Brotikasten/BROTCD01.iso/spectrum/new.doc

Text File | 1994-12-28 | 14KB | 285 lines

Sinclair ZX Spectrum Emulator 'Z80' v3.03  -  29/12/94  -  by G.A. Lunter



Additions to the Spectrum Emulator, from the the first version that
was released, version 1.20.    (*) = only available to registered users.
Names between brackets are games that first indicated the presence of
the corresponding bug in the Z80 emulator.



29/12/94        Version 3.03 released

         (*)  - OUT2VOC now also handles 128k soundchip output.
         (*)  - TAP2VOC can now produce raw sample files.
              - Bugfix: Mouse and analogue joystick work together and
                properly.
              - Improved Hi Color Resolution emulation; the emulator uses
                different timings in 128K modes, and locks in on memory
                pushes to synchronise.  Most programs that use HCR effects
                work correctly now.
              - Bugfix: Without EMS memory, Multiface 128 did not work.
              - Small error fixed and explanation added in DOC about new
                .Z80 file headers.
              - Added: Switch to turn off Hi Color Resolution emulation
                completely; this saves another 40K over -xt.
              - Added: Program counter tracing feature.
              - Added: Information in documentation on Spectrum 128 video
                timings, and interrupt timings.
              - In 128 mode, out address 7FFD is decoded using only A15
                (and low order byte), making at least one problem program
                run.



3/11/94         Version 3.02 released

              - Bugfix: Without EMS memory, a Spectrum error with IF1 on
                locked the emulator or generated an 'IN 0 crash'.
         (*)  - Bugfix: OUT2VOC did not work properly for long samples.



28/10/94        Version 3.01 released

              - Bugfix: The ZX Printer code for Epson printer was faulty.
              - The phone number for B.G. Services in Z80.DOC was wrong.
              - The emulator can now log Z80 OUTs to any I/O port in a .OUT
                file, with timing information.
         (*)  - Added utility (OUT2VOC) to translate .OUT log files into
                .VOC sound sample files, for recording music and SAVEing
                directly to a .VOC file.
              - Added a new section to the documentation about the Disciple
                and +D interfaces.
              - Added section about the OUT2VOC utility.



20/10/94        Version 3.00 released

         (*)  - Disciple and Plus D disk interface emulation
              - ZX Printer support, for Epson and HP Laserjet compatibles
              - Emulation of hi-resolution color and border effects, using
                exact timing.
              - Multiface 128 emulation; useful to load M128 snaps without
                corrupting the screen
              - Mouse support, controlling either Spectrum joysticks or the
                AMS Mouse interface (supported by e.g. Art Studio)
              - A number of improvements and bugfixes of the Z80 processor
                emulation code, solving several problems with turbo
                loaders, most notably Ocean's.
              - All instructions emulated, including unofficial DDCB and
                FDCB ones, and all unofficial ED instructions.  Most
                unofficial flags emulated.
              - User defined joystick support
         (*)  - VOC file support - read programs stored in sound sample files
         (*)  - Emulator can read in real mode from SoundBlaster port
              - Faster code using 386+ instructions for VGA mode
              - Switch to remove info window when saving or loading
              - Emulator can set breakpoints at any address, invisible to
                the running program.
              - Can save any part of Spectrum memory to disk, and load it
                back in memory.
         (*)  - Utility to read a sound sample from the standard LPT tape
                interface, or the SoundBlaster, in a .VOC file
         (*)  - Utility to convert .TAP files to .VOC files
              - One-key joystick mode change, with ALT F4.
              - Improved emulation of 'floating bus' (try Arkanoid)
         (*)  - Bugfix Z802TAP; sometimes blocks got corrupted.
              - Bugfix: Digital Zandbergen joystick didn't work.
              - Multi-level support, in the same way as implemented in XZX
                version 0.5.2
              - Bugfix: MOVE from cartridge to another cartridge didn't
                work, due to buffering problems.
              - Bugfix: Several problems with the keyboard when running
                under Windows are solved.
              - Bugfix: R register doesn't change when going to main menu.
              - Better sound quality, and no border interference anymore in
                Real Mode when playing music.



20/5/93         Version 2.01a released (registered users only)

         (*)  - Fixed bugs in DISCiPLE disk read utility, and added option
                to copy all files at once.
              - Fixed typing error in Z80.EXE
              - Fixed small errors in Z80FAQ.DOC



3/5/93          Version 2.01 released.

              - Added LaTeX and PostScript doc, by Lars K\"oller,
              - Added Windows icon
              - Added -xb switch (black and white VGA)
              - Added remark about Czech registration to doc
              - Added various other things to doc
              - Fixed bug in (X-)Hercules border dithering



16/4/93         Version 2.00 released.

              - Z80 now supports the Spectrum 128, including '128 sound
                through PC speaker or AdLib compatible sound card,
              - Dutch documentation rewritten in English,
              - Much better tape support, with tape files on disk, support
                of headerless files and more difficult formats, easy access
                to programs using LOAD "name", multiple files in a single
                tape file, automatic mirroring of loaded blocks to tape
                files,
              - Microdrive support, 8 microdrives with cartridge-files
                holding up to 126K of data, low-level I/O compatibility,
              - VGA support, fast screen update and accurate colours
                including bright,
              - Z80 emulation nearly perfect, including emulation of
                unofficial flags and undocumented features. Timing of
                individual instructions is made much more accurate on fast
                computers, while maintaining maximum possible speed on slow
                ones,
              - Spectrum keyboard layout help-screen under ALT-F1,
         (*)  - Disciple/+D disk read utility can translate 48K and 128K
                snapshots to .Z80 files, and screen snapshots and normal
                files to .TAP files. It will now also read 5.25'' (720K
                80 track double density) disks, and some bugs have been
                fixed,
              - Z80 now reads a .INI file at startup for default settings,
              - Changing the hardware (SamRam, Spectrum 128) now possible
                on-the-fly,
              - The R register and LDIR emulation flags are saved in .Z80
                snapshots,
         (*)  - The emulation speed slowdown is now accurate from 8 MHz PC's
                to the fastest available 486 machines. The emulation speed
                can be brought back to 7%,
         (*)  - Source files now include source of SamRam software,
              - Support of AZERTY keyboards,
              - The emulator can now run under Windows,
              - Emulator can use other default 16K rom (switch -xr),
              - The program uses EMS if available, for fast bank switching,
         (*)  - CONVERT utility can now also convert a screen to a .PCX file,
         (*)  - CONVZ80 now also supports the .PRG and tape files of SpecEm
                (Kevin J. Phair) and tape files of ZX (Rindt and Bru