Tokugawa Corporate Forums

fmgen update:

Link (pass: 9801): http://www1.axfc.net/uploader/File/so/68775
Mirrow (no pass): http://www.sendspace.com/file/gcqlim

- you can now write to memory areas that would be unaccessible on a real PC-98. Activate by changing ENHANCED=0 to 1 in the .ini file. This is completely unnecessary if you're just playing games, but you can use this to load a bunch of sound drivers etc. into upper memory blocks and still have plenty of conventional memory, for example.

And another interesting upload:

Someone on 2ch (mysteriously posting in English for some reason) updated the old Speak Board plugin for T98-Next with fmgen/QFM. Really cool stuff.

Link (pass: 9801): http://www1.axfc.net/uploader/File/so/68808
Mirror (no pass): http://www.sendspace.com/file/e9lvyk

Copy the plugin into the \device\ folder with the other .nhw files. Be sure to turn it on and configure it under the Device tab.

I can't keep up with all the new fmgen releases

First, an update for the T98-Next Speak Board plugin.
Link (pass: 9801): http://www1.axfc.net/uploader/File/so/69034
Mirror (no pass): http://www.mediafire.com/?gq5jn8xsq8841f1

Latest fmgen release (2011/09/24)
Link (pass: 9801): http://www1.axfc.net/uploader/File/so/69513
Mirror (no pass): http://www.mediafire.com/?6bqucv48xjq489x

Many more enhanced settings have been added. In the np2 .ini file, set the ENHANCED= line to a number from 0 to 127 to enable/disable the following options:

bit0 = force memory access to unavailable addresses
bit1 = alternative rendering method
bit2 = multithreading
bit3 = create .bak file when overwriting save state
bit4 = save current state to .s99 before loading a save state
bit5 = confirm when overwriting save state
bit6 = confirm when loading save state

If you need help with binary to decimal conversion, just add up the numbers below according to the options you want to enable.

bit0 = 1
bit1 = 2
bit2 = 4
bit3 = 8
bit4 = 16
bit5 = 32
bit6 = 64

For example,
ENHANCED=4 - enable multithreading only (bit2 = 4)
ENHANCED=6 - enable alternate rendering and multithreading (bit1+bit2 = 2+4 = 6)
ENHANCED=120 - enable all save state options (bit3+bit4+bit5+bit6 = 8+16+32+64 = 120)

The new save state options are conveninent, but I don't recommend enabling multithreading. Multithreading in emulators tends to cause more problems than it solves.

Also, there is now a PRIORITY= line in the .ini file.

Priority=0 (normal)
Priority=1 (above normal)
Priority=2 (high)

latest fmgen build (2011/09/29)
Link (pass: 9801): http://www1.axfc.net/uploader/File/so/69697
Mirror (no pass): http://www.mediafire.com/?w4hfpuhfbt33gdh
(I'm switching to mediafire because sendspace seems really slow)

Enhanced settings:
Set the ENHANCED= line in the .ini file to a number from 0 to 512 to enable/disable these options (add up the numbers in brackets).

bit0 [1] = force memory access to unavailable addresses
bit1 [2] = alternative rendering method
bit2 [4] = multithreading
bit3 [8] = create .bak file when overwriting save state (disabled if bit5 is enabled)
bit4 [16] = save current state to .s99 before loading a save state (disabled if bit6 is enabled)
bit5 [32] = confirm when overwriting save state
bit6 [64] = confirm when loading save state
bit7 [128] = emulation window always on top
bit8 [256] = alternative FM tone handling

Alternative rendering disables the scaling filter when DirectDraw (Hard) is used. Enable if you don't like the filter or if DirectDraw (Soft) causes problems.
Alternative FM tone handling differs slightly from a real PC98, but helps improve music in certain cases (like the Brandish 2 opening)

User-defined low-pass filter:
Set LPFORDER= and LPFCUTOF= in the .ini file to define the order of the filter equation and the cutoff frequency
Set LPFORDER from 0 to 8 (0 means no filter)
Set LPFCUTOF from 3000 to 24000 (Hz)

The user-defined LPF is independent of the QFM LPF, and both can be used simultaneously

Virtual sound board for beep PCM:
A virtual sound board "PC-9801-999A/B" that attempts to detect and play back beep PCM for better sound quality
Set BEEP_PCM= from 0 to 5 in the .ini file.
0 (disabled)
2/3 Type A/Type A overdrive
4/5 Type B/Type B overdrive

Type A can be used with QFM but there might be minor noise
Type B cannot be used with QFM but has less noise
Overdrive (3 or 5) increases the beep PCM volume

You need to increase the sound buffer if you enable the virtual beep PCM board.
Remember this only applies to beep PCM, not regular PCM. Beep PCM is used in games such as Tokio, Dennou Tenshi Digital Ange, Paipai Yuugi, Two Shot Diary, etc.

