[Noob guide for setting up Sharp X68000 properly with multi-floppy builds using XM6 Type-G]

Thanks, wasn't sure where to put it, also fixed images/formatting some.

[Noob guide for setting up Sharp X68000 properly with multi-floppy builds using XM6 Type-G]

Just wanted to contribute more!...hope this helps someone.

 

Sharp X68000 - Ideal Launchbox Integration, using XM6-Type G
N00b friendly guide on How to set this up in LB for the smoothest experience possible

I chose the XM6-Type G emulator because it's considered the most "advanced/capable" for emulating the X68000 from what I've read online. I agree so far, from what I've seen of the competition. The steps here may also work for XM6 (the non-type-G one...)

Games come in typically 1 of 3 possible formats.

1. .Dim; I've only seen these for single disk games, you can just mount these and play like any game in Launchbox that uses one file...IDEAL

2. .Hdm (what I have mostly), are Floppy games ranging from 1 floppy disk, up to 6 (Super Street Fighter II), although most commonly they seem to be 2-3 disks in size...this is what this guide addresses the most. We want to set these up with MINIMAL (or in many cases, NO) disk swapping necessary.

3. .Hdf (hard drive) files....I haven't been able to utilize these at all. If you know how to and I'll update the guide, PLEASE let me know!



Summary of how it will perform.
For .DIM and .HDM games, once set up in Launchbox they are going to basically work like this:

*If it's a [single] disk or [2] disk game (once you complete the steps in this guide) you will simply double click and play. Easy and fun! Yay!
For [single] disk game, you are simply going to set it up like any other game in Launchbox....import that file, double-click to play. Cry joyful tears of Nostalgia.

Dry those tears though, cause many cool games use more than a [single] disk...but thankfully you can set up Launchbox to use these two disk games just like a single disk game. This is possible because the emulator supports loading two disks at once just like the original system did.

*For games that are [2] Disks, it's almost as easy, once done with the process and adding a single command line to Launchbox, you are just going to double-click to play that too and it will work without disk swapping needed, just like single disk games.

For games that are [3+] disks, things get trickier, BUT for some 3 disk games you can set them up to play just like 1 and 2 disk games! IDEAL! This is possible because some games only load the 2^nd or 3rd disk initially WITH the first disk to provide an intro or to load initial data, then have you swap to the other one and play from that point on....this is possible because, after the initial loading of the games floppies to get it started into the proper/playing two disk configuration, you will create a SAVE STATE right at the beginning of the game loading, and then change the ROM path from the original DISK A in Launchbox, to the SAVE STATE instead...so every time you open the game in Launchbox it will start the game…This works for all games, but is ideal for games that are 3-6 disks in size, as long as you follow the on-screen disk swapping instructions the first time you launch it… until the game starts. (more on that below).

So…the idea is to launch these games already set up as much as possible to avoid time taking to install the disks first to simply start the game.

This all works to get the game initially going, and for games like Super Street Fighter II that makes you load all disks until 6 first before it will even starts you will greatly appreciate it,  but even after setting this save state and using that, such games will still require you to swap disks as needed DURING gameplay, which is more likely going to happen in games that are 4+ disks big...thankfully the emulator makes this even easy, just look at the bottom FDD0 and FDD1 horizontal slots…they flash read while being red/green, while being “read” from, and will typically show no text there when they need something loaded…you can click on them to bring up the folder where your game floppies are.


Preparation
For all games before you import them, it's easier to have them moved in the folder already in your Launchbox\games\Sharp X68000 folder and into a subfolder per game:
EX:  L:\Games\Sharp X68000\Strider Hiryu (or wherever their final destination is), I keep my Launchbox on drive L, your drive letter is probably different.

(that's how I do it, because except for the disk 1 games, it's more than one file per game, so when you import you can say "DO NOT MOVE FILES", this ensures everything stays in the same place. Why confuse yourself, even when you choose to 'move files with same extensions' in the import wizard, you may miss something else...but if you want to do that, it’s fine, but regardless, it just makes some of the next steps easier when having the games in their own folders when browsing and mounting floppies during a game which some need…

-----

Launch the emulator XM6-Type G (with no game), and go to TOOLS / OPTIONS / SYSTEM and MAX OUT EVERYTHING. (MAIN RAM12MB, MPU CLOCK: 100MHZ, check Floating point unit). If something breaks with a specific game you can always lower these. (haven’t ran into this yet, but at the time of writing this I’ve only set up and tested 55 games).


