Item description:

Relax Network Sharing
The relax sharing setting goes in the [GENERAL] section as follows:

rlxshare=c:\[email protected]:1400

Replace 192.168.123.77 with your computer IP address and replace 8989 with the port where you have Relax running.


Note on Samba/NetBIOS Shares
There are two INI file settings relating to Samba/NetBIOS sharing and they both reside in the [GENERAL] section of VICE64X.INI:

smbshare=smb://username:password@workgroup:ip_address/computername/sharename smb_nameserver=192.168.0.1


The smbshare parameter accepts many different formats. Here are the most common:

smbshare=smb://username:password@workgroup/computername/sharename
smbshare=smb://username:password@workgroup:ip_address/computername/sharename
smbshare=smb://username:password@computername/sharename
smbshare=smb://username:password@computername:ip_address/sharename
smbshare=smb://workgroup/computername/sharename
smbshare=smb://workgroup:ip_address/computername/sharename
smbshare=smb://computername/sharename
smbshare=smb://computername:ip_address/sharename
Please try all of the above combinations before deciding it does not work. Also be aware that some people have to select their SMB drive in VICE64X a few times before any files appear.

If it's still not working, then set the nameserver equal to the IP address of the computer you are trying to reach or set it equal to your NetBIOS name server. (If you don't know what a NetBIOS name server is, then just set it to the IP address of the computer you are trying to reach.)


Also remember that when you make changes to VICE64X.INI, you have to do a "Force Reload of D:\*.INI" from the Configuration Menu or else the changes you made to VICE64X.INI will not be loaded.

Configuration
Almost everything can be changed from the configuration menu. Here are the things that require manual modifications to the VICE64X.INI file included in the package:

Samba share name - goes in the [GENERAL] section. Example:

smbshare=SMB://USERNAME:PASSWORD@COMPUTERNAME/SHARENAME


Screenshot directory - default is E:\SCREENSHOTS - goes in [GENERAL] section Example:

screenshot_dir=E:\SCREENSHOTS


Skin directory - where skins can be found. Default is D:\EMUSKINS - goes in [GENERAL] section. Example:

skin_dir=D:\EMUSKINS


Save directory - this is where you want all your saved games to be stored. Default is E:\SAVES\VICE64X. Goes in [GENERAL] section. Example:

save_dir=E:\SAVES\VICE64X


The default ROM directory INI setting goes in the [GENERAL] section as follows:

rom_dir=d:\C64DISKS


If you change any of the above items, then you must upload the new VICE64X.INI file to your XBox, load up VICE64X, then select "Force Reload D:\*.ini Settings" from the Configuration menu. Please note that this will overwrite any of the setting changes you might have made after you first loaded VICE64X.


Menu Navigation
Select menu options with the DPAD or with R/LTrigger. The speed of R/LTrigger movements can be controlled by :

Configuration -> Menu Scroll Speed

There are some places where you can enter or change values. This can usually be done in a variety of ways include DPAD Left/Right, R/L Trigger, and L/R Thumb. Try all of them if the values are changing too slowly.

"A" selects the highlighted choice. "B" cancels/returns. "Y" from a file-select list will go up one directory.


Netplay
In order to netplay with someone, follow these steps:

- Go to the Configuration menu
- Select Netplay options
- Turn netplay on
- Add a server if you are going to connect to someone else
- Select the game to play
- If netplay is on, it will ask you if you want to be the client
or the server. One person is the client, and the other is the server.
If you are the server, the game will wait until the client has
joined. If you are the client, make sure the server is ready to accept
your connection before continuing.
- When server starts netplay, you can select a netplay skip value.
This number specifies how often it should skip checking for network data.
The higher the number, the less often it checks for network data, but the
result will be a less responsive controller.
- Once a connection has been made, it should work fine.
NOTE : You both MUST be using the *EXACT* same game. I would be *extremely* surprised if the PAL version of a game worked via netplay with an NTSC version of the same game.

The server player is always player 1. The client player is always player 2.

I don't know how well netplay will work across real networks. Two xbox's on the same intranet work very well, though.

If your connection is lost during gameplay, just wait 30 seconds and you can return to the game select menu. (Or you can always reboot...)


SKINS
Instructions for making a new skin:

- Create a new directory off of your SKINS directory (default skins directory
is D:\EMUSKINS
- Place your sound/font/graphic media files in this new directory
- Load VICE64X
- "Select Skin" from the main menu and select your new directory.
- Select Configuration
- select Configure Skin
- Use the menus to select your new media files and change your settings
- When you are satisfied with what you have, go back to the main menu.
- Select "Configuration"
- Select "Overwrite D:\*.ini and D:\emuskins\settings.ini"
This will write the skin settings in your skin directory (if your skin
directory is on the hard drive.)
- You're done! You can package up the directory and share it with your friends.
If you wish to use sprites in your new skin, then read the following:

- Create a subdirectory off of your new skin directory called SPRITES
e.g. D:\EMUSKINS\NEWSKIN\SPRITES
- In this new SPRITES directory create a 0-based numeric directory for
each sprite you wish to make. This means that if you have 4 sprites
you wish to load, the directory names *must* be called 0, 1, 2, and 3.
Do not call them 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Do not call them 0, 3, 5, 6.
Do not call them SPRITE1, SPRITE2, SPRITE3, SPRITE4.
- Inside each of these new directories, you must place the sprite frames.
Each frame is represented by a BMP, PNG, or JPG file. The order of the
frames is given by the filenames. These filenames must also be named
with 0-based numbers. For example, 0.png, 1.png, 2.png. Look at the
sprites directory of the included default skin to see how it works.
- Do not skip numbers when naming sprite directories or sprite frame
filenames. A list of directories called 0,1,2,5,7 is *INVALID*.
Similarly, a list of files called 0.png, 1.png, 4.png, 5.png is also
*INVALID*.
Also be aware of memory constraints. Let's say you have a frame of a sprite called 0.png. This picture file is 90 pixels wide and 130 pixels high. This will get rounded up to a 256x256 pixel 32bit picture. This means that it will consume 256x256x4 bytes (256KB) of memory. If your sprite has 10 frames of animation, that's around 2.5MB of memory. Keep this in mind before you make ultra-smooth moving sprites with hundreds of frames of animation.

