docs/WHATSNEW

   1 Virtual Jaguar v2.1.3 R4 GCC/Qt
   2 -------------------------------
   3
   4 * Fixed a crash legacy issue when emulator launches in Alpine mode without a valid rom
   5 * Stability improvements for the DWARF information decoding, the all watch, and the debugger memory windows
   6 * Improvements and fixes for the Heap allocation, the Alpine tab, the emulator status, Local & all Watch variables windows
   7 * Debugger mode improvements, better source code file reading and ELF/DWARF structures decoding
   8 * Breakpoint / alert box may now occur in case of writing at unknown memory location or in case of ROM writing
   9 * UI modifications mostly for the debugger mode, key bindings, and icons
  10 * Added screenshot & call stack window features, Jaguar model & BIOS configurations, and a source code files list viewer
  11 * Added multiple breakpoints feature but only for M68K functions
  12 * Added a Save Dump As... feature to save a memory zone to a file
  13 * Added a cartdridge view menu to display cartdridge directory system and his files list
  14 * Added some log information for the emulator initialisations
  15 * Added search paths in case of missing DWARF directories information
  16 * Added ELF sections check so a potential unknown section will stop, or not stop, the ELF structure decoding
  17 * Minor misspellings fixes and text help update
  18 * The -d command line option, dedicated to the debugger, has been renamed with -D
  19 * Updates for the setup registries
  20
  21
  22 Virtual Jaguar v2.1.3 R3 GCC/Qt
  23 -------------------------------
  24
  25 * Added an Exception Vector Table browser window
  26 * Modified the About window to update the credits list in a more appropriate way
  27 * Fixed a crash when reading the DWARF information in the case of the DWARF2 format has not been used
  28 * Added ui, alpine & debugger groups in the settings
  29 * Added the possibility to erase settings
  30 * Added the --es-all, --es-ui, --es-alpine & --es-debugger options to erase specific settings
  31 * Added a key bindings tab and adapted the configuration dialog tabs
  32 * Fixed a crash, in Release mode, when the HW labels setting is turn on
  33 * Fixed the SP (Stack) window UI potential missing data
  34 * Create a directory for EEPROMs (based on the EEPROMs setting) if it doesn't already exist
  35 * Keep the scrollbar position in accordance of the M68K PC pointer
  36 * Fixed a crash when DWARF information report a source line number exceeding the number of lines present in a source file
  37 * Improved the .heap section detection to avoid a detection error
  38 * Fixed a crash when DWARF information does references to missing source code files
  39 * Added a Local browser window for local variables
  40
  41
  42 Virtual Jaguar v2.1.3 R2 GCC/Qt
  43 -------------------------------
  44
  45 * Added some error detections when reading the ELF executable file
  46 * Added all hardware labels (based on the document scans from the Version 2.4 - June 7, 1995)
  47 * "Step Over" code function for BSR/JSR functions
  48 * Added the .debug_ranges detection to avoid a detection error
  49 * DWARF format support
  50 * Added an All Watch browser window for non-local variables
  51 * Added a heap allocator browser window based on my own memory allocation functions
  52 * Added additional 4 memory browser windows with address input based on hexa, decimal or symbol name
  53 * Windows refreshing executed only if windows is visible
  54 * Added a restart function
  55 * Updated the About window to update the credits list
  56 * Fixed (hacking) the display of the SP (Stack) memory browser
  57 * Set the emulator in Halt mode when launched in alpine debug mode without a loaded rom
  58 * Added some information in the --help/-h/-? option
  59 * --debugger option no longer force the log file
  60 * Added a --dram-max option to extend the DRAM size to 8MB
  61 * Added the "enter" key support when setting the BPM (Breapoint)
  62 * Save the windows positions, size and visibilities (show or hide) status
  63
  64
  65 Virtual Jaguar v2.1.3 R1 GCC/Qt
  66 -------------------------------
  67
  68 * BPM (Breapoint) now stop at the designated address and no longer stop after executing the code
