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GBA EMULATION EMULATOR:
PocketBeeb HOMEPAGE:http://www.geocities.com/quirky_2k1/index.html Author:
Quirky Description: BBC Micro emulator for the Gameboy
Advance and also the Gamecube via the Gameboy Player and now the Nintendo DS (via the GBA Cartridge slot).. Screenshots:
 
 
Download
Here v1.01
Elite Special Version HERE
Information
: Introduction PocketBeeb is a BBC 'B' emulator for the
GBA. The BBC was a popular 8-bit micro computer used in schools in the UK
in the 1980s. It was probably most famous as the birth place of Elite. Originally
PocketBeeb was conceived as a stand-alone emulator to run just one game: Exile.
I've added bits on until the current version supports a not-too-shabby number
of games using the common single-sided disc format (SSD) and is also compatible
with BeebEm UEF save states. Back -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A
GBA with a disc drive In order to load discs on the GBA, you have to append
the files onto the emulator. A program is included that makes adding ssd and uef
files a fairly painless experience.
The steps are: 1. Download PocketBeeb
2. Download some BBC disc images 3. Run injector program 4. Select
the discs you want to add 5. Create the PocketBeeb+discs ROM 6. Flash
this to your GBA cartridge Once PocketBeeb is up and running on the GBA, you
will see either the first save state loaded (if you added a save state in step
4 above) or the BBC's "command prompt". Press Start & Select
to bring up the PocketBeeb menu. Highlight "Load Disc" and press
A. All being well, you should see a list of the discs you added Choose
one and press A The BBC resets and the disc starts to load... assuming it
is an auto booting disc. Back -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Keys The
GBA has just 10 different control inputs. The BBC has a keyboard with over 50
keys. PocketBeeb overcomes this hurdle using a virual keyboard and mappable controls. Pressing
Start + Select together brings up the emulation options menu. From here you can
redfine keys, load games, change video preferences, etc When creating
the ROM, double clicking a game will bring up a window where you can select the
keys that each GBA input will correspond to. These are the default controls used
when you load the game on the GBA - you can remap them later but each time you
reload, the default keys are restored.
Some games require multiple key
presses (e.g entering hiscore names or passwords) the virtual keyboard can be
used for this. Menu->Keys-> Press A on the VK option to turn it ON. When
you exit the menu, the virtual keyboard is shown over the BBC screen. d-pad
changes the selected key A 'press' the virtual key. B hide virtual keyboard
R/L change virtual keyboard position Back
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Things
that work ok... "Fat pixel", low resolution modes (as seen in Exile,
Repton, Magic Mushrooms, etc etc) Sound - 3 channels plus noise generator
Multiload games (Repton 3, Ravenskull, etc) Palette changes (Felix + Weevils,
Magic Mushrooms, etc, etc) Teletext, but barely enough to see the controls
on Acornsoft games. Timers, as used in every game ever, especially Volcano
and Snapper Back -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Things
that don't work and probably never will.... Accurate emulation is possible
on giga hertz PCs, on a 16Mhz GBA things get a bit tougher. Don't expect to see
these things any time soon: Hi-res graphics - eg. Meteors, Frak - are not
drawn correctly. How can I fit a 320*256 screen resolution into 240*160? Answer:
with great difficulty Teletext Mode - this is a major fudge, most of it is
not drawn correctly Palette changes - some games use very accurate timing
to change the palette and provide extra colours on screen. These appear very flickery
as I don't emulate the video accurately enough e.g Last Ninja, Stryker's Run.
A hack is in place to stop the flickering, but it is not ideal Clever games
- Uridium, Firetrack, Revs, Elite, etc - that do exciting things to the video
registers are too much for my timing hacks. Funky keyboard interrupt usage
- Stryker's Run title screen Tape emulation
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