smsplus-gx/docs/history.txt

SMSPLUS GX Changelog:
---------------------


Sms Plus GX 1.3.1 (??/??/????):
-------------------------------

- updated Z80 core to last version (fix undocumented BIT instructions & interrupts timing)
- improved Z80 timing accuracy: fixes sky flickering in Shadow of the Beast
- improved VDP accuracy (Status flags, sprites, HV counters, etc), Sms Plus now passes all tests in Flubba's VDP Test Program
- improved Sega Phaser autodetection: fixes lightgun support in some games
- improved Mappers emulation
- fixed FM unit & I/O chip concurrent access (Wonderboy III in Dragon's Trap, Time Soldiers)
- fixed Korean BIOS support
- fixed 3D-Glasses faking initial state
- adjusted SN76489 volume to real SMS2 output
- added emulation of new Korean 8k paging chip (Omar Cornut, Charles MacDonald)
- added support for new released Korean games (Omar Cornut, Charles MacDonald)
- added SG-1000 emulation
- added Colecovision emulation
- various code cleanup & improvments

[NGC/Wii]
- improved horizontal scaling
- added SMB support (Talantyyr)
- compiled with latest libogc/devkitPPC (SDHC support, DVDX fix, etc)



14/12/2008:
-----------
[NGC/Wii]
- added Blargg's NTSC Filter support (NTSC video artifacts emulation)
- added an option to enable/disable bilinear filtering
- removed embedded font, (re)enabled IPL font support: now should works for Qoob users too (thanks to emukiddid)
- patched libfat for faster SDCARD accesses (thanks to svpe)
- SaveState filenames are now based on the ROM filename (for FAT devices only)
- various bugfixes, menu tweaks and code cleanup

[NGC only]
- added 480p support in menu

[Wii only]
- implemented fast scrolling in menu using Wiimote D-PAD
- added "Power" button support
- added USB Storage support
- Widescreen menu fix
- *new* libogc 1.7.0 features: SDHC support, Wiimote shutdown button support


26/08/2008:
-----------
[NGC/Wii]
- added ROM History for faster ROM access (Marty Disibio)
- added DVD support in Wii mode (no modchip required)


15/07/2008:
-----------
[SMS, GG]
- added an option to disable original Sprite Limit emulation (reduce sprite flickering)
- added an option to display the hidden parts of the original Game Gear LCD screen
- added Laser Ghost in "Light Phaser" game database
- fixed a bug which prevented "normal" games displaying correctly after loading a 3D game

[NGC/Wii]
- added automatic alphabetical filesorting (Marty Disibio)
- fixed Wii/Gamecube RESET button handler (softreset)
- added support for horizontal wiimote handling in Menu (activated when wiimote is not pointed towards the screen)
- added custom input ports setting (PHASER,PADDLE, GAMEPAD or NONE), this is still automatically set for games which need specific peripherals
- keys mapping are now saved in config file
- when Classic Controller is inserted in Port #1, Wiimote #1 can now be used to control player #2
- "Soft-Reset" key is now fixed to avoid accidental resets: Buttons + & - on wiimote/classic controller, Triggers L & R on gamecube pad
- fixed "stretch" mode being canceled after loading a new game
- fixed SMS BIOS detection (place the BIOS rom on SDCARD in /smsplus/SMS_BIOS.sms)


01/06/2008:
-----------
[SMS, GG]
- fixed port $3E emulation: fix Gain Ground, Ninja Gaiden,...
- added Paddle emulation: fix inputs in all games requiring paddle (Alex Kidd BMX Trial, Megumi Rescue,...), best handled using D-Pad or Analog Sticks.
- added LightPhaser emulation: fix inputs in all games requiring the lightgun (Wanted, Rambo III, Operation Wolf,...), best handled through Wiimote IR pointing, can also be used through D-Pad or Analog Sticks.

[NGC/Wii]
- added full horizontal scaling (up to 720 pixels) when using "stretch" aspect mode (use Xscale to increase width)
- added progressive mode support (480p) in menu also
- added automatic FreezeState support (OFF by default, check "system options")
- added automatic config file support
- /smsplus/saves is now automatically created if it does not exist
- assigned Reset Button to SMS Soft-Reset

[Wii only]
- added automatic TV mode detection (from SYSCONF), no more PAL60 version needed
- added option to return to Wii System Menu
- fixed "TP reload" option: now compatible with HB channel
- removed SD-Gekko support (Wii slot becomes default slot)
- added Wii SD slot support for SRAM & FreezeState files
- added Wiimote, Nunchuk & Classic controllers support through libwiiuse (see User Manual for default keys)
- added customizable key mapping (for each configurations: gamepad, wiimote only, wiimote+nunchuk or classic)



