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Eiusdemmodi → Documentation → 6. Extra documentation
6 . E x t r a d o c u m e n t a t i o n
6.1. General usage of emulators with Video Mode Maker. Optimal settings.
6.2. List of relevant video modes and the associated systems.
6.3. List of relevant [NTSC] systems using more than one video mode.
6.4. List of arcade games which dynamically change the video mode.
6.5. List of home games which dynamically change the video mode.
6.1. General usage of emulator programs with Video Mode Maker.
The first thing to note here is that the key for optimal performance of an emulator on a PC with a customized video card is that the program allows to use freely the video modes we have generated in our system with Video Mode Maker as explained in the previous chapter when switching to full-screen display. Contrarily to what it could be believed, we don't really need that the emulator runs at the vertical refresh of the emulated system (which, normally, will do), since, as it was mentioned there, getting the exact value for the vertical refresh of a given video mode is not possible with PC video cards, and minute differentiations are always present. This difference between the native vertical refresh and the refresh our customized video card can output as the nearest one is so small that it can never be really noticeable in terms of speed by the user (assuming the VMM configuration was properly done), but it adds other visual glitches derived from the lack of perfect synchronization. So what we really need is that the emulator has the option to actually run at the vertical frequency our video card outputs as the nearest one, that is to say, to synchronize its vertical refresh with our monitor's refresh, as well as using the native resolution at full screen. Ideally, it will also adapt the sound emulation so that the derived synchronization issues (remember that the audio also has its own sample rates) aren't too perceivable either.
MAME (and therefore, MESS) is the most obvious example for emulator with proper customizable display options, though many others will let you select any video mode acknowledged by Windows as well as synchronize the vertical refresh. This is made by way of the label system already mentioned in the Video Mode Maker chapter -- thanks to having an assigned label for every video mode where the value for the vertical frequency is modified to be an integer, theoretically we can use them whenever we have the option to configure the full-screen display somehow in the emulator program (or any other application, for that matter).
So you must remember to set the desired video mode in the emulator's configuration menu/file by using the video mode's internal label according to Arcade OSD's list (and not by typing the real video mode's values, since you might be entering a label that may or may not correspond to the desired video mode, which is assigned by Video Mode Maker when generating the modelines).
Three points to note concerning this matter:
- If the emulator makes use of Direct 3D, only Windows-accessible modelines can be used with it. If possible, set the emulator for Direct Draw instead.
- It's usual that an emulator can be set to use any given resolution, but not the desired vertical frequency. In these cases, the video mode selected by the emulator is unpredictable. Though it's certainly possible that the mode from your present list with the 'X-Y-60' label assigned is picked (so it may be a good idea to get this label with the desired video mode assigned -- make sure you edit properly the ReslList.txt file before running VMM file to make that possible), the only way to make sure the right one is selected is by enabling only one instance of that given resolution in the system (the one with the desired vertical frequency).
- In some cases, you can set the emulator to just use the desktop's current mode when switching to full-screen display, so you only need to previously change the desktop to the desired video mode by way of Arcade OSD. Again, you must make sure that the emulator will keep the vertical frequency along with the desktop resolution, since that's not always a given.
A special mention is owed to those games which dynamically change the display resolution or the whole video mode, in case we can configure the emulator properly for that behaviour. Ideally, dynamic resolution switching should be coded into every pertinent emulator so that we wouldn't need to worry which and when the games do it, but that's far from the current situation. You'll normally have to look for special builds such as Groovy MAME in order to get it. Anyhow, it's important to know the different video modes possible for every emulated system so that we can decide which one(s) to use attending to the specific game. We're compiling in this chapter a per-system list in order to help document the labour.
6.2. List of relevant video modes.
This tries to be a compilation of the video modes used by the most relevant video-game (home and arcade) systems from the 80's and 90's so that it can serve as a reference for configuring VMM. Excluded for now are PAL versions of NTSC systems since they're not really relevant for gaming purposes (with some exceptions such as the Commodore Amiga series, which would need further elaboration), but it still is far from comprehensive.
