Operation Thunderbolt
I wrote a driver for Operation Thunderbolt. It has a lot in common with Space Gun so it was quite a quick one to finish up.
I wrote a driver for Operation Thunderbolt. It has a lot in common with Space Gun so it was quite a quick one to finish up.
Finally a new release is ready. Head to the FB Alpha page to download
Click more for the rather long list of new things.
This version includes a big change in the Z80 CPU interface. Specifically MAME's Z80 core is now used for all games. This should give better results and make the program more portable. We have done a lot of testing but if you notice any new problems please let us know and we can fix them.
This version also includes changes in the EEPROM code and input assignment code. As well as the changed save states for the ZET interface, these render old config and save files pretty much useless. It is advised to delete the contents of the config\games folder before using this version. Savestates are a bit hit-and-miss at the moment anyway. I plan to pay some attention to savestates in the next version and hopefully boost compatibility.
Click more for the what's new.
A new FB Alpha. A lot has changed, both in the program and also the files (some are now redundant), so an install into a fresh folder is recommended.
For more details click more below.
A test version of FB Alpha with just the Megadrive games enabled. There have been significant improvements to the current released version.
Click more for more information and the download.
Here's the what's new;
Click more for the downloads.
The SoftFX filters were getting a bit of a mess, so I've tidied them up, and updated the enhanced blitter to support more than sixteen filters, as well as updating the configuration file to support long long integers. I have also added some more filters (see image below).

I have added support for hiscore.dat in FB Alpha. Due to the problems this file caused in MAME before support was removed I have imposed the following restrictions on it's use;
The reason why I have insisted on a driver specifically declaring it's support is so that hiscore support can be tested in games and only enabled if it is verified to work well. I have currently done the Galaxian driver and only enabled hiscore support in games that work well. I do not intend on doing many more drivers as I don't have the time to test them all. I hope that users will test drivers for themselves and let us know their experiences.
To test a games hiscore support you need to place the hiscore.dat in your hiscore directory and enable the Save high scores when supported option. You also need to compile your own version of FB Alpha and enable hiscore support in the driver you want to test. To enable hiscore support in a driver you edit the BurnDriver struct and adding BDF_HISCORE_SUPPORTED to the flags member.
In pretty much any circumstance, this would involve changing;
to;
Then recompile and test the game. If hiscore saving works then let us know. The easiest way to do that would be to post at NeoSource.