ArcadeOS Version 2.

51 (Friday 9 Jul 2004)

============================================
DOS Frontend for Emulators

Disclaimer
----------
This software is without warranty and use of it is entirely at your
own risk.

I take no responsiblity for any personal injuries or damage to equipment

resulting from the use or misuse of this software.
What's new in 2.52 (Sunday 19 Sep 2004)
________________________________________
. Added Disable games with imperfect status option

What's new in 2.51 (Friday 9 Jul 2004)

________________________________________
.Added support for Mame versions > .84

What's new in 2.5 (Monday 2nd Dec 2002)

________________________________________

Upgrade Release
.Cleaned up support for large rom collections.
.Added support for advmame.rc config file.
.Config menus now more readable.
.Support for new Mame 6.x config parimeters.
.Support for multiple ROM directories for custom lists.
.Corrected defaults for Filters.
.LCD/VFD Display support improved.
.Orientation toggle now respects AutoRotate setting.
.Support added for monitor rotation hardware.
.Corrected Sidewinder Joystick detection on startup.
.PNG file support improved.
Unfortunately, still supports only 8 bit (256 color) images.
.Displays proper image when launching game in Jukebox Screensaver.
Note: DAT files from older versions of ArcadeOS will not work with
this version of ArcadeOS!
Newly added parameters in ARCADEOS.CFG include:
#configuration file used by mame executable
config=mame.cfg
In order for this to work there must be an associated DAT file in
the ARCADEOS directory. This file is used to define user-configurable
options for that config file. Currently, this field may contain
"mame.cfg" or "advmame.rc" only.
-----------------
Multiple ROM Folder Filtering:
To use multiple ROM directories with Custom Sets, divide roms into
desired directories. List these directories in rom path line of the mame
config file seperater by semi-colons (;). Within ArcadeOS, set "C.List
is Copy" and "Filters Active" in the ArcadeOS Config:Information menu.
Proceed to the ArcadeOS Config:Filters menu and select the position of
the desired ROM directory from 1 to 10 (0=not filtered). Repeat this
Filter setting from within each Custom Set. All other filter options my
be used with this setting.
Extra EMU files MUST be updated:
DAT files from older versions of ArcadeOS will no longer work!
See changes to documentation in EXTRA.DOC of the ArcExtra set for
changes to DAT files.
Additional Feature changes have been incorporated into the new ArcadeOS
Manual included with this package.

What's new in 2.51 (Saturday 31th Jul 2004)

-----------------------------------------
.Added a legacy option for Mame versions < .84 since "-listinfo"
is no longer supported. The command is now "-listxml" and ArcadeOS
supports both. You must set the flag in "arcadeos.cfg" for the
version of ArcadeOS you're using.

What's new in 2.47 (Friday 31th Aug 2001)

-----------------------------------------
Bug Fix Release
.Fixed to get correct game list with MAME 0.53 and MAME 0.54
.name of mame executable now defaults to dmame.exe

Fairly simple release, AOS now correctly displays found ROMs for the
latest versions of MAME and AOS' filters also work with them.

What's new in 2.45 (Monday 26th Feb 2001)

-----------------------------------------
Bug Fix Release
.Sound bug fixed
.Memory overwrite bug fixed

What's new in 2.44 (Tuesday 6th Feb 2001)

-----------------------------------------
Couple of corrections:

Danny Rego's name appeared misspelt in previous versions of this file.

Also, the beta tester list was missing - I simply put the wrong (incomplete)
file into the distribution package.

.LCD screen support

AOS now supports use of an LCD screen attached to a COM port.
This can be used to display instructions/logos/bitmaps etc.
Submitted by Danny Rego
.Internal BIOS buffer doubled in size
This is used by AOS to pass emu config details between real and
protected mode.
Basically - it means AOS won't truncate AdvanceMAME's large config
file anymore
.X/Y Filter resoultion maximum value increased to 1280
The previous value of 640 meant some games weren't being displayed
.Max button filter value increased to 10
Basically for the same reason as above
.Drive used by AOS for temporary files is now configurable
tempdrive = (0='C',1='D',2='E' etc.)
by default, AOS uses the C drive
.Added 'Skip Available Disk Space Check' option for AOS's temporary files
AOS checks that there is enough space on the drive before creating
temporary files - this option allows you to skip this check if you think
there is enough space and AOS is not finding it.
skipspacecheck = (0 = don't skip - check space, 1 = skip space check)
by default, AOS performs the check

What's new in 2.43 (Tuesday 28th Nov 2000)

------------------------------------------
This is really a bug fix release, it's also the first release of AOS
to use beta testers.
I'd like to thank the following people for their feedback and testing
(in alphabetical order):
eric c day
 H. Ronson
Nick Bourdo
Richard
Ron
Stefano (jimi)

.Memory overwrite bug fixed

This was the biggie and caused a whole heap of problems -
the following were the most common (all now fixed)
'select sound card' message when running MAME games
'garbage' occansionally appearing in the game config menu
'garbage' occansionally appearing in mame.cfg
config items not being saved/set
.AOS now generates game lists correctly when used with AdvanceMAME
.AOS nolonger overwrites config changes made inside an emulator
This is useful for Emus like AdvanceMAME , ZSNES etc. which have
UI's that let you change config items while running the emulator.
Now, if you change a value inside an Emu which is *not* covered by
AOS's configs for that emulator - those changes will not be discarded
by AOS after you exit the Emu.
.PSX pad support fixed
this is now working again
.'Merged ROMs' option can now be set per emulator rather than globally
.AOS now checks for available space before creating temporary workfiles

