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File name:      InfoNES_dlanor_rev.txt          Revision Date:  2006.04.11
Created by:     Ronald Andersson (AKA: dlanor)  Creation Date:  2006.02.05
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Note that I did NOT create the original sources of InfoNES, neither in its
original form nor for the PS2 port. All I've done here is to modify source
that others created (For the PS2 port that was done mainly by '7not6'.
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This document describes the changes in my revisions of InfoNES for PS2:
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Revision synopsis (reversed order):
Rev.4  => Added pad Triangle reponse like 'Return' and 'BROWSE' entries
          (Use it to exit from ROM folders or switch between MC/CDROM)
          Moved 'Return' entry from end of ROM list to its start instead
          Improved fast scroll (D-pad Left/Right now repeats faster)
          Fixed a bug that caused duplicate ROM entries for CD listings
          Fixed a bug that caused overly long ROM listings to be trashed
Rev.3  => Added auto_ROM CNF variable, to start a ROM automagically
          Restructured the release package to include full source code
          Added PS2NES folder with icon setup suitable for use on MC
Rev.2  => Added ability to exit from emu to user defined console manager.
Rev.1  => Major overhaul of emu configuration and user interface.
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NES Button Assignments defined in rev.1:

NES_START      PS2_Triangle \
NES_SELECT     PS2_Square    \/ This makes the relative placement of the
NES_A          PS2_Circle    /\ buttons correspond closely to a real NES
NES_B          PS2_Cross    /

Turbo_START    PS2_R2 \
Turbo_SELECT   PS2_L2  \/ These changes completely replace the old code
Turbo_A        PS2_R1  /\ for turbo buttons, which simply didn't work.
Turbo_B        PS2_L1 /

NES_DPAD       PS2_DPAD and PS2_LeftStick (Stick overrides)


Special Button Assignment valid while playing:

PS2_Start       => Enter submenu for special commands


Special Button Assignments valid only in submenu:

PS2_SELECT+PS2_DPAD     Center screen
PS2_L3                  Toggle 'clipping' effect for top/bottom cleanup

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Other changes:

All GUI text has been translated to english.

Submenu now includes commands to "Save CNF" and "Load CNF", and these do
work properly. Naturally the CNF will also be loaded on startup if found.
The place for that CNF remains "mc0:/PS2NES/", but the format of the CNF
has been changed, so that each line in it contains a variable definition,
consisting of a variable name, an equals sign ('=') and a value string.
This is to simplify human editing of the CNF file.

The CNF variables, and their default values are:
    "dispx    = 75"
    "dispy    = 40"
    "stretch  = 1"
    "filter   = 1"
    "cliph    = 0"
    "sound    = 1"
    "boot_ELF = mc0:/BOOT/BOOT.ELF"
    "auto_ROM = "

The "auto_ROM" variable is used to select a ROM that will automatically be
started whenever you start the emulator. You can still go back to the main
menu and choose another ROM instead, so this is just a quick-start option.
The value specified should be the full pathname of the ROM file to be used.
For example, I currently use this line in my INFONES.CNF:
auto_ROM = mc0:/PS2NES/FF3.zip

The "boot_ELF" variable is used for a new menu command that will exit from
the emulator and start up another ELF file instead. The default path is
that most commonly used for Dev.1 booting by several mod-chips, but you can
choose any other path by editing the file on a PC. But please, don't forget
that this is still running on a PS2, with no real OS. If you enter a path
for which there are no drivers available at runtime, then access WILL fail.

Recommended use of this feature is to exit from the emulator to a homebrew
console manager of some sort, whichever you prefer. I use LaunchELF myself,
so that is what I've used in most of my tests. Hopefully your favourites
also work equally well this way.

Paths that would work (normal use depends on region and mod-chip):
mc0:/BOOT/BOOT.ELF
mc0:/MATRIXTEAM/MANAGER.ELF
mc0:/BADATA-SYSTEM/BOOT.ELF
mc0:/BEDATA-SYSTEM/BOOT.ELF
mc0:/BIDATA-SYSTEM/BOOT.ELF
rom0:OSDSYS  (This last one simply reboots the console.)

Any other paths you may have on either mc0 or mc1 should also work, but use
of any other device type depends on whether that type has valid drivers or
not (left active by launcher). Many devices will not work well with just an
IRX driver anyway, so such usage is NOT recommended (do it on your own risk).

Submenu also has three new commands that do NOT work yet. That is not
a 'bug', but simply means that I haven't started to implement them yet.
Those non-functional commands are:
"Save State to mc0:"
"Step State Index"
"Load State of mc0:"
Until I implement them, they can do nothing, so don't waste time trying.

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Changes as yet NOT implemented:

Save state operations are planned but not yet started.

Creation of the save folder 'mc0:/PS2NES/' should also create a proper
icon set to make the save valid to the official PS2 Browser. That will
be done in a future revision. For the present you can always copy the
icon.sys and icon files from some other save to this folder, to make
the browser accept it as valid

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Important hint for use with HDLoader or USBExtreme:

When used with those programs this InfoNES version will not be able to
browse real CDROM discs for NES ROMs. Instead it will browse the CD image
you installed on the HDD/USB device. So when you are using the ROM browser
and see texts like "Browse CD" (in the MC browser), or the one that comes
when you choose "Browse CD", saying "Browse CDROM: - Push Start -", there
is no need to start digging for any ROM collection CD. (Which is what you
would do if running the emulator normally.) Instead you just push 'Start'
directly, and then the browser will show the contents of the installed CD.

Also, if you have the emulator installed this way, and want to play some
ROMs that are not on the installed image, simply copy those ROMs into the
save folder "mc0:/PS2NES/" (using LaunchELF or similar). Then you can use
the ROM browser of InfoNES to start those ROMs from the MC.

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Important reminder for saved games:

If you are playing a game that saves to the NES 'battery RAM', make
sure that you never turn off the PS2 while the game screen is showing.

You need to make sure that the 'battery RAM' of the emulator is also
transferred to a separate srm file in the save folder 'mc0:/PS2NES/'
so that the correct saves can be restored the next time you play the
same game. This is NOT done at the time when you save game as part of
the gameplay (like when sleeping at an inn of Final Fantasy games).
That only saves to the internal RAM of the emulator.

The only time when such saves are transferred to mc0 is when you break
off playing by using the submenu command "Back to the main menu". This
takes you back to the ROM browser where you originally started the game.
When you see that browser appear on screen, your saves are saved to the
memory card, so you can then turn off the PS2 without 'losing place' in
the NES game.
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End of file:    dlanor_rev.txt
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