That reminds me of a story.
After that last one, I thought you might all enjoy a short follow up.
After Al, Chuck, Leo, returned to their other lives back in the world, they kept getting requests from various Agencies and Bureaus for more mine closure data, mostly focusing upon lines of documentation. The various Bureaus desired monographs, road guides, technical reports, and most importantly, detailed step-by-step “How To” manuals.
My guys, now my fully credentialed doctored colleagues, were predictably reticent to write up “How To” manuals for something that was obviously not of their authorship nor inception.
“Fuckin’-A, Rock,” Leo tells me in a phone call, “They want me to fuckin’ basically claim-jump you writing up mine closing procedures. What’s with these goatfuckers? They figured they paid you enough and are now trying to run a goddamned end around? Collective shitheels. No fucking way I’d even think of crossing, even accidently, the Motherfuckin’ Pro from Dover.”
I replied that I had no idea, as after the initial contacts after the field season, I had heard precisely dick from any of the bureaus. Which is fine, as I’m busier than a one-armed paperhanger in a windstorm getting ready to shift the family some 12,700 kilometers east.
I thanked Leo for the intel and told him not to worry, it’s just bureaucracy misfiring at its finest.
“Fuckin’-A, Bubba,” replies Leo as he hangs up.
It suddenly goes all dusty in my office. “I’ve trained that boy well,” I sniff and chuckle heartily.
A short while later, Al wrote me that he’s been contacted by the Bureau/Agency and they are desirous that he lead a field trip with a gaggle of professors from various universities. They are also not all geologists, but Environmental Scientists, Hydrologists, something called an “Environmental Engineer,” and other forms of societal detritus.
He tells me that they wanted him to lead a group of these characters out into the desert for a couple of weeks and show them the mine closure procedures which he developed.
He was most adamant in assuring me that they contacted him, and that the terminology was also theirs. He was already otherwise engaged, so he naturally had to decline. However, he made it abundantly clear that he would never even entertain such a notion like the one they had posited.
I wrote him back, as he was down in Patagonia doing something more or less interesting and/or exciting, thanking him for the information and wishing him well on his expedition. Since he was in the field, I also included a couple of the recipes we enjoyed back in the Nevada desert.
He later tells me that the Gauchos he was working with down there have never heard of Pineapple Upside Down Cake and they absolutely were delighted by it. Come to find out, they also like potato juice and citrus drinks as well.
“Good ol’ Dr. Good-deed. Aide to all men.” I pondered.
I talked with Esme about all this and she was of the opinion that either they knew I was headed east or they wanted me to have some time off. I had been doing a lot of ad hoc work for both Agencies and Bureaus over the last few years.
“Of course,” I replied, “Never ascribe to malice what can best be defined by governmental bureaucracy and officiousness.”
So, time puttered on.
We were holding weekly ‘GROJ (Get Rid Of Junk) sales’ on our weekends. Since everything electrical we possessed was 120 VAC, and the rest of the world, it seems, is 220 VAC, I had to part with all my antiquated electronics. My Fisher Studio-Standard stereo system, Akai reel-to-reel 16-track tape machines, EMI TG12345 MK IV recording console, and Harmon-Kardon turntables and amplifiers.
It was painful. However, I rationalized, if I were to stick them in storage for a decade or two, I’d have re-paid for them via rental fees a couple or three times over. Plus, and all that sitting unused in a storage locker certainly wouldn’t be good for these vintage electronical gizmos.
Still, it was a painful time to pack them into the back of someone else’s vehicle.
I had to take all my firearms to my Brother-in-Law for safekeeping. Since he’s in Kentucky, he was both happy to accept and vowed to give them regular workouts. Even though he’s some form or another of mechanical engineer, I guess I could trust him.
One day, the home phone rings. It’s Chuck and he’s livid.
“Rock!” he hollers, “You know what those chapped bastards at the Bureau want from me? They want me to step in on your turf, and take a clan of idiot pseudo-geologists out in the field for a couple of weeks and train them in mine closing. Can you fucking believe that?”
“Chuck,,” I say, “Whoa. Cool down. Leo and Al report the same, so it just looks like you were next on the list. So, going to take them up on their offer?”
“Don’t make me laugh, Doc!” Chuck asks, “First: I’m busy. Second: I wouldn’t have the foggiest idea how to handle logistics, camping, explosives, and all that other bureaucratic horseshit you somehow put up with. Third: I really don’t want a midnight visit from you and your bag of tricks because I’ve pissed you off by taking credit for what’s rightfully yours.”
“What is the fucking deal?” I ask Chuck, “I’m not like that at all. Everyone thinks I’m going go out and frag them because the Bureau asks them to do a job I did previously. Damn, I’m the most laid-back, gregarious, and even-tempered person on the planet; and I’ll mutilate the miserable manky motherfucker that says I’m not.”
Chuck laughs nervously.
“Hyperbole aside,” I continue, “It’s just that they know I’m headed out to the Middle East and don’t want to bother me right now; I suppose.”
“Umm, Rock,” Chuck clears his thought, and gulps, “That’s not the reason they told me.”
“Is that a fact?” I ask, “What did they give as a reason?”
“Now, Rock, don’t take this wrong. This is Bureau-speak, not me,” Chuck wants to make the point vodka-clear, “But they felt you were the wrong person to lead this group of ‘scholars’. They were concerned with your…”
Hesitation.
“Spill it, Chuck,” I say.
“Demeanor,” Chuck says, “Your conduct, your deportment, your behavior…”
“I see someone got a Thesaurus for Christmas,” I said.
“Rock, that’s them, not me,” Chuck continues, “They said you are too ‘wild and wooly’ to conduct this field expedition of ‘noted scholars’.”
“Is that a fact?” I ask, rhetorically.
“Just reporting to you what they told me, Bossman.” Chuck offers.
“I appreciate it, Chuck. Thanks.” I reply, “Don’t sweat it. I’ll take it from here.”
You could hear an audible expression of relief when we broke connection.
After a couple of cocktails, I had simmered down a bit. Esme says that I need to call my Agency buddies and get the lowdown on the situation, as they’ll know what’s going on.
For once, Esme is also very, very pissed off about the whole situation. Mama Bear’s claws were getting sharpened.
“You are gone for months,” Es exclaims, “Train a bunch of greenhorns, exceed project requirements by over 200%, supply crucial scientific data on forensic activities, and take out a disaster they didn’t even know existed in that mine with the locker full of explosives!”
“Yeah,” I reply, “Does seem a wee bit unappreciative.”
“And then they pull this kind of shit!,” Es yells further, “Those ungrateful bastards. Fuck ‘em. Let them stew in their own futility. They call and you tell them to get stuffed. After all you did for them…”
“Now, now, Dearest,” say, “Let me call Rack and Ruin. If anyone has the skinny on all this, they’ll have all the latest dope.”
“Bastards!,” Es cries, “You damn near get killed several times over and this is their thanks?”
“Yeah, I know, Darling,” I say, “Does seems a bit ungrateful and duplicitous.”
Esme hands me the phone.
“Phone. Call. Now.” She orders.
Looks like I just got my marchin’ orders.
“Yes, my love,” I reply. Even I know when I’m out-matched.
RING RING RING
Agent Rack answers and we go through the usual pleasantries…
“What the flying fuck you mean ‘I’m too dangerous’?” I question Agent Rack.
“Well, Doctor,” Rack tries to explain, “Your ‘cavalier’ attitude towards explosives. More of your ‘relationship’ with them. Not showing the proper deference…”
“WHAT?,” I roar, “Ask anyone that has worked with me in the field! ‘Safety first, last, and foremost’. Just that I don’t fret and quail around explosives like a bunch of phonophobic, jumped-up, wet-pantied shuddering schoolgirls, when I have to demolish something, doesn’t mean I’m anything other than a goddamned consummate professional.”
“Plus, Doctor, ” Rack continues, “It’s not the 1880’s any longer. A Stetson? A sidearm? A .454 Casull Magnum at that…”
“You have got to be yanking my crank here, Rack.” I angrily reply, as I really hate it when someone calls me Doctor like that, “The hat keeps the sun off my head so I don’t get addled like those fuckers you’re talking with at the Bureau. The sidearm is for safety. Oh, yes; there’s that word again. It’s a fucking tool, just like my Estwing hammers or my galvanometer.”
“Can’t kill anyone with a galvanometer,” Rack replies.
“But I could with a hammer, myriad ways” I reply, “And give me five minutes, I’d figure out a way to ‘extract’ someone with a galvanometer...”
“Doctor, do let me let you talk with Agent Ruin; I’m needed elsewhere,,” he tells me.
Agent Ruin takes the phone. It’s the old Agency Two-Step.
“Doctor is distraught,” he observes.
“No, ‘Doctor’ is just plain damned mad.” I reply, “They contract me for a job that has never been attempted before and I complete it beyond their wildest expectations! This is my recompense?”
“Well, Doctor,” Ruin continues, “I’m sure it’s strictly a business decision. It’s obviously nothing personal.”
“It sure as fuck sounds personal,” I gripe back, as now I’ve gone from annoyed to genuinely pissed off, “I’m surprised they didn’t say something derogatory about my Hawaiian shirts.”
“Oh, they did,” Agent Ruin lets slip.
“Oh? OK, Fine. That’s is then,” I reply, “The joyfulness of this whole experience has left the building. Tell them to strike me from their fucking list. I’m done with them. I wash my hands of them. I’m off east anyways. Fuck that bunch of paper-pushing, deskbound, pencil-necked dickheads. Fuck them. Fuck them solid. Fuck them ‘till they bleed.”
“Strong message to follow,” I add.
“Doctor,” Agent Ruin reminds me, “Do I need to remind you that all our conversations are recorded?”
“Oh, fuck no. I know that. So fucking what?” I growl, “Like I’m going to get tossed in Guantanamo for expressing a personal opinion? I can still do that in this fine country. Or has the First Amendment been repealed in my absence?”
“Doctor, you’re obviously agitated,’ Ruin adds, “Perhaps we’ll talk again later when you’ve calmed down before you head to the Middle East.”
“Yeah, about that,” I reply, “You shady characters can cross me off your fucking list as well. You’ve done nothing for me on this latest concern. Nothing! You couldn’t even give me the courtesy of a motherfucking heads-up. Guess that tells me all I need to know about the future of our relationship. Goodbye, Agent Ruin. Give Agent Rack my ‘Da Svidonya. I won’t be answering your calls any longer.
“Doctor, I, um, wait…”Agent Ruin sputters.
I continue: “And as long as I’m at it, tell that other Bureau to go hang as well. They want more data or shit from me, tell them to go find it elsewhere. And also tell them good luck with that. The three experts that exist in the world apart from me already told them to get bent. At least they possess loyalty and a dollop of comradeship. I’ll be shipping your phone and other items back via parcel post. Hasta la vista, Herr Ruin. Have a day.”
CLICK-KER -FUCKING-SMASH! I hang up in the rudest way possible.
“Clapped-out assholes,” I muse. “All those years of working together. All those years of building relationships around the world. It’s all kyboshed over a fucking Hawaiian shirt. I guess it was inevitable. Either I became too specialized or evolved myself out of being useful to them. Ah, well, their loss. Can’t be helped…”
I take a healthy swig right from the prime vodka bottle. OK, several.
“FUCKERS!” I scream at the wood-paneled ceiling, shaking my fist in vehement rage at the clouds coolly cruising by outside my window.
Esme doesn’t come running. She doesn’t have to. She knows the score.
I ship the Agency’s toys back to them with a terse note: “Thanks for all the nothing. Here’s your shit back. Dr. Rocknocker. PS: Get stuffed.”
Not my best effort, I’ll agree. However, I was really pissed at that point.
Now I have the time to devote solely to relocating my family and I overseas. Gad, there’s so much crap one must go through. What to sell, what goes in storage, what to trash, what to give away…the lists are endless.
First to go are all my power tools. Fuckbuckets. It took me decades to amass that collection. I got a good price, sure, but now I’m more or less without a hobby. We decide to put all Esme’s lapidary equipment in storage. It’s too specialized to generate much interest, much less a decent price. Besides, they won’t rot in our absence.
I can ship my fishing gear and golf clubs overseas. They’re American, but at least not 120 VAC.
Our house goes on the market and we have to get it spiffed to within an inch of its life. Got to have that ‘curb appeal’. Good, let someone else do it, I’m busy. More unexpected expense.
I give our house contractors out in New Mexico their marching orders. It’s going slow and will be a seasonal thing, but they guarantee me the house will be ready by next summer if they can source the slabs of Baraboo Quartzite I want. Splendid, that’s something I don’t have to follow up on every day.
Then there’s our aquarium. 250 gallons of treated Houston water, loaded with native Texan fish and a couple of cranky Jack Dempseys. All the gear, filters, pumps, water polishers, heaters, treaters, all of it. Has to go.
My ex-Utah Mormon drinking buddy down the road expresses interest. I basically let him have it gratis on the one condition he takes everything, fish included. He has to keep the fish alive and happy their entire lives. I’ve raised some from minnows and have grown attached to a couple of the gaspergou and a certain smallmouth bass with those big brown eyes…
Digger, my stalwart mechanic, is going to purchase my truck. It’s a bittersweet parting, but at least I know it’ll have a great home. Digger is going to use it as both his personal truck and his company’s hot-shot vehicle for pick-up and delivery of everything from batteries to full drivetrains. I know the vehicle will be in good hands.
Our Land Rover is up for grabs. Few are interested, though; buyer’s market. It’s a couple of years old and has lots of miles, due to Houston being so stupid-big. I order an extra-large bottle of AstroGlide as I know I’m going to be taking it up the ass on this one…
Finally, our pets.
Reluctantly, I’ve agreed to take the cat. It’s a stupid little feline that I figure we can just toss in a suitcase and drag it with us overseas. No, I guess we’ll get a cat-carrier and figure it out with the airlines.
Then there’s Lady. 135 kilos of dopey puppy. She’s getting up in years, as well, especially for a giant breed. Luckily, overseas we’ll be living on a Western compound. So if we go through all the rigmarole of quarantine, getting her a ‘pet passport’, and shipping via a specialist service, Lady can bark at the tenets of pre-Islam (dogs really aren’t haram), and actually join us in our new home.
This is going to cost a fortune, but I don’t care. She’s an integral part of the family, she is going to join us.
I find a Pet Relocation Service and begin the masses of insane paperwork. It’s an ‘all-in’ service, basically door-to-door. But do not be deluded, they charge every micrometer of the way.
Vaccinations, chipping (she already was fitted with an RFID chip), booking, boarding, securing vet services, obtaining health certificates, securing import permits, dealing with all issues related to customs clearance, interacting with foreign agents, supplying IATA approved crates, and obtaining Municipality tags registration for new arrivals.
Gonna cost me a couple-three-four kilobucks. Worth every penny.
Esme, the kids and I are working on beginning packing, tossing this, wrapping that, sentimentalizing over the other thing when we get a ring at the door.
It’s a bonded courier. He has a package for me.
It’s of the size that would contain about 6-months’ worth of Playboy magazines, and has no external address. I sign for the thing and walk back to the kitchen.
“What you got there, Rock?” Es asks.
“Not sure,” I reply, “But it came via bonded courier.”
“Well, open it,” Es smiles. She loves surprises.
I do so and it’s a series of articles, re-prints, and other information regarding Nevada, mine closures, and the Mine Closure Act. There’s also a number of newspaper and magazine clippings that had been photo-copied into a dozen-page document. All of them, write-ups and reviews from different newspapers, house organs, and journals citing my work with the guys out in the field.
I open it further and there’s a personal note from Dr. Sam Muleshoe, and a certified check, made out in my name.
Seems I was correct. After exhausting their leads with Al, Leo, and Chuck, they have spent near a month trying to find someone to take over the project. “To fill my shoes,” as Dr. Sam Muleshoe notes.
They came up totally empty.
“Told ya’ so.” I gloated. Esme smiles a wide schadenfreude-fueled smile.
I look at the check. It’s plenty healthy, but not superhero strength.
I show Es and she laughs out loud.
“So,” Es whoops, “They think they can get back in your good graces by buying you off? Hah! Fat chance,” she says and regards the check, “Hell. They’re not even close.”
I agree with Esme passionately.
I write a quick, hand-scribbled note to Dr. Muleshoe, thanking him for the information. I give several options, some admittedly anatomically impossible, regarding what he can do with the check and the Bureau’s offer.
I wrap it back up with duct-tape, call the courier service, and return it to Reno, COD.
A couple of days later, I receive a phone call. Surprise, surprise, it’s from Reno.
“Rock, it’s Reno!,” Es tells me.
I shake my head “no!” slicing my hand through the air in the head-chop mime.
“Tell him I’ve gone bush in darkest Outer Albania and you have no idea when I’ll be back,” I say.
Esme looks a bit sheepish, as we can hear the phone remark: “I can hear you, you know.”
“Fuckbuckets,” I think, “OK, hand me the rap-rod.”
“Yeah?” I growl, very grizzly-like into the infernal communication device.
“Hello, Rock. This is Sam Muleshoe,” the phone reports.
“Damn,” I exclaim, “I guess you characters can’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Which word fucking confused you?”
“Rock, what’s the god damned deal?,” Sam asks innocently, “Why all the bloody hostility?”
“Oh, double-fuck me!” I say metaphorically, “Don’t act like you don’t know. Try and snake the latest field mine closing job out from under me and try to snag my guys. Then, when that fails, give some sort of bullshit report to Rack and Ruin. You think I’m ‘too cavalier’, too “wild and wooly’, and think I’m some goddamned 19th-century throwback that loves horrible Hawaiian shirts…”
“Doc?,” Sam asks, “Are you currently fucking drunk? What the actual fuck are you rabbeting on about?”
“Sam, I’m stone-cold fucking sober,” I reply, “Yeah. I know, that’s a first. But listen here Scooter. You must have balls of brass trying to sweet-talk me into running another field course after all you did…”
“Rock,” Sam pleads, “Please, believe me, I have no idea what you’re on about. Can we talk and maybe figure this thing out?”
“No!,” I holler, “I’m done talking with the likes of your Bureau. Nothing you can do or say to rebuild the bridges they’ve burned with me.”
“OK,” he says, “Doct…, err, Rock, buddy. Calm your tits. Give me the Reader’s Digest version. I’ll look into it, because I have absolutely no idea what this is all about. This really sounds serious, with fuck-up overtones. Trust me, I’m serious as the last cold can of beer on a field trip.”
“Marvelous.” I say, “I guess I owe you that much. Professional courtesy. At least one of us has the grit to employ some.”
So, I run through the tale of the travails of Al, Chuck, and Leo. Then my little difference of opinion with Agents Rack, Ruin, and the Agency. Plus my severing of ties with both that Agency out on the east coast and the Bureaus in the great American Southwest.
“Doctor,” Sam says intently, “I know it’s going to be difficult, but I swear on a box of your finest cigars with a vodka chaser that I didn’t know anything about all this nor did it come from this office. Por favor señor, let me do some digging. I’ll be back in touch.”
“Sam,” I say, thinking over the situation, “Yeah…I must apologize for my previous outbursts. I should have known you’re not behind this idiocy. Yeah, go do some fossicking. Let me know what you dig up. Again, sorry. I was a bit…animated.”
“Rock,” Sam chuckles, “Do you think that I’d dare anger someone like you? You must think I’ve got a serious case of cranial lithification to cheese-off the Motherfucking Pro from Dover!”
At this point, I knew that Sam was also only collateral damage; he too was caught in the crossfire. Ground zero for the original attacks lie elsewhere within the Bureau.
Esme and I go back to preparing for our trip coming up in 2 months. But Jesus Q. Christwagons, there’s so much to do. Everything you own; it gets packed, stored, or trashed.
It’s the decisions that get so tiring. Keep. Toss. Sell. Burn. Leave on someone’s doorstep.
I propose to Es that we just do the basic necessities. Then we hire some firm to finish up for us. It’d be worth the cost since just think what we’d be saving on aspirin and Ace Bandages.
Esme readily backs the idea that we should turn the job over to someone else. Plus in the interim, we can take a trip back home to Baja Canada so the kids could visit their grandparents, we visit our family, and all of us could cool out a bit before the big trip east.
I need to drop by Big Ray’s Tap for a few hours/days anyways.
Old commitments.
We’d go the beginning of our last month here in the States, spend a couple of weeks visiting family at home, leave the kids with the grandparents to get spoiled rotten. Es and I would return to Houston to finalize everything.
Then Es and I would fly from Houston to that damn sprawling annoyance of an airport on the big lake in Illinoise. The family would meet us there, handover the kids, and we’d all haul ass eastwards to the Middle East.
I readily agreed. Anything has to be better than dealing with this crapola.
Lady and the stupid cat would go to the pet schleppers a little early. Sure, it’d cost a few more dinars, but that’s one big headache sorted.
So, late one afternoon, I’m sitting in my office, trying to figure out exactly what reference works I couldn’t live without.
Compton’s? Save. Field Guide to Fungus? Toss. No, wait a minute. Could prove useful.
That’s why this is taking forever.
The phone rings.
It’s Sam.
“Hello, Sam,” I say, “What news?”
“Goddamn it all to fucking hell and back,” Sam roars.
“That’s a unique greeting,” I reply.
“I finally drilled down to the bottom of all this horseshit.,” Sam replies, “And it’s a real bowl of fuck all the way south.”
“I’m listening,” I say, “Actually, Sam, hold on. I need a drink. Moment.”
I give Es the high sign, note it’s Sam on the phone, and that I’ll be in my office if she hears any screaming.
I amp up my drink and return to my office, closing the door behind me.
Lady is here, waiting to keep my feet warm.
“OK Sam, your nickel,” I say, “What’s the scoop?”
“Would you believe?,” he begins, “That all batshittery this came from accounting and bookkeeping?”
“Well,” I reply, “I’ll have to admit that I’m not overly surprised.”
“Yeah,” Sam continues, “I was off on holiday. My first two weeks off after 5 years. My very temporary replacement received a memo from the head of the Bureau that there was great interest in you leading a shortened version of your last trip to demonstrate to a bunch of different university PhDs in the care and feeding of abandoned mines. Seems the Bureau Chief was very impressed with what you and your team accomplished.”
“OK,” I reply, “With you so far. So, where did things get wrapped around a tractor’s nuts?”
“Right,” he replies, “Here’s where things first went off the rails. Whoever vetted the list of potential attendees sorted the list alphabetically, not by field of expertise. Of course, the obvious first choice would be for geologists; especially those with mining, field, and blasting experience.”
“Ah,” I replied, “No wonder it was such a miscellaneous bunch of baloney-loaf whole-grain enviro-types that Al had mentioned.”
“Yep,” Sam agreed, “But before anyone with any brains got sight of that list, some fucknuts in the Bureau’s University Liaison department sent out invitations.”
“Invitations?” I asked, “To what?”
“That’s just the thing,” Sam continued, “They sent out invites to a program that didn’t yet exist, run by someone who had yet to be contacted, much less secured.”
“Oh, hey! That’s some good work you guys do down there.” I snort.
“Indeed,” Sam agrees, “So once that hit the mail, we started getting back replies and acceptances.”
“And there was no project, no leader, no logistics…?” I asked.
“No shit,” Sam scoffs. “So, what did these idiots here do? Contact the attendees and explain the problem. Take a little flack, but get it sorted out then try again?”
“Let me guess,” I said, “No?”
“Nope,” Sam sighs, “By that time, it was in the works and in the hands of accountants.”
“Oh, fuck,” I commiserated. “I feel your pain.”
“Yeah,” Sam continues, “They see that you’re the hookin’ bull on the last one and they dig into your contract. They figure, ‘Whoa, he’s way too expensive, just look at these expense accounts’, so they do an end-around and contact your colleagues.”
“Al, Chuck, and Leo. They’re damn good guys,” I said, “Fine field scientists, all. But I don’t think any of them have the moxie or experience yet to run a whole field course.”
“These accounting shitheads never bothered to find out,” Sam groans, “It was all ‘bottom line’, so you got caught in the squeeze.”
“OK,” I reply, “I see how that happened, but what about all the shit about me being a 19th-century throwback, that I’m unsafe, wear horrible Hawaiian shirts, and all that shit?”
“Comedy of bloody errors,” Sam says, “Actually, the Bureau Chief likes your fashion sense; you should see some of his shirts. But your slime campaign was based on unreliable evidence, tall tales, folklore, and outright fabrications. It was easy to pimp someone with a personality like yours, it’s been said. Someone was trying desperately to cover his ass. However, we have identified the perpetrator.”
“Next time I’m in Reno,” I said, “I’ll pay him a friendly little visit and arrange his transport to Neptune. One way. Y’know, it’d be easy for someone with a ‘personality like mine’.”
“Ah, yeah. He won’t be here,” Sam says, “In fact, we don’t know where the hell he went. He was immediately sacked, as were a couple of the more boneheaded accountants.”
“That’s redundant,” I smirk, “They really don’t want to talk with or see me anytime soon.”
“Right, then Rock,” Sam says, “We green again?”
“Yeah, Sam,” I reply, “Sure. Green as a New Saigon. But you’ve got to call Rack and Ruin for me. You have to let them know how this whole clusterfuck came to be. We had some words a while back.”
“Oh, yeah,” Sam remembers, “I talked with them the other day. They said they’ll be in Houston in a couple of days.”
“Cor! Just what I fucking need right now,” I lament. “Ah, it is what it is.”
“OK, Rock. Now, back to reality. You interested?” Sam asks.
“Send me a JD (job description) and the project particulars. The price of poker’s really going up this time, Sam. Stratospheric. Sorry, it’s all just business.” I relate.
“Yeah…,” Sam sighs, “I figure we’ll really owe you if you can drag our ass out of the campfire on this one.”
“You have no idea,” I chuckle. We exchange farewells and ring off.
Now I have some talking to do with my significant other.
Since we were all set to go back to Baja Canada, I could use those two weeks to go to Nevada, if necessary. I can be back in Houston with Es for the last two weeks before we’re slated to travel, and we can sort out the house.
“This won’t be an easy sell,” I muse, before chatting with my darling, brilliant, and ever-so-forgiving partner.
“I’ll need a drink first”, I declare.
Esme notes that it would be nice to have a little spare cash with us when we move overseas.
You could have dropped me with a Claymore. Es never fails to flummox me.
So, provisional OK from the powers that be. Now all I have to do is wait on Sam’s prospectus.
The next day, the doorbell rings. It’s Agents Rack and Ruin.
One is holding a box of very expensive cigars, and one is holding a bottle of very expensive bourbon.
I turn to Es and remark, “Look here, darlin’. Geeks bearing gifts.”
“Hello, Doctor,” Rack says, bristling, “We need to talk. “
“Why?” I ask, “I do seem to recall that I’m no longer associated with you people any longer.”
“Doctor,” Agent Ruin cocks his head contritely, bowing ever so slightly, “May we please have a moment of your time?”
I look to Es. She shrugs her shoulders. Luckily I’m partial to Es’ opinion. I am also partial to good bourbon and cigars, especially when someone else is paying for them. So I shrug my shoulders as well and tell them to make entry.
“My office, “ I say, “You know the way. Mind the boxes.”
Once in my office, the Agents stack their offerings and go on in great detail, basically collaborating Sam’s story. I remain steadfast and stony as the Harney Peak Granite of Mr. Rushmore fame. I’m not giving anything away any longer.
“Well, Doctor,” Agent Ruin finalizes, “That’s the story, warts and all.”
“Yep, it is pretty warty,” I agree, “So?”
“We would like to rekindle our relationship,” Agent Rack reports, “These are for starters.”
He hands me the cigars and booze; plus another box.
“Thanks,” I say, “But just because I accept your peace offerings, that doesn’t mean we’re going to turn back the clock.”
“What are you suggesting?” Agent Ruin asks.
“No more consulting,” I reply, “I want in. The ‘Full Monty’, as it were. If I’m going overseas and work for some twitchy Middle Eastern sandpit’s national oil company, I want perks, tabs, and my ass duly covered.”
“Work two full-time jobs simultaneously?” Agent Rack asks.
“However you want to structure it,” I say, “No more consulting. From here on out, you want me, you’re making me a full-fledged full-timer.”
Agents Rack and Ruin look at each other, enquiringly.
“Doctor,” Agent Rack replies, “We are prepared to offer you an ad hoc Agency appointment. You will be fully attached but you will be also doing your full-time job in the other country.”
“I’m listening. Tell me more,” I ask, “What exactly are you offering?”
“Full access to all pertinent information,” Agent Ruin continues, “Full entrée to appropriate facilities and, um, assets. Security for you and your family in case of, well, shall; we say, ‘difficulties’. Monthly minimum payment of [$$$] to any non-US bank of your choice. Extra duties would be duly compensated. Top clearances. An enhanced potential payment package, bonus possibilities, and full benefits for you.”
“Full benefits for me and my family,” I say, “Or there’s the door. Non-negotiable” I point out.
“Very well. That had been anticipated.” Agent Rack replies.
“Gentlemen,” I say, “Let us shake on what I hope turns out to be a beautiful relationship.”
We shake hands and I sign my life away. I’m really in it now, up to my neck. I have to learn to shut up more and just listen.
“Now, gents,” I say, “In order to seal the deal, let us break out the drinking stuff you’ve brought along. We will also smoke together so that we will know there will be no lies or deceit between us.”
“Also anticipated, Doctor,” both agents agree.
My ‘new’ old colleagues prepare to leave a while later, after a cigar, and far too much of what was a full bottle of expensive gift booze. They always get you in the end.
Contained within the other small box were my new Agency credentials, updated version satellite phone, secure codes, and a nifty new Swiss Army Knife, with a built-in cigar cutter.
With renewed dedication and expectations all ‘round, Agents Rack and Ruin take their leave.
They hope to be able to meet me and the family, remember, they are Uncles Rack and Ruin, overseas one day in the not too distant future. My information, further updated cards, registration, and all that official business guff will come to the specific Middle Eastern country’s US Embassy for me once we arrive and get settled.
“Marvelous,” I muse.
I receive an Email from Dr. Muleshoe explaining what we talked about and his hopes for my stickhandling a ‘quick’ 2-week field excursion for the approximately 15 Ph.D. types from around North America. Seems there’s a couple of Canadians and one Mexican professor that expressed desires to join. They had actually forwarded funds to be included in our number.
Sam suggests I drive out in my truck and proceed as per the last trip. Get the trailer, fill it with noisemakers, and the Bureau would sort out transportation and lodging for the attendees. Seems some want to camp, like real geologists, and some want to lodge in hotels, like real non-geologists.
I write Sam back:
First item: this is a 2-week sojourn into the desert. It’s a field meeting, emphasis on the field, not a tour of Nevada’s many fine hotels, resorts, and casinos.
Item two: I no longer possess my truck. The Bureau will provide me with the appropriate vehicular equivalent. No passengers, this will be the Camp Chief truck from the onset. Besides, I am the only one licensed to drive the vehicle when coupled to an explosives-laden trailer.
Item three: I will be flown to and from Reno from Houston. No buses, trains, or automobiles. It’s business class or zilch.
Item the fourth: the Bureau will source the necessary support logisticians to provide food, drink, and toilet paper for the 16 professionals while we are in the field. They will also need to provide cooks, dishwashers, camp tidiers, and the like as I don’t have time to deal with 15 potentially field-fresh, whiny waterhead PhDs.
Item the fifth: The Bureau will provide for all pre- and post-trip handling of participants. They can handle hotel rooms for the early arrivers or late-stayers. They can manage arrivals, registration, signing of necessary documents, and assuring vaccination records are up to snuff, waivers are signed, etc. They will also handle the transportation of participants to/from and during the field project, when and where necessary.
Item the sixth: I include a new version of my contract. Force Majeure, ‘Take or Pay’ clause. Door to door coverage. Plus my, ahem, augmented day rate. Absolutely non-negotiable.
Item seven: I have final say over what is done in the field. I am in command, the boss, the head cheese, the head honcho, and I require absolute discipline, especially where explosives are concerned. “My way or the highway” will be the theme of the trip. Gain, non-negotiable.
To be continued.