What's new in 2.42 (Monday 23rd Oct 2000)

-----------------------------------------
.Added Filters (MAME only)
Under the new 'Filters' sub-menu (of ArcadeOS config menu), you can
setup config items to filter games out of the ROMS list.
There is a filter per custom list, and the filter options shown apply
to whatever custom list you're currently in.
The following values can be used to filter games:
Horizontal (yes/no)
Vertical (yes/no)
Vector (yes/no)
Raster (yes/no)
Min Year
Max Year
Min Players
 Max Players
Min Buttons
Max Buttons
2 Way Joy (yes/no)
4 Way Joy (yes/no)
8 Way Joy (yes/no)
Double 2 Way (yes/no)
Double 4 Way (yes/no)
Double 8 Way (yes/no)
Paddle (yes/no)
Dial (yes/no)
Trackball (yes/no)
Stick (yes/no)
Min Colour Depth
Max Colour Depth
Min X Res.
Max X Res.
Min Y Res.
Max Y Res.
Min Frequency
Max Frequency
Min Coin
Max Coin
Note:Filters can be turned on/off with the 'Filters Active'
option under the 'Information' sub-menu of the ArcadeOS config menu
.AOS now uses the SEAL library for sound support
This means AOS can be used with far more soundcards.
There's a new 'soundcard' option in arcadeos.cfg, it can have the
following values:
0 (Silence)
1 (Sound Blaster)
2 (Sound Blaster AWE32)
 3 (Pro Audio Spectrum)
4 (Ultrasound Max (CS4231 Codec))
5 (Ultrasound)
6 (Windows Sound System)
7 (Ensoniq Soundscape)
.Added 'Custom Lists contain copies of all Games' option
This is under the 'Information' sub-menu of the ArcadeOS config menu.
C.List is Copy
If this is set to 'yes' - custom lists simply contain copies of all
possible games. You can then use a filter on each list to easily
generate custom lists of specific game types.
.Long File Name update
When running in a Windows DOS Box - ArcadeOS will display the long
file name (for ROMS without an NMS file entry) but will pass the
DOS short file name (8.3) to the emulator.
.Added 'Display' sub-menu to ArcadeOS config menus

What's new in 2.41 (Monday 9th Oct 2000)

----------------------------------------
.fixed 'remaplist' bug
AOS 2.40 ignored and cleared the 'remaplist' entry in arcadeos.cfg
.fixed bug where default config values sometimes weren't being saved
.fixed bug where AOS would block 640x480 arcade mode for certain cards
.fixed bug in random game picker
.'Don't Move' option added to 'NeoGeo/Vector Custom List' values.
Setting the NeoGeo or Vector Custom List option to this value means
that AOS will leave NeoGeo and Vector games in whatever custom list
you put them.
Set the following options in 'Main' sub-menu of 'AOS Config' menu
'NeoGeo C.List'
'Vector C.List'
.'Auto Run last game' option expanded (Main submenu of ArcadeOS config)
This can now have the following values:
'Never' - don't auto run last selected game
'If Run' - auto run the last selected game if it was run
'Always' - always run the last selected game.
It can also be used in cojunction with the 'Show Run Dialog' option
(information submenu of ArcadeOS config)
If 'Show Run Dialog' is set to 'no' and 'Auto Run Last Game' is
active - AOS won't display when starting up, it will simply launch the
selected game straight away.
If 'Show Run Dialog' is set to 'yes' and 'Auto Run Last Game' is
active - AOS will display the 'Running <game name>' dialog + screen
shot while launching the game
.Extra option to use external TSRs for arcade/TV mode BIOS extensions
 If you set
extdriver=1
in arcadeos.cfg , or use
arcadeos -extdriver 1
AOS will use it's 'InCabinet' options (i.e. pass 'arcade' values to
emulators, turn printer/extra hardware on and off etc.) but *won't*
install it's own BIOS extensions. This is useful if you're using a
seperate TSR/Driver to get arcade/TV video modes.
.Arcade/NTSC and PAL options passed to MAME can now be user defined
This is designed to be used in conjunction with the above option.
You can now define what will be passed to MAME when selecting
an NTSC/Arcade or PAL video mode - useful for MAME derivatives which
require different options, for older versions of MAME - or for simply
forcing AOS to pass no arcade parameters.
The 2 new config items in arcadeos.cfg are
arcmodeopt=
palmodeopt=
.Player 2 can now move AOS cursor
AOS uses default MAME keys for player 2 (R/F/D/G)
these can be reconfigured
.New 'Cocktail Mode' added
With this mode is active, if either player moves the cursor, AOS will
flip the screen and give control to that player.
Note: In this mode if player2 has control, then 'Player 2 Button 1'
will start the selected game.
To activate set:
'Cocktail mode' to 'yes' in the Main ArcadeOS config sub-menu
or
'cocktailmode=1'
in arcadeos.cfg, or use the command line argument:
arcadeos -cocktailmode 1
.'Cocktail Flip Delay' config item added
If Cocktail Mode is active, this is the minimum time in seconds that
AOS will allow between screen flips.
It's designed to avoid constant screen flipping.
Set this to 0 to disable (this is the default value)
To configure set:
'Cocktail delay' in the Main ArcadeOS config sub-menu
or
cocktaildelay=<value>
in arcadeos.cfg, or use the command line argument:
arcadeos -cocktaildelay <value>
.Shift Key/Remap functions can now be globally turned on or off
You can now easily disable/enable AOS's shift key and remap functions
Simpy set
'Shift/Remap On' to 'yes' or 'no' in the 'Shift Keys' sub-menu
or
shifton=<0 or 1>
in arcadeos.cfg, or use the command line argument
arcadeos -shifton <0 or 1>
.New Option 'Screen Tint' added
This allows you to set a 'tint' to screen shots, tint can be -
Normal,Red,Green,Blue or Grey
To configure set:
'Screen Tint' in the Screen Shot ArcadeOS config sub-menu
or
screentint=<value 0-4>
in arcadeos.cfg, or use the command line argument:
arcadeos -screentint <value 0-4>
.Changed default 'Coin 1' key to match MAME
This is now '5' instead of '3'

