MEKA 0.69b. ZIP fix (DOS/UNIX). Opposite directions. Fullscreen/windowed switch. Sega Keyboard (SK-1100) inputs priority. Debugger showing properly. Memory Editor focus. Updated translations. And mandatory MEKA database updates. Breath. Peace, love and games!(Read full list of changes)

Mekanix 0.69 for GNU/Linux is now available and in sync with the other versions, still with awful sound but also still useful to play at university or work :)

It came to my attention that version 0.69 has a few bugs, including missing ZIP files support in the DOS build. I will be fixing those mistakes in an updated version, coming as soon as possible. Sorry for that.

No variable can hide! MEKA 0.69 is up, with both Windows and DOS build available, and a GNU/Linux one that should be upcoming.

This version add a brand memory editor, allowing to view and modify all kind of emulated memory (ROM, RAM, VRAM, Palette, battery backed RAM) and access to the Z80 memory map. This feature is originally intented to programmers/hackers, but experience shows that a little of goodwill can allow you to spot live-changing values among all RAM garbage. It took me one minute to locate the player coordinate in Wonder Boy III, allowing myself to teleport and accomplish a dream child: entering into that blocked cage below the mouse-man level. Can you realize your own dreams?

Educate yourself, ask questions and show off your finds on SMS Power's Master System / Game Gear developers forum. You'll find how you can apply Pro Action Replay codes or create new ones using the Memory Editor. It's of importance to note that while I am a lazy bastard, my girlfriend took the responsability to start writing the Memory Editor by herself and hand it to me on a silver plate (well, almost) for tweaking.

Other changes? Hmm... support for saving and loading PNG picture format (finally!), updated themes, a new proper log console in the Windows version, fixes, and more fixes.(Read full list of changes)

Busy again, but it's gonna change pretty soon: 2005 will be a good year for MEKA. Spread the rumor!

I distributed MEKA sources to some close people for inspection. The whole thing is still a mess, and I'd like (as mentionned in the news below) to scrap the MS-DOS version and replace Seal by FMOD. If I can do that, among other things like replacing my old rusty GUI code and having proper *cough* BIOS emulation, I'm considering to switch to the communist model and open the sources.

Back to the present, Johan Euphrosine is building GNU/Linux binaries, so we get an up to date Mekanix 0.68b available, and hopefully it will stay so. I am aware that the sound is still jerky. If we have a sound guru around who is devoted to replacing all Seal stuff and keep a variable non-throttled emulation speed playback, contact me.

A few months ago, I have upgraded my computer to a decent one. One of the side effect is that I started installing software from this century. Until recently, I was running Windows 98 and still heavily using MS-DOS 7.1. I represent an oppressed minority!

In the past few years, I received e-mails and support from followers still using DOS, but their number is shrinking and today I am considering scrapping the DOS version of MEKA. This will be a great help to move forward: replacing the outdated SEAL audio library by something better (such as FMOD), eventually trying to lose dependency to big-old Allegro in favor of SDL, and taking advantage of some operating system features I was avoiding until now. The truth is that I have various things in mind but they are difficult to accomplish with the current code because I have to rely on the lowest set of features DOS offers. Some of the fixes MEKA requires have been delayed since ages because I didn't know how to keep compatibility with DOS. So, dropping it would really be for the best of MEKA.

So, I am asking all DOS users of MEKA to contact me and express their feeling about it. I am breaking your heart? Will you survive if I suddently stop supporting what everyone stopped supporting years ago? Is anyone technically experienced and willing to spend time maintaining a DOS version?

Meka 0.68b is now available, with various fixes. Fixed in-game savestates problem with F-16 Fighter / F-16 Fighting Falcon. Fixed SMS/GG scanline counter which could return incoherent data if selected NTSC mode and a database directive forced PAL/SECAM mode. Fixed mouse button mapping configuration. Fixed file browser going in full Japanese mode when loading certain games. etc.. last but not least, I enabled VSync in all default blitters as an experiment, as few people were actually configuring blitters or using a non-default one. Is MEKA smoother for you now ?(Read full list of changes)

I missed by a few days the 5th anniversary of the original, Meka 0.10 release. Many things were done since early versions, but not enough to my opinion. I spent 5 busy years at school and I'll take that as an excuse :) Meka has hopefully a bright future and many upcoming improvements.

