diff --git a/README.txt b/README.txt new file mode 100644 index 00000000..051239ee --- /dev/null +++ b/README.txt @@ -0,0 +1,294 @@ + +higan - "Now you're playing with fire!" +======================================= + +higan is a multi-system emulator that began development on October 14th, 2004. +It currently plays games for the following systems: + + * Nintendo Famicom (NES), Super Famicom (SNES) + * Nintendo Game Boy, Game Boy Color + Game Boy Advance + * Sega Master System, Game Gear + Mega Drive (Genesis) + * NEC PC Engine (TurboGrafx) + SuperGrafx + * Bandai WonderSwan + WonderSwan Color + + +Supported Systems +----------------- + + * FreeBSD 10+ + * Windows 7, 8, 10 + * Linux 3.2+ + * OS X 10.7 Lion or above + +You'll need a fast CPU, with clock speed being vastly more important. +Dual-core is perfectly adequate, since higan doesn't make significant use +of more than one core. + +For Intel, you're looking at a 3.5 GHz Haswell architecture or better, +whilst AMD users will want a similarly specced Ryzen build. + + +Controller Setup +---------------- + +First, you'll want to configure your controllers. Choose Settings -> Input and +pick the system you'd like to configure. If you have two players, or a special +game (eg. Mario Paint), you can pick the controller port and device here. + +To assign inputs, double click the name and press the stick or button on your +controller. You can have multiple assignments, for example both keyboard and +joypad. The Erase button clears the assignments for one input; Reset clears +them all in one go. + + (Normally you only need to do this once. But because of how USB works, + it's impossible to tell identical controllers apart. This means if you move + one to another port, it counts as a new device, and you'll have to reassign + the buttons or move it back.) + + +Loading Games +------------- + +After this you can go to Library -> Load ROM File and select a game. higan +adds it to your library, and it should start immediately. (Game Boy Advance +titles need one more step; please see the FAQ below.) + +To add games en masse, you can use Library -> Import ROM Files. This opens +icarus, where you can choose a folder of ROMs, then select the ones you want +to import. + +In both cases, if you choose a system under the Library submenus, all games +added will show up in a file browser under the Emulation folder in your user +profile. The path can be changed under Settings -> Advanced if desired. + + +Controller Ports +---------------- + +If you're emulating a console, you need to plug the controllers in, since +there's no connection by default. + +Usually this means selecting eg. Super Famicom -> Controller Port 1 -> Gamepad, +for example. However, some games require other peripherals like the SNES Mouse. + + +Troubleshooting & FAQ +--------------------- + +Q: What's the Library? + +A: higan loads folders containing all the files needed to run the game. + Odds are you have PC games and music albums organised the same way. + This does mean that to play the games, you have to import them first. + + If you're familiar with iTunes or Steam, you already know how this works! + + +Q: Importing vs. loading? What's the difference? + +A: The "Library -> Load ROM File" menu is a shortcut. It adds the game to your + library, then opens it without the manual import process. + + However, if you have lots of games to add at once, you'll want + "Import ROM Files" instead. + + +Q: Why's higan say I'm missing a file ("Game Boy Advance.sys/bios.rom")? + +A: This is the ROM for the startup screen you see when you switch on the + Game Boy Advance. Games require it to run, but like other ROMs, it's + copyrighted and therefore not provided with higan. + + Having acquired a copy, you'll have to drop it in the requested folder, + then rename it to bios.rom. + + +Q: Where are the games imported? Where did all my save files go? + +A: Check the path under Settings -> Advanced. On Windows it'll probably be + something like C:\Users\\Emulation, organised by system. The saves + are typically named save.ram. + + +Q: Where can I find the settings? + +A: There's a few possible locations for settings.bml. + + 1) In the same folder as the higan executable. + + 2) In the older location if you previously installed higan: + + C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\higan (Windows) + /home//.config/higan (BSD, Linux) + + 3) In the new location (created if the others aren't found): + + C:\Users\\AppData\Local\higan (Windows) + /home//.local/share/higan (BSD, Linux) + /Users//Library/Application Support/higan (Mac) + + higan checks these in order, so you can make a portable install if you like. + + (macOS normally hides the Library folder. To open it, switch to Finder, + hold the Option key and select Go -> Library from the menu.) + + +Q: I set up my gamepads, but they don't work! + +A: Try configuring the ports found in the system menu (eg. + Super Famicom -> Controller Port 1 -> Gamepad). Like a real console, + fresh higan