshot",to track bugs more efficiently.
But the downside is that cheaters may benefit from this,so it's up to you,DSNES Team whether you want to include this feature or not.

- Memory Pak and Turbo File Twin cassette FlashROM emulation.
These two are peripherals used for the Japanese version of the SNES,Super Famicom.
Turbo File Twin:
The unit is plugged into the 2nd controller port of the Super Famicom and has removable Flash ROM cards(like a PSX memory card).
Memory Pak:
Memory pak is a Flash ROM card used for the SuFami Turbo System.
The unit is similar to Super Game Boy or a SNES cartride converter that plugs into the Super Famicom's cartridge slot.
It has 2 mini-cartridge slots.
It uses cartridges the size of a Game Boy cartridge for the games(ROM pak),which are flashed on it,and another cartridge of the same size for saving data(the memory pak).
The possibilites of this system are unbelievable.
Transferring characters,music,dungeons,games,etc. from game to game,making music with Ongaku Tsukuru Kanaderu and using it in RPG Tsukuru 2 as a BGM for your own RPG!,and much much more.A very unique thing,similar to what you can do with the DC VMU :)
I want this added ASAP.

Whew,that's all I can think of right now.
If there are more ideas I left out,I'll post it in another update.

In the next post,be prepared for the BUGS!
Nasty,nasty bugs eating your DC(just kidding :)
in the MOST WANTED BUGS LIST !

Until the next update,see ya cowboys and cowgirls...
(I doubt there are any women left in DCEmu by now :)

Well,it's time for Part VI of this amazingly huge DreamSNES bug/suggestion report.
In this part,you'll get to read the second part of the Changes/Additions needed and part 1 of the amazing "MOST WANTED BUGs" list.

So,here we go!
Load your shotguns and get ready for some bug-shaped clay pidgeon shootin'


Chapter 4 (Part 2):
-----------------------------
THE CHANGES/ADDITIONS NEEDED
(PART II)
-----------------------------
(To make DreamSNES the best SNES emu ever!)


- Fix broken Super FX emulation,so all FX/FX2 games will run without errors (as in 0.9.4.)

- Fix partially broken SA-1 emulation,so no game will freeze again (like in 0.9.4.)

- Fix broken transparency and transparency priority.It affects nearly every game that uses this effect/layer).Games like Dezaemon are UNPLAYABLE because of broken transparency.
I like to see the Level Meter and Spectrum Analyzer MOVE in Tales Of Phantasia's Sound Test menu,like it is with Snes9x 1.39a!

- Greatly improve sound:

Use Anti-Resonance's sound core and sample decoding method,

Use the new BRR Decoder,

AT LEAST 32kHz samplerate,

At least LINEAR sound interpolation,

Better,more accurate sound mixing.


- Add selectable frameskip option

- Add selectable sound samplerate option

- Improve saving to VMU and 3rd party memory cards.There are still bugs left to fix...

- Add graphic packs support for S-DD1 and SPC7110 special chip games,so they will also be playable,like on the XBox Snes9x port - XSnes9x!

- Enable reading .SRM saves from CD,not just from VMU.

- More speed,of course.That's most important.
When Breath Of Fire 2 will run at 100% speed with Stereo sound,that will be a significant progress...

- Increase the size of the MP3 sound buffer to be much more than just 2MB.And when you include one of your original songs with the emulator,make sure it's short enough to fit into the whole sound buffer,so it can be repeated over and over WITHOUT accessing the CD.Make sure you set the player to "repeat" by default,and disable Repeat the moment the user selects another MP3 with the D-PAD.

- New design,new graphics,fixed bugs in the minigames,improved minigames.

- Spice up the screen saver with dynamic color change(blue to green to red to whatever-you-wish-to-be)

Well,that's all folks for this chapter.If other ideas come up,I'll post them in PART III :)


Now,for the BIG ONE,the "cream of the crop" in this HUGE BUG List:


Chapter 5 (Part 1):
---------------------------
THE MOST WANTED BUGS LIST
PART I:
---------------------------
This is a selection of the most terrible bugs found in DreamSNES 0.9.8. Bugs that are really worth to catch and kill! Big rewards are given for these bastards,dead or alive :) Here's part one of this WANTED List:

- Super Mario RPG (U) [SA-1]:
FREEZES when you level up!