I appreciate any little bit of help you may be able to lend. This is just a fun project for me, so I hope maybe it's fun for you too.
The project: I am putting together a still life photo; a top-down view of an average Civil War soldiers' card game. Ultimately the big challenge for me is lighting it in my studio so it appears lit by candle lantern or whatever, but I'm trying to avoid anyone (like you guys!) getting distracted because of a glaring historical inaccuracy in my photo. I'm not trying to present a history lesson, just a fun composition. I'm worried if I post my final pic here, and there's some artifact that doesn't belong (like the cross rifle pin on the kepi hat sold in the Gettysburg gift shops) it would ruin it.
I have been gathering artifacts, both vintage and replica, to populate this still life of a normal night at a Union camp.
I know most nights they wouldn't have a table, but let's say its the top of a barrel or a random farmhouse table that was pillaged near their camp. I wanted something solid that would photograph well. Also I'm concerned more about contextual accuracy, rather than the resale value of my artifacts. But mainly I don't want to get called out, after the fact. Now is the time to get my ass handed to me!
Where I need your help: The idea is that these items are something that a standard Civil War soldier would have in their possession and it wouldn't be out of place on a table.Here is a gallery of each item with a small description underneath.
The pics:
https://imgur.com/gallery/S32Qdjn
It only shows the first batch, make sure to hit the Load More Pictures at the bottom. Please take a look at this gallery and the descriptions and let me know if there is anything that is not accurate to a Civil War soldier's possession.
Here are my specific questions:

• Other than the Dead Man's Deck being just for another, fun photo, is everything else accurate as I described them?
• Would a soldier drink a beer straight from the bottle like mine? Or is it highly unlikely they'd have a bottle of this type at camp? (is this something that would only be at a tavern?)
• I'm finding it tough to get era-accurate glassware (very pricey to ship, and all the antique stores are closed) so the two drinks on the table will be that bottle and the tin mug. The mug is a replica. It looks ok, if not too new. Should I bang it up a little, get it more dirty? I was going to pour some whiskey into the tin mug. I wish I had some glassware to let light shine through the whiskey. I'll keep an eye out. Would a standard shot glass fit ok into this composition?
• Is the snuff jar something they'd legitimately have at camp, or is that something the quartermaster would have and dole out pouches and I should leave it off?
• The flattened bullets as poker chips are legit. Do they look too old and dirty? Like they've been underground for 150 years? Ultimately I've been trying to find a re-enactor supply website that flattens replica bullets but I haven't found that. I loooove the vintage red white and blue clay poker chips, but I've been told that while they are era appropriate, normal soldiers wouldn't have bothered to carry them around. So I'll probably save those for the "Old West" photo I'm planning for the Dead Man's Deck. Right now I'm planning on featuring the dyed deer bone chips. Do mine look ok? The guy who sold them to me said they were era relics, but I don't want to look like a fool. (I guess it doesn't matter for the photo)
• I have two sets of currency. There is one that looks "fresh" but maybe too clean, the other set is one of those famous "Antique Historical Documents" aged with vinegar, like you would buy the Declaration of Independence at the National Archives gift shop. Does one set look particularly better than the other? One set looks too fresh, the other, too artificially aged. I suppose I could gently age the set that looks too fresh, but I don't know how much that will show up in camera.
• I thought the pocket watch looked alright. It's supposed to be era-accurate as a replica, and if it's in their pocket, they're taking care of it so it wouldn't be horribly dirty. Does it look OK as is?
• Are the red-tipped matches accurate? I was going to have a few sprinkled about with the Lucifers box and the replica tin matchbox case.
• Was it mostly poker? Texas hold'em style? I don't want to get tripped up on the placement of the cards. I was also going to do an alternative set-up with a game of solitaire.
• Is there anything super obvious that is missing? I don't have any firearms. I'm not interested in owning any firearms, and I'd think if two soldiers were sitting down to play cards they wouldn't have a revolver on the table. I've also thought about getting some eyeglasses, but they're pricey. Also my Kepi hat has the crossed rifles pin on it, which I know is post Civil War -Calvary era. I also thought it was too damned obvious to have a pistol or hat on the table.
• Would your average soldier have access to peanuts? I was thinking of littering the space with peanuts and shells.

I'm really happy with how my hand-weathered Union playing cards turned out. When I got them, they were factory-fresh, so I used some vinegar, dirt, and carrying them around for 4 weeks in my pocket to age them a little. They look great in person. I think the plastic-coated Highlanders deck looks too contemporary and will catch a glare but I wanted to see since they have been printed with a patina. You'll see in the gallery I have a single legit vintage "King of Flags" card from the Union Deck, that inspired me to track down a replica set of the whole deck, and then I got inspired to photograph that, so I needed to age it gently, and now I'm here with all these props.... it's a slippery slope!
I don't have any coins. I haven't found many contemporary replicas and the vintage relics look really old for being in someone's possession.
I'm taking the re-enactors website's word that the items (pocket watch, wallet, knife, etc) are camp accurate, as I assume a re-enactor customer would through a bitch-fit over inaccuracies. However I also know people will sell everything to anybody, so I don't want to look like a sucker. I think that's the biggest thing... I want to put so much effort into the lighting and arrangement, I don't want the final image ruined because I have a 1875 pocket watch or something. So I'm mostly looking for things that don't belong.
Thanks for taking a look! To me the main challenge is getting the studio lighting right, and I'm currently experimenting with that now. But I love talking to people about the everyday objects. I wanted to engage you in a conversation, and I didn't want to get a bunch of downvotes on my final composition because I had something stupid in there.
Thanks!
​
​
​

MAME 0.215

A wild MAME 0.215 appears! Yes, another month has gone by, and it’s time to check out what’s new. On the arcade side, Taito’s incredibly rare 4-screen top-down racer Super Dead Heat is now playable! Joining its ranks are other rarities, such as the European release of Capcom‘s 19XX: The War Against Destiny, and a bootleg of Jaleco’s P-47 – The Freedom Fighter using a different sound system. We’ve got three newly supported Game & Watch titles: Lion, Manhole, and Spitball Sparky, as well as the crystal screen version of Super Mario Bros. Two new JAKKS Pacific TV games, Capcom 3-in-1 and Disney Princesses, have also been added.
Other improvements include several more protection microcontrollers dumped and emulated, the NCR Decision Mate V working (now including hard disk controllers), graphics fixes for the 68k-based SNK and Alpha Denshi games, and some graphical updates to the Super A'Can driver.
We’ve updated bgfx, adding preliminary Vulkan support. There are some issues we’re aware of, so if you run into issues, check our GitHub issues page to see if it’s already known, and report it if it isn’t. We’ve also improved support for building and running on Linux systems without X11.
You can get the source and Windows binary packages from the download page.

