
=========================================================

The Marble Madness Emulator
Version BETA .2
Copyright (c)1998 The Plastic Factory
EMAIL:   hippies@rma.edu
WEBSITE: http://www.rmaonline.net/hippies/theplasticfactory

=========================================================


1.0 CONTENTS
============
1.0 ..... CONTENTS
1.1 ..... RELEASE NOTES
1.2 ..... PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
1.3 ..... FAQ
1.4 ..... INSTALLING THE PROGRAM!
1.5 ..... RUNNING THE PROGRAM!
1.6 ..... FEATURES
1.7 ..... MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
1.8 ..... REVISION HISTORY
1.9 ..... WHAT'S NEXT?
1.10 .... EMULATION WEB LINKS
1.11 .... CREDITS
1.12 .... LEGAL STUFF



1.1 RELEASE NOTES
=================
 <This is a beta release.  Please report bugs and other anomalies.>

 NEW FOR VERSION BETA .2
 -----------------------
 - Added support for DirectDraw full-screen mode
   (big performance increase - now runs full speed or better on my P133)
 - Replaced Windows menus and dialogs with an 'on-screen-display' type
   interface.  Invoke it with the [TAB] key.
 - Fixed the inter-cpu communications
   (unfortunately the game still won't coin-up.  Keep using FREEPLAY
   mode for now. Also, for some reason, the coin switches only work
   with romset 1, so currently the emulator will only work with that set.)  

 MAJOR CAVEATS
 -------------
 - no sound or music
 - no mouse support
 - no joystick support

 NITPICKS
 --------
 - No 2nd player (red marble) controls.
 - Slight problem with playfield priority.  Consequently,
   sometimes you will see the marble when it should be obscured
   by part of the playfield.
 - FPS display doesn't work yet in full-screen mode.  Use marble.log instead.


1.2 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
=======================
The Marble Madness emulator is an arcade game emulator for
Windows 95/NT. An arcade game emulator is a software program
that "pretends" to be the hardware for classic video games,
allowing you to run the ROM images from these original games
on your computer.

Most emulators can emulate a number of games.  This program
emulates only Atari's Marble Madness game.

This program accounts for several months worth of hair pulling,
and nail biting.


1.3 FAQ
=======
<1> "What are ROMs?  When I run the program, it says 'Unable to load ROM images'".

	Since this program works by actually running the software from
	the original game, you must supply a copy of the ROM images
	for this program to work. YOU MUST SUPPLY YOUR OWN ROM IMAGES!
	(see LEGAL STUFF below)

	If you don't understand any of this, or for more information
	on arcade game emulation, or emulation in general, I suggest
	that you visit "Dave's Video Game Classics" on the web at:
	http://www.davesclassics.com/

<2> "Why are you emulating game-such-and-such? Emulator-such-and-such already does it!".

	I wrote this emulator because I love Marble Madness.  I own a real one.
	I wanted to learn as much about how the game's "innerds" worked as I
	could.  This program has been a labor of love for me, and I wrote it,
	like all the programs I have written, because I wanted to learn.
	I has also provided me with a nice break from my other emulator
	projects. ;-)

<3> "Are you going to emulate the other System I games?"

	No.

<4> "The original Marble Madness didn't have transluscent marbles or alphanumerics.
    What gives?"

	I added these effects to enhance the game.  If you don't like them, turn them off.

<5> "How come there's no sound?"

	Sound is not currently supported.

<6> "How can I play a two player game?"

	Currently, you can't.  :-(



1.4 INSTALLING THE PROGRAM!
===========================
The first thing you will need to do is to create a subdirectory
called "roms". Your directory structure should look something like
this:

c:/
  |
  /marblemadness/
                |
                /roms

Place a copy of the Marble Madness ROM images into the /roms directory,
and a copy of the emulator in the /marblemadness directory.
The roms should be named according to MAME merged ROM conventions.
There are three known romsets.  Depending on which version you have/want,
here is how they should be named:

version 1
---------
136032.205
136032.206
136033.401
136033.402
136033.403
136033.404
136033.107
136033.108
136033.421
136033.422
136033.137
136033.138
136033.139
136033.140
136033.141
136033.142
136033.143
136033.144
136033.145
136033.146
136033.149
136033.151
136033.153
136032.107

version 2
---------
136032.205
136032.206
136033.201
136033.202
136033.203
136033.204
136033.107
136033.108
136033.137
136033.138
136033.139
136033.140
136033.141
136033.142
136033.143
136033.144
136033.145
136033.146
136033.149
136033.151
136033.153
136032.107

version 3
---------
136032.205
136032.206
136033.323
136033.324
136033.225
136033.226
136033.227
136033.228
136033.229
136033.230
136033.107
136033.108
136033.137
136033.138
136033.139
136033.140
136033.141
136033.142
136033.143
136033.144
136033.145
136033.146
136033.149
136033.151
136033.153
136032.107

*** PLEASE NOTE: You must supply your own ROM images! ***
    (see LEGAL STUFF below)



1.5 RUNING THE PROGRAM!
===========================

The keys are defined as follows:
[TAB] - toggles the on-screen configuration display

'1'   - start 1 player game
'2'   - start 2 player game
'3'   - left coin chute
'4'   - left coin chute
'5'   - left coin chute
ARROW KEYS - marble movement

The keys are not redefineable.
There are no controls for the second player (red marble),
so a two player game is not possible.

