Mednafen 1.32 - UNSTABLE - emu4crt - A22

Important:

This is is updated project of @Silmalik emu4crt. All information on https://github.com/emu4crt/files Thanks for it!!

emu4crt is a Mednafen emulator mod intended to be used on a system connected to a CRT screen, typically a 15kHz TV or an arcade monitor.

It brings "pixel-perfect" rendering by switching host resolution to match emulated system resolution and support gun games (tested Guncon2 on GroovyArcade).

• Mednafen modules ported to emu4crt:
  • Sony Playstation (with chd support and sbi files).
  • Sega Saturn / ST-V (win64 only) (with chd support)
  • Nintendo NES/Famicon (snes & snes_faust)
  • Nintendo Super NES/Super Famicom
  • Nintendo Game Boy Advance
  • NEC PC Engine / PC Engine CD / SuperGrafx (pce & pce_fast) (with chd support)
  • NEC PC-FX (with chd support)
  • Sega Megadrive / Genesis
  • Sega Master System

Many options, meaningless in a CRT screen usage, have been removed from Mednafen in provided emu4crt builds (shaders, etc.).

Gun games, new settings:

• core.shader gunlight -> this enables a extra brightness when trigger gun shoot
• core.shader.gunlight_brightness -> new brightness to apply
• core.shader.gunlight_flash_length -> input number to apply extra brightness, can be depending core/per-game. Try 1 and increase it
• nes.input.zapper.clone -> works better for guncon2 (see https://www.nesdev.org/wiki/Zapper)
• nes.input.zapper.crosshair -> 1 for disable it

In general, nes core Mednafen auto detect zapper with crc rom header, in other cores set input port, for example: psx.input.port1 guncon

• For set X Axis use as joystick, for example-> joystick 0x00030b9a016a01000004000800000000 abs_0-+g
• For set Y Axis use as joystick, for example-> joystick 0x00030b9a016a01000004000800000000 abs_1-+g

Be sure you have activaded corrected aspect ratio on cores. Example: psx.correct_aspect 1 / psx.h_overscan 0

If you have a GunCon2 on Windows see https://github.com/psakhis/guncon2

Requirements:

• OS: Windows 32/64bits or linux (GroovyArcade is recommended)
• Video display: OpenGL compatible (the only Mednafen tested renderer).

emu4crt can be use in four modes:

• Native Resolution: Same resolution as emulated system. More custom resolution are required (see below) Generates more resolution changes, which has side effects

• Super Resolution: Requires only four 2560 pixel width resolutions. Avoid some resolution change during emulation

• Switchres: Resolutions changes with libswitchres library by @Calamity and Linux SDL/KMS by @Substring More information on their github https://github.com/antonioginer/switchres

• MiSTer: Use MiSTer as analog GPU More information on https://github.com/psakhis/Groovy_MiSTer

Required resolutions (not requiered for Switchres mode)

Native resolutions

• Columns:

	240	256	320	341	352	368	512	640	704
NES*		X
SNES		X					X
GBA^			X
SATURN			X		X			X	X
PSX		X	X			X	X	X
PCE**		X	X				X
PCFX**		X		X
MD/SMS		X	X

• Lines, for each column:

  NTSC modes : 240 and 480 lines @ 60 Hz PAL modes: 288 and 576 lines @ 50 Hz

  * -> 240 and 288 lines only

  ** -> NTSC modes only

  ^ -> 240 visible lines. Aspect 3/2 (240x160)

Super Resolutions

4 custom resolutions cover all needs for every emulated systems:

	Columns	Lines	Frequency
NTSC	2560	240	60Hz
	2560	480	60Hz
PAL	2560	288	50Hz
	2560	576	50Hz

Custom resolutions can be added on Windows by using Calamity's CRT Emudriver, Soft15Hz, Powerstrip, manufacturer drivers...

For CRT Emudriver users:

• emu4crt_NATIVE_RESOLUTIONS.txt contains all resolution informations to be added to VMMAKER's user_modes.ini.
• emu4crt_RESOLUTIONS_SUPER.txt

For testing pupose, emu4crt can be used with a standard PC screen and video drivers in window mode but for resolution switch set to fullscreen (video.fs 1)

Configuration & usage

To enable resolution switch, use "video.resolution_switch" parameter in mednafen.cfg configuration file:

• video.resolution_switch native -> to use native resolution mode

• video.resolution_switch super -> to use super resolution mode

• video.resolution_switch switchres -> to use libswitchres mode (you need to configure switchres.ini properly!!)

• video.resolution_switch mister -> to use mister mode (you need to configure switchres.ini properly!!)

• video.resolution_switch 0 -> to disable resolution switch [DEFAULT MODE]

• video.fs 1 -> fullscreen mode

emu4crt.exe can be placed in an existing mednafen.exe directory, both can share the same configuration file and all ressource files (firmwares, savestates, etc.).

Limits and known issues

• For native and super modes, the emulator does not deal with resolution refresh rate. So, to get a deterministic behavior, a resolution must only exist at the expected refresh rate (ie. no 320x240 @ 55Hz). With switchres mode, refresh tries to match with expected refresh rate.

• Using emu4crt, resolution switch is not seamless process as it is on a console or with some other emulators. At each resolution change, some sound and graphical glitches will occur.

• Graphical glitches can be limited by using full black Windows desktop background and taskbar hidding.

• Windows 7 seems quicker than Windows 10 to switch resolution, at least with CRT Emudriver.

• Emulation logic is preserved, so, expected game compatibility is same as with the Mednafen official release.

If any specific issue with emu4crt mod, of course, do not bother the Mednafen Team!

Contact forum thread: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,155264.0.html

Thanks

The Mednafen Team (https://mednafen.github.io) for... Mednafen!

CRT Emudriver's and libswitchres author, Calamity (http://geedorah.com/eiusdemmodi/forum/)

SDL KMS mode author, Substring (https://github.com/substring/os)

Silmalik for this great emu4crt project!

Beardypig for guncon driver (https://github.com/beardypig/guncon2)

ArcadeControls.com (www.arcadecontrols.com)

No$psx author, Martin Korth for publishing PSX GPU documentation

hotdog963al for his PSX core horizontal centering improvment