You can check your available memory by going to Configuration -> Configure Skin -> Show Available Memory

If you make/configure a skin and VICE64X does not load the next time you play it, then you need to delete the E:\SAVES\VICE64X\VICE64X.INI and E:\SAVES\VICE64X\SKIN_SETTINGS.INI files. VICE64X should work fine again, but you'll have to reconfigure your skin. The problem was probably that one of your resources (like a WAV or background file) was specified incorrectly or was never changed from the old skin. Carefully look at the E:\SAVES\VICE64X\SKIN_SETTINGS.INI file to make sure that all filenames exist in your skin directory.

Controller Remapping
Configuration -> Configure Controllers

There are 32 general/all-purpose emulator "buttons" or actions. Each of these buttons can be assigned a specific emulator action. For example, Emu Button 1 can be A, or B, or DPad Down, etc. These "emu buttons" can then be assigned XBox triggers. For example, Emu Button 1 (which you have mapped to, for example, A) can be triggered by XBox controller button B. The default button mappings should provide enough information on how the system works and how it can be used.

Autofiring
Configuration -> Configure Controllers -> Controller # -> Change Autofire

Each "Emu Button" can be set up for autofiring. Simply set the autofire variable to a non-zero value. This value indicates how long the emulator should wait before releasing and re-pressing the button. A value of 1 might be too fast to register on some games. I suggest setting it to a number like 5 first and them fine-tuning it.

Combos
Setting up a combo can be kind of tricky because you need to know exactly what the game expects to have happen on the joypads to execute the special move. For example, let's say that we want to map a standard move that is described like this :

D, DR, R, A

D = Down, DR = Down+Right, R = Right, A = A button

First, set the delay to a number like 2 or 3. Then set up the moves. In this case, any (or none) of the following might work:

Down Down+Right Right Right+A Right

OR

Down Down+Right Right+A

OR

Down Down+Right Right Right+A Right+A Right+A

You will probably need to fine-tune each combo move before it works, but you'll soon get the hang of it.


MP3/M3U Playback
Simply select the MP3 or M3U file from the game-selection screen.

The M3U file can also just be a regular file with one songfile per line. For example:

d:\songs\song1.mp3 e:\moresongs\song2.mp3 smb:\mp3s\song3.mp3

If you are making a playlist of songs on your SMB share, then please note the format:

smb:\mp3s\song3.mp3

The smb:\ tells VICE64X to read from your SMB shared directory. Do not put the SMB share definition in the filename.

SMB shared filenames are case sensitive!!!---------

Cheating System - How To Make Your Own Cheat Codes
Special Note for Z26 - In many Atari 2600 games, certain important values (like the number of lives you have, etc) are stored as a nibble value. A nibble is half of a byte. For example, in Asteroids your number of lives and the current direction you are pointing are stored in the same byte. (High nibble is the number of lives and the low nibble is the direction.) When searching for cheat codes, I would advise using *only* the "equal to" or "not equal to" options.

Just about every single port I've released has this feature, and I occasionally hear people asking "how does it work?" This is easiest to explain by example:

1) Start playing a game.
2) Go to Options Menu and select "Start Search for Cheat Code"
3) Go back to game and lose a life
4) Go to Options Menu and select "Continue Search For Cheat Code"
5) Select "Search For Values Less Than Before" because when you
first selected "Start Search For Cheat Codes" you had one more
life than you do now. You will see the number of matches go down.
6) If the number of matches is greater than 10, then perform actions
3, 4 and 5 continually until the number of matches is less than 10.
If you run out of lives, then just start playing the game again.
(Do not exit the emulator and select the game again - just start another
game from within the emulator.) Now you will have a full stock of lives,
which is *more* than the last time you checked your values. So when you
continue searching, you'll want to select "Search For Values Greater Than
Before." Then go through steps 3-5 over and over until you have less than
10 matches.
7) Now that you have less than 10 matches, you can add the codes to your
list. If the search narrowed the list down to 1 possible match, it
will automatically add it to your list. Now you can "List Cheat Codes"
and selectively turn on/off the cheat codes to try them out and see
which on is the right one.
Alternately, you can use the "Search For An Exact Value" option if you already know the number you wish to change. Example:

Let's say you are playing Dragon Warrior and your character currently has 25 Hit Points. Follow these instructions:

1) Go to Options Menu and select "Start Search for Cheat Code"
2) Select "Continue Search For Cheat Code"
3) Select "Search For an Exact Value" and enter 25 as the number.
The number of matches should decrease very quickly.
4) Go back to the game and do something to change your Hit Points amount.
For example, let's say you drink a potion and your Hit Points are now 35.
5) Go to options menu and select "Continue Search For Cheat Code"
6) Select "Search For an Exact Value" and enter 35 as the number.
Chances are very good that the number of matches will be down to
one or two. Just try out the codes to see which one gives you infinite
Hit Points!
Advanced Cheat Code Usage:

Cheat codes have the following format:

TT AAAAAA VVVV

TT = Type AAAAAA = Address VVVV = Value

You can hand-edit the cheat codes you've created. Go to the Cheat Code list, select a code, and select Edit. Let's say you've already created a cheat code that keeps your hit points at 25. The last four hex digits of your code will be 0019 (which is hexidecimal for 25.) You can change the last two digits to, for example, FF which will give you 255 hit points instead of 25. More sophisticated codes can be made by altering the Type:

