NEOGEO CDZ Emulator changelog

Note: This is the Japanese binary.

Fast, miracle workers, awesome, amazing, who could this be? If you're thinking about the guys of the NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for the PSP, then right you are. Quite frankly, I am running out of adjectives to describe 'em, because I think that most of them descriptions that I could think of would be an understatement to how dedicated, quick, and efficient these guys are when it comes to tackling this emulator. The homebrew community is so lucky to have them on their team. Snaps for the developers!

And yes, we go to this hour's main event (we'll never know, maybe they'll come up with a better update in a span of hours). The NEOGEO CDZ Emulator for PSP 0.5 beta 3 is out now, for your own downloading pleasure. Now, we should go to the changelog which is translated by QJ's Jeff C., who is just as dedicated as the NeoGeo CDZ Emulator devs.

Changelog translated by QJ's Jeff Chen:

• Fixed a bug that cannot load the command list.
• Abandoned the game title display function introduced in v0.4 that loads the game title from title_x.sys in the zipped games, since the controllability of the file browser has suffered a big impact.
• Always like all the other version updates, the save state will not be compatible. Since this will keep changing until an official release, this change will not be included in the future.

With those all said, don't hesitate to hook us up with your constructive criticisms, suggestions, and other what-nots through your comments. Till the next update, which I bet is not far from now.

NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for the PSPFast would be an understatement to describe how the guys responsible for developments on the NeoGeo are at dishing out updates. I was checking out the website and already in the process of writing an article on the Beta 1 when all of a sudden, there it was, Beta 2. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining (and I am pretty sure so are you). I am in awe of their dedication to the project. Kudos to the team!

Changelog:

Beta 1

• NeoGeo emulation modified according to the same changes made on ngepsp
• With the change above, the internal structure has been largely modified, thus making the state data unusable (cannot select Load).
• Raster effect supported. I added this to ngepsp just to test it out. If you enable it, the emulation speed will suffer a big drop due to the heavy calculation of this effect.
• Problems introduced from the Windows version have been fixed:

1. ssideki2 - the ground disappears when raster effect is enabled.
2. Karnovr - the background of Jean stage/round 1 is not showing.

• Some games run faster (the opening of Galford in Shin Samurai Spirit and etc.

Beta 2

• Timer processing fixed.
• Watchdog processing fixed.
• State save version update. The compatibility with older versions is now void.

In an effort to improve your gaming experience, the guys working on the NeoGeo CDZ Emulator, have tinkered on their emulator some more, and now, they have updated it to version 0.4.5. Your comments are not falling on deaf ears.

And as we always tell you guys, there is ample room for improvement. Surely, the emulator guys will appreciate your constructive observations, insights, suggestions and even criticisms about their creation so as they could improve and even perfect the emulator.

As for the changelog, it was translated by QJ's very own Jeff Chen. So with that, let's go right to the nitty-gritty of things.

Changelog:

• Fixed some issues in the source code that reduced the emulation speed in version 0.4.x.

I think now the speed should be as fast as v0.3.1.

• Fixed a bug when displayed the title image of a zip file in the file browser, the file access still persists (a bug in the v0.4.4 English version)
• The method of the counter for timing purpose has been modified.
• Deleted the Japanese font from the English version to increase the usable memory.

In this way, the Japanese command list will only be accessable in the Japanese UI version.

• Other misc minor bug fixes and specification modifications.

Those guys working on the NeoGeo CDZ Emulator are really miracle workers! Imagine, it has barely been 3 days since they released their emulator's version 0.4.3, and now they are offering an improved version of their homebrew emulator, the NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP 0.4.4. But this time they are only coming up with an English version and I am sure they are still working on the Japanese Version of it.

As usual, there is always room for improvement, and I am sure that the emulator guys will surely appreciate your constructive observations and criticisms about their creation so as they could improve and even perfect the emulator. So with that, here is the changelog.

Changelog:

• Source code not released due to WIP state
• Added a quick patch to the WIP English version to enable running thru GTA eLoader.
• Changed to check the BIOS during startup, several WIP fixes were added too.

The NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP has been updated yet again (those emulator guys sure do work fast, huh)! It has only been yesterday when they came up with that NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP 0.4 and now they have updated that version to PSP 0.4.2.

It seems that the constructive feedback that came from you guys are not falling on deaf ears as they have continued and will continue to improve this emulator to really heighten your NeoGeo gaming experience.

So with that, let's see the changelog.

Changelog:

v0.4.2

• 16bit color user interface drawing bug fixed
• Fixed an issue when zoom drawing using fixed aspect ratio, the graphic is leaning to the right
• "data" directory is now finally created automatically

v0.4.1

• CD-ROM load screen emulation changed, speed boosted
• With the fix above, CD-ROM speed limit option has been added (CD-ROM speed limit)
• Press L/R to temporarily disable/enable the speed limit in the loading screen
• Several changes in the color setting screen that are related to background images:

Standard images: use the built-in images
User's iamges: use the images stored in the data folder
load.png only: use the load.png in the data folder for all the menus
Don't use: use no background images at all

• Several processing method changes for user interface

New directory settings - v0.4 and later

• The place for command.dat has been changed from the beta version.

Command list and user customized images now should go to the data folder that was created automatically. Please copy these files into that directory.

/PSP/GAME/
-NCDZPSP (Software directory/use any name you wish)
EBOOT.PBP NEOGEO CDZ Emulator binary
neocd.bin NEOGEO CDZ BIOS image file
backup.bin Backup memory file (auto-generated)
ncdz.ini Software settings file (auto-generated)

-config (The directory for key settings and other setting files/auto-generated)

-data (Directory for data file)
command.dat command list data
logo.png startup screen, main menu background
filer.png file browser background
gamecfg.png game settings menu background
keycfg.png Button input settings menu background
state.png save/load state background
colorcfg.png color settings menu background
cmdlist.png command list background
loading.png load screen background

-snap (Directory for screenshots/auto-generated)

-state (Directory for State data/auto-generated)

The NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP has been updated! And this one ain't a beta anymore! Included in this latest version are a number of new features, and there are more upcoming features in the versions to come which I'm sure will be worked on by the developers of this homebrew emulator. So with that, let's jump to the changes.

Changelog:

• User interface changed to 32-bit color.
• Japanese user interface version completed.
• Font creation complete. The standard is as followed. If you are planning to make the command list or change the source code, please be careful.

Proportional Font for User Interface

• English Version: ASCII (ISO-646) Only
• Japanese Version: ASCII (ISO-646), Japanese half-width kana (JIS-X-0203), Japanese Shift JIS (Shift_JIS-2004)

Fixed-width Font for User Interface

• English Version: ASCII (ISO-646), Latin 1 (ISO-8859-1)
• Japanese Version: ASCII (ISO-646), Japanese half-width kana (JIS-X-0203), Japanese Shift JIS (Shift_JIS-2004)

• Command list in MAME Plus! format is now supported

Please download the data from MAME Plus! homepage.
Please create a directory named "data" in the same directory with the EBOOT.PBP, and place the command.dat in it.
After selected from the main menu, you can press Select R to display the command list in-game.

• The modification method of the background image has changed.

As all the menus use their own background images, you need to make other images for them now.

• You can now set the default directory displayed when starting the program.

In the file browser, please highlight the directory you want to set, then press Select button to set.

• Removed the help message from the bottom of each menu. Instead, press R trigger to display a brief help.

In the command list screen, please press triangle button to show the help, since R button is assigned to another function.

• Several changes in the sprite cache management method.
• Fixed a problem when disabled the load screen, the loading cached failed to preserve, thus preventing the emulation from running correctly.
• Some cramped game configuration items have been moved to the emulation management side, and removed from the game settings menu.
• Various other minor changes.

The NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for the PSP has been updated. It has been only a few days since the launch of the NeoGeo CZ v0.4 beta, so what?

