Mercurial > repos > blastem

changeset 1066:58e3d50f6a4e

Find changesets by keywords (author, files, the commit message), revision number or hash, or revset expression.
Updated README
author Michael Pavone <pavone@retrodev.com>
date Thu, 04 Aug 2016 19:27:04 -0700
parents a9de38e3bd20
children 96db3e289ed1
files README
diffstat 1 files changed, 130 insertions(+), 55 deletions(-) [+]
line wrap: on
line diff
--- a/README	Thu Aug 04 00:19:36 2016 -0700
+++ b/README	Thu Aug 04 19:27:04 2016 -0700
@@ -1,13 +1,20 @@
-BlastEm 0.4.0
+BlastEm 0.4.1
 -------------
 
 Installation
 ------------
 
 Extract this archive to a directory of your choosing. If you wish to change the
-configuration settings, copy default.cfg to $HOME/.config/blastem/blastem.cfg and
-modify the copy. You may also whish to add the blastem directory to your PATH
-environment variable.
+configuration settings, copy default.cfg to $HOME/.config/blastem/blastem.cfg 
+and modify the copy. If you are on Windows, the config file should be placed in
+%localappdata%\blastem. You may also whish to add the blastem directory to your
+PATH environment variable.
+
+NOTE: Prior to version 0.4.1, BlastEm was still using Unixy locations for config
+and save files. If you're upgrading from a previous version on Windows, you will
+need to move them manually. For config files, the relevant paths are in the
+previous paragraph. For save files, move all the directories found in 
+%userprofile%\.local\share\blastem to %localappdata%\blastem
 
 Usage
 -----
@@ -21,12 +28,12 @@
 Some operations are currently only supported through the command line. To get a
 list of supported command line options on Linux or OSX type:
 
-	./blastem -h
-	
+    ./blastem -h
+    
 From within your BlastEm directory. On Windows type:
-	
-	blastem.exe -h
-	
+    
+    blastem.exe -h
+    
 Lock-On Support
 ---------------
 
@@ -35,18 +42,19 @@
 use it specify the Sonic & Knuckles ROM as the primary ROM and specify the ROM
 to be locked on using the -o option. As an example:
 
-	./blastem ~/romz/sonic_and_knuckles.bin -o ~/romz/sonic3.bin
-	
+    ./blastem ~/romz/sonic_and_knuckles.bin -o ~/romz/sonic3.bin
+    
 Please note that Sonic 2 lock-on does not work at this time. Additionally the
 save RAM added by Sonic 3 won't work either.
 
 Configuration
 -------------
 
-Configuration is read from the file at $HOME/.config/blastem/blastem.cfg if it
-exists, othwerise it is read from default.cfg from the same directory as the
-BlastEm executable. Sections are denoted by a section name followed by an open
-curly bracket, the section's contents and a closing curly bracket. Individual
+Configuration is read from the file at $HOME/.config/blastem/blastem.cfg on
+Unix-like systems and %localappdata%\blastem\blastem.cfg if it exists.
+Othwerise it is read from default.cfg from the same directory as the BlastEm
+executable. Sections are denoted by a section name followed by an open curly 
+bracket, the section's contents and a closing curly bracket. Individual
 configuration values are set by entering the value's name followed by a space
 or tab and followed by the desired value.
 
@@ -55,10 +63,46 @@
 
 The keys subsection of bindings maps keyboard keys to gamepad buttons or UI
 actions. The key name goes on the left and the action is on the right.
-Most keys are named for the character they produce when pressed. Additionally,
-the arrow, enter and escape keys have the symbolic names up, down, left, right,
-enter and esc respectively. Other keys that do not produce characters are not
-yet supported.
+Most keys are named for the character they produce when pressed. For keys that
+don't correspond to a normal character, check the list below:
+
+  Name       | Description
+  -----------------
+  up           Up arrow
+  down         Down arrow
+  left         Left arrow
+  right        Right arrow
+  space
+  tab
+  backspace    Backspace on PC keyboards, Delete on Mac keyboards
+  esc
+  delete
+  lshift       Left shift
+  rshift       Right shift
+  lctrl        Left control
+  rctrl        Right control
+  lalt         Left alt on PC keyboards, Option on Mac keyboards
+  ralt         Right alt on PC keyboards, Option on Mac keyboards
+  home
+  end
+  pageup
+  pagedown
+  f1
+  f2
+  f3
+  f4
+  f5
+  f6
+  f7
+  f8
+  f9
+  f10
+  f11
+  f12
+  select
+  play
+  search
+  back
 
 The pads subsection is used to map gamepads and joysticks. Analog axes are not
 currently supported. An example configuration is provided in default.cfg to map
@@ -188,35 +232,35 @@
 BlastEm has an integrated command-line debugger loosely based on GDB's
 interface. The interface is very rough at the moment. Available commands in the
 68K debugger are:
-	b ADDRESS            - Set a breakpoint at ADDRESS
-	d BREAKPOINT         - Delete a 68K breakpoint
-	co BREAKPOINT        - Run a list of debugger commands each time
+    b ADDRESS            - Set a breakpoint at ADDRESS
+    d BREAKPOINT         - Delete a 68K breakpoint
+    co BREAKPOINT        - Run a list of debugger commands each time
                            BREAKPOINT is hit
-	a ADDRESS            - Advance to address
-	n                    - Advance to next instruction
-	o                    - Advance to next instruction ignoring branches to
-	                       lower addresses (good for breaking out of loops)
-	s                    - Advance to next instruction (follows bsr/jsr)
-	c                    - Continue
-	bt                   - Print a backtrace
-	p[/(x|X|d|c)] VALUE  - Print a register or memory location
-	di[/(x|X|d|c)] VALUE - Print a register or memory location each time
-						   a breakpoint is hit
-	vs                   - Print VDP sprite list
-	vr                   - Print VDP register info
-	zb ADDRESS           - Set a Z80 breakpoint
-	zp[/(x|X|d|c)] VALUE - Display a Z80 value
-	q                    - Quit BlastEm
+    a ADDRESS            - Advance to address
+    n                    - Advance to next instruction
+    o                    - Advance to next instruction ignoring branches to
+                           lower addresses (good for breaking out of loops)
+    s                    - Advance to next instruction (follows bsr/jsr)
+    c                    - Continue
+    bt                   - Print a backtrace
+    p[/(x|X|d|c)] VALUE  - Print a register or memory location
+    di[/(x|X|d|c)] VALUE - Print a register or memory location each time
+                           a breakpoint is hit
+    vs                   - Print VDP sprite list
+    vr                   - Print VDP register info
+    zb ADDRESS           - Set a Z80 breakpoint
+    zp[/(x|X|d|c)] VALUE - Display a Z80 value
+    q                    - Quit BlastEm
 Available commands in the Z80 debugger are:
-	b  ADDRESS           - Set a breakpoint at ADDRESS
-	de BREAKPOINT        - Delete a Z80 breakpoint
-	a  ADDRESS           - Advance to address
-	n                    - Advance to next instruction
-	c                    - Continue
-	p[/(x|X|d|c)] VALUE  - Print a register or memory location
-	di[/(x|X|d|c)] VALUE - Print a register or memory location each time
-						   a breakpoint is hit
-	q                    - Quit BlastEm
+    b  ADDRESS           - Set a breakpoint at ADDRESS
+    de BREAKPOINT        - Delete a Z80 breakpoint
+    a  ADDRESS           - Advance to address
+    n                    - Advance to next instruction
+    c                    - Continue
+    p[/(x|X|d|c)] VALUE  - Print a register or memory location
+    di[/(x|X|d|c)] VALUE - Print a register or memory location each time
+                           a breakpoint is hit
+    q                    - Quit BlastEm
 
 The -d flag can be used to cause BlastEm to start in the debugger.
 Alternatively, you can use the ui.enter_debugger action (mapped to the 'u' key
@@ -231,7 +275,7 @@
 both an ELF executable and a raw binary. Invoke an m68k-elf targeted gdb with
 the ELF file. Once inside the gdb session, type:
 
-	target remote | BLASTEM_PATH/blastem ROM_FILE.bin -D
+    target remote | BLASTEM_PATH/blastem ROM_FILE.bin -D
 
 where BLASTEM_PATH is the relative or absolute path to your BlastEm
 installation and ROM_FILE.bin is the name of the raw binary for your program.
@@ -239,12 +283,12 @@
 control to GDB. This will allow you to set breakpoints before your code runs.
 
 On Windows, the procedure is slightly different. First run 
-	blastem.exe ROM_FILE.bin -D
+    blastem.exe ROM_FILE.bin -D
 This will cause BlastEm to wait for a socket connection on port 1234. It will
 appear to be frozen until gdb connects to it. Now open the ELF file in gdb
 and type:
 
-	target remote :1234
+    target remote :1234
 
 Trace points and watch points are not currently supported.
 
@@ -253,12 +297,12 @@
 
 BlastEm ships with a few small utilities that leverage portions of the emulator
 code.
-	
-	dis       - 68K disassembler
-	zdis      - Z80 disassembler
-	vgmplay   - Very basic VGM player
-	stateview - GST save state viewer
-	
+    
+    dis       - 68K disassembler
+    zdis      - Z80 disassembler
+    vgmplay   - Very basic VGM player
+    stateview - GST save state viewer
+    
 VSync
 -----
 
@@ -284,6 +328,37 @@
 
 A future release will support VSync in a less hacky fashion.
 
+Special Thanks
+--------------
+
+My work has been made much easier by the contributions of those in the Genesis
+community past and present. I'd like to thank the people below for their help.
+
+Nemesis            - His work reverse engineering and documenting the VDP and
+                     YM-2612 has saved me an immeasurable amount of time. I've
+                     found both his sprite overflow test ROM and VDP FIFO
+                     Testing ROM to be quite helpful.
+
+Charles MacDonald  - While it hasn't been updated in a while, I still find his
+                     VDP document to be my favorite reference. His Genesis
+                     hardware document has also come in handy.
+
+Eke-Eke            - Eke-Eke wrote a great document on the use of I2C EEPROM in
+                     Genesis games and also left some useful very helpful 
+                     comments about problematic games in Genesis Plus GX
+
+Bart Trzynadlowski - His documents on the Genecyst save-state format and the
+                     mapper used in Super Street Fighter 2 were definitely
+                     appreciated.
+                     
+KanedaFR           - Kaneda's SpritesMind forum is a great resource for the
+                     Sega development community.
+
+I'd also like to thank the following people who have performed compatibility
+testing or submitted helpful bug reports
+
+Mickael Vaseux, Sik, Tim Lawrence, ComradeOj, Vladikcomper
+
 License
 -------