Type Table

80 - Means set the 16-bit value (0-65535) pointed to by the cheat code address

to the cheat code value.
30 - Means set the 8-bit value (0-255) pointed to by the cheat code address

to the cheat code value.
10 - Means increase the 16-bit value pointed to by the cheat code address

by the cheat code value.
11 - Means decrease the 16-bit value pointed to by the cheat code address

by the cheat code value.
20 - Means increase the 8-bit value pointed to by the cheat code address

by the cheat code value.
21 - Means decrease the 8-bit value pointed to by the cheat code address

by the cheat code value.
D0 - Means only execute the next code in the list if the 16-bit value pointed

to by the cheat code address is equal to the cheat code value
D1 - Means only execute the next code in the list if the 16-bit value pointed

to by the cheat code address is not equal to the cheat code value
D2 - Means only execute the next code in the list if the 16-bit value pointed

to by the cheat code address is less than the cheat code value
D3 - Means only execute the next code in the list if the 16-bit value pointed

to by the cheat code address is greater than the cheat code value
E0 - Means only execute the next code in the list if the 8-bit value pointed

to by the cheat code address is equal to the cheat code value
E1 - Means only execute the next code in the list if the 8-bit value pointed

to by the cheat code address is not equal to the cheat code value
E2 - Means only execute the next code in the list if the 8-bit value pointed

to by the cheat code address is less than the cheat code value
E3 - Means only execute the next code in the list if the 8-bit value pointed

to by the cheat code address is greater than the cheat code value
If you are familiar with cheat codes, you'll notice that these are standard Gameshark types. With enough experience you could make some seriously interesting codes with this system.

For example, I played around with Super Mario Bros (NES) and found out that address 0007EE stores the number of coins and address 0007FA is the one's digit in the timer. Here are two codes:

E0 0007FA 03 20 0007EE 01

Those codes mean that while the ones timer digit is equal to three, increase the number of coins by one. You won't see the coins updated on the overhead display in the game, but if you start a game, wait until the timer one's digit is a three and then collect a coin, you'll see that your coin value is actually much higher than one, now. Fun useless stuff. :P

Command-Line/Auto-Launching and Return to Launcher
This section is for the developers of frontends, dashboards, etc.

VICE64X can be started with parameters to automatically launch a game at startup. Example code can be found in the custom_launch_params.cpp file.

There is also example code in that same file that will show you how to make VICE64X load your frontend/dashboard when it exits.


Important Tips on Usage !!!!
Different games require different options. Please try as many configurations as possible before deciding that a game doesn't work. For example, some games require true drive emulation to be enabled and some require it to be disabled. Some games require reSID and will not work with fastSID.

Enabling true drive emulation makes loading of games *very slow*. Be patient! You can either sit there holding the throttle button down or you can walk away for a few minutes. When it has loaded, I suggest saving the state so you don't have to go through the loading procedure again.


Playing with Disk Images
The ideal way to play disk images is unzipped and on your XBox hard drive. If you are playing a disk-based game and it needs to write data back to the disk, then it will not being able to do so if the disk image is zipped or if the disk image resides on non-writable media (e.g. CDRW/DVD-R ). Furthermore, it also cannot write back to disk images that are loaded from across a network share.

Save States With Disk Images
Whenever you save a state, that state can only be re-loaded if the same disk image is loaded. For example, let's say you start playing Ultima 3. First you select Ultima 3 disk #1 from the game-select menu. After it has loaded, it will tell you to insert disk #2. After you have done so, you can actually play the game. At this point, you decide to save the state. The next time you want to play from that save state, you have to select disk #2 from the game-select menu instead of disk #1 and then load the state.

Notes About Gamebase64
If you are unfamiliar with Gamebase64, go to [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

Gamebase64 is a database project to catalog as much information about C64 games as possible. It is also a frontend which provides easy/standardized access to games/screenshots/SID files and more.

The Vice64X package has a preconfigured GAMEBASE directory. You will have to provide your own games, screenshots, and SID files. Due to filename restrictions on the XBox, I could not use the standard filenames for the screenshots as they appear in the Gamebase64 database. Therefore, I have written a Windows utility to convert/rename all of the standard screenshot names (as they appear in the Gamebase64 datafiles) into something usable on the XBox. To better illustrate the differences between XBox Gamebase64 and Windows Gamebase64, I will show some example directory structures of each.

Windows Gamebase64 Directory Structure:

/GAMEBASE
/GAMEBASE/GAMES
/GAMEBASE/GAMES/0
/GAMEBASE/GAMES/0/180_00013_01.zip
...
/GAMEBASE/GAMES/p1
/GAMEBASE/GAMES/p1/PHANT3A_05655_01.zip
...
/GAMEBASE/MUSIC
/GAMEBASE/MUSIC/20CC
/GAMEBASE/MUSIC/20CC/13_Seconds_of_Massacre.sid
...
/GAMEBASE/SCREENSHOTS
/GAMEBASE/SCREENSHOTS/0
/GAMEBASE/SCREENSHOTS/0/180.gif
/GAMEBASE/SCREENSHOTS/0/180_1.gif
/GAMEBASE/SCREENSHOTS/0/180_2.gif
/GAMEBASE/SCREENSHOTS/0/18_uhren.gif
...
The subdirectories off of /GAMEBASE/GAMES represent the filenames as they appear in the Gamebase database. The filenames are important - download them from the sites on [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] .

The subdirectories off of /GAMEBASE/MUSIC represent the filenames as they appear in the Gamebase database. They are also the same as the High Voltage SID Collection directory structure.

The subdirectories off of /GAMEBASE/SCREENSHOTS represent the filenames as they appear in the Gamebase database.

XBox Gamebase64 Directory Structure:

