-This is yet another SEGA 8 bit and 16 bit console emulator for emulating most
-of the hardware SEGA has published up to and including the 32X.
+This is yet another SEGA 8 bit and 16 bit console emulator.
+It can run games developed for most consumer hardware released
+by SEGA, up to and including the 32X:
+- **16 bit systems:** Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega/Mega CD, 32X, Pico
+- **8 bit systems**: SG-1000, SC-3000, Master System/Mark III, Game Gear
-PicoDrive was originally written having ARM-based handheld devices
-in mind, but later had got various improvements for other architectures
-too, like SH2 recompilers for MIPS (mips32r2), ARM64 (armv8), RISC-V (RV64IM)
+PicoDrive was originally created with ARM-based handheld devices
+in mind, but later received various cross-platform improvements
+such as SH2 recompilers for MIPS (mips32r2), ARM64 (armv8), RISC-V (RV64IM)
and PowerPC (G4/2.03).
-PicoDrive was the first emulator ever to properly emulate Virtua Racing and
+PicoDrive was the first software to properly emulate Virtua Racing and
its SVP chip.
-Currently the main development happens in the
-[irixxxx's fork](https://github.com/irixxxx/picodrive),
-[notaz's repo](https://github.com/notaz/picodrive) isn't updated as much.
+At present, most development activity occurs in
+[irixxxx's fork](https://github.com/irixxxx/picodrive);
+[notaz's repo](https://github.com/notaz/picodrive) is updated less frequently.
+### Sega Pico and Storyware Pages
-### gallery
+PicoDrive can use Storyware pages and pad overlays in png format in the same
+directory as the cartridge image. The selected page is displayed automatically
+if the pen is used on the storyware or pad. Details about how to correctly name
+the pages can be found in the *How to run Sega Pico games* section in
+`platform/base_readme.txt`.
-Some images of demos and homebrew software:
+### Gallery
-**16 bit systems**: Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega/Mega CD, 32X, Pico.
+Some images of demos and homebrew software:
|  |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [_MegaDrive: Titan Overdrive 2_](https://demozoo.org/productions/170767/) | [_MegaCD: RaycastDemo_](https://github.com/matteusbeus/RaycastDemo) | [_32X: OpenLara_](https://github.com/XProger/OpenLara/releases) |
||||
-| | [_MegaDrive: DMA David_](http://www.mode5.net/DMA_David.html) | [_32X: Doom Resurrection_](https://archive.org/details/doom-32x-all-versions) |
-
-**8 bit systems**: SG-1000, SC-3000, Master System/Mark III, Game Gear.
+| [_MegaDrive: Titan Overdrive 2_](https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=69648) | [_MegaDrive: DMA David_](http://www.mode5.net/DMA_David.html) | [_32X: Doom Resurrection_](https://archive.org/details/doom-32x-all-versions) |
|  |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |
| [_SG-1000: Nyan Cat_](https://www.smspower.org/Homebrew/NyanCat-SG) | [_MS: Anguna the Prison Dungeon_](https://www.smspower.org/Homebrew/AngunaThePrisonDungeon-SMS) | [_GameGear: Turrican_](https://www.smspower.org/Homebrew/GGTurrican-GG) |
+### Compiling
-### compiling
-
-For platforms for which release builds are supplied the most easy way is to
-use the release script in tools/release.sh. See the release script for details.
-To make a platform build use
+For platforms where release builds are provided, the simplest method is to
+use the release script `tools/release.sh`. See the script itself for details.
+To create platform builds run the command:
-> tools/release.sh [version] [platforms...]
+```
+tools/release.sh [version] [platforms...]
+```
-This will deliver a file for each platform in a the release-[version] directory.
-A list of platforms is in the release script.
+This will generate a file for each platform in the `release-[version]` directory.
+A list of supported platforms can be found in the release script.
-If you want to build an executable for a unixoid platform not listed in the
-platform list, try using
+These commands should create an executable for a unixoid platform not included in the list:
-> configure --platform=generic
+```
+configure --platform=generic
+make
+```
-If DRC is available for the platform, it should be enabled automatically.
-For gp2x, wiz, and caanoo you may need to compile libpng first.
+To compile PicoDrive as a libretro core, use this command:
-After configure, compile with
+```
+make -f Makefile.libretro
+```
-> make
-
-
-### helix MP3 decoder for ARM
+### Helix MP3 decoder for ARM
For 32 bit ARM platforms, the optimized helix MP3 decoder can be used to play
-MP3 audio files with CD games. The helix source files are however not supplied
-due to licensing issues. If you have legally obtained the sources, put them in
-the platform/common/helix directory.
-
-To compile the helix sources, set CROSS_COMPILE to your cross compiler prefix
-(e.g. arm-linux-gnueabi-) and LIBGCC to your cross compiler's libgcc.a
-(e.g. /usr/lib/gcc-cross/arm-linux-gnueabi/4.7/libgcc.a), and compile with
-
-> make -C platform/common/helix CROSS_COMPILE=$CROSS_COMPILE LIBGCC=$LIBGCC
-
-This will result in a shared library named ${CROSS_COMPILE}helix_mp3.so. Copy
-this as libhelix.so to where the PicoDrive binary is on the target device.
-
-
-Also, the support for helix must be enabled in PicoDrive by compiling with
-
-> make PLATFORM_MP3=1
-
-This switch is automatically enabled for Gamepark Holdings devices (gp2x,
-caanoo and wiz). Without installing libhelix.so those devices will not play
+MP3 audio files with CD games. Due to licensing issues, the helix source files
+cannot be provided here; if you have obtained the sources legally, place them in
+the `platform/common/helix` directory.
+
+To compile the helix sources:
+
+- Set the environment variable `CROSS_COMPILE` to your cross compiler prefix
+(e.g. `arm-linux-gnueabi-`)
+- Set the environment variable `LIBGCC` to your cross compiler's `libgcc.a`
+(e.g. `/usr/lib/gcc-cross/arm-linux-gnueabi/4.7/libgcc.a`)
+- Run the command:
+```
+make -C platform/common/helix CROSS_COMPILE=$CROSS_COMPILE LIBGCC=$LIBGCC
+```
+- Copy the resulting shared library named `${CROSS_COMPILE}helix_mp3.so` as
+`libhelix.so` to the directory containing the PicoDrive binary on the target device.
+
+In addition, helix support must be enabled in PicoDrive itself by compiling with:
+
+```
+make PLATFORM_MP3=1
+```
+
+This switch is enabled automatically for Gamepark Holdings devices (`gp2x`,
+`caanoo` and `wiz`). Without installing `libhelix.so`, these devices will not play
MP3 audio.
+### Installing
-### installing
+The release script produces packages or zip archives which have to be installed
+manually on the target device. Usually this involves unpacking the archive or
+copying the package to a directory on either the internal device storage or an
+SD card. Device-specific instructions can be found on the internet.
-The release scripts produces zip files which need to be installed on the
-target device manually. Usually that means unpacking the file to some
-directory on the device storage or on an SD card. See device specific
-descriptions on the net.
-Send bug reports, fixes etc to <derkub@gmail.com>
+Send bug reports, fixes etc. to <derkub@gmail.com>
notaz.gp2x.de / picodrive.git / commitdiff