Aaron's To-Do List

Note that nothing here is a promise. This all just represents ideas in my head. Who knows if I'll get to it all!

Immediate Bugs

• (done: 0.112u2) add back font size reduction
• add warning/error about wacky performance counter results
• identify and fix up 64-bit specific errors
• add 64-bit debugging code to force allocations above 4GB

Video

• game-specific crosshair bitmaps and sizes
  • user selectable?
• add support for separate visible versus blanking rects
• font improvements:
  • start with built-in font, then load others
  • built-in font that is smaller, proportional
  • good unicode font
  • user-selectable?
  • (done: 0.112u1) change UI logic to allow for minimum font sizes
• change some page-flipping drivers to return UPDATE_HAS_NOT_CHANGED if no front buffer access and no page flip since last frame
• add code to not throttle if the video doesn't change? (maybe only for 1 frame)
• add OSD-specified max frame rate and do intelligent frameskipping to not go above it
• move throttling and frameskipping code into the core

Interrupts

• (done: 0.112u1) add asserts to ensure proper PULSE_LINE/HOLD_LINE usage
• (in progress, thanks Zsolt!) add MDRV_SCANLINE interrupt generators
• change MDRV_CPU_VBLANK_INT to specify a screen number
• add timed interrupt generator: cpunum_toggle_input_line_timed(cpu, input, time). This will ASSERT_LINE immediately and then CLEAR_LINE after the specified time. 'time' can be zero, which is equivalent to PULSE_LINE, though perhaps we should discourage such usage since it's not realistic. If you've asserted the line via this function, and another cpunum_assert_input_line_timed() call is made, it will override the previous CLEAR_LINE time with the new time. Note that this is not a proper wire-OR, so we could alternatively reschedule the CLEAR_LINE to the maximum of the new time and the previously pending time.

Sound

• (done: 0.112u4) fix all sound cores to be independent of Machine->sample_rate
• (done: 0.112u4) fix all custom sound generators to be independent of Machine->sample_rate
• (done: 0.112u3) remove OSD hack that allows changing of sample rates on the fly

Graphics

• fix drawgfx/palette global palette-ness
  • certain formats should imply a palette
  • palettes should be independent objects
  • each palette can have multiple clients
  • each client can request a list of changes, and clear out flags
• add laserdisc video viewer in F4 menu if A/V CHD is attached
  • support straight playback with frame info
  • single step forward/back

CPUs

• automatically respect CPUINFO_INT_CLOCK_DIVIDER
• finish work on 64-bit DRC engine
• write 64-bit MIPS3 DRC
• investigate and fix TMS32031 calculation bug
• optimize hyperstone core
• (in progress, thanks Zsolt!) move video timing crap out of cpuexec.c and into video.c
• replace cpuexec.c with more generic schedule.c

Scheduler

• Clients register with two callbacks (CPUs and sound cores are clients; video as well)

typedef mame_time (*scheduler_execute_callback)(void *parameter, mame_time curtime, mame_time target);
typedef void (*scheduler_abort_callback)(void *parameter, mame_time abort_time);

scheduler_client *scheduler_client_register(scheduler_execute_callback execute, scheduler_abort_callback abort, void *parameter);

• Events can be requested, and can cause synchronization between limited groups of clients

typedef void (*scheduler_event_fire_callback)(mame_time curtime, void *parameter);

scheduler_event *scheduler_event_register(mame_time event_time, scheduler_event_fire_callback callback, void *parameter, const scheduler_client **sync_list);

• The current execution can be aborted (this is implicitly done if an event is registered that times out in the middle of the current execution):

void scheduler_abort_execution(void);

• Clients can be suspended/resumed:

void scheduler_client_suspend(scheduler_client *client, UINT32 reason_mask);
void scheduler_client_resume(scheduler_client *client, UINT32 reason_mask);

• Scheduler owns global time and local time for each client:

mame_time scheduler_get_global_time(void);
mame_time scheduler_client_get_current_time(scheduler_client *client);
mame_time scheduler_event_get_fire_time(scheduler_event *event);

• Scheduler keeps track of real time spent executing (debug only?)

osd_ticks_t scheduler_client_get_real_time(scheduler_client *client);

Misc

• Allow setting of realtime clock to fixed value for regression testing

Sources

• move cleanup tool into tools
• move fronthlp.c into common code
• push more options into the code to reduce OSD burden
• (done: 0.112u3) add laserdisc VANC extraction and generation tool to tools
• (done: 0.112u1) break core fileio.c into fileio.c and corefile.c
• (done: 0.112u1) make util directory with corefile.c and all other utilities with light dependencies

Outputs

• add ability to get XML description of current game
• add lamp output to afterburner driver
• (done: 0.112u2 by Bob Seidel) add pause notifications

Debugger

• clean up APIs
• add timer window
• add CHD viewer window

Driver cleanups/To do

• cliffhgr.c:
  • add proper latching/buffering to ensure no dropouts
  • fix 9928a emulation to match screenshot
• astrocde.c
• vicdual.c
• Cubo CD32 (Amiga AGA-based)
• 3DO-based systems

Documentation

• write description for how to compute crosshair parameters

mamedev.org

• source code browsing (a la MAWS but with proper spacing) option 1 option 2

Other Stuff

• add regression testing tools to the tools directory
  • add png diffing tool
• look into inpout32.dll for hooking up ZVG to WinMAME