WinAPE - What´s New

Version 2.0 Alpha 11 10-Dec-2006

PLEASE NOTE:
This release is an ALPHA release. Minimal testing and optimisation has been performed. Some features may not work as expected.
There is a list of known issues at the end of this file.

Debugger
- Added the ability to set the memory editor address from hyperlinks in the disassembler by holding down the SHIFT key.
- Fixed Symbol hyperlinks from the disassembler. You can now click on them to go to the source.
- Allowed current row and column to be shown (Row Highlight) without the Register window being shown.

Assembler
- Fixed problems with cursor location when switching between source files, or sometimes when double-clicking error messages.
- Changed the default code output directory to be the source directory, rather than the main WinAPE directory.
- Symbol Window. Fixed a bug causing the symbol address to be the same colour as the background when selected.
- Symbol Window. Stopped the ´C´ key closing the symbol window.
- Symbol Window. Added the ability to hold the SHIFT key while clicking an address to set the memory editor address.

Emulation
- Allowed the Drive LED to be displayed on the control panel, rather than flashing the Scroll Lock light. This can be set from the Display section of the configuration screen.
- Modified file access for most file types to allow shared reading of the file.
- New pre-rendering engine greatly improved performance, especially with CPC Plus sprite handling.
- Added a Cold Reset, clearing all memory, by holding down the SHIFT key when pressing CTRL+F9 (Reset). Ie. CTRL+SHIFT+F9 = Cold Reset.
- Fixed a small problem with CPC Plus programmable raster interrupts, not firing when set on the current scan line. This enables Fire and Forget II to work properly.
- Fixed a bug in the ASIC unlock sequence, expected #FF as the first byte in the sequence, rather than simply non-zero. This enables Tennis Cup II to work.


Emulation (Disc Handling)
- Added the ability to use fdrawcmd (Raw Floppy disk access) under Windows XP in order to read/write directly to floppies. Auto format detection is planned for the next version.
- Fixed a bug in ARC disc image support. Now should be working again.
- Added the ability to use separate images for each side of a disc and flip them easily.
- Added the ability to swap discs in drive A and B.
- Fixed a bug with the Disc Editor not handling CP/M files with less than 3 characters in the file extension.

Emulation (Tape Support)
- Added support for VOC and WAV tape images.
- Optimised tape image handling code, should improve performance drastically when loading from tape images.
- Added the ability to record to WAV files.

Other
- Added an extra check to ensure windows are not off the screen when displayed.

Known Issues
- Changes to ASIC registers through the Gate Array occur approximately 6 pixels too early. On the real CPC Plus, changes to the palette using the GA (i.e. OUT instruction) occur 6 pixels after the register is written (approximately 0.375us). Exact emulation of this has not been done since no CPC software currently requires this degree of accuracy, and emulation would probably result in a significant degradation of performance.

- The ASIC does not allow a number of registers to be read. This does not affect any current CPC software, and needs to be analysed fully before being emulated.

- DirectDraw Surface.Lock errors were occurring on some machines in 2.0 Alpha 7. I have modified the code slightly, but this may not have fixed the issue, still waiting on information back from the users involved.


Demos Tested - Not Fully Working
Paradise Demo (PARADI-A.DSK, PARADI-B.DSK) - Part 3 - Loader Crashes - DSK image is corrupt/missing track 40.

Power System Megademo (PWMD-A.DSK, PWMD-B.DSK, PWMD-C.DSK) - Last part before end reports CRTC Type 1 when Type 0 is used. - Screen jumps in Chany Part (Part 3)

S&KOH Intro (Not on DSK) - HSYNC problem

Soul Almighty (SOUL-ALM.DSK) - Digisampled jumper seems to jump too much (VSYNC?)

Terrific Demo (TERRIF-A.DSK, TERRIF-B.DSK) - Disk image is corrupt/missing tracks 40 and 41.



Any queries or other issues regarding WinAPE, please contact me:

Richard Wilson
email: rich@bitwise-systems.com