  69 * Added SP (Stack) memory browser
  70 * User can change now the number of lines of disassembly displayed in the tracing window
  71 * User can turn on/off the op-codes associated in the disassembly lines displayed in the M68K tracing window
  72 * Added an emulator status window (GPU status, M68K debugger & tracking status)
  73 * Added a GPU disassembly tracing window - Display the current PC pointer
  74 * Added a DSP disassembly tracing window - Display the current PC pointer
  75 * Added possibility to change refresh rate of browser windows when emulation is launched
  76 * Display partial hardware labels (Internal Memory & Graphics sub-system address space) in the disassembly lines displayed in the M68K tracing window
  77 * User can turn on/off the hardware labels associated in the disassembly lines displayed in the M68K tracing window
  78
  79
  80 Virtual Jaguar v2.1.3 R0 GCC/Qt
  81 -------------------------------
  82
  83 * New option --debugger
  84 * ELF format support
  85 * ELF debug symbol support
  86 * "Step Into" code function
  87 * Menus layout dedicated to the debugger
  88 * Added a dedicated main window for tracing (M68K)
  89 * Added a Debugger tab in the config tab
  90
  91
  92 Virtual Jaguar v2.1.3 GCC/Qt
  93 ----------------------------
  94
  95 * Added interlaced mode handling. [Shamus]
  96
  97
  98 Virtual Jaguar v2.1.2 GCC/Qt
  99 ----------------------------
 100
 101 * Bugfix for catastrophic failure in Controller config dialog. Thanks to ggn for
 102   reporting this! [Shamus]
 103 * Bugfix for non-English locales. Thanks to SCPCD for reporting! [Shamus]
 104
 105
 106 Virtual Jaguar v2.1.1 GCC/Qt
 107 ----------------------------
 108
 109 * Added controller profiles. What this means is that if you left your gamepad
 110   behind and/or have a different one, VJ will let you create a controller
 111   config for the new controller without destroying the old one. This also means
 112   that if you have *no* controllers, you can still play VJ with the keyboard.
 113   [Shamus]
 114 * Fixed a few problems with the DSP timing; as a result, the sound in Rayman
 115   and the FACTS demo is correct now. [Shamus]
 116 * Removed toolbar from full screen mode. [Shamus]
 117 * Added analog inputs to gamepad support. [Shamus]
 118 * Fixed 6MB cartridge space access limitation. 6MB carts should work now.
 119   [Shamus]
 120 * Fixed problem with JERRY interrupts corrupting the M68K core. [Shamus]
 121
 122
 123 Virtual Jaguar v2.1.0 GCC/Qt
 124 ----------------------------
 125
 126 * Added gamepad support. [Shamus]
 127 * Added fullscreen option. [Shamus]
 128 * Added some more developer goodies to Alpine mode. [Shamus]
 129 * Re-added command line switches. [Shamus]
 130 * Moved JERRY into host audio IRQ. This should make sound much smoother, though
 131   it may run ahead of the rest of the emulator. [Shamus]
 132 * Kludged a fix into the audio handler to set the correct frequency for audio
 133   playback. Note that there could still be problems with this approach, as it
 134   can be easily fooled. Thanks to Dr. Typo for the initial analysis and insight
 135   into this bug. :-) [Shamus]
 136 * Preliminary fixes for proper emulation of memory reads between $200000 and
 137   $800000. [Shamus]
 138 * Proper handling in the OP of objects with 0 IWIDTH. [Shamus]
 139
 140
 141 Virtual Jaguar v2.0.2 GCC/Qt
 142 ----------------------------
 143
 144 * Fixed problem on OP with 24BPP bitmaps. [Shamus]
 145 * Cosmetic GUI fixes. [Shamus]
 146 * Switched to UAE 68000 CPU core. [Shamus]
 147 * Fixed some RISC STORE and LOAD alignment issues. Still need to verify against
 148   real hardware. [Shamus]
 149 * Fixed video frame timing for both NTSC *and* PAL. [Shamus]
 150 * Improved OP logging, added emulation of OP bug. [Shamus]
 151 * Fixed addressing bug with UAE 68000 core. [Shamus]
 152
 153
 154 Virtual Jaguar v2.0.1 GCC/Qt
 155 ----------------------------
 156
 157 * Fixed NTSC timings; they were hardwired to PAL rates. [Shamus]
 158 * Fixed possible missing trailing slash on path fields input by user. [Shamus]
 159 * Fixed exit hotkey to work on Win32. [Shamus]
 160 * Changed PAL/NTSC switch to only work when virtual machine is powered off.
