Releases: vircon32/ComputerSoftware
Emulator v25.3.17
This is the Vircon32 emulator for computers. This version adds new emulator controls by allowing to define a Command button (see below). It also reimplements the previous OpenAL audio system in base SDL2. Because of this and some other minor changes the following external libraries are no longer required: OpenAL, ALUT/freealut, SDL2_image, tinyxml2.
The Command Button
Emulators such as this are often used within arcade setups or front-end programs. These setups may require accessing certain emulator functions using only the gamepads. To allow for this, the EditControls now program allows every keyboard/joystick profile to define and map an optional additional button called the Command button. This button is not part of the Vircon32 gamepad, but defining it will allow you to trigger a few core emulator functions using the following button combinations:
- Command + Start: Quit emulator
- Command + X: Reset
- Command + L: Save state
- Command + R: Load state
Requirements
The Vircon32 emulator requires either OpenGL Core 3.0 or OpenGL ES 2/3.
How to install
Choose from the files below to install the Vircon32 emulator on Windows, Linux or MacOS. Depending on your operating system, the process to prepare the emulator for use will be different. For the Raspberry Pi 4 use the same process as in Linux Debian. Note that previous Pi versions are not supported.
Windows:
Just extract the ZIP into any folder. All needed DLL files are already included.
Linux:
Install the DEB or RPM package (depending on your system) using the corresponding commands.
DEB:
Install package:
sudo dpkg -i <package>
Then install the dependencies:
sudo apt-get install -f
RPM:
Use yum to install the package allong with its dependencies:
sudo yum localinstall <package>
Texture region editor v25.1.6
This is a visual editor for Vircon32 texture regions. It will allow you to create, edit, preview and save regions within a texture image so that they are can be used in Vircon32 programs. You can also export the needed C or ASM code to define those regions, and use it directly in your programs.
This version fixes previous problems when loading images or projects from paths that contain spaces.
Requirements
Unlike other Vircon32 programs this was not written in C++, but rather VB.Net. This means the program is Windows only. However, I am told that older versions of .Net like the one used here should work well under Linux and Mac using Wine/Mono.
How to use
This program needs no installation. Just extract the ZIP into any folder. All needed DLL libraries are already included.
Emulator v25.1.19
This is the Vircon32 emulator for computers. This version fixes problems with Unicode file paths under Windows, and also corrects emulation speed on screens with a refresh rate over 60 Hz.
Requirements
The Vircon32 emulator requires either OpenGL Core 3.0 or OpenGL ES 2/3.
How to install
Choose from the files below to install the Vircon32 emulator on Windows, Linux or MacOS. Depending on your operating system, the process to prepare the emulator for use will be different. For the Raspberry Pi 4 use the same process as in Linux Debian. Note that previous Pi versions are not supported.
Windows:
Just extract the ZIP into any folder. All needed DLL files are already included.
Linux:
Install the DEB or RPM package (depending on your system) using the corresponding commands.
DEB:
Install package:
sudo dpkg -i <package>
Then install the dependencies:
sudo apt-get install -f
RPM:
Use yum to install the package allong with its dependencies:
sudo yum localinstall <package>
Mac:
Extract the compressed file into any folder with write permission.
Then use Hombrew to install the dependencies:
brew install SDL2
brew install SDL2_image
brew install openal-soft
brew install freealut
brew install tinyxml2
Dev Tools v25.1.19
This is a suite of development tools for creating Vircon32 games and programs. This version fixes problems with Unicode file paths under Windows.
How to install:
You should first install the Vircon32 emulator if you don't have it yet. That will already take care of the dependencies, and you will need it to test your programs anyway. After that, choose from the files below to install the Vircon32 development tools on Windows, Linux or MacOS. For the Raspberry Pi 4 use the same process as in Linux Debian. Depending on your operating system, the process to prepare the development tools for use will be different:
Windows:
Just extract the ZIP into any folder. All needed DLL files are already included.
Linux:
Install the DEB or RPM package (depending on your system) using the corresponding commands.
DEB:
Install package:
sudo dpkg -i <package>
Then install the dependencies:
sudo apt-get install -f
RPM:
Use yum to install the package allong with its dependencies:
sudo yum localinstall <package>
Mac:
Extract the compressed file into any folder with write permission.
Then use Hombrew to install the dependencies:
brew install SDL2
brew install libpng
How to execute:
These programs are command line tools, so you will probably want to add the dev tools folder to your execution path, so that game build scripts can find the respective commands (compile, assemble, etc...)
Dev Tools v25.1.4
This is a suite of development tools for creating Vircon32 games and programs. This version includes 2 main changes:
- It adds a new tool: "joinpngs", to join multiple images into a single texture and generate its region editor project.
- Introduces 2 new arguments for both assembler and compiler:
- With option -g they will output an additional file with debug info for the generated program.
- With option --debugmode they will create additional files detailing the result of their internal stages, like the compiler's AST tree.
Note that nesting method that joinpngs uses is not very advanced. It should work well in most cases, but it is possible that sometimes it can't find a solution for a group of images that should all fit into a single texture.
In addition to those, there are also some other changes:
- Because of joinpns, the required C++ version to build the tools from source now changes from C++11 to C++17.
- Added support for character literals in the assembler, using notation 'A', and escaped as '\'' or '\x41'.
- Fixed a compiler bug: type consistency was not being checked in declarations of extern variables.
- Fixed a typo in compiler's math.h header: in function atan2, the names of the arguments x and y were swapped. However this was just a naming issue. The inner workings of atan2 did not change.
- Fixed a bug in wav2vircon: output sound was not always being created correctly if inputs had sample rates different from the default 44100 Hz.
