SamCoupeX Xbox

SamCoupeX
SamCoupeX
General
Author	hcf
Type	Computer
Version	0.7
Links
	Download
	Website

WHAT IS THIS?

This is an emulator of the "SAM Coupe" computer for Xbox. It is a port of the "Simcoupe" emulator.

The SAM Coupe was an 8-bit computer that was first released in late 1989.

SamCoupe v0.7

Updated with some fixes by madmab. Thanks to hcf for porting this emulator.

Fixed an issue where code designed to activate "autoboot" of disks was causing the "F9" key to constantly be pressed. As a result several games that were not working work not (MrPac, Prince Of Persia, Spectrum emulated games)

Numerous fixes to the onscreen keyboard. 1-9, comma, period and semicolon buttons now working. Virtual keyboard goes away after selecting a key to make entering "text" easier and faster.

Fixed where some keys were the upper version when they should have been lower case.

Modified onscreen keyboard. Added an extra key to the right of the space bar (right alt). I also fixed the left alt (was set for left shift) and move left shift over to the shift button.

Increased time a key is held down so a keypress would register in more games.

Lots of work with the onscreen keyboard and keyboard/xbox pad mapping.

Modified the front end code so that the screenshot displayed is larger. May require a little position/size "tweaking".

To Do

- Possibly implement shift key useage on onscreen keyboard.

FIVE REASONS TO PLAY SAM COUPE

1- It has the best version of the game "Manic Miner" 2- It was one of the most powerful 8-bit machines. 3- It was the spiritual successor of our beloved ZX Spectrum. 4- It is a system that was never emulated in Xbox until now. 5- Did I mention the GREAT "Manic Miner" game?

HOW TO LAUNCH GAMES

Games must be copied UNCOMPRESSED in the "roms" folder. Then, simply run the emulator and select the desired game in the rom list with the "A" button. And that's all!

The emulator will automatically mount that game in the floppy unit and reset the virtual SAM Coupe for you, and the game will start.

KNOWN LIMITATIONS

The first release of the emulator has still some limitations, that will be hopefully fixed in later versions:

Mouse is not emulated yet

Games with multiple floppy disks won't work, and the second floppy unit is not emulated.

HD video modes have not been developed (of course you can play the emulator in any TV, but this emulator still doesn't take advantage of better TVs).

And probably many more things...

CONTROLS

Although the SAM Coupe is a computer and it uses a keyboard, I have mapped the most common keys in all the games to the buttons of our joypads, so we will be able to play several games with the d-pad and the normal buttons. Mouse is not still emulated.

Here is the default mapping of the buttons (anyways, you will be able to redefine the A,B,X,Y buttons in the main menu, if you need different mappings):

A button: ENTER key B button: ESC key X button: SPACE key Y button: It is mapped to the "0" key.

As far as the D-pad is related, we have several configurations available: mapped to the keypad, mapped to the numpad, mapped to the OPQA keys, and mapped to everything. By default, the D-pad is mapped to "everything"; that means that if you press for example RIGHT in your d-pad, it would be the same than pressing both the numpad, the keypad and the P key in the original simcoupe emulator. This is an easy way to make the default configuration useful for a wide range of games.

The D-pad mapping can be changed in the Main Menu too, under the "Redefine Keys" section.

LEFT and RIGHT ANALOG STICKS: If you press them simultaneously, you will enter into the typing mode, to be able to press any key.

START: Opens the Main Menu (see "Main Menu" section for more info)

TYPING MODE

If you need to type some text, or press a key that is not mapped in the normal controls, press LEFT TRIGGER and RIGHT TRIGGER at the same time, and you will enter into "Typing Mode". A virtual Keyboard will appear, and now you can type whatever you want (press with the A button in the keys that you want to type). Exit from the Typing Mode with the B button.

MAIN MENU

You can open the main menu during the gameplay by pressing START. You can navigate by the menu with the D-pad, select/change options with the A button, and cancel with the B button. These are the options of the main menu:

Resume: It returns to the gameplay

Reset: It resets the SAM Coupe emulator

Redefine keys: You can redefine the keys mapped to the buttons A, B, X and Y, and also the D-pad.

If you select a button that you want to redefine, then a virtual keyboard will be displayed, and you can select a new key to map to that button of the joypad.

If you click in the D-pad line, you can toggle between the mapping of the D-pad. It can be mapped to NUMPAD, KEYPAD, OPQA (LEFT=O, RIGHT=P, UP=Q, DOWN=A) or all those options together. The default option ("All") means that if you press the keypad, there will be presses of all those mappings at the same time.

Save config as INI file: If you select this option, the emulator will save a config "INI" file in the "cfg" folder (a "cfg" folder is needed!) with all your settings related to key mapping. Next times that you start this game, the emulator will automatically select your saved settings.

FAQ

Q: How can I launch games with multiple floppy disk images? A: At the moment it is not possible. This will be hopefully fixed in the future.

Q: Can this emulator play ZX Spectrum games? A: No, it won't work. This emulator is intended as a SAM Coupe emulator, so if you want to play ZX Spectrum games, you will need to use another emulator or use some of the available spectrum emulator disks.

THANKS

I want to say thanks to all the people that helped me in my projects: Neobomb, Hyper_Eye, Madmab, Freakdave, weinerschnitzel, XtecuterX73, SPPV, darknoir, the Surreal64 CE team... Besides, big thanks to all the people that make possible the Xbox scene and the emuxtras project, Neobomb (again!), Wimpy, Waal, Bigby, Madmab, Perr, Mega Man, SPPV... Thank you very much for your work!

Thank you very much to the creator of the Simcoupe emulator, and to ZX-81.

Thanks to darknior for his beta testing help.

The sources of the emulator are in the same package, so if anyone wants to see them and try to improve them, it will be very welcome. You can contact me if you want to do it and want some help.

Thank you for reading this! :)

HCF