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PC-98 Emulators
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Author:  cpt. Misumaru Tenchi [ April 23rd, 2011, 12:15 pm ]
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Aaah, so that's what the Sound.rom in T98-Next directory is for. :) This, Font.rom, ITF.rom and BIOS.rom. I didn't know they should be in ROM directory, there was none in my package. Besides, I was still missing samples. Me, a genius? No - I have just pushed you unwittingly and unawarily to the right direction. Puzznic works in Neko, Ogre works in Neko and T98-Next, and Anex86... says goodbye. I don't need it anymore. With all the samples and BIOSes in their right places there will be none not working games with this two emulators anymore. At least I don't think so.
And now I understand why Puzznic has so "lame" sound. You have to turn off the sound BIOS, so it comes from the speaker.

Quote:
About the CPU clock: I think there's a bug in Neko, because I get severe slowdown whenever I set the clock higher than about 40 MHz. (2.5 x 16). 40 MHz is still plenty to run basically everything, though.

Exactly. This was also my one and biggest error during configuration process. Allright, now I'm going to play all this games once again with proper speed and music. It's going to be FUN!!

Excuse me, but should I check "ITF emulation" in T98-Next? Strange thing - when it's checked, the INI file looks like this:

EMBIOS=0
BIOS=1
ITF=0
EMITF=1
SOUND=1

When it's unchecked, it looks like this:

EMBIOS=0
BIOS=1
ITF=0
EMITF=0
SOUND=1

I think it should be better if it's not emulated (EMITF). But even with it unchecked, the emulator still doesn't "turn on" the real one (ITF). Strange... Is that ROM image broken or what? Without it (unchecked) there's no firmware testing at startup. And looking into the EXE, there's a line "Used Real ITF "itf.rom"", just like with fonts or sound BIOS. So there must be a way to make it work.

Edit, after a long time and many tries: I'm giving it up. I just can't figure out how to make it work like it should. I might be too big of an ignorant if it comes to PC-98 knowledge, or there's something wrong with the emulator itself.

Author:  kobushi [ April 23rd, 2011, 10:36 pm ]
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It may be that T98 Next only supports a particular version of the ITF rom. Historically it has some weird issues. Anyway, the ITF rom is just some CPU test and diagnostic programs as you have probably realized, and it's not something that will affect games. In the old days, people used to overwrite the contents of the ITF rom in order to install aftermarket CPU upgrades.

:idea: Wait a minute...

...nevermind.

If anyone wants to experiment with ITF emulation, you can turn it off in Neko by adding the line ITF_WORK=false near the top of the np2nt.ini or np21nt.ini file.

Author:  cpt. Misumaru Tenchi [ April 23rd, 2011, 11:26 pm ]
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It seems that's really something wrong with my ITF.rom. With ITF_WORK=false and the file in Neko directory, the emulator also skips the firmware test. And I think it shouldn't.

Author:  kobushi [ April 23rd, 2011, 11:51 pm ]
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Quote:
It seems that's really something wrong with my ITF.rom. With ITF_WORK=false and the file in Neko directory, the emulator also skips the firmware test. And I think it shouldn't.

No, that's correct operation. Actually, I'm pretty sure Neko doesn't even use the ITF.ROM, and just emulates the ITF internally.

The only roms Neko uses are BIOS, FONT, and SOUND (plus the OPNA rhythm samples).

Author:  cpt. Misumaru Tenchi [ April 24th, 2011, 12:57 am ]
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OK, thanks for info - I like to keep my directories clean. And what about T98-Next? BIOS, Font, ITF (not working, but at least I know it should be there) and Sound are obviously needed. But there are also files (eight of them) like 00000.rom, C0000.rom, etc. - I'm pretty sure you know much better than me what it is. Does T98-Next use them, or can I delete them as unnecessary?
And also about rhythm samples. I've found FDDSeek.wav and FDDSeek1.wav. I think it's the cool FDD sound which you can hear in Neko (thus I think they also are included in emulator source code, like ITF). But what about T98-Next? I've put them in main folder with other samples, but there is no sound of FDD. I assume T98-Next can't use them and I can also delete them?

Author:  kobushi [ April 24th, 2011, 2:48 am ]
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It looks like T98 Next doesn't use the ITF rom, either (maybe there's some unimplemented code in the EXE?). As far as I can tell, T98 Next and Neko only use the BIOS, FONT, and SOUND roms.

BIOS.ROM - required for BASIC and older games coded in BASIC.

FONT.ROM - not really necessary, but nice to have for authenticity. T98 Next will use a Windows font if there is no FONT.ROM. Neko can use the FONT.ROM, or the FONT.BMP that Anex86 uses. If neither exist, Neko will create its own font rom called FONT.TMP using a Windows font.

SOUND.ROM - required for proper sound in many games. The OPNA rhythm set (2608_xx.wav) is also needed for correct percussion when using a sound board equipped with the 2608 chip.

ITF.ROM - Only used by Virtual98 I think. T98 Next and Neko both emulate their own ITF. Can be safely deleted.

