Files
Joseph MattielloandClaude Opus 5.5 5a976df863 chore: prepare v3.11.0 release
Version v3.11.0 in Makefile, .info and version_fallback.h; release notes and
WHATSNEW. Savestates stay v17 (state.h unchanged since v3.10.0).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <[email protected]>
2026-11-01 19:34:02 -05:00

1023 lines
48 KiB
Plaintext

Virtual Jaguar v3.11.0 libretro
------------------------------
Emulation thread on by default, Match display pacing, community cheats,
TV mode complete, faster GPU/DSP, and AvP's marines attack.
Full notes: docs/RELEASE_NOTES_v3.11.0.md
Options and v17 savestates carry over. A stored emulation-thread setting
is kept; --emu-thread off runs without the thread.
== Core ==
* TOM HC readback is derived from emulated time: AvP's marines attack the
Alien again, and Atari Karts' AI varies again (#1094, #1096).
* GPU interpreter inlines hot opcodes with direct-threaded dispatch; DSP
idle skip covers more wait loops (Iron Soldier 2, Cybermorph) and stays
on under blit memoization; bit-exact (#1057, #1117, #1118, #1121, #1137,
#1139, #1140).
* .info savestate_features = "deterministic" (#1064).
== Desktop app ==
* Emulation thread defaults On in every build channel; Tools windows,
debugger halts, the GDB stub and Neuro work with it on; it runs as a
real-time thread where the OS allows (#1061, #1066, #1068, #1090, #1134,
#1135).
* Settings > Video > Frame pacing: "Match display" starts frames on display
refreshes, with the audio following the display (#1125, #1128).
* Without the thread, the pacer counts time on the display's vblank grid:
no more bursts of repeated and dropped frames (#1145).
* Cheats window: "Community cheats" installs the verified, CRC32-matched
pack for a cartridge from the project website (credited to jguffer,
cheats start off, Update/Remove, hardcore-safe); Library "Download box
art" is now "Download art and cheat packs" (#1071, #1073, #1076); the
converter handles more scripts (#1091, #1097, #1113, #1119, #1120).
* TV mode: Settings, Overlays, Achievements and More screens; Off/Manual/
Auto switching with a first-use hint (#1060, #1067, #1077).
* Windows with only OpenGL 1.1 falls back to the bundled Mesa (Direct3D 12,
else llvmpipe) instead of exiting (#1138, #1143).
* Memory viewer bitmap mode with width guessing (#1095).
* macOS: no GL swap hang when launched with the display asleep; the late
latch's event wait ends on time (#1058, #1089).
* Windows portable updates keep data/ (#1059); installers fetch scripts
from master (#1087).
* Packaging prepared for Microsoft Store, Steam and Mac App Store (not
published) (#1111, #1112); CMake presets (#1132).
Virtual Jaguar v3.10.0 libretro
------------------------------
TV mode, controller navigation, optional emulation threading and AI players.
Full notes: docs/RELEASE_NOTES_v3.10.0.md
Options and v17 savestates carry over. Emulation threading remains
experimental and OFF by default.
== Core ==
* GPU/DSP MMULT preserves the live matrix address and wraps within low
4 KB local RAM; fixes consecutive multiplies in the polygon demo (#1043).
* TOM PIT exposes live counters; unreadable TOM I/O falls back to MEMCON1
according to the original Atari netlists (#1044, #1045).
* Fast blitter computed Z and Gouraud gradients follow A2 destination
lanes with DSTA2; fixes incorrect GT writes, with a bootable reproducer
and regression coverage in both engines (#1046, #1051).
== Desktop app ==
* TV mode: Home, Library, Game details and paused in-game menu;
TV-menu hold action and Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+T toggle (#995, #999, #1024).
* Controller navigation of the desktop library; per-family and custom
profiles (#1030). Pro Controller X/Y/Z/L/R controls (#1019).
* Optional fullscreen menu auto-hide; native chrome for detached tools
without duplicate in-app window controls (#1034).
* Optional emulation thread, audio-clock pacing, RetroAchievements and
link play on the core owner, busy indicator (#1000, #1031).
* Precise wakes, presentation pacing, late-latch deadline/event-wait
headroom and slower pad decay (#1018, #1023, #1035).
* Queued commands apply before frame advances (#1033).
* .m3u playlists and disc-menu fixes; disc swaps update content identity
while saves stay owned by the initially opened disc (#1006, #1009,
#1011, #1012).
* Invalid playlists keep their playable discs visible; playlist states
keep per-disc ownership in desktop and TV mode, even with equal slot
numbers; resume retains the full disc list and playlist save RAM (#1042).
* Achievement browser skips games without a set (#1015).
* CD mirror artwork misses retried after restart (#998); website CD
artwork collection available as one ZIP (#1016).
* Opt-in Neuro game API: AI Player 1, custom game profiles, held-input
release on disconnect, bounded stop, hardcore guard (#1001, #1027).
== Known issues ==
* Emulation thread disables Tools/debugger and GDB; rare host scheduling
stalls and display-locked pacing remain follow-up work.
* TV settings, overlays, achievements screens and Auto mode are pending.
* Core timing limitations, including Doom's attract demo, remain.
Virtual Jaguar v3.9.1 libretro
------------------------------
Xenowings SFX, faster GPU idle skip, shaders on every app package.
Full notes: docs/RELEASE_NOTES_v3.9.1.md
Cart corpus byte-identical to v3.9.0 except Xenowings (SFX play),
a frame or two of Skyhammer (GPU divide by zero) and the twelve loader
fixes below. No option keys removed; savestate format stays v17.
== Core ==
* Xenowings shot/explosion sounds restored (#895, #954): an indexed
store right after a div waits for the quotient when its offset
field names the div's target (netlist scoreboard rule, errata B25).
* RISC divide keeps 33 bits: divisors >= $80000000, overflowing 16.16
divides and divide by zero match the netlist (B26).
* GPU idle skip admits invariant local-RAM long stores and the full
jr reach (#957): Doom EX 83M -> 36M instr/frame at 1x, 141M -> 37M
at RISC 2x. Corpus video/audio/state hashes identical.
* Framebuffer overrun on wild video registers fixed (#944, #946).
* GDB stub works with stock gdb: real 68K target description,
detach/kill, watchpoints, full monitor output (#936, #948).