What's new in 2.40 (Monday 25th Sept 2000)

------------------------------------------
.ARCADEOS.CFG file is now 'auto-generated'
arcadeos.cfg is no longer distributed with AOS, and is automatically
generated if it is not present.
So there's no more need to merge your existing arcadeos.cfg with the
latest release
.All AOS options can now be set from the command line
there's a *lot* of them, use
-?
to list them
- it's probably best to pipe them to a text file if you want
to read them
.AOS now remembers - rotation,last game and custom list of all emulators
If you are using other emulators/app from AOS - the last cursor
position,screen rotation and custom list will be remembered as you
select between emulators/apps
.'Mode-X' resolutions nolonger need to be specified in .app files
 AOS will now automatically detect the current mode and create
an arcade monitor mode from it
.AOS config menu now split into sub-menus
as there were getting more and more options in this, it's now split
into several sub menus:
'Main'
'Colours'
'Screen Shots'
'Information'
'Screen Saver'
'Keyboard'
'Joystick/pad'
'Mouse'
'Shift Keys'
'Sounds'
.All keyboard settings can now be changed from AOS's GUI
This is under the new
'Keyboard'
sub menu of the AOS config menu
.All Joystick/pad settings can now be changed from AOS's GUI
This is under the new
'Joystick/pad'
sub menu of the AOS config menu
.All Shift keys settings can now be changed from AOS's GUI
This is under the new
'Shift Keys'
sub menu of the AOS config menu
.Added sound interface (SB and compatibles only)
AOS can now play samples for the following events -
Startup
Shutdown
Opening a Window
Errors
Running a Game
 Starting a Screen Saver
The relative volume and pitch of each sample can be adjusted from
the new 'Sounds' sub menu of the AOS config menu

There is also an overall volume, which can be set with the

-soundvol <val 0-15> command line option, or by setting
soundvol=<val 0-15> in arcadeos.cfg

Note:Sounds are off by default, you need to either use the

-sounds 1 command line option to turn them on, or set
sounds=1 in arcadeos.cfg

All wav files used are user definable, just change the entries
in arcadeos.cfg to use different wav files for the events
(startupwav,shutdownwav,windowwav,errorwav,saverwav,gamewav)

AOS supports 8bit mono wav files, at 11 or 22K

.Extra 'information' settings added

'S.S.Only' - Display Screen shots only (no AOS 'game list' window)
'S.S.+Name' - Screen shots + name of game (no AOS 'game list' window)
This basically allows you to create your own AOS custom interface
by generating your own 'screen shots'
.AOS resolution can now be set from within the GUI
.Improved scroll bar
you can now scroll up and down by dragging the 'slider'
.APP files can now can contain an additional (optional) 'rompath' entry
This path will be used by AOS explicitly when it runs the emulator,
i.e. it is put into the command line when running the emulator
Note:This value is not used for ROM searches.
Submitted by Eric Anschuetz
.New (new) random game routine
AOS now pregenerates a list of random games, as the previous method
of picking a random game meant that the after a while AOS would just
simply go through the game list sequentially
.Pallette bug fix
Pallette problems experienced by some people with 2.36 now fixed
.Default 'ROM' path for non MAME emulators
For some emus - AOS reads the emu's ini/cfg file to get the location
of the ROM files. If this file has not yet been created, AOS will
default to the emu's standard ROM location dir
.Mouse sensitivty settings simplified
There is now simply a sensitivity setting for the mouse in the X and Y
directions.
The values are in the range 50-200, 50=slowest, 200=fastest
 This removes the 'double speed threshold' and 'mickeys' settings which
were just causing confusion.
The mouse should now also act identically in both 320x200 and 640x480
modes with the same sensitivity settings.
.'Double Click Speed' and 'Swap mouse buttons' settings added
The speed of a double click can now be adjusted from within AOS,
and the left/right buttons can be swapped
(Options are under the new 'Mouse' submenu of the AOS Config menu)
.Auto NeoGeo and Vector custom list can now be set to 'standard'
This was another source of confusion, now if you set these to
'standard' (the new default) NeoGeo and Vector games will moved to
the standard (main) list
.New shortcut key for AOS' 'Emulator Menu'
Hitting '8' (default - can be redefined) will instantly bring up a
list of available emulators
.New shortcut key for AOS' 'Custom List Menu'
Hitting '9' (default - can be redefined) will instantly bring up
the custom list menu
.AOS now supports long file names under Win9X
If you run AOS in a Windows DOS box it will display the long file
names of ROMS. This is useful for displaying proper names for
console ROMS
.AOS now supports 6000 rather than 3000 games per emulator
.AOS can now search using CRCs
you can now use CRC32s in your NMS files as well as file names
(if you turn this option on)
This makes start up searches slower - so the option is off by default
.Screen savers updated
the 'screen shot' screen savers are now broken down into:
Screen Shot - standard screen shots
S.S. Smear - screen shot is 'smeared' onto the display
S.S. Explode - screen shot is expanded to fill display
S.S. Slats - screen shot is draw as 'slats'
S.S. Lens - screen shot with lenses
Screens3D - 3D rotating screen shots
There are also two extra options which affects all of the above
screen savers:
'Shot Type' ('sstype' in arcadeos.cfg)
This can be set to
Standard - screen savers always use game screen shots
Cycle - screen savers cycle through screen shot/flyer/cabinet
Random - screen savers randomly pick screen shot/flyer/cabinet
Screen shot cycling submitted by Eric Anschuetz
'Shot Delay' ('shotdelay' in arcadeos.cfg)
This is the number of seconds before the current screen shot is
changed
There is a new screen saver
'Blank'
 This blanks the screen + will turn your monitor/cab on/off
if you're using external hardware
Blank screen saver submitted by Danny Rego
.AOS can now run user defined files to turn your cab/monitor on/off
If you set the new option
'extrahardware=1' in arcadeos.cfg
AOS will run whatever exes/batch files you specify in
'switchon='
'switchoff='
(in arcadeos.cfg)
This allows you to trigger other external relays/devices to control
your cabinet/monitor
.New 'Auto Run last game' option
AOS can now be setup to automatically run the last game selected when
it was last exited
set 'Run Last Game' (in 'Main' sub menu of 'AOS Config') to 'yes'
or set 'startlastgame=1' in arcadeos.cfg
Submitted by Danny Rego
.Drive used by 'File Menu' is now selectable
Previous AOS only looked at A: , you can now select the drive letter
to use from the 'Main' sub-menu of the 'ArcadeOS Config' menu
.Cursor can optionally wrap from/to top/bottom of AOS menu items
The cursor can now be set to go to the top of a list in AOS
window when it reaches then end, and to go to the end when it
reaches the top - rather than just stopping
This is off by default, set 'Wrap Cursor' to 'yes' in 'Main' sub-menu
to activate it
.Screen shots can now be placed at different positions on the screen
Screen shots can now appear at the following positions
'Centre'
'Top Right'
'Middle Right'
'Bottom Right'
This is so they can be moved from behind AOS main menu,
To set it, use the new 'S.S Position' option in the 'Screen Shots'
sub-menu.
Note:This only takes effect if no scaling up or down is being used
i.e.'Scale S.S up' is set to 'no' and the screen shot fits entirely
within the display