MAMETesters Bugs Fixed

• 04531: [Sound] (segas32.cpp) f1en: Engine noise loops/resets. (Tafoid)
• 07025: [Graphics] (model1.cpp) vr: Graphical glitches. (O. Galibert)
• 07026: [Gameplay] (model1.cpp) vr: Gameplay calculation and physics issues. (O. Galibert)
• 07372: [Crash/Freeze] X11 Lightgun input module crashes if X11 display is not available. (George McMullen)
• 07437: [Gameplay] (x68k.cpp) x68000 [nemesis]: Background tiles appear in foreground in Nemesis 90 Kai. (Carl)
• 07438: [Graphics] (m72.cpp) imgfightj, mrheli, nspiritj: “For use in Japan” messages are not displayed correctly. (Angelo Salese)
• 07442: [DIP/Input] (gaelco.cpp) biomtoy, biomtoya, biomtoyb, biomtoyc, bioplayc: Lives DIP switch mis-labelled. (girosintornillos)
• 07444: [DIP/Input] (seta.cpp) blandia, blandiap: Lives DIP switch mis-labelled. (girosintornillos)
• 07445: [DIP/Input] (model2.cpp) sgt24h, overrevb: Accelerator and brake pedals are reversed. (VasiliyFamiliya)
• 07447: [Graphics] (cninja.cpp) cninja and clones: Incorrect graphical priorities between level 4 bosses. (Ivan Vangelista)
• 07448: [Gameplay] (taito_z.cpp) sci, scia, scij, scin, sciu: Shifting gears activates turbo. (girosintornillos)
• 07452: [Crash/Freeze] (eprom.cpp) eprom, eprom2: The control test will not load. (AJR)
• 07454: [Plugins] (dooyong.cpp) flytiger: Use of high score plugin causes incorrect attract mode behaviour. (Carl)
• 07456: [Crash/Freeze] (segas16b.cpp) eswat: Emulator crashes with segmentation fault. (smf)
• 07457: [DIP/Input] (m107.cpp) dsoccr94: Coin 3 and coin 4 inputs are mapped incorrectly. (MetalGod)
• 07463: [DIP/Input] (mystwarr.cpp) metamrph and clones, viostorm and clones: Coin 3 and 4 inputs are not connected. (Zach S.)
• 07465: [Crash/Freeze] (interpro.cpp) ip2000: Emulator crashes if mouse is moved during startup. (Patrick Mackinlay)
• 07469: [Graphics] (vboy.cpp) vboy: Sprite elements are cut off on the right. (Robbbert)

New working machines

• Capcom 3-in-1 (1942, Commando, Ghosts'n Goblins) (JAKKS Pacific TV Game, Game-Key Ready) (29 MAR 2005 B) [Sean Riddle, David Haywood, anonymous]
• China H Computer Company H-01B [zzemu]
• Disney Princesses (JAKKS Pacific TV Game, Game-Key Ready) [Sean Riddle, David Haywood, anonymous]
• Game & Watch: Lion [algestam, Mr. Do, Sean Riddle]
• Game & Watch: Manhole (gold) [algestam, Mr. Do, Sean Riddle]
• Game & Watch: Spitball Sparky [algestam, Mr Jiggles the Christmas Man]
• Motorola MEK6800D1 [68bit]
• Motorola Micro Chroma 68 [68bit]
• Super Dead Heat [Phil Bennett, David Haywood]

New working clones

• 19XX: The War Against Destiny (Euro 960104) [redsupra, smf]
• Beastorizer (USA, Jun 21 1997) [jordigahan, ClawGrip]
• Bomberman (Version 6.6) [caius, The Dumping Union]
• Buggy Boy/Speed Buggy (cockpit, rev. B) [pacman70, Asayuki]
• Dragon Breed (Japan, M72 PCB version) [Jorge Silva]
• Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. (crystal screen) [algestam, Mr Jiggles the Christmas Man]
• Hard Head (bootleg, set 3) [jordigahan, Heckler, ClawGrip]
• Hegener + Glaser Mephisto MM V (prototype) [CB-Emu]
• Megatouch III Turnier Edition (9255-30-50 R0F, Bi-Lingual GEENG version) [Kevin Eshbach, Brian Troha, The Dumping Union]
• P-47 - The Freedom Fighter (World, bootleg) [jordigahan, Heckler, ClawGrip]

Machines promoted to working

• Fidelity Electronics Phantom Chess Challenger [Sandro Ronco]
• NCR Decision Mate V [Sandro Ronco, rfka01]
• Pacific Educational Systems VPU-01 Speech box [Robbbert]
• Radio Shack TRS-80 DT-1 [Robbbert]

New machines marked as NOT_WORKING

• Advance Bright Ltd Ping Pong / Table Tennis / Super Ping Pong (PP1100, ABL TV Game) [David Haywood, Morten Shearman Kirkegaard, Peter Wilhelmsen]
• Conny TV Virtual Tennis [David Haywood, Morten Shearman Kirkegaard, Peter Wilhelmsen]
• El Dorado [TeamEurope]
• The Flintstones (LX-3) [PinMAME]
• Care Bears TV Games (JAKKS Pacific TV Game, Game-Key Ready) [Sean Riddle, David Haywood, anonymous]
• Kursaal Darts [jordigahan, ClawGrip]
• Litek Information Systems LMS46-V9 [Don Maslin Archive, AJR]
• Research Inc. Teleray Model 10 [Bitsavers]
• Rollamatic 5-Line Special (Barcrest) (MPU3) [Darran, The Dumping Union]
• TaiKee Rockstar Guitar / Guitar Rock (PAL) [David Haywood, Morten Shearman Kirkegaard, Peter Wilhelmsen]
• Terrific Lake [PinMAME]
• Top Sound (French) [PinMAME]
• Play Vision Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Play Vision, Plug and Play, UK) [David Haywood, Morten Shearman Kirkegaard, Peter Wilhelmsen]
• Vortex (Island Design) [unknown]

New clones marked as NOT_WORKING

• 386 motherboards using a OPTi 82C495SLC chipset [rfka01]
• 386 motherboards using the ALi M1419 chipset [rfka01]
• 386 motherboards using the CS8230 chipset [rfka01]
• 386 motherboards using the MX83C305(A)(FC)/MX83C05(A)(FC) chipset [rfka01]
• 386 motherboards using the OPTi 82C381 chipset [rfka01]
• 386 motherboards using the OPTi 82C391 chipset [rfka01]
• 386 motherboards using the SiS Rabbit chipset [rfka01]
• 386 motherboards using the UMC UM82C481AF chipset [rfka01]
• 386 motherboards using the UMC UM82C491F + UM82C493F chipset or BIOTEQ equivalents [rfka01]
• 386 motherboard using the UMC UM82C491F chipset [rfka01]
• 386sx motherboards using the ALi M1217 chipset [rfka01]
• 386sx motherboards using the OPTi 82C283 chipset [rfka01]
• 386sx motherboards using the OPTi 82C291 chipset [rfka01]
• 386sx motherboards using the SCAMPSX chipset [rfka01]
• 486 motherboards using the ALi 1487/1489 chipset [rfka01]
• 486 motherboards using the OPTi OPTi 82C392, 82C493 chipset [rfka01]
• 486 motherboards using the SiS 85C471/85C407 chipset [rfka01]
• 486 motherboards using the UMC UM8498F, UM8496F chipset [rfka01]
• 486 motherboards using the UMC UM8886/UM8881 chipset [rfka01]
• Abit AB-PB4 [rfka01]
• Abit AB-PW4 [rfka01]
• Alaris Cougar [rfka01]
• Alaris RYC LEOPARD LX [rfka01]
• Alaris Tornado 2 [rfka01]
• AMI Mark V Baby Screamer [rfka01]
• ANIX CH-386S-16/20/25G [rfka01]
• Aquarius System (ASI) MB-4D33/50NR [rfka01]
• Asus ISA-486SV2 [rfka01]
• AUVA TAM/25-P2 M31720P [rfka01]
• Bank Robbery (Ver. 1.23) [Siftware]
• Biostar MB-1340UCQ-B [rfka01]
• Chaintech 333SC [rfka01]
• Chaintech 486SLE M106 4SLE-Z1 [rfka01]
• Chaintech ELT-286B-160B(E) [rfka01]
• Chicony CH-491E [rfka01]
• Daewoo AL486V-D Rev:1.1 [rfka01]
• Derby Owners Club World Edition (Rev A) [Fluffy]
• Diamond Flower, Inc. (DFI) 486-CCV [rfka01]
• DTK Computer PPM-3333P [rfka01]
• DTK PKM-0038S aka Gemlight GMB-486SG [rfka01]
• Elitegroup Computer Systems FX-3000 REV1.0 [rfka01]
• Elitegroup ELT-386SX-160BE [rfka01]
• Elitegroup UC4913 REV:1.1 [rfka01]
• Elitegroup UC4915 A AIO [rfka01]
• Elitegroup UM486/UM486sx [rfka01]
• Elitegroup UM486V-AIO [rfka01]
• First International Computer 4386-VC-HD [rfka01]
• First International Computer 4386-VC-V [rfka01]
• First International Computer 486-GIO-VT2 [rfka01]
• Fujitsu FM-Towns (Model 1 / 2) [r09]
• GENOA TurboExpress 486 VL [rfka01]
• GES 9051N-386C VER -0.01 [rfka01]
• Gigabyte GA-486VF [rfka01]
• Gigabyte GA-486VS [rfka01]
• LuckyStar LS-486E Rev:C [rfka01]
• Micro-Express Inc. Forex 386 Cache [rfka01]
• MORSE KP 386SX V2.21 [rfka01]
• MSI MS-4125 [rfka01]
• MSI MS-4138 [rfka01]
• MSI MS-4144 [rfka01]
• Octek Hawk [rfka01]
• Octek Hippo COM [rfka01]
• Octek Hippo DCA2 [rfka01]
• Octek Hippo VL+ [rfka01]
• Octek Panther II [rfka01]
• Olivetti M21 [rfka01]
• OPTi OPTi 386WB VER.1.0 [rfka01]
• PC-Chips M216 [rfka01]
• PC-Chips M396F [rfka01]
• PC-Chips M912 [rfka01]
• PC-Chips M915i [rfka01]
• Peacock 386sx Ver. 2.0 motherboard SCsxAIO [rfka01]
• Peacock PCK 486 DX [rfka01]
• Philips PCD204 (PCD200 series) [rfka01]
• Pine PT-319A [rfka01]
• Pine Technology PT-430 [rfka01]
• Pine Technology PT-432b aka SR-M401-A [rfka01]
• PROTECH PM486PU-S7 [rfka01]
• QDI PX486P3 [rfka01]
• QDI V4P895P3/SMT V5.0 [rfka01]
• QD-U386DX VER 1.0 [rfka01]
• Sanyo MBC-18NB [rfka01]
• See-Thru Sto486Wb aka AUVA Cam-33-P2 [rfka01]
• Shuttle 386SX REV 2.0A [rfka01]
• Shuttle Computer International HOT-433 [rfka01]
• TD60C [rfka01]
• TD70A and TD70AN [rfka01]
• TD70N [rfka01]
• Termtek TK-635 [nextvolume, Dirk Best]
• UNICHIP 386W 367C REV 1.0 [rfka01]
• UNICHIP 486 WB 4407 REV 1.0 [rfka01]
• unknown 286 AT clones (HT18/C chipset) [rfka01]
• Via 4386 VIO / Highscreen universal board [rfka01]
• Vintage Sprite SM 486-50USC [rfka01]
• Vs. Super Mario Bros. (bootleg with Z80, set 3) [jordigahan, ClawGrip]
• ZIDA Tomato board 4DPS [rfka01]

New working software list additions

• apple2_flop_clcracked: Balancing Act (cleanly cracked), Fractions: Basic Skills (cleanly cracked), Fractions: Subtraction (cleanly cracked), The Haunted Palace (cleanly cracked), Statistics (Version 3.3) (cleanly cracked), Whole Numbers: Multiplication (cleanly cracked), The World's Greatest Baseball Game (Enhanced Version) (cleanly cracked) [4am, Firehawke]
• apple2_flop_orig: Alibi, American Government (Micro Learningware), Apple Stellar Invaders, Battlefront, Beach Landing, Carriers at War, The Coveted Mirror, Crime Stopper, Decisive Battles of the American Civil War: Volume Three, Decisive Battles of the American Civil War: Volume Two, Decisive Battles of the Civil War: Volume One, Dogfight II, Europe Ablaze, Galactic Wars, Gauntlet, Ghostbusters, Go (Hayden), Guderian, Halls of Montezuma, The Haunted Palace, I, Damiano, Leisure Suit Larry in The Land of The Lounge Lizards, The Mask of the Sun (Version 2.1), MacArthur's War, Muppet Learning Keys: The Muppet Discovery Disk, Oil Rig, Panzer Battles, Pulsar ][, Questprobe featuring Spider-Man, Reach For The Stars (Version 1.0), Reach For The Stars (Version 2.0), Reach For The Stars (Version 3.0), Reversal, Russia, Sherlock Holmes in Another Bow, Simultaneous Linear Equations, Space Kadet, Tapper, Ulysses and the Golden Fleece, Vaults of Zurich, Winter Games [4am, Firehawke]
• fmtowns_cd: CG Syndicate Vol. 1 - Lisa Northpoint, CubicSketch V1.1 L10, New Horizon CD Learning System II - English Course 1, Shanghai, Space Museum, TownsSOUND V1.1 L20, Z's Triphony DigitalCraft Towns [redump.org, r09]
• hp9825b_rom: 9885/9895 ROM for 9825, 9885 ROM for 9825, Matrix ROM for 9825, SSS mass storage ROM [F.Ulivi]
• ibm5150: Action Service (Smash16 release) (3.5"), International Karate, Italy '90 Soccer, Joe Blade (Smash16 release), Out Run (Kixx release), Starflight [ArcadeShadow]
• ibm5170: Corridor 7: Alien Invasion, Links - The Challenge of Golf (5.25"HD) [ArcadeShadow]
• midi_flop: Dansbandshits nr 3 (Sweden) [FakeShemp]
• vz_snap: Ace of Aces, Adventure, Airstrip, Arkaball v1, Arkaball v2, Arrgh, Assembly Language for Beginners, Asteroids, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Backgammon, Backgammon Instructions, Battleships v1, Battleships v2, Bezerk, Binary Tape Copier v1.0, Bomber, Breakproof File Copier, Bust Out, Camel, Card Andy, Casino Roulette v1, Casino Roulette v2, Catch, Challenger, Chasm Capers, Check Disk, Checkers, Chess, Circus, Compgammon, Computer Learjet, Concentration, Cos Res, Craps, Crash, Curses, Dawn Patrol, Decoy v1, Decoy v2, Defence Penetrator, Dig Out, Disassembler v2, Disassemmbler v1, Disk Copier, Disk Copy V2.0, Disk Editor-Assembler V6.0X, Disk Menu, Disk Ops 4, Disk Sector Editor v1, Disk Sector Editor v2, Dog Fight, Dracula's Castle, The Dynasty Derby, Editor-Assembler V.1.2, Editor-Assembler V.1.2B, Electric Tunnel, Electronic Blackjack, Extended DOS V1.3, Extended VZ Basic V2.5, Factory, Fastdisk V1.0, Fastdisk V1.1, Fastdisk V1.2, Fastdisk V1.2 demo, Filesearch 2.0, Filesearch V2.0, Formula One v1, Formula One v2, Formula Uno, Frog, Galactic Invasion, Galactic Raiders, Galactic Trade, Galaxon, Game Instructions, Ghost Blasters, Ghost Hunter (hacked), Ghost Hunter instructions, Ghost Hunter v1, Ghost Hunter v2, Golf, Grand Prix, Grave Digger, Gunfight, Hamburger Sam, Hangman v1, Hangman v3, Hangman v4, Hex Maths, Hex Utilities, The High Mountains, High Scores, Hoppy v1, Hoppy v2, Hunt the Wumpus, Instructions for Asteroid Dodge, Instructions for Invaders, Instructions for Ladder Challenge, Invaders v1, Invaders v2, Inventory, Kamikaze Invaders, Key Hunt, Knights and Dragons, Ladder Challenge, Laser, Laser Pong, Lunar Lander, Mad Max VI, Madhouse, Mars Patrol, Mastermind, Match Box, Match Box Instructions, Maths Armada, Maze Generator, Meat Pies, Melbourne Cup, Meteor, Missile Attack, Missile Command v1, Missile Command v2, Missing Number, Moon, Moon Lander, Moonlander, Moving Targets, Number Sequence, Number Slide, Othello, Othello Instructions, Painter v1, Painter v2, Painter v3, Panik, Panik Instructions, Penguin, Planet Patrol, Poker Machine, Punch v1, Punch v2, Pursuit, The Quest, The Return of Defense Command, Rocket Command, Shootout, Space, Space Ram, Space Station Defender, Space Vice, Star Blaster, Submarine, Super Snake, Super Snake Trapper, The Ten Commandments, Tennis v1, Tennis v2, Tone Generator, Totaliser Derby, Tower, Triffids 2040 AD, Twisting Road, VZ 200-300 Diskette Monitor, VZ Panik, VZ cave, VZ-200 Cup, Vzetris, Worm, Write a Story [Robbbert]

Software list items promoted to working

• dmv: MS-DOS v2.11 HD, MS-DOS v2.11 HD (Alt 2), MS-DOS v2.11 HD (Alt 3), MS-DOS v2.11 HD (Alt), Z-Com v2.0 HD [Sandro Ronco, rfka01]

New NOT_WORKING software list additions

• ekara_japan_a: A-3 Pichi Pichi Pitch vol.3 (Japan) [David Haywood, Sean Riddle]
• evio: Anime Mix 1, Chisako Takashima Selection, evio Challenge!, evio Selection 02, evio Selection 03, Hard Soul 1, I Love Classic 1, Pure Kiss 1 [David Haywood, Peter Wilhelmsen, ShouTime, Sean Riddle]
• fmtowns_cd:
  • Debian GNU/Linux 1.3.1 with Debian-JP Packages, Debian GNU/Linux 2.0r2 with Hamm-JP [akira_2020, Tokugawa Corporate Forums, r09]
  • Air Warrior V1.2, Fujitsu Habitat V2.1L10, Hyper Media NHK Zoku Kiso Eigo - Dai-3-kan, Nobunaga no Yabou - Sengoku Gun'yuuden, Taito Chase H.Q. (Demo), TownsFullcolor V2.1 L10, Video Koubou V1.4 L10 [redump.org, r09]
• leapfrog_ltleappad_cart: Baby's First Words (USA), Disney Pooh Loves You! (USA), If I were... (USA) [ClawGrip, TeamEurope]

Source Changes

• ins8250: Only clear transmitter holding register empty interrupt on reading IIR if it’s the highest priority pending interrupt. [68bit]
  
• bus/ss50/mps2.cpp: Connected RS-232 control lines. [68bit]
  
• machine/ie15.cpp: Cleaned up RS-232 interface. [68bit]
  
• bus/rs232: Delay pushing initial line state to reset time. [68bit]
  
• bus/rs232/null_modem.cpp: Added configuration option for DTR flow control. [68bit]
  
• tv990.cpp: Improved cursor position calculation. [68bit]
  
• tilemap.cpp: Improved assert conditions, fixing tilemap viewer, mtrain and strain in debug builds. [AJR]
  
• spbactn.cpp: Use raw screen timing parameters for spbactn. [AJR]
  
• laz_aftrshok.cpp: Added aftrshok DIP switch documentation from the manual. [AJR]
  
• ELAN RISC II updates: [AJR]
  
  • Identified CPU type used by vreadere as ePG3231.
  • Added preliminary port I/O handlers and callbacks.
  • Added stub handlers and state variables for interrupt controller, timers, synthesizer, UART and SPI.
  • Fixed TBRD addressing of external data memory.
  • Fixed calculation of carry flag for normal adder operations.
  • Implemented multi-byte carry/borrow for applicable registers.
  • Implemented signed multiplication option.
  • Added internal stack buffer for saving PCH during calls/interrupts.
• alpha68k_n.cpp: Replaced sstingry protection simulation with microcontroller emulation. [AJR]
  
• sed1330: Implemented character drawing from external ROM, fixed display on/off command, and fixed screen area definition. [AJR]
  
• tlcs90: Separated TMP90840 and TMP90844 disassemblers. [AJR]
  
• z180 updates: [AJR]
  
  • Split Z180 device into subtypes; HD647180X now implements internal PROM, RAM and parallel ports.
  • Added internal clock dividers adjust CPU clocks in many drivers to compensate.
  • Reduced logical address width to 16 bits.
• h8: Made debug PC adjustment and breakpoints actually work. [AJR]
  
• subsino2.cpp: Added save state support and cleaned up code a little. [AJR]
  
• gaelco.cpp: Adjusted bigkarnk YM3812 clock so pitch matches reference recording. [AJR]
  
• stadhero.cpp: Made stadhero stage music selection and various other things more random. [AJR]
  
• acorn_vib: Made ACIA transmit/receive clocks selectable using MC14411. [AJR]
  
• hitme.cpp: Renamed m21 to mirco21 to resolve name collision. [AJR]
  
• Emulated ADC0804 and added device to various drivers (fixes “WRONG CONTROL IO” in citybomb service mode). [AJR]
  
• tmnt.cpp: Added glfgreat analog controls and ADC, and removed spurious fourth button. [AJR]
  
• megasys1.cpp: Added p47b ADPCM sample playback using additional Z80. [AJR]
  
• cps1.cpp, segas16b.cpp: Fixed unsafe bitmap usage in video update routines that could cause memory corruption. [AJR]
  
• bus/isa: Added Music Quest PC MIDI Card. [AJR, VOGONS Vintage Driver Library]
  
• rd100.cpp: Added preliminary keyboard inputs. [AJR]
  
• Separated V50/V53 common peripherals and former device from V33 base, and add V40 type for future use. [AJR]
  
• m72.cpp: Fixed sample-related communications on 8751-protected games. [AJR]
  
• Added Fujitsu FR disassembler and skeleton CPU device. [AJR]
  
• hvyunit.cpp: Fix hvyunit coin counters. [AJR]
  
