SSF 0.09 alpha R4 Released

[wraggster]

The Sega Saturn emu for Windows gets an update, heres whats new:

Not much has changed, but up.
SCU end of the DMA interrupt handling fixed.
VDP1 reset process fixed.
VDP2 back screen processing fixed.

State saves data changed version.

After ERADAIAROGU but not to end.
However, the execution is continuing.

SCU end of the DMA and interrupt generation timing is off as production,
Delay ON / OFF established option.
Most software is slowing down is not necessary,
BAKU Animal BAKU, including some software is required.

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[Medion]

Since all of the of the Sega forums fall under Dreamcast (note, can we get one general Saturn forum, please?), I'll make this post here.

I've been using SSF since 0.04 Alpha R3. It's had many updates, and I haven't played many games with it. Under the advice of a few, I tried Yabause 0.9.3 today, and compared it briefly to SSF 0.9 Alpha R4.

First, my system:

Windows XP SP2
Athlon X2 3800 (dual-core 2.0ghz)
2GB Ram
Geforce 7900 GTO 512MB
X-Fi XtremeMusic Sound card

The games that I've played the most on SSF are Shining Force 3 Disc 1 (USA), Dragon Force (USA), Guardian Heroes (USA), and Dead or Alive (JPN). All four of those games run beautifully under SSF 0.09 A-R4. GH was a game that game me serious issues for awhile, and Shining Force had issues with spell effects, but now they run amazingly.

Despite not having enhanced graphics yet (IE, ePSXe), there were some benefits to playing on SSF as opposed to my Saturn. First off, Guardian Heroes' slowdown was nearly non-existant on the PC. Also, sound skipping in SF3 (a major issue on the Saturn) didn't occur in SSF. I'd say that the games ran over 90% faithful to the Saturn, with the 10% difference being more positive than negative.

I only tried Shining Force 3 on Yabause, and I must admit, I didn't give it much time. The game had a blue tint through the title screen, the opening movie would not play, and it crashed on a few attempts before finally rolling. The game and sound would slow down.

For my system, and the games that I primarily play right now, SSF kills Yabause. However, I've heard differently elsewhere. It's not hard to download and try both, so I'd recommend that any serious Saturn fan try both.

[THE#1SonicFan]

I would love to see this emulator come out with a release that renders all saturn games in HD. Like what PSX emulators do.

[Medion]

I would love to see this emulator come out with a release that renders all saturn games in HD. Like what PSX emulators do.

I'm sure that it can eventually happen. Right now, the emulator primarily uses the CPU for everything. The focus of the SSF team was on emulation, not enhancement.

Right now, they claim that every part of the Saturn is emulated, so now they're working on optimizations, tweaks, and fixes. Once they've progressed in that regard, we'll start to see some enhancements, such as D3D support and such.

[Riffy]

I have a few questions, when I setup the options and save them back it says SSF????????, I'm not sure if thats normal?

Also I tried to get it to find the games, and if I mount them or use the ones I own in my drive it just says drive empty?

also does it normaly run so slow or did I just not set it up right?

What is suppost to go in the stv bios slot?

[Medion]

I have a few questions, when I setup the options and save them back it says SSF????????, I'm not sure if thats normal?

It's normal. The emu wasn't written by anyone who speaks English.

Also I tried to get it to find the games, and if I mount them or use the ones I own in my drive it just says drive empty?

The drive will say empty unless you have a Saturn CD in, or if you have a game mounted in a virtual drive (Alcohol, Dameon). If you have a game in either, make sure that you select the options, and prick the proper drive. IE, don't select your CD/DVD drive if you're mounting a game, and vice versa.

also does it normaly run so slow or did I just not set it up right?

SSF uses the CPU only for right now, so it will be slow. You NEED and SSE2 capable CPU to run it (which is virtually any modern CPU).

In the EZ Zetting, there are 4 easy options. Here are my recommendations for them.

Low Compatibility - The fastest one, use this if you have an older single-core processor.

Standard compatibility - Use this if you have a high-end single core (P4 extreme, Athlon 64 FX). Low end dual-cores might want to use this as well, such as any Pentium D.

High Compatibility - Any Athlon 64 X2 should b able to run this. I have the entry level model and it does fine. Pentium D should do well here as well. This is the setting that I use.

Highest Compatibility - Only use this if you have a higher end X2, or a Core2Duo. It's too slow for me, even on my rig.

What is suppost to go in the stv bios slot?

STV bios is used for the arcade equivalent to Saturn hardware, Titan. Saturn games don't use it, so leave it blank.