Changelog from v0.4:

v0.4 Beta 3

• Fixed the random freezing problem in the command list screen
• Abandoned the up/down mark to display multiple lines in the command list

v0.4 Beta 2

• 12-pixel font removed. All changed to 14-pixel font
• With the change above, the font data is completed
• You can now configure the initialization startup directory in the file browser. In the file browser, move the cursor onto the directory you want to be set to default and then press Select button to set.
• Japanese user interface completed.

-For the font data, though it may consume too much memory, the Japanese font is now usable. (The English and Japanese command lists are both displayable now)

• Snapshot button in the menu screens changed to Start button

v0.4 Beta 1

• Added the support for the command list that is in use for MAME Plus!

Please put the command.dat into the same directory with the EBOOT.PBP. Either Japanese or English version is usable.

To display the command list, press Select + R.
This is just a temporarily button configuration, and may be changed later.
(if some of the buttons from the combination were assigned to other actions, they will still be working.)

NJ has updated his NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP to version v0.3.1. NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP is a port of NJ's own NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for Windows. NJ has been working hard on this emulator these days. Information of the new version:

• 0.3.1

Changelog 0.3.1

• Fixed a problem when using a loading.png with larger dimension than the size of the game screen, the screen clear action will not be correctly performed, and leading to displaying the background screen of the game.

Currently, NJ has paused updating this emulator.

NJ has updated his NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP to version v0.3.0. NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP is a port of NJ¡¯s own NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for Windows. NJ has been working hard on this emulator these days. Information of the new version:

¨C 0.3.0

Changelog 0.3.0

• Fixed the problem with the button pressing check in menu and file browser, which lead to inconstant cursor moving speed when browsing.
• All the screen clear actions changed to GU.
• Cut down the unnecessary process in GU when drawing the screen. However the speed didn't seem to change.
• You can now adjust the color of the user interface freely. When in the file browser screen, press L trigger to bring up the color settings dialog.

• The default logo.png has been changed with the processing changes of the user interface.
• Press and hold R trigger, than press circle button to take a snapshot of the current menu screen. The file names of the snapshots are fixed as the name of the menu. (This function was added for taking screenshots for the homepage, no need to pay attention to it.)

• About the background image

The program is optimized for displaying images in RGB555 16bit color. If you use 24bit color images, the image quality will suffer from a drastic drop. Converting the 24bit color images into 16bit ones is strongly recommended.

• About the "Background 3" in the color settings dialog

This is the color when not using logo.png. When using logo.png, this setting is useless.

NJ has updated his NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP to version v0.2.1. NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP is a port of NJ¡¯s own NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for Windows. NJ has been working hard on this emulator these days. Information of the new version:

¨C 0.2.1

Changelog 0.2.1

Fixed a freezing problem when loading 24bit color PNG images.

NJ has updated his NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP to version v0.2.0. NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP is a port of NJ¡¯s own NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for Windows. NJ has been working hard on this emulator these days. Information of the new version:

¨C 0.2.0

Please follow the following step when the emulator is not functioning correctly.

ERROR: lost synchronization
Solution: Try turning off CDDA.
If the problem is resolved, then the MP3 files for the game may be corrupted. Even when the data was correct, you may still not be able to copy it over onto the memory stick. Please delete the corrupted MP3 files and re-encode them from the game CD-ROM.
MP3 not played when CDDA is already turned on
MP3 files out of the neocd.mp3 folder is not searched by the emulator. Please verify the folder structure.
Some part of the graphic is displayed as a black rectangle
The cause is unknown yet, however corrupted MP3 files can also trigger it.
Slow file loading
When emulating the loading screen itself, the emulation of the loading screen will add to the emulation load, thus largely reduce the loading speed, please turn off the ¡°Emulate load screen¡± setting. The emulator can still work properly without logo.bmp and loading.bmp, you can feel free to delete them if you want.
Changelog 0.2.0