- Marvelous (J) [SA-1]:
FREEZES after the prologue with the monkeys at the start of the game,when the big question mark appears.

- Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius (J) [SA-1]:
FREEZES when Stage 1 begins,even in the CPU-played demonstration.

- Super Robot Wars Gaiden : Masoukishin (J) [SA-1]:
FREEZES after the company logo.

- Mini 4 ku Shining Scorpion Lets & Go!!! (J) [SA-1]:
FREEZES YOUR DC INSTANTLY after the ASCII Soft logo.

- Super Bomberman Panic Bomber World (J) [SA-1?]:
FREEZES YOUR DC INSTANTLY!

- Act Raiser (U):
FREEZES after the first boss.Music is almost nonexistent.

- Act Raiser 2 (U):
FREEZES shortly after the intro.With CPU optimizations ON,it doesn't even start!

- Shien's Revenge (U):
BLACK SCREEN!

- Cu On Pa (J):
Controls don't respond in the game select menu.UNPLAYABLE.

- Marko's Magic Football (E):
FREEZES after the Acclaim logo.

- War 2410 (U):
BLACK SCREEN after the War 2410 logo.

- Accelebrid (J):
FREEZES after about 10 seconds of play.

- Battle Mobile (J):
No weapon collision detection.UNPLAYABLE.

- Battle Racers (J) [SA-1?]:
You can't pick up any items/weapons.No collision detection with items.UNPLAYABLE.

- RPG Tsukuru Super Dante (J):
DOESN'T SAVE TO SRAM (in the DC RAM) when you create a character map,dungeon,monster,etc.When you create and save a character,for example,and you finish the character creation,then go back to the character creation screen,ALL OF YOUR CREATED DATA IS GONE! You can't make anything. UNPLAYABLE.

- F-1 ROC II (U) [ST-010]:
Memory map bug here,like the one found before in 0.9.7. in RPG Tsukuru Super Dante.The names in the high scores,the stats,the saves,everything is screwed up.TERRIBLE!

- Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers Fighting Edition (U):
Happens only with CPU optimizations turned OFF.When you start a battle,the whole screen gets flooded with garbage,tiles and various junk and you can't see anything.One of the most terrible bugs.Must be fixed.

- Go Go Ackman 3 (J):
FREEZES when watching the CPU-played demonstration,when Ackman is about to slash the bird with his sword.

- Gemfire (U):
When you are attacked by the enemy and choose the option to FIGHT,the music stops and the game FREEZES to a BLACK SCREEN.

- Traverse : Starlight & Prairie (J):
The intro doesn't show up(BLACK SCREEN),but the music plays.This was not happening with DreamSNES 0.9.4. and older versions.Everything goes to normal after you press Start to skip the intro(the black screen in this case),play a game and get to a "Game Over"(I don't recommend doing this if you can't read Japanese and have no patience to do it.It's a long and tedious procedure).Then,the intro mysteriously appears! Very odd.

- Heian Fuuunden{Huuunden} (J):
When you watch the intro/Demo until it completely finishes,the game FREEZES with a BLACK SCREEN.Didn't happen with 0.9.4. and older.

- Gunforce (U):
TERRIBLE BUGS make this game UNPLAYABLE:When you shoot from your weapon,the bullets appear from your back.The power-ups you have to pick up literally run away from you!!! Add a ton of graphical defects to this and you'll feel terrible when you play it.

- Full Throttle Racing (U):
A terrible graphical defect in the boat races(you can't see anything,just junk) makes it UNPLAYABLE.

- Yoshi's Cookie (U):
When you hold the button to move(drag) the cookies to the left/right,the cookies disappear.UNPLAYABLE because of this bug.

- Astral Bout 3 : Rings (J):
UNPLAYABLE,because you don't see anything in the option menus.Everything is covered by a buggy transparency layer.A sprite priority AND broken transparency problem.

- Adult Manga (PD):
UNVIEWABLE.It says:"Press SELECT to change pictures",but the controls don't respond.Pressed SELECT hundreds of times,but nothing...Grrr...

- Adult Manga 2 (PD):
Same problem as in Adult Manga (PD).UNVIEWABLE.