IMPORTING AND CONFIGURING

For [1] disk games, simply import and play.  This will be Disk A,  or Disk 1, so smile and be happy. Yes, it’s that easy.

For [2] disk games, with all files uncompressed in the subfolder for that game, just import the first disk A (note: some games list this as Disk [1]) OR 'SYSTEM DISK' ... does not matter if you import more than that, unless there is a VARIATION/ALT you want to load as a possible version for DISK [A] (or disk 1) because you will never LAUNCH a game with DISK [2+]...

After import, right click and EDIT the [2]-Disk game in question...click on the EMULATION tab, enable 'use Custom Command-Line parameters' and type this there:
%romfile% <Drive>PATH TO  the SECOND FILE which will always be '' or '[2]'...

For example, for the [2]-disk game Strider Hiryu:
EX: %romfile% " L:\LaunchBox\Games\Sharp X68000\Strider Hiryu (Capcom)\Strider Hiryu (Disk 2).hdm"

OKAY out of the EDIT Game window and launch, both floppies will be mounted and the game will load/play. Yay!

For [3] disk games, follow exactly the instructions above. Generally, one of two things will happen when you launch to play the game after having the [2]/ floppy loaded just like you did with 2disk games…

    1. It will start playing and eventually (usually quickly, like when you press start or choose a level) ask you to put in Disk [3] / [C]…click the slot on bottom when it does for the drive it shows missing a disk (will usually show an A, B, C  OR 1, ,2, 3/'system' on screen mixed in with Japanese characters….so in this case: it will say, #$@#%#%% 3 %^$^$%^$%^$ or something like that, LOL, did you see the 3 in that?...sorry I don’t know Japanese or I would type some….but upon loading the third disk (or whatever disk combo it asks), the game resumes.

Here is an example (the pic with Japanese text) of one that tells you which disk go in each drive….system disk is fdd0, and data (disk 1) in fdd1

    2. The game starts to boot, but then crashes OR more likely gives an immediate message to load disk [3], as if 2 wasn’t needed yet…which is true, it wanted the first disk and the third all along, not the 2nd…so, in this case, go back to EDIT GAME, and change that custom command line parameter setting to load the C (or ‘3’) disk instead…which means at some point it’s going to ask you to load disk [2] /

AVOIDING DISK SWAPPING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE

For these 3+ disk games that require disk swapping BEFORE the game starts, and games that have more disks to swap BEFORE PLAY we can avoid doing any swapping after setting a game up by swapping them all early as they request the disk(s) and then before (ideally right before) the game starts we SAVE A SAVESTATE – we will then edit Launchbox to load that save state as the ROM, and CLEAR OUT (uncheck) the custom command-line parameters box…

TIPS: I’ve discovered some games take a while to load, but some load fairly fast after finishing the floppy swapping, so I recommend this on 3+ disk games…. especially 4+ disk ones….

1.      Right when you first launch a game, go to FILE / SAVE AS – name your file the name of the game, I like to do NAME + LAUNCHER - For example, I would do: ‘Strider Hiryu LAUNCHER’ and then SAVE. It doesn’t matter that it’s in the wrong time we want to save a file…we will save over in at the right time faster in a bit, now that we have it ready.  After doing this If the game is beyond where you want it to load when you start it, go to FILE / RESET to start over, your save file will be ready to save faster with the next step:

2.      Let the game boot, and do the final disk swap it asks for (for Super Street Fighter II this will be Disk 6) … for 3 disk games, it will be either [ 2], OR [3]/ or [C], then click FILE / SAVE – yes to overwrite the existing save image…Why do this? It saves a lot of time vs having to NAME a new save file quickly, which is why we created the earlier on, so we could quickly do FILE / SAVE, instead of SAVE AS…. we want to save it at the start of the game loading ideally, not at the title screen (unless that doesn’t bother you)
 

IMPORTANT: When you exit the emulator with ALT+F4 it will ask you to SAVE and overwrite the save state …this sucks because if you do this, it will overwrite the timing of the game you wanted, and start always there…so I suggest FILE / SAVE AS for a different save when actually playing games…we don’t want to mess up what LB uses to simply launch games…let’s avoid this prompt all together to be safe! Best way I’ve found to deal with this is to use the AHK script in the EMULATION tab / EDIT in LB to close on hitting ESC (default will HALT/PAUSE the game), go to ‘AutoHotKey Script’ tab and type in this one which makes the emulator EXIT on ESCAPE KEY instantly without the save prompt at all…

 

$Esc::

{

    Process, Close, {{{StartupEXE}}}

}

 

SEE picture here for place.