Meka 0.68 is now available. This is a small update to the end-user, but a big one to my never-ending sorting job. The MEKA.NAM database system was rewritten to support both old and a new, improved format. Many entries were fixed/renamed, and I'm now working on refilling the database with all entries in the new format and removing old ones. Entries in new database will be added and verified with extra care, and this work will serve to the future SMS Power! museum. Additionnally, all entries in the new format can be considered as very accurate and ROM auditing tools are encouraged to reuse this data and take it as correct (comments/fixes are always welcome).
I also improved the file browser with new icons to depicts BIOS images, homebrew software, unofficial hacks, translations and prototypes. Of course, those icons depends on the database information and it is still missing some of the less common ROM entries.I fixed the 'Load names' feature to be faster, added SMS-mode Game Gear games autodetection (to handle Master System mode games with a .gg extension), added emulation for some VDP 315-5124 quirks that may matters to developpers, and added new information to the TECH.TXT file regarding how to build adapters to connect SMS joypads to your computer.(Read full list of changes)

(I am now evaluating of possibility of releasing standalone MEKA.NAM+COMPAT.TXT updates, that would be available on a more regular basis than new MEKA versions.)

Meka 0.67 is up and available! Developpers, hackers and cheaters will be the ones interested by this update, since it marks the addition of a new Z80 debugger! Although there was at some point a debugger, it was only usable in the DOS version and pretty annoying since it would switch to text mode everytimes, etc. The new debugger, functionnal on all ports of MEKA, is embedded right into the interface and let you use other tools while debugging. This is a very basic debugger and it doesn't includes any fancy features as of yet.

Other changes in this version includes an improved patching system, allowing the use of RAM patches and CRC32 support. RAM patches allows inputing Pro Action Replay codes with ease in the MEKA.PAT file. Paddle Control emulation (for BMX Trial Alex Kidd, Galactic Protector, Woody Pop, etc.) is now supported using digital input peripheral such as the keyboard, although it is still highly recommended to play using a mouse due to the Paddle Control being an analog device. Several bug fixes and minor changes were done as well, including an infamous bug with 4+ axis joysticks.

Finally, and as always, the MEKA.NAM database and the compatibility list were updated with many fixes and changes. More than fifty games were sorted, added or renamed. Although those changes might be pointless to some of you, it is part of the SMS Power! project to have a definitive and clean database of Sega 8-bit games and ROM images, matching the official information as close as possible. For exemple, one of the change that will bother many people is the different naming convention of 3-D games in Japan and in the west: we now have 'Space Harrier 3D' [Japan] and 'Space Harrier 3-D' [Export] in the database. Other changes are mostly name innacuracies and removal of incorrectly labelled alternate versions.(Read full list of changes)

If you are interested in programming for the Sega Master System (or other Sega 8-bit systems), be sure to read Maxim's excellent guide: Getting started with SMS programming.

Meka 0.66, and a happy new year! Sega 3-D Glasses support through the COM ports is now fully fonctionnal under Windows, and it is great news. Now with a simple adapter (schematics are provided in the TECH.TXT file), you can plug on real Sega Master System 3-D Glasses and get blind for real !And if you can survive to that, you will be able to enjoy better page flipping, use up to 32 joystick buttons, avoid evil joystick axis bugs (finally fixed!), see all 512 tiles of your dreams in 15 wonderful TMS9918 colors using the tile viewer, and enjoy a billion of new ROM renaming. Isn't that great ?(Read full list of changes)

What game will you play today ? I recently completed Maze Walker (also called Maze Hunter 3-D) using 3-D glasses, and could not look at sunlight for two days. Unfortunately, I felt that the game was average, especially considering they could have done much better using their game engine.A good game of choice is Golvellius, and Youltar has setup a wonderful site about it: Golvellius: Valley of Doom. Be sure to give it a visit!