ZSNES/zsnes/win/zsnesfaq.txt

_[ ZSNES Windows Frequently Asked Questions ]______________________________

[GENERAL ISSUES:]

Q: Why does ZSNESw crash and give me an error with dinput.dll?
Q: Why do I get a black (or corrupted) box when I start up ZSNESw?
Q: Why in the GUI under Config/Options are some of the choices gone?
Q: How do I use CD-ROMs with ZSNESw?
Q: Why is netplay choppy/slow?


[SOUND COMPATIBILITY ISSUES:]

Q: Will ZSNES Windows be able to use my sound card now?  It wouldn't work
   for me in the DOS version.
Q: How come I don't get any sound?
Q: ZSNES Windows tends to have some static when playing games is there any
   way to remove it?
Q: How come stereo is reversed?


[VIDEO ISSUES:]

Q: Why do I get a dark line every quarter inch roughly on my screen when I
Q: In the Video section where I set my resolution what do those letters
   stand for to the right of the resolution?
Q: Will ZSNES Windows support a 3DFX graphics mode?
Q: Are there transparencies in ZSNES?
Q: How come the graphics are really screwed up?


[GAME COMPATIBILITY ISSUES:]

Q: Why doesn't *name of game* work on ZSNES?
Q: Can you get *name of game* working by the next release?
Q: Why is *name of game* not working in v.*version #* of ZSNES?  It was
   working before.
Q: When do you think you will emulate the *DSP/SFX chip?  My favorite game
   *name of game with chip* won't run without it.
Q: This game tells me that it is not compatible with the MultiTap (or an
   external device attached).  What should I do?
Q: How do I improve the compatibility of ZSNES?
Q: Why am I experiencing problems with Chrono Trigger?
Q: Why doesn't Pilotwings/Star Ocean/Street Fighter Alpha 2 work?
Q: Can you guys get Pilotwings/Star Ocean/Street Fighter Alpha 2 to work?


[SPEED ISSUES:]

Q: Why is ZSNES slow?
Q: Can you please make ZSNES faster?
Q: Can you implement dynamic recompilation into ZSNES?
Q: Why does the game slow down even though I'm using auto frame rate and
   the FPS is pretty high?


[[KEYBOARD/JOYSTICK ISSUES:]

Q: Will ZSNES Windows now be able to use my Windows Joystick/Gamepad?
Q: Why can't I press more than 2 keys at a time?
Q: How come my joystick keeps holding in one direction?
Q: How do I use both my Keyboard and Joystick for the 1st player?


[CHEAT ISSUES:]

Q: How come the game genie codes don't work?
Q: How do I use .CHT files?


[FREEZING/CRASHING ISSUES:]

Q: When I load a ROM, how come ZSNES crashes?


[MISC:]

Q: How does the auto .IPS patching feature work?
Q: Where do I get the games?


_[ GENERAL ISSUES ]________________________________________________________

Q: Why does ZSNESw crash and give me an error with dinput.dll?

A: If you get this error, download and install the latest version of DirectX
   which is located at www.microsoft.com/directx
   If you already have the newest version of directx installed for
   a while, try re-installing it (and make sure that you're installing
   DirectX v7.0a or higher).

Q: Why do I get a black (or corrupted) box when I start up ZSNESw?

A: First of all, make sure that you have the latest version of DirectX
   installed (see above question).  If that didn't help, then check
   your desktop color settings and make sure that the number of colors
   is set to either 16bit or 32bit (since ZSNESw will only work with those
   modes).

Q: Why in the GUI under Config/Options are some of the choices gone?

A: Basically they have become obsolete due to the abilities of Windows.
   One such removed option is "vsync" because Direct Draw renders the
   screen in synch without a speed loss as with the DOS version so it was
   not needed anymore.

Q: How do I use CD-ROMs with ZSNESw?

A: You need to define a save directory that points to your hard drive.
   In order to do this, use a text editing program such as wordpad and
   open up zsnesw.cfg, which should be located in the directory where you
   installed ZSNESw in (this will only appear after you run ZSNESw at
   least once).  Then look for the line SaveDirectory= and enter
   the directory where you want all the writeable files to be stored.

Q: Why is netplay choppy/slow?

A: Please read netplay.txt that is included in the original ZSNESw archive.

_[ SOUND COMPATIBILITY ISSUES ]____________________________________________

Q: Will ZSNES Windows be able to use my sound card now?  It wouldn't work
   for me in the DOS version.

