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<=-------------------------------------------=> MSX Emulator v1.2 Beta - 1994/95 © RED Soft <=-------------------------------------------=> (Shareware version, February'95) (Time limited) Programming and emulating systems by: --=> Juan Antonio Gómez Gálvez <=-- PSG emulation (MSX's sound chip) by: --=> Sergi Martínez <=-- <=---=> Index <=---=> 1.- Introduction. 2.- Menu 3.- Hardware emulation 4.- MSX peripherals emulation. 5.- MSX2 Emulator. 6.- Technical data. 7.- Errors, compatibility, etc... 8.- History... 9.- How to get the full version. 10.- Copyrights. 11.- Emulation quality 12.- Greetings. <=------------------------------------------------=> 1.- Introduction ---------------- This version (TIME LIMITED) is FreeWare, it can be freely spreaded as long as you don't sell it. All files must be present: MSX_v1.2 MSX Emulator with 256Kb RAM. (memory mapper) MSX_v1.2_(64Kb) MSX Emulator with 64Kb RAM. (a bit faster) MSX2_v1.7 MSX2 Emulator under developement. MSX_v1.2.doc Doc file in Spanish MSX_v1.2.English Doc file in English and .info files Icons <*> Requirements: ---------------------- - AMIGA computer with Motorola 68020 or better processor. - ROM 2.0 or newer. - File DEVS:mfm.device © Commodore-Amiga inc. - 1.3 Megs of memory approx. (AGA chipset is not required, but they are used if found) (mfm.device can be found in Workbench disk, in DEVS: drawer) The 64Kb version needs 45 seconds in a standard A1200 to startup the MSX Disk-Basic. It is just slow, it is not hung up! The 256Kb version is the best emulated one. The 64Kb version does not emulate some things in order for it to run faster (I only recommend to use the 64Kb version with 16/32Kb Japanesse games). This program is coded accessing AMIGA HARDWARE directly, so multitasking is disabled all the time, except when mfm.device is used to emulate disk drive during disk accesses. Due to this, I recommend not to have programs using multitasking when the emulator is used. The emulator also "freezes" input.device during the use of mfm.device. Many people asks me for a multitasking emulator. Well to do this I should use system libraries, and the emulator would be 5 times slower. Do you have an A4000/040? Well, I don't ;-). I just have an A1200. The emulator works a 18% SLOWER on 16bit-fast (PCMCIA) than on 32bit-Chip, so turn off your PCMCIA RAM to get a faster emulation. People with only 1Mb of 32bitFast should free as memory as possible in order for the emulator to load its code on Fast memory. Otherwise it will load on Chip memory and will run slower. You need more than 1Mb Fast for the MSX2 emulator! The MSX disk format is the same used by PCs (720Kb). If the disk you want to use with the MSX Emulator is formatted in a PC (or using PCx: drives on Amiga) and you want to boot from this disk with the MSX Emulator you should install a MSX boot on it. To do this, instert your PC-formatted diskette in DF0 and press the "MSX Boot" gadget in menu. If you don't do this, the emulator will hang up when trying to boot from that diskete. I do NOT guarantee this program emulates a complete MSX, I don't assume responsability if any information or data get lost when the emulator is being used. The emulation speed depends on the computer being used. To get the real MSX speed you need at least an A1200 equipped with 32bit Fastmemmory. Be patient if you own a standard 1200! <=------------------------------------------------=> To contact the author, write to: Juan Antonio Gomez Galvez Apdo. 275 08940 Cornella de Llobregat BARCELONA (Spain) Phone: +343 375-57-77 You can also contact Sergi Martinez via E-mail writting to: FIDONET 2:343/133.13 AMIGANET 39:190/2.13 REDBSS 757:101/8.13 VVISION 60:100/146.13 <=------------------------------------------------=> 2.- Menu -------- <*> Disk Drivers: ------------------ With these gadgets you select which Amiga-diskdrives will be used to emulate MSX drives A: and B: . If both A: and B: drives are OFF, the MSX Disk Basic ROM will not be emulated. <*> MSX joystick port 2: -------------------------- The "Port 0 ON" gadget is used to determine if the MSX port 2 is emulated or not. This port is emulated in the Amiga mouse port, and many games will consider it a joystick, reading nonsense values from the mouse. Activate this gadget only if you are going to use 2 joysticks. <*> MSX Boot: ------------- This gadget installs MSX boot-block on the disk inserted in DF0. You should only do this if the disk has been formatted in a PC or using Amiga PCx. <*> MSX.doc: ------------ Saves .doc files in RAM: <*> VDP Options: ---------------- - "Screen" selects display mode either PAL or NTSC. - "Inter" determines how many interruptions will be generated per second. In a real MSX, this value is 50 vblanks. If