Supermodel Version 0.2a is out! You can grab it from the Download page. The big new features are:

* Audio, both SCSP sound and MPEG board music
* New input system supporting any combination of keyboards, mice, and game controllers
* Force feedback for a few games (requires new drive board ROMs that first appear in MAME 0.143u6)

This is a substantial update. Be sure to read the bundled README.txt in its entirety. The Help pages also provide a basic overview of various features and functions. We encourage you to visit the new forum to discuss and receive support.

A hearty "thank you" is owed to Nik Henson, now an official co-author, for his incredible work developing the new input system and reverse engineering the drive board, and to world-famous emulation supermodels R. Belmont and ElSemi, for giving me access to their Digital Sound Board and SCSP code, respectively. Last but not least, I'd like to thank our new host, Jeremy Rhoten for generously donating this web space and helping me get settled in.

Have fun!

April 1, 2013

Happy Second Birthday, Supermodel! The past two years have gone by so fast... you might even say they snuck up behind us and "slingshotted" past. The last year has been especially busy for Nik and I both. Last month, I finally completed my PhD and next week, I'll be moving across the country to begin a challenging but very exciting job. Unfortunately, this will likely mean a few more months of neglect for Supermodel.

Happily, the last year hasn't been entirely without progress. While I was busy with other matters, Nik quietly figured out most of the network board and added a rudimentary GUI. Daytona USA 2 and Scud Race both work quite well linked up in multiplayer play. The latter suffers from a peculiar bug that causes opponent cars to pitch rather than turn, which looks comical but otherwise has no discernable effect on gameplay. There are still other bugs and performance issues to work out but this is an incredible achievement.

There are no plans for an imminent release of Version 0.3a and Nik's changes have yet to be incorporated into the public SVN repository. Network play is rather difficult to set up. The GUI is sometimes unstable and unresponsive because Supermodel was not originally designed with one in mind. I think releasing it in its current unpolished state would simply lead to more frustration than enjoyment, so I would rather wait a few more months until Nik and I have time to deliver a polished, official release of Version 0.3a. Neither of us has tested multiplayer performance playing against remote opponents yet.

Please bear with us but in the meantime, I hope this reassures our fervent emulationistas that Supermodel hasn't retired yet and is still capable of turning heads on the runway!