 161   [Shamus]
 162 * Miscellaneous documentation fixes. [Shamus]
 163
 164
 165 Virtual Jaguar v2.0.0 GCC/Qt
 166 ----------------------------
 167
 168 * Switched GUI to Qt. And there was much rejoicing. ;-) [Shamus]
 169 * Added detection code to fish out files from inside ZIP archives. What this
 170   means is that now you can have other goodies inside of your ROM ZIP like
 171   labels, box art, and overlays. See built-in help for details. [Shamus]
 172 * Various usability improvements, too many to list here. ;-) [Shamus]
 173 * Various compatibility improvements to the Jaguar core, too many to list
 174   here. ;-) [Shamus]
 175
 176
 177 Virtual Jaguar v1.1.0 GCC/SDL (r299 - Never officially released)
 178 ----------------------------------------------------------------
 179
 180 * Switched OpenGL rendering to 32 BPP. This is not only how a real Jaguar
 181   renders graphics, but it also gives VJ a nice speed boost. ;-) [Shamus]
 182 * Changed execution to a time-based solution so that timers and IRQs and
 183   such can happen when they're supposed to. [Shamus]
 184 * Fixed blitter writes so that Intensity[0-3] and Z[0-3] are written in the
 185   correct order. [Shamus]
 186 * Major rewrite of blitter to conform the the TOM ASIC nets. This should fix a
 187   bunch of stuff that wasn't working correctly before. [Shamus]
 188 * Fixed writes to 64 bit blitter registers. [Shamus]
 189 * Refactored GUI to be more maintainable, better looking and more responsive.
 190   [Shamus]
 191
 192
 193 Virtual Jaguar v1.0.7 GCC/SDL
 194 -----------------------------
 195
 196 * Various fixes to make for smoother compilation on MacOS. [Adam Green]
 197 * Fixes to filetype parsing. VJ now properly recognizes .abs, .jag, .rom,
 198   and .j64 files--be sure to check the README for the gory details! [Shamus]
 199 * Added a kludge to allow homebrew demos to run without a Stubulator ROM and
 200   without crashing the emulator. [Shamus]
 201 * Fixed a blitter intensity addition problem. This fixes the title in Hover
 202   Strike and the road/shadows in Checkered Flag. [Shamus]
 203 * Partially fixed a problem with the SUBC opcode in the RISC processors. This
 204   allows Hover Strike, Phase Zero and Fight For Life to boot into their title
 205   screens and makes them somewhat playable. [Shamus]
 206 * Fixed a horizontal scaling problem in the OP and the off-by-one bug that it
 207   reintroduced. This fixes the road in Atari Karts and probably a few others.
 208   [Shamus]
 209 * Fixed a long standing blitter bug that kept certain doors in AvP from
 210   rendering correctly. [Shamus]
 211 * Fixed some vertical positioning bugs in the OP. Now Checkered Flag, Alien
 212   vs Predator and probably others now work as they should (graphically ;-)
 213   [Caz]
 214 * Better GUI support. Most options in the GUI work now, and more are expected
 215   to be functional in the near future. [Shamus]
 216 * Fixed a few more lingering blitter bugs (there are more to be found). This
 217   fixes most of the glitches in Cybermorph and Alien vs Predator. [Shamus]
 218 * Fixed an Object Processor scaled bitmap bug that caused incorrect
 219   positioning of scaled bitmaps that started outside the line buffer, and
 220   also fixed a problem that caused the OP to hang in certain situations. This
 221   fixes Bubsy, International Sensible Soccer, and probably a few others.