* Loader: DRI 601A executables, JAGR type 2, headerless BJL programs
at $4000, Painter (bin) at $10000, $802000-linked images (Rayman
Demo, BadCode4 (rom)), erased $404 enters at $802000 (Phase Zero,
Developer CD BIOS .j64)
-- twelve files (#971-#974, #978, #979).
* Legacy MSVC 2005/2010 buildbot builds link again: snprintf shim
for the debug interface's disassembler (#981, #982).
== Downloads ==
* Every macOS download is signed and notarized: core dylibs,
cue2cdi, Jaguar CD tools and the app (#989, #990).
* macOS chdman no longer needs Homebrew SDL3; universal binary for
macOS 11+ (#993, #994).
== Desktop app ==
* Shaders on Intel Macs, AppImage, .deb (librashader built from
source, #955) and the Flatpak (#953); the Shader section explains
when the runtime is unavailable.
* Settings > Interface tab: theme, font, FPS, overlay, resume,
library and desktop options moved out of Video/Storage (#941).
* Font picker: installed fonts, favorites/recents, per-font preview,
debugger monospace font (#943).
* Pacing no longer sleeps while behind (#956).
* BIOS selector picks the clicked file; FPS label under menus;
duplicate ImGui IDs fixed (#940, #941).
== Known issues ==
* Doom's attract demo runs too fast (#401).
* Blit Memoization, DRAM Timing and GPU/DSP Pipeline Timing switch
the idle-loop fast-forward off while enabled.
* Windows packages are not signed yet.
Virtual Jaguar v3.9.0 libretro
------------------------------
RISC overclock fix, experimental DSP timing model + the desktop app.
Full notes: docs/RELEASE_NOTES_v3.9.0.md
Default settings are byte-identical to v3.8.0 in the cart and CD boot
matrices. No option keys removed; savestate format stays v17.
== Core ==
* RISC clock 0.5x/1.5x/2x no longer turns the GPU/DSP idle-loop
fast-forward off (#891). The skip is exact at any scale (video,
audio and savestates byte-identical on/off). Core fps at 2x: Doom
52 -> 82, AvP 71 -> 204, Tempest 2000 77 -> 209. 1x unchanged.
* Timing work (#908): S0 (Doom pace gate, GPU busy counter, Checkered
Flag canary) and S2 (bus census) are measurement tooling, no
behaviour change. S1, a DSP pipeline model, rides on the "GPU/DSP
Pipeline Timing (Experimental)" option (formerly "GPU Pipeline
Timing"), OFF by default; if you had it on you now get the DSP
model too. It does not improve pacing yet (Checkered Flag: 4.9
fields per game frame vs its 3.0 cap).
* Clock scale options also accept a percentage (25-400, e.g. 175%);
listed values unchanged. GDB halt timeout clamped to 1 h (#906).
* A private frontend channel and debug interface (#906, #910, #919)
that only the desktop app answers; RetroArch never sees them.
== Desktop app (#867, #833) ==
* Standalone emulator for macOS, Windows and Linux in app/: SDL3,
Dear ImGui, OpenGL 3.3, driving the core through the retro_* API.
Library and artwork
* Home-screen library: Cartridges, Jaguar CD and BIOS & system tabs,
CRC32 identification, box art on demand, Ctrl/Cmd+scroll or pinch
to resize tiles (#838, #881, #889, #899).
* Favorites, Recently played and a Save states tab with each state's
screenshot (click to start from it); right-click: Play, Load
state, favorite, Show in Finder (#915).
* Jaguar CD covers: title cards, your own PNG (right-click, drop, or
covers folder) (#901), then a set hosted on the project site (#907).
* .chd discs checksummed, .cdi best-effort, non-Redump rips matched by
file/folder name when unambiguous (#901). CHD verified on synthetic
images only.
BIOS
* Settings > BIOS (and the BIOS & system tab): pick the exact boot ROM
/ CD BIOS file, switch carts and CD games between HLE and the real
BIOS with nothing loaded, import a dropped BIOS, boot the CD BIOS
(no disc) or the cart boot ROM (empty slot) on its own (#910, #899).
Playing
* Controls: per-device and per-game remapping, 12-key keypad on a
gamepad, 6-button keyboard layout, on-screen keypad (F2), controls
overlay (F3; click, tap or Esc hides it; off at boot by default); mice, rotary, analog, driving, paddle, 6D, light gun,
Team Tap (#837, #879, #887).
* Save states with thumbnails and a manager. Resume where I left off
(Off/Ask/Always, default Ask): an Auto-save on close, switch or
quit. Not in hardcore or netplay (#915).
* Cheats: libretro database bundled plus manual codes (#835, #878).
* Shaders: .slangp presets via librashader, CRT/scanline/sharp-
bilinear presets bundled, integer scaling (#834, #880, #897).
* Several windows: File > New window (Ctrl/Cmd+N); extra copies get
their own save folder, leave shared settings alone, can be pinned
to one controller (#902).
* Netplay window for the link-cable games on a LAN (not rollback,
#864); Settings greys out the link options it controls (#888, #898).
* Typed settings: presets plus "Custom..." for ports, hosts, GDB
timeout, sensitivities, tuning, clock scales (#906).
* Reset group buttons and Reset all settings...; bindings, overrides,
library folders and logins kept unless ticked (#911).
* Release builds at -O3; shader chain skips unchanged frames (#894).
Look and feel
* Light and dark themes (System follows the OS live); Customize...
edits colours, rounding and spacing with a contrast warning;
export/import (#920). Windows are opaque (#904).
* Interface font: Retro (default), system UI, monospace or your own
.ttf/.otf, 11-24 pt, sharp at Retina / 125-200% scaling (#925).
* Native OS integration (#912): macOS menu bar and Dock menu;
Windows dark title bar, Jump List, optional file associations;
Linux MIME types and desktop actions; double-click, Open With and
drop on the icon everywhere; screensaver allowed outside a running
game; optional tray / menu-bar icon.
* Settings, Achievements, Cheats and the tools can be dragged out of
the main window into OS windows of their own (default on macOS and
Windows; not on Wayland); macOS can keep the in-window menu bar
next to the native one (#833).
RetroAchievements and Discord
* RetroAchievements: softcore default, optional hardcore (#836,
#882). Avatar, game icon and badges; a dashboard of Jaguar games
with your progress and Play for owned ones (#917).