The background for menu and other places, as well as the loading screen has changed into using PNG format images.
You can use images of 8bit (256 color) and 24bit (converted from 16bit color). Rename them to logo.png/loading.png, and place them in the same folder with EBOOT.PBP. Currently the BMP support is left there, but is due for removal after 0.2.0.
The method for getting the PSP system time/date has finally been found. Statedata will be updated. Now the time/data of the PSP system will be recorded.
The controller switching function added in 0.1.9 is now changed for better use in the fighting games and other VS games. The player switch key has been added into the key config menu (¡°Switch Player¡± option on the very bottom).
Fixed a freezing problem when you close the menu after slept and resumed the PSP while loading the BIOS.
By now, the freezing problem should be completely fixed.
Remaining battery life is displayed in the menu.
A warning message will be shown when the battery is running low.
Changed to clearing the whole screen when updating the game screen.
Updated to zlib 1.2.3.

NJ has released a test version of his NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP, version 0.1.7 beta 2. This beta version is a test for the save and load state function, which you may have been waiting for so long. Information of the new version:

¨C 0.1.7 Beta 2

Changelog 0.1.7 Beta2

This is a test version for save/load state functions.
Press L/R trigger to flip among different pages.
Select a slot, left/right to select between save or load, then circle to perform.
Each game can have up to 10 slots for statesaves.
*The data structure for statesaves is still a prototype. The official version will use a different one. Please don¡¯t use them in the official version in the future.
*The size of the savedata is big (around 300KB ¨C 1MB).
According to the system specifications of NeoGeo CD, the savedata could not be smaller. It should take a while to write to the memory stick.
When writing to the memory stick, please wait until the access light goes out before turning off your PSP. Otherwise, files may get corrupted on your PSP. You may need to run disk scanner program or even format it to fix the problem.

NJ has updated his NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP to version v0.1.6. NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP is a port of NJ¡¯s own NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for Windows. NJ has been working hard on this emulator these days. Information of the new version:

¨C 0.1.6

Changelog 0.1.6

Sprite zooming processing fixed. The scroll display of KOF¡¯94 Japan stage and the zoom out display of the continue screen in Last Blade 1 has been fixed.
The graphics of Top Players¡¯ Golf and Rally Chase is still a bit weird. To fix this, it is necessary to enable the raster effect.
Forgot to add the function to create config and snap directory when they don¡¯t exist. Fixed in this version.

NJ has finally updated his NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP to version v0.1.5. NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP is a port of NJ¡¯s own NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for Windows. NJ has been working hard on this emulator these days. Information of the new version:

¨C 0.1.5

Changelog 0.1.5

Fixed the problem with The Last Blade 2
Fixed the problem that broke the screen of KOF¡¯99, which was caused by deleting some useful code
Added 11025Hz for sound sample rate. The emulation speed is not changing at all. If the value is changed on your PSP, please set it to your original value manually
Fixed the problem when changing to the next CDDA track, the last track will blink once as a noise.
Development Status

Still can¡¯t stably compile, the release of the source is delayed. Sorry. Still have something to do until v0.2.

NJ has updated his NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP to version v0.1 RC4. NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP is a port of NJ’s own NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for Windows. NJ has been working hard on this emulator these days. Changelog of the new version:

– 0.1 Release Candidate 4

*The fix for Z80 has no progress yet, so this is a small update. The code generated by GCC is somehow unstable on the PSP T_T. Why changing some code that has nothing to do with program launching will prevent the program from starting correctly?

Sprite management functions modified. Considering the speed and compatibility, the current state is still not the best. The settings in the options are not implemented, so does not work yet.
The issue with Fighter's History Dynamite's load screen and sprite error after starting the game has bee fixed.

NJ has updated his NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP to version v0.1 RC3 (Bugfix). NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP is a port of NJ’s own NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for Windows. NJ has been working hard on this emulator these days. Changelog of the new version:

– 0.1 Release Candidate 3

Bug of CZ80 has been partially fixed. An issue of several games has been fixed (Art of Fighting 2 Opening Demo and etc.) Got rid of useless processing, and made SSG sound effects play much better.
*The sound of Power Spike 2 and Dunk Dream still can’t be played. Something should be wrong. Will fix until the weekend.
(RC3 Bugfix)
Sprite drawing malfunctions when palette is changed. A part of the processing was restored back to old method (emulation speed can suffer from a bit drop when palette is changing gradually).