Normally, MAME, MESS as well as other emulators' documentation are the source, but it may not be up-to-date given that new measurements and discoveries are made every now and then, especially for arcade hardware. The idea, though, is getting the list updated twice a year. Keep in mind that some modes for these sytems aren't actually verified (marked with "(Hz?)" in the list).
Number of video modes listed: 134 ("low resolution") + 19 ("medium" and "high resolution"). Game and maker names are given only as examples for arcade games to help mode identification. Conciliated with MAME 0.145:
224 x 224 x 61.034091 Bank Panic, Combat Hawk
240 x 160 x 59.730000 Game Boy Advance (note: screen aspect ratio is 3 : 2)
240 x 192 x 59.659091 Universal
240 x 216 x 60.000000 Momoko 120%
240 x 224 x 60.000000 Roller Aces, Super Cross II, Dai Ressha Goutou, Jackal, Mr. Goemon, Youma Ninpou Chou
240 x 224 x 60.606061 Manhattan 24
240 x 240 x 57.000000 Tropical Angel
240 x 240 x 57.370000 Son Son
240 x 240 x 57.444853 Kyohkoh-Toppa, Darwin 4078, DECO Cassette
240 x 256 x 60.000000 Knuckle Joe
248 x 224 x 60.000000 Formation Z
256 x 192 x 59.610000 Ninja-kun 2, Atomic Robokid
256 x 192 x 60.000000 Raiders 5, Ninja-kun
256 x 208 x 60.000000 Gekisou
256 x 224 x 53.800000 Psychic 5
256 x 224 x 54.000000 Bombs Away, Mad Ball
256 x 224 x 56.180000 NMK-1
256 x 224 x 57.412200 Chanbara
256 x 224 x 57.500000 DJ Boy, Snow Bros
256 x 224 x 59.000000 Battlecry, Reikai Doushi, Bakuretsu Breaker, Akumajou
256 x 224 x 59.150000 Chuka Taisen, New Zealand Story
256 x 224 x 59.170000 Ninja Ryuukenden, Raiga
256 x 224 x 59.185400 B. Rap Boys
256 x 224 x 59.185606 Bubble Bobble, Scramble Formation, SAR, Ikari III, Datsugoku, Street Smart
256 x 224 x 59.390000 Sky Smasher, Blood Bros
256 x 224 x 59.600000 Raiden, Cabal
256 x 224 x 59.610000 Juju Densetsu
256 x 224 x 60.000000 Mega Drive (A), PC Engine (A) (Hz?), Baluba-Louk, Top Secret, Tatakai no Banka, System C-2, Battlantis, Sand Scorpion, Mega System 1, Magical Crystals
256 x 224 x 60.080000 Tora he no Michi
256 x 224 x 60.096154 Sega System 1
256 x 224 x 60.098476 Super Famicom (A)
256 x 224 x 60.191409 Alpha Denshi
256 x 224 x 60.606061 Black Panther, City Bomber, Gradius
256 x 232 x 59.826098 Bloody Wolf
256 x 240 x 54.000000 Butasan, Argus, Valtric
256 x 240 x 55.450000 X-680000 (A) (Hz?)
256 x 240 x 57.403400 Fire Trap
256 x 240 x 57.444853 DECO16, Double Dragon, Sai Yuu Gou Ma Roku, Xain'd Sleena
256 x 240 x 57.500000 Puzzle King
256 x 240 x 58.000000 DECO8
256 x 240 x 59.637405 Western Express
256 x 240 x 60.000000 Act-Fancer, Trio the Punch, Chelnov, Performan
256 x 240 x 60.098000 Family Computer, Super Famicom (B)
256 x 256 x 55.000000 Buccaneers, Youjuuden, Spartan-X, Vigilante
256 x 256 x 55.450000 X-68000 (B) (Hz?)
256 x 256 x 60.000000 Heated Barrel
272 x 224 x 60.000000 Finalizer
272 x 240 x 60.000000 MSX-2 (A) (Hz?)