• hh_sm510.cpp: Re-scanned gnw_mmouse display. [algestam]
  
• snes.cpp: Change screen resolution for pseudo-hires mode, and run HDMA at vertical position zero. [AmatCoder]
  
  • Fixes graphics in Judge Dredd and Vortex.
• alpha68k.cpp updates: [Angelo Salese]
  
  • Added opaque tile support for V board (fixes title screen clipping effects for Sky Adventure).
  • Removed hack for priest priority in Sky Adventure level 1 as this is an original game bug.
  • Merged sprite drawing code with SNK 68k sprite device.
  • Simulated screen banking for Gold Medalist starter pistol shot on dash events.
  • Fixed missing status bar and “start/hurry up” graphics for player 1 in Gold Medalist.
  • Removed unemulated protection flag from Gold Medalist clones.
• alpha68k.cpp, snk68.cpp: Moved palette code to a common device using the same scheme as the Neo Geo palette. [Angelo Salese]
  
  • Produces more accurate colors, especially visible on dithered backgrounds.
• markham.cpp: Improved Strength & Skill master interrupt firing and row scroll (fixes missing sprites regression in stages 2 and 3). [Angelo Salese]
  
• Synchronized with upstream GENie, bx, bgfx and bimg. [Belegdol]
  
• Fixed Visual Studio 2019 build issues. [Belegdol]
  
• Switched Travis CI build to Xcode 11. [Belegdol]
  
• Build bgfx with OpenGL ES rather than OpenGL when building without X11 on Linux and BSD. [Belegdol]
  
• ay8910.cpp: Converted Sunsoft 5B 6630B sound hardware to a device. [cam900]
  
• nmk16spr.cpp: Converted NMK 16-bit sprite hardware to a device. [cam900]
  
  • Implemented priority drawing and sprite limits, and added notes.
  • Adapted nmk16.cpp and powerins.cpp to use new device.
• powerins.cpp: Derived clocks from crystals present on boards and added raw screen timing parameters. [cam900]
  
• ninjaw.cpp, warriorb.cpp: Added subwoofer and corrected sound routing. [cam900]
  
• mos6581.cpp: Added save state support. [cam900]
  
• sid.cpp, sidenvel.cpp, sidvoice.cpp: Improved save state support and cleaned up code. [cam900]
  
• ymf278b.cpp: Implemented FM DO2 output scaling. [cam900]
  
• ymf262.cpp: Added notes. [cam900]
  
• tmap038.cpp: Converted 038 tilemap generator chip to a device. [cam900]
  
  • Adapted cave.cpp and mcatadv.cpp to use the new device, and cleaned up code.
• mcatadv.cpp: Fixed tilemap flicker when debugging functionality is enabled. [cam900]
  
• argus.cpp: Fix repeated spelling error in comments. [cam900]
  
• megasys1.cpp: Fixed missing semicolon. [Christian Groessler]
  
• gamate.cpp: Made initial RAM fill better match hardware power-up state. [Christian Groessler]
  
• audio/irem.cpp: Fixed a number of kidniki audio issues. [Couriersud]
  
  • Added jumper J4 as a compile-time option, fixed a number of resistor and capacitor values, and fixed a barrier.
• Netlist system updates: [Couriersud]
  
  • Added support for line markers to the netlist preprocessor and parser.
  • Added include processing to the netlist preprocessor, and reorganised plib code so this can be better utilised.
  • Simplified netlist library code and improved performance.
  • Moved netlists out of driver sources and organised netlists according to functionality.
  • Added an extended validation mode to nltool for identifying certain kinds of issues.
  • Removed some hints from pong now that performance has improved..
• chelnov.cpp: Added microcontroller dump for chelnov and hooked it up, replacing simulation. [Dirk Best, TeamEurope, Brian Troha]
  
  • Programs for other regions created by patching the dumped World region microcontroller program.
• firetrap.cpp: Add microcontroller dump for firetrap and hook it up, replacing simulation. [Dirk Best, TeamEurope, Brian Troha]
  
  • Program for US region created by patching the dumped Japan region microcontroller program.
• i8251.cpp, pit8253.cpp, isa/ega.cpp, isa/mda.cpp: Modernized debug logging. [Edström]
  
• m6801.cpp: Added more logging and reduced unnecessary serial transmit output updates. [Edström]
  
• mc6845.cpp: Added more logging and reduced warning spam at startup when register values are inconsistent. [Edström]
  
• isa/mda.cpp: Added Ericsson Monochrome HR Graphics Board 1070. [Edström]
  
• Moved Ericsson PC from pc.cpp to new source file eispc.cpp and added serial keyboard. [Edström]
  
• hp9825.cpp: Added support for external ROM cartridges to HP9825B and HP9825T. [F.Ulivi]
  
• hp9885.cpp: Added missing postamble when writing sectors on disk. [F.Ulivi]
  
• Lua engine updates: [feos]
  
  • Added callback after a batch of sound samples are generated.
  • Greatly reduced compiler memory usage by adding user type members after construction.
• Always re-generate version.cpp if top-level makefile changes. [feos]
  
• Start AVI recording after devices have been started so initial screen refresh rate is used rather than fixed 60 Hz. [feos]
  
• goldstar.cpp: Decrypted pkrmast and its clone. [Ioannis Bampoulas, Ivan Vangelista]
  
• goldstar.cpp: Decrypted super972. [Ivan Vangelista]
  
• squale.cpp: Connected the EF9365 video controller IRQ output to the 6809 IRQ input for Apollo 7 Squale. [Jean-François DEL NERO]
  
• wd_fdc.cpp: Improved interrupt request reset logic based on WD1772 and VG93 (1793 clone) decaps. [MetalliC]
  
• Fixed clang compilation error on targets where stream size is larger than long int. [Nathan Woods]
  
• model1.cpp: Fixed issues with TGP interface emulation. [O. Galibert]
  
• emumem_het.cpp, emumem_heu.cpp: Hold additional reference for in-flight handlers (fixes MT07456). [O. Galibert, smf]
  
• apple3.cpp: Corrected number row key layout (fixes pasting and natural keyboard mode). [pahandav]
  
• ppcdrc.cpp, sh2.cpp, sh4.cpp: Fixed issues causing fast RAM accesses to bypass the debugger. [Phil Bennett]
  
• tms34020: Implement SETCDP and CLIP opcodes. [Priit Laes]
  
• apple2gs.cpp: Allow slot interrupt requests to be dispatched. [R. Belmont, Peter Ferrie]
  
• apple3.cpp: Suppress $C800 switching on debugger accesses. [R. Belmont, Rob Justice]
  
• osd/sdl: Added support for RRGGBB00 pixel format used by ARM Mali GPUs. [R. Belmont]
  
• fmtowns_cd.xml updates: [r09]
  
  • Replaced a number of entries with better dumps from the redump.org database.
  • Added parent/clone relationships for Windows 3.1 revisions.
  • Updated the list of missing dumps.
• fmtowns.cpp updates: [r09]
  
  • Removed SCSI controller from first-generation models and the Marty as these machines lack it.
  • Corrected CPU types for FM-Towns II SJ and FM-Towns II MX.
  • Corrected user-selectable RAM size options.
  • Mapped packed video RAM at 0x00b00000 for 386SX-based models (fixes graphical issues on FM-Towns II UX and FM-Towns Marty).
  • Configured FM-Towns Marty with one floppy drive and 2 MB of RAM.
  • Fixed crashes when 1 MB ROM or a single floppy drive is selected.
  • Dumped and added ROMs from a first-generation FM-Towns Model 2.
• hcd62121: Implemented exclusive OR with indirect addressing. [Ricardo Barreira]
  
  • Used by cfx9850 for zoom menu in graph mode.
• cfx9850.cpp: Corrected RAM size to 32 kB and added mirroring. [Ricardo Barreira]
  
• super80.cpp, super80_cass.xml: Fine-tuned software compatibility flags. [Robbbert]
  
• Removed unnecessary offset attribute from some software lists. [Robbbert]
  
• trs80dt1: Added RS-232 and Centronics parallel ports, and promoted to working. [Robbbert]
  
• pes.cpp: Modernised and cleaned up code, and fixed regressions caused by years of neglect. [Robbbert]
  
• mkit09.cpp: Improved inputs for mkit09a and got it to start and run. [Robbbert]
  
• Added covers to images that can be displayed in system selection UI. [Robbbert]
  
• imagedev/avivideo.cpp: Added an image device to provide looping uncompressed AVI frames as input. [Ryan Holtz]
  
• vino.cpp: Adapted to support both avivideo_image_device and picture_image_device. [Ryan Holtz]
  
• cdi.cpp: Switched SERVO and SLAVE microcontrollers to use the correct device type with internal memory maps. [Ryan Holtz]
  
• snes.cpp updates:
  
  • Added clock divider for original Super FX chip (fixes game speed in Star Fox, Stunt Race FX, Vortex, and others). [Ryan Holtz]
  • Corrected video RAM size to 64 kB (fixes graphics in Yoshi’s Island and possibly others). [Ryan Holtz, byuu]
  • Fixed PPU background layer drawing based on higan ppu-fast. [Ryan Holtz, byuu]
  • Adjusted horizontal blanking timing interval to the most common case (fixes off-by-one parallax in Yoshi’s Island). [byuu]
• supracan.cpp updates: [Ryan Holtz]
  
  • Implemented sprite-to-sprite masking.
  • Removed sound CPU boot hack and fixed sound CPU reset/halt behavior.
  • Implemented controller input shift register protocol and removed non-existent parallel inputs in main CPU memory space.
  • Removed non-existent player 3 and player 4 inputs.
  • Added save status support and converted logging to use logmacro.h.
• bgfx: Do texture format conversion via a full-screen GPU pass. [Ryan Holtz]
  
• screen: Added support for changing horizontal width mid-frame and hooked it up to the SNES driver. [Ryan Holtz]
  
  • Fixes dkongcu intro and others.
• bus/dmv: Added K012 and C3282 hard disk interfaces. [Sandro Ronco]
  
• netlist: Fixed issue with 1×1 matrix (affected gamemachine.cpp and breakout.cpp systems). [Tafoid]
  
• Converted osd_printf_* family of functions to use util::string_format semantics. [Vas Crabb]
  
• minimaws: Added support for identifying ROM/disk dumps on command line or through web UI. [Vas Crabb]
  
• srcclean: Improved handling of some kinds of C preprocessor abuse. [Vas Crabb]
  
• Improved performance of makedep.py, reducing the time taken to bootstrap a SOURCES= build. [Vas Crabb]
  
• apple2_flop_orig.xml: Replaced Drol with new working dump. [4am, Firehawke]
  
• m72.cpp Dumped 8751 microcontrollers for airduelm72 and dbreedm72j, replacing simulation. [Caius, Jorge Silva, TeamEurope, The Dumping Union]
  
• wardner.cpp: Corrected ROM labels for the Wardner set, and added PCB locations to all sets. [Brian Troha]
  
• playch10.cpp: Corrected BIOS PPU ROM loading. [brizzo]
  
• rbmk.cpp: Decapped and dumped AT89C51 microcontroller for rbspm. [Caps0ff, EdHunter]
  
• lucky37.cpp: Decapped and dumped microcontrollers for lucky21, lucky21d and lucky37. [Caps0ff, TeamEurope]
  
• changyu.cpp: Decapped and dumped microcontroller for changyu2. [Caps0ff, TeamEurope]
  
• lwings.cpp: Measured CPU clock and video timings on an original sectionz PCB. [Corrado Tomaselli]
  
• exedexes.cpp: Measured CPU clocks and video timings, and verified sound chip clocks. [Corrado Tomaselli]
  
• sidepckt.cpp: Corrected ROM labels and added PCB locations. [Corrado Tomaselli, Brian Troha, The Dumping Union]
  
• nmk16.cpp: Re-dumped the tile graphics ROM for Macross II (Korea). [Darksoft, hammy]
  
• chihiro.cpp, naomi.cpp: Improved software documentation, particularly title consistency. [f205v]
  
• Added MIDI floppy software list to some IBM PC drivers. [FakeShemp]
  
• bus/ata: Added skeleton PleXCombo PX-320A DVD/CD-RW Drive device. [Firmware HQ]
  
• gsword.cpp: Measured microcontroller clocks for gsword. [Guru]
  
• dec8.cpp: Verified all clocks for Ghostbusters. [Guru]
  
• lwings.cpp: Measured main CPU clock on a bootleg sectionza PCB. [Guru]
  
• m90.cpp: Updated documentation and IC locations. [hammy]
  
• aristmk5.cpp: Fixed error in cashcatnz layout. [Heihachi_73]
  
• spartanxtec.cpp: Added some IC locations, and added placeholders for undumped PLDs. [jordigahan]
  
• galivan.cpp: Re-dumped dangarj audio CPU ROMs. [Layer]
  
• triforce.cpp: Re-dumped “Triforce DIMM Updater (3.17) (GDT-0011)” to replace previous bad dump. [MajorPBX]
  
• seta.cpp: Switched jjsquawk to use three buttons (third button is used in the sound test). [Mike Moffitt]
  
• Fixed building with GCC versions that report a non-numeric version suffix. [MoochMcGee]
  
• at.cpp updates: [rfka01]
  
  • Added ht12a BIOS option head12a01.
  • Added at386sx BIOS options dell386sx, a3286a3886, ald93c308, intel and v514.
  • Added ct386sx BIOS options m345000, dtk386sx and solutions.
  • Added at386 BIOS options ssbc386at, opwb, 386atj7, vt386vt, l8949, acer310, kmxc02, frx521, frxs3b, 495sx, eemi and topcat.
  • Added alim1429 BIOS options revb, alim142901, alim142902 and asaki.
  • Added frxc402 BIOS option frximp.
  • Added opti495xlc BIOS options op82c495xlc and mao13.
  • Added hot409 BIOS option hot409v11.
  • Sorted systems by chipset and motherboard, and updated comments, including RAM and cache information.
• dec0.cpp: Decapped and dumped the 8751 microcontroller for Dragonninja (Japan revision 1). [TeamEurope, Brian Troha]
  
• karnov.cpp: Verified the Atomic Runner (Japan) 8751 microcontroller dump. [TeamEurope, Brian Troha]
  
• segas16b.cpp: Replaced microcontroller simulation with dumped program for Altered Beast (set 6) (8751 317-0076). [TeamEurope, Brian Troha]
  
• dec8.cpp: Replaced hand-crafted microcontroller program with program dump for The Real Ghostbusters sets. [TeamEurope, Brian Troha, The Dumping Union]
  
• firetrap.cpp: Replaced hand-crafted microcontroller program with program dump for Fire Trap (US). [TeamEurope, Brian Troha, The Dumping Union]
  
• karnov.cpp: Replaced hand-crafted microcontroller program with program dump for Chelnov - Atomic Runner (US). [TeamEurope, Brian Troha, The Dumping Union]
  
• segas16a.cpp: Replaced microcontroller simulation code with program dump for the Quartet sets. [TeamEurope, Brian Troha, The Dumping Union]
  
• segas16b.cpp: Replaced microcontroller simulation with program dump for Dynamite Dux (set 1) (8751 317-0095). [TeamEurope, Brian Troha, The Dumping Unionn]
  
• pc98.xml, svi318_cass.xml: Corrected some spelling errors in titles and labels. [Zoë Blade]
  
• Updated comments, and corrected spelling, grammar and typographical errors in comments and documentation. [Zoë Blade]
  

Some small 'props' to use that can add tension or mystery to your game, or potentially serve as plot hooks. Some of these tell a story, at least to the extent that players could make assumptions based on investigating them- though the "obvious" need not be the truth.

1. A shattered hand-mirror that still has a reflection "stuck" in it- it will show nothing but that face twisted with rage.
2. A horseshoe amulet, meant as a ward against the Devil, twisted and bent out of shape.
3. A compass without directions. Instead, it is marked with a coin, a skull, a heart and a dagger.
4. A noose woven from human hairs, soaked in seawater.
5. A small stone idol in the shape of a satyr. Its grin seems wider every time you look at it.
6. A shell. When put to the ear, it rings not just with sound of the sea, but with the mournful cry of gulls.
7. A vintage gas mask, frayed and blood-stained.
8. The splinters off a wizard's staff, tucked carefully into a satin bag.
9. A knife with a bone handle. The handle has seven tallies scratched into it.
10. A purple silk scarf that is always slightly damp and smells of sweat no matter how much it is washed.
11. A mime's blank mask. Wearing it compels the wearer to dance furiously. It is not cursed or magical.
12. A hooded cloak. The wearer's motions become slow, exaggerated and out of sync. It is not cursed.
13. A brick, crumbled and mossy, with a message carved into it like it was soft as butter.
14. A vial of dust.
15. A fox-fur mantle, clearly designed for a lady of quality, crusted with poison. You don't slosh poison...
16. A stopped pocketwatch. The second hand still goes, and ticks with a rather catchy beat.
17. A painting that causes the viewer to lose their concentration briefly.
18. A gold chain necklace, each link bearing a microscopic engraving of the names of the Dukes of Hell.
19. A tankard with a slot in the metal base for a tiny knife. The name "Harold" is scratched into the bottom of the mug.
20. A worryingly large collection of finger bones in a rucksack.
21. A highly objectionable novel. Its contents vary for each person who reads it, but they're always extremely taboo.
22. A wet skull. It feels soaked, like a cloth or piece of paper.
23. A pair of sunglasses, one lens shattered, covered in fine white beach sand.
24. A conductor's wand with a knife, well used, hidden inside it.
25. A mind-bending journal, written by a blind man attempting to describe what he saw the world as.
26. A wooden flute, carved with twisting dragons, carefully sawed in half then re-joined.
27. A signet ring with a symbol that is completely different on the ring and when it is used to seal something.
28. A doll with wooden bones, rubber veins and blood of dyed water.
29. A papier-mache mask in the shape of a goat's face with branches for horns. Expertly made.
30. A platinum Mobius strip, shaped as a ring, engraved with mathematical formulae for mana and magic.
31. A small wooden jewelry-box with a snake's skeleton in it, wrapped around an emerald brooch.
32. An iron gravedigger's spade, badly burned and tarnished, scratched as though by claws.
33. A black wooden mask in the shape of a crow's face and beak, chipped and worn.
34. A tapestry of two snakes devouring each other in a circle. It radiates an unspeakable aura of hatred. Nonmagical.
35. Two tickets to a play that never existed, written in a bizarre mixture of Elvish, Abyssal and Halfling.
36. The sheet music to a jaunty party tune that trails off mid-way into a lament for a lost love, titled "Hate the Feast".
37. A femur snapped messily in half, carefully mounted in a glass case for study.
38. Three iron cubes about an inch on each side. A person carrying any of them feels unbearably guilty.
39. A military canteen, brimming with sour milk.
40. A hide drum that, for some reason, reminds you of sunset when played.
41. A Fighter's breastplate, caked and crusted with gore and sweat.
42. A Cleric's holy symbol, rusted and tarnished.
43. A Thief's tools, covered in an oily, sticky, black substance.
44. A Wizard's tome, full of sketches of flowers and birds- and absolutely no arcana.
45. A Druid's totem, but of a human with one arm.
46. A Paladin's banner, showing a purple skull on a golden sunflash, tattered and mud-stained.
47. A Ranger's quiver, but it only holds humanoid bones.
48. A Monk's sash, made from drow skin.
49. A counterfeit crown with an unknown maker's mark.
50. A collection of flasks, labelled things like "stomach fluid", "marrow", and "plasma". They're from troglodytes.
51. A three-toothed cog, labelled "#229".
52. The eye of an owl, dissected and preserved.
53. An encyclopedia of Abyssal, with the name "Harksburg" on the inside.
54. A set of surgeon's tools, covered in grease and warped as though half-melted by heat.
55. A disturbing silver brooch that displays a man impaled on a spike.
56. A white t-shirt that bears the legend "These Are The Good Times", with a picture beneath that of a bloody drum.
57. A journal detailing a flood survivor's experiences, going from desperation to rambling madness.
58. A Halfling golden marriage crown, broken and slightly rusty, the flower motif nearly worn away.
59. An essay proposing that humans and dwarves share a common ancestor in halflings. Scarily plausible.
60. An aakocra saint's wings, preserved as a relic.
61. A cheery tune for the flute that is utterly addictive, scrawled on delicatessen wax paper.
62. A fire poker inscribed with the full script to an Elvish tragic play.
63. A silver poker chip inscribed with a black skull and the words "Solo questa volta"- "Just This Once".
64. Eighteen wedding rings of the exact same design inside a wooden box.
65. The blueprints for a wickerman, sketched out in charcoal on parchment and signed with "Ladybird".
66. A golden pocketwatch whose hands spin furiously, blurring with speed, then stop at 1:00 whenever it's opened.
67. A dancer's coronet and veil, damp, battered and frayed, abandoned carelessly on the ground.
68. An eyepatch with the name "Siegfried" on it, inside a red clamshell box, apparently abandoned.
69. A seer's omen-bag, filled with paraphernalia like crow feathers, knucklebones- and a missive from a local king.
70. An iron armband carved with the image of a dwarf slaying a werewolf, slightly nicked.
71. A vampire-hunter's silvered stake, hollowed out and with a scrap of paper inside that reads "Help!".
72. A thick black notebook, full of notes on various aberrant species- mind flayers, kuo-toa -ripped in half and charred.
73. A priest's biretta with a secret compartment on the inside, holding a note in Thieves' Cant and a platinum piece.
74. A scroll that holds commands for rebuilding the world, written carefully in Halfling. Several feet long.
75. A dead man in soldier's armor, clutching a locket that holds a picture of a...medusa.
76. A large, crude bear-hide sack, full to the brim with psychedelic mushrooms.
77. A well-tailored suit, carefully hung on a pine branch, with a letter of acceptance to a nameless guild in the pocket.
78. A swatted stirge, gorged with Empyrean blood. Still twitching when it's found.
79. A prosthetic hand made of molten Modron metal, with the name "Henrietta" engraved on every gear and cog.
80. The blueprints for a flintlock rifle, written enthusiastically in Gnomish and signed "Lily".
81. A set of earrings, in exotic style, with a coded message carved into them in tiny Common print.
82. A treatise on the properties of Mimics, laying abandoned on a table in a rough wooden shack, signed "Abe".
83. A gentleman's frock coat, pierced through and stained with blood, with a vial of poison sewn into the lining.
84. Two rapiers, clean as a whistle, lying abandoned in a clearing among two desiccated, mossy skeletons.
85. A stuffed Hydra head whose teeth are hollow and removable, three holding a few coins inside them.
86. A traveler's rucksack. If opened, it somehow has a campfire inside it, although this is undetectable from outside.
87. A dented, nicked vambrace with a blue ribbon wrapped around it, carved with the name "Elise".
88. A portrait of an adventuring party posing atop a slain dragon, with a dark figure lurking in the background.
89. A Dwarvish-styled crown, inscribed with the name of a kingdom that doesn't exist.
90. A table with paper, ink, quill and steaming fresh coffee, set up casually on a highway.
91. A gold-leafed skeleton with a dagger through it's gilded cranium, sitting on a throne of stone.
92. A beggar's bowl, a staff, a dagger, a whetstone and a small idol, lying in an unruly pile.
93. A mouse in an iron cage with a strange sigil shaved into the fur of its back.
94. An empty silver bird-cage hanging in the woods by the side of a highway. The door is locked.
95. A carpenter's toolcase with an opened secret compartment holding tinder, oil, matches, and flint-'n'-steel.
96. A bedroll with a shed viper skin in it.
97. A heap of Halfling cooking utensils at the base of a shrine of Baalzebul.
98. A coin that only ever lands on its side, with the two faces showing a dove pierced by an arrow and a clenched fist.
99. An ancient idol of red quartz, carved in bad imitation of Dwarvish style.
100. A small pentagram, made with fruit juice and rat skulls, in the back alley of a local schoolhouse.

