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Author Topic: Genesis Plus GX Updated 29th Feb 2016  (Read 63522 times)

David Knight (OP)

  • Posts: 577
Genesis Plus GX Updated 29th Feb 2016
« on: March 30, 2015, 12:39:32 am »

<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210117184813/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdvlspd1FHI" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdvlspd1FHI</a>
With the most recent round of bug-fixes I'm finally happy to officially release the GCW0 port of Genesis Plus GX. This is the first non-developmental version and supersedes all previous versions. Upgrade your opk!

For those not following the developmental thread Genesis Plus GX is a Megadrive/Mega CD/Master System/Game Gear/SG1000 emulator. The source code is forked from the original by Charles MacDonald and heavily modified by ekeeke. The GCW0 port is a joint effort by Shin-Nil and David Knight with graphics assets contributed by hi-ban and Gab1975.

The GCW0 port has had quite a number of changes made including a brand new menu with many configurable features, a plethora of graphical options, autofire, A-stick support, triple buffering, lightgun support (technically 2 player lightgun supported but good luck with that ;) ), FM music support (for SMS compatible games) and more.

For those interested, a brief changelog follows, but you just wanna play some SEGA dontcha?!

UPDATED 2016/02/29
The OPK

The source code repo

EDITED CHANGELOG   (full version available here and here)
Code: [Select]
FIFTH RELEASE
Updated readme
Fixed mouse bug, menu bug(again :P), added time to menu and added fancy fade effect to background.
Fixed menu bug
Improved menu code, optimisation code.
Significant optimisation - Improved sound sample mixing and add_delta speed.
Fixed another screenshot bug
Fixed multiple savestate bug
Fixed autofire bug

FORTH RELEASE
Update to most recent source code (2016/01/01):
[Core/MD] fixed large ROM (> 8MB) loading accidentally enabling CD hardware emulation
[Core/MD] improved I2C EEPROM boards emulation
[Core/IO] improved control pad emulation (verified on real hardware)
Added build date to menu
Reduced .SRM filesize (requested by kaio)
.SRM files are no longer saved automatically
Toggled performance optimisations no longer affect speed of SVP chip
Numerous small performance optimisations
Added Autofire
Added sound mute option
Added sound lag option
Updated manual

THIRD RELEASE
Migrated code repo to github.
Update to most recent source code (2015/09/24):
[Core/CD] fixed AUDIO tracks length calculation when using separated files (WAV/OGG/BIN) with INDEX pause defined in CUE file
[Core/CD] minor changes to CDD status codes
[Core/IO] improved XE-1AP controller emulation
[Core/MD] fixed regression introduced with first version of SF-001 mapper
[Core/VDP] confirmed register $0A default state on reset
.updated HISTORY.txt to reflect all changes since 1.7.4 …
.synced README with Bitbucket repository
[Core/MD] added support for Chaoji Puke / Super Poker dump
[Core/CD] minor optimization
[Core/CD] forced DATA track minimal length (fixes BIOS refusing to boot small homebrew demos)
[Core/CD] modified CDD "no disc" status code (fixes boot sequence loading time when no disc is loaded)
Flick power switch to enter menu
Changed menu formatting
Analogue stick off by default
Added choice of renderer
GCW0-specific bug fixes
GCW0-specific code cleaning

SECOND RELEASE
Update to most recent source code (2015/06/06):
-[Core/CD] improved PCM chip & Gate-Array area mirroring
-[Core/CD] improved CDC emulation (fixes random freezes during Jeopardy & ESPN Sunday Night NFL intro)
-[Core/CD] added CD-AUDIO & CD+G support
-[Core/CD] fixed OGG file seeking when using with CUE file
-[Core/MD] added support for Tom Clown (Realtec/Unlicensed)
-[Core/MD] fixed Game Genie / Pro Action Replay lock-on support when Mega CD hardware is enabled
-[Core/VDP] optimized tile caching
Changed icon by popular demand.
Added speedup option with balanced and performance settings.
Added analog "deadzone" configuration.
Lots of code optimisation
Disabled Lock-on for a few games with copy protection which fail to load if Lock-on enabled
MCD saves now working
Fixed random occasional black screen of death on startup
Automatic screen adjustment to remove coloured bar in SMS games
Fixed screenshot corruption in save/load menu

