¤ archaic ruins ¤

Nofrendo
by Matt Conte
Nofrendo is currenly undergoing a massive rewrite. The source code was lost when the author's computer crashed and he decided to start over. When the new version is released it is said that Nofrendo will be faster and support more games than NESticle! That's something to look forward too!
INFORMATION
Homepage: http://www.nofrendo.org/
License: Freeware
Released:
Language: English
Platform: MS-DOS
Programmed in: ?
DOWNLOAD
DOCUMENTATION EXCERPT
                 =====================================
                |    Nofrendo version 0.58 public     |
                |  (c) 1998 Matthew Conte / DripWare  |
                 -------------------------------------
               < I don't think we're in Kansas anymore >
                 -------------------------------------
                |     itsbroke@classicgaming.com      |
                |   http://www.netcom.com/~itsbroke   |
                 =====================================

Sit Down and Shut Up.
=====================
1. I make emulator, you find ROMs.  Crystal clear.
2. Don't send me ROMs- I have all I need, thanks.
3. Support for mappers > 34 will probably never be added.  If you're
   going to gleefully flagellate yourself over the possibility of
   playing the trained version of Super Getsufuu Gaiden Warrior Golden
   Force Dynasty 2 (Japanese), it ain't gonna be on Nofrendo.  Go play
   iNES or its derivative for that.  I have no interest in games that
   your cousin saw at a Japanese flea market.
4. Ask about the source code and quickly become an organ donor.

Ego.
====
 - Speed - all kinds of it.  All games except those which bankswitch
   heavily far exceed real NES speed with zero frameskip on my p133.
 - Bankswitching is much faster
 - Graphics engine rebuilt from the ground up, it now rocks
 - AUTO frameskip now default
 - Icky NESticle palette removed
 - New real-time state format (no longer NESticle compatible)
 - 10 different real-time state slots, use 0-9 to select
 - Keyboard remapped a bit to make room for the above (see below)
 - Numerous mapper 1 (MMC1) fixes- Xexyz works, among others
 - Dragon Warrior 3 and 4 now work, off a tip from Jim Geffre
 - Long filenames are now used for all files under Win95, even if you
   pass the shortened tildename (FILENA~1.NES).  This is great for
   front-ends which pass only the 8.3 filename.  Short names in DOS.
 - New command-line option "-nowhining"  Please, *please* read below.
 - Keyboard control fix- Nofrendo will no longer freak if your
   joystick isn't connected and one is specified in the .ini
 - Joystick reading bug fixed- Commando no longer locks up
 - Screen shots (it's about freaking time), 99 max per game, use '/'
 - New VRAM discovery by D fixes Trojan up a bit

Bedridden.
==========
 - GUS/AWExx support is hosed.  Please, use the SoundBlaster driver.
   You can use the GUS/AWE drivers, but don't say I didn't warn you.
 - Bankswitching.  Blah blah blah.  Technical crap removed.  It'll be
   slow until the 6502 core is modified.  No ETA on that one, I'm
   afraid.

Bitching.
=========
This is a public service announcement for NES emulator users.

Okay, I guess I've come up with a solution for this "dirty header"
nonsense.  Here's the scoop- back in the day, when s00pA k-RAd kEWl
d00Dz were starting the NES emulation "scene," there were a bunch of
equally k-RAd kEWl NES utilities that would casually impregnate any
ROMs you used with these utilities with the authors' neet-o names.
The "header" is a 16 byte identification string that tells the
emulator some crucial information, the most important being what
mapper number is used in the actual cartridge.

Marat Fayzullin, the granddaddy of NES emulation, created the iNES
format, and up through iNES 0.6, there were only 16 possible mapper
numbers.  There were 9 unused bytes in the 16-byte header tagged as
"reserved" and this is where the aforementioned kEWl d00dZ started
writing their names into.

When iNES 0.7 came out, Marat changed the format to accomodate for
all the new mappers that had been discovered, so another byte needed
to be used- one that had been previously marked