MAME 0.211

As we pass the half-way point of 2019, it’s time for MAME 0.211, with all the excitement that brings. In this release, SGI Indy and MIPS RC2030 workstations have been promoted to working. This is a major milestone in RISC workstation emulation. If you’re feeling nostalgic, why not try one of them out, and install IRIX or RISC/os, respectively? This release also includes better support for the China Education Computer Apple II derivatives, along with a preliminary software list. This opens a window to Chinese classroom technology in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Speaking of software lists, we’ve added over five hundred cleanly cracked Apple II software titles, and imported a whole lot of ZX Spectrum cassette images.
Looking away from computer emulation for a moment, Game & Watch preservation keeps progressing, with the addition of Ball (the earliest Game & Watch release) and the panorama screen version of Donkey Kong Jr. The Gaelco/Salter Pro Cycle Tele Cardioline exercise system has been promoted to working, and the Pro Stepper system has been added. System 573 MP3 audio has been greatly improved in this release, and support has been added for more Bally pinball sound boards. ClawGrip added example programs from the V.R. Technologies VT03 software development kit. Gemcrush, a rare brick breaking arcade game, has been added in this release.
There are lots of other improvements, including a fix for the fatal error when switching away from MAME in Direct3D full-screen mode. You can get the source and Windows binary packages from the download page.

MAMETesters Bugs Fixed

• 06264: [Interface] UI: Fatal error when losing focus in full-screen mode. (hap)
• 07333: [Gameplay] (bbusters.cpp) bbusters and clones: Attract mode player AI behaves strangely. (Dirk Best)
• 07343: [Gameplay] (carpolo.cpp) carpolo: Player inputs and collision detection not working. (hap)
• 07345: [Graphics] (dec0.cpp) birdtry: Issues with large sprites on title screen and during gameplay. (cam900)
• 07347: [Flip Screen/Cocktail] (galaxian.cpp) skybase: Upright and cocktail settings are reversed. (MetalGod)
• 07351: [DIP/Input] (subsino2.cpp) ptrain: Payout button does not work. (Dirk Best)
• 07353: [Interface] alphatro, fc100: System hangs when saving to cassette. (Robbbert)
• 07354: [Flip Screen/Cocktail] (taitosj.cpp) spacecr: Cabinet type and flip screen DIP switches are reversed. (MetalGod)
• 07360: [Interface] (vtech1.cpp) vz200: Unable to load a cassette image that was created by MAME. (Robbbert)
• 07361: [Sound] (coco12.cpp) coco: Speech/Sound Cartridge music plays too fast. (Tim Lindner)

New working machines

• Game & Watch: Ball [Travis Goodspeed, algestam, hap, Mr. Do, Ryan Holtz, Sean Riddle]
• Game & Watch: Donkey Kong Jr. (panorama screen) [algestam]
• Gemcrush (Japan) [ShouTime, anonymous donor from Italy, ANY, Scott Moor, Russell Howard, Evan Korzon, Henrique Areias Pontes, Sean Sutton, Mr Goodwraith, Christopher Brownlee, Smitdogg, The Dumping Union, Angelo Salese]
• Pro Stepper Tele Cardioline (Salter Fitness Stepper V.1.0, Checksum F208) [ClawGrip, David Haywood, Recreativas.org]
• Shaanxi Province Computer Factory China Education Computer 2000 [zzemu]
• Shaanxi Province Computer Factory China Education Computer E [zzemu]
• Shaanxi Province Computer Factory China Education Computer G [zzemu]
• Shaanxi Province Computer Factory China Education Computer M [zzemu]
• Silicon Graphics Inc Indy (R4600, 100MHz) [Ryan Holtz]
• VRT VT SDK 'Pink Jelly' (VT03 Demo) [ClawGrip]
• VRT VT SDK 'VT03 Sound Test' (Sound Generator FMDemo) [ClawGrip]

New working clones

• Huanle Liuhe Yi (Happy 6-in-1) (M68K ver. V100HK, ARM ver. V100HK) [GC8TECH]
• Photo Y2K / Chaoji Bi Yi Bi / Dajia Lai Zhao Cha / Real and Fake (ver. 103, Japanese Board) [GC8TECH]
• Puzz Loop 2 (Japan 010226 Phoenix Edition) (bootleg) [Anonymous]
• Qume QVT-102A [Dirk Best]
• Super Invasion (Electromar, Spanish) [ARPA, Recreativas.org]
• Thunder & Lightning (bootleg with Tetris sound, set 2) [Bliep]

Machines promoted to working

• Bikkuri Pro Wrestling (Japan 881221, Ver 1.05) [Angelo Salese]
• Game & Watch: Chef [Sean Riddle, Mr. Do]
• MIPS RC2030 [Patrick Mackinlay]
• MIPS RS2030 [Patrick Mackinlay]
• Ohio Scientific Superboard II Model 600 (Rev. B) [Robbbert]
• Pro Cycle Tele Cardioline (Salter Fitness Bike V.1.0, Checksum 02AB) [David Haywood]

Clones promoted to working

• Compukit UK101 [Robbbert]
• Ohio Scientific Challenger 1P Series 2 [Robbbert]
• RyuKyu (Japan) (FD1094 317-5023) [Recreativas.org, The Dumping Union]
• Silicon Graphics Inc Indy (R4600, 133MHz) [Ryan Holtz]

New machines marked as NOT_WORKING

• Fuusen Pentai [R. Belmont, SpinalFeyd, The Dumping Union]
• Goldart (Spain) [Morten Shearman Kirkegaard, Peter Wilhelmsen, David Haywood, jordigahan, ClawGrip, Roberto Fresca, Ryan Holtz, David Torres, ArcadeHacker, Anarkade, ElSemi, Rafa Martínez, Ricky2001, Jonathan Valls, Lluis Mora, ElArcadio, Game Museum Team, Javier Martínez, Kaiser77, Pilar Bermúdez, StrPinball, Eduardo Molina, Juanan Laguna, Ángel Díaz, Recreativas.org]
• Korokoro Pensuke [R. Belmont, SpinalFeyd, The Dumping Union]
• Magic Bomb [Cristiano-MDQ]
• ManilaMatic Master [Stefan Fettes]
• Memorex Telex Telex 1192 [Bitsavers]
• Mindset Corporation Mindset Video Production System [O. Galibert, Al Kossow, Bitsavers]
• Olympic Darts (K7) [jordigahan, ClawGrip, Roberto Fresca]
• Quantel DPB-7000 [Ryan Holtz, Mark Nias]
• Queen Bee Bingo [Cristiano-MDQ]
• Rhythm Nation (v01.00.04) [R. Belmont, ClawGrip, Arcade Vintage, Recreativas.org, The Dumping Union]
• Super Train (Ver. 1.9) [Cristiano-MDQ]
• Synertek Systems KTM-3 [Bitsavers]
• Systel Computers System 100 [Al Kossow, Bitsavers]
• Tasc ChessSystem R30 [hap]
• Taiko no Tatsujin 6 (Japan, TK61 Ver.A) [Bill D, The Dumping Union, defor, twistedsymphony]
• Telex Computer Products Telex 277-D Display Terminal (Model 2) [Robbbert]
• Texas Instruments Electronic Digital Thermostat [hap, Sean Riddle]
• Treasure Bonus (American Alpha, Ver. 1.6) [Cristiano-MDQ]
• Treasure City (Ver. 208) [Cristiano-MDQ]
• Treasure Mary [Cristiano-MDQ]
• VRT VT SDK 'Boxing' (Demo for VT03 Pic32) [ClawGrip]
• VRT VT SDK 'Pinball' (C-Compiler Demo Program 2) [ClawGrip]

New clones marked as NOT_WORKING

• Big Karnak (Modular System) [Recreativas.org, ArcadeHacker, ClawGrip, David Haywood]
• Captain Zodiac (World) [Berty]
• Corvette (PX3 Prototype) [PinMAME]
• Champion Poker (v101) [Cristiano-MDQ]
• Champion Poker (v201F) [Cristiano-MDQ]
• Champion Poker (v210KS) [Cristiano-MDQ]
• Champion Poker (v300US) [Cristiano-MDQ]
• Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Relay (Japan) [ShouTime, defor]
• Epson CM6127 [Colin McDougall]
• Gals Panic (Modular System bootleg) [Juan Romero, Recreativas.org, ClawGrip, David Haywood]
• Goldart (Portugal) [Morten Shearman Kirkegaard, Peter Wilhelmsen, David Haywood, jordigahan, ClawGrip, Roberto Fresca, Ryan Holtz, David Torres, ArcadeHacker, Anarkade, ElSemi, Rafa Martínez, Ricky2001, Jonathan Valls, Lluis Mora, ElArcadio, Game Museum Team, Javier Martínez, Kaiser77, Pilar Bermúdez, StrPinball, Eduardo Molina, Juanan Laguna, Ángel Díaz, Recreativas.org]
• Mushiking The King Of Beetle (2K3 2ND Ver. 1.002-, World) [f205v]
• Toki (Modular System) [Juan Romero, Recreativas.org, ClawGrip]
• Treasure City (Ver. 202) [Cristiano-MDQ]

New working software list additions

• apple2_flop_misc:
  • Anti-M (version 1.4), Anti-M (version 1.5) [4am, Firehawke]
  • AppleWorks (Version 1.2, USA), AppleWorks (Version 1.3, USA), AppleWorks (Version 2.0, USA) [Firehawke]
• apple2_flop_orig: AIRSIM 1, Alcazar: The Forgotten Fortress, Championship Baseball, Laf Pak, Mr. Cool, OGRE, Pensate, Pentapus, Pipe Dream, Renegade, Rumpelstiltskin, Ski Crazed (Version 28701), Starcross (Revision 17 / 821021), Station 5, Sub Mission, The Caverns of Freitag, The Queen of Phobos, The Wizard of Oz, Theatre Europe, Thief, Ultima I: The Beginning [4am, Firehawke]
• bbc_rom:
  • PMS Genie Junior 1.1u [Derek Mathieson]
  • Acorn TFS 1.00, Acorn TFS 1.02, Acorn TFS 1.03, Advanced Disc Investigator 1.21 S/N:43318, ATS+ 1.00, ATS+ 2.00, BBC Teletext 2.38, BBC Teletext 2.50, BeebAid 1.05, BeebEd 1.04, CMS Link 2.00, DMON A1.03, General Utilities 3.22, HyperDriver 1.11, The Informant, Instat C00144, Logotron LOGO (Cymru), Microbrush Injector 1.00, Open LOGO, Printer Server 0.9A, QFS 1.01, Romit 1.00, Sciways 2.03, StarBASE 2.11, STL Clock & Desk 1.10, Style 1.3, SupaStore 1.5, Super-Forth 1.5, Swift 2.2, Techno-Font, TRXROM 2.00, ViewSheet 1.0, Wapping Support 1.21, Wordwise Plus 2.04, WYSIWYG Plus 1.22 [Nigel Barnes]
• cd32: Battle Chess [FakeShemp]
• cecflop: Apple DOS 3.3 System Master, Chāojí Hànzì Wénzhāng Biānjí, Chénglóng, Diànnǎo Suànmìng, Diànzǐ Xiànlù Jìsuànjī Fǔzhù Shèjì, Fēifǔ Shéntóng, Fú'ěrmósī, Gēn Wǒ Xué 6502 Huìbiān, Gǔpiào Zīxún Xìtǒng, Jìsuànjī Zīxún Fúwù, Ruǎnjiàn Mùlù Biānyìn Gōngjù V2.2, Shēngwùzhōng Qūxiàn Jí Xìnggé Zīxún, Tōngyòng Shùjùkù Guǎnlǐ Xìtǒng, Xiǎoxué Yǔwén, Yīnyuè Hēibǎn, Zhōnghuájī Dǎyìn Hé, Zhōnghuájī Xìtǒngpán CEC-DOS [zzemu, R. Belmont, Vas Crabb, xinyingho]
• dragon_flop: Dunjunz [Nigel Barnes]
• fm7_cass: The Stars [Elroy van Tamelen]
• ibm5150:
  • The ChessMachine (v2.1, Gideon v2.1), The ChessMachine (v2.3, Gideon v2.1) [hap]
  • The ChessMachine (RISC engines), The ChessMachine (v2.1, Gideon v1.7), The ChessMachine (v3.1, The King v2.20) [hap, fhub]
  • The Final ChessCard (v1.9) [hap, voelkx]
• ibm5170:
  • Mission (Traditional Chinese) [Justin Kerk]
  • America Online 3.0 for Windows, McAfee Software Emergency Boot Diskette [Justin Kerk, Jason Scott]
  • KLM's Screensaver [Justin Kerk, Misty De Méo]
• jb3000_flop: MS-DOS v1.25 [Edström]
• mt65_snap: Adventure 1: The Sceptre of Hamloth, Astro Fighter, Berzerk, Defender, Games Pack 1: Hangman, Games Pack 1: Lunar Lander, Games Pack 1: Othello, Hell's Bells, Moon Cresta, Moon Rescue, Slot Machine, Space Invasion, Space Rocks, The Gobbler [Geoff Macdonald]
• mtx_cass: Comic Bakery (MSX Conversion), Old Mac Farmer (MSX Conversion), Power Pac (Sord M5 Conversion), SASA (MSX Conversion), Sloopy's Christmas, Spectron (Coleco Conversion), Telebunny (MSX Conversion) [MTXworld]
• pc98: Bishoujo Daizukan, D.O. Doki Doki Disk Vol. 08, Daijuutai, Dark Seraphim, Datenshi Kyouko Part I, Dead Force, Delicious Lunch Pack, Dennou Garou, Desire - Haitoku no Rasen, Diadrum, Dires - Giger Loop, DiskX II, Diver's, Doki Doki Pretty League Dai-1-wa - Pink Angels Kiki Ippatsu no Maki, Doki Doki Pretty League Dai-2-wa - Mou Hitotsu no Rival, Doki Doki Pretty League Dai-3-wa - Minami no Umi no Kai no Maki, Doki Doki Pretty League Dai-4-wa - Nanase no Himitsu no Maki, Doki Doki Pretty League Dai-5-wa - Saraba Pink Angels-tachi, Doom II, Doop, Dora Dora Emotion - Seihaiden, DR² Night Janki, Dragon Master Silk - Ryuu Shoukan Musume - Episode II, Dragon Master Silk - Ryuu Shoukan Musume - Episode II (Alt Disk 1), Dream Theater, Dream Theater (Alt), Dual Soul, Duel - Kawanakajima Scenario, Duel Succession, Dungeon Hack (newer, 16/256 colors), Dungeon Hack (older, 256 colors, requires DOS 5.0), New 3D Golf Simulation Ver. 2.0, Paracelsus no Maken, Z's Triphony - Digital Craft [Neo Kobe Collection]
• pc98_cd: Dragon Lore [Neo Kobe Collection]
• vgmplay: Animorphs (Nintendo Game Boy Color), Babel no Tou (Sharp X68000), Big Karnak (Arcade), Bionic Commando (ZX Spectrum 128), Chopper I (SNK Triple Z80), Cobra-Command (Arcade), Die Hard (PC Engine), Fighting Run (PC Engine), Garfield no Isshuukan - A Week of Garfield (Family Computer), Grobda (NEC PC-8801), Herzog (Sharp X1 Turbo, OPM), Herzog (Sharp X1 Turbo, PSG), Kart Fighter (Dendy), LEGO Stunt Rally (Nintendo Game Boy Color), Last Mission (Arcade), Looney Tunes Collector - Alert! (Nintendo Game Boy Color), M&M's Minis Madness (Nintendo Game Boy Color), Pictionary - The Game of Video Quick Draw (NES), Plus Alpha (Mega System 1), Pro Yakyuu Family Stadium - Home Run Contest (MSX2, OPLL), Pro Yakyuu Family Stadium - Home Run Contest (MSX2, PSG), Project S-11 (Nintendo Game Boy Color), SimCity (NES), Sky Shark (NES), Soccer Brawl (SNK Neo Geo), Space Harrier (Fujitsu FM77AV), Space Harrier (NEC PC-8801), Stadium Hero (Arcade), Stuart Little - The Journey Home (Nintendo Game Boy Color), Super Boy 3 (MSX), Super Contra 7 (Dendy), Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins (Nintendo Game Boy), Terra Cresta II - Mandler no Gyakushuu (PC Engine), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (NES), Toy Pop (Sharp X1 Turbo), WEC Le Mans 24 (Arcade) [Tafoid]
• z88_cart: Code Count, EP-Copy, Event Control System, PC-Link II, Stop Watch, Toll Tracker v2.0 (Demo), Z88 Data Organiser [Nigel Barnes]