 222   [Shamus]
 223 * Cleaned up various bits of video rendering related code. [nwagenaar]
 224 * Added support for OpenGL textures with a depth of 16bpp, 24bpp or 32bpp.
 225   [nwagenaar]
 226 * Rewrote several OpenGL related rendering code concerning the new OpenGL
 227   texture depths and texture sizes. [nwagenaar]
 228 * Rewrote several OpenGL rendering functions concerning speed related items.
 229   [nwagenaar]
 230 * Several bugs resolved due to OpenGL and normal rendering code. [nwagenaar]
 231 * Default resolution for OpenGL is now 640x480. [nwagenaar]
 232
 233
 234 Virtual Jaguar v1.0.6 GCC/SDL
 235 -----------------------------
 236
 237 * Added support for gzipped ROM files. [Adam Green]
 238 * Added OpenGL support. Because of this, aspect ratios in the various
 239   graphic modes should be correct now. Thanks goes to Niels for enlightenment
 240   in this area. :-) [Shamus]
 241 * Moved all platform specific video code to video.cpp. This should make it
 242   easier to add functionality to the video subsystem without having to chase
 243   code around in places where it didn't belong. [Shamus]
 244 * Key bindings are now customizable. [Shamus]
 245 * VJ now uses a config file (vj.cfg) for commonly used settings. Settings in
 246   the config file can still be overridden by command line switches. [Shamus]
 247 * Preliminary GUI mouse support. [Shamus]
 248 * Fixed an off-by-one bug in the Object Processor when dealing with scaled
 249   bitmap objects. [Shamus]
 250 * Fully virtualized screen size. What this means is that we can keep the
 251   Jagaur screen displayed in a convenient size (320 x 240) and the graphics
 252   that various ROMs display will now be properly centered (more or less, they
 253   were really centered for a TV display). [Shamus]
 254 * Border color is now displayed properly. [Shamus]
 255 * Fully pipelined DSP core. Because of this, Wolfenstein 3D now has sound. To
 256   use the old core, use the -nopipeline switch. [Shamus]
 257
 258
 259 Virtual Jaguar v1.0.5 GCC/SDL
 260 -----------------------------
 261
 262 * Various fixes to the codebase so that it compiles and works properly on
 263   Linux. :-) The makefiles are almost identical now, the only thing that's
 264   different between them are the SYSTYPE and EXESUFFIX variables defined at
 265   the top. [Shamus]
 266 * Fixed a pernicious blitter bug that kept Rayman from doing proper collision
 267   detection. [Shamus]
 268 * Added a simple file selector so that typing in long filenames in order to
 269   run the emulator is no longer necessary. :-) To use it, instead of
 270   supplying a ROM name, simply put in the name of the directory where your
 271   ROMs live. [Shamus]
 272 * Removed all the assembly language code from the DSP, so it should be a
 273   little less buggy now. Also, removed some brain-dead timeslice releasing
 274   that was causing a bunch of problems with various ROMs. [Shamus]
 275 * Added sound support! In order to hear any sound, you probably have to
 276   start VJ with the -dspon switch. Also, unless you have a very fast computer
 277   the sound is going to be choppy. Hopefully future optimizations will cure
 278   this. ;-) [Shamus]
 279 * Added GUI support. You can see the results by hitting the TAB key while the
 280   emulator is running. ;-) [Shamus]
 281 * Lots of cleanups to the source code including the ability to trace who
 282   writes what to where. [Shamus]
 283
 284
 285 Virtual Jaguar v1.0.4 GCC/SDL - source only release
 286 ---------------------------------------------------
 287
 288 * Lots of bugfixes. [Shamus]
 289 * Jaguar BIOS now works properly and is used by default. BIOS failure was
 290   due to a bug in the GPU (specifically in the SUBC and ADDC opcodes). To
 291   override this behavior, use the -nobios switch. [Shamus]
 292 * Rewrote the OP code--mostly because it was pissing me off. ;-) Not
 293   to mention that it was almost completely unmaintainable in its former
 294   state and was just plain wrong in its implementation in many places.