280 x 224 x 60.000000 Contra, Fast Lane, Flak Attack, Labyrinth Runner
280 x 240 x 60.000000 Slap Fight, Kyuukyoku Tiger, Get Star
288 x 216 x 60.000000 ASO, Ikari, Athena, Jumping Cross, Gladiator, Rabio Lepus
288 x 224 x 59.170000 Super Contra
288 x 224 x 59.185606 GX System (A), Dadandarn, Simpsons
288 x 224 x 59.700000 NB-1
288 x 224 x 60.000000 A-Jax, Aliens, Asterix, Detana!!, Crazy Cop, GI Joe, Trigon, NA-1 (A)
288 x 224 x 60.606060 Namco System I & II
296 x 240 x 60.000000 Return of the Jedi
304 x 224 x 59.170000 Crime Fighters, Crime Fighters 2, X-Men
304 x 224 x 58.000000 Blazing Tornado, Grand Striker 2
304 x 224 x 60.000000 Garuka, SPY, NA-1 (B)
304 x 224 x 60.606061 MIA
304 x 232 x 60.000000 Denjin Makai II
320 x 224 x 56.000000 Gouketsuji
320 x 224 x 57.230000 System 18
320 x 224 x 57.550645 Gaia Crusaders
320 x 224 x 58.000000 Moudja, Daitoride, Puzzli
320 x 224 x 58.970000 F-3 (A)
320 x 224 x 59.185606 Neo-Geo
320 x 224 x 59.300000 Psikyo-1 (A)
320 x 224 x 59.637405 X-Board
320 x 224 x 59.764793 ST-V (A)
320 x 224 x 59.900000 Psikyo-1 (B)
320 x 224 x 60.000000 Mega Drive (B), System 16, System 32 (A), Psikyo-2, Deniam, Sel Feena, Rabbit, Varia Metal, Nostradamus, Mega System 32, Gun Master, TMNT
320 x 224 x 60.054389 Out Run, Turbo OR, Enduro Racer, Space Harrier, Super Hang-On, System 16B
320 x 224 x 60.606061 Majuu no Ookoku, Gradius II, Hard Puncher
320 x 232 x 58.970000 F-3 (B)
320 x 232 x 60.000000 Blazeon, Chase Bombers
320 x 240 x 53.986864 SPI
320 x 240 x 54.877858 Wardner no Mori, Kyuukyoku Tiger
320 x 240 x 55.161545 Dash Yarou, Horror Story
320 x 240 x 55.407801 Raiden II
320 x 240 x 55.803571 Apache 3
320 x 240 x 57.000000 Armed-F, Terra Force, Big Fighter
320 x 240 x 57.444853 Double Dragon 3, Wrestle Fest, Combatribes, Touki Denshou, Deroon Dero-Dero
320 x 240 x 57.550645 Cave
320 x 240 x 57.613169 Zero Wing, Vimana, Tatsujin
320 x 240 x 58.000000 Ragtime, Joe & Mac, Dark Seal, Charlie Ninja, Osman
320 x 240 x 59.100000 Alligator Hunt, Bang!
320 x 240 x 59.572440 Shadow Force
320 x 240 x 59.597100 Super Nova System
320 x 240 x 59.637405 Dogyuun, V-V, Knuckle Bash, Eighting
320 x 240 x 60.000000 Naname, Oh My God, DECO32, Fuuki, M-92
320 x 256 x 49.764608 Art & Magic
320 x 256 x 55.407801 Zero Team
320 x 256 x 55.470000 New Zero Team
320 x 256 x 60.000000 BNB Arcade
320 x 256 x 61.000000 Denjin Makai
336 x 224 x 60.000000 PC Engine (B) (Hz?)
336 x 240 x 59.922743 Atari
336 x 240 x 60.186720 SSV (A)
336 x 248 x 60.000000 Wheels & Fire
338 x 240 x 60.186720 SSV (A')
352 x 224 x 59.764793 ST-V (B)
352 x 240 x 60.000000 Action Hollywood, Spinal Breakers, Karate Blazers
352 x 240 x 60.186720 SSV (B')
352 x 240 x 61.310000 Turbo Force, Super Volley 91
352 x 256 x 60.000000 Fantasy Land
360 x 224 x 60.000000 Last Fortress Toride
360 x 224 x 60.000000 Pang Pom's, Poitto!, Sky Alert
360 x 240 x 59.922743 Vicious Circle
360 x 240 x 60.000000 Ninja Clowns, FM Towns (Hz?)