Software list items promoted to working

• bbc_rom: AMX Design [Nigel Barnes]
• cd32: Beneath a Steel Sky, Roadkill (Alt) [FakeShemp]
• mtx_cass: 3D Tachyon Fighter, 3D Turbo, Agrovator, Alice in Wonderland, Arcazions, Astro-Pac, Astromilon, Backgammon, Blobbo, Contract Bridge II, Contract Bridge II (Alt), Cosmic Raiders, Demonstration Tape, Goldmine, Hawk Wars, Kilopede, Knuckles, Knuckles (Alt), Little Devils, Micro Canvas, Mission Alphatron, Mission Alphatron (Alt), Mission Omega, MTX Chess, MTX Draughts, Nemo, Obloids, Phaid, Phaid (Alt), Qogo, Quazzia, Space Invasion (Coleco Conversion), Star Command, Super Minefield, Surface Scanner, Tapeworm, Target Zone, Toado, Vernon and the Vampires [Nigel Barnes]
• pc98: Cybernetic Hi-School / Dennou Gakuen III - Top wo Nerae!, D.P.S. - Dream Program System (Alt), D.P.S. SG 2 - Dream Program System SG Set 2, Daikairei - Dainippon Teikoku Kaigun no Kiseki, Dalk, Daraku no Kuni no Angie - Kyoukai no Mesu Dorei-tachi, Deja Vu~2994., Dengeki Nurse, Denza, Devil Chain 98, Diamond Players, Disc Station 98 #03, Disc Station 98 #11 (Alt Format), DNA, Doki Doki Vacation - Kirameku Kisetsu no Naka de, DOR, DOR Part 2, DOR Part 3, Dori Dor Qizu 7 (Bad Sectors), Dori Dor Qizu 8, Doujin Soft Shuusaku Game Collection Vol. 1 (5.25" Disks), Dragon Knight 4, Dragon Princess - Ryuu no Densetsu, Dungeon Buster, Yume Utsutsu - Dreamy [Carl, r09]
• pc98_cd: Duel Succession Plus Kit [Carl, r09]

New NOT_WORKING software list additions

• bbc_rom: Barry-Box, BeebScan, CUBE BeebFlex, Eprom Programmer 1.03, Eprom Programmer 1.06, Eprom Programmer V2 2.01, Eprom Programmer V2 2.02, Eprom Programmer V2 2.03, EURO-Beeb Terminal 1, EURO-Beeb Terminal 4.13, FIT Test Station, Hobbit OS 1.8, PMS Genie 1.01, Prestel 1.0, Ramamp Video 2.40, Ramamp Video 2.50 [Nigel Barnes]
• ibm5170: WinBook XL Audio, WinBook XL Boot Disk [Justin Kerk]
• leapfrog_leappad_cart: The Amazing Spider-Man (UK), Disney's Bounce, Tigger, Bounce (UK), Leap 1 - Reading - Disney/Pixar Finding Nemo (UK), Leap 2 - Reading - Disney/Pixar Monsters, Inc. (UK), Leap Start - Pre Reading Storybook - Disney's The Lion King (UK), Leap-Start - Pre Reading - Tutter's Tiny Trip (UK), Phonics Programme - Lesson 3 - Short Vowels o and e - A Day at Moss Lake (UK) [TeamEurope]
• mtx_cass: Caves of Orb, Pac-Man (MSX Conversion), Zombie Near [MTXworld]
• pc98: Dam Busters, Dangerous Toys, Desert Dragoon - Sabaku no Ryuukihei, Director Monogatari [Neo Kobe Collection]
• pce_tourvision: Paranoia (TourVision PCE bootleg), Racing Damashii (TourVision PCE bootleg) [system11]
• spectrum_cass: Army Moves (Spanish, set 1), Astroblasters, CD Loader Software, F-16 - Fighting Falcon (EDOS), Rock Star Ate My Hamster (EDOS), Seymour - Take 1 (Minigame / Demo), Supertrux (Encore), Turbo The Tortoise (set 2, Codemasters), Wonder Boy (set 1), Wonder Boy (set 2) [TZX Vault, SPA2]

Source Changes

• mc68340 timer improvements: [AJR]
  
  • Fixed pre-scaler calculation.
  • Handle various reset behaviors.
  • Record TOUT changes in status register.
  • Improved handling of COM flag and compare register being zero.
  • Wait for cycle after reaching zero to reload.
• pk8020.cpp: Added printer port. [AJR]
  
• ds1386: Fixed initialization of RTC registers from system time, and made default command register value more useful. [AJR]
  
• Implemented accurate byte-smearing for writes on 32-bit M68k family CPUs. [AJR]
  
• i8275: Improved and simplified handling of field attributes. [AJR]
  
• Implemented Apple II game I/O port as a slot device, and hooked it up to the Apple II and Sanyo MBC-550 family machines. [AJR]
  
• applix: Fixed video addressing, added colored border area, and added SCC and RS-232 serial ports. [AJR]
  
• Fixed fatal error when attempting to set a watchpoint straddling unaligned portions of two adjacent native words. [AJR]
  
• Added MM5307 Baud Rate Generator device. [AJR]
  
• tk2000: Added printer interface. [AJR]
  
• x68000: Overhauled interrupt handling, and added second expansion slot. [AJR]
  
• Added preliminary disassembler and skeleton CPU device for the Elan RISC II architecture. [AJR]
  
• unidasm: Corrected address shifts for µ'nSP and µPD7725. [AJR]
  
• a2vidtrm, a2vtc2: Merged devices and ROM sets. [AJR]
  
• Corrected VGA/SVGA display parameters. [AJR]
  
• Added disassembler and skeleton device for the DP8344 Biphase Communications Processor. [AJR]
  
• cntsteer.cpp: Fix sprite colors and magnification feature. [Angelo Salese]
  
• deco32.cpp: Provided gun Y minimum/maximum values for Locked N Loaded, making it possible to calibrate. [Angelo Salese]
  
• balsente.cpp: Fixed reversed joystick inputs for players 3 and 4. [Angelo Salese]
  
• sh2.cpp updates: [Angelo Salese]
  
  • Started refactoring SH7604 system-on-a-chip.
  • Fixed condition for clearing divider unit overflow flag.
  • Fixed division unit overflow flag clearance;
• mega32x.cpp: Improved member names, and converted read/write handlers to 16-bit space. [Angelo Salese]
  
• exedexes.cpp: Converted to priority drawing, simplified graphics decoding and cleaned up code. [cam900]
  
• cpu/jaguar: Implemented version bits in control register, eliminated register_postload, and cleaned up code. [cam900]
  
• jaguar.cpp: Fixed clock crystal frequencies, and improved metadata. [cam900]
  
• 1943.cpp: Fixed drawing priorities, reduced runtime tag map lookups, simplified graphics decoding, and cleaned up code. [cam900]
  
• decmxc06.cpp: Fixed graphical regressions and corrected comments. [cam900]
  
• jedi.cpp updates: [cam900]
  
  • Added graphics decoding for debugging (disabled by default), and converted palette handling to use palette device.
  • Reduced runtime tag map lookups and cleaned up code.
• ddenlovr.cpp: Corrected CPU type. [cam900]
  
• drawgfx.cpp: Added functionality for drawing bitmaps and scan lines with priority, and exposed additive blending function. [cam900]
  
  • Converted hng64.cpp, realbrk.cpp and stvvdp2.cpp to use new common functionality.
• tigeroad_spr.cpp: Moved graphics decoding from the drivers into the device, and cleaned up code. [cam900]
  
• aquarium.cpp, asuka.cpp, bionicc.cpp, tigeroad.cpp, supduck.cpp: Simplified graphics decoding and cleaned up code. [cam900]
  
• fuukifg.cpp updates: [cam900]
  
  • Moved sprite RAM to drivers, and added callbacks for coloupriority/banking behavior.
  • Moved graphics decoding into the device, and cleaned up code.
• fuukifg2.cpp, fuukifg3.cpp, gcpinbal.cpp: Cleaned up code. [cam900]
  
• excellent_spr.cpp: Moved graphics decoding into the device, added callback for priority behavior, and cleaned up code. [cam900]
  
• video/generic.cpp: Added packed 4-bit and raw graphics layouts. [cam900]
  
  • Now used in 2mindril.cpp, ashnojoe.cpp, asuka.cpp, f1gp.cpp, pgm2.cpp, powerins.cpp, psikyosh.cpp, and undrfire.cpp.
• epic12.cpp: Added a video RAM viewer for debugging (disabled by default), and cleaned up code. [cam900]
  
• ninjaw.cpp cleanup: [cam900]
  
  • Cleaned up sprite priority behavior, and split graphics layouts for each TC0100SCN chip.
  • Eliminated register_postload, simplified graphics decoding and cleaned up code.
• warriorb.cpp: Derive clocks from crystals on PCB, simplified graphics decoding, and cleaned up code. [cam900]
  
• othunder.cpp, topspeed.cpp: Reduced runtime tag map lookups, simplified graphics decoding, and cleaned up code. [cam900]
  
• taito_z.cpp: Reduced use of MCFG_MACHINE_START and MCFG_MACHINE_RESET macros, and cleaned up code. [cam900]
  
• wgp.cpp updates: [cam900]
  
  • Implemented masked drawing priorities, and simplified graphics decoding.
  • Eliminated register_postload, reduced redundancy, cleaned up code, and added notes.
• tc0280grd.cpp: Moved graphics decoding from the drivers to the device, and added support for masked drawing priorities. [cam900]
  
• taito_f2.cpp: Implemented masked priority for ROZ layer, fixed finalb 6-bit graphics decoding, and cleaned up code. [cam900]
  
• galastrm.cpp: Simplified graphics decoding. [cam900]
  
• groundfx.cpp, undrfire.cpp: Fixed 6-bit graphics decoding and cleaned up code. [cam900]
  
• tc0100scn.cpp: Allow graphics granularity to be updated after configuration. [cam900]
  
• 2mindril.cpp: Improved notes and metadata for 2mindril. [cam900]
  
• taito_f3.cpp, 2mindril.cpp updates: [cam900]
  
  • Improved graphics decoding and ROM loading.
  • Defer allocation of video RAM to start time, reduced runtime tag map lookups, reduced redundancy, and cleaned up code.
• ashnojoe.cpp: Corrected number of tilemaps, reduced runtime tag map lookups, reduced redundancy, and cleaned up code. [cam900]
  
• gp9001.cpp: Added callback for bank switching, suppress read side effects for debugger, and cleaned up code. [cam900]
  
• toaplan2.cpp: Cleaned up code. [cam900]
  
• seta.cpp: Suppress read side effects for debugger, simplified graphics decoding, and cleaned up code. [cam900]
  
• rohga.cpp, segas32.cpp: Added links to reference videos. [cam900]
  
• darius.cpp updates: [cam900]
  
  • Simplified graphics decoding, and cleaned up sprite priority behavior.
  • Eliminated register_postload, reduced runtime tag map lookups, reduced redundancy, and cleaned up code.
• pc090oj.cpp updates: [cam900]
  
  • Moved graphics decoding from drivers into device, added a callback for color bank/priority behavior, and cleaned up code.
  • Simplified graphics decoding and reduced trampolines in drivers using this device.
• tc0480scp.cpp updates: [cam900]
  
  • Moved graphics decoding from drivers into device, and fixed text layer graphics decoding for bootleg boards.
  • Improved graphics decoding and cleaned up code in drivers using this device.
• tc0100scn.cpp: Moved graphics decoding from drivers to device, made color base configurable, and added TC0620SCC variant. [cam900]
  
• metro.cpp: Fixed vertical blanking interrupt routing for bangball. [cam900]
  
• igs017_igs031.cpp: Avoid creating temporary graphics elements to improve performance. [cam900]
  
• boogwing.cpp, dblewing.cpp, deco156.cpp, deco32.cpp, dietgo.cpp, mirage.cpp, supbtime.cpp: Simplified graphics decoding. [cam900]
  
• cninja.cpp: Simplified graphics decoding, and improved ROM region names. [cam900]
  
• toaplan2.cpp: Reduced runtime tag map lookups, reduced redundancy, improved sound mixing levels, and cleaned up code. [cam900]
  
• cbuster.cpp: Simplified graphics decoding, changed palette to use a format handler, and cleaned up code. [cam900]
  
• huc6230.cpp, huc6272.cpp: Added links to relevant patents. [cam900]
  
• tc009xlvc.cpp updates: [cam900]
  
  • Moved on-chip functionality from driver to device, including bank switching, graphics, interrupts, palette, and video registers.
  • Converted banking to use address_map_bank_device, and cleaned up code and added notes.
• lastbank.cpp: Corrected audio CPU program ROM region size. [cam900]
  
• xavix.cpp: Store code bank in a private stack when on long calls (fixes crash on rad_hnt2 calibration screen). [David Haywood]
  
• tzx_cas.cpp: Revert changes to pause insertion that cause Speedlock loaders to fail. [David Haywood]
  
• Moved Tomy Prin-C to its own source file. [David Haywood]
  
• redclash.cpp: Re-parented Red Clash sets, as it appears to be a Kaneko game. [David Haywood]
  
• Added µPD7004 analog to digital converter device. [Dirk Best]
  
• bbusters: Refactored to use µPD7004 device and adjusted gun limits to better match factory defaults (MT07333). [Dirk Best]
  
• subsino2.cpp: Added hoppeticket dispenser and fixed key-out and payout inputs for xtrain and ptrain (MT07351). [Dirk Best]
  
• argus.cpp: Added notes about the ROM checksum tests. [Dirk Best]
  
• qvt102.cpp updates: [Dirk Best]
  
  • Added low-level keyboard emulation, including beeper.
  • Fixed some graphical issues, corrected blink frequency, and added support for full-screen reverse.
  • Added support for German and UK character sets.
  • Hooked up CTC properly, added RS-232 auxiliary port, and added configuration jumpers for RS-232 control signals.
  • Added save state support.
• qvt6800.cpp: Renamed to qvt190.cpp, added graphics decoding, and implemented basic text rendering. [Dirk Best]
  
• qvt103.cpp, qvt201.cpp: Added graphics decoding. [Dirk Best]
  
• qvt70.cpp: Started to flesh out the skeleton driver. [Dirk Best]
  
• sms.cpp: Route NMI through video display processor. [Enik Land]
  
• z80sio.cpp: Improved synchronous mode emulation using HP98406 tests for guidance. [F.Ulivi]
  
• hp9845: Added support for the HP98046 serial I/O module. [F.Ulivi]
  
• Fixed Visual Studio clang/llvm build configuration. [feos]
  
• vectrex: Select bank 1 on reset for 64 KiB cartridges. [Ford Seidel]
  
• by35.cpp updates: [hackbar]
  
  • Added Bally Squawk & Talk sound boards, and switched video games over to new implementation.
  • Added audio output filters.
  • Added sound LED to layouts.
• tms5220.cpp: Adjusted delay between /RS being activated and /READY being asserted. [hackbar]
  
• 6821pia.cpp: Made reading port A when it’s in output mode more flexible. [hackbar]
  
• Changed auto-fire plugin to store configuration in the plugin home path directory. [Jack Li]
  
• Added X11 XInput development library package to Travis build configuration. [Kiall Mac Innes]
  
• toypop.cpp: Fixed rendering of withered flowers in liblrabl. [kunikuni]
  
• Default save/load search path to an empty string if it’s null. [Nathan Woods]
  
• Added a -version verb that prints the build version. [Nathan Woods]
  
• microtan: Randomize video RAM at startup, and fixed setting stack pointer when loading a snapshot. [Nigel Barnes]
  
• ef9365.cpp: Fixed vertical characters, and use configured palette. [Nigel Barnes]
  
• Fixed a subtle memory subsystem bug in unit mask handling. [O. Galibert]
  
• mindset.cpp: Added preliminary Mindset Video Production System emulation, including graphics coprocessor and keyboard. [O. Galibert, Al Kossow]
  
• bus/pc_kbd: Added high-level emulation of PS/2 mouse. [Patrick Mackinlay]
  
• Fixed M6805 issue causing PC/AT 101 keyboard to fail to receive commands. [Patrick Mackinlay]
  
• SGI IOC2: Switched to using emulated PS/2 keyboard/mouse controller – fixes inability to type numerous characters. [Patrick Mackinlay, Ryan Holtz]
  
• myb3k.cpp: Added support for the FDC4712 8" floppy drive controller card. [protosphere]
  
• audio/bally.cpp: Fixed AS2888 sound board playing incorrect tones, and changed sound test switch assignment to avoid conflicts. [Quench]
  
• mc68340: Corrected Baud rate calculation. [R. Belmont]
  
• esqmr.cpp: Improved RAM, ROM and device mapping (programs run further, but don’t boot yet). [R. Belmont]
  
• konmedal updates: [R. Belmont]
  
  • Corrected K52109 mapping and tile banking for shuriboy and fuusenpn.
  • Fixed visible area, colors and priorities for shuriboy.
• konmedal68k.cpp: Added address map for koropens, allowing it to pass its self-test. [R. Belmont]
  
• esq1.cpp: Improved emulation of sq80 allowing it to boot and play. [R. Belmont, Jariseon, R. Buchty]
  
• SGI Newport graphics updates: [Ryan Holtz]
  
  • Added Display Control Bus timeout – prevents Presenter board from being erroneously detected.
  • Fixed COLORI shift when cross-initialized by COLORRED, RGB vs. CI fast-clear handling, and octant calculation for lines.
  • Fixed handling of COLORI register alternate access, and added support for RAMDAC gamma LUT.
  • Fixed source buffer shift when blending is enabled.
  • Fixed line drawing to not cause a hang in certain cases.
  • Fixed color iterator reload behavior, and color iterator clamping behavior.
  • Fixed per-pixel alpha.
  • Added support for endian swapping on host data port writes, and added double-buffer shift support for non-RGB/CI planes.
  • Fixed Packed Color Fractions register handling.
  • Fixed store shift for overlay planes – fixes cursor outlines in Barco ColorTone.
• sgi_mc: Fixed VDMA TLB which caused corrupt bitmap transfers. [Ryan Holtz]
  
• SGI HAL2 audio updates: [Ryan Holtz]
  
  • Added handling for different frequency rates and fixed stereo DAC playback.
  • Moved DAC devices into HAL2 from HPC3.
  • Implemented DAC parameter read-back.
• indy_indigo2.cpp: Improved set names, converted to use BIOS options, and added B4 stepping of Indy boot PROM. [Ryan Holtz]
  
• Started emulating the Quantel DPB-7000 paintbox: [Ryan Holtz, Mark Nias]
  
  • Hooked up CSR, control bus, and system control registers.
  • Hooked up Auto-Start switch and both banks of configuration switches.
  • Hooked up CRT controller character generator (using the bw12 character generator ROM until a proper dump is available).
  • Added preliminary Disk Sequencer Card emulation.
  • Added TV field timer.
  • Fixed screen size and visible area, and fixed field in/out timers.
  • Began adding FDC support.
  • Added a skeleton device for the Combiner Card, and hooked up clocked logic and screen device.
  • Added a skeleton device for the Brush Processor Card.
  • Added a skeleton device for the Store Address Card.
• am2910: Added a preliminary, largely-untested Am2910 Microprogram Controller device. [Ryan Holtz]
  
• tdc1008: Emulated the TRW TDC1008 Multiplier-Accumulator. [Ryan Holtz]
  
• tmc208k: Added device for the TRW TMC208K/TMC28KU 8×8-bit Parallel Multiplier. [Ryan Holtz]
  
• am25s55x: Added initial implementation for Am25S557 and 25S558 Combinatorial Multiplier chips. [Ryan Holtz]
  
• 74381: Added untested 74S381 ALU/Function Generator device. [Ryan Holtz]
  
• Renamed SGI GIO bus implementation to GIO64 (it’s not the same as the earlier 32-bit GIO bus). [tyfighter]
  
• ap2_dsk.cpp: Added support for 40-track disk images used by Chinese clones. [zzemu, R. Belmont]
  
• Konami System 573 MP3 playback fixes: [Windy Fairy]
  
  • Fixed addressing issues that could cause crashes, failure to boot, or bad graphics.
  • Fixed playback flag handling, added volume control, and fixed the way playback time is reported.
  • Fixed transitioning between MP3 files.
• apple2_flop_clcracked: Added over five hundred cleanly cracked software titles. [4am, Firehawke]
  
• chanbara.cpp: Added DIP switch locations for chanbara. [Corrado Tomaselli, The Dumping Union]
  