* The login token is kept in the system keychain (macOS, Windows,
Linux Secret Service), not config.ini (#923).
* Discord Rich Presence: game, box art, play time and achievement
progress, with a Get Virtual Jaguar button (#922).
Debug tools (Tools menu; off under hardcore; RetroArch unaffected)
* Memory viewer/editor, palette editor (#913), cheat scanner (#914),
Object Processor list (#918), blitter log, texture browser, audio
scope (#916), CPU debugger for 68000/GPU/DSP (#924); F9 break, F10
step (#919). Register writes need a tick; CD registers and B_CMD/
G_CTRL/D_CTRL/OLP/LTXD/RTXD are never written (docs/app-debug-
tools.md).
Packaging and signing
* macOS universal zip; Windows x64 and ARM64 zip + installer; Linux
AppImage, .deb, and a Flatpak bundle (x86_64) (#903, #839, #840);
nightly builds linked from the pinned builds issue.
* Local signing: app/packaging/local-package.sh --sign [--notarize]
with a certificate found on the machine or set in a gitignored .env
(macOS Developer ID, Windows pfx/store) (#905, #909).
== Known issues ==
* macOS packages are signed with a Developer ID and notarized;
Windows packages are not signed yet (SmartScreen may warn).
* Shaders may be unavailable on Intel Macs (arm64-only librashader in
the universal package); Linux needs librashader installed; the
Flatpak has no shaders.
* The MSVC Windows build is experimental.
* RetroAchievements does not identify .chd or .cdi discs yet.
* Netplay is LAN link-cable play only.
* Double-click opens a second instance on Windows and Linux.
Virtual Jaguar v3.8.0 libretro
------------------------------
Correct by default. Full notes: docs/RELEASE_NOTES_v3.8.0.md
== Game fixes ==
* Flip Out runs in both boot modes (#851, #855). 1, 2 and 4 MB cart
images now repeat across the cart window, as on hardware (MiSTer
cart_mask). Headless-verified only.
* Fight For Your Life (1996) boots on the real BIOS (#856, #868).
BIOS-mode power-on RAM is now zero-filled like HLE; the random fill
let a game fill overrun the GPU's parameter block. Headless only.
* Club Drive has audio under HLE (#744, #849). DSP interrupts are taken
at the DSP's next instruction, not inside the I2S event callback.
Confirmed by ear in RetroArch on iOS.
* White Men Can't Jump gameplay stops tearing (#736, #870). Blitter Bus
Timing gains a "68000 only" value and the title's preset uses it; the
intro logo fix still holds. Some flicker remains. Headless only.
* Music Demo: no DSP runaway at start (#853, #862). Instructions right
after a D_FLAGS store use the old register bank (JTRM v8 p.109).
Confirmed in RetroArch on iOS. The GPU gets the same retire window
for G_FLAGS (#865, #869); no title is known to change.
* Ruiner Pinball: no GPU escape (#866, #873). Every GPU long-store form
now drops the low address bits. Native Demo (bin) loads at $5000 and
boots (#866, #872). Both headless only.
* Doom 2-player netplay holds 60 fps instead of 30 Hz (#860, #861,
#871). Over Wi-Fi it is still slower than single player: the link
protocol is latency-bound (epic #864).
== New ==
* GameDrive SD card backed by a host folder, jaggd-sd in the save
directory (#783, #844). New option "Jaguar GameDrive SD Card"
(Read/write by default, Read-only, Disabled). GPU and async reads are
not implemented yet. A bad directory handle no longer leaks host
memory, and a state with no card configured reopens nothing.
* Per-title rows are enhancement or compatibility class; compatibility
rows are never withheld and cite their ticket (#748, #842). CD titles
are keyed by boot-stub CRC32; the disc table ships empty (#747, #843).
* RetroArch shows which per-title presets were applied at load; option
sublabels explain the current state; load-only options say "Restart
required"; cartridge-only options are hidden for CD content (#841,
#847, #850, #859).
* BIOS (Cartridges) and PAL apply only at content load; a mid-game change
logs a "takes effect on restart" line (#858, #863).
* Towers II no longer defaults to 2x internal resolution (#809, #848).
== Savestates ==
* Version 17. v16 and older states still load; v17 states do not load
in older builds.
* Appended chunk: JGF1 (GameDrive SD handles, #844). The DSP and GPU
retire windows use spare bits of an existing byte. See
docs/savestate-compat.md.
== Testing ==
* Release gate vs v3.7.1: no row moved backward in either matrix.
* Cart corpus, 155 titles: 155/155 HLE reach game code; BIOS 141 game
code + 14 BIOS_REJECT (alternate/bad dumps the boot ROM refuses, now
visible because BIOS rows are scored from the handoff, #852, #854).
8 rows improved (Ruiner Pinball, Native Demo (bin), Music Demo BIOS,
Jaguar Server 50/60 Hz and Painter BIOS).
* CD corpus: 28 of 28 discs reach game code in both modes, unchanged.
* make test passes on the corpus machine with the audio pair run.
== Developer / CI ==
* matrix_diff.py and the never-backward pre-tag gate (#749, #846).
* cart_boot_probe --post-handoff, cart_classify.sh with BIOS_REJECT and
? (bios_trap) (#852, #854).
* Harness --input-bitmasks (#857); netlink_sim and netlink delay-proxy
jitter/spike/loss options (#861, #871).
== Known issues ==
* Headless-verified only: Flip Out, Fight For Your Life BIOS, White Men
Can't Jump, Ruiner Pinball, Native Demo (bin), the GPU retire window,
BIOS/PAL latching, preset notices and the GameDrive SD card.
* JaGol (JaguarDemos) shows an almost empty field: it seeds from
power-on RAM, now zero in BIOS mode (#876). algorip and solidWaves are
also marked FAIL in the JaguarDemos baseline; their old pass was
random RAM on screen (#877).
* #737 (FMV interactive scenes) closed with no core defect found.
Virtual Jaguar v3.7.1 libretro
------------------------------
Broken-games release, continued. Full notes: docs/RELEASE_NOTES_v3.7.1.md
== Game fixes ==
* Xenowings is playable (#811). It needed four fixes: TOM bug 13 (#819),
JERRY bug 13 (#822) and JERRY bug 2 (#825) from Atari's own hardware
bug list, plus 68000 prefetch-queue emulation for its self-modifying
anti-tamper check (#823); #824 keeps the GPU idle-loop fast-forward
consistent with the bug-13 rule. Headless-verified only; not yet
confirmed in RetroArch.