A: It is very likely that your sound card will in fact work given that your
   card is supported by Windows and Direct Sound from Microsoft's Direct X.


Q: How come I don't get any sound?

A: There could be several situations :

A: Either you accidently disabled sound (You can enable it through the GUI)
   or you don't have a sound card or the sound drivers aren't properly
   installed in your system.

Q: ZSNES Windows tends to have some static when playing games is there any
   way to remove it?

A: First of all, make sure that you have the latest sound drivers installed.
   Also, the problem could be in relation to many different variables.  The
   emulator uses Direct Sound for audio so it is likely not an issue with
   Windows but most likely a setting in the emulator.  The problem could be
   in relation to using a lower khz value than the SNES uses which is
   32000khz.  Another more likely reason is that you have one of the
   special sound filters engaged.  For higher end cards (better than SB16)
   it appears that the Low Pass Filter can cause static.

Q: How come stereo is reversed?

A: Turn on 'Reverse Stereo' in the Sound configuration in the GUI.


_[ VIDEO ISSUES ]__________________________________________________________

Q: Why do I get a dark line every quarter inch roughly on my screen when I
   use 25/50% scanlines in a full screen stretched video mode?

A: This is a video card based issue in which your card does not scale the
   video image properly and that is the result.

Q: In the Video section where I set my resolution what do those letters
   stand for to the right of the resolution?

A: There are four different sets of letters which are R, S, DR, and DS.  R
   stands for ratio as these modes will retain the screen size ratio to the
   output of a real SNES.  S stands for stretched, any of these modes will
   stretch the image to the exact size of the resolution you have chosen.
   The D in DR/DS meants high resolution which allows for the use of
   interpolation, 25/50% scanlines, 2xSai, and Super Eagle modes. 

Q: Will ZSNES Windows support a 3DFX graphics mode?

A: Probably not as the author has little interest in adding support for it.


Q: Are there transparencies in ZSNES?

A: Yes.  Transparencies are in ZSNES.


Q: How come the graphics are really screwed up?

A: It's probably a problem with the emulation.  You can try running the
   game 80% or 120% execution which can be set in the ZSNESW.CFG through
   the DOS prompt or another editor.  It might fix your problem, but then
   again maybe it won't be the solution.


_[ COMPATIBILITY ISSUES ]__________________________________________________

Q: Why doesn't *name of game* work on ZSNES?

A: Getting the compatibility higher is a very hard task to do.  We're
   always trying to get more games working.


Q: Can you get *name of game* working by the next release?

A: We're always trying, but we can never guarantee a specific game will be
   working because of the difficulties involved in bug fixing.


Q: Why is *name of game* not working in v.*version #* of ZSNES?  It was
   working before.

A: Whenever we change something in the emulation, whether it's optimisation
   or bug fixes, it has a good potential to have caused a problem elsewhere.
   Usually, these problems aren't discovered until after a release.


Q: When do you think you will emulate the *DSP/SFX chip?  My favorite game
   *name of game with chip* won't run without it.

A: We will consider emulating extra chips only if decent information on
   those chips are found.  However, even if we find info on them, we
   cannot guarantee to be able to implement them.


Q: This game tells me that it is not compatible with the MultiTap.  What
   should I do?

A: Set both Player 3,  Player 4, and Player 5's input device to 'None'.


Q: How do I improve the compatibility of ZSNES?

A: Turning on sound helps a lot here.  Also, try in the ZSNES configuration
   file to keep the % of execution at 100%.  If a game still doesn't work,
   try tweaking the percentage of execution to both 120% or 80%.  If that
   still doesn't work, then it's either a corrupt rom, a game that requires
   a special chip, or a bug in ZSNES.


Q: Why am I experiencing problems with Chrono Trigger?

A: If you cannot press the L+R+A seqence, then you would need to assign
   both the L and R key as the same key such as set L and R to PageUp and
   set A to Home, then pressing PageUp+Home will be the same as pressing
   L,R, and A together.  This is a hardware limitation of the keyboard,
   not a bug in ZSNES.


Q: Why doesn't Pilotwings/Star Ocean/Street Fighter Alpha 2 work?

A: Pilotwings uses the DSP1 chip which as of yet is not completely figured
   out.  So far the only DSP1 game which will run is Super Mario Kart.
   Star Ocean and Street Fighter Alpha 2 both use the SDD-1 chip, which
   uses an unknown compression routine that has to be figured out before
   it can be emulated.