Misc. menu options and what they do:
-----------------------------------

"6502 emulation"
   This turns on or off emulation of the 6502 cpu.
   Turning this option off will result in slighly faster game emulation.
   Marble Madness used a 6502 for sound, music, and
   misc. switch inputs.  Consequently, if you turn this option off,
   the credit (coin) switches will not work.  You can put the game in FREEPLAY
   mode to get around this.

"Draw Playfield Margins"
   Turning this option off will result in slightly faster game emulation.
   Marble Madness doesn't usually draw anything important
   in the 3 leftmost and 3 rightmost columns of the playfield
   layer.  Some speed may be gained by not drawing these
   areas.  To see what this does, turn off the ALPHA layer
   while a game is in progress, and toggle the margins on and off.

"45 Degree Keys"
   Play a game with it both ways...it should be obvious. ;-)


1.6 FEATURES
============
- Uses Neill Corlett's Starscream 68000 CPU core (100% assembly)
- Uses Neil Bradley's m6502 6502 CPU core (100% assembly) 
- Transluscent marbles
- Transluscent alphanumerics layer
- Native Windows 95/NT 



1.7 MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
===============================
- Pentium 133
- Windows 95/NT 
- Fast Video Card 
- DirectX
- Marble Madness ROM images

*** PLEASE NOTE: You must supply your own ROM images! ***
    (see LEGAL STUFF below)

DirectX Can be downloaded from the Microsoft site at:
http://www.microsoft.com/msdownload/directx/dxf/enduser5.0/default.htm



1.8 REVISION HISTORY
====================
Version BETA .1 - 9/7/98
 - Initial release...yay!

Version BETA .2 - 9/13/98
 - Added support for DirectDraw
 - Added OSD
 - Fixed inter-cpu communications



1.9 WHAT'S NEXT?
================
Here are the major items on my TODO list:
 - add mouse support
 - add joystick support
 - sound and music!!
 - save/restore game state
 - 'cheat' feature
 - further optimizations!



1.10 EMULATION WEB LINKS
========================
http://www.davesclassics.com
 - *THE* site for everything emulation!

http://www.retrocade.com
 - A totally kick-ass emulator that I helped make.  ;-)

http://www.rmaonline.net/hippies/theplasticfactory/vectordream/
 - Another emulator that I did.  This one does vector games.

http://www.davesclassics.com/mamepage.html
 - MAME. The emulator that does over 700 games. Need I say more?


1.11 CREDITS
============

Peter Hirschberg (hippies@rma.edu)
   - Programming, Design

I would like to sincerely thank the following people.
This program would not exist if it were not for their
wonderful contributions. Thanks guys!

Neill Corlett (corlett@elwha.nrrc.ncsu.edu)
   - Starscream 68000 emulator
   - hardware info
   - MGE source code (reference)

Aaron Giles (agiles@sirius.com)
   - hardware info
   - MAME driver (reference)

Frank Palazzolo (palazzol@tir.com)
   - Atari "Slapstick" chip info

Neil Bradley (neil@synthcom.com)
   - Multi-6502 Emulator
   - Starscream modifications

This program is dedicated to my wife and children!



1.12 LEGAL STUFF
================
This program is FREEWARE.  It is not to be sold, and it is
NEVER to be distributed with ROM images!!!  Please help keep
arcade emulation alive by respecting these wishes! 

You are free to distribute this program, or place it on your website
for download as long as the following conditions are satisfied:
- No charge is made for the distribution.
- It is not modified in any way.
- It is distributed along with all the original, unmodified files.
- It is not distributed with ROM images, or as part of any
  CDROM collection that contains ROM images.

This program is NOT to be included on any CDROM collections,
or any other type of archive, without my EXPRESS PERMISSION!

PLEASE NOTE:  WE CANNOT PROVIDE YOU WITH ROM IMAGES.  IT IS NOT
LEGAL FOR US TO DO SO.  IF YOU CAN FIND THEM ON THE WEB...GREAT.
OTHERWISE, YOU MUST OWN THE GAME.  PLEASE...DO NOT ASK US FOR THEM.


------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please report bugs, problems, whatever, to me at hippies@rma.edu .
If you want to suggest a feature addition or an enhancement, I would 
welcome it!


!! IF YOU ENJOY THIS PROGRAM, PLEASE VISIT MY WEBSITE!!  :-)

Thank you, and enjoy!
Peter Hirschberg

The Marble Madness Emulator
Copyright (c)1998 The Plastic Factory
EMAIL:   hippies@rma.edu
WEBSITE: http://www.rmaonline.net/hippies/theplasticfactory