a game runs very slow, it is possible that setting this gadget to a lower value make it run a little faster. - "Re-Int": A lot of games used re-interruptions, and due to this I could make a lot better emulation. If your Amiga has enough speed, put it at 25 or 50 vblanks, but if you own a slow Amiga put it at 10 vblanks and some games will speed up. Note: I recomment setting it always at 10 vblanks, but if a game runs too fast and music is slower set it to 50 vblanks. (under some circumstances the emulator may hang-up if this value is 50 vblanks). <*> Emulation Speed: -------------------- With this gadget you can set the frame time that will be used to emulate the Z-80A CPU (100%=Top speed). If a game works too fast just put this slider to a lower value to slow it down. <*> Other Gadgets: ------------------ - About: Some credits about this great program! ----- - Go: Makes an MSX's hard reset. -- - Continue: To continue the emulation after presing Help. -------- - Exit: To quit this great program! ---- <=------------------------------------------------=> 3.- Hardware Emulation. ----------------------- <*> Z-80A (Processor) Emulated at a 98% ----------------------- All works correctly except this: - Flags N and H are not emulated. - SP register can write in ROM! - Flag P is only emulated at instructions OR, AND, XOR. Some games fail due to some bugs un Z-80A emulation. Theese bugs are very hard to find, so I will need a lot of time to find and fix them. A lot of things have been fixed and improved in Z-80A emulation, so a lot of programs that didn't work now run perfectly. <*> VDP (Graphics chip) Emulated at a 97% ------------------------- All works correctly except this: - Ampliated sprites are not emulated. - 8 sprites per line are supported instead of 4 in a real MSX. Due to this, in some games a sprite will not dissapear when it should. - Graphic mode 3 (SCREEN 3) not emulated. Why? Nobody used it... <*> PSG (Sound Chip) Emulated at a 99% ---------------------- It works correctly. <=------------------------------------------------=> 4.- MSX peripheals emulation. ----------------------------- <*> Joystick ports. Emulated at a 99% -------------------- (IN SHAREWARE VERSION JOYSTICK IS NOT EMULATED, YOU MUST USE KEYBOARD TO PLAY THE GAMES) Two firebuttons in MSX are supported. Left Amiga and Right Amiga keys work like joystick second firebutton. A Joypad can be used. Amiga firebutton 1 = MSX firebutton 1 Amiga firebutton 2 & 3 = MSX firebutton 2 Amiga A port = MSX B port Amiga B port = MSX A port <*> Keyboard. Emulated at a 99% -------------- Correctly emulated. There is a bug in Amiga 1200 keyboard, and some keys can't be pressed together. To solve this, you can press DEL key and then press all keys you want separately. MSX rom will think that you are pressing all keys at the same time until you press DEL key again. MSX keyboard is the same than Amiga's except the following keys: AMIGA MSX ------- ----- F6 SELECT F7 STOP F8 HOME/CLS F9 INS F10 DEL Left ALT GRAPH Right ALT CODE DEL Multikey mode ON/OFF < > CAPS LOCK ç Ç Dead key. (accents) Left Amiga JoyStick 1 - 2nd firebutton Right Amiga JoyStick 2 - 2nd firebutton HELP Go to Workbench's menu. (Exit) <*> Disk drive. Emulated at a 99% ---------------- Double sided MSX disks are supported. It is supposed that single sided disks will run, but I could not test this. Make sure your disks have got a MSX boot to avoid a hang up when the MSX is booting from a disk drive. You can install it in menu, using "MSX Boot" gadget. DO NOT INSTALL ALL DISKS you get, because some MSX disks had their own boot to run the game. Install only disks that you've formatted in a PC or using PCx: drives. To emulate MSX disk drives I have had to "kill" the interrupt that warns the Amiga that a disk has been changed, so when you exit the emulator the diskdrive will not recognise Amiga disks. I am sorry. <*> Memory. ------------ There are two versions: a 64Kb version and a 256Kb version (memory mapper). Sub-Slots (&HFFFF) are not supported. If you get a "Out of memory" error, try setting diskdrive B: as OFF. Why 2 versions of the emulator? In fact, only 256Kb version should be done, but in a standard 1200 it runs very slow. 64Kb version uses some "cheats" to get a 15% faster emulation, but with some limits. <*> Printer port. ------------------ Not emulated. (I don't have any printer, and I can't make an emulation without one!) <=------------------------------------------------=> 5.