00000.ROM, C0000.ROM, etc. - Rom files used by PC98E, an old emulator from about 12 years ago. Can be safely deleted.

FDDSeek.wav, FDDSeek1.wav - Huh, it looks like these are built into Neko's executable now... not sure when that happened. I don't think any other emulator uses them, so they can be safely deleted.

Author:  cpt. Misumaru Tenchi [ April 24th, 2011, 3:06 am ]
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kobushi wrote:
It looks like T98 Next doesn't use the ITF rom, either (maybe there's some unimplemented code in the EXE?).

Most likely you're right.

Quote:
BIOS.ROM - required for BASIC and older games coded in BASIC.

Yeah, I remember having troubles with Mario Bros and few other old arcade ports.

Quote:
FONT.ROM - not really necessary, but nice to have for authenticity.

A nice final touch.

Quote:
T98 Next will use a Windows font if there is no FONT.ROM. Neko can use the FONT.ROM, or the FONT.BMP that Anex86 uses.

Personally I prefer ROM version, it's smaller.

Quote:
If neither exist, Neko will create its own font rom called FONT.TMP using a Windows font.

That was easy to figure it out. :)

Quote:
FDDSeek.wav, FDDSeek1.wav - Huh, it looks like these are built into Neko's executable now...

So it seems.

Quote:
not sure when that happened.

My oldest version of Neko was 8.0 and these were already present.

Quote:
I don't think any other emulator uses them, so they can be safely deleted.

Allright - now all's clean and configured properly. Man, you're god of PC-98 emulation, you know everything about it. Thank you very much for your help, without you I still would be stranded in the darkness of my ignorance (which sometimes is bliss, they say). You've covered my every little problem, so I think I won't be bothering you anymore (at least in near future). Finally the time has come to simpy have (proper) fun (again) with all that stuff. Thank you once again.

Author:  kobushi [ May 30th, 2011, 5:43 am ]
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The unofficial build of Neko Project II has been updated to version VC6c.
This version fixes some issues with ADPCM sound and CSM speech synthesis, based on code imported from another unofficial Neko build (Neko Project+).

I have also updated my Cat Pack with the new emulator build.

Author:  kobushi [ June 19th, 2011, 2:41 am ]
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Another unofficial Neko Project II build.

Link (pass: 9801): http://www1.axfc.net/uploader/File/so/64711
Sendspace mirror (no pass): http://www.sendspace.com/file/zmn5lf

-sound core now uses fmgen :!:
-FM synthesis bit rate increased to 55466 Hz
-window size settings are now saved :!:
-various other audio tweaks

I still need to test this version some more, but it seems great so far. If there aren't any problems I will update the Cat Pack.

Happy emulating! :)

Author:  micro [ June 20th, 2011, 4:16 am ]
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I wish the Keyboard Window would become sticky like the Tool Window and Key Window. The status is not saved but only the window coordinates. It will not pop-up automatically with the emulator launched.

Author:  kobushi [ June 20th, 2011, 10:38 pm ]
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Another update on the fmgen build:

Link (pass: 9801): http://www1.axfc.net/uploader/File/so/64858
Sendspace mirror (no pass): http://www.sendspace.com/file/78mib6

-support for 88kHz sampling rate (Emulate->Configure)
-the OPNA clock and FM synth rate can be specified in the ini file.
OPNA_CLK=7987200 (default)
FMG_RATE_55466 (default)

There's a lot of interesting discussion on 2ch right now about finding the best bit/sampling rates and interpolation methods to use. Changing the FM synth rate breaks a lot of music, so keep the FMG_RATE at 55466 or 55467 for compatibility. Hopefully a newer build will synth at 55466 and then upconvert.

Anyway, the audiophiles out there should grab this build and experiment.

micro, I never noticed that. If it's OK to ask, what do you use the soft keyboard for?

Author:  micro [ June 21st, 2011, 10:27 am ]
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I usually have all the palette windows opened. Some games use the special keys, GRPH, COPY, HELP or Ten Keys etc, especially for in game cheats or Easter eggs. I never know where these keys have actually mapped to my Windows keyboard.

Author:  kobushi [ June 22nd, 2011, 11:28 am ]
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fmgen build update (actually there were two updates, this is the latest one):

Link (pass: 9801): http://www1.axfc.net/uploader/File/so/64961
Sendspace mirror (no pass): http://www.sendspace.com/file/hbieyc

-applied linear interpolation to the FM sound source
-now uses the cutoff frequency and LPF technique used in M88 (this affects all audio)
-the soft keyboard on/off state is now saved on exist
-sub-windows are now also brought to the front when the main emulation window becomes the active window

Author:  micro [ June 22nd, 2011, 1:05 pm ]
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kobushi, that is superb!

Is the 88kHz at the configuratin removed? I don't know how it really helps the sound quality. But, why?

I also wonder will the lip sync of policenauts work?

Author:  micro [ June 23rd, 2011, 1:59 am ]
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Looks like it is a localization issue. The non-English Configuration Dialog still shows 11kHz, 22kHz & 44kHz.

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