* Club Drive no longer crashes when driving, and its walls, ceilings and
horizon render as on hardware (#611, #828, #829). GPU and DSP NORMI returned one
too high for every input; Club Drive uses it to pick a corner when
clipping polygons, so a polygon crossing two screen edges came out
twisted and the GPU ran off into garbage.
* The 7 homebrew carts that froze on the Accurate blitter now run (#800,
#817). The cause was a 68K running away after ILLEGAL in an uploaded
executable, not a slow blitter; vector 4 is now parked at $1000.
* A blit that never ends no longer freezes RetroArch (#794, #817).
The emulated blitter hangs like the chip does (busy status, further
starts ignored, cleared on reset) and the host keeps running.
* Six homebrew binaries linked at $5000 were loaded at $4000 and now load
at the right address (#818, #826): Chroma-Luma (bin), JagMania
(Jul 8), JagMarble (2000), FORCE Design Legion Force Jidai Intro Demo 0!,
Joypad-TeamTap Tester [a1], Music Demo (ScatoLOGIC). This is also the
real cause of the Music Demo BIOS-mode blitter spray in #794.
* White Men Can't Jump intro logo (#736, #827): only the first logo's
apex showed. The title now defaults Blitter Bus Timing on, so the 68K
stalls behind the blitter as on hardware and the GPU logo decode
finishes before the fade. The rest of the game is not claimed fixed.
* Memory Track saves work after a no-content boot plus a disc insert
(#810, #815): save RAM is exposed whenever the Memory Track is
enabled, and the insert reinstalls the NVM BIOS module. Not yet
verified in RetroArch.
* Real-BIOS CD run-ahead and rewind stay in sync (#804, #814).
Hover Strike with cd_boot_mode=bios diverged because the boot-stub flag
and the CD FIFO refill phase were outside the savestate.
== Savestates ==
* Version 16. v3.7.0 (v15) and older states still load; v16 states do not
load in older builds.
* Appended chunks: CDB1 and CDX1 (real-BIOS CD boot flag and refill phase,
#814) and BLH1 (blitter hung flag, #817). A missing chunk loads as
the default. See docs/savestate-compat.md.
== Documentation ==
* New docs/jtrm-errata.md (#820, #821): where Atari's manual is wrong
or silent, and which entries in Atari's own hardware-bug list the core
emulates.
* 110 corrections to the distilled docs/jtrm-*.md files, each re-read
against the PDF. Docs and comments only; no behaviour change.
* Cart and CD boot matrices regenerated for v3.7.1 (#830); site pages
audited for v3.7.0 (#808).
== Testing ==
* Cart corpus, 155 titles. Fast blitter: 155/155 HLE and 154/155 BIOS reach
game code. Accurate blitter: 155/155 in both modes, up from 148 HLE and
136 BIOS in v3.7.0.
* CD corpus: 28 of 28 discs reach game code in both modes, unchanged.
* NORMI corpus sweep: only Club Drive, Checkered Flag and Native Demo
change. Club Drive's rendering was confirmed correct by the maintainer.
== Developer / CI ==
* pr-link-issue.sh uses distinct exit codes and the workflow reads them;
release.yml target count corrected to 24 (#812).
* test_cd_bios_boot now fails when the CD transfer wedged (#799, #813).
* voicemodem pair test waits for its peer, not the wall clock (#796,
#816).
* New ROM-gated checks: test_blitter_hung, test_upload_illegal_park,
test_club_drive_611, xenowings_ingame_video, wmcj_intro_logo,
test_m68k_prefetch; NORMI cases in test_gpu_ops and test_dsp_ops are
taken from the netlist decode.
* cart_boot_matrix.sh: CART_MATRIX_PROBE_ARGS knob; refuses to run without
an explicit CART_MATRIX_OUT.
== Known issues ==
* #737 (FMV interactive scenes) and #633 (AvP noise) were closed as not
reproducible. The FMV titles start on A/B/C, not START.
* TOM bug 2 (GPU indexed store after divide) is not modelled; only the DSP
half is (#825).
Virtual Jaguar v3.7.0 libretro
------------------------------
Broken-games release. Full notes: docs/RELEASE_NOTES_v3.7.0.md
== Game fixes ==
* Baldies no longer freezes in its intro, in HLE or BIOS boot mode
(#738, #750, #752).
* Myst boots from CHD images and gets past the Cyan logo in both boot
modes (#754-#757).
* World Tour Racing gets past its title screen (#589, #759).
* PolyEngine boots and draws polygons (#785, #790, #791).
* PlaySFX and other headerless raw-binary homebrew load in HLE (#739, #805).
* Vid Grid, Ocean Depths, Simone, Fast Food 64, Frogz 64 and Saucer Wars
each have a fix (#760-#765).
* HLE CD titles are deterministic under run-ahead and rollback, and a
state saved mid-load resumes the load (#787, #803).
== Savestates ==
* Version 15. v3.6.x (v14) states still load.
Virtual Jaguar v3.6.1 libretro
------------------------------
No-content boot fix. Full notes: docs/RELEASE_NOTES_v3.6.1.md
== Fixes ==
* No-content boot now comes up in the CD BIOS, on its insert-disc screen,
instead of a bare console with an empty cart slot (#726). The CD BIOS is
mapped as a cartridge at $800000, so nothing reachable from the
empty-slot screen could get to it -- which made "launch bare, insert a
disc, reach the VLM" (#646 + #651) unreachable by construction. No files
are required: an external CD BIOS ROM in the system directory wins if
present, otherwise an embedded image is used.
* The same path now reports CD mode with an empty tray rather than
cartridge mode, so the options menu is no longer inverted against a
machine sitting in the CD BIOS (CD Boot Mode / CD BIOS Type were hidden,
the cartridge-BIOS option shown), and the Memory Track cart is present
from boot rather than only after the first insert.
* dist/info: supports_no_game is "true". It was left "false" when
SET_SUPPORT_NO_GAME shipped in v3.6.0, and RetroArch reads the info
database -- not the runtime environment call -- to decide whether to
offer a contentless launch, so the feature was never advertised.
