ZSNES v1.51 Documentation

================================
    N a v i g a t i o n
================================

    * Index    [Index.txt]

    * Readme    [Readme.txt]

    * GUI    [GUI.txt]

    * Netplay    [Netplay.txt]

    * Advanced Usage    [Advanced.txt]

    * Games    [Games.txt]

    * FAQ    [FAQ.txt]

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    * Getting Support    [Support.txt]
        1. APIs and Utilities
        2. Contact Information
        3. Known Issues
        4. Filing a Bug Report

    * History    [History.txt]

    * About    [About.txt]

    * License    [License.txt]

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    * NSRT Guide:    [http://zsnes-docs.sf.net/nsrt]

    * ZSNES Home Page:  [ZSNES.com]


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~                        G e t t i n g    S u p p o r t
================================================================================

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  1.                 APIs and Utilities
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The following utilities are referenced throughout this documentation to help
accomplish various tasks. There is a link to each utility and a short
description of its purpose.

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 .   .   .  DirectX  .   .   .
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  [http://www.microsoft.com/directx]

  DirectX is an API ("Application Programming Interface") required for running
  ZSNES in Windows.

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 .   .   .   .SDL.   .   .   .
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  [http://www.libsdl.org]

  SDL (Simple DirectMedia Layer) is an API required for running ZSNES on
  UNIX-like operating systems.

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 . Scitech . Display . Doctor.
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  [http://www.scitechsoft.com/ftp/sdd]

  Scitech Display Doctor (SDD) is a utility that provides drivers for many VGA
  and SVGA video cards. It can provide support for VESA VBE 2 on some video
  cards that may not normally support it.

  The link above directs you to Scitech's FTP site. "regcodes.txt" provides
  registration codes for the two different versions of SDD offered, v5.3 and
  v6.53. The newer version supports hardware acceleration and more cards. If you
  are in a DOS-only environment, you should use one of the "-d.zip" versions.
  If you are in a Windows+DOS environment, use one of the "-w.exe" versions.
  "univbe67.exe" is a stand-alone VESA VBE driver, and does not provide any of
  the other SDD utilities.

  Note: SciTech Software no longer offers support for this software.

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 .   .   .   NSRT.   .   .   .
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  [http://nsrt.edgeemu.com]

  NSRT - Nach's SNES ROM Tools. “NSRT, the most advanced SNES ROM tool to date,
  provides the ability to check, alter, retrieve info from, verify, fix, and
  organize SNES ROMs.”

  NSRT has several important uses in relation to ZSNES:

    * You can use it to scan your ROMs and show detailed information about them.
      This information will tell you whether or not the ROM is a good dump.
    * It can deinterleave your SuperFX ROMs so that ZSNES can load them.
    * It can add special NSRT headers to your ROMs, which will allow ZSNES to
      automatically enable special controllers for games that need them.
    * You can use NSRT to compress your ROMs using a special, custom-built
      compression format called JMA. “This is an archive format designed by Nach
      based on LZMA. When used on SNES ROMs it is faster, and creates smaller
      files than 7Zip.”

  NSRT is primarily a command-line program, although a graphical front-end is
  available. The ZSNES Documentation Team has written a supplementary guide to
  NSRT [http://zsnes-docs.sourceforge.net/nsrt] that covers some of the
  functions listed above.


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  2.           Contact Information and Links
............................................................

The following is a list of all official ZSNES websites and resources:

    ZSNES Home Page  [http://www.zsnes.com]
    ZSNES Project Page hosted by BountySource.  [http://zsnes.bountysource.com]
    ZSNES Documentation on the Web  [http://zsnes-docs.sourceforge.net]
    ZSNES Documentation Project Page hosted by SourceForge.net.
      [http://sourceforge.net/projects/zsnes-docs/]
    ZSNES Documentation Wiki  [http://zsnes.game-host.org/wiki/]
    ZSNES Bug Tracker  [http://zsnes.game-host.org/bugzilla/]
    ZSNES Message Board  [http://board.zsnes.com]

In your quest to solve whatever problem you may be having with ZSNES, or to
learn more about ZSNES, please first read all of this official documentation.

