sugarbox | The Amstrad CPC news portal

Sugarbox 0.28

Jul 262017

A new version of Sugarbox, a Amstrad CPC emulator for Windows, was released. The main features of the new version are emulation optimizations, support for the PlayCity and Multiface-II hardware, ZIP support and various other improvements (see changelog for more information).
Be sure to test the new version of the emulator and download the latest version from http://sugarbox.free.fr.

Changelog:

[Gate Array]: Fix mode changing : Imperial Mahjong now looks better!
[Expansions]: Add support for the Playcity
[Expansions]: Add support for the Multiface II cards.
[Z80]: Complete recoding of the Z80 core. It now use the real M and T states, and handle WAIT states correctly. More accurate.
[General]: ZIP support (only zip file at the moment) for tape and disks
[IPF]: IPF created is striclty equivalent to the original dump (in term of MFM track)
[IPF]: Minor fixes in IPF reading
[DSK]: Fix some wrong behaviour. Dsk reading should be more reliable (and will no longer crash)
[DSK]: Fix a bug in saving DSK file. It should no longer crash (anyway, if you can avoid using it, prefer HFE or IPF format !)
[Emulation]: All peripherals are now running in the correct timings.
[FDC]: Index detection fixed on Sector writing (Imperial Mahjong is able to save its configuration)
[FDC]: Dump with missing tracks will no longer crash Sugarbox
[FDC]: Fix wrong behaviour for double sided dumps that needs flipping of disk (fix altered beast double sided CTRaw)
[FDC]: Fix wrong status than can set « Seek end » incorrectly in some cases

Sugarbox v0.27

Amstrad CPC, Emulator No Responses »

Jan 032017

A new version of Sugarbox, a Amstrad CPC emulator for Windows, was released. The main features of the new version are emulation optimizations, command line switches, sound emulation improvements and various other improvements.
Be sure to test the new version of the emulator and download the latest version from http://sugarbox.free.fr.

Changelog:

[Emulation]: Add some optimizations. MAX speed should be faster (about 100% gain from v0.26).
[Emulation]: Remove memory leaks in IPF writing process.
[Config files]: Fix the ‘-’ and ‘_’ for french keyboard: « From scratch » now autorun properly.
[Display]: Screenshots are fixed: No more unwanted black line at the top.
[Dump support]: Fix the code used to compute multi revolution dump, to be more reliable (when a revolution is wrecked, dont use it).
[FDC]: Lots of fix in the FDC: The ‘acid tests’ of arnoldEmu are almost all corrects now.
[FDC]: Fix some bugs when reconstructing the tracks (fix some dump of « Le Necreomancien », and various CTRaw files also).
[FDC]: The ‘Flip’ fonction (used to flip double sided dumps) is now working correctly. Double faces IPF are now working.
[FDC]: ’10′ bits used for bit synchronisation can be in a smaller number: 40 bits are enough to consider the PLL as correctly fixed between clock/data bits.
[General]: Fix a deadlock that occurs when a command is used during a dump disk is read.
[General]: Fix the autotype feature : the feature is more relevant. Also, the « | » character is correctly rtanslated to ‘ù’ on french keyboard.
[General]: Add a function to recording every frame into a screenshot.
[General]: Autorun feature is a bit more reliable (more rules added).
[General]: Added some command line switches: -sn xx (load xx as a Snapshot file), -drivea xx to set xx into drive A, -driveb (same for drive B), fullscreen to start in full screen mode, -config xx to load xx as config file, -command xx to run xx as basic command at start.
[GUI]: Fix the incorrect update of « Save as.. » menu when inserting a disk.
[Multiface II]: Add preliminary support for Multiface II (no config yet).
[PPI]: Rewrite most of the 8255 implementation. Now run the ‘acid test’ properly (when it have meanings).
[PSG]: Correct lots of bugs (sound is now a LOT better, and digitized sound works correctly). Fix Dick tracy, Antiriad, Crazy cars 2, and probably a lot more!
[PSG]: Also run the ‘acid test’ of PSG correctly.
[Z80]: Support for NMI added.

Sugarbox v0.26

Amstrad CPC, Emulator No Responses »

Apr 062016

A new version of Sugarbox, a relatively new Amstrad CPC emulator for Windows, was released. The main feature of the new version is the support for various CPC emulator disk image formats (e.g. HFE of the HxC floppy emulator or RAW from kyroflux), precise Z80 emulation (according to Kevin Thackers timing test bench) and some other features.
Be sure to test the new version of the emulator and download the latest version from http://sugarbox.free.fr.

