openMSX v0.5.0

posted in Emulator Release by spacetiger on Oct 18th, 2004

Today there was a massive update to openMSX, the MSX emulator that "aims at perfection." This release includes, among other things, a complete redesign of the hardware configuration XML files, a "ROM pool" feature for easy installation of system ROMs, and the option to save settings for later use. Here's what's new:
      Old Configuration Options Converted to Settings:
    • Machine: the default machine (needs openMSX restart)
    • Frequency: the sound mixer frequency (needs openMSX restart)
    • Samples: the size of the sound mixing buffer (needs openMSX restart)
    • User_directories: directories that are searched for data files
      Changes in the Video System:
    • Use of MMX to speed up video scaling considerably
    • Big speed up of scanline effect
    • Enabled blur effect in the SDLHi renderer
    • Scale2x and hq2x scalers now also work in hi-res modes
    • Made pixel accuracy the default
    • Removed 8bpp support
    • Fixed crash when making screenshot in 16bpp
      New or Improved Emulator Features:
    • Added channel mode 'off' to mute individual sound devices
    • Added meta data of machines in config files
    • New "iomap" command lists the I/O ports and the devices connected to them
    • Added a debugger interface to all (S)RAM
    • Improvements in the 'type' command
    • Release key presses when the console becomes active
    • Improved geometry detection of disk images (MSX1Mania disks work)
    • Fixed crash in Win32 when dir-as-disk is used with files with weird dates
      MSX Device Support:
    • MoonSound fixes
    • Added slotexpander extension
    • 8kB BASIC ROMs now work correctly and are auto detected as well
    • Added simple DC filter for cassette images
    • Fixes for TC8566AF FDC
    • Fixed joystick and mouse reading in games that write illegal values to the PSG
    • Emulation of the Tetris II Special Edition dongle
    • Fixed high-frequency reads of low-frequency clocks (such as RTC)
    • Many bugs were fixed, including long-standing bugs
      Build System, Packaging, Documentation:
    • Separated OS and CPU in the build system
    • Build support for x86-64 (Athlon64)
    • Fixed bug: new TCL was not detected by running "make probe" again
    • Added openMSX FAQ to documentation
    This is available on our MSX Emulators page.