- MSX2 Emulator. ------------------ Included with this package there is a Preview version of my MSX2 emulator. Only a few things are emulated, but you can already run some programs like some "Peach-Up" disks. You will only be able to see some graphics, forget to load any game. This version emulates a complete MSX1 and screen 5 and screen 7 from MSX2 (sprites are not supported). Functions like Copy,Or,And,Xor, etc. are always emulated as if they were a Copy. Display refresh needs 1.3 seconds (it will be realtime in future versions). It fails a lot... Time (and me!) will fix it... MSX1 Mega-rom games that used MSX2 VRAM to store information can be runned with this version, but not all will work due to MSX1 ROM is implemented. I tested MSX2 ROM and it works well, but I do not emulate the battery-clock, so all data read from it is wrong. You must set all VDP registers "by hand" to get a screen. Due to all this things, I decided to include MSX1 ROM only. From now on, I will work in MSX2 emulator, and I will only fix bugs in MSX1 emulator when I find it during MSX2 coding. MSX2 preview version is identical to MSX1 256Kb version, but some things in MSX2 VDP are also emulated and 128Kb RAM is supported. MSX1 and MSX2 emulator will be sold separately (when I finish MSX2 emulator, of course ;-) <=------------------------------------------------=> 6.- Technical Data: ------------------- The emulator has been programmed using assembler, on an Amiga 1200 with external disk drive. From version 0.97 I get a 202Mb Harddisk (Wow! It is cool!) From version 1.01 I used a MC68020/28Mhz/4Mb-32bit-Fastram All tests have been done on my MSX1 Toshiba HX-20 with no diskdrive. I started this emulator on April 1994. 2 source codes have been programmed, one for the 64Kb version and the other for the Memory Mapper version, using DEVPAC III (c) HiSoft. In order to make the emulation as fast as possible, this program disables multitasking and it is programmed using Amiga hardware (all but the menu and diskdrive, of course!) MSX computer were made by a lot of companies, and not all of them are identical to each other although all they were compatible. This emulator is identical to these models: - Sony Hitbit 201P - Philips VG-8020 (you don't need POKE -1,170!) - and others I can't remember... (My lovely MSX was a Toshiba HX-20!) <*> Slots configuration on emulated MSX: ---------------------------------------- Slot 0: MSX ROM Slot 1: Cartdridge slot 1. Slot 2: Cartdridge slot 2. (MSX Disk-Basic ROM) Slot 3: 64Kb RAM (256Kb with memory mapper) <*> Sub-Slots not emulated. (Address &HFFFF) -------------------------- Sub-Slots are not emulated because of they were only used by MSX2. <*> Emulation on different Amigas: ---------------------------------- Here is a table with the time (in seconds) that need the following programs to run in both two versions of the emulator: (If you get any of the missing data, please send it to me) * PRG 1: For I=0 to 10000:Next * PRG 2: 10 Screen 2 20 Circle (100,100),80,15 30 Line (0,0)-(255,191),15,B 40 Paint (100,100),15 50 Goto 50 * Memory mapper / 64Kb RAM: --------------------------- Computer PRG 1 PRG 2 % ------------------------- ------- ------- --------- - real MSX: 17s 9s 100% - AMIGA 1200/20 44s/32s 24s/18s 37%/51% - AMIGA 1200/20+Fast32bit 22s/17s 11s/9s 79%/100% - AMIGA 1200/20+Fast16bit 60s/ 33s/ 28%/ - AMIGA 1200/20 28Mz. 12s/9s 6s/4s 146%/197% - AMIGA 1200/30 28Mz. /9s - AMIGA 1200/30 50Mz. - AMIGA 500/30 50Mz. - AMIGA 3000/30 25Mz. - AMIGA 4000/30 33Mz. 12s/9s 5s/4s 161%/197% Note: This results may very depending on the MSX program we test. <=------------------------------------------------=> 7.- Errors, compatibility, etc... --------------------------------------- When you have got an emulator and a program for the computer emulated you always think: "will it work?". If it works all is OK, but if it fails we always think that the emulator doesn't work correctly. Of course the emulator still has some bugs, because they are very difficult to find. These bugs will be being fixed in future versions, but this can last a lot of time (MSX emulator source is HUGE) But not all fails are because of bugs, they can be for other reasons: MSX computer, just like PC incompatibles, were manufactured by a lot of companies, and not all MSX were identical each other. Well, some bad programmed games does not take care of theese possible differences and they only work in certain machines. MSX emulator tries to emulate the most extended MSX computer configuration, but some programs will still fail. Some games were originally designed to run from tape, but pirates converted them to disk. MSX Disk ROM uses some memory to manage disk drives, and due to this some games won't work because they won't find enough free memory. Theese games won't even work on a real MSX in the same circumstances. Other games were converted to disk but the pirates who made the conversion used some features only available in MSX2 computers, even if the original game ran on all MSX1 computers. Try running them on the MSX2 emulator, but they may still fail due to MSX2 