366 x 240 x 54.000000 Mighty Warriors
368 x 232 x 60.000000 World Rally
368 x 240 x 58.000000 Steel Force
376 x 224 x 59.185606 Gaiapolis
380 x 224 x 60.000000 Silkroad, Bomb Kick, Shocking
384 x 224 x 56.180000 NMK-2
384 x 224 x 59.185606H GX System (B), Martial Champion, Violent Storm, Silkroad 2
384 x 224 x 59.583393 CP-S III
384 x 224 x 59.637405 CP-S, CP-S II
384 x 224 x 60.000000 Mad Shark, EX Revue, Bucky O'Hare, Moo Mesa, Eight Forces
384 x 240 x 57.420000 Mitchell, Mokugeki, Superman
384 x 240 x 57.550645 Oni
384 x 240 x 59.100000 World Rally 2
384 x 240 x 60.000000 Gundhara, Blandia, Rezon, Zing Zing Zip, Macross Plus, Gundam, Last Duel, Gigandes
384 x 256 x 54.253472 Xexex
384 x 256 x 55.000000 DBZ, Kaiketsu Yanchamaru, Meikyuujima
384 x 256 x 55.017606 M-72
384 x 256 x 60.106990 Blood Storm, SF the Movie, Time Killers
392 x 224 x 60.000000 Koukuu Kihei Monogatari
399 x 253 x 54.706840 MK, Judge Dredd, NBA Jam, Rampage WT, WWF, Smash TV
400 x 224 x 60.000000 Psycho Soldier, Bermuda Triangle, Fighting Soccer
416 x 224 x 60.000000 System 32 (B)
448 x 224 x 59.170000 Cave (PGM)
448 x 224 x 60.000000 PGM
512 x 192 x 60.000000 XX Mission
512 x 224 x 60.098476 Super Famicom (C) (Hz?)
512 x 224 x 60.000000 Super Pinball Action, PC Engine (C) (Hz?)
512 x 224 x 60.797665 Battletoads
512 x 240 x 55.450000 X-68000 (C) (Hz?)
512 x 256 x 55.450000 X-68000 (D) (Hz?)
512 x 256 x 60.000000 Hexion
544 x 240 x 60.000000 MSX-2 (B) (Hz?)
576 x 224 x 59.185606 Vs Net Soccer
640 x 200 x 56.533419 PC-88 (A) (15kHz)
496 x 384 x 57.524160 System 24, Model 1, Model 2
496 x 384 x 60.000000 Model 3
511 x 299 x 54.824186 Narc
512 x 384 x 60.000000 Konami GV, GTI Club
512 x 384 x 60.096154 APB
512 x 400 x 57.134789 Midzeus
512 x 400 x 57.349016 Cruis'n USA, Cruis'n World, Off Road Challenge
512 x 400 x 60.000000 Five A Side Soccer, Taito JC, Syvalion
512 x 448 x 60.000000 Popeye
512 x 448 x 60.098476 Super Famicom (D) (interlaced)
512 x 448 x 61.651673 Hyper NG 64
512 x 480 x 60.000000 FM Towns (interlaced and progressive) (Hz?)
512 x 512 x 55.450000 X-68000 (F) (Hz?)
576 x 432 x 60.000000 Radikal Bikers, Speed Up, Surf Planet
640 x 480 x 53.178707 California Chase
640 x 480 x 55.450000 X-68000 (E) (Hz?)
640 x 480 x 57.000000 Seattle
768 x 512 x 55.450000 X-68000 (G) (Hz?)6.3. List of relevant [NTSC] systems which use more than one video mode.
Work-in-progress.
1. Mega Drive / Sega C-2
- 256 x 224 x 60.000000
- 320 x 224 x 60.000000
- 320 x 448 x 60.000000 (interlaced)
It's unclear if it's 60.000000 or actually 59.922738 Hz. Some MD games dynamically change between the first two modes. The latter is only used by Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
2. Sega System 32
- 320 x 224 x 60.000000 (Hz?)
- 416 x 224 x 60.000000
Apparently, the only game actually making relevant use of the latter mode is Burning Rivals.