(19/04/2008):
[SMS, GG]
 - fixed VDP init when loading savestate: fix graphics in games using TMS9918 mode
 - added port $3E emulation and full SMS BIOS support (see user notes)
 - implemented SMS1 VDP "tilemap mirroring" bug: fix Y's (J) status bar when running in SMS1 mode
 - updated Z80 core to last version (fix some undocumented behaviour): fix Rambo 3 "Game Over" screen & Robocop 3 "pause" bug
 - corrected PAL CPU clock value
 - modified FM Unit detection: fix FM music in many japanese games
 - added full overscan emulation: when enabled, aspect ratio is exactly like on original hardware, including borders (horizontal borders
 are generally completely hidden under TV edges)
 - corrected Game Gear VDP handlers in SMS mode: fix colors in GG-MS mode
 - improved Codemasters Mapper emulation: fix Excellent Dizzy Collection & Ernie Els Golf
 - added Korean Mapper emulation: fix Sangokushi III & Dodgeball King
 - adjusted SMS color palette values (compared side by side with a real PAL SMS 2)
 - fixed Hcounter table (thanks to FluBBa)

[NGC/Wii]
- added support for original video mode (240p/288p): this makes games looking exactly like on original hardware (including scanlines)
- added "Aspect" option to switch between Original (correct aspect ratio with borders) and Fit Screen (full screen) display modes
- added "Xshift" & "Yshift" settings to let you adjust display area while keeping the original aspect ratio
- added "Border" option to enable/disable borders color emulation
- added "Palette" option to let you choose the Brightness level: RVB (darkest), Normal , Bright
- added Wii mode support (including front SD rom loading with LFN, TP reload, ...)
- added EURGB60 & PAL 50hz TV modes support
- added 480p (progressive) rendering mode support in Wii mode (not supported by the PAL60 version, use the other one !)


(20/07/2007):
[NGC]
- added 4.7GB DVD support for WII drives (the maximal allowed size for Gamecube DVD is still 1.35GB)
- removed MPAL video timings, always use 60Hz NTSC: fix display problems for PAL wii users (no more PAL50 version needed)
- added Console Reboot option in main menu (System Reboot), also used for SDLoad reboot
- Freezestate files are now compressed (using zlib)
- FreezeState files can now be saved/loaded to/from SDCARD: located in /smsplus/saves/ from the root of your SDCARD
- changed initial ROMS directory for SDCARD user: now looking for /smsplus/roms/ from the root of your SDCARD
- added new font: now use original IPL font, extracted from Bootrom
- modified controls when going into the rom selection menu (DVD or SDCARD):
   . use B button to go up one directory
   . use Z button to quit the file selection menu 
   . use L/R triggers to go down/up one full page
   . use Left/Right buttons or Analog stick to scroll the selected entry's filename when it can't be full displayed
- various menu rearrangment, minor bugfixes & sourcecode cleanup

[SMS]
 - added 3D Glasses faking: fix graphics in games requiring 3D Glasses
 - fixed VDP & Z80 SP registers initialization (usually done by BIOS): fixe games not working without BIOS (Ace of Aces, Shadow Dancer)
 - completed game database for specific configuration (mappers, region, peripherals), based on Meka database


(27/03/2007):
 - corrected bug which made some SMS games not being fullscreen displayed
 - modified sound mixer for more correct FM music (try Wonderboy III Dragon's Trap)
 - FM is now disabled by default (only a few games use the FM unit and enabling FM forces the console type to japanese)

(26/03/2007):
 - use ASM GU functions used intead of 'C' ones for rendering speedup
 - added DVD automount: automatically call libogc DVD_Mount function if ISO PVD reading failed (idea taken from softdev's last neocdredux release). This may be useful for loading roms from a DVD after booting from SDLOAD or after stopping DVD motor.
 - added "DVD motor off" feature, like in others emulators
 - corrected Memory Card mounting function: EXI_ProbeReset() function was never called if the first mounting attempt failed. Should fix some of the "Unable to mount memory card" errors.


(22/03/2007):
  - added SDCARD subdirectory browsing and LFN (255 char. max) support
  
(19/03/2007):
 - added SDCARD support (copypasted from Genesis Plus)
 - NO more linked rom needed, rom buffer is now dynamically allocated

(09/03/2007):
 - updated to last version (1.3): this add TMS9918 display mode support (F16 Fighting Falcon, Rozetta no Shouzou)
 - corrected NGC savestate loading (fix FM & graphics problem on loading state)
 - added an option to change Joypad Type in Misc Menu (SMS button 1 is assigned to Button A (typeA) or Button B (typeB))
 - added options in Misc menu to change some internal settings (Region, CPU , Mapper, FM Type, Console Type) 
 - updated NGC Sound Engine (copypasted from Genesis Plus)