ROM is not present. MSX1 computers were limited to 64Kb. Mega-rom cartdridges had a own memory expansion, so they couldn't be converted to disk with only 64Kb. MSX2 computers had at least 128Kb ram and 128Kb Vram, so prirates used this to convert theese games to disk and used some features that only MSX2 computers supported. So if a MSX1 game uses MSX2 rom it won't work, and if it uses MSX2 Vram you can run it with MSX2 emulator. Some 64Kb tape games were converted to disk by pirates, and multiload was disabled using the MSX2 memory mapper. Due to this, a 64Kb game may not load in 64Kb version of the MSX emulator, so you will have to load it in 256Kb version... Some games fail due to emulation speed is slower than MSX speed. These games would fail in a MSX slower than the standard. If it happens, try setting "Re-Int" gadget in menu to a lower value. Well, don't be scared! The emulator works perfecty with most games, and if one fails maybe another version of the same program works correctly... All programs that work in PC's MSX emulator should run in Amiga's MSX emulator (and even better!). If a program doesn't work, try it on another version of the emulator (64Kb, 256Kb, MSX2...) <=------------------------------------------------=> 8.- History... ------------ - MSX Emulator v0.7: (April 1994) -------------------- First version under developement. Poor Z-80A and VDP emulation. - MSX Emulator v0.8: -------------------- RRD and RLD instructions fixed. DAA emulated. Fixed some Flags Lots of optimizations in Z-80A. - MSX Emulator v0.85: --------------------- Uses fastmemory at a 75%. (64Kb RAM MSX in Chip) Poor re-interruptions emulation. Improved sprites routines. Flags routines optimized. Optimization in Z-80A CPU - MSX Emulator v0.9: -------------------- Uses fastmemory at a 100%. Supports VBR in Fast. Optimizations and bugfixes in Z-80A. PSG emulation (sound) (not finished) - MSX Emulator v0.95: (First BETA version) --------------------- Workbench executable version. Super-optimized Z-80A. Flag P emulated at a90%. DAA instruction fixed. VDP emulation re-designed and re-programmed. (Super-Optimized) Uses AGA chipset if found. Fixed PSG volume. Re-interruptions system finished. 256Kb version (memory mapper) under developement. - MSX Emulator v0.97: (October 1994) --------------------- PSG noise channels emulated. Re-interruptions system fixed. Changes in Workbench menu. (Version 1.0 had to be finished in December 1994, but I was ill at the hospital for almost two months and I couldn't do it). - MSX Emulator v1.01: (February 1995) --------------------- AGA chipset detection routine fixed (it failed in A3000) Diskdrive emulated Finished Z-80A emulation Finished VDP emulation Finished PSG emulation Available 256Kb (memory mapper) version - MSX Emulator v1.2: -------------------- * 64Kb version: F register correctly emulated (only flags S,Z,P/V,C) * 256Kb version: F register correctly emulated (only flags S,Z,P/V,C) Page overflow fully supported Interrupts only occur between Z-80A instructions Interrupts are ignored inmediately after the EI instruction Interrupts mode 2 emulation under developement. MSX2 emulator under developement. I think there will be future versions with some bugs fixed. An emulator never can be non-BETA version. <=------------------------------------------------=> 9.- How to get the full version: -------------------------------- To get this version or the last version I have got without time limit and with all gadgets working you must register. What is registering? Well, it's easy. You must send me a letter with this information: <=---------------------------------------------------------------------=> MSX1 Emulator Register: ----------------------- - Full Name: ____________________________________________________________ - Address: ______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ - Amiga you own: ________________________________________________________ - Bugs, suggestions, Ideas, etc... ______________________________________ <=---------------------------------------------------------------------=> <*> Very important: - ONLY FOR THE MSX1 EMULATOR. - If your name or address is missing, your register won't be valid. -=> To register, write to: ---------------------- Juan Antonio Gomez Galvez Apdo: 275 08940 Cornella de Llobregat BARCELONA You will recive the registered version of the MSX1 emulator in C.O.D. (to Cash On Delivery). I think it will cost you about $30 (I don't know the cost of sending a disk outside Spain). The disk I will send to you will be a new TDK or Nashua disk, with the latest available version of the emulator and REGISTERED WITH YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS. What will I get if I register this program? - This version (or newer) of MSX emulator