NDS - SNEmulDS v0.4 Beta released

[CrossZX]

The best release so far. Keep up the good work.

[Mikaa]

Okay, tested it (MMD after patching the DLDI with MMD patch) with Mega Man X1, and here are the general results:

1) Sound is HORRIBLE; I ended up turning it off
2) I don't know if I accidentally caused this by fiddling with the filters option or if this is a general fix, but this version update allows me to actually play MMX without appearing behind the cars and objects in the background. If someone can figure out if this was me or the program, it would be appreciated.
3) The game ran so fast I was not sure if it was running TOO fast or at the right speed.
4) The title screen, like the last version release, is VERY glitchy, and looks quite odd.
5) I tried Save States, and it worked! ^_^ Very appreciated!

Finally, I must say that this is a VAST improvement over the earlier releases, and outside of obvious code fixing (ie - sound, graphics, etc), there are only a few things that would be nice to see improved:

1) ROM scroll buttons - a general scroll bar would be nice, or larger buttons. I seem to have the hang of it now, but there are times when I will hit a rom by accident.

2) WinZip support for compression

3) Readme in .txt format - when I download the file, I would like to be able to read the Readme to see what changes were made, and what certain menu options do (since I am still learning some of the things).

Otherwise, a very great release, and I am looking forward to seeing what other improvements you make!


[Is anyone willing to begin to compile a compatibility list, listing what plays right and with/out sound? ^_^]


Edit - Chrono Trigger runs VERY buggy on this release, and SimCity is somehow buggy this time around (the latter ran rather well on one of the v.0.3 releases). Also, I forgot to mention that the text dialog for MMX is buggy.

[souLLy]

For those struggling to DLDI patch, I've written a tutorial that can be found here:
http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=54281

If you're finding some games are running too fast, you can turn on wait vblank in the options menu and it can get things down to the correct speed.

[Carn]

I've been reading and downloading from this site for a few weeks now and just wanted to finally reply to something. This was a very nice update and even let me play Umihara Kawase on my DS finally (look it up there's an English patch somewhere and the games is very very good). The backgrounds are still messed up horribly and I'd like to see a way to fix that but besides that little problem this was very nice...


Keep up the good work.

[toymin80r]

Hello there i can't seem to get this thing to work for nothing if just keeps saying error no rom folder when it's plainly there.

It's easy to fix. Just place the roms in a folder called "SNES" in the root folder and then they'll work. I found this out long ago when i had the same problem as you.

[DanTheManMS]

Like souLLy said, switch it to Wait Vblank and it will be limited to 100%. Then if that makes it too slow, fiddle with the speedhacks. This also fixes flickering graphics usually, though sometimes you need to have it flicker when something doesn't show up when it does. In this case, since No Vblank will make it go too fast, switch to the line-by-line engine instead of the tile engine to slow it back down. I know it's crazy, speeding it up with No Vblank and then slowing it down again, but like I said, sometimes you have to have it set to No Vblank for graphical reasons.

Mikaa said Sim City wasn't working right? What's wrong with it? Looks fine on my end aside from the dialogs it gives you. To make it go 100% speed instead of 150% speed, once again use Wait Vblank.

Zip support is unlikely. DSLinux has unzip support, and it takes a while to unzip things. It also requires a lot of memory to do, something SNEmulDS is already struggling to work with.

To read the ReadMe file, just rename it and add the .txt extension to it. You can then open it with Notepad by double-clicking it.

For the background thing - that appears to have been fixed in other games too. In DKC, you now appear in the foreground for the boss fights, and same thing with The Lion King.

[Mikaa]

Mikaa said Sim City wasn't working right? What's wrong with it? Looks fine on my end aside from the dialogs it gives you. To make it go 100% speed instead of 150% speed, once again use Wait Vblank.

To read the ReadMe file, just rename it and add the .txt extension to it. You can then open it with Notepad by double-clicking it.

For the background thing - that appears to have been fixed in other games too. In DKC, you now appear in the foreground for the boss fights, and same thing with The Lion King.

The issues with Sim City are that the sound is now goofy, the menu bars leave behind "shadows" when you "close" them, and on one occasion shutting off the music resulted in some wierd beeping from my DS. Oddly enough, I really had no issues with speed.

All you have to do is rename the Readme file? Then why is it not like that to begin with? Just what type of file is it by default, and what generates this?

DKC (I assume you mean 1) apparently works, as does Lion King. Any other games that work/don't work?

[DanTheManMS]

Ah, I see. I hadn't spent much time with Sim City so after making sure I could add a few houses at 100% speed I turned it off for dinner.

The Readme file is just "readme" with no extension. It's still a valid text file, but Windows doesn't recognize it as one because it doesn't end in .txt.

I've started a new chart at http://wiki.pocketheaven.com/SNEmulD...atibility_List and added a couple of entries, though it needs a lot more updating. I've got several recommendations for games that work, but I'll probably just wait for now and update the chart when I get the time.

[Mikaa]

Testing more ROMs on MMD with DLDI Patch...

Tried DKC1:
1 - Wait Vblank makes it run normal, but a horrid "scratch" runs through the entire middle of the screen. Cause is unknown, only happens in level...
2 - Works fine otherwise

Tried DKC2...
- Music is scratchy, minor skipping, othewise runs without issues (^o^)

- [Edit] - Rambi box will not open (?)

Tried Lufia and the Fortress of Doom...
- dots litter the screen, though have no notable effect on game play
- Enemies appear glitched

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
- Did not load

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers - Fighting Edition
- Until you try to fight, it ran perfectly - even the music! Fighting glitches due to the cut scenes. Do note that it ran at full speed WITHOUT the Wait Vblank in effect... o.o

Mortal Kombat
- Wierdness abounds, but it seems to run fair, assuming you can stand the wierd flashing graphics of the crowd on the first stage... >_>

Mortal Kombat II
- Would not go past the license screen...

Super Mario Kart
- Wouldn't load

Super Mario All-Stars
- Mario 1 ran fine without Wait Vblank, but had to adjust the screen to avoid pits...
- Mario 2 JPN ran fine...
- Didn't try Mario 2; select screen for games goofy
- Mario 3 - couldn't play due to clouds blocking screen...

Kirby's Dream Land 3
- Apparently it was too big...

[DanTheManMS]

Have you tested anything other than the first level of DKC2? I've found it to be severely screwed up, returning me to the map screen and warping me around the levels whenever it didn't completely freeze.

Super Mario Kart has a special chip, so even if it did load, it wouldn't work. SnezziDS for instance can load it, but you can't race.

And yeah, Kirby's Dream Land 3 is apparently a large LoROM which it doesn't support.

For Mario 3, did you try changing the background settings? It's in the options menu.

If the game doesn't go past a certain screen, try disabling sound. This works for Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, though it still runs incredibly slowly regardless of the other settings.