- Kaite Tsukutte Asoberu Dezaemon {Dezaemon}(J) [Shooter Maker]:
UNPLAYABLE.Can't make anything.The transparency here is most important than in any other game,and it's BROKEN.The whole "game" depends on this red transparent layer:Cursors,graphics,area select tools,...
Without this fixed,you're left "blind".

- Monster Maker III (J):
A serious bug.When you get to input your character's name,the trasparent cursor is not there so you're left "blind".Terrible.

- F-1 Grand Prix Part III (J):
A TERRIBLE bug.There are NO CARS on the racetrack(circuit).How can you play this if you can't see your own car,let alone the rival cars.Nasty,nasty...UNPLAYABLE.

- Gambling Hourouki (J):
When you roll the dice and get whatever number,you only get to move 1 space(!) instead f the dice total.After a while playing like that,the game FREEZES.A very serious bug.

- Ultimate Fighter (U):
After a short time beating the enemies with punches only(don't kick!) on Stage 1,the whole screen turns black! UNPLAYABLE.

- Robocop Vs. Terminator (U):
Flashes so bad,you'll get sick in a short time.UNPLAYABLE.A must-fix bug.

- Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon (J):
A TERRIBLE sprite/transparency defect when you select a character and watch the Stage intro animation,after the "Senshi Transformation" animation.

- Big Sky Trooper (U):
MEMORY MAP BUG when you select the "Robot" character(that's the "Continue" icon in this game).The 4 save files are badly messed up.When you start one of these files,the game FREEZES.

- Tales Of Phantasia (J):
The Level Meter and Spectrum Analyzer "LED's" in the Sound Mode menu are NOT MOVING! A transparent/sprite layer is missing/broken.You must fix this...it's very important to me :) It remembers me of Tales Of Destiny on the PSOne.


Part II coming up very,very soon in the next post.
Stay on-line :)

Nakamichi Presents:

Chapter 5 Part 2:
--------------------------
THE MOST WANTED BUGS LIST
(PART II):
--------------------------

Here's the second part of the mammoth bug list by Nakamichi.
You can now read about the rest of the murderers,bank robbers,con men,gamblers,etc.(just kidding)
Now lets get back to the BUGs:


- Games with the 2x/4x screen stretch bug.Some are unplayable because of it:

Street Combat (U)
Maka Maka (J)
Arkanoid : Doh It Again (U)
Blues Brothers (U)

... and many more I forgot to mention or I haven't tested yet.

- All Protected games,which worked in 0.9.3./0.9.4. but can't be played now:

Tetris Attack (U)
Panel de Pon (J)
Super Goal 2 (E)

and more...

- All Super FX games which are broken and/or freeze,but worked in 0.9.4. really good:

Star Fox (U)
Star Fox Competition Edition (U)
Star Fox 2 Beta 1.1 (J-Beta)
Star Fox 2 Full Beta (J-Beta)
Vortex (U)
Stunt Race FX (U)
Doom (U)
Dirt Trax FX (U)

and a few more...

- All DSP-1/DSP-1A/DSP-1B games that are unplayable or have bad graphical defects because of serious graphic glitching due to slightly broken DSP-1 code or partial DSP emulation:

Pilotwings (U)
Lock On (U)
Super Air Diver 2 (J)
Suzuka 8 Hours (U)
Drift King Shutokou Battle 2 (J)
Ace Wo Nerae! (J)
Final Stretch (J)
Bike Daisuki : Hashiriya Damashii (J)
Ballz (U)

and much more...

- Games which need Graphic Packs in order to display the graphics and work correctly:

S-DD1 games:
------------
Street Fighter Alpha 2 (U)
Star Ocean (J)
grrr...I forgot the others!

SPC7110 games:
--------------
Far East Of Eden {Tengai Makyo} Zero (J)
Far East Of Eden {Tengai Makyo} Zero : Shounen Jump no Shou (J)
Momotarou Dentetsu Happy (J)
Super Power League 4 (J)

- Many BS-X(Satellaview) games which don't work,but the new version of Snes9x 1.40 will get most of them working too! Yes!
BS Fire Emblem...yummy...