/GAMEBASE
/GAMEBASE/GAMES
/GAMEBASE/GAMES/0
/GAMEBASE/GAMES/0/180_00013_01.zip
...
/GAMEBASE/GAMES/p1
/GAMEBASE/GAMES/p1/PHANT3A_05655_01.zip
...
/GAMEBASE/MUSIC
/GAMEBASE/MUSIC/20CC
/GAMEBASE/MUSIC/20CC/13_Seconds_of_Massacre.sid
...
/GAMEBASE/SCREENSHOTS
/GAMEBASE/SCREENSHOTS/C64
/GAMEBASE/SCREENSHOTS/C64/0
/GAMEBASE/SCREENSHOTS/C64/0/180_00013_01
/GAMEBASE/SCREENSHOTS/C64/0/180_00013_01/0001.png
/GAMEBASE/SCREENSHOTS/C64/0/180_00013_01/0002.png
/GAMEBASE/SCREENSHOTS/C64/0/180_00013_01/0003.png
/GAMEBASE/SCREENSHOTS/C64/0/18UHREN_11659_01
/GAMEBASE/SCREENSHOTS/C64/0/18UHREN_11659_01/0001.png
...
As you can see, the directory structure is the same as the windows version with the exception of the screenshots directory. There is an included Windows utility called gb64_xboxrename.exe that will assist you in converting your Windows Gamebase64 screenshot files into a XBox-compatible directory/name structure. To use it, simply double click it. When the window appears, you will need to select the location of the GAMES.DAT file (which is also included in the Vice64X package.) The GAMES.DAT file stores the screenshot name information that is necessary for the conversion process. Once you have selected the GAMES.DAT file, you can press the Rename button. It will now prompt you to select a screenshot file from your Windows Gamebase64 screenshot directory structure. This step essentially tells the program where your Windows screenshots reside. Next it will ask you to select a directory into which the new XBox screenshots will be written. Simply navigate to a directory and then enter anything into the file-selection dialog box. When you have done that, it will begin processing. This might take a few minutes, so just leave it alone until it's done. When it finishes, it will have created a CONVERTGIF.BAT file in the same directory as the GAMES.DAT file you specified. Before you double-click this BAT file, you must make sure that the GIF2PNG.EXE file is located somewhere in your path (like in your main WINDOWS directory.) You can check to see if it is in your path by doing a START -> Run and then entering "gif2png" (without the double-quotes) and pressing enter. If you get an error message saying something about the file cannot be found, then the GIF2PNG.EXE file is not in your path. If you see a console window flash up for a split-second and then disappear, then you are all set. Once you have verified GIF2PNG is in your path, you can double-click the BAT file and away it will go. This will take several minutes to finish.

This is kind of an involved process, but the XBox compatible screenshots may be made available on the [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] website (since the windows-screenshot package is currently available on the website). Then it will be a simple matter of just downloading the xbox screenshots, unpacking them, and putting them in the appropriate directory.

You may need to change the location of the screenshot directory while running Vice64X in order for the new Gamebase64 screenshot location to be recognized. You can do this by going to Main Menu -> Configuration -> Change Default Directories -> Screenshot Directory. Select that option and then navigate to the directory where the "C64" directory resides. For example, if one of your xbox screenshots is:

/GAMEBASE/SCREENSHOTS/C64/0/180_00013_01/0001.png
Then your screenshot directory should be

/GAMEBASE/SCREENSHOTS

While on the Gamebase64 game list screen, the following buttons are available :

WHITE button - View information on the currently selected game. BLACK button - Play the SID file that is associated with the game (if one exists).

There are two games included in the package to demonstrate the Gamebase64 functionality.

Name : IK+
Genre : Sports-Fighting
Publisher : System 3
Name : Great Giana Sisters
Genre : Arcade - Platformer (scrolling screen)
Publisher : Rainbow Arts
Search for them via name, genre, or publisher. When you have found the games in the list, you can press the WHITE or BLACK buttons while the game is highlighted.

AutoBoot Games
This allows people to configure a CD/DVD such that when it boots, it will boot directly into the specified game.

If you place a file called BOOT.INI in the same directory as your DEFAULT.XBE, then the filename specified in that file will be automatically loaded upon startup. Similarly, if you place BOOT.KEY and BOOT.STG in the same directory, then the controller configuration (BOOT.KEY) and settings (BOOT.STG) will be used if none already exist for the game specified in BOOT.INI. Create these boot.key and boot.stg files from the existing configuration files for a particular game in the E:\SAVES\ directory.

Sample BOOT.INI contents:

d:\gamename.zip

Gamebase V3/V4
Overwrite the DAT files in the GAMEBASE subdirectory with the DAT files located inside gamebase_v3_dats.zip.

Please note that if you are upgrading from an existing V2 (as was included in the original versions of Vice64X) then you will have to re-convert your screenshots because V3 changed some of the game filenames. Follow the instructions located further down in this readme to convert your gamebase screenshots and to configure gamebase in general.

It looks like Gamebase will have a v4 sometime next month. The instructions for how to convert it into XBOX compatible DAT files are located in the subdirectory CONVERT_NEW_GAMEBASE. See the README.TXT file in that directory for details.

Special note for Gamebase V4 and any future Gamebase versions
As of V4, the gamebase screenshots have all been converted to PNG files, which makes the gif2png.exe program unnecessary. You still need to run the gb64_xboxrename.exe program to rename your screenshot files, but you should delete the gif2png.exe file before running it since it is not needed.

Carryovers from Atarixlbox
Ability to pick a file from within a zip file. That way on computer based emu's multi-disk games can be zipped now. Keep in mind that if you play any game that "saves" to a floppy, that disk has to be a seperate UNZIPPED file.
Fixed a few interface "quirks" regarding playing game sounds while emu is paused.
Select save state screen tells you whether your "loading" or "saving", it also now displays whether a save file has a record session ( R ) associated with it.
When a new save state is created it deletes any recordings. If you press the "back" button while in the save state select screen it will allow you to delete that save state (as well as it's recording).
Utilities menu display modifed to state "stop or start recording/playback" depending on whether they are turned on or off. It also displays total minutes remaining or played so far.
Record/Playback turn off when exiting a game. Boy that sure caused some confusion.
Switched positioning control of sprites in the skin menu to the left analog stick, that way you don't have to worry about unintentionally lowering the volume.
Savestate load screen is a little more informational when sent to it from the save/record option.
When you save a picture it removes the screenshot save path making it easier to see long names.
Changed order of some of the entries in the "Music Control Menu".
Playlist repeat mode, and View Name setting is saved in INI file. Although song name only shows in the music control menu.
(cheat codes) When "adding a code" from the "edit code" screen the current code is copied as a template.
You can activate/deactivate a code from the "cheat code list" menu by pressing start.
Deleting a cheat code now asks you if you are sure (I got tired of accidently deleting my codes ).
Fixed up the problem created from using multiple files in a Zip file.
Fixed problem when a filename inside a zip contains too many characters. While I was at it I fixed the space as the last character when trimming to 42 characters behavior. Zip files where the path was saved now unzip correctly.
Rewind and Fastforward are de-activated during record/playback and netplay mode. It even tells you so when you try!!
(Internal) Modified YesNoMenu so it doesn't clear m_menuText.
Added ability to add in cheat codes from a Gameshark compatible database (see description below). This includes the ability to export the cheat codes in a game to "share" with your friends. Cheat/rumble codes are included for most games. When "adding" codes from the gameshark DB it will move you to the entries with a matching CRC. If not you'll have to manually find the game.