== Tests ==
* Two tests asserted the old boot strategy and so encoded the bug. Both now
pin the corrected behaviour; test_disk_control case 1 pairs the strategy
name with isCDGame, because bare BIOS and a real-BIOS disc both resolve
to "bios" and comparing names alone would have gone vacuous.
Virtual Jaguar v3.6.0 libretro
------------------------------
Debugger & libretro surface. Full notes: docs/RELEASE_NOTES_v3.6.0.md
NOTE: this file has no sections for v3.1.0 through v3.5.1. The
per-release notes in docs/RELEASE_NOTES_v*.md are complete and
authoritative for those releases.
== Debugging ==
* GDB remote serial protocol stub (#652): attach m68k-elf-gdb or lldb over
TCP. Breakpoints, single-step, registers, memory. The GPU and DSP appear
as GDB threads, so all three processors are inspectable from one session.
Connect scripts, editor plugins and an installer are included.
== libretro surface ==
* Disk control interface (#651): launch with no content and insert a disc
afterwards; reach the Virtual Light Machine with an audio CD. Inserting a
disc RESTARTS the console -- the boot strategy is derived from the disc.
Eject is a frontend-level flag, not an emulated tray.
* Savestates now record which disc was mounted and refuse a mismatch.
Older states are unaffected.
* Auto frameskip driven by audio buffer status (#690).
* Enhancement profile option: auto / quality / performance (#706).
* No-content boot (#646).
== Patching ==
* docs/patching-a-game.md routes between cheats, soft patches, hooks and
per-title defaults -- previously three doors with no signpost (#637).
* User-authorable hooks via <system>/vj_hooks.txt. Off by default; a hook
file cannot switch on its own gate. expect[] is mandatory and checked,
and any malformed line discards the whole file.
== Performance ==
* RISC idle-loop fast-forward is ON BY DEFAULT (#608), after a sweep of 148
cart images plus 6 CD spot-checks came back byte-identical. Also ported
to the GPU interpreter (#699).
* NEON/SSE2 fast paths for OP phrase stores, TOM scanline converters, the
hi-res Stage-1 store and line resolve, and the voice-chat mixer.
* ARMv8 hardware CRC32 with runtime dispatch; byte-swap intrinsics for
GET/SET; per-SoC ARM tuning; LTO by default on ELF targets.
== Game fixes ==
* White Men Can't Jump (#635): froze at the menus with no audio at all, in
both BIOS modes. A CPU interrupt delivered to an already-stopped DSP was
serviced by the next program loaded, whose handler shut it down.
* Audio-only CDs route through the real CD BIOS, whose player front-end is
the VLM (#683).
* Object Processor window/VBB clamps (#604, #641); nested blits refused
(#663, #677); widescreen statics reset per load (#605).
== Build ==
* Package.swift ships here, so Apple frontends stop vendoring a fork
(#614), guarded by a CI build and a source-list drift check.
* Cross-platform core installer (#640).
* SPM builds no longer inline the scalar blitter on arm64 (#612).
Virtual Jaguar v3.0.0 libretro
------------------------------
Major release -- Jaguar CD, link-cable networking, and a wide
compatibility wave. Full notes: docs/RELEASE_NOTES_v3.0.0.md
== Jaguar CD ==
* The full local 10-title corpus (Baldies, Battle Morph, BrainDead 13,
Dragon's Lair, Highlander, Hover Strike, Iron Soldier 2, Primal Rage,
Space Ace, Myst) boots to game code in both HLE and real-BIOS mode.
* CUE/BIN and CDI images; `test/tools/cue2cdi` converts CUE/BIN to CDI.
* Memory Track NVM is HLE'd, so Vid Grid and friends save again (#258).
* HLE-path CD read speed is selectable (1x/2x/4x/8x/instant).
* Bare .iso images are refused at load with an explanation -- a
2048-byte-sector ISO cannot represent a Jaguar disc's two sessions.
== Networking ==
* JagLink / CatBox link hardware emulated at the JERRY UART level, with
a direct TCP transport, the libretro netpacket interface (RetroArch
netplay), and a CatNet-style multi-peer hub.
* Validated over TCP on localhost/LAN: Doom deathmatch, AirCars
(2-player and 3-console hub), BattleSphere Gold to lobby entry.
* Host address is a core option and resolves hostnames, not just
dotted quads (#253); vj_netlink.txt is now a fallback.
== Compatibility ==
* Wolfenstein 3D missing music (DSP D_FLAGS pipeline stage).
* Pitfall black screen shortly into gameplay (68000 group-0 exception
frame + GPU STOREP byte-lane masking) (#138).
* Tempest 2000 one-frame playfield collapse (TOM level-2 IRQ request
held across the CPU interrupt mask) (#187).
* Alien vs Predator first-frame cyan bar and in-game brown bottom bar
(#178).
* Brutal Sports Football copier-header carts load instead of being
rejected.
== Interface ==
* Core options grouped into 9 categories, with options that do not
apply to the loaded content type hidden dynamically (#251).
* i18n scaffolding (Crowdin workflow + libretro_core_options_intl.h);
no languages translated yet.
== Housekeeping ==
* Savestate format is v7 and frozen from this release. States from the
v2.x line still load with newer fields defaulted.
* Acid test suite reconciled against the JTRM and its CI gate fixed, so
the job now actually blocks on regressions.
* New experimental `virtualjaguar_dram_timing` bus model, default off.
Virtual Jaguar v2.3.2 libretro
------------------------------
Correctness and housekeeping. Full notes: docs/RELEASE_NOTES_v2.3.2.md
== Compatibility ==
* Battle Sphere Gold now launches with the HLE BIOS (#181).
* Save states from v2.3.0/v2.3.1 still load -- retro_unserialize now
accepts a version range instead of an exact match.
* Advertised max_height now bounds the frames the core actually emits,
so drivers no longer clip or drop 241-line NTSC output.
== Graphics ==
* Ten blitter accuracy fixes checked against the JTRM: DCOMPEN colour
keying, A2 texture-wrap masking, CLIP_A1 caching, accurate-writeback
outer-loop step, z-comparator lane in 16bpp pixel mode.
* BIOS boot-animation artifacts fixed (#180).
== Interface ==
* Core options reworded: Blitter is now Accurate/Fast and BIOS is now
HLE/Real (#184). Stored values are unchanged, so settings carry over.
== Housekeeping ==
* Dropped two unused 128 KB boot-ROM blobs -- 258 KB smaller binaries.