Save that, and have fun!! Press ESC to quickly exit, not save prompt to risk overwriting your launch save states! Let me know if I can help.

[Pinball FX2 setup (media included)]

 Remove the platform folder part, that’s how I do it...just images\system name\ type of image 

[ExoDOS Import]

1 hour ago, Dan said:

But not if you install exoDOS/LB into a different folder and transfer the files over manually, right harry?

Correct, if you run it in a different folder you’re okay.

[Apple IIGS - how to get it to work]

I second this!

I can get some Apple IIg2 games to load with ActiveGS, if I load first disk only then right-click the emulator screen to open and set up a second floppy to load the next rom (by clicking the drop down where S5D1 is showing, then clicking S5D2, and clicking the triple dot button, (then choosing that next rom, then closing that dialog window and pressing enter on the emulator screen...), but I can't seem to figure out the correct way to do it in LB to load more than one at a time...like you can with Sharp x68000 games with XM6, using %romfile% [path to next rom]

Anyone doing this?

[ExoDOS Import]

Thank you eXo, I will wait for the total 5 pack as much as I am excited to get what you release ASAP.....I have plenty of ratio so for me that's no worry.

Anyone who wants more ratio at pleasuredome, just download the latest Mame sets and anything FREE that has traffic on it, and let them sit seeding as quick as possible for weeks...you will a ton too.

[ExoDOS Import]

 I think I’m going to wait for all three packs to be released, (or possibly all five if you get those done as one bundle), that you mentioned earlier, I hate to wait though, LOL.

[Set AHK script to do 3 command in a row, not only ESC/EXIT...possible?]

Nevermind, apparently the ESC script totally closes the game and ignores the prompt to save...it does not save it...awesome, LOL

[Set AHK script to do 3 command in a row, not only ESC/EXIT...possible?]

I know the script to press ESC to exit an emulator...but I'm wondering it is possible to add the key presses (RIGHT ARROW), and then (ENTER) KEY in that order just after the ESC press?  

I have an emulator that prompts to save a save state when you exit, and it's important the answer is always NO.... because the state needs to always start at the beginning of the game....it defaults to YES with the prompt, so a right arrow press and enter would say NO and finally close it out.   (The emulator is XM6-TypeG, for Sharp X68000)

Thanks!

[X68000 - Mess Tutorial]

Okay, WEW! I restarted my computer and now it's all back to working...hope this doesn't keep happening...

[X68000 - Mess Tutorial]

Well for the record, now it doesn't work....sigh....I copied the emulator folder on my drive, changed the one (folder name) to xm6g_2button (the old one is just xm6g), and kept the config'd one for the 6button games (street fighter games) as the original, but now all the 2button ones play audio but show black screen..only way I can see that it shows anything is if I go to menu top and choose VIEW / VIDEO / 65k (unplayable).  For all games, 6button and 2 button...I changed the .ini in the 6butotn folder with notepad++ to update the path a few places that still had the old one....and it didn't help.

Gonna throw my monitor through the window in a second...so close, now I'm 10 steps backward. 

[X68000 - Mess Tutorial]

Screw it! I fixed it by duplicating the emulator into a folder XM6G_2Button and, then fixing the controls as per instructions above for Street Fighter Games, running it from a save state,,,and I'll only use the other emulator for the standard 2 button games which is most of them...not an elegant solution and costs me about 40MB more of space (only), but it seems to be working that way....

This was, each emulator can keep the same controller config that way and not be switched back and forth by save states...was driving me crazy... now it just works.

[X68000 - Mess Tutorial]

Patham,

Is it possible to load a different INI for a game, using LB, additional command line stuff for example?

[X68000 - Mess Tutorial]

IS there a way to save individual controller profiles per game, or at least quickly switch between two different ones, using XM6-Type G?

Does anyone know?  