"Auto Game Configurations (aka Configuration defaults) for select emulators
In the "General settings" menu there will be a new option.

"Automatically Use Default Game Configuration - Yes/No"

If the user sets it to "Yes" it will bring up the game configuration screen and let the user define the default (if no default.stg and default.key file exists).

In the "Configuration" menu there will be a new option... "Set default game configuration"

The user can go in anytime thru the "Configuration" menu to change these "defaults" to something else if they wish.

Once set to "Automatically use Default Game Configuration" the user will not see the game configuration screen again unless they... a) press X when selecting a game. Change "Use Default Game Configuration" back to "No".

Keep in mind when it is set to "Yes" the game will use your "Default game settings" and not the normal x-port behavior. If set to "No" the emulator will behave like it usually does. Each emu is typically different. But all, at the very least carry the controller settings over.

This feature will only be added to emulators in which it is feasible to use.


Media browser
Be sure to use the RessurectionXtras or Xtras for maximum enjoyment! "http://rappscallion.wixsite.com/ressurectionxtras/download"
Ability to display documentation (text or graphic) and commercials (xmv format only).
Assigned buttons (white/black) to go to next/previous files when viewing documentation. See below graphic/text file viewer controls.
Once the user opens a document - the emulator remembers this document as long as the game session is running.
View settings for each document viewed are now stored in a "bookmark" file so next time you view a file your settings are restored. Press Back to "reset" as if reading document for first time.
"View Text File" changed to "Browse Manuals/Videos"
Support added for different kinds of documentation in the media browser. Including "Manuals", "Game FAQs", "Game Maps", "Commercials", and "Other". The user can also specify where these directories are located. Defaults are "Manuals", "GameFAQs", "VGMAPS", "Commercials", and "Other". "Other" is in the media root directory (typically "x:\media\Other") for non emu specific stuff.
User can specify whether manual is displayed "Full Size" or be "Sized to fit screen" when loaded. Keep in mind any saved bookmarks override this. Press Back to toggle between "Full Size" and "Size to fit screen".
Commercials can be displayed either full screen, at the size of the video with black background, or same size of the video with synopsis background.
NOTE: Some emulators are tight on memory (eg: NeoGenesis) and not all the Xtra's will load. If you have trouble with an image loading you might have to resize it.
In screenshot viewer. If the image is smaller than your text file screensize settings it will work as follows.
a) If the image is taller than it is wide it will continue expanding the image ( based on aspect ratio) until the width fits within the width of your text file screensize width. (Most normal manuals)

b) If the image is wider than it is tall it will continue expanding the image ( based on aspect ratio) until the height fits within the height of your text file screensize height. (For example NES manuals).

This seems to effectively stretch the image in the best manner possible for scanned manual reading.

Browsing manuals/videos should auto select any file matching your ROM name exactly. Select "View Media Directory" for manual browsing.
Unmapped controls that allow you to move the screen around since word wrap should work correctly now.
Change Fixed Width font controls are now mapped to the right analog stick (left/right) like the help screen says it should be. Doh!
Set font size keeps seperate settings for Fixed Width fonts and proportional fonts since they produce different results.
Graphic documentation can now be stored in a ZIP file and still work with the media browser functions (next/previous and bookmarks).
Music no longer starts playing after viewing text file in game.
Number of lines displayed in the text file viewer now properly match user set text screen size.
Number of lines displayed updates properly if user modifies text screen size within text file viewer.
Text file viewer functions turn off FixedWidth before displaying any menu.
Added a fixed width font for the text file viewer. If you wanna use it you have to make sure that a file named "FixedFont.ttf" is located in the emulator directory. Press "Y" in the text file viewer to switch to the fixed font.
Controls for text browser
A -> Start Search B -> Exit X -> Continue Last Search Y -> Simulate width font

White -> Previous file Black -> Next file

Start -> Help screen Back -> Reset view as if document was loaded for first time.

Dpad -> Up/down, Left-> Up Page, Right-> Down Page Left Analog button -> Set font size Left Analog Up -> Top of file Left Analog Down -> End of file Right Analog button -> Set text screen size Right Analog left/right -> decrease/increase fixed-width font size

Left/Right triggers - Move up/down text file.

Controls for screenshot browser
A -> Lock/Unlock Aspect Ratio B -> Exit Y -> Delete file (Utilities-> browse screenshots only)

White -> Previous file Black -> Next file

Start -> Help screen Back -> Toggle between "Full Size" and "Size to fit screen".

Dpad -> Up/Down/Left/Right -> Move image 1/4th the total size of the image. Left Analog button -> Music Control Menu Left Analog up/down -> Move screen up/down. Right Analog left/right -> decrease/increase screen size. Size changes proportional to distance the stick is pressed.


What's New:
This will document all the changes to the Madmab Edition interface which essentially affects all emulators when they are compiled. This will make tracking emulator differences for me easier seeing how I have 30 plus emulators under my belt.

The interface version used by an emulator can be found in the help menu (example: CFv1b01 ). If it is not present then the emulator has not been compiled since this change.

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b34 changes
Added a new option in the "Other Video Configurations" menu called "Always Use Xbox Video Refresh Rate: Yes/No". If set to Yes the emulator will always leave the xbox video refresh rate at the default for that video mode when running a game. Even if that game is a different "region". This, for example, can improve things like tearing and scrolling in emulators like the Vice64x emulator. Keep in mind, however, that other "issues" can occur as a result of this. For example on the C64 emu the sound may skip occasionally. So do not come complaining to me about issues created by using this feature. Just pick your poison and deal with it.