* New regression tests: save-state version gate, frontend pacing /
fast-forward contract, advertised-geometry bounds, plus a
build-identity guard against testing stale binaries.
Virtual Jaguar v2.3.1 libretro
------------------------------
Maintenance release. Full notes: docs/RELEASE_NOTES_v2.3.1.md
Virtual Jaguar v2.3.0 libretro
------------------------------
Full notes: docs/RELEASE_NOTES_v2.3.0.md
Virtual Jaguar v2.2.0 libretro
------------------------------
A large libretro-fork release. Highlights since v2.1.0:
== Compatibility ==
* HLE BIOS improved — boot most commercial titles without a real
BIOS image. Many games that previously needed the real BIOS, or
worked-but-broken with it, now run on HLE BIOS too.
* Many homebrews now boot — non-Alpine raw .bin/.j64/.rom layouts
are accepted at common startup bases ($4000, $20000, $802000),
with conservative validation so unknown content fails fast
instead of running into garbage.
* Compatibility list with per-game status is maintained in
docs/emulation-bug-hunt-todos.md (see the "Game compatibility
(v2.2.0)" section).
Closes the long-standing libretro tracker:
- libretro/virtualjaguar-libretro#27 — improve emulation accuracy
- libretro/virtualjaguar-libretro#85 — make HLE actually usable
- libretro/virtualjaguar-libretro#38 — many sub-issues addressed
(per-game details in the compatibility doc)
== New features ==
* Save states (retro_serialize / retro_unserialize) with
deterministic serialization for run-ahead.
* SRAM / EEPROM via the libretro SRAM interface, preserved
across soft resets.
* Cheat code support (retro_cheat_set / retro_cheat_reset).
* RetroAchievements memory map (RC_CONSOLE_ATARI_JAGUAR).
* Audio rewrite: eliminated per-sample events and interleaved
JERRY with the main execution loop, fixing frame-edge audio
dropouts. retro_run() now does
`update_input -> DACPrepareFrame -> JaguarExecuteNew ->
cheat_apply_all -> SoundCallback -> video_cb` so the audio
callback sees the same JERRY state the frame was rendered
against and doesn't drift.
* Per-button retropad remapping via core options
(RetropadOptionMapping table + virtualjaguar_p1/p2_retropad_*
options). Lets users rebind the Jaguar's 21-key controller
including numpad keys that the Controls menu can't reach.
* libretro geometry change is now applied at the START of
retro_run rather than after video_cb. Fixes Wolf3D black
screen on iOS Metal RetroArch (frontends that re-allocate
texture on SET_GEOMETRY were dropping the frame submitted at
the old size; pre-rendering means tomWidth and screenPitch
stay in sync for the entire frame).
== Hardware accuracy (chip side) ==
* DSP: 40-bit MAC accumulator, FLAGS-write dispatch, IRQ
enable-on-set, IMASK preservation, ADDC carry overflow.
* GPU: ADDC carry, IMASK preservation, DIVL exception PC,
PACK coverage, missing symbol exports.
* Accurate blitter: daddmode NAND tree, daddbsel bit 3,
ADDARRAY cinsel carry input, M2 BKGWREN+BCOMPEN phrase
mode (Alien vs Predator red-noise), SRCSHADE color.
* Object Processor: scaled-bitmap firstPix + left/right/
reflected edge clipping, 1:1/3:2/2:1 hscale ratios,
fixed-bitmap firstPix for 2/4/16/24 BPP, OP GPU-object
handling.
* TOM: IRQ pending latches even when CPU enables are clear;
enabling a pending source raises IPL2 cleanly. Horizontal
counter reads advance. Doom resolution hack replaced with
proper PWIDTH pixel replication (the hack option is gone).
* JERRY: interrupt-control decode, aligned PIT register
access.
* 68K: TOM underflow handling, mixed-declaration cleanup.
* Event system: zero eventTime on init, full slot scan,
timing-rollover and due-event handling.
== Performance ==
* ~2x speedup on DSP / GPU / memory hot paths.
* SIMD-accelerated blitter (SSE2, NEON, scalar) with
bit-exactness CI.
* Accurate-blitter inner loop tightened.
* Note: the accurate blitter is still notably slower than the
fast blitter; some games (e.g. Tempest 2000) may run below
full speed on lower-end hardware. The fast blitter remains
available via core option.
== Tooling and testing ==
* Headless `make test` harness covering HLE BIOS state,
event queue, blitter SIMD bit-exactness, DSP MAC40, cheat
decoder, memory map / RetroAchievements wiring, save-state
round-trip and rewind, plus a regression screenshot diff
via miniretro on push.
* Boot-time audio clipping detector (test_audio_clipping):
captures the libretro audio batch, asserts on saturation
density / longest run at +/-32767 / sustained RMS, with a
healthy negative control and `--expect-clipping`-tagged
regression watchers for known-broken titles (Skyhammer,
Iron Soldier 2) so a future DSP-side fix flips CI red and
forces the manifest to be updated.
* Source-tree reorganization into src/core, src/tom,
src/jerry, src/cd, src/bios, src/m68000. Files now grouped
by chip / subsystem rather than the flat layout inherited
from upstream.
* General code cleanup: removed dead inline-comment guesses,
promoted Jaguar memory layout / HLE BIOS magic numbers to
named constants at file scope rather than `#define`s
scattered inside JaguarReset(), and added explanatory
comments to non-obvious BIOS-handshake addresses (e.g.
$0804 Battle Sphere workspace flag, $F03000 GPU auth magic).
* C89/GNU89 lint enforcement.
== Build / platforms ==
* MSVC 2005/2010 build fix (boolean.h vs stdbool.h).
* Emscripten / WASM support, lighter NEON dcomp variant.
* Portable xorshift PRNG for cross-platform RAM init.
* Automated release workflow for tagged versions.
* Debug-build timestamp reporting.
== Known issues (still in flight) ==
* Skyhammer / Iron Soldier 2 / Wolfenstein 3D audio: the
cart-side DSP audio engine doesn't run correctly under HLE
(Wolf3D produces no audio at all in either BIOS or HLE
mode after the BIOS startup tone; Skyhammer/IS2 produce a
saturated square wave on HLE). Cause is shared: the BIOS
audio engine relies on DSP register-bank state that HLE
doesn't replicate, and copying just the engine code into
DSP RAM lets the DSP escape its work RAM by reading
uninitialized registers as jump targets. Documented in
docs/emulation-bug-hunt-todos.md with concrete next steps.