[X68000 - Mess Tutorial]

The previous post about save state wasn't really a fix after all....now when I load street fighter it's fine with that save; controls work....but it changes that controller configuration permanately for other games too, and now some games will work with that (Space harrier ), while others like Image Fighter DO NOT...I have to set it back...UGH!

[X68000 - Mess Tutorial]

21 minutes ago, Patham said:

I don't use XM6G, XM6-Pro-68K is what I use and it quits without any issues.

I tried to use that too...then noticed the D pad doesn't work, only joystick, and also some graphics are broken in it, like the Dracula game, the floating eyes on first battle level the floating eye creature CLIPS in and out of the background, and in street fighter Guile's stage, some of the back of the plane tail is missing totally, etc...doesn't happen with Type G at all...

[X68000 - Mess Tutorial]

^ I was only able to save the settings up saving a new STATE file, so that meant making the changes to controller as per above, RESETTING the game loading all 6 discs again and then saving it during the title sequence...is there a way to simply save the controller config that anyone know off with XM6? (I'm using XM6 TypeG)

[X68000 - Mess Tutorial]

For those of you who struggle with an Xbox 360 controller with games supporting more than 2 buttons in XM6 TypG emulator (xm6g) (EX: Super Street Fighter 2)

** I can't figure out a way to SAVE the settings once made though, forcing me to remap the controller each time I play the game... ** ANY SOLUTION TO THIS? 

Anyways, this is how I got mine mapped (note: I prefer the classic SNES controller-style design that has HAR PUNCH mapped to LEFT button, and HARD KICK mapped to right bumper) so this is how you do it. Go to OPTIONS / JOYSTICK, under device A, choose controller WIRED CONTROLLER, then click SETUP:

attached is how I mapped mine to work perfectly...at least for the time being until it gets wiped on every time I start it up again... :-(




 

[Pinball FX2 setup (media included)]

I second Dane here, thanks a lot...
One question, if I set up 

$Esc::
{
    Process, Close, {{{StartupEXE}}}
} 

To exit Pinball Fx2, then is there another way to exit to the main menu for the game?  I don't completely want to remove that ability...

[X68000 - Mess Tutorial]

Also, I'm kind of lost setting up my Xbox 360 gamepad with XM6G for games requiring more than 2-3 buttons.  (EXAMPLE: Street Fighter 2 Champion Edition)...does anyone have experience with the right settings for this, can't seem to figure it out on the controller / input settings area...thanks if you can help!

[X68000 - Mess Tutorial]

Thanks again for the all the help. In addition to my question above...any way to utilize the HD version I see with some games in XM6G? It's a .hdf file

[X68000 - Mess Tutorial]

Cool....I have to press ALT+F4 in mine to quit...or at least, that works fine...

One major question: 

When starting games with SAVE files forces me to say YES or NO when quitting game to save over that state....with XM6G....is there any way to have it NOT ask that when I exit?  I'd rather create another save state per game then risk overwriting my launch one...

[X68000 - Mess Tutorial]

4 minutes ago, Patham said:

I have no idea about the different versions. I *think* some of them have upgraded music, like the patch for Gradius. I'm really only interested in the great SHMUPS the X6800 has in it's library of games. It's got some great ones that fly under the radar. Those and of course Castlevania.

As far as pausing, don't use it, don't know.

I have my system settings maxed out.

Thanks, how do you exit the emulator, just ALT+F4?

[X68000 - Mess Tutorial]

Three questions for you if you don't mind. You've been so helpful, it's really awesome. :-)

1. Are any of the ALT versions of any games or variations like set 1, set 2, etc... (to your knowledge) essential / worth using over the original ones?
2. Can PAUSING the game be changed to a different key then ESC easily? I want to use a script to force the emulator to exit using ESC if possible...
3. How do you know in otpions / system, what default machine to use? If I have may games, what is the best general setting to have there by default? Obviously I want to max it all out, but I don't want to break most games too, haha.

[X68000 - Mess Tutorial]

7 minutes ago, Patham said:

Correct. In this case point it to Genocide 2.XM6 and play.

I'm gonna try that with Genocide now....but I noticed with AM6G, for Mugen Senshi Valis II, I had to point the game still to (A), and change my %romfile% line to the SAVE FILE...and it works perfectly...of course it asks me if I was to update my save every time I exit...I say no....would rather not force it to start later in a game if I want to replace it later, etc...but that's really a cool trick!