 295   Because of this, some RMW effects that were missing from AvP are present
 296   now and leftover crud in scaled bitmaps in Rayman is gone now. ;-) [Shamus]
 297 * ZIP support! Now there is no longer any need to unzip ROMs (although if
 298   you prefer to waste HD space, VJ will gladly accomodate you). The code to
 299   support this is a pretty ugly hack, but it works and there are other fish
 300   to fry at the moment. Also, ZLIB is now required to compile VJ. [Shamus]
 301 * Support for PD ROMs. Currently the only one that works at all is JagMania,
 302   though as the hardware emulation gets better more PD ROMs will begin to
 303   work. Note that you must use the -nobios switch for this to work. [Shamus]
 304 * Preliminary support for PAL Jaguar emulation. Default is NTSC. To use it,
 305   use the -pal switch. [Shamus]
 306 * Support for DSP activation. The DSP is now *off* by default, since it
 307   doesn't work properly yet. Use the -dspon switch to force the DSP on.
 308   [Shamus]
 309 * Removed all hacks that were written to support a specific ROM from the OP
 310   and GPU code (much more remains to be removed). Since the CRCs that were
 311   calculated to support these hacks were done on byte swapped ROMs, they
 312   weren't working anyway. Besides which, a hack means that you don't
 313   understand the hardware properly and/or don't know how to write the code to
 314   properly emulate the hardware. ;-) [Shamus]
 315 * Renamed the executable from the ridiculously named jag_em to the more
 316   sensibly named vj. Note that the Jag_em.cpp file has also been changed to
 317   reflect this name change. [Shamus]
 318 * Removed Aaron Giles 68K dissasembler in favor of the one included with the
 319   Musashi core. It's there, why not use it? ;-) [Shamus]
 320 * Reordered the order of A, B, and C buttons to more accurately reflect their
 321   respective positions on a real Jaguar controller. Also fixed a small bug that
 322   kept the number pad from reporting the right numbers to the emulator. :-)
 323   [Shamus]
 324 * Started to remove the !__PORT__ defintions from the source code. Since this
 325   is supposed to be a portable emulator, we won't be using any MS specific
 326   code anyway. [Shamus]
 327 * Fixed some problems with the blitter when doing clipping and bit expansion.
 328   Also fixed (reintroduced?) a bug that existed in the real blitter HW (the
 329   YADD1 bit in A2--fixes Tempest 2000). [Shamus]
 330 * Probably a bunch of other stuff that I've forgotten about. ;-) [Shamus]
 331
 332 NOTE: Tested only on WIN32 platform! ;-)
 333
 334
 335 Virtual Jaguar v1.0.3 GCC/SDL - source only release
 336 ---------------------------------------------------
 337
 338 * Converted GNU assembly in the GPU core to C code -- Rayman and
 339   Alien vs Predator work again. :-) [Shamus]
 340 * Removed closed source Starscream and replaced it with the open source
 341   Musashi core. Because of this, VJ runs a little faster now. :-) [Shamus]
 342 * Various cleanups to the source files (still lots of work to do!). [Shamus]
 343
 344 NOTE: Tested only on WIN32 platform!
 345
 346
 347 1.0.1 - 1.0.2 - Unreleased, mostly for testing/finding bugs
 348 -----------------------------------------------------------
 349
 350 * Lots of stuff happened, but we can't remember any of it. :-)
 351
 352
 353 Virtual Jaguar v1.0.0 GCC/SDL - initial source release
 354 ------------------------------------------------------
 355
 356 * Converted VC++ assembly to standard GNU assembly.
 357 * Fixed small bugs in SDL related items (keyboard/graphics).
 358 * Added *some* optimalisations to the graphics sources.
 359 * Added joystick support (not tested).
 360 * Added joystick port support (not tested).
 361 * Added frameskip support.
 362
 363 Source only release. Tested on BeOS, Linux, FreeBSD and WIN32.
 364 SOUND emulation was NOT done. Need help with this one :)
 365
 366
 367 SDLEMU (Niels Wagenaar & Caz) - http://sdlemu.ngemu.com