A new FBA is here. Putting it up on here for now as the official site appears to be down again.

 

I've been extremely busy with other things so this release comes after a bigger gap than normal but there is plenty of new stuff.

 

This list is nothing like exhaustive. These are only the highlights of a big new version;

 

* Thanks to the contributions of OopsWare we have some nice new drivers

o PGM Hardware

o Video System Hardware

o 1945k III

o Gals Panic

o Power Instinct

o Shadow Force

* I have been busy with the following

o Added a Sega System 18 driver

o Added Ace Attacker, Excite League and Super League to the Sega System 16 drivers

o Added various bootlegs to the Sega System 16 driver

o Added driver for Kaneko 16 Hardware

o Added Honey Dolls, Snow Bros. 3, and The Winter Bobble to the Pandora based driver

o Added a generic lightgun interface to the burn library and converted all existing drivers to use it

o Emulated column and row scroll in System 16 tilemaps (still has a few issues with a few instances)

o Added support for (multiple) YM2612/3438 sound chips (as used by System 18)

o Added support for the RF5C68 PCM sound chip (still has issues which escape me at present, used by System 18)

o Fixed an issue with high BPP support in the generic tiles interface

o Matched all sets to MAME 0.117u3 and added some clones to various drivers

* Added Ganbare Ginkun and Riot to the Tecmo 16 driver [bisonSAS]

* Added kev's preliminary Dec0 driver to debug builds [kev]

http://www.barryharris.me.uk/

Mac-Plus emulator

August 2, 2007

 

There is now a Mini vMac 3.0.2 alpha, with an assortment of bug fixes, new compile time options, and few changes to behavior.

 

The main change to the behavior of the default compile is that the stopped mode toggle is now Control-S-D instead of Control-S-S. Before I had wanted to make it quick to type, but now I think it is more important to prevent hitting it accidentally.

 

Another change is that the variation name displayed in the about message, and used for file names, no longer includes the development environment used to compile it or the debug status, but only has the program name abbreviation, the version number, and the target. Such as minivmac-3.0.2-imch, for the the Intel Macintosh version of Mini vMac 3.0.2.

 

When switching back to the Mini vMac application, previous versions would always ignore keys that were already held down. There is now a special case such that immediately after a drag and drop on Mini vMac, it will not ignore keys already held down. This makes it easier to rebuild the desktop of disk images by holding down command and option. However, the keys that map to command and option can have special meanings in other operating systems. (For example, in OS X, clicking on the window of another application with command and option down will hide all other applications.) So it usually works better to press command-option right before dropping, instead of before dragging. (Thanks to a complaint by David Sibley for this feature.)

 

An obscure change is that when entering the control mode, or the open dialog, or switching to another application, all the emulated keys (except for caps lock) are released immediately, instead of waiting until normal emulation resumes. An even more obscure change is that in the control mode, changes to the caps lock key take effect immediately, instead of waiting until leaving the control mode.

 

There is now a compile time option, “-ccs”, to swap the emulated Control and Command keys. And there is an experimental option, “-akm”, for making some keys more convenient to use.

 

The build system now supports more versions of Xcode. (Thanks to complaints from David Mullin.)

 

The build system now includes targets for Solaris, for use by Luc Pauwels port. So far the only change to the generated source from the linux target is to include the 'posix4' library. (And also the different target means the variation name, used in the about message, is different.)

 

The build system now has an option, “-pk”, to package the compiled application in a format suitable for distribution.

 

The biggest bug fixed in this version is that in OS X the clock could be off by some hours because the time zone wasn't taken into account correctly. This happened because I was recently updating the OS X specific code to remove deprecated calls, which now seems to have been a waste, since now it seems the entire carbon API is basically deprecated.

 

Another bug fixed in OS X, and also earlier Mac OS, is that dragging and dropping onto the open file dialog would also immediately try to mount that file in Mini vMac.

 

A call to XFlush was missing in the X version (such as the linux port), and the most noticeable effect was the lack of drawing when Mini vMac was in the background with the run in background option on.

 

The Windows and X versions now support the PageUp, PageDown, Home, End, Help/Ins, and ForwardDelete keys.

