Makaron Test 12 released

[Robert]

Dreamcast / Naomi emulator. Get it HERE.

 

I'm have just released Makaron Test 12, though only the NAOMI side for now. I still have mixed feelings about it seeing how many problems were initially reported and how some of those still remain unsolved. I guess I better explain a few things first.

 

The way T12 handles flow of time is fundamentally different compared to previous versions. It allows for much tighter synchronization between emulated components but comes with a price: it's slower. It's not even so much the new system itself but the parameters it uses are not fine-tuned yet.

I figure some more feedback could help so that's why I'm going to release it anyway. You can always go back to T11 series if it's too slow or too buggy to be used.

It pretty much just works on Core2 CPUs but some older AMDs are struggling. There is a good chance changing some INI entries will make it work but that is exactly what I need you people to find out

 

So what's new? There is a simple GUI but it's not very functional yet. DIMM.ini file is gone, you can just load the game you want through GUI or command line. There is X360 gamepad support, in fact it's what I use mostly these days. Keyboard can still be used (with the obvious limitations in the analog department) but the mapping format and key codes have changed. And I'm still not sure this will be the final version. Sorry but that's WIP for you. It won't be that much of a problem once it can be fully configured from UI.

Pads other than X360 ones (or in other words: XInput based) are not supported. There is XInput emulation layer, you could try that if you wish.

 

Even if I can now run some protected cart games I will disable that functionality in the public version. This is still mostly incomplete and I don't want to deal with any "bug reports" about that. You can play GD-based games just fine.

 

 

UPDATE: There seems to be some confusion about this - it's not that I don't want to support DirectInput devices. It's just much more difficult and not a priority at this moment.

 

You can download NAOMI T12 here. The ReadMe became somewhat obsolete so I didn't include it. The INI files are commented.

Please make sure you understand how the new JVS.ini works before you submit a bug report about controls being broken. For keyboard-only replace it with the included example file. As for the key codes, 0-9 and a-z use ASCII, the rest is standard Win32 virtual keys.

 

Oh and you can only run one game and then you have to close Makaron. This is a simple bug but since I'm not done testing I want results from clean runs - so it stays for now

 

 

UPDATE 2: For X360 pads you can also assign LB/RB shoulder buttons and LT/RT triggers (only as digital and analog inputs respectively). Most games run happily with one just coin acceptor so don't presume you have to assign COIN2 input, just try adding credits and that should let Player 2 join in. For multiple pads add another X360 section, the number is the pad ID as displayed by the LED indicator. Remember to edit the controls to P2! Mixed X360/keyboard input is also possible but duplicate entries will not work.

 

Shooting games have no additional pointer to help with targeting but someone said this is how real players do this Let's see if that's true. I'm going to add it as an option anyway to next release. And while on the subject, you should enter game's test mode and calibrate the controls first. This is a bit tricky since X360 analog area is circular but it's possible to extend the corner reach a bit if you do this right.

The "out of sight" signal means the gun is not pointed at the screen (it's a separate signal from the gun position) and it's used for reloading. Most games have it wired to second digital input so it works like BUTTON2, just press B on X360.

 

If T12 is too slow for you but T11 worked fine then try to lower SH4 clock (first thing you should try is lowering clockmax - read the comments in NAOMI.ini). If that works for you then please report your system specs, game name and settings used.

You can also try relaxed timing mode but that should be last resort.

 

And one more thing: since F12 is used by MSVC debugger I moved the menu key to F11.