FIRST RELEASE
32bit menu graphics
Fixed annoying random crash when entering menu on some games (eg Aladdin)
Fixed lightgun graphical glitch, added cursor wraparound and timeout (for Snatcher)
Fixed SCD backup ram save/load
Enabled 2 player lightgun games
Added player 2 controls when lightgun enabled (Spacegun Fix)
Added lightgun speed option
Added lightgun support
Added FM option for SMS sound, started Lightgun code (WIP)
Added gcw0 manual
Added license information to opk in order to comply with the licenses
Fixed alignment issues with Remap menu
Quick save with SELECT+L, quickload with SELECT+R
Changed menu access to START+SELECT, Default SELECT = mode, changed to free icon.
Added Frameskip for MegaCD fmv sequences, Changed ogg decoding to vorbis from tremor
Fixed B button now working in Misc menu
My OCD forces me to adjust the alignment of the Misc menu ;)
Added A-stick support
Lock-ons options added (Game Genie, Action Replay, S&K)
Fixed speedup on menu exit bug (mostly, still speeds up for 1/2 a second though)
Added misc menu, autosave/load option added
Menu bugfixes, replaced indented tabs with spaces, savestate bugfixes, added menu transparent background to improve text readability
Screenshot of savestate saved and preview shown when selecting loadstate
Added B to exit menu, Multiple savestates
hidden home directory, fixed a couple of SMS bugs affecting micromachines
Added "remove black bar" option for SMS
Fixed SYSTEM_GGMS menu bug
fixed SMS black bar bug
Stop blinking menu when save/loading
button remapping is now saved on config.ini
Save gfx config variables
Select to clean button mapping
Working button remap
Fixed scanlines bug when unscaled
Added scanlines option for GG (.png to follow as still deciding on transparency setting)
Remap buttons menu added
Fixed menu bugs, Added graphics menu, scaling and aspect ratio options
using enum for menustate
Segfault fix, it's already calling atexit(shutdown)
Buttons mapping added to config file
Auto save/load config data, including gcw0 fullscreen option
Added SG1000 and Pico menu backgrounds
Added backgrounds to menu, will change with system running
Fixed memory leak
Fixed menu options 'save', 'load', 'resume', temporarily added rescale code to 'graphics'
Fixed border flicker in Monsterworld IV
Added SDL_ttf for font support
Added font, menu skeleton.
Disabled Load/save for now, will add to menu shortly
Toggle fullscreen scaling with SELECT for now, will but will soon change to toggle menu. Started menu. SELECT+START causes problems with some games as START is registered as a keypress
Added IPU scaling for gg/sms.
New button combinations for save/load/exit
Using triple buffer
using crc to name game saves & gamestates
save & load state to correct directories
Zipped roms allowed
Passing rom name as argument
OPK data and scripts added
Create default config.ini path; save config file function added
Save/load state & sram files are now created for each game
Six buttons mapped
« Last Edit: February 29, 2016, 08:14:02 pm by David Knight »

xdplus fanatic

  • Posts: 1329
Re: Genesis Plus GX
« Reply #1 on: March 30, 2015, 12:46:57 am »
Thank you so much David, really appreciate all of your hard work.

 ;)

Eliwood_san

  • Posts: 255
Re: Genesis Plus GX
« Reply #2 on: March 30, 2015, 05:46:32 am »
two questions this emulator need bios? if the answer is yes,please tell me which bios need the emulator?

David Knight (OP)

  • Posts: 577
Re: Genesis Plus GX
« Reply #3 on: March 30, 2015, 08:09:35 am »
two questions this emulator need bios? if the answer is yes,please tell me which bios need the emulator?

Please read the included manual!

Bios is not required except for mega cd.