 

An obscure bug fixed is that the mouse position could shift slightly when leaving full screen mode (or entering the open dialog in full screen mode). A more obscure bug fixed in the Macintosh versions is that {mouse down, control-o, mouse up, type escape key} would leave the emulated mouse stuck down.

News / Download

TG16 / PCE emulator

2007/08/03 1.21 released

- The operation timing of CD-DA(CD sound source) play processing was elaborately brought close to a real machine. I think that the timing of the voice and the image became it in a lot of games as well as a real machine.

- Processing related to the memory access and drawing, etc. was sped up. I think that processing lightened in some measure of a personal computer environment so not fast.

- When "Gradius II" is started, it become the mode to which the laser and spread-bomb do not blink. As a result, it is possible to play comfortably. In case of unnecessary, remove the check on "Auto Improve Graphics (Gradius II)" of "Setting->CPU" menu.

- In "Rainbow Island", when the display of "Hurry!!" appears, the going under water scene was made reproduction near real machine (The character display remains in the line top of water).

- In "Top wo Nerae vol.1", the load to the personal computer has been decreased.

- In some games ("BURAI" etc.), when the CD sound source is played, the bug that had stopped in the first part once occasionally (generated from v1.19) was corrected.

- "PC Performance Test" was added to "Info" menu. Whether Ootake operates comfortably without the processing delay is checked. If "((( Bad Condition [x]! )))" is displayed, the processing delay has occurred. In that case, the trouble (in the game) might occur because the disk access timing is late when playing "CD-Game".

- Additionally, a detailed part has been improved and corrected.

>> Get it HERE.

Just a few days ago, mod-chip sellers were raided by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Because of this, even Team-Xecuter, leader in XBOX and XBOX 360 mod-chips, have thrown in the towel and will no longer be making products for the industry. This could only be the beginning.

Federal agents have carried out a series of raids against individuals and businesses in 16 states as part of an investigation into the distribution and sale of mod chips. Dubbed "Operation Tangled Web", the 32 search warrants were executed by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from 22 offices, with assistance from the gaming industry.

Related Stories

 

* Modder faces jail time after raid turns up counterfeit games, mod chips

* Mod chip seller hit with million-dollar damages

 

Those targeted by Operation Tangled Web are accused of direct involvement with the console-modding community, including those engaging in the import, distribution, sale, and installation of mod chips for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo Wii, Xbox, and Xbox 360. The ICE was the lead agency in the raids due to its responsibility for keeping counterfeit and pirated goods off of US store shelves.

 

The raids come in the wake of the arrest of a San Diego resident for selling pirated games and modded consoles. Frederick Brown was arrested in late June by the San Diego Computer and Technology Crime High-Tech Response Unit after advertising his services on Craigslist and other web sites.

 

"Illicit devices like the ones targeted today are created with one purpose in mind, subverting copyright protections," said Julie L. Myers, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in a statement. "These crimes cost legitimate businesses billions of dollars annually and facilitate multiple other layers of criminality, such as smuggling, software piracy and money laundering."

 

Despite Myers' assertion that mod chips are created for the sole purpose of subverting copyright, the truth is that they are popular with gamers for a number of reasons—some of which arise from frustrations related to fair use. Mod chips extend the functionality of the consoles, allowing gamers to load full games onto hard drives (making it easier to lug one's favorite games to a friend's house), use the consoles as media centers, and play homebrew content. In contrast, the hardware companies and the Entertainment Software Association can't stand them because they can also be used to play pirated discs; that's the rationale given by the ICE for the raids.

 

In a statement released this afternoon, the ESA applauded the crackdown. "Enforcement initiatives of this scope send a clear message to both the public and pirate community that this illegal activity will not be tolerated," said ESA president Michael Gallagher. The ESA estimates its total worldwide losses due to piracy at $3 billion annually. Those numbers should be taken with a large grain of sodium chloride, as actual losses from piracy are notoriously hard to assess, and the software industry is not above inflating its piracy-related losses.

 

Those arrested could be charged with violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, specifically its provisions dealing with the circumvention of copy-protection controls. Although the raids won't wipe out the modding community, it is likely to drive sales of mod chips further underground—especially since some storefront retail operations were targeted in the raids.

Source: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070...wide-raids.html