3. Sega Saturn / ST-V
- 320 x 224 x 59.764793
- 320 x 232 x 59.764793 (Hz?) (used by Darius Gaiden)
- 320 x 240 x 59.764793 (Hz?)
- 352 x 224 x 59.764793 (Hz?)
- 352 x 240 x 59.764793 (Hz?)
- 640 x 448 x 59.764793 (Hz?) (interlaced)
- 704 x 480 x 59.764793 (Hz?) (interlaced)
Apparently, this platform could use up to 704 x 513 accordding, though no NTSC game has been found using it.
4. Play Station / ZN System
- 256 x 224 x 60.000000 (Hz?)
- 256 x 240 x 60.000000 (Hz?)
- 320 x 224 x 60.000000 (Hz?)
- 320 x 240 x 60.000000 (Hz?)
- 384 x 224 x 60.000000 (Hz?)
- 384 x 240 x 60.000000 (Hz?)
- 640 x 448 x 60.000000 (Hz?) (interlaced)
- 640 x 480 x 60.000000 (interlaced)
Many games, both, home and arcade, use more than one mode.
5. Neo-Geo / Neo-Geo CD
- 320 x 224 x 59.185606
Many games use an active area of 304 x 224, meaning that, for those, there are eight vertical lines in each side conceived as overscan (they're not intended to be visible).
6. Taito F3
- 320 x 224 x 58,970000
- 320 x 232 x 58,970000
There isn't any game which uses both modes.
7. Master System / Mark III / Sega System E
- 268 x 224 x 59.922738 (according to MESS?)
Active area is actually of 256 x 192 (always?).
8. Family Computer
- 256 x 240 x 60.098000
The FC only has one video mode, but it's here for reference.
9. Super Famicom
- 256 x 224 x 60.098475 (source: BSNES)
- 512 x 240 x ?
- 512 x 224 x ?
- 256 x 448 x ? (interlaced)
- 512 x 448 x ? (interlaced)
A few games switch between the different modes.
10. PC Engine
- 256 x 216 x ?
- 256 x 224 x ?
- 336 x 224 x ?
- 512 x 224 x ?
- 544 x 242 x 59.826098
A few games switch between different modes. The system had programmable overscan features.
11. PC-FX
- 256 x 216 x ?
- 256 x 224 x ?
- 336 x 224 x ?
- 512 x 224 x ?
- 544 x 242 x 59.826103
- 640 x 480 x 60.000000
Unconfirmed.
12. MSX 2 / MSX 2 Plus / MSX Turbo-R
- 272 x 240 x 60.000000 (Hz?)
- 544 x 240 x 60.000000 (Hz?)
These are the main modes the MSX 2 uses for gaming purpones (Screen 5 and Screen 7 modes). The MSX 2 Plus and Turbo-R could turn the latter into 544 x 480 (interlaced), though it's rarely used. These resolution values were never the actual "active area", though, since that's normally of 256 x 212 or 512 x 212, leaving the rest as a border.
13. PC-8801 series
- 640 x 200 x 56.533419 (Hz?)
- 640 x 400 x 50.000000 (Hz?) (24 kHz)
14. PC-88 VA
- 640 x 200 x ?
- 640 x 400 x ?
15. PC-9801 series
- 640 x 400 x ?
16. X-68000 series
- 256 x 240 x 55.450000 (Hz?)
- 256 x 256 x 61.460000 (Hz?)
- 512 x 240 x 55.450000 (Hz?)
- 512 x 256 x 61.460000 (Hz?)
- 512 x 512 x 55.450000 (Hz?)
- 640 x 480 x 55.450000 (Hz?)
- 768 x 512 x 55.450000
17. FM Towns
- 320 x 240 x ?
- 352 x 232 x ?
- 384 x 240 x ?
- 512 x 480 x ?
- 640 x 480 x ?
- 768 x 512 x ?
- 1024 x 768 x ?
Unconfirmed.
(Sources: MAME 0.164, others)
6.4. List of arcade games which dynamically change the video mode.
Under construction.
6.4. List of home games which dynamically change the video mode.
Under construction.
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