Q: Can you guys get Pilotwings/Star Ocean/Street Fighter Alpha 2 to work?

A: We have already worked on them to an extent, however, we cannot go much
   further until we gain knowledge on how to get them to work.
   Unfortunately, we are not magicians.


_[ SPEED ISSUES ]__________________________________________________________

Q: Why is ZSNES slow?

A: For the Windows version, you might want to change your video mode in 
   ZSNESWin to different settings until you find the mode that's optimal
   in performance.

   Emulating a SNES is slow because it is a complex system.  Also, ZSNES
   by default uses a tile/line engine which is newly completed in v1.0.
   This engine is faster than the old so if the speed isn't up to par you
   may try a solution below, or your computer just may be too slow.


Q: Can you please make ZSNES faster?

A: We're always trying and there are still a lot of room left for
   optimisation, but a lack of time keeps us from implementing them.


Q: Can you implement dynamic recompilation into ZSNES?

A: There is no plans to implement it since it doesn't seem necessary.  The
   SuperNES only uses a 3mhz cpu compared to say the 93mhz cpu inside the
   Nintendo 64.  Implementing a dynamic recompilation engine will be hard
   work and won't improve performance by much.


Q: Why does the game slow down even though I'm using auto frame rate and
   the FPS is pretty high?

A: A game slows down like that when it executes its code beyond the speed
   of cpu emulation that ZSNES currently handles.  To reduce slowdowns,
    increase the percentage of execution by using editing the ZSNESW.CFG.


_[ KEYBOARD/JOYSTICK ISSUES ]______________________________________________

Q: Will ZSNES Windows now be able to use my Windows Joystick/Gamepad?

A: Yes, the controls are now handed via Direct Input so all Windows based
   control devices should work within ZSNES Windows.

Q: Why can't I press more than 2 keys at a time?

A: It's mainly the limitation of the PC Keyboard.  If you want to press
   more than 2 keys at a time, either use a joystick or change the keyboard
   keys around until you find a combination where you can press more than
   2 keys at a time.  Another technique that works is to set multiple
   buttons to a single key.  That way, pressing that key presses multiple
   buttons at the same time.


Q: How come my joystick keeps holding in one direction?

A: That happens when you hold a direction when ZSNES Windows starts up.
   If that happens, then exit ZSNES and reload to recalibrate.  Clicking on
   SET in the input device window also calibrates the joystick, but it also
   resets the controls to the default joystick settings.


Q: How do I use both my Keyboard and Joystick for the 1st player?

A: In the GUI, enter the CONFIG -> OPTIONS menu.  Then check 'USE Pl1/2 AS
   Pl3/4'.  Once you've done that, Player 3 controls will control Player 1
   so if you have joystick set on Player 1, set Player 3 as keyboard.
   This disables multitap emulation however.


_[ CHEAT ISSUES ]__________________________________________________________

Q: How come the game genie codes don't work?

A: You probably didn't insert the '-'.  Otherwise, try clicking on the FIX
   button once while the highlight is over the code.


Q: How do I use .CHT files?

A: Copy the .CHT file to the ROM Directory or if you have a save directory
   defined, copy it to the Save Directory.  Then rename the .CHT file if
   necessary so that the filename before the . matches the ROM file.


_[ FREEZING/CRASHING ISSUES ]______________________________________________


Q: When I load a ROM, how come ZSNES crashes?

A: For ZSNESWin, you first might want to see if you have any other major
   program running in the background (eg. WinAMP).  If it still crashes
   after you close those programs, you might want to download and install
   the newest version of DirectX which is located at
   www.microsoft.com/directx

   Odds are, if the emulator crashes as you load a ROM then it is probably
   not compatable with ZSNES Windows due to it being incomplete, a bad
   header, or for some other reason making it broken.


-[ MISC ]__________________________________________________________________

Q: How does the auto .IPS patching feature work?

A: The auto .IPS feature works by copying the .IPS file to the directory of
   your ROM file or if you have a save directory defined, then the .IPS
   file goes into the save directory.  Next, rename the .IPS file so that
   it matches filename (eg.  If your ROM filename is THISGAME.SMC, then
   your .IPS filename is THISGAME.IPS.)


Q: Where do I get the games?

A: The ZSNES Team will *NOT* provide any games or any links to games.