[fceu.git] / Documentation / rel / 3.0.linux

/******************************************************************************/
/*  3.0)        Platform Specific Notes                                       */
/******************************************************************************/

        1.  FCE Ultra uses SVGAlib, so you'll obviously need to have it
        installed.

        2.  Be careful when using the non-VGA video modes(such as 640x480).
        SVGAlib doesn't always handle virtual terminal switching well when
        one of these modes is being used.  Also, since FCE Ultra enables a
        a linear frame buffer for these modes, heed this warning from
        the SVGAlib documentation:

               Furthermore, some cards (Cirrus) just enable  this  buffer
               at  a  fixed hardware address.  For Cirrus it is mapped at
               14MB so you should never used it if  you  have  more  than
               14MB  of  memory (But how does an application know?).  The
               Mach32 support for this is smarter. It makes this  feature
               only available when it is safe to be used.

        3.  FCE Ultra must be run as root in order to get access to the
        VGA hardware.  SVGAlib will drop root privileges if you are running
        the program as a normal user and the suid root bit is set and the
        executable is owned by root. Example:
                chown root fceu ; chmod 4755 fceu
        Make sure you have the latest stable release of SVGAlib, though.

        4.  FCE Ultra will save all data(state saves/screen snapshots) in
        ~/.fceultra, so make sure your "HOME" environment variable is set
        correctly.

        If you believe FCE Ultra is too slow, you can try the following:
         * Kill some of the other processes.
         * Disable sound emulation.
	 * Raise the priority of FCE Ultra with the 'nice' command. 
	   Ex:  nice -n -20 ./fceu
Commit	Line	Data
c62d2810	1	/******************************************************************************/
	2	/* 3.0) Platform Specific Notes */
	3	/******************************************************************************/
	4
	5	1. FCE Ultra uses SVGAlib, so you'll obviously need to have it
	6	installed.
	7
	8	2. Be careful when using the non-VGA video modes(such as 640x480).
	9	SVGAlib doesn't always handle virtual terminal switching well when
	10	one of these modes is being used. Also, since FCE Ultra enables a
	11	a linear frame buffer for these modes, heed this warning from
	12	the SVGAlib documentation:
	13
	14	Furthermore, some cards (Cirrus) just enable this buffer
	15	at a fixed hardware address. For Cirrus it is mapped at
	16	14MB so you should never used it if you have more than
	17	14MB of memory (But how does an application know?). The
	18	Mach32 support for this is smarter. It makes this feature
	19	only available when it is safe to be used.
	20
	21	3. FCE Ultra must be run as root in order to get access to the
	22	VGA hardware. SVGAlib will drop root privileges if you are running
	23	the program as a normal user and the suid root bit is set and the
	24	executable is owned by root. Example:
	25	chown root fceu ; chmod 4755 fceu
	26	Make sure you have the latest stable release of SVGAlib, though.
	27
	28	4. FCE Ultra will save all data(state saves/screen snapshots) in
	29	~/.fceultra, so make sure your "HOME" environment variable is set
	30	correctly.
	31
	32	If you believe FCE Ultra is too slow, you can try the following:
	33	* Kill some of the other processes.
	34	* Disable sound emulation.
	35	* Raise the priority of FCE Ultra with the 'nice' command.
	36	Ex: nice -n -20 ./fceu
	37