installs come without any controllers plugged in. + + +Q: I upgraded higan, why do I get a black screen? What's "Ignore Manifests?" + +A: higan looks at a file called "manifest.bml" to get the information needed + to run each game. However, the format has changed over time, making older + manifests incompatible with newer higan releases. + + If you tick "Settings -> Advanced -> Ignore Manifests," you might find this + resolves the problem. This can be useful for developers and testers. + However, it breaks a few titles that require manifests to work! + + Should you find yourself in this situation, consider removing manifest.bml. + + (By default, no manifests are created; higan looks at the files in the + game folder, and with the help of a database, tries to regenerate the + correct one each time you load the game.) + + +Q: I have "Ignore Manifests" ticked, but the game won't run? + +A: A few games have especially quirky setups that require manifests for + the time being, so you'll need to untick this option: + + * Far East of Eden: Tengai Makyou Zero (English translation only) + * Campus Challenge '92 + * PowerFest '94 + + +Q: Why's the audio lag, stutter, distort, or sound robotic? + +A: If you have an Atom, certain Celeron models, or an older AMD processor + (or even an especially old Intel such as a Core 2 Duo)... then these aren't + fast enough, sorry. :( + + Try going into the Settings -> Advanced menu, then pick a different audio + driver and restart higan. WASAPI can be fussy on some devices. + + Select Settings -> Audio and experiment with the latency. Larger values + should be more reliable, with the downside of laggier game controls. + + Occasionally software that hooks into the system or other apps, for example + mouse settings panels, can cause lag and other problems. + + Because higan is CPU-intensive and single-threaded, it can interact badly + with video capture which is yet another burden on the system. If you're + trying to stream or broadcast, and you have Windows 7, consider disabling + DWM. Also, look up how to configure hardware encoding (eg. QuickSync). + + +Q: Can I get smoother video? + +A: Try Settings -> Video -> Exclusive mode, then switch to fullscreen. This + currently requires the Direct3D video driver under Settings -> Advanced + in order to work. + + (Exclusive fullscreen is pretty experimental at the moment. + There are cases where it fails badly, so save your work!) + + Exclusive mode will normally yield what's known as "tearing." If this + bothers you, there's an alternative... albeit one with serious gotchas, + which is why it's hidden away. + + Close higan, then open up settings.bml and look for the following: + + Video + Driver:Direct3D + Synchronize:false + ... + + Change false to true, save the file, then start higan and untick + Settings -> Synchronize Audio. + + Keep in mind that this setting can and will reduce sound quality, as GPUs + and sound cards in modern PCs generally are not synchronised with each + other. The second big consideration is that your refresh rate needs to + match the game. + + PAL and NTSC titles run at 50 Hz and 60 Hz, respectively. This applies to + all console systems. Of the handhelds: Game Boy, Game Boy Color and + Game Boy Advance run at 60 Hz, while WonderSwan runs at 75 Hz. + + This means you'll need a monitor that supports these frequencies, set to + the appropriate display mode. Not all of them do. If your refresh rate + doesn't match, games will run at the wrong speed. + + +Online Resources +---------------- + +Official homepage + forum: + + https://byuu.org/emulation/higan + https://board.byuu.org/viewforum.php?f=4 + +Unoffical source code repository + documentation: + + https://gitlab.com/higan/higan + https://higan.readthedocs.io + +Info on game folders and firmware: + + https://byuu.org/emulation/higan/game-paks + https://byuu.org/emulation/higan/firmware + +Donations: + + https://patreon.com/byuu + +Commercial use: + + https://byuu.org/emulation/higan/licensing + + +Credits +------- + +Original author: + + byuu + +We'd like to acknowledge many invaluable contributions made to higan +by the following individuals: + + Andreas Naive Hendricks266 Overload + Ange Albertini hex_usr p4plus2 + anomie jchadwick quequotion + AWJ Jonas Quinn RedDwarf + Bisqwit kode54 Richard Bannister + blargg krom Ryphecha + Ɓukasz Krawczyk Lioncash segher + Cydrak Lord Nightmare Sintendo + Danish lowkey SuperMikeMan + DMV27 MerryMage tetsuo55 + Dr. Decapitator Matthew Callis TmEE + endrift mightymo TRAC + Fatbag Nach wareya + FitzRoy ncbncb zones + gekkio neviksti + GIGO OV2 + +It's been a long, wild ride... apologies to anyone we've missed! + +For more information, please see: + + https://board.byuu.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1631&p=41575#p41575 + + +License +------- + +higan is provided under the GNU General Public License, version 3. +However, certain libraries may be used under the more permissive ISC license. +Please see LICENSE.txt for details.