What's new in 2.36

------------------
.Fixed path bug
AOS can now be installed in the root of a drive
.Fixed 'Beep FM' bug
AOS will now 'beep' through a Sound Blaster (if it finds one)
.Added 6 Button Joystick/pad support
.Added 8 Button Joystick/pad support
.Added GamePad Pro support
.Joystick/pad buttons can now be mapped to any AOS action
In the [JOYSTICK] section of ARCADEOS.CFG you can now map each
individual joystick button to any AOS action.
There can be upto 2 joysticks, and upto 10 buttons per joystick
.Removed Sidewinder 'map' option
This is now obsolete due to the above
.'Shift Key' is now definable
You can now define AOS's shift key to be either 'Start1' or 'Start2'
.AOS can now support merged ROMS for emulators other than MAME
You need to create a 'clone' file - this is the same format as an
.nms file - see VANTAGE.CLN as an example
.AOS can now be 'rotated' for emulators other than MAME
See VANTAGE.APP for an example of allowing AOS to rotate for other
emulators
NOTE:AOS *won't* rotate games if the emulator doesn't support it
.Added support for VAntAGE
.Added Z26 .nms file
file created by n2locarz

What's new in 2.35

------------------
Just a bug fix release:

.SIGSEGV on exited a MAME game fixed

This was caused by me leaving some debug code in there

What's new in 2.34

------------------
.Page Fault when loading large games under pure DOS fixed
 This was caused by the DPMI server swapping AOS's protected mode
interrupt handlers out to disk while MAME was loading a game.
.Remap and 'shift' functions now also work within 'Jukebox' screen saver
This includes all rempped keys, the shift functions and the
'Start 1 + Start 2 = Escape' function.
.'Jukebox' Screen Saver now also works under a Windows DOS box
.DOS Shell fix
The DOS Shell is now launched from Real Mode rather than Protected Mode.
This fixes some problems with older DOS programs.
.AOS no longer uses 'temporary files'
These were used to communicate between the Real and Protected Mode
portions of AOS. The communication is now done using AOS's BIOS extensions.
.'Random Game Picker' fix
This used to always pick exactly the same game after all games
had been picked. This is used in various places in AOS, including the
Jukebox screen saver
.Extra documentation file - AOSTECH.DOC - included in distribution
This describes some of the more complex/interesting parts of AOS.
It also contains format information for the files used by AOS

What's new in 2.33

------------------
.Selectable Font Sizes
AOS now has 4 different sized fonts
6x8,8x8,8x12 and 8x16
NOTE:Font size is only selectable in SVGA mode
.Main window is now sizable
Alter the 'Main Width' value in the AOS config menu
.Added user definable 'Shift' functions
For each emu you can now have 6 'shift functions'
These are triggered by holding down 'Start 1' and pressing
one of the (3) player1 or player2 buttons.
This lets you access an emulators 'extended' functions (Pause,UI,config etc.)
from a standard JAMMA setup
For MAME, the default shift functions are:
'shift1' - Pause (P)
'shift2' - Config Menus (Tab)
'shift3' - OSD (Tilde)
'shift4' - Adjust Frame Skip (F9)
'shift5' - Speed throttling (F10)
'shift6' - Speed Display (F11)
.Keys to remap can now be set per game
Before running a game, AOS looks for the following file
<AOS directory>\<emu name>\<romset name>.rmp
If it finds this file and it contains a line

remaplist=

(with a remap list as described in arcadeos.cfg and the .app files)

