05/19/2003 - KEGA Lazarus SE R3 release [Posted by DarkMazda]

KEGA(SMS/GG/Genesis/MegaCD Emulator) version SE R3 has been released! Here is what is new

• * Began testing SMS games and adding them to an internal list. Kega now knows that certain games only run correctly with the right country code, and it uses this list to make the "auto detect" function work better. There are probably more games that need adding, they will be done as they become known to me.
• * Fixed problem with occasional SSM file corruption, which occured if some games were loaded and then the emulator was immediately exited.
• * Changed Joystick Button Detection routines, this should solve any further problems people have had with certain joysticks.
• * Kega now allows you to change the country code of the SegaCD while it is running. This is not recommended, expect glitches and other incorrect operation if you do this - but it was requested, and so it can now be done.
• * Changed RESET CONSOLE to SOFT RESET.
• * Changed POWER OFF CONSOLE to POWER OFF, and added POWER ON/HARD RESET. If you use the POWER ON/HARD RESET option while in POWER OFF status, the SMS will start up without a cartridge, enabling you to use the games in some SMS BIOSes.
• * Fixes to the PSG Core, stuff that was fixed once, but got lost. This fixes hanging notes in Alex Kidd, among other things.
• * Fixed positioning of GameGear sprites in Normal mode.
• * Fixed SMS/GG Expanded Sprites problem.
• * Changed YM2612 core slightly, now SuperHQ mode sounds closer to Normal mode in certain cases where it should. I will probably have to experiment with this some more (sigh) at a later date.
• * Wrote a YM2413 core, as found in the Japanese SMS. This core should be pretty accurate, I used a lot of knowledge learned from the YM2612 - but since I neither have anything containing a YM2413, nor have I ever heard a real YM2413, I had to rely on information already available on this chip. I used the latest MAME core by Jarek Burczynski as reference, this guy has done a lot of reverse engineering on this chip, and has found the exact behaviour of things like the Rhythm section - and this is the information I needed. Note that the source was used for information only, and no code was used in the Kega core - which is 100% ASM. I also use the instrument table which Jarek says is "very close" to accurate. Use SuperHQ for best results.
• * Added option in SMS/GG options to disable the YM2413 core. Some games will use the YM2413 if present, and the PSG if not. This enables you to listen to either version.
• * Added support for the Genesis Security "BIOS". This works the same way as the SMS/GG BIOSes - if you leave it blank, no BIOS will be used. Note that the BIOS is only triggered after a hard reset - I am unsure of the behaviour of a real Genesis with Security BIOS and Soft Resetting, but this BIOS always clears the RAM and various hardware registers, making soft reset completely pointless. So I disabled it for soft reset instead.
• * Added support for a "bug" in the original SMS VDP, that was fixed in the SMS2 and GG VDPs. The Japanese version of Y's uses this bug to its advantage, so his is enabled when this game is loaded. I thought this was worth doing now that I've added YM2413 support, because the Japanese version of Y's has some decent YM2413 music :) Thanks to Charles MacDonald (as ever) for finding out how this bug operates.
• * Added Stereo PSG support for the GameGear (finally!)
• * Added support for the 93C46 EEPROM used by a few GameGear games.
• * Fixed the SMS game "Pitfighter", which was doing nasty things and causing problems.
• * Fixed the SMS game "California Games 2", and made a slight adjust to the timing of all consoles, which should have been done before.
• * Fixed the GG game "Rise of the Robots"
• * Fixed the GG game "Ecco the Dolphin", which seems to still check for the SMS reset button - which does not exist on the GG...