Annoid Documentation
Annoid v1.1
Written by Brian Peek
(c) 2000 Ganksoft Entertainment
http://www.ganksoft.com
Table of Contents
=================
1.0 Introduction
1.1 System Requirements
1.2 Acknowledgements
2.0 Instructions
2.1 Dip Switches
2.2 Nubbly Action Replay
2.3 Nubbly Shark Codes
2.4 Other Settings
3.0 Controls
4.0 Other Stuff
1.0 - Introduction
==================
This started out as being a multi-game emulator for Windows 95 which never
wound up being released due to a variety of reasons. The game I wanted to
emulate most was Arkanoid, one of my all favorite games. However, the set
of Arkanoid ROMs that I dumped from our board required a microprocessor, and
the code for that microprocessor was on special chip that could not be read
by normal means. So, I never did get Arkanoid working, and therefore never
released the multi-game emulator.
However, just last week, I found someone selling a bootleg Arkanoid board.
After taking a close look at it, I realized it did not have the special
microprocessor! I thought to myself that I might finally be able to finish
emulating Arkanoid!
So, I dumped the ROMs from this new board, dropped them into my existing
emulator, and it worked without a hitch! Previously, the game would work,
however it would not display any of the levels properly. Now the game runs
flawlessly.
Therefore, I took the old emulator (called The Gameroom) and ripped out all
of the old games, the other CPU cores, etc. and left it with only Arkanoid.
1.1 System Requirements
=======================
*Pentium
*Windows 95
*DirectX 5
Recommended:
*Sound card
1.2 Acknowledgements
====================
o First and foremost, I owe a HUGE thank you to Chris Hardy. He taught me
almost everything I know about emulation. He's also helped immensely with
DirectX related things. Thanks for being so patient with me, Chris!
o Z80Em is Copyright (C) Marcel de Kogel 1996,1997
o PSG code (C) 1996 Michael Cuddy, Fen's Ende Software
http://www.fensende.com/Users/mcuddy
o Synthetic Audio Library (SEAL) Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997 Carlos Hasan
2.0 Instructions
================
It's pretty simple, really. Run the installation program. This extracts
the emulator into it's own directory and installs the SEAL audio library .DLL
to the windows\system directory as required.
Next you need to put the ROMs for the Arkanoid in the directory named
"arkboot" inside of the directory you installed Annoid to. The filenames
should be as follows:
o PROGROM1 arkboot.01
o PROGROM2 arkboot.02
o GFXROM1 arkboot.03
o GFXROM2 arkboot.04
o GFXROM3 arkboot.05
Then just run the emulator! If you are running in 256 color mode, you
can choose to play Annoid in full screen or windowed mode. If you are
running in any other color mode, you will be foreced into full screen
mode. In full screen mode, the cheating options are not available.
Click the right mouse button or press the Alt key to access the menus
in either screen mode. Note that in full screen mode, the menus won't
appear unless you left click in the top left corner.
2.1 Dip Switches
================
These are pretty self explanatory. Once you click OK, the settings are
saved for all future sessions. To revert them to factory defaults, click
the Default button. NOTE: You must reset the game for the new dip switch
settings to be used.
2.2 Nubbly Action Replay (NAR)
==============================
Don't ask about the title...:)
Anyway, this works like the old Pro Action Replay cartridges for the
Genesis and Super Nintendo. It allows you to search for values that change
in memory and alter them to cheat. You should start the NAR ONLY when
you're ready to search for codes. So if you're looking for lives, start it
right after the actual game begins, not at the title screen or somewhere
else.
o Method 1: This allows you to search for a specific value. Enter the number
and then click the Search button. The left box will fill in with a series
of codes. Wait for the value to change, then click Search again. A new
listing of codes will be displayed of all values that started as your first
search and changed to your second search. Keep doing this until you weed
down the codes to just a few.
o Method 2: This allows you to search for values that have gone up by one or
down by one. This is best used for finding the location of the lives
counter. For example, start Arkanoid and then run the NAR. Lose one life
and then click the decrement button. Codes will be displayed. Lose
another life and decrement. Codes will once again be displayed. Continue
until only a few codes are left.
Click the Reset button to reset all of the codes and start over.
2.3 Nubbly Shark Codes (NSC)
============================
This is where you actually enter the codes you found using the NAR. You
can turn them off and on selectively, and also use them to hold a value
constant in memory so that it is never decremented (i.e. lives). Just enter
the code and click the Apply button to make them work. You may enter a label
for each code in the appropriate box. Click Save to save the codes you
create so you don't have to find them over and over again.
Here's an explanation of the codes:
00ABCD01
00 = The RAM space of the CPU to change
ABCD = The code itself
01 = This is the value in the memory region
For example, if your code for lives wound up being 00ABCD01, you would
change the 01 to the value of your choice. If you wanted 8 lives, you
would change it to 00ABCD08. Note that this value is in hexadecimal,
so ten lives would be 00ABCD0A, not 00ABCD10.
2.4 Other Settings
==================
o Game
+ Reset - Resets the game
+ Pause - Pauses the game
o Settings
+ Window - You can change the window size by dragging the border or
choosing an exact value from this menu
+ Screen Refresh - If the game runs too slowly, you can change the refresh
rate
+ Sound - Turn sound off and on
+ Throttle - Turn throttling off and on
o Help
+ About - Learn about the program
3.0 Controls
============
Controls are standard emulator controls:
1 - 1 Player Start
2 - 2 Player Start
3 - Coin Up
4 - Service Switch (hold it down and click Reset from the Game menu to
activate)
Arrows - Move the paddle left and right
Control - Fire Button
The mouse also works to move the paddle left and right, and the left mouse
button is the fire button.
By clicking the right mouse button, the emulator will pause and give control
of the cursor back to you. Right click again to un-pause the emulator and
give control back to Annoid. You can also access the menus by pressing the
Alt key. This also pauses the emulator as above.
4.0 Other Stuff
===============
That's about it. If there are bugs, contact me and I'll fix them. Enjoy!
