Phoinix, the free Gameboy emulator for PalmOS
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| the playability testing | |
| skipping frames | |
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| limits and extensions | |
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About the future
This is a look into the future, "pie in the sky"... Don't expect anything about it in the next version, maybe it will never come. The screenshots are taken from a mock-up I once wrote, all names are pure fictional.
On this page: - Thoughts on what to implement - Saving and loading states - Categories - Beaming - Patches - More speed - GB link
Thoughts on what to implement:
Many requests for features to implement are arriving; to be honest, too many. Here are some notes how I try to decide when things are implemented:
- YES: It's of general interest for most users.
- YES: A common feature of typical PalmOS applications, which doesn't need too much effort to implement.
- YES: I would love to have it ;-)
- NO: It's not only useful for Phoinix; something like a separated tool or hack can be used by many applications.
- NO: It's used rarely or even only once.
- NO: Some things are simply impossible. (OK, all is possible; but read the next.)
- NO: I'd have to spend too much time and effort. Some other programmer may like to implement it...
| May I quote Madonna: "Creation comes when you learn to say No." |
If you know the
PalmBoy homepage, you may
miss the user poll. If you love it and want it back, please
vote for it!
Saving and loading states:
On this screenshot you see the "full featured" manager, and you understand why the "GO!" button is that huge. It will go to the right to make space for a selection list of saved states.
Each state has an accompanying thumbnail of the GB screen. It is shown when you select a state in the list. To unselect a state, simply tap it again, and "GO!" will be re-displayed.
To free some memory, you can delete states. The size of each saved state depends mainly on the amount of cartridge RAM of its game. Think about some 18 KB for basic data, and add the size of the cartridge RAM.
You save a state while the emulator runs the game. The screenshot shows shortcuts, but because the shortcut bar of OS version 3.5 is higher than the space below the GB screen I will have to remove them.
To restart from a saved state is possible, too. Choose Load State in the menu and you'll get a form to choose from.
Categories:
Categories allow you to group games logically into manageable lists. In the game manager, categories appear in a popup list in the form's titlebar to limit the view. To edit a single game, a second popup list is provided.
Beaming:
Of course you like to share your joy with your friends. Beaming will enable you to transfer games, saved states, and patches. You know about the legal aspects of copying commercial games, don't you?
Patches:
Starting with the first version of PalmBoy some games need patches to run smoothly or at all. Currently you have to patch the binary files on your PC, and this is an error-prone and non-trivial task.
So I think it's a good idea to give you patches for direct and transparent use in Phoinix. This site will get a Patches page where you can download the basic database and updates.
In Phoinix you can enable or disable each patch as you like. However, some patches are mandatory for a stable emulation. You should not disable such a patch, even if it's possible.
Some patches "enhance" a game i. e. by adding more lifes. Such patches can be found in the internet and are commonly known as GameGenieTM cheats. You can enter a patch in Phoinix and use it.
Because the format of the GameGenieTM patches includes some small error checking, I will use it for all patches.
More speed:
The most wanted feature is "speed"... but unfortunately there is currently no way to increase the emulation significantly.
I got requests for a frame skip feature. But this will make the screen stumble and splutter. In fact you need such acceleration mostly when a game fades from one scene into another. While playing, you'll need every frame to see what's going on! So these situations will be addressed by patches. Please read my thoughts about skipping frames...
But there's hope for a more general solution: "dynamic recompilation"! In short, this method will try to save the time between individual machine codes, currently needed for administration. Implementing this method needs lots of time and effort, that's why it's not realized... yet...
GB link:
Linking Gameboys is not often supported, most games can't be played with more than one player. But with some games you'll have much more fun if you're playing with partners.
Please mail me if you know something about the infrared link of the real Gameboy. Wouldn't it be great if you could connect to the original?