NJ has updated his NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP to version v0.1 RC2. NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP is a port of NJ’s own NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for Windows. NJ has been working hard on this emulator these days. Changelog of the new version:

– 0.1 Release Candidate 2

Sprite drawing optimized.

NJ has updated his NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP to version v0.1 beta 8. NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP is a port of NJ’s own NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for Windows. NJ has been working hard on this emulator these days. Changelog of the new version:

– 0.1 beta 8

Back memory read/write problem fixed. Thanks for reporting
New font completed, user interface renewal underway. I’m planning to use anti-alias and shadow process for font (and icon). I was think of using graphic unit of the PSP, but it seems the software can do fast enough. Dialog is not completed, still using very old UI (50% completed). There will be no updates until it is completed, and the version number will be 0.1. But it won’t be an official version still.

NJ has updated his NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP to version v0.1 beta 7. NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP is a port of NJ’s own NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for Windows. Today NJ has put up 2 updates on his homepage, and we are offering the latest one here. Changelog of the new version:

– 0.1 beta 6

Changed sprite processing with for raster effect (raster effect is not supported) 000–lo.lo is needed. Put it in the same directory with neocd.bin and Eboot.pbp.
Initialization of auto-frameskip fixed
– 0.1 beta 7

Fixed the graphical issue when starting the program with Zoom1, Zoom2, Full designated.
With the issue above, user interface drawing process (pg.c) is temporarily slated for fixing.
Fixed the infinite loop when choosing restart.

NJ has updated his NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP to version v0.1 beta 5. NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for PSP is a port of NJ’s own NeoGeo CDZ Emulator for Windows. Changelog of the new version:

0.1 beta 5

Sound time processing tweaked
Load screen and etc clearing problem fixed
*NeoGeo emulation part’s tweaking has reached it’s current limit. The next version will focus on changing the interface. It will be an official version.

NJ, author of NeoGeo CDZ, brought another new NeoGeo CD emulator to the PSP. His port NeoGeo CDZ was inspired from an "Alternative Open Source NEOGEO/CD emulator for the Dreamcast console by Chui & Fox68k". He also has posted the source to his 0.1 beta if you are interested in finding out what makes NeoGeo CD on the PSP tick.

Current Features Include

• - neogeo cd emulation
• - 2 gfx engine : software of hardware (using psp's gu)
• - autofire
• - memory card emulation
• - zipped/unzipped game
• - sound support
• - music support (with mp3 tracks, using libmad)
• - mutiples rendering mode with hardware stretching (thx to pspsdk & chp great work!)
• - 222/266/333 Mhz

In addition he has included the directory struture setup, which is sometimes difficult for new users as the NeoGeo CD emulation directory structure can be some what confusing since there is a few more directorys and a extra step as compared to my emulators.

Directory Structure

/PSP/GAME/NEOCDPSP/
(or any others directory since v0.5)

• EBOOT.PBP
• loading.bmp
• logo.bmp
• NEOCD.BIN (BIOS)

Games can be zipped or unzipped.
Music in mp3 format have to be in a "neocd.mp3" subfolder.

Example :

/PSP/GAME/NEOCDPSP/MetalSLug/

• mslug.zip
• neocd.mp3/
• Metal Slug - Track 02.mp3
• Metal Slug - Track 03.mp3
• Metal Slug - Track 04.mp3

....

• Metal Slug - Track 20.mp3

And last but not least, what kind of people would we be to let you run loose in the wild without giving you the proper tools for quick survival.

Controls

PSP NEOGEO
pad,analog pad
CROSS A
CIRCLE B
SQUARE C
TRIANGLE D
START START
SELECT SELECT
LEFT TRIGGER MENU
RIGHT TRIGGER SNAPSHOT

This new emulator shows alot of promise. Great work by NJ and thank you for the translation yoyofr.