It will use that remap list for that particular game, if no file is
found - or the file does not contain a remaplist - AOS will use the
default remaplist defined in the .APP file (or arcadeos.cfg)

i.e. say when running Galaxians under MAME you want to

remap the player2 controls to the player1 controls.
If your ArcadeOS is in the directory c:\arcadeos.
You would create the file:

c:\arcadeos\mame\galaxian.rmp

The file would contain the line

remaplist=32,224|75,34,224|77,30,29

Now, player2 left,right,fire are remapped to player1 left,right,fire

Note:The 224's before the left/right scancodes (75 and 77)

are there because MAME/Allegro is looking for MF-II extended scancodes
for these keys - which are prefaced with the byte 0xE0 (224 decimal)

For normal keys, you do not need to use 224|

.'remaplist' can now also be set for MAME

This is really just for completeness sake
.Added option to rotate backrops
AOS will now optionally rotate backdrops/screenshots
.Added new default AOS backdrop
This was submitted by R.Coltrane
.Added PSX pad support
 Code submitted by Richard Jones
This has meant a slight change to arcadeos.cfg,
Now there's a new item 'joytype' which can be set to be:
0 - none
1 - 2 button joystick/pad
2 - 4 button joystick/pad
3 - Sidewinder
4 - PSX pad

What's new in 2.32

------------------
.Extended Keyboard Remapper
ArcadeOS now lets you remap upto 40 keys and each remapped key can generate 2
keypress
So, (for example) you can remap 'Escape' to generate 'Alt-Q'
The remapper now also works with most emulators (real and protected mode)
Emulators which currently cannot be remapped/have problems:-
KGen98 and ZSNES : remapping only works in a Windows DOS box
Magic Engine and Rage : Currently cannot be remapped
.Added 'Start 1 + 2 = Escape' option
This lets you escape out of an emulator by pressing Start 1 and Start 2 togeth
er
It's really an extension of the keyboard remapper, so the above restrictions a
lso apply
.Automatic pressing of 'Return' for MAME 'warnings' now works again
Previously ArcadeOS simply placed a few 'Return's into the keyboard buffer bef
ore loading a MAME game.
However, MAME/Allegro now clears down this buffer before checking for a key pr
ess.
So... instead ArcadeOS now hooks into DOS and inserts keypresses into the keyb
oard controller
if it intercepts a MAME warning message
.Added the arcade Emulator 'Rage' to the ArcExtra .APP files
Rage hooks/blocks the timer interrupt and stops the original method used by AO
S to set
arcade monitor tweak modes from working.
AOS can now optionally use a different method to get round this problem
Be warned though - although most games work perfectly, of the games tested
- RType II still runs in a PC monitor mode during startup
.'JukeBox' screen saver extended
Now, after ArcadeOS picks and runs a random game,
if you insert a coin - the screen saver will effectively 'end' and that game c
an be played
(i.e. ArcadeOS won't automatically exit out of the game and pick another one)
NOTE:'JukeBox' is only available when running ArcadeOS under pure DOS
.Added the Colecovision emulator 'ColEM' to the console .APP files
.Added the PC-Engine emulator 'Magic Engine' to the console .APP files
.Added the Geneisis emulator 'KGen98' to the console .APP files
.Added the Game Gear emulator 'MGX' to the console .APP files
.Updated the SMSPlus .App file to work with 0.7.0a
.Added 304x215 arcade monitor mode
this was basically to get KGen98 to work
.Added 384x256 arcade monitor mode
basically to cover Rage
.Made the extra arcade monitor modes a bit more 'intelligent'
you no longer have to worry if the mode is planar/linear,
and modes with 'unusual' memory widths are now handled (like Magic Engine)
.'Flip X' and 'Flip Y' added
you can now flip ArcadeOS's screen about x/y - useful for mirrored/'upside dow
n' monitors
.Added 'Emu Info' option to config menu
basically lets you display a given 'readme' file for each emu
.Improved semi-transparency
The orignal semi-transparency code was designed to be as quick/small as possib
le
Since ArcadeOS is now a huge 32bit program - I've changed it to be more accura
te/linear
NOTE: The range has changed from 0-63 to 0-100,
so existing users may need to adjust their default settings
.Added adjustable 'AutoRepeat'
Should provide more accurate selection of games/values, range 0 - 100
0 for no autorepeat (like old versions of ArcadeOS)
100 for longest/slowest autorepeat
.Additional monitor test patterns
These are primarily designed for colour purity/convergence adjustments of a mo
nitor
but can also help with colour balance/focus adjustments etc.
.Moved ArcadeOS to DJGPP 2.951

Quick Start
-----------
Unzip ARCADEOS.ZIP to any directory and set the correct directory
and executable name for MAME in ARCADEOS.CFG

(If you've got MAME in c:\mame\mame.exe , ArcadeOS should

pretty well run 'out of the box')
If you're using a version of Mame greater than .84 you must have the "xml2info.e
xe"
program file in your Mame directory. This generates the game list.