The ZSNES Message Board is the primary place to receive help about ZSNES, after
you have read through this entire documentation. It is also an interesting
Internet community in its own right. Asking for ROMs (or asking for games, a
link to a ROM site, or where to find ROMs/games) is forbidden! Be sure to also
read the RULES!


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  3.                    Known Issues
............................................................

  * 65816 lacks correct timing. Although ZSNES bases the timing on a variable
    cycle/instruction, it does not deduct correct values (such as 16-bit
    instructions should deduct 1 more cycle than 8-bit instructions). 100%
    cycles of ZSNES isn't 100% cycles of a SNES because of that. This means
    that a lot of games either won't run or will produce horrible displays.
    Sometimes, adjusting the % of execution can fix those problems. This is all
    due to inaccurate documentation used when the ZSNES 65816 core was written.
    Fortunately, there are currently ongoing efforts to rewrite the ZSNES core.
  * Some games sometimes tend to not display things properly because of
    graphic features that aren't implemented yet.
  * The Sound DSP chip still has its bugs (not many though). Additionally,
    no one knows the exact timing of the SPC700 chip.


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  4.                Filing a Bug Report
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 Before you file a bug report:
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  * Please verify that you have a good ROM. You should use NSRT
    [http://nsrt.edgeemu.com] to do this. You can find detailed instructions on
    how to use NSRT to verify your ROM(s) in this section
    [http://zsnes-docs.sourceforge.net/nsrt#verifying] of our NSRT Guide
    [http://zsnes-docs.sourceforge.net/nsrt].
  * Make sure you are using the -current- release of ZSNES.
    You can download the latest version from the ZSNES home page
      [http://www.zsnes.com/index.php?page=files]
    or from the ZSNES SourceForge Project Files page
      [http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=19677].
    If you *were* using an old version of ZSNES, and the problem goes away when
    you use the new version, please do not report the bug.
  * If the bug still exists in the latest official release of ZSNES, please try
    again with the latest WIP release of ZSNES. These are unofficial versions,
    compiled from SVN source, and are updated somewhat frequently. They are
    available at ipher's WIP Page [http://zsnes.ipherswipsite.com].
  * If you want to check against the latest development code, go obtain it from
    SVN at BountySource [https://svn.bountysource.com/zsnes/trunk/]. You are
    warned, however, that frequent changes are made to the code, so ZSNES may
    not always be able to compile when using code obtained from there.
  * If possible, confirm whether the bug occurs on real hardware (as in, play
    the game on a real console).

Bug reports should be submitted in the Bug Reports/Feature Requests section of
the ZSNES Message Board [http://board.zsnes.com]. Before reporting, please use
the board's search function to see if your bug has already been reported.

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 When making a bug report, please include the following information:
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  * Version (i.e., v1.51) and port (i.e., Windows, DOS, or SDL) of ZSNES you are
    using. Make sure to specify the revision if you obtained ZSNES from SVN.
  * Detailed ROM information:
      - You *must* post the NSRT information about your ROM when reporting a
        bug. Please see the "Verifying a ROM to make a Bug Report" section of
        our NSRT Guide for detailed instructions.
        [http://zsnes-docs.sourceforge.net/nsrt#verifying_bug_reports]
        Alternatively, you can use the "Log Rom Info" option in ZSNES [GUI.txt]
        to generate the file "rominfo.txt", which also provides the necessary
        information.
  * Detailed system specifications:
      - At minimum, you must tell us what operating system you are using and
        what version of DirectX or SDL you are using.
      - If your issue is related to performance (as in, ZSNES is too slow),
        also include the specs for your processor, RAM, video card, etc.
  * Detailed description of the bug:
      - A detailed description of the bug is important so that others can try to
        reproduce it.
      - Screenshots are highly recommended, and save states made before (or in
        some cases, during) the bug's occurrence are also greatly appreciated.
      - If you know of a previous version of ZSNES that ran the game properly,
        or if you know of another game that acts similarly, please let us know.
      - It may also be helpful to test the game in other SNES emulators and tell
        us the resulting behavior.


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This documentation is best viewed in a fixed-width font such as "Courier New".

Copyright (C) ZSNES Team & ZSNES Documentation Team [License.txt]