How to install:
You should first install the Vircon32 emulator if you don't have it yet. That will already take care of the dependencies, and you will need it to test your programs anyway. After that, choose from the files below to install the Vircon32 development tools on Windows, Linux or MacOS. Depending on your operating system, the process to prepare the developemnt tools for use will be different:
Windows:
Just extract the ZIP into any folder.
Linux:
Install the DEB or RPM package (depending on your system) using the corresponding commands.
DEB:
Install package: sudo dpkg -i
RPM:
sudo yum localinstall
How to execute:
These programs are command line tools, so you will probably want to add the dev tools folder to your execution path, so that game build scripts can find the respective commands (compile, assemble, etc...)
Emulator v24.10.18
This is the Vircon32 emulator for computers. This version modifies savestates to include the state of the BIOS and make them more robust. This will fix graphical glitches in some games. Note that this BREAKS COMPATIBILITY with previous savestates. If you try to load a savestate saved with previous emulator versions it will not work.
Requirements
The Vircon32 emulator requires either OpenGL Core or OpenGL ES 2/3.
How to install
Choose from the files below to install the Vircon32 emulator on Windows, Linux or MacOS. Depending on your operating system, the process to prepare the emulator for use will be different. For the Raspberry Pi 4 use the same process as in Linux Debian. Note that previous Pi versions are not supported.
Windows:
Just extract the ZIP into any folder. All needed DLL libraries are already included.
Linux:
Install the DEB or RPM package (depending on your system) using the corresponding commands:
DEB:
(1) Install package: sudo dpkg -i <package>
(2) Install dependencies: sudo apt-get install -f
RPM:
Install package along with its dependencies:
sudo yum localinstall <package>
MacOS:
Just extract the ZIP into any folder with write permission.
Emulator v24.8.30
This is the Vircon32 emulator for computers. This version includes a new feature: support for savestates. It also fixes a problem with subfolder permissions under Linux and Mac that prevented the emulator from saving screenshots.
How to install:
Choose from the files below to install the Vircon32 emulator on Windows, Linux or MacOS. Depending on your operating system, the process to prepare the emulator for use will be different. For the Raspberry Pi 4 use the same process as in Linux Debian. Note that previous Pi versions are not supported.
Windows:
Just extract the ZIP into any folder. All needed DLL libraries are already included.
Linux:
Install the DEB or RPM package (depending on your system) using the corresponding commands:
DEB:
(1) Install package: sudo dpkg -i <package>
(2) Install dependencies: sudo apt-get install -f
RPM:
Install package along with its dependencies:
sudo yum localinstall <package>
Dev Tools v24.8.4
This is a suite of development tools for creating Vircon32 games and programs. This version includes 2 main changes:
- On non Windows systems it moves the default install directory /usr/local/ (previously /opt/).
- A few new programs are now included: the reverse tools.
The reverse tools can do the opposite process of the build tools, so there are now these pairs of opposite programs:
- assemble <==> disassemble (.VBIN to .asm)
- png2vircon <==> vircon2png (.VTEX to .png)
- wav2vircon <==> vircon2wav (.VSND to .wav)
- packrom <==> unpackrom (.v32 to a folder with VBIN, VTEX, VSND and XML)
Note that the disassembler, while functional, is pretty basic in terms of recognizing data other than instructions. But aside from that, the generated assembly code should still produce the same original binaries.
How to install:
You should first install the Vircon32 emulator if you don't have it yet. That will already take care of the dependencies, and you will need it to test your programs anyway. After that, choose from the files below to install the Vircon32 development tools on Windows, Linux or MacOS. Depending on your operating system, the process to prepare the developemnt tools for use will be different:
Windows:
Just extract the ZIP into any folder.
Linux:
Install the DEB or RPM package (depending on your system) using the corresponding commands.
DEB:
Install package: sudo dpkg -i
RPM:
sudo yum localinstall
How to execute:
These programs are command line tools, so you will probably want to add the dev tools folder to your execution path, so that game build scripts can find the respective commands (compile, assemble, etc...)
Emulator v24.7.29
This is the Vircon32 emulator for computers. This version includes 2 changes. First, the included standard bios was upgraded to version 1.2. Also there is now a new option (enabled by default) for automatic memory card handling. This makes the emulator handle cards in the same way the Vircon32 core for RetroArch.
How to install:
Choose from the files below to install the Vircon32 emulator on Windows, Linux or MacOS. Depending on your operating system, the process to prepare the emulator for use will be different. For the Raspberry Pi 4 use the same process as in Linux Debian. Note that previous Pi versions are not supported.
Windows:
Just extract the ZIP into any folder. All needed DLL libraries are already included.
Linux:
Install the DEB or RPM package (depending on your system) using the corresponding commands:
DEB:
(1) Install package: sudo dpkg -i <package>
(2) Install dependencies: sudo apt-get install -f
RPM:
Install package along with its dependencies:
sudo yum localinstall <package>
Emulator v24.3.2
This is the Vircon32 emulator for computers. This version mainly improves performance in graphics, with better handling of OpenGL drawing. It also fixes the wrong GPU use percentage shown in the emulator menu bar.
The present version is considered virtually "final", save for bug fixes that might be needed in the future, since all planned features are already supported.
How to install:
Choose from the files below to install the Vircon32 emulator on Windows, Linux or MacOS. Depending on your operating system, the process to prepare the emulator for use will be different. For the Raspberry Pi 4 use the same process as in Linux Debian. Note that previous Pi versions are not supported.
Windows:
Just extract the ZIP into any folder. All needed DLL libraries are already included.
Linux:
Install the DEB or RPM package (depending on your system) using the corresponding commands:
DEB:
(1) Install package: sudo dpkg -i <package>
(2) Install dependencies: sudo apt-get install -f
RPM:
Install package along with its dependencies:
sudo yum localinstall <package>