Then run
ArcadeOS.EXE

(ArcadeOS uses standard MAME keys

All keys can be redefined,see ArcadeOS.CFG)

Choose a game with the cursor keys or a joystick/pad

(left/right act as page up/down)
'1' to run the selected game
'3' for game info/screen shot
'Q' for online help
'A' to run a random game
'S' to move games into custom lists
'J' to cycle through emulators
'Left Ctrl' to alter the orientation a game is run at
'Left Alt' to change which games are listed (all,horizontal,rotated)
'Space' to alter orientation of display
'2' to bring up the control menu
'6' to cycle through emulators
'7' to cycle through custom lists
'Esc' to exit (and to close popup windows)

ArcadeOS Config Menu:

(choose 'ArcadeOS Config' from the control menu)
------------------------------------------------
"Scheme" - Allows you to select AOS's various window schemes
"Font Size" - changes AOS's font size (SVGA mode only)
"Merged ROMs" - Assume all romsets merged and display clones (yes/no)
"Unknowns" - display zips/dirs which ArcadeOS can't find a real name for (yes/no
)
"Information" - amount of info. on screen (0-2)
"Button 1" - enable button 1 (yes/no)
"Button 2" - enable button 2 (yes/no)
"Button 3" - enable button 3 (yes/no)
"S.Shot on run" - Screen shot of game displayed when game is run (yes/no)
"S.Shot on move" - Screen shot of game displayed when cursor moved
"NeoGeo C.List" - Custom list to copy NeoGeo games to (-1 to 3)
"Vector C.List" - Custom list to copy Vector games to (-1 to 3)
"Mouse Type" - None, Std (Standard) , Trac (TrackBall) or Spinner
"Mouse Trails" - show mouse trails yes/no
"Trap Errors" - Trap errors and display them in a window (yes/no)
"Hide Warnings" - Don't display Mame warnings (yes/no)
"Quick Start" - ArcadeOS doesn't search for any new games at startup (yes/no)
"Auto Disable" - Automatically mark non-working games as disabled (yes/no)
"Auto Rotate" - Automatically rotate vertical games (0-2)
"S.S. dir: Move" - directory to use for pictures when moving through the list
"S.S. dir: Run" - directory to use for pictures when game run
"S.S. dir: Info" - directory to use for pictures for game info
"Show 'Run' dlg" - display 'Running' dialog when loading up a game
"Easy Center" - Automatically pass on ArcadeOS's screen centering to MAME (yes/n
o)
"Font Shadow" - strength of font's shadow (0-2)
"Explode Window" - Windows explode [or just appear] (yes/no)
"Forecolour" - Forecolour of ArcadeOS (0-15)
"Extra Colour" - Colour of window captions etc (0-15)
"Cursor Colour" - Selection cursor colour (0-15)
"Clone Colour" - Colour of clones from Merged ROM sets (0-15)
"Disable Colour" - Colour of games marked disabled (0-15)
"Saver Time" - Time in seconds before screen saver starts (set to 0 for no scree
n saver)
"Saver Type" - Type of screen saver

Sidewinder Support
------------------
ArcadeOS can now be controlled entirely from a MS Sidewinder.

Direction Pad - scroll/page through games

A - Change rotation of game / decrease value of option in sub menu
B - Change games displayed / inrease value of option in sub menu
C - Change rotation of display / set default value of option in sub menu

X - Play Random Game

Y - Move Game to custom list
Z - Online Help

Left Trigger - Show Game Info

Right Trigger - Open/Close sub menus

Start - Start a game/make a selection in sub menu

M - Change emulators

Spinner Support
---------------
ArcadeOS now supports Spinners connected to the PC as
the X-Axis of a mouse.

Screen Shots
------------
To make screen shots for use as backdrops in ArcadeOS,
run the desired game in MAME and press F12.
(F9 in Callus, S in System16)

If you wish to put screen shot support into other emus (such as RAINE)
you need to do the following....

.Create/download screenshots of the games you have

.rename each of the screenshots to be :-
<rom set filename>.pcx
(or, if you're using .png files)
<rom set filename>.png
.Edit the .app file and set
screenshots =1

Merged Roms Support

-------------------
If you are using merged roms, set
'Merged ROMs' to 'yes' from the ArcadeOS config menu
or set

mergedroms=1

in ArcadeOS.CFG
Notes on Merged ROMS:
If you are not using all merged ROMs and you set this flag to 1,
a game maybe listed which you do not actually have the romset for.

Using Alternative Screen Shots

-------------------------------
As of 2.23, ArcadeOS supports the MAME32 'Flyers' and 'Cabinets' directories
you need to have the correct entries in MAME.CFG i.e.

flyers = flyers
cabinets = cabinets

(or any directory you wish)

You can then specify to use one of the alternative directories

.When the cursor is moved
.When a game is run
.When game info is displayed

This way, you can see screen shots of the game when scrolling through
the list, then a flyer when it's being launched.
Or - you can create your own PCX files with game instructions etc.

Screen shot files should take the form

<short game name>.PCX
or
<short game name>.PNG

Trouble Shooting
----------------
()If you run ArcadeOS and it list 0 games, check the following:-
i. ArcadeOS.CFG contains the correct directory and exe name for
mame i.e. mamepath=c:\mame mameexe=mame.exe infoexe=mame.exe
('infoexe' is the exe used to get the list of valid game names)
ii. MAME.CFG exists and contains an entry 'rompath' - this is
what ArcadeOS uses to find your games
iii. Make sure you're using DOS MAME

Features
--------
As far as I'm aware, it is the only frontend which
can be orientated vertically and the only frontend
which can output video compatible with an arcade monitor.