I don't like to mention all those DSP-2,DSP-3 and DSP-4(Top Gear 3000!,I LOVE that game!) games,because they're not yet emulated even on ZSNES and Snes9x!
What a pity...:( Top Gear 3000...sniff... :)))

Add to this the OBC-1 games,such as Metal Combat (U) ---> AWWWESOME Game!,the Seta Chip games (ST-010,ST-020,ST-030) and games with more obscure special chips and extra protection.


So,we reached the end of this BUG List for now...BUT IT'S NOT OVER YET! :)

In the next Chapter - FRESHLY BAKED :) BUGS I'll post newly discovered bugs as I test more and more games.I've now downloaded all those 300 Legal PD ROMs...an awesome zipfile...and it's testing time! Yeehaw!

And Part III of the ADDITIONS/CHANGES chapter is most likely to come up in my next post...and another BONUS chapter :)

Until my next post...see ya!

SNES - The best gaming console of all times (for RPG & Strategy freaks).

The Anthrox Christmas Demo ROCKS!
(distorted texture-GIF-mapped polygons on SNES WITHOUT a special chip? Awwwesome! And what about the sampled 15-bit track made with Cubase on PC? Even more amazing...but listen to it on the PC,DreamSNES' sound still sucks a lot compared to the mighty Zophar's Super Jukebox(tm):
48kHz(or much better if you have a very expensive German sound card) Stereo,Gaussian interpolation,Bass Booster,Surround mode,and the best mixing method for timing accuracy.
It's a treat to listen to SNES music with the Super Jukebox.
But you gotta dump the .SPC file off the ROM in order to listen to it on S.J.


If only DreamSNES can offer me 44.1kHz sound with Anti-Res' core,cubic interpolation,bass boost and decent mixing... :)
Can the Dreamcast handle all of that while playing a game? Yes,but not without massive slowdown :( But,for listening to music in the games' sound test menus,it's more than worthy.

Nakamichi, you said no body has the full beta but thats untrue. The Full beta has been out for awhile now and contains all the stages and a few nasty bugs. Just thought I would like you know so that you could test with it.

Well,I'm back with a short post this time,but before I start,I have to tell Cless something:

To Cless:

Check out the other DreamSNES BUG/Incompatibility List (by 404NotFound) and read the answer to all of your questions :)


And,now...let's continue with the List.I've come up with more ideas of improvement,so here goes Part II of the CHANGES/ADDITIONS Chapter:

-----------------------------
THE CHANGES/ADDITIONS NEEDED:
(PART III)
-----------------------------
(to make DreamSNES the best SNES emu EVER!)

- ZIP Files Support.ROMs,patches and graphic packs are found everywhere on the net in zipped format.ZIP has become a standard for everything downloaded off the net.It's not hard to include zipfile support.Must be included.

- Multiple button configurations:
1. "PHYSICAL" - The standard one we have now in DreamSNES which maps the buttons according to physical button placement and uses the analog stick as a SELECT button.
2. "ANALOG" - Swaps the D-PAD with the Analog stick,so now you can use the analog stick to control the movements,and the D-PAD as a select/sub-menu button.
3. "COLOR-MATCHING" - Maps the 4 colored PAL SNES/Super Famicom joypad buttons to same-color DC joypad button equivalents.Pretty handy.

- Good/Bad/Corrupt checksum,cart size(MBits) and TV region indicator(all as in Snes9x) briefly displayed after a game is loaded into DC's RAM.
This is especially important for people who report bugs to make sure they have a good dump of a ROM before posting false bug reports.

- Some sound effects in the menus when changing options.Make sure the SFX are "permanently" loaded into RAM to prevent constant CD accessing.

- Rumble Support for certain games.This is optional.Add this feature only when other important things are fixed/added first.

- Netplay? Is it possible to do this on the DC properly yet?
If it is,make it for users with 33.6/56k DIALUP modems.No broadband,please.That way anyone can play,because broadband adapters are not that common as ordinary DC modems are.
This is also OPTIONAL,so add only if the other important things are fixed/added first.

- Hidden pictures from the DreamSNES programmers as a secret minigame? :))) Imagine pics of what they also do in the meantime when they code DreamSNES... :)
This is also...optional :)


----------------------------------
Well,that's it for part III...

I've tested all those 300 legal PD ROMs and found many must-have gems...
About that in my next post.


Back to testing.