• aristmk6.cpp: Added Queensland 25012805 BIOS. [Dam0, Heihachi_73]
  
• megatech.cpp, megatech.xml: Fixed ROM labels and sizes for Arnold Palmer Tour Golf, Bonanza Bros. and Wrestle War. [f205v]
  
• cd32.xml: Sorted entries by name. [FakeShemp]
  
• aristmk5.cpp: Dumped USA set chips v1.0, v4.03.07 and v4.04.05. [Gaby, Roberto Fresca]
  
• gticlub.cpp, hornet.cpp: Expanded notes about I/O boards. [Hydreigon]
  
• bagman.cpp: Changed pickin to use an 8-way joystick, and corrected DIP switch locations. [Mark Spaeth, Tafoid]
  
• segaxbd.cpp, pce_tourvision.xml: Fixed stray spaces in descriptions. [MASH]
  
• m72.cpp: Dumped GAL at IC3 for lohtb. [parramon, ClawGrip]
  
• toki_ms.cpp: Re-dumped “5_tk_514.ic25” ROM for tokims. [parramon, ClawGrip]
  
• pc98.xml updates: [r09]
  
  • Re-tested software with latest MAME.
  • Re-labeled disk images with their actual names, and added usage notes for software that requires DOS.
  • Removed user disks from games that required the user to create them, and removed duplicates that only differ in save data.
• pc98_cd.xml: Re-ordered some disks so they automatically mount in a more logical way, and corrected metadata. [r09]
  
• o2.cpp: Added notes after decapping the O2 Keyboard microcontroller (Zilog RT101+228A). [Sean Riddle]
  
• apple2: Added the //e version of the AE Vulcan IDE card. [SPK, R. Belmont]
  
• konmedal.cpp: Dumped PROMs for shuriboy. [TeamEurope, Rod_Wod, The Dumping Union]
  
• megadriv.cpp: dumped MegaCD Japan BIOS revision 1.00C. [tmee]
  
• spectrum_cass.xml: Imported a large number of cassette images to the software list. [TZX Vault, SPA2]
  

MAME 0.215

A wild MAME 0.215 appears! Yes, another month has gone by, and it’s time to check out what’s new. On the arcade side, Taito’s incredibly rare 4-screen top-down racer Super Dead Heat is now playable! Joining its ranks are other rarities, such as the European release of Capcom‘s 19XX: The War Against Destiny, and a bootleg of Jaleco’s P-47 – The Freedom Fighter using a different sound system. We’ve got three newly supported Game & Watch titles: Lion, Manhole, and Spitball Sparky, as well as the crystal screen version of Super Mario Bros. Two new JAKKS Pacific TV games, Capcom 3-in-1 and Disney Princesses, have also been added.
Other improvements include several more protection microcontrollers dumped and emulated, the NCR Decision Mate V working (now including hard disk controllers), graphics fixes for the 68k-based SNK and Alpha Denshi games, and some graphical updates to the Super A'Can driver.
We’ve updated bgfx, adding preliminary Vulkan support. There are some issues we’re aware of, so if you run into issues, check our GitHub issues page to see if it’s already known, and report it if it isn’t. We’ve also improved support for building and running on Linux systems without X11.
You can get the source and Windows binary packages from the download page.

MAMETesters Bugs Fixed

• 04531: [Sound] (segas32.cpp) f1en: Engine noise loops/resets. (Tafoid)
• 07025: [Graphics] (model1.cpp) vr: Graphical glitches. (O. Galibert)
• 07026: [Gameplay] (model1.cpp) vr: Gameplay calculation and physics issues. (O. Galibert)
• 07372: [Crash/Freeze] X11 Lightgun input module crashes if X11 display is not available. (George McMullen)
• 07437: [Gameplay] (x68k.cpp) x68000 [nemesis]: Background tiles appear in foreground in Nemesis 90 Kai. (Carl)
• 07438: [Graphics] (m72.cpp) imgfightj, mrheli, nspiritj: “For use in Japan” messages are not displayed correctly. (Angelo Salese)
• 07442: [DIP/Input] (gaelco.cpp) biomtoy, biomtoya, biomtoyb, biomtoyc, bioplayc: Lives DIP switch mis-labelled. (girosintornillos)
• 07444: [DIP/Input] (seta.cpp) blandia, blandiap: Lives DIP switch mis-labelled. (girosintornillos)
• 07445: [DIP/Input] (model2.cpp) sgt24h, overrevb: Accelerator and brake pedals are reversed. (VasiliyFamiliya)
• 07447: [Graphics] (cninja.cpp) cninja and clones: Incorrect graphical priorities between level 4 bosses. (Ivan Vangelista)
• 07448: [Gameplay] (taito_z.cpp) sci, scia, scij, scin, sciu: Shifting gears activates turbo. (girosintornillos)
• 07452: [Crash/Freeze] (eprom.cpp) eprom, eprom2: The control test will not load. (AJR)
• 07454: [Plugins] (dooyong.cpp) flytiger: Use of high score plugin causes incorrect attract mode behaviour. (Carl)
• 07456: [Crash/Freeze] (segas16b.cpp) eswat: Emulator crashes with segmentation fault. (smf)
• 07457: [DIP/Input] (m107.cpp) dsoccr94: Coin 3 and coin 4 inputs are mapped incorrectly. (MetalGod)
• 07463: [DIP/Input] (mystwarr.cpp) metamrph and clones, viostorm and clones: Coin 3 and 4 inputs are not connected. (Zach S.)
• 07465: [Crash/Freeze] (interpro.cpp) ip2000: Emulator crashes if mouse is moved during startup. (Patrick Mackinlay)
• 07469: [Graphics] (vboy.cpp) vboy: Sprite elements are cut off on the right. (Robbbert)

New working machines

• Capcom 3-in-1 (1942, Commando, Ghosts'n Goblins) (JAKKS Pacific TV Game, Game-Key Ready) (29 MAR 2005 B) [Sean Riddle, David Haywood, anonymous]
• China H Computer Company H-01B [zzemu]
• Disney Princesses (JAKKS Pacific TV Game, Game-Key Ready) [Sean Riddle, David Haywood, anonymous]
• Game & Watch: Lion [algestam, Mr. Do, Sean Riddle]
• Game & Watch: Manhole (gold) [algestam, Mr. Do, Sean Riddle]
• Game & Watch: Spitball Sparky [algestam, Mr Jiggles the Christmas Man]
• Motorola MEK6800D1 [68bit]
• Motorola Micro Chroma 68 [68bit]
• Super Dead Heat [Phil Bennett, David Haywood]

New working clones

• 19XX: The War Against Destiny (Euro 960104) [redsupra, smf]
• Beastorizer (USA, Jun 21 1997) [jordigahan, ClawGrip]
• Bomberman (Version 6.6) [caius, The Dumping Union]
• Buggy Boy/Speed Buggy (cockpit, rev. B) [pacman70, Asayuki]
• Dragon Breed (Japan, M72 PCB version) [Jorge Silva]
• Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. (crystal screen) [algestam, Mr Jiggles the Christmas Man]
• Hard Head (bootleg, set 3) [jordigahan, Heckler, ClawGrip]
• Hegener + Glaser Mephisto MM V (prototype) [CB-Emu]
• Megatouch III Turnier Edition (9255-30-50 R0F, Bi-Lingual GEENG version) [Kevin Eshbach, Brian Troha, The Dumping Union]
• P-47 - The Freedom Fighter (World, bootleg) [jordigahan, Heckler, ClawGrip]

Machines promoted to working

• Fidelity Electronics Phantom Chess Challenger [Sandro Ronco]
• NCR Decision Mate V [Sandro Ronco, rfka01]
• Pacific Educational Systems VPU-01 Speech box [Robbbert]
• Radio Shack TRS-80 DT-1 [Robbbert]

New machines marked as NOT_WORKING

• Advance Bright Ltd Ping Pong / Table Tennis / Super Ping Pong (PP1100, ABL TV Game) [David Haywood, Morten Shearman Kirkegaard, Peter Wilhelmsen]
• Conny TV Virtual Tennis [David Haywood, Morten Shearman Kirkegaard, Peter Wilhelmsen]
• El Dorado [TeamEurope]
• The Flintstones (LX-3) [PinMAME]
• Care Bears TV Games (JAKKS Pacific TV Game, Game-Key Ready) [Sean Riddle, David Haywood, anonymous]
• Kursaal Darts [jordigahan, ClawGrip]
• Litek Information Systems LMS46-V9 [Don Maslin Archive, AJR]
• Research Inc. Teleray Model 10 [Bitsavers]
• Rollamatic 5-Line Special (Barcrest) (MPU3) [Darran, The Dumping Union]
• TaiKee Rockstar Guitar / Guitar Rock (PAL) [David Haywood, Morten Shearman Kirkegaard, Peter Wilhelmsen]
• Terrific Lake [PinMAME]
• Top Sound (French) [PinMAME]
• Play Vision Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Play Vision, Plug and Play, UK) [David Haywood, Morten Shearman Kirkegaard, Peter Wilhelmsen]
• Vortex (Island Design) [unknown]

New clones marked as NOT_WORKING

• 386 motherboards using a OPTi 82C495SLC chipset [rfka01]
• 386 motherboards using the ALi M1419 chipset [rfka01]
• 386 motherboards using the CS8230 chipset [rfka01]
• 386 motherboards using the MX83C305(A)(FC)/MX83C05(A)(FC) chipset [rfka01]
• 386 motherboards using the OPTi 82C381 chipset [rfka01]
• 386 motherboards using the OPTi 82C391 chipset [rfka01]
• 386 motherboards using the SiS Rabbit chipset [rfka01]
• 386 motherboards using the UMC UM82C481AF chipset [rfka01]
• 386 motherboards using the UMC UM82C491F + UM82C493F chipset or BIOTEQ equivalents [rfka01]
• 386 motherboard using the UMC UM82C491F chipset [rfka01]
• 386sx motherboards using the ALi M1217 chipset [rfka01]
• 386sx motherboards using the OPTi 82C283 chipset [rfka01]
• 386sx motherboards using the OPTi 82C291 chipset [rfka01]
• 386sx motherboards using the SCAMPSX chipset [rfka01]
• 486 motherboards using the ALi 1487/1489 chipset [rfka01]
• 486 motherboards using the OPTi OPTi 82C392, 82C493 chipset [rfka01]
• 486 motherboards using the SiS 85C471/85C407 chipset [rfka01]
• 486 motherboards using the UMC UM8498F, UM8496F chipset [rfka01]
• 486 motherboards using the UMC UM8886/UM8881 chipset [rfka01]
• Abit AB-PB4 [rfka01]
• Abit AB-PW4 [rfka01]
• Alaris Cougar [rfka01]
• Alaris RYC LEOPARD LX [rfka01]
• Alaris Tornado 2 [rfka01]
• AMI Mark V Baby Screamer [rfka01]
• ANIX CH-386S-16/20/25G [rfka01]
• Aquarius System (ASI) MB-4D33/50NR [rfka01]
• Asus ISA-486SV2 [rfka01]
• AUVA TAM/25-P2 M31720P [rfka01]
• Bank Robbery (Ver. 1.23) [Siftware]
• Biostar MB-1340UCQ-B [rfka01]
• Chaintech 333SC [rfka01]
• Chaintech 486SLE M106 4SLE-Z1 [rfka01]
• Chaintech ELT-286B-160B(E) [rfka01]
• Chicony CH-491E [rfka01]
• Daewoo AL486V-D Rev:1.1 [rfka01]
• Derby Owners Club World Edition (Rev A) [Fluffy]
• Diamond Flower, Inc. (DFI) 486-CCV [rfka01]
• DTK Computer PPM-3333P [rfka01]
• DTK PKM-0038S aka Gemlight GMB-486SG [rfka01]
• Elitegroup Computer Systems FX-3000 REV1.0 [rfka01]
• Elitegroup ELT-386SX-160BE [rfka01]
• Elitegroup UC4913 REV:1.1 [rfka01]
• Elitegroup UC4915 A AIO [rfka01]
• Elitegroup UM486/UM486sx [rfka01]
• Elitegroup UM486V-AIO [rfka01]
• First International Computer 4386-VC-HD [rfka01]
• First International Computer 4386-VC-V [rfka01]
• First International Computer 486-GIO-VT2 [rfka01]
• Fujitsu FM-Towns (Model 1 / 2) [r09]
• GENOA TurboExpress 486 VL [rfka01]
• GES 9051N-386C VER -0.01 [rfka01]
• Gigabyte GA-486VF [rfka01]
• Gigabyte GA-486VS [rfka01]
• LuckyStar LS-486E Rev:C [rfka01]
• Micro-Express Inc. Forex 386 Cache [rfka01]
• MORSE KP 386SX V2.21 [rfka01]
• MSI MS-4125 [rfka01]
• MSI MS-4138 [rfka01]
• MSI MS-4144 [rfka01]
• Octek Hawk [rfka01]
• Octek Hippo COM [rfka01]
• Octek Hippo DCA2 [rfka01]
• Octek Hippo VL+ [rfka01]
• Octek Panther II [rfka01]
• Olivetti M21 [rfka01]
• OPTi OPTi 386WB VER.1.0 [rfka01]
• PC-Chips M216 [rfka01]
• PC-Chips M396F [rfka01]
• PC-Chips M912 [rfka01]
• PC-Chips M915i [rfka01]
• Peacock 386sx Ver. 2.0 motherboard SCsxAIO [rfka01]
• Peacock PCK 486 DX [rfka01]
• Philips PCD204 (PCD200 series) [rfka01]
• Pine PT-319A [rfka01]
• Pine Technology PT-430 [rfka01]
• Pine Technology PT-432b aka SR-M401-A [rfka01]
• PROTECH PM486PU-S7 [rfka01]
• QDI PX486P3 [rfka01]
• QDI V4P895P3/SMT V5.0 [rfka01]
• QD-U386DX VER 1.0 [rfka01]
• Sanyo MBC-18NB [rfka01]
• See-Thru Sto486Wb aka AUVA Cam-33-P2 [rfka01]
• Shuttle 386SX REV 2.0A [rfka01]
• Shuttle Computer International HOT-433 [rfka01]
• TD60C [rfka01]
• TD70A and TD70AN [rfka01]
• TD70N [rfka01]
• Termtek TK-635 [nextvolume, Dirk Best]
• UNICHIP 386W 367C REV 1.0 [rfka01]
• UNICHIP 486 WB 4407 REV 1.0 [rfka01]
• unknown 286 AT clones (HT18/C chipset) [rfka01]
• Via 4386 VIO / Highscreen universal board [rfka01]
• Vintage Sprite SM 486-50USC [rfka01]
• Vs. Super Mario Bros. (bootleg with Z80, set 3) [jordigahan, ClawGrip]
• ZIDA Tomato board 4DPS [rfka01]

New working software list additions

• apple2_flop_clcracked: Balancing Act (cleanly cracked), Fractions: Basic Skills (cleanly cracked), Fractions: Subtraction (cleanly cracked), The Haunted Palace (cleanly cracked), Statistics (Version 3.3) (cleanly cracked), Whole Numbers: Multiplication (cleanly cracked), The World's Greatest Baseball Game (Enhanced Version) (cleanly cracked) [4am, Firehawke]
• apple2_flop_orig: Alibi, American Government (Micro Learningware), Apple Stellar Invaders, Battlefront, Beach Landing, Carriers at War, The Coveted Mirror, Crime Stopper, Decisive Battles of the American Civil War: Volume Three, Decisive Battles of the American Civil War: Volume Two, Decisive Battles of the Civil War: Volume One, Dogfight II, Europe Ablaze, Galactic Wars, Gauntlet, Ghostbusters, Go (Hayden), Guderian, Halls of Montezuma, The Haunted Palace, I, Damiano, Leisure Suit Larry in The Land of The Lounge Lizards, The Mask of the Sun (Version 2.1), MacArthur's War, Muppet Learning Keys: The Muppet Discovery Disk, Oil Rig, Panzer Battles, Pulsar ][, Questprobe featuring Spider-Man, Reach For The Stars (Version 1.0), Reach For The Stars (Version 2.0), Reach For The Stars (Version 3.0), Reversal, Russia, Sherlock Holmes in Another Bow, Simultaneous Linear Equations, Space Kadet, Tapper, Ulysses and the Golden Fleece, Vaults of Zurich, Winter Games [4am, Firehawke]
• fmtowns_cd: CG Syndicate Vol. 1 - Lisa Northpoint, CubicSketch V1.1 L10, New Horizon CD Learning System II - English Course 1, Shanghai, Space Museum, TownsSOUND V1.1 L20, Z's Triphony DigitalCraft Towns [redump.org, r09]
• hp9825b_rom: 9885/9895 ROM for 9825, 9885 ROM for 9825, Matrix ROM for 9825, SSS mass storage ROM [F.Ulivi]
• ibm5150: Action Service (Smash16 release) (3.5"), International Karate, Italy '90 Soccer, Joe Blade (Smash16 release), Out Run (Kixx release), Starflight [ArcadeShadow]
• ibm5170: Corridor 7: Alien Invasion, Links - The Challenge of Golf (5.25"HD) [ArcadeShadow]
• midi_flop: Dansbandshits nr 3 (Sweden) [FakeShemp]
• vz_snap: Ace of Aces, Adventure, Airstrip, Arkaball v1, Arkaball v2, Arrgh, Assembly Language for Beginners, Asteroids, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Backgammon, Backgammon Instructions, Battleships v1, Battleships v2, Bezerk, Binary Tape Copier v1.0, Bomber, Breakproof File Copier, Bust Out, Camel, Card Andy, Casino Roulette v1, Casino Roulette v2, Catch, Challenger, Chasm Capers, Check Disk, Checkers, Chess, Circus, Compgammon, Computer Learjet, Concentration, Cos Res, Craps, Crash, Curses, Dawn Patrol, Decoy v1, Decoy v2, Defence Penetrator, Dig Out, Disassembler v2, Disassemmbler v1, Disk Copier, Disk Copy V2.0, Disk Editor-Assembler V6.0X, Disk Menu, Disk Ops 4, Disk Sector Editor v1, Disk Sector Editor v2, Dog Fight, Dracula's Castle, The Dynasty Derby, Editor-Assembler V.1.2, Editor-Assembler V.1.2B, Electric Tunnel, Electronic Blackjack, Extended DOS V1.3, Extended VZ Basic V2.5, Factory, Fastdisk V1.0, Fastdisk V1.1, Fastdisk V1.2, Fastdisk V1.2 demo, Filesearch 2.0, Filesearch V2.0, Formula One v1, Formula One v2, Formula Uno, Frog, Galactic Invasion, Galactic Raiders, Galactic Trade, Galaxon, Game Instructions, Ghost Blasters, Ghost Hunter (hacked), Ghost Hunter instructions, Ghost Hunter v1, Ghost Hunter v2, Golf, Grand Prix, Grave Digger, Gunfight, Hamburger Sam, Hangman v1, Hangman v3, Hangman v4, Hex Maths, Hex Utilities, The High Mountains, High Scores, Hoppy v1, Hoppy v2, Hunt the Wumpus, Instructions for Asteroid Dodge, Instructions for Invaders, Instructions for Ladder Challenge, Invaders v1, Invaders v2, Inventory, Kamikaze Invaders, Key Hunt, Knights and Dragons, Ladder Challenge, Laser, Laser Pong, Lunar Lander, Mad Max VI, Madhouse, Mars Patrol, Mastermind, Match Box, Match Box Instructions, Maths Armada, Maze Generator, Meat Pies, Melbourne Cup, Meteor, Missile Attack, Missile Command v1, Missile Command v2, Missing Number, Moon, Moon Lander, Moonlander, Moving Targets, Number Sequence, Number Slide, Othello, Othello Instructions, Painter v1, Painter v2, Painter v3, Panik, Panik Instructions, Penguin, Planet Patrol, Poker Machine, Punch v1, Punch v2, Pursuit, The Quest, The Return of Defense Command, Rocket Command, Shootout, Space, Space Ram, Space Station Defender, Space Vice, Star Blaster, Submarine, Super Snake, Super Snake Trapper, The Ten Commandments, Tennis v1, Tennis v2, Tone Generator, Totaliser Derby, Tower, Triffids 2040 AD, Twisting Road, VZ 200-300 Diskette Monitor, VZ Panik, VZ cave, VZ-200 Cup, Vzetris, Worm, Write a Story [Robbbert]