AtariHERO

  • Posts: 351
Re: Genesis Plus GX
« Reply #4 on: March 30, 2015, 01:39:11 pm »
thanks  ;D

toto

  • Posts: 147
Re: Genesis Plus GX
« Reply #5 on: March 30, 2015, 01:49:04 pm »
Wow... everything smooth and fullscreen. You're awsome, thanks for our hard work and for making the GCW zero a better console everyday!

tekkaman

  • Posts: 118
Re: Genesis Plus GX
« Reply #6 on: March 30, 2015, 06:26:20 pm »
I don't understand the cpu  flag that was talked about in the forum link you posted for making Popful Mail to work. If it's too complicated I don't mind keeping Picodrive as well for problematic games. I have space to spare.  :)

I love how SMS games look on this emulator. Finally Fullscreen. I do notice something weird with the sound in some games. Zillion 2 and Aztec Adventure and Fantasy Zone the maze. It sounds like sorta like Sega Genesis. Some actually sound better this way. But Zillion 2 is a bit weird.

Xaijiqq

  • Posts: 450
Re: Genesis Plus GX
« Reply #7 on: March 30, 2015, 08:11:57 pm »
thanks everyone!  also, i didn't know h.e.r.o. was ported to the sg-1000, interesting :D

kaio

  • Posts: 216
    • All about GCW-Zero on Russian + Repo
Re: Genesis Plus GX
« Reply #8 on: March 30, 2015, 09:20:29 pm »
David Knight & Shin-Nil, great thanks!!!
Now I can play Pier Solar with my Zero!
GCW-Zero | JXD S602

David Knight (OP)

  • Posts: 577
Re: Genesis Plus GX
« Reply #9 on: March 30, 2015, 09:42:06 pm »
I don't understand the cpu  flag that was talked about in the forum link you posted for making Popful Mail to work. If it's too complicated I don't mind keeping Picodrive as well for problematic games. I have space to spare.  :)

I love how SMS games look on this emulator. Finally Fullscreen. I do notice something weird with the sound in some games. Zillion 2 and Aztec Adventure and Fantasy Zone the maze. It sounds like sorta like Sega Genesis. Some actually sound better this way. But Zillion 2 is a bit weird.

Picodrive seems to play Mega CD games better right now.
The sound issues are due to "FM sound" emulation being turned on. See here for an explanation. Then turn off FM sound (Misc. menu) to get the original SMS music. (:ahem: as detailed at length in the comprehensive manual  ;) )

David Knight & Shin-Nil, great thanks!!!
Now I can play Pier Solar with my Zero!

I thought Pier Solar already ran fine on Picodrive?
« Last Edit: March 30, 2015, 09:56:34 pm by David Knight »

Awakened

  • Posts: 96
Re: Genesis Plus GX
« Reply #10 on: March 30, 2015, 10:12:15 pm »
I don't understand the cpu  flag that was talked about in the forum link you posted for making Popful Mail to work. If it's too complicated I don't mind keeping Picodrive as well for problematic games. I have space to spare.  :)
Popful Mail just works for me in this release without any special settings. If it's not working for you, there might be something wrong with your ISO. I'm using a bin/cue.

I can't get saving to work for Sega CD games in this release though. I tried it in Popful with either internal ram or ramcart. It didn't make any save files in the save/cd folder; I wonder if something is off with my permissions. Anyone else try it?

tekkaman

  • Posts: 118
Re: Genesis Plus GX
« Reply #11 on: March 30, 2015, 11:42:14 pm »
Sorry about that. It seems I wasn't using the latest version. I was using the one in the last link you posted in the development post. The manual is different and I see that explanation now.  :)  PopfulMail now works. No saving. And no music on the intro or title screen. But at least Genesis, SMS and GG seem to work perfectly. Great work!




« Last Edit: March 30, 2015, 11:52:33 pm by tekkaman »

Atlantis_Risen

  • Posts: 535
Re: Genesis Plus GX
« Reply #12 on: March 31, 2015, 01:42:47 am »
Is there a benefit for using this versus Picodrive?

Awakened

  • Posts: 96
Re: Genesis Plus GX
« Reply #13 on: March 31, 2015, 02:10:11 am »
And no music on the intro or title screen.