ArcadeOS:
.Runs horizontally or vertically
.Has 5 types of video output
1)Standard VGA 320x200
2)Standard VGA 320x200 with scanlines
3)Standard SVGA 640x480
4)Arcade monitor/NTSC TV compatible 320x200
5)PAL TV compatible 320x200

.6000 games per emulator

.7 custom lists per emulator
.Supports Merged ROMs
.Allows you to verify a Games ROMS/Samples
.Displays game screenshots as backdrops
.Supports 2 or 4 button joysticks/pads
.Supports mouse
either as a standard 'windows' style mouse, or as a trackball, or as a spinner
.Supports Sidewinder
.Supports PSX Pads
.Has online help
.Supports zip files
.Is configurable to support most emulators
.Has built in screen savers
.Uses a DOS based 'GUI'
.Allows all keys to be user defined
General
-------
ArcadeOS.EXE is supplied as freeware,
you are free (and encouraged) to copy
and distribute it for any non-commercial purpose

Credit for the name "ArcadeOS" goes to Colm Cox.

ArcadeOS can either be used as a normal DOS frontend for

arcade/console emulators, or as a front end for a PC running
in an arcade cabinet

It was written as part of the

PC2JAMMA Project

which can be found at

http://www.mameworld.net/pc2jamma

The site shows you how to put PCs and various

video game consoles into any JAMMA Arcade Cabinet without
making alterations to the cabinet.

ArcadeOS is mainly designed for use with MAME,

but it uses config files which define
the emulators/apps it frontends

ArcadeOS currently supports:-

MAME
CALLUS
SYSTEM16
RAINE
RAGE

BRSMS
ColEM
GENECYST
KGen98
Magic Engine
MGX
NESTICLE
ROCKNES
SP
Z26
ZSNES

See files

EXTRA.DOC

for details on getting ArcadeOS

to Frontend other emulators
(in ARCEXTRA.ZIP)

and
CONSOLES.DOC
(in CONSOLES.ZIP)

Usage
-----
Simply unzip ARCADEOS.ZIP to your hardisk
To setup ArcadeOS with MAME's directory use:

arcadeos -mamepath <path>

i.e.
arcadeos -mamepath d:\mame

NOTE:you only have to do this once - after ArcadeOS knows your MAME
directory you can start it with just 'arcadeos'
Also, if you've got MAME in c:\mame\mame.exe , ArcadeOS should pretty
well run 'out of the box'.

If you wish to use other emulators as well as MAME

copy/unzip all files from ARCEXTRA.ZIP (and/or CONSOLES.ZIP)
to ArcadeOS' directory and set the correct paths in each .APP file for
each emulator (see EXTRA.DOC)

Keys
----
Arrow Keys/Joypad/Joystick - move highlight cursor
(right/left act as page up/down)
1/1 Player Start - Run highlighted game
5/Coin 1 - Display game info/screen shot
Ctrl/Button1 P1 - Change orientation of selected game (MAME only)
Alt/Button2 P1 - Change which games are displayed on the ArcadeOS.
Cycles through All,Normal,Rotated (MAME only)
Space/Button3 P1 - Change orientation of ArcadeOS (MAME only)
A/Button1 P2 - Run Random game
S/Button2 P2 - Set game's custom list
Q/Button3 P2 - Help
6 - Cycle through available emulators
L - Locks ArcadeOS, so only game select,launch and
info functions are available
2/2 Player Start - Displays Control Menu
From this menu you can select AracdeOS' other features

7 - Cycle through custom lists

Escape - Exit ArcadeOS

NOTE:All keys within ArcadeOS can be redefined,
see 'scancodes' option in config file (ArcadeOS.CFG)

Operation
---------
If the video output is selected to be
to an arcade monitor, ArcadeOS.EXE will beep 3
times when it has set the video mode to a
safe scanrate/resolution, you
can now turn on your arcade cabinet and play some games.

NOTE: If you set 'printhardware=1' in ArcadeOS.CFG,

ArcadeOS won't beep when it has set the correct resolution.
It will just send a byte to the printer port to operate extra hardware
to turn your cabinet or monitor on and off.
See the PC2JAMMA project for full details on building this hardware

If the video output is to a normal VGA monitor (default)

ArcadeOS will simply startup.

Once running, you highlight the game

you wish to play with the cursor keys (or a joypad/stick or mouse)
and press 1 (or 1 player start) to play it (or double click)

The bottom line of text on the screen

will show something like

112 of 172 (Rot'd) 59.98 MAME

Which means you're looking at rotated MAME games,

of which there are 172 and the last one lauched
ran at 59.98 frames per second.

NOTE: the FPS readout will not be displayed unless

redirectmame=1

is set in ArcadeOS.CFG

(The FPS is only displayed for MAME)

Game Orientation (MAME)

-----------------------
Each game found by ArcadeOS.EXE will be displayed on
the screen like this

Pac Man -H
The name of the game will be in white or grey,
white indicates that a ROM of that name was found,
grey indicates a 'clone' from a merged ROM set

The -H indicates the orientation at which the game will run,

these values are cycled through by pressing Ctrl/Button1
and have the following meanings

-H = Game runs Horizontally, no orientation options passed to MAME

-R = Rotated right 90 degrees
-L = Rotated left 90 degrees
-X = No Rotation
(i.e. game runs as intented, does not always have an effect)
-D = Disabled

The H/R/L/X/D character will either be white or yellow.