Other changes:
- save state file drag and drop supported
- improved support for the Romeo sound card
- minor bug fixes

Where are these builds being posted?

PC98 emulation thread on 2ch (PC98エミュ総合)

latest fmgen build (2011/10/01)

Link (pass: 9801): http://www1.axfc.net/uploader/File/so/69808
Mirror (no pass): http://www.mediafire.com/?ws6nqoom9hgcv0i

- added new executable np2sx(nt). np2sx is basically np2 with IA-32 (i386) support, but without the other PC-9821 features of np21. It might run slightly faster than np21.
- minor fixes and tweaks for the beep PCM virtual sound board, 86 board PCM, Romeo, and improved Speak Board emulation

Could you repost your NP2 CD-ROM Driver boot disk? The old link expired.
Thanks!

Did you want the Policenauts boot disk I uploaded in this thread, or just a generic MS-DOS boot disk with CD-ROM support?

Hmm, go ahead and upload both if you can

Policenauts User Disk (for np2): http://www.mediafire.com/?vja9y97sb1m3bvb
np2 CD-ROM boot disk: http://www.mediafire.com/?y9tctgdfemdwtaa

latest fmgen build (2011/10/24)

Link (pass: 9801): http://www1.axfc.net/uploader/File/so/70803
Mirror (no pass): http://www.mediafire.com/?dvtbtgcnvr0jq8o

- audio timing adjustments
- multithreading fixes and stability improvements
- minimum sound buffer reduced to 20 ms
- adjust volume with mouse wheel (only affects sound board)
- toggle No Wait with Application (Menu) key
- additional enhanced options (see enhanced.txt)
- support for user-defined shortcut keys (see function.txt)

latest fmgen build (2011/11/16)

Link (pass: 9801): http://www1.axfc.net/uploader/File/so/71660

Our benevolent Japanese coder has made some more awesome additions to np2.

np2 fmgen (2011-12-01)
Link (pass: 9801): http://www1.axfc.net/uploader/File/so/72207
Mirror (no pass): http://www.mediafire.com/?ah02lh907cq5z5v

- Stretch filter like in M88 unofficial. Smooths out the pixels to make a nice, natural-looking screen. It's also less blurry than the antialiasing options.
- external FM engine option. You can specify an external .dll file as the FM synth engine. You need to separately download the dll files and put them in the np2 folder, and then manually specify a .dll file by adding a FMGenDll= line to the ini file. FM engine dlls are available here:

fmdllset (2011-11-28 )
Link (pass: 9801): http://www1.axfc.net/uploader/File/so/72101
Mirror (no pass): http://www.mediafire.com/?c8g62t455lk1vtt

This set contains:
mamefm.dll - YM2608 core from MAME. Lightweight and accurate. Recommended.
genpfm.dll - YM2612 core from Genesis Plus GX. Emulates the sound chip built into the FM Towns and the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.
np2fm.dll - original FM synth core from the official np2. Use only for reference purposes because it is inferior to everything else at this point.

If you don't specify a dll file, the emulator will use the internal fmgen core like normal.

Note: you'll still need the 2608 rhythm samples (2608_xxx.wav).

Other new features:
- 55 kHz sampling option added to the GUI.
- new INI option MOUSESNS for adjusting mouse sensitivity
- new INI option JOYSTKID for specifying a joystick if you have multiple controllers plugged into your PC
- new INI option FDD_Wait for adjusting the floppy disk delay time
- enhanced option for enabling linear interpolation when QFM is disabled



And a bonus! A T98 Next sound plugin using genpfm.dll.

SoundSPB-
Link (pass: 9801): http://www1.axfc.net/uploader/File/so/72147
Mirror (no pass): http://www.mediafire.com/?cm3m9lg6mcr2sle

YEAH mame's FM core!

Thank you so much for your dedication, kobushi!

So, it's been two months since the last post, and in that time numerous builds have been posted in the 2ch thread from no less than three different people. Could someone give a summary of what progress has been made?