If you copy and paste this into your Popful Mail .cue file, it will hopefully fix that:

Code: [Select]
FILE "Popful Mail.bin" BINARY
    TRACK 01 MODE1/2352
      INDEX 01 00:00:00
    TRACK 02 AUDIO
      INDEX 00 39:47:27
      INDEX 01 39:49:27
    TRACK 03 AUDIO
      INDEX 00 42:09:57
      INDEX 01 42:11:57
    TRACK 04 AUDIO
      INDEX 00 44:35:29
      INDEX 01 44:37:29

Just make sure to change the filename to match your .bin file. Also I forgot to note that saving does work for MD, GG and SMS.

kaio

  • Posts: 216
    • All about GCW-Zero on Russian + Repo
Re: Genesis Plus GX
« Reply #14 on: March 31, 2015, 09:45:26 am »
I thought Pier Solar already ran fine on Picodrive?
It runs with glitches and save bugs. GenPlusGX run it perfectly.
All emulators have old school icons, except Genesis Plus GX.
PicoDrive -
GenPlus GX -
Will it possible to change in a future build to this - if it good?
Genesis 2 style
GCW-Zero | JXD S602

Xaijiqq

  • Posts: 450
Re: Genesis Plus GX
« Reply #15 on: March 31, 2015, 10:48:21 am »
I thought Pier Solar already ran fine on Picodrive?
It runs with glitches and save bugs. GenPlusGX run it perfectly.
All emulators have old school icons, except Genesis Plus GX.
PicoDrive -
GenPlus GX -
Will it possible to change in a future build to this - if it good?
Genesis 2 style
you could always use open package creator to replace the icon then repack the opk file: http://boards.dingoonity.org/gcw-releases/open-package-creator-1-1/

 :) for genplusgx i always use this:

Shin-NiL

  • Posts: 355
    • Shin-NiL's Personal Web Page (Brazilian Portuguese)
Re: Genesis Plus GX
« Reply #16 on: March 31, 2015, 12:57:50 pm »
I can't get saving to work for Sega CD games in this release though. I tried it in Popful with either internal ram or ramcart. It didn't make any save files in the save/cd folder; I wonder if something is off with my permissions. Anyone else try it?

Hey David, did you merge this commit with your code?

David Knight (OP)

  • Posts: 577
Re: Genesis Plus GX
« Reply #17 on: March 31, 2015, 08:19:36 pm »
I can't get saving to work for Sega CD games in this release though. I tried it in Popful with either internal ram or ramcart. It didn't make any save files in the save/cd folder; I wonder if something is off with my permissions. Anyone else try it?

Hey David, did you merge this commit with your code?

Yes, I had to before I could push my last few commits through.

EDIT PM sent, bug fixed, MCD saves will work properly in the next update.
« Last Edit: March 31, 2015, 09:25:24 pm by David Knight »

David Knight (OP)

  • Posts: 577
Re: Genesis Plus GX
« Reply #18 on: March 31, 2015, 08:24:51 pm »
Is there a benefit for using this versus Picodrive?

That depends. For SG1000, Game Gear and Master System you have the benefit of full screen emulation and correct colour rendering and optional FM sound on some Master System games. For MegaDrive/Genesis you have better sound emulation.
Overall Genesis is generally a more accurate emulator so will probably have less glitches than Picodrive.
However Picodrive is optimised for speed so is currently better for Virtual racing and fmv sequences in Mega CD games.

I am in touch with the Genesis Plus GX developer ekeeke who has suggested a way of improving MegaCD performance so hopefully this can be improved further.

tekkaman

  • Posts: 118
Re: Genesis Plus GX
« Reply #19 on: April 01, 2015, 02:57:37 am »
And no music on the intro or title screen.

If you copy and paste this into your Popful Mail .cue file, it will hopefully fix that:

Code: [Select]
FILE "Popful Mail.bin" BINARY
    TRACK 01 MODE1/2352
      INDEX 01 00:00:00
    TRACK 02 AUDIO
      INDEX 00 39:47:27
      INDEX 01 39:49:27
    TRACK 03 AUDIO
      INDEX 00 42:09:57
      INDEX 01 42:11:57
    TRACK 04 AUDIO
      INDEX 00 44:35:29
      INDEX 01 44:37:29

Just make sure to change the filename to match your .bin file. Also I forgot to note that saving does work for MD, GG and SMS.

Thanks for your help. But the game works fine in PicoDrive. So I don't think there's an issue with the cue file.