Yellow indicates that this game has some unique config
items defined for it -
White indicates that the game will use the default config
values

NOTE:Rotation can only be changed/set for MAME games,

all other emulators are always run horizontally
Control Menu
------------
From this menu you can select ArcadeOS' other features/menus.
Simply highlight the function and press player 1 start.
NOTE:Game info will display information and a screen shot of the game
(if one is found).
To make your own screen shots, just run the game
and hit F12 (MAME only)

Config Menu
-----------
This allows you to change some config items.
These items can be user defined, see EXTRA.DOC for more info

When in the menu

select the item you wish to edit with the cursor,
Ctrl/Button1 - decreases its value
Alt/Button2 - increases its value
Space/Button3 - sets all values to default

2/2 Player Start - Exit to Control Menu

These settings affect the currently selected game

File Menu
---------
this allows you to place a disk in Dirve A: and :-
(1)Copy/Unzip zipped ROMS to your hard disk
(2)Unzip a new version of <emulator>
(3)Run a user created batch file called UPDATE.BAT

(1)If a 'zip rom' path is specified in the emulator's config file

ArcadeOS.EXE will copy the new ROM zip files to this location.
If not it will copy them to the 'roms' directory.
If a 'roms' directory is not specified in the emulator's config file,
it will copy them to the emulators directory.
If zip files are not supported by the emulator, the files will
be unzipped into a directory of the same name as the zip file.
Hanging off either the 'roms' directory or the emulator's directory

Each zip file found is displayed and the cursor position

indicates copy progress

(2)If the file <emulator>.ZIP is found on drive A:,

it will be unzipped into the emulator's current directory

(3)If the file UPDATE.BAT is found on the A: drive ,it will be run.

Files
-----
System files:
ArcadeOS.EXE - the executable
PWRAP.EXE - Protected mode wrapper to allow keyboard remapper to work
with DOS extenders
ArcadeOS.DOC - this file
ArcadeOS.CFG - Config file for ArcadeOS.EXE
<emuname>.RMS - Created after ArcadeOS.EXE is run,
saves config items for game roms
MAME.DAT - Data for configurable MAME items
NEOGEO.LST - List of NeoGeo games (automatically updated)
MAME.LST - List of MAME games (automatically updated)
CLONE.LST - List of MAME clones (automatically updated)
MAMEINFO.LST - List of info about MAME games (automatically updated)
CHART.PCX - Test Pattern (by Stephen Field)

Backdrops:
AOS.PCX - AOS Backrop
ArcadeOS logotype & background art designed by
Rogerio Campos de Souza (R.Coltrane)
E-mail: RCS1234@Hotmail.com or RCS123@base.com.br
Help File:
ArcadeOS.HLP - Help file
Joysticks/pads
--------------
ArcadeOS supports:

2,4,6,8 button joysticks/pads

Sidewinders
PSX Pads
Gamepad Pros

ArcadeOS.CFG
------------
ArcadeOS's configuration file,
all entries are fully commented within the file

Backdrops
---------
You can put in your own backdrops for ArcadeOS,
they must be monochrome , 16 or 256 colour PCX or PNG files

Connecting your PC to an arcade monitor

------------------------------------------------
No additional hardware is required to connect
the video output of ArcadeOS to a standard res arcade monitor.
Simply connect the appropriate VGA output
to the correct input on your arcade monitor,
and set

incabinet=1 (320x200 256 colours Arcade Monitor Mode)

in ArcadeOS.CFG
See the PC2JAMMA project

http://mameworld.retrogames.com/pc2jamma

for full details on connecting PC's and video game consoles to

arcade monitors

Screen Centering
----------------
To center ArcadeOS's screen on your arcade monitor, simply choose
'Center Screen' from the control menu and use left/right to adjust the screen.
If 'Easy Center' is set to yes in ArcadeOS's config menu, this value will
automatically be passed on to MAME.
If it is not - you can set screen centering for all or individual games
by altering the 'centerx' value from ArcadeOS's Game/Default config menus

What ArcadeOS Does to the VGA card

----------------------------------
For emulators other than MAME, ArcadeOS does the following....

1)Hooks into BIOS and traps all VGA mode changes

2)If a mode change other than 320x200 256 colours is requested

the request is rejected

3)If a mode change for 320x200 256 colours is requested, ArcadeOS

alters the VGA timing registers to allow the mode to be displayed
on a standard arcade monitor

4)If a ModeX mode has been selected (through the use of .app files)
that mode is setup as an arcade monitor mode

4)Replaces existing VESA BIOS, this is because certain emulators

(like System 16) still use VESA extensions
even when an existing standard VGA mode exists.
Contributors
------------
The following people have contributed to ArcadeOS:-
(in alaphabetical order)

Eric Anschuetz
Rogerio Campos de Souza (R.Coltrane)
Stephen Field
Marisa Gaincarla
n2locarz
Richard Jones
Danny Rego

ArcadeOS logotype & background art designed by

Rogerio Campos de Souza (R.Coltrane)
E-mail: RCS1234@Hotmail.com or RCS123@base.com.br

Credits
-------
Sidewinder routines based on Neil Bradley's Sidewinder code
3D code based on Robert C. Pendleton's 3D texture mapper
Sound support is implemented using Carlos Hasan's SEAL sound library

ArcadeOS contains some MAME source code

A huge thankyou to anybody who ever sat down and wrote an emulator,
without them - all this would be a bit academic.....

Beta Testers
------------
(in alphabetical order):
eric c day
H. Ronson
Nick Bourdo
Richard
Ron
Stefano (jimi)

Final Notes
-----------
The first time you run ArcadeOS it is advisiable
to have it connected to a normal PC monitor
with

incabinet=0
set in ArcadeOS.CFG,

and redirection turned off

(redirectmame=0
in ArcadeOS.CFG and
redirect=0
in the .APP file(s))

(if you got this far - well done)

Brian Lewis 2001

++++++++++++++++