Re: [Tuxnes-devel] saving the "state" of the game

[Mike M. <mel...@pc...>]

On Wed, 8 Aug 2001, Jason Dorje Short wrote:

> I recently started using tuxnes again (good work with
> the recent improvements, BTW), and it looks like
> TuxNES has no "save state" feature like many other
> emulators do.  (It's possible I missed it, in which
> case please correct me.)

	Nope, there's no save-state in TuxNES thus far, though it's been
on the to-do list from the get-go. Welcome to the team, and I look forward
to seeing your contributions.

	The save-state functionality for TuxNES is two-fold: 1) Be able to
read NESticle Save State (.STA) files, since there are so many of them,
and 2) implement read/write of the Standard NES Save State
(SNSS) format. The SNSS format was a format put together by some smart
people in the nesdev community that did its best to solve a lot of the
problems one would encounter in developing a save state format. It's also
supposed to be portable between different emulators. I don't think it's
ever caught on; however, it's better than having to create our own
format. Examining the format will probably point out all kinds of things
you may not have thought of (that's what happened in my case).

	I encourage you to check it out. The main web page that contained
SNSS info has been redirected to, umm, adult-oriented material for some
reason. I'll send you the latest spec when I dig it up on my hard drive.

	Be aware that we will likely have to modify the mapper interface
since, effectively, each individual mapper has to be able to save state.

	I'll send you the spec files soon. BTW, I'll be on vacation
for about a week, so don't be surprised if I don't answer email right
away.

-- 
	-Mike Melanson