****************************
SAV to VMS Converter
By: SuperSonic aka SuperSonic Jr
(c) 2001 SuperSonic
****************************

*************
Opening Credits
*************
First things first i would like to give credit to the people that helped me create this little utilitie so here it goes.
Thanks to Sega-Fan and Burner0 for letting me use there latest beta of there vms patcher which is a essential part of this utilitie without there hard work you would have to use a hexeditor to edit the the vms so it would work with nester dc. Thanks to Kof-fan for sending me his ff1.sav hacked save so i could test the converter in its early stages and lastly thanks again to Sega-fan for directing me to http://virtuamunstaz.de/vmi.jsp a web site that lets you create vmi files and also acts as a storage place of sort for where you could upload your vms files from your computer.

**********
Introduction
**********
So what does this program............ well to tell you the truth its not really a program it just a .bat file that contains a series of commands that adds a header to your pc nes emulators .sav file which in turn makes the saves usable on nesterdc. But for simplicitys sake ill just call it a utilitie. So what does this "utilitie" do well it lets you convert your pc nes emulators .sav files ( emu save file) to .vms format so that you can use your favorite windows/dos nes emulator saves on your dc making it useful for example if you started a nes game on your favorite pc emu and want to continue playing it on your dc using nesterdc.

*******************
Contents of sav-vms.zip
*******************
dc_save.vmi-[Hidden] Just a simple dummy file which lets Sega-Fan's and Burner0's program save the final vms file without 	having an actual .vmi file.
gamesave.sav- another dummy file that marks were u should put your pc nes save when you are ready to convert it.
nstrsave.bin- the header of a nesterdc save file which is required to make a working nesterdc save file.
readme.txt- the text file you are currently reading.
savepat.exe-[Hidden] Sega-Fan's and Burner0's vms patcher required to rename the romname in the header of the vms files you 	make so you can use them with any rom no matter what the name of your rom is.
sav-vms.bat- the utilitie i created to convert the save file to vms format. it simply just Dos commands.

note- i hid the dc_save.vmi and savepat.exe file because i really dont want u guys to edit those files cause 1 the savepat.exe is not mine it belong to Sega-Fan and Burner0 which i am very thankful to them for letting me use them and 2 if they are edited it will mess up the overall flow of the program. this also apllies to nstrsave.bin but for some reason Dos wont reconize it if i hide it so i just left it how it is. SO PLEASE DONT EDIT THESE 3 FILES.

********************
How to use the converter.
********************
Its really easy just follow these simple steps.

step 1- find the .sav file you want to convert and rename it to: gamesave.sav
step 2- move it to the folder where you unzipped the zip file and let it overwrite the "gamesave.sav dummy file".
step 3- run sav-vms.bat it will create a file called dc_save.vms and also run the savepat.exe file.
step 4- in the "select vms to edit window" select the dc_save.vms file.
step 5- a new window will pop up that tell u to enter the name of your rom enter it and make sure ALL letters are in CAPS.
step 6- also enter a name you want to save the vms as. call it whatever you want. then click on the "patch for web" button.
step 7- it will make a working.vms file that you can upload to the web.

Now you are ready to upload it to the web i recomend http://virtuamunstaz.de/vmi.jsp it automaticly creates a .vmi file when you upload your save letting you kill to birds with one stone.

step 8- go to: http://virtuamunstaz.de/vmi.jsp
step 9- under "create vmi from your data/game file" click on "browse..." button and find your vms file that you want to upload.
step 10- under "title/description" enter any name you want to call your save file. do the same under "author/copyright".
step 11- leave "checksum" how it is and change "file type" to data. NOT GAME or it wont work.
step 12- under "resource" type the name of your .vms file.
step 13- VERY IMPORTANT nesterdc uses  the "&" symbol to reconize nesterdc save files on a vmi you so youll have to figure 	where you have to put the "&" symbol. this can be done by using some little math. first start out with the number 12 	and then count all letters in the name of your rom including the "." (period). for example in the rom name ff2jap.nes 	there are 6 main letters (ff2jap) plus 1 period (.) plus the 3 letters in the extension (nes). add the numbers and you get		the number 10. then take the number 12 again and do 12-10=2. after that subtract 1 from the number you get so in 	my example 2-1=1 so now you have your number the number represents how many spaces you need to leave		between the last letter ( the s in ".nes) and the "&" symbol. in my case it would be 1 space so it would be: 		"FF2JAP.NES &" (typed: FF2JAP.NES<1 space>&). i believe this is the reason nester dc uses the 8.3 format.
step 14- type in the name of the rom under "file on vmu" on the website in CAPS and make sure the "&" symbol is spaced out 	correctly using the info in step 13.
step 15- click on "create vmi file" this will upload the save to there servers so make sure you no the path of where its saved.
step 16- download the save to your dreamcast and enjoy.

************
Last comments
************
That is all hope you enjoys this useful utilitie. (:

********
Disclaimer
********
Sav - Vms converter (c) 2001 SuperSonic

Sav - Vms converter is freeware and can be distributed freely as long as it is not modified or edited in anyway.

You use this utilitie at your own risk i am not responsible for any loss or damage resulting from the use of this utilitie. If you do not agree with these terms do not use this utilitie.


-End of file-