* See docs/emulation-bug-hunt-todos.md "Game compatibility
(v2.2.0)" — Hover Strike crashes during gameplay, Hyper
Force / Iron Soldier / Ruiner Pinball / Super Burnout /
Fight for Life / Towers II still have open issues, and
the accurate blitter has a Battle Sphere reticle-
transparency bug (fast blitter has a separate Battlesphere
Gold menu glitch).
* Of the still-broken hang/crash titles, four (Hyper Force,
Iron Soldier, Ruiner Pinball, Super Burnout) fail
identically with real BIOS and HLE — not HLE-init issues,
real engine-level emulation bugs.
* Jaguar CD support is in flight on a separate branch
(forthcoming PR), not part of this release.
== Maintainers ==
* libretro/Provenance fork: Joseph Mattiello (@JoeMatt,
Provenance-Emu).
Virtual Jaguar v2.1.0 GCC/Qt
----------------------------
* Added gamepad support. [Shamus]
* Added fullscreen option. [Shamus]
* Added some more developer goodies to Alpine mode. [Shamus]
* Re-added command line switches. [Shamus]
* Moved JERRY into host audio IRQ. This should make sound much smoother, though
it may run ahead of the rest of the emulator. [Shamus]
* Kludged a fix into the audio handler to set the correct frequency for audio
playback. Note that there could still be problems with this approach, as it
can be easily fooled. Thanks to Dr. Typo for the initial analysis and insight
into this bug. :-) [Shamus]
* Preliminary fixes for proper emulation of memory reads between $200000 and
$800000. [Shamus]
* Proper handling in the OP of objects with 0 IWIDTH. [Shamus]
Virtual Jaguar v2.0.2 GCC/Qt
----------------------------
* Fixed problem on OP with 24BPP bitmaps. [Shamus]
* Cosmetic GUI fixes. [Shamus]
* Switched to UAE 68000 CPU core. [Shamus]
* Fixed some RISC STORE and LOAD alignment issues. Still need to verify against
real hardware. [Shamus]
* Fixed video frame timing for both NTSC *and* PAL. [Shamus]
* Improved OP logging, added emulation of OP bug. [Shamus]
* Fixed addressing bug with UAE 68000 core. [Shamus]
Virtual Jaguar v2.0.1 GCC/Qt
----------------------------
* Fixed NTSC timings; they were hardwired to PAL rates. [Shamus]
* Fixed possible missing trailing slash on path fields input by user. [Shamus]
* Fixed exit hotkey to work on Win32. [Shamus]
* Changed PAL/NTSC switch to only work when virtual machine is powered off.
[Shamus]
* Miscellaneous documentation fixes. [Shamus]
Virtual Jaguar v2.0.0 GCC/Qt
----------------------------
* Switched GUI to Qt. And there was much rejoicing. ;-) [Shamus]
* Added detection code to fish out files from inside ZIP archives. What this
means is that now you can have other goodies inside of your ROM ZIP like
labels, box art, and overlays. See built-in help for details. [Shamus]
* Various usability improvements, too many to list here. ;-) [Shamus]
* Various compatibility improvements to the Jaguar core, too many to list
here. ;-) [Shamus]
Virtual Jaguar v1.1.0 GCC/SDL (r299 - Never officially released)
----------------------------------------------------------------
* Switched OpenGL rendering to 32 BPP. This is not only how a real Jaguar
renders graphics, but it also gives VJ a nice speed boost. ;-) [Shamus]
* Changed execution to a time-based solution so that timers and IRQs and
such can happen when they're supposed to. [Shamus]
* Fixed blitter writes so that Intensity[0-3] and Z[0-3] are written in the
correct order. [Shamus]
* Major rewrite of blitter to conform the the TOM ASIC nets. This should fix a
bunch of stuff that wasn't working correctly before. [Shamus]
* Fixed writes to 64 bit blitter registers. [Shamus]
* Refactored GUI to be more maintainable, better looking and more responsive.
[Shamus]
Virtual Jaguar v1.0.7 GCC/SDL
-----------------------------
* Various fixes to make for smoother compilation on MacOS. [Adam Green]
* Fixes to filetype parsing. VJ now properly recognizes .abs, .jag, .rom,
and .j64 files--be sure to check the README for the gory details! [Shamus]
* Added a kludge to allow homebrew demos to run without a Stubulator ROM and
without crashing the emulator. [Shamus]
* Fixed a blitter intensity addition problem. This fixes the title in Hover
Strike and the road/shadows in Checkered Flag. [Shamus]
* Partially fixed a problem with the SUBC opcode in the RISC processors. This
allows Hover Strike, Phase Zero and Fight For Life to boot into their title
screens and makes them somewhat playable. [Shamus]
* Fixed a horizontal scaling problem in the OP and the off-by-one bug that it
reintroduced. This fixes the road in Atari Karts and probably a few others.
[Shamus]
* Fixed a long standing blitter bug that kept certain doors in AvP from
rendering correctly. [Shamus]
* Fixed some vertical positioning bugs in the OP. Now Checkered Flag, Alien
vs Predator and probably others now work as they should (graphically ;-)
[Caz]
* Better GUI support. Most options in the GUI work now, and more are expected
to be functional in the near future. [Shamus]
* Fixed a few more lingering blitter bugs (there are more to be found). This
fixes most of the glitches in Cybermorph and Alien vs Predator. [Shamus]
* Fixed an Object Processor scaled bitmap bug that caused incorrect
positioning of scaled bitmaps that started outside the line buffer, and
also fixed a problem that caused the OP to hang in certain situations. This
fixes Bubsy, International Sensible Soccer, and probably a few others.
[Shamus]
* Cleaned up various bits of video rendering related code. [nwagenaar]
* Added support for OpenGL textures with a depth of 16bpp, 24bpp or 32bpp.
[nwagenaar]
* Rewrote several OpenGL related rendering code concerning the new OpenGL
texture depths and texture sizes. [nwagenaar]
* Rewrote several OpenGL rendering functions concerning speed related items.