with unlimited time, joysticks enabled and all menu options working. - The MSX2 Emulator will be cheaper for you (if I finish it) - All new versions of this program without paying it again. In that case you should send me a disk every 2 or 3 months and I will copy you the latest version available. How can I loose my register? The version I sent to you has your name and address on it. Also there is a code inside the emulator, so I will know who spreaded a registered version even if register name and address have been changed. So if I find this program in a BBS or somebody tells me that he has seen a "cracked" version, the guy who spreaded the program will loss his register. MSX EMULATOR IS NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN, so it can NOT be sold. If somebody buys the registered version to another one, he won't have the profits of being a registered user. And after that, I would like to say the following: I do NOT guarantee this program emulates a complete MSX, I am not responsible if anuthing fails or doesn't work. I assume NO responsabilities if information or data are lost when using the emulator. Thigs that doesn't work in shareware version, will probably don't work in registered version. <=------------------------------------------------=> 10.- Copyrights --------------- DEVPAC III is © HiSoft. GadToolsBox is © Jaba Development. mfm.device is © Commodore-Amiga inc. MSX Roms are © ASCII corp. Amiga's MSX Emulator is © RED Soft S.L. (Barcelona) Spain. ZXAM Spectrum Emulator is © Toni Pomar (WareSoft). <=------------------------------------------------=> 11.- Emulation quality: ----------------------- The emulation is very good, and most programs work perfectly, except the game "Turbo Girl", where graphics show up corrupted. I have been looking for this bug, but I couldn't find it yet. Graphic quality of the emulator depends on the game we emulate. Japanish games used hardware very correctly and the emulation is awesome, but most european or american games were Spectrum conversion. That means that the game was first programmed on a Spectrum and then modified a little to make it run on a MSX, so we had a MSX emulatin Spectrum screen. MSX's graphic chip is a lot better than Spectrum's one, and is much more difficult to emulate. So if you want to play a Spectrum converted game, I recommend you to use the great ZXAM Spectrum Emulator by Toni Pomar, because it is better emulate a Spectrum than emulate a MSX that is emulating a Spectrum. <=------------------------------------------------=> 12.- Greetings. --------------- I wish to greet all following people their helps in the developement of the MSX emulator: - Manuel Hiniesta for his great ideas and letting me test all I wanted on his MSX2, and for talking about my emulator in 6th MSX-Party in Barcelona. - Jordi Tirado for lending me some books. - Sergi Martinez for his PSG emulation and many other helps, and for looking for information about diskdrives and Z-80A secret instructions. Greets also for uploading the emulator to some BBSs and for his helps during the developement of the program. - Ronald Gorter and Albert Siersema for all informations about MSX's disk drivers. - Alberto Orante for Workbench's MSX icons and for trying to find information about MSX diskdrives. - Toni Pomar for telling me Z-80A secret instructions. (Only you and me know how hard is to code a Z-80A emulator, isn't it? Good luck with your Spectrum +3 128Kb emulator!) - MEGA Soft for all MSX games. - Juanma y Rafa Romero for letting me test the emulator on their A1200+32bit Fastmemory. - Alex Baque (Nuku-Nuku/Future Brain) for letting me test the emulator on his A4000/030 - 33Mz. - Miguel Angel (Puck/Unknowns) for testing the emulator on his A1200 + fast 16bits. (PCMCIA) <*=*> Thanks to all following people for their moral support: -------------------------------------------------------------- - All Mezcal group. (Leviathan, Frank-Einstein and Wolf Man) - José García, Raul Ureña, Ricardo Martínez, Eduardo Martínez (your texts in MSX-Club magazine are excellent), Javier López, Antonio Olivero and Jose Carlos de Albuquerque. Greetings to all these people that didn't left the MSX, not like me who left it and bought an Amiga (I was an Anti-Amiga too! ;-) <*=*> This program is dedicated to my BEST friends: (Not in special order) ---------------------------------------------------- Manuel Hiniesta, Jordi Tirado, David Rael, José Alvelo, Francisco Carretero, Toni Molar, Isa Cabello, Bea Román, Loli Sánchez, Ana Cabello, Montse Mansilla and my little sister Rafy. And always remember... Motorola inside, Intel outside. Adeu! ("See you" in Catalan) <=------------------------------------------------=> Juan Antonio Gomez - Programmer. // Thanks to \X/ Amiga for being the best computer.