Changelog:

[CT-RAW/IPF]: Native support of these two format. CAPSLib dll from SPS is no longer used. This will fix some non-working dump( due to bug in the lib).
[IPF]: Add a SAVE IPF option. You can save your current disk in IPF format, to generate a 3″ disk. You can even write dump with weak sectors.
[HFE]: Now it’s possible to save HFE file!
[edsk]: Added some tuning to handle sector of header size lower than real size.
[edsk]: Fixed some nasty memory overrun.
[edsk]: Fixed the way of handling overlapped disk: “Corsarios (UK) (1988) (CPM) [Original].dsk” disk now run correctly. In fact, all dsk should now retrieve their original size of 6k/track
[edsk]: Fixed support for ALLGAP dumps
[FDC]: New paradigm : Weak bits are now handled by bit. Multi-revolution dump are converted to single revolution with weak bits data.
[FDC]: Fix a bug with the SZ byte = 0 in read track command (this fixed “War In Middle Earth (UK) (1987) (CPM) [Original].dsk” dump)
[Tape]: Add a delay when motor is on/off. This fixed “Last Mission”
[Z80]: Interrupt mode 0 is partially fixed: It does nothing, but no longer corrupt the Z80 registers
[Z80]: Fix some wrong behaviour of undocumented opcodes
[Z80]: Add the undocumented ‘Q’ register used for Flags, and fix the SCF/CCF instructions regarding this register
[Z80]: All Z80 tests from Patrik Rak, adapted to the CPC by Kevin Thacker, are now correct.
[Display]: Fixed wrong behaviour for 100%speed with 100hz screen without black frame insertion: Speed was twice what was intendeed
[General]: Add Autorun disk on insertion which try to guess the best file to run.
[General]: Optimization: Everything is now running 60-80% faster than before
[General]: Add a support for auto-executing BIN file (with AMSDOS header), through drag’n’drop.
[General]: Fixed the Spanish configuration for 464, and added support for Danish keyboard.
[General]: Added -fullscreen command line to enable fullscreen by default
[General]: Fixed the “-command” option : In order to run a disc, just launch your command as Sugarbox -command run\”disc\” for example
[General]: Added sound for disk drive
[General]: Fix copy/paste for english/spanish/danish
[GUI]: Added a feedback when loading tape/disk/SNA/SNR
[GUI]: Added a preliminary debugger, with Register edition, breakpoints, flags
[Joystick support]: Fixed diagonals not supported with some joypads (now, games should be far more playable!)
[Memory]: Fixed the configuration : 64k computer no longer have improper PAL
[Settings]: Fixed some nasty bugs preventing the keyboard settings to work

Sugarbox v0.25

Amstrad CPC, Emulator No Responses »

Oct 272015

A new version of Sugarbox, a new Amstrad CPC emulator for Windows, was released. The main feature of the new version is the support of online libraries like CPC-Power and Amstrad.eu. Another interesting feature is the support for black frame insertion, which will provide a smooth scrolling on 100hz capable displays.
Be sure to test the new version of the emulator and download the latest version from http://sugarbox.free.fr.

Changelog:

[General]: Optimisations (Emulation is about 15% faster)
[General]: Generic Joystick are supported through Direct Input. 2 Joysticks can be used, in the order they appear in the os. Work with Xbox controler, as well as standard usb joystick.
[SNR]: Add feature to watch SNR file (playbacks) – Preliminary
[Z80]: Fixed timing issue in interrupt following some opcodes
[Z80]: Fixed incorrect R increment for DD CB and FD CB instructions
[FDC]: Fixed « Format » command. Now, a Format command from discology (for example) produce a disk that is correct.
[FDC]: Fixed the MSR, that was not handled correctly. This fix Bobby bearing and Camelot warriors original dsk.
[FDC]: Fixed the Step Rate Time computation, which was twice longe than expected
[FDC]: Fixed behaviour with SK bit and deleted sectors (making Nigel Mansell works)
[FDC]: Fixed how read track over the index hole works. The current sector is finished,then the command is ended (fix Skyx)
[eDSK]: Fixed an incorrect behaviour with non formatted tracks on some dump. This prevents Bobby Bearing (UK) (1986) (CPM)
[Original].dsk to crash when trying to load
[eDSK]: Fixed some rare problematic case with offset-info datas
[CT-Raw]: Fixed write bug when multiple revolutions exists (which somewhere shifted what’s written, leading to CRC error). Fix « Le maitre absolu » in ct-raw format
[Memory]: Fixed a bug in the PAL, preventing SymbOs to use full memory.
[GUI]: Fixed missing space and enter for Autotype
[GUI]: Added a PAUSE feature, accessible via menu or the « Pause » key on the keyboard
[Z80]: Fixed a rare bug that can lead to potential unwanted deadlock with HALT command
[TAPE]: FAST loading enabled : If a tape is read, refresh are cut, so speed can be 2 to 3 time faster.
[Display]: SDL2 lib is now used. Fullscreen option is now better, as it can be fully configured. Also, black screen insertion for 100hz display can be used for buttery smooth scrollers
[Display]: Screen size and position is now more correct
[Display]: Screenshots are now better (and without any toolbar)
[Printer]: A really basic printer is now plugged ! You can see print result in the PRINT directory. (no graphical printing is done, only text)
[Online libraries]: Preliminary integration of CPC-Power and Amstrad.eu online libraries.