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b33 changes
Corrected a problem created by the fix in CFv1b29 which caused 480i mode for PAL60 users to have the wrong refresh rate. Whoopsie. ;)
Fixed issue where Screenshot Capture Mode status was being displayed incorrectly.
Dosxbox save configs were not being properly removed in the "Delete Save Files" function.
Modified in-game menu so that "save/load state" options will not be displayed if emulator does not support savestates.
Modified in-game menu so that "Playback/Record" options will not be displayed if playback/record is disabled or if the emulator does not support savestates.
Removed old website code. It has pretty much been replaced by the config database code.
Removed "Remove 'Launch Inserted CD'" from Dummy/Lockdown Mode Settings screen if emulator does not support original CD's.
Re-arranged the "Configuration" menu options around some. (Sorry.. :( )
More tweaks to the synopsis display code. Maybe one day it will be correct. LOL
Because of the consistency of sound volume issues occasionally cropping up (wacky sound volumes) I implemented the following.
+ Put in some sanity checks for sound volumes. If the volume is below 0 on emulator load then it is reset to full volume.

+ Added two new options to the in-game "Volume Control Menu". "Reset All Volumes To 100" and "Preview Movie Volume"

+ Added a new "Configuration" menu called "Sound Volume Configuration". This calls the aforementioned "Volume Control Menu" where you can adjust the various volume levels.


Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b32 changes
Commented out a line that was resetting the refresh rate thus preventing users from taking advantage of "Force PAL50 Mode" to get 50hz speed in 720x480 or 640x480 mode (even though the screen ratio is incorrect).

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b31 changes
Delete game configuration modified to remove "inputmap.cfg" and "mednafen.cfg" for the MednafenX series of emulators.
Minor change to the manual screenshot advancement code as well as fixes for Vice64 not properly displaying screenshots from the screenshot directory.
Fixed issue where menu state was sometimes not being reset to MAIN_MENU when exiting a game (for example pcsxbox not starting because of a bad cue file).
Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b30 changes
Fixed an issue where changing the software filter in-game would cause a crash (Neogenplus GX core only)
BoxCart art and screenshot textures are cleared on game start to help free up a little memory before launching a game.
Removed redundant code.
Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b29 changes
Running any emulator on a PAL50 system with videomode 640x480 and Force PAL 50 set to No would cause a crash (black screen). Fixed. :)

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b28 changes
Fixed where it was possible to lower CDDA volume and MP3 music volume (background music) below 0...
Fixed issue where setting the game screen size/position to other than Pixel Accurate would reset the flicker fixer, software and hardware filters to ( 0, point, and none).
Fixed another case where the UI was not going back to the "ROM directory" when changing default directories.

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b27 changes
Fixed Issue where background music was not stopping when running actual original CD games (for emulators that support it) if user has it set to turn off on game start.

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b26 changes

Fixed issue where CDDA mp3 volume adjust code had a little bug where if using the dpad to change the volume and it was changed to less than 0 or greater than 100 it would produce wacky numbers.
Fixed issue where calls to function selectFile() were not resetting the xtras names and causing the currently selected game to be messed up. For example, selecing a new controller config and then trying to load a new disk into the drives.
INI file is no longer saved after manually changing the volume with the analog sticks due to potential INI file corruption on systems with wonky analog sticks and the user just powering off the xbox.
I somehow reverted the synopsis code that allows the use of higher def backgrounds. Fixed.

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b25 changes (PAL60 version :P )
Added support for 640x576 PAL mode. So now you PAL and PAL60 users can enjoy using it! The new mode called "640x576" is located in the slot reserved for 480p (since it is not available on HD sets). You can set the menu video mode to this or you can set the game video to this for some PAL sized goodness. Great for systems like the C64 or Amiga in PAL mode. We currently do not have any accurate pixel settings for this mode except for Winuaex. So any input is appreciated.
When in PAL or PAL60 mode the video mode 720x480 in-game uses a refresh of 60 like it should. However if you really insist you can use the "Force PAL 50 mode" to change that. However the screen will be stretched and 720x576 is the better option anyways for 50hz modes.
Fixed issue for PAL60 users where wrong video mode is highlighted when changing the video mode.
Fixed a minor issue for PAL60 users where refresh rate was not being set properly when changing the interface video mode.
Fixed a minor issue for PAL60 users where refresh rate was not being set properly to 50hz when changing the game video mode.
Disabled some code that was initializing Video on game load (was not needed).
Fixed an issue where if pixel perfect settings were not defined for the 720x modes and they were used the screensize variables would be set incorrectly.
To save confusion the interface now asks you if you want to "Activate Default Game Configuration Use?" if you set the default game configuration and the option is not turned on.
New option added for "Pixel Perfect" users "Use Offsets From Pixel Perfect Table? (Yes/No). You'll only see it if "Pixel Perfect" is activated. It is located under "Configuration -> Video Configuration -> Game and Text Screen Size/Position".
- This is a new feature that will be added for certain emulators to help center the screen a little better based on a comparison to the real console. The Amiga is a little different so be sure to read the "latest_winuaex.txt" file.

SelectFile routine was modified to place the selection on the closest matching filename if the passed filename variable contains a value. (hopefully this wont cause odd behavior)
Added a new Preset controller option in the Controller menu modified "Overwrite Existing Controller Config". It will allow you to save the current settings over an already existing preset controller file. If you changed the settings (which clears the loaded preset controller) it will remember the last name used to help save you some time. If you want to create a new presetC just use "Save Current Controller Config".
Added new option in the General Settings menu (Page 2). "Pressing BLACK Deletes Game Settings Only? Yes/No". Having this set to yes will delete a games configuration settings but will preserve other things like SRAM saves, save states, and recordings. "No" will completely remove any files associated with a game. This setting carries over to the newly added "Game Save Management" menu.
"Game Save Management" now brings up a new menu with the following options.
"Remove Settings & Saves Per Game" -> This option will allow the user to select individual game configurations and will completely remove any files associated with a game.

"Remove Only Settings Per Game" -> This option will allow the user to select individual game configurations and will delete the configuration settings but will keep other things like SRAM saves, save states, and recordings.