[nwagenaar]
* Several bugs resolved due to OpenGL and normal rendering code. [nwagenaar]
* Default resolution for OpenGL is now 640x480. [nwagenaar]
Virtual Jaguar v1.0.6 GCC/SDL
-----------------------------
* Added support for gzipped ROM files. [Adam Green]
* Added OpenGL support. Because of this, aspect ratios in the various
graphic modes should be correct now. Thanks goes to Niels for enlightenment
in this area. :-) [Shamus]
* Moved all platform specific video code to video.cpp. This should make it
easier to add functionality to the video subsystem without having to chase
code around in places where it didn't belong. [Shamus]
* Key bindings are now customizable. [Shamus]
* VJ now uses a config file (vj.cfg) for commonly used settings. Settings in
the config file can still be overridden by command line switches. [Shamus]
* Preliminary GUI mouse support. [Shamus]
* Fixed an off-by-one bug in the Object Processor when dealing with scaled
bitmap objects. [Shamus]
* Fully virtualized screen size. What this means is that we can keep the
Jagaur screen displayed in a convenient size (320 x 240) and the graphics
that various ROMs display will now be properly centered (more or less, they
were really centered for a TV display). [Shamus]
* Border color is now displayed properly. [Shamus]
* Fully pipelined DSP core. Because of this, Wolfenstein 3D now has sound. To
use the old core, use the -nopipeline switch. [Shamus]
Virtual Jaguar v1.0.5 GCC/SDL
-----------------------------
* Various fixes to the codebase so that it compiles and works properly on
Linux. :-) The makefiles are almost identical now, the only thing that's
different between them are the SYSTYPE and EXESUFFIX variables defined at
the top. [Shamus]
* Fixed a pernicious blitter bug that kept Rayman from doing proper collision
detection. [Shamus]
* Added a simple file selector so that typing in long filenames in order to
run the emulator is no longer necessary. :-) To use it, instead of
supplying a ROM name, simply put in the name of the directory where your
ROMs live. [Shamus]
* Removed all the assembly language code from the DSP, so it should be a
little less buggy now. Also, removed some brain-dead timeslice releasing
that was causing a bunch of problems with various ROMs. [Shamus]
* Added sound support! In order to hear any sound, you probably have to
start VJ with the -dspon switch. Also, unless you have a very fast computer
the sound is going to be choppy. Hopefully future optimizations will cure
this. ;-) [Shamus]
* Added GUI support. You can see the results by hitting the TAB key while the
emulator is running. ;-) [Shamus]
* Lots of cleanups to the source code including the ability to trace who
writes what to where. [Shamus]
Virtual Jaguar v1.0.4 GCC/SDL - source only release
---------------------------------------------------
* Lots of bugfixes. [Shamus]
* Jaguar BIOS now works properly and is used by default. BIOS failure was
due to a bug in the GPU (specifically in the SUBC and ADDC opcodes). To
override this behavior, use the -nobios switch. [Shamus]
* Rewrote the OP code--mostly because it was pissing me off. ;-) Not
to mention that it was almost completely unmaintainable in its former
state and was just plain wrong in its implementation in many places.
Because of this, some RMW effects that were missing from AvP are present
now and leftover crud in scaled bitmaps in Rayman is gone now. ;-) [Shamus]
* ZIP support! Now there is no longer any need to unzip ROMs (although if
you prefer to waste HD space, VJ will gladly accomodate you). The code to
support this is a pretty ugly hack, but it works and there are other fish
to fry at the moment. Also, ZLIB is now required to compile VJ. [Shamus]
* Support for PD ROMs. Currently the only one that works at all is JagMania,
though as the hardware emulation gets better more PD ROMs will begin to
work. Note that you must use the -nobios switch for this to work. [Shamus]
* Preliminary support for PAL Jaguar emulation. Default is NTSC. To use it,
use the -pal switch. [Shamus]
* Support for DSP activation. The DSP is now *off* by default, since it
doesn't work properly yet. Use the -dspon switch to force the DSP on.
[Shamus]
* Removed all hacks that were written to support a specific ROM from the OP
and GPU code (much more remains to be removed). Since the CRCs that were
calculated to support these hacks were done on byte swapped ROMs, they
weren't working anyway. Besides which, a hack means that you don't
understand the hardware properly and/or don't know how to write the code to
properly emulate the hardware. ;-) [Shamus]
* Renamed the executable from the ridiculously named jag_em to the more
sensibly named vj. Note that the Jag_em.cpp file has also been changed to
reflect this name change. [Shamus]
* Removed Aaron Giles 68K dissasembler in favor of the one included with the
Musashi core. It's there, why not use it? ;-) [Shamus]
* Reordered the order of A, B, and C buttons to more accurately reflect their
respective positions on a real Jaguar controller. Also fixed a small bug that
kept the number pad from reporting the right numbers to the emulator. :-)
[Shamus]
* Started to remove the !__PORT__ defintions from the source code. Since this
is supposed to be a portable emulator, we won't be using any MS specific
code anyway. [Shamus]
* Fixed some problems with the blitter when doing clipping and bit expansion.
Also fixed (reintroduced?) a bug that existed in the real blitter HW (the
YADD1 bit in A2--fixes Tempest 2000). [Shamus]
* Probably a bunch of other stuff that I've forgotten about. ;-) [Shamus]
NOTE: Tested only on WIN32 platform! ;-)
Virtual Jaguar v1.0.3 GCC/SDL - source only release
---------------------------------------------------
* Converted GNU assembly in the GPU core to C code -- Rayman and
Alien vs Predator work again. :-) [Shamus]
* Removed closed source Starscream and replaced it with the open source
Musashi core. Because of this, VJ runs a little faster now. :-) [Shamus]
* Various cleanups to the source files (still lots of work to do!). [Shamus]
NOTE: Tested only on WIN32 platform!
1.0.1 - 1.0.2 - Unreleased, mostly for testing/finding bugs
-----------------------------------------------------------
* Lots of stuff happened, but we can't remember any of it. :-)
Virtual Jaguar v1.0.0 GCC/SDL - initial source release
------------------------------------------------------
* Converted VC++ assembly to standard GNU assembly.
* Fixed small bugs in SDL related items (keyboard/graphics).
* Added *some* optimalisations to the graphics sources.
* Added joystick support (not tested).
* Added joystick port support (not tested).
* Added frameskip support.
Source only release. Tested on BeOS, Linux, FreeBSD and WIN32.
SOUND emulation was NOT done. Need help with this one :)
SDLEMU (Niels Wagenaar & Caz) - http://sdlemu.ngemu.com