Software list items promoted to working

• dmv: MS-DOS v2.11 HD, MS-DOS v2.11 HD (Alt 2), MS-DOS v2.11 HD (Alt 3), MS-DOS v2.11 HD (Alt), Z-Com v2.0 HD [Sandro Ronco, rfka01]

New NOT_WORKING software list additions

• ekara_japan_a: A-3 Pichi Pichi Pitch vol.3 (Japan) [David Haywood, Sean Riddle]
• evio: Anime Mix 1, Chisako Takashima Selection, evio Challenge!, evio Selection 02, evio Selection 03, Hard Soul 1, I Love Classic 1, Pure Kiss 1 [David Haywood, Peter Wilhelmsen, ShouTime, Sean Riddle]
• fmtowns_cd:
  • Debian GNU/Linux 1.3.1 with Debian-JP Packages, Debian GNU/Linux 2.0r2 with Hamm-JP [akira_2020, Tokugawa Corporate Forums, r09]
  • Air Warrior V1.2, Fujitsu Habitat V2.1L10, Hyper Media NHK Zoku Kiso Eigo - Dai-3-kan, Nobunaga no Yabou - Sengoku Gun'yuuden, Taito Chase H.Q. (Demo), TownsFullcolor V2.1 L10, Video Koubou V1.4 L10 [redump.org, r09]
• leapfrog_ltleappad_cart: Baby's First Words (USA), Disney Pooh Loves You! (USA), If I were... (USA) [ClawGrip, TeamEurope]

Source Changes

• ins8250: Only clear transmitter holding register empty interrupt on reading IIR if it’s the highest priority pending interrupt. [68bit]
  
• bus/ss50/mps2.cpp: Connected RS-232 control lines. [68bit]
  
• machine/ie15.cpp: Cleaned up RS-232 interface. [68bit]
  
• bus/rs232: Delay pushing initial line state to reset time. [68bit]
  
• bus/rs232/null_modem.cpp: Added configuration option for DTR flow control. [68bit]
  
• tv990.cpp: Improved cursor position calculation. [68bit]
  
• tilemap.cpp: Improved assert conditions, fixing tilemap viewer, mtrain and strain in debug builds. [AJR]
  
• spbactn.cpp: Use raw screen timing parameters for spbactn. [AJR]
  
• laz_aftrshok.cpp: Added aftrshok DIP switch documentation from the manual. [AJR]
  
• ELAN RISC II updates: [AJR]
  
  • Identified CPU type used by vreadere as ePG3231.
  • Added preliminary port I/O handlers and callbacks.
  • Added stub handlers and state variables for interrupt controller, timers, synthesizer, UART and SPI.
  • Fixed TBRD addressing of external data memory.
  • Fixed calculation of carry flag for normal adder operations.
  • Implemented multi-byte carry/borrow for applicable registers.
  • Implemented signed multiplication option.
  • Added internal stack buffer for saving PCH during calls/interrupts.
• alpha68k_n.cpp: Replaced sstingry protection simulation with microcontroller emulation. [AJR]
  
• sed1330: Implemented character drawing from external ROM, fixed display on/off command, and fixed screen area definition. [AJR]
  
• tlcs90: Separated TMP90840 and TMP90844 disassemblers. [AJR]
  
• z180 updates: [AJR]
  
  • Split Z180 device into subtypes; HD647180X now implements internal PROM, RAM and parallel ports.
  • Added internal clock dividers adjust CPU clocks in many drivers to compensate.
  • Reduced logical address width to 16 bits.
• h8: Made debug PC adjustment and breakpoints actually work. [AJR]
  
• subsino2.cpp: Added save state support and cleaned up code a little. [AJR]
  
• gaelco.cpp: Adjusted bigkarnk YM3812 clock so pitch matches reference recording. [AJR]
  
• stadhero.cpp: Made stadhero stage music selection and various other things more random. [AJR]
  
• acorn_vib: Made ACIA transmit/receive clocks selectable using MC14411. [AJR]
  
• hitme.cpp: Renamed m21 to mirco21 to resolve name collision. [AJR]
  
• Emulated ADC0804 and added device to various drivers (fixes “WRONG CONTROL IO” in citybomb service mode). [AJR]
  
• tmnt.cpp: Added glfgreat analog controls and ADC, and removed spurious fourth button. [AJR]
  
• megasys1.cpp: Added p47b ADPCM sample playback using additional Z80. [AJR]
  
• cps1.cpp, segas16b.cpp: Fixed unsafe bitmap usage in video update routines that could cause memory corruption. [AJR]
  
• bus/isa: Added Music Quest PC MIDI Card. [AJR, VOGONS Vintage Driver Library]
  
• rd100.cpp: Added preliminary keyboard inputs. [AJR]
  
• Separated V50/V53 common peripherals and former device from V33 base, and add V40 type for future use. [AJR]
  
• m72.cpp: Fixed sample-related communications on 8751-protected games. [AJR]
  
• Added Fujitsu FR disassembler and skeleton CPU device. [AJR]
  
• hvyunit.cpp: Fix hvyunit coin counters. [AJR]
  
• hh_sm510.cpp: Re-scanned gnw_mmouse display. [algestam]
  
• snes.cpp: Change screen resolution for pseudo-hires mode, and run HDMA at vertical position zero. [AmatCoder]
  
  • Fixes graphics in Judge Dredd and Vortex.
• alpha68k.cpp updates: [Angelo Salese]
  
  • Added opaque tile support for V board (fixes title screen clipping effects for Sky Adventure).
  • Removed hack for priest priority in Sky Adventure level 1 as this is an original game bug.
  • Merged sprite drawing code with SNK 68k sprite device.
  • Simulated screen banking for Gold Medalist starter pistol shot on dash events.
  • Fixed missing status bar and “start/hurry up” graphics for player 1 in Gold Medalist.
  • Removed unemulated protection flag from Gold Medalist clones.
• alpha68k.cpp, snk68.cpp: Moved palette code to a common device using the same scheme as the Neo Geo palette. [Angelo Salese]
  
  • Produces more accurate colors, especially visible on dithered backgrounds.
• markham.cpp: Improved Strength & Skill master interrupt firing and row scroll (fixes missing sprites regression in stages 2 and 3). [Angelo Salese]
  
• Synchronized with upstream GENie, bx, bgfx and bimg. [Belegdol]
  
• Fixed Visual Studio 2019 build issues. [Belegdol]
  
• Switched Travis CI build to Xcode 11. [Belegdol]
  
• Build bgfx with OpenGL ES rather than OpenGL when building without X11 on Linux and BSD. [Belegdol]
  
• ay8910.cpp: Converted Sunsoft 5B 6630B sound hardware to a device. [cam900]
  
• nmk16spr.cpp: Converted NMK 16-bit sprite hardware to a device. [cam900]
  
  • Implemented priority drawing and sprite limits, and added notes.
  • Adapted nmk16.cpp and powerins.cpp to use new device.
• powerins.cpp: Derived clocks from crystals present on boards and added raw screen timing parameters. [cam900]
  
• ninjaw.cpp, warriorb.cpp: Added subwoofer and corrected sound routing. [cam900]
  
• mos6581.cpp: Added save state support. [cam900]
  
• sid.cpp, sidenvel.cpp, sidvoice.cpp: Improved save state support and cleaned up code. [cam900]
  
• ymf278b.cpp: Implemented FM DO2 output scaling. [cam900]
  
• ymf262.cpp: Added notes. [cam900]
  
• tmap038.cpp: Converted 038 tilemap generator chip to a device. [cam900]
  
  • Adapted cave.cpp and mcatadv.cpp to use the new device, and cleaned up code.
• mcatadv.cpp: Fixed tilemap flicker when debugging functionality is enabled. [cam900]
  
• argus.cpp: Fix repeated spelling error in comments. [cam900]
  
• megasys1.cpp: Fixed missing semicolon. [Christian Groessler]
  
• gamate.cpp: Made initial RAM fill better match hardware power-up state. [Christian Groessler]
  
• audio/irem.cpp: Fixed a number of kidniki audio issues. [Couriersud]
  
  • Added jumper J4 as a compile-time option, fixed a number of resistor and capacitor values, and fixed a barrier.
• Netlist system updates: [Couriersud]
  
  • Added support for line markers to the netlist preprocessor and parser.
  • Added include processing to the netlist preprocessor, and reorganised plib code so this can be better utilised.
  • Simplified netlist library code and improved performance.
  • Moved netlists out of driver sources and organised netlists according to functionality.
  • Added an extended validation mode to nltool for identifying certain kinds of issues.
  • Removed some hints from pong now that performance has improved..
• chelnov.cpp: Added microcontroller dump for chelnov and hooked it up, replacing simulation. [Dirk Best, TeamEurope, Brian Troha]
  
  • Programs for other regions created by patching the dumped World region microcontroller program.
• firetrap.cpp: Add microcontroller dump for firetrap and hook it up, replacing simulation. [Dirk Best, TeamEurope, Brian Troha]
  
  • Program for US region created by patching the dumped Japan region microcontroller program.
• i8251.cpp, pit8253.cpp, isa/ega.cpp, isa/mda.cpp: Modernized debug logging. [Edström]
  
• m6801.cpp: Added more logging and reduced unnecessary serial transmit output updates. [Edström]
  
• mc6845.cpp: Added more logging and reduced warning spam at startup when register values are inconsistent. [Edström]
  
• isa/mda.cpp: Added Ericsson Monochrome HR Graphics Board 1070. [Edström]
  
• Moved Ericsson PC from pc.cpp to new source file eispc.cpp and added serial keyboard. [Edström]
  
• hp9825.cpp: Added support for external ROM cartridges to HP9825B and HP9825T. [F.Ulivi]
  
• hp9885.cpp: Added missing postamble when writing sectors on disk. [F.Ulivi]
  
• Lua engine updates: [feos]
  
  • Added callback after a batch of sound samples are generated.
  • Greatly reduced compiler memory usage by adding user type members after construction.
• Always re-generate version.cpp if top-level makefile changes. [feos]
  
• Start AVI recording after devices have been started so initial screen refresh rate is used rather than fixed 60 Hz. [feos]
  
• goldstar.cpp: Decrypted pkrmast and its clone. [Ioannis Bampoulas, Ivan Vangelista]
  
• goldstar.cpp: Decrypted super972. [Ivan Vangelista]
  
• squale.cpp: Connected the EF9365 video controller IRQ output to the 6809 IRQ input for Apollo 7 Squale. [Jean-François DEL NERO]
  
• wd_fdc.cpp: Improved interrupt request reset logic based on WD1772 and VG93 (1793 clone) decaps. [MetalliC]
  
• Fixed clang compilation error on targets where stream size is larger than long int. [Nathan Woods]
  
• model1.cpp: Fixed issues with TGP interface emulation. [O. Galibert]
  
• emumem_het.cpp, emumem_heu.cpp: Hold additional reference for in-flight handlers (fixes MT07456). [O. Galibert, smf]
  
• apple3.cpp: Corrected number row key layout (fixes pasting and natural keyboard mode). [pahandav]
  
• ppcdrc.cpp, sh2.cpp, sh4.cpp: Fixed issues causing fast RAM accesses to bypass the debugger. [Phil Bennett]
  
• tms34020: Implement SETCDP and CLIP opcodes. [Priit Laes]
  
• apple2gs.cpp: Allow slot interrupt requests to be dispatched. [R. Belmont, Peter Ferrie]
  
• apple3.cpp: Suppress $C800 switching on debugger accesses. [R. Belmont, Rob Justice]
  
• osd/sdl: Added support for RRGGBB00 pixel format used by ARM Mali GPUs. [R. Belmont]
  
• fmtowns_cd.xml updates: [r09]
  
  • Replaced a number of entries with better dumps from the redump.org database.
  • Added parent/clone relationships for Windows 3.1 revisions.
  • Updated the list of missing dumps.
• fmtowns.cpp updates: [r09]
  
  • Removed SCSI controller from first-generation models and the Marty as these machines lack it.
  • Corrected CPU types for FM-Towns II SJ and FM-Towns II MX.
  • Corrected user-selectable RAM size options.
  • Mapped packed video RAM at 0x00b00000 for 386SX-based models (fixes graphical issues on FM-Towns II UX and FM-Towns Marty).
  • Configured FM-Towns Marty with one floppy drive and 2 MB of RAM.
  • Fixed crashes when 1 MB ROM or a single floppy drive is selected.
  • Dumped and added ROMs from a first-generation FM-Towns Model 2.
• hcd62121: Implemented exclusive OR with indirect addressing. [Ricardo Barreira]
  
  • Used by cfx9850 for zoom menu in graph mode.
• cfx9850.cpp: Corrected RAM size to 32 kB and added mirroring. [Ricardo Barreira]
  
• super80.cpp, super80_cass.xml: Fine-tuned software compatibility flags. [Robbbert]
  
• Removed unnecessary offset attribute from some software lists. [Robbbert]
  
• trs80dt1: Added RS-232 and Centronics parallel ports, and promoted to working. [Robbbert]
  
• pes.cpp: Modernised and cleaned up code, and fixed regressions caused by years of neglect. [Robbbert]
  
• mkit09.cpp: Improved inputs for mkit09a and got it to start and run. [Robbbert]
  
• Added covers to images that can be displayed in system selection UI. [Robbbert]
  
• imagedev/avivideo.cpp: Added an image device to provide looping uncompressed AVI frames as input. [Ryan Holtz]
  
• vino.cpp: Adapted to support both avivideo_image_device and picture_image_device. [Ryan Holtz]
  
• cdi.cpp: Switched SERVO and SLAVE microcontrollers to use the correct device type with internal memory maps. [Ryan Holtz]
  
• snes.cpp updates:
  
  • Added clock divider for original Super FX chip (fixes game speed in Star Fox, Stunt Race FX, Vortex, and others). [Ryan Holtz]
  • Corrected video RAM size to 64 kB (fixes graphics in Yoshi’s Island and possibly others). [Ryan Holtz, byuu]
  • Fixed PPU background layer drawing based on higan ppu-fast. [Ryan Holtz, byuu]
  • Adjusted horizontal blanking timing interval to the most common case (fixes off-by-one parallax in Yoshi’s Island). [byuu]
• supracan.cpp updates: [Ryan Holtz]
  
  • Implemented sprite-to-sprite masking.
  • Removed sound CPU boot hack and fixed sound CPU reset/halt behavior.
  • Implemented controller input shift register protocol and removed non-existent parallel inputs in main CPU memory space.
  • Removed non-existent player 3 and player 4 inputs.
  • Added save status support and converted logging to use logmacro.h.
• bgfx: Do texture format conversion via a full-screen GPU pass. [Ryan Holtz]
  
• screen: Added support for changing horizontal width mid-frame and hooked it up to the SNES driver. [Ryan Holtz]
  
  • Fixes dkongcu intro and others.
• bus/dmv: Added K012 and C3282 hard disk interfaces. [Sandro Ronco]
  
• netlist: Fixed issue with 1×1 matrix (affected gamemachine.cpp and breakout.cpp systems). [Tafoid]
  
• Converted osd_printf_* family of functions to use util::string_format semantics. [Vas Crabb]
  
• minimaws: Added support for identifying ROM/disk dumps on command line or through web UI. [Vas Crabb]
  
• srcclean: Improved handling of some kinds of C preprocessor abuse. [Vas Crabb]
  
• Improved performance of makedep.py, reducing the time taken to bootstrap a SOURCES= build. [Vas Crabb]
  
• apple2_flop_orig.xml: Replaced Drol with new working dump. [4am, Firehawke]
  
• m72.cpp Dumped 8751 microcontrollers for airduelm72 and dbreedm72j, replacing simulation. [Caius, Jorge Silva, TeamEurope, The Dumping Union]
  
• wardner.cpp: Corrected ROM labels for the Wardner set, and added PCB locations to all sets. [Brian Troha]
  
• playch10.cpp: Corrected BIOS PPU ROM loading. [brizzo]
  
• rbmk.cpp: Decapped and dumped AT89C51 microcontroller for rbspm. [Caps0ff, EdHunter]
  
• lucky37.cpp: Decapped and dumped microcontrollers for lucky21, lucky21d and lucky37. [Caps0ff, TeamEurope]
  
• changyu.cpp: Decapped and dumped microcontroller for changyu2. [Caps0ff, TeamEurope]
  
• lwings.cpp: Measured CPU clock and video timings on an original sectionz PCB. [Corrado Tomaselli]
  
• exedexes.cpp: Measured CPU clocks and video timings, and verified sound chip clocks. [Corrado Tomaselli]
  
• sidepckt.cpp: Corrected ROM labels and added PCB locations. [Corrado Tomaselli, Brian Troha, The Dumping Union]
  
• nmk16.cpp: Re-dumped the tile graphics ROM for Macross II (Korea). [Darksoft, hammy]
  
• chihiro.cpp, naomi.cpp: Improved software documentation, particularly title consistency. [f205v]
  
• Added MIDI floppy software list to some IBM PC drivers. [FakeShemp]
  
• bus/ata: Added skeleton PleXCombo PX-320A DVD/CD-RW Drive device. [Firmware HQ]
  
• gsword.cpp: Measured microcontroller clocks for gsword. [Guru]
  
• dec8.cpp: Verified all clocks for Ghostbusters. [Guru]
  
• lwings.cpp: Measured main CPU clock on a bootleg sectionza PCB. [Guru]
  
• m90.cpp: Updated documentation and IC locations. [hammy]
  
• aristmk5.cpp: Fixed error in cashcatnz layout. [Heihachi_73]
  
• spartanxtec.cpp: Added some IC locations, and added placeholders for undumped PLDs. [jordigahan]
  
• galivan.cpp: Re-dumped dangarj audio CPU ROMs. [Layer]
  
• triforce.cpp: Re-dumped “Triforce DIMM Updater (3.17) (GDT-0011)” to replace previous bad dump. [MajorPBX]
  
• seta.cpp: Switched jjsquawk to use three buttons (third button is used in the sound test). [Mike Moffitt]
  
• Fixed building with GCC versions that report a non-numeric version suffix. [MoochMcGee]
  
• at.cpp updates: [rfka01]
  
  • Added ht12a BIOS option head12a01.
  • Added at386sx BIOS options dell386sx, a3286a3886, ald93c308, intel and v514.
  • Added ct386sx BIOS options m345000, dtk386sx and solutions.
  • Added at386 BIOS options ssbc386at, opwb, 386atj7, vt386vt, l8949, acer310, kmxc02, frx521, frxs3b, 495sx, eemi and topcat.
  • Added alim1429 BIOS options revb, alim142901, alim142902 and asaki.
  • Added frxc402 BIOS option frximp.
  • Added opti495xlc BIOS options op82c495xlc and mao13.
  • Added hot409 BIOS option hot409v11.
  • Sorted systems by chipset and motherboard, and updated comments, including RAM and cache information.
• dec0.cpp: Decapped and dumped the 8751 microcontroller for Dragonninja (Japan revision 1). [TeamEurope, Brian Troha]
  
• karnov.cpp: Verified the Atomic Runner (Japan) 8751 microcontroller dump. [TeamEurope, Brian Troha]
  
• segas16b.cpp: Replaced microcontroller simulation with dumped program for Altered Beast (set 6) (8751 317-0076). [TeamEurope, Brian Troha]
  
• dec8.cpp: Replaced hand-crafted microcontroller program with program dump for The Real Ghostbusters sets. [TeamEurope, Brian Troha, The Dumping Union]
  
• firetrap.cpp: Replaced hand-crafted microcontroller program with program dump for Fire Trap (US). [TeamEurope, Brian Troha, The Dumping Union]
  
• karnov.cpp: Replaced hand-crafted microcontroller program with program dump for Chelnov - Atomic Runner (US). [TeamEurope, Brian Troha, The Dumping Union]
  
• segas16a.cpp: Replaced microcontroller simulation code with program dump for the Quartet sets. [TeamEurope, Brian Troha, The Dumping Union]
  
• segas16b.cpp: Replaced microcontroller simulation with program dump for Dynamite Dux (set 1) (8751 317-0095). [TeamEurope, Brian Troha, The Dumping Unionn]
  
• pc98.xml, svi318_cass.xml: Corrected some spelling errors in titles and labels. [Zoë Blade]
  
• Updated comments, and corrected spelling, grammar and typographical errors in comments and documentation. [Zoë Blade]