"Remove Only Settings For ALL Games" -> This option will go through every game configuration that exists in your saves folder and will delete the configuration settings but will keep other things like SRAM saves, save states, and recordings.

"skin_settings.ini" in the saves folder is now "settings.ini". If the emu finds "skin_settings.ini" it will rename it to "settings.ini" and then from that point on use "settings.ini". This is to make it easier to copy into the actual skin's folder if you like your settings.
When going into "Change default directories" and changing the "ROM Directory" the game select screen switches to the newly selected default directory instead of going back to the old one.
Sticky left analog sticks should no longer cause hangups at the game select or game favorites menu.
Some more optermizations to the :showScreeshot function (sigh).
Changed it so if "Always Display Save State Menu?" is set to Yes there will be no popup asking "Overwrite existing state?" if "Confirm Save State" is set to "Yes".
Changed text on "Volume Control Menu" from "MP3 Music Volume" to "Background Music Volume" to be less ambiguous.
Some tweaks to the synopsis display code to, hopefully, fix some issues when using the pop-up window.
Somehow accidently removed the code to display a skin's synopsis background image if one is included. Whooopsie! Fixed.
Synopsis tries to convert some oddball international characters into ones that will display properly on the xbox. (Open/close quotes, etc).
Created a new alternate "directory" layout for artwork files. This was mainly created to fix speed issues with game browsing on asphodel's C64 Xtras collection (which is huge!). Artwork can now be stored in alphabet folders underneath each respective directory. For example "Action\0", "Action\A", "Titles\Z", "Titles\S". This applies to all folders except for the MISC folders. In order for the emulator to detect that you are using this new layout there has to exist an "Action\A" folder (no files needed inside). Otherwise the emulator will use the old artwork layout.
Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b24 changes
Autoload savestate code in commonfuncs fixed to deal with multi-core emulators. Affected emulators were pcsxbox (reloaded and redux), snes9xbox, NeoGensPlusGX and MessTrex.

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b23 changes
Fixed a bug with the xbox_compatible_name code that would fudge up the extension of a filename longer than 42 characters and with a space before the filename extension, thus losing the extension.
Fixed a synopsis bug where selecting a CD image on a networked drive would copy the image over to the xbox. This issue did not affect PCSXBOX.
Modified action list load code and synopsis viewer to handle Amiga CD32 images.

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b22 changes
Added an "About" menu to the "Utilities" menu to display info about the emulator core. This info will be added in each emulator when they are next released.
Added in support for multiple accurate pixel entries for multi-core systems rather than the two seperate list approach previously used.
Merged in the e:\saves\ fixes from a test build. What this means is you can now point the "saves" directory elsewhere (like F:) and the emulator will remember that. This should also mean no more "hex-editing" XBE's to split up multi system emulators!
Note: If you have an ini file for the emulator (example: winuaex.ini) in the emulators directory. Be sure to remove it before running any emulator that has been update to CFv1b22 and above.

Basically the emulator works like this.

1. Check "D:" drive (the emulators directory) for the ini file and load.

2. If present and emulator is being run from DVD, reload INI settings from saves directory specified in the ini file. This allows a user to modify emulator settings (except for save directory) if running from DVD.

3. If no ini present check default saves directory "E:\Saves\emuname" for ini and load.

4. Last resort=== if unable to load ANY ini file use defaults.

So how do you get this to work?

1. Create a saves directory where you want it to be. For example ( F:\saves\emuname ).

2. Either edit the .ini file to point to the new location or you could just load up the emulator and point it to the new saves directory.

3. Exit the emulator. The ini file is then saved to the emulators directory (D:).

4. Move your saves to the new location. It should be safe now to remove your e:\saves\emuname directory.


Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b21 changes
Load/Save state code modified to handle dual cores for NeogenplusGX.

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b20 changes
Only first Misc artwork directory was being displayed across a network share. Fixed.

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b19 changes
Fixed issue with screen size/position randomly changing when using global override and custom screen/size position.
Based on user feedback removed the following software filters 2xSai Scanline, 4xSai Scanline, Super 2xSai Scanline, Super 4xSai Scanline, Eagle 2x Scanline, Eagle 4x Scanline, Super Eagle2x Scanline, Super Eagle4x Scanline.
New Scanline Software Filters
Added 6 new software filters from GensX and 2 from NeoGeo CD emulator to the the x-port arsenal.
They are as follows Scanlines Filter and Scanlines 50 Filter from NeoGeo CD and Full Scanline, Interpolated Scanline, 50% Scanline, Interpolated 50% Scanline, 25% Scanline, Interpolated 25% Scanline from GensX.
These will be added to emulators as I can and will be reported in each emu's latest changes text file.
Here are the current rules for the scanline filters.. These may change as more testing occurs.
The filters can be found in the "software filter" section towards the end of the list.

When you select a new scanline filter
If the game video mode is an HD mode the hardware filter will be changed to bilinear filter because the point filter does not look right unless Y pos is set to -1 and who wants part of the top of their screen missing. Flicker filter Level will be left alone.

If the game video mode is an SD mode the flicker filter level will be set to 2. Hardware filter will be left alone.

When you change the game video mode
If the game video mode is an HD mode and the software filter is a "GensX scanline filter" the hardware filter will be changed to bilinear filter because the point filter does not look right unless Y pos is set to -1 and who wants part of the top of their screen missing. Flicker filter Level will be left alone.

If the game video mode is an SD mode and the software filter is a "GensX scanline filter" the flicker filter level will be set to 2. Hardware filter will be left alone.

How the video size/screen position works
With the exception of "custom" video size/screen position. If you have the software filter set to a "GensX Scanline Filter" then the following rules apply. Otherwise it does what it always did.

If the game video mode is an HD mode the hardware filter will be changed to bilinear filter because the point filter does not look right unless Y pos is set to -1 and who wants part of the top of their screen missing. Flicker filter Level will be left alone.

If the game video mode is an SD mode the flicker filter level will be set to 2. Hardware filter will be left alone.


Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b18 changes
Software and Hardware filter are no longer saved with each individual game configuration. Consider it effectively "global" now.
Video mode is now changed when sizing the screen if you are using a custom size and the game video mode is set to something other than the interface video mode. For emulators that have game specific video modes, set the screensize while in-game.

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b17 changes
Sound is now paused on game "exit". To (hopefully) prevent sound stuttering on exit.
Fixed issue where selecting the root directory with the A button would crash the emulator. an oversite when I was modifying the game selection code.
More cleanup of the screenshot display code.
Fixed left/right d-pad browsing code on the favorites menu. Also fixed issue on game select menu when number of files in a directory is less than lines displayed by the skin.

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b16 changes
Fixed issue where interface was improperly numbering the savestates for Snes9xbox core 1.53 and thus you could save a state but not load it.
You can now disable the "Launch Inserted CD" option menu in the "Dummy/Lockdown Mode Settings" menu for emulators that use have this option.

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b15 changes
Fixed issue on emulators that use individual game modes where the interface video mode was reverting to a games video mode if the xbox was turned off before exiting the game.

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b14 changes
Fixed issue where game browser would revert to displaying normal filenames instead of long filenames when the file browser is used in-game.

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b13 changes
Fixed some issue with the manual screen advance code. In particular manual advancement of box/cart art when the display time is set to 0.

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b12 changes
Saving screensize/position globally somehow got borked. Hopefully fixed.

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b11 changes
File select menu allowed you to add/remove files from favorites or delete game saves even when you were not in the game select menu. Fixed.
The indexes for box/cart art size/position were all wacked out causing some skins not to display boxart. However some skins do not have their orientation options set correctly so you might have to fix that first. Sorry for the big goof. All of my testing were done with the official skins by Gilou999.

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b10 changes
Option to display static if no movie exists got borked. Fixed.
Fixed the bubble sort in the unzip routine. Whoopsie.
Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b09 changes
Manually changing screenshots after first highlight of a game was not working correctly so if you had an action and some misc screenshots it would display the misc screenshot first.
Hardware filter being changed to bilinear for some reason when using on screen keyboard in SD modes (for example the "save controller configuration" option. Fixed.
Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b08 changes
Fixed a nasty bug related to allowing long filename to be passed in createlocal and unzipfile.
Default option for exactSecMatch in GetIniInt and GetIniString was reversed. Corrected it. Reversed entries in :ShowGameSynopsis and :LoadGameButtonList as well. Updated all emulators that have a gamebase config to use the new format.
Moved "Show Action List Instead of Keyboard" option for emulators that use it into "commonfuncs" where it belongs. Currently atarixlbox only.
Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b07 changes
Added support for HD synopsis backgrounds. However transitions in the synopsis are disabled if one is used.
Modified game select screen so if the game selected is at the midpoint in the list it will scroll the screen instead of waiting till you reach the top or bottom.
Corrected list positioning bug that occurs sometimes when backing out of a directory (controller Y) (filelist shorter than maxnumlines).
Fixed a couple bugs in the "Go to next letter (dpad-right)" code. (While loop).
Fixed a bug in the "Go to next/prev letter (dpad-right/left)" code when in favorites and using longfilenames (xtra).
Fixed a glitch in the "Go to next/prev letter (dpad-right/left)" code regarding directories when using longfilenames (xtra).
Disabled mp3 volume controls in the media browser (graphics / manuals / etc ) because it conflicts with the "sizing" controls.
Disabled mp3 volume controls in the synopsis viewer to prevent accidental adjusting of the volume while hopping in/out of synopsis view.
Adjusted the text in the dummy/Lockdown mode menu ( for SD mode )
Added two new options to the Dummy/Lockdown mode menu. "Prevent MP3 Vol Change In Game Select Menu? Yes/No" and "Prevent Movie Vol Change In Game Select Menu? Yes/No"

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b06 changes
On emu's that have an NTSC filter the option to change the software filter is not shown if the NTSC filter is active ( still needs changing on atarixlbox and classic99x? )
Dual code for handing individual game screen size/position and global game screen size/position so either one can be used depending on the emulator. Emulators currently affect..
global -> ( MekaX, Xboyadvance, WinstonX). Individual -> ( X68000X, Winuaex, Dosxbox )

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b05 changes
Modified createlocal and unzipFile so that they can return the longfilename if one exists (external files or within ZIP)
Modified GetValuePopup so it can handle increments other than 1 and numbers with decimal (some math required on your part :P ).
When selecting a file within a zip Pressing B to cancel would not close the zip file, thus preventing it from being selected again. (fixed).
Fixed a bug with the IGM that would prevent some emu specific options from working properly. Not sure how this one slipped by for so long. :lol:
Modified game volume control so it can now control emulators where the core is MESS (aka A7800x)
Fixed a lockup bug in the action list "showGameControls" function.
doConfigureController and doConfigureControllers now return whether a change to the controller settings was made.
Now clears the Preset Controller name when the "Copy Configuration" option is used like it is supposed to.
YesNoMenu modified to allow selection of default response (yes or no).
Added new menu to "Xtras menu" to allow toggling debug output to file.

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b04 changes
Minor changes to allow proper action list support for DosXbox. No effect on other emulators.
Minor fix to the manual browsing code that would have affected DosXbox. No effect on other emulators.

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b03 changes
Fixed some issues involved with moving to the previous/next file when viewing manuals from within a zip file. (all emus)
Fixed another issue involved with moving to the previous/next file when viewing manuals from within a zip file in emulators that use the alternate unzip routine.

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b02 changes
Fixed an issue with samba share browsing on certain routers. All I know is it now works on ARRIS routers used by Time Warner Cable and possibly others.
Added ability to show Box Front images from "Box Front 01" directory. For now it is Box Front only.

Madmab Edition Interface CFv1b01 changes
Fixed some bugs in the displaying of sprites in the IGM.
Added a new skin menu option "Select Static IGM Background Image". This can be found in the "All 'Other' Menu Settings" menu. It allows the skinner to have a background image other than the "other" menu background while in the IGM. The idea is that when in the IGM the least amount of memory is available. This helps with cases where sprites just wont display while IGM (long story). If you use this feature the IGM sprites will be disabled and the emulator warns you of this. To "disable" the static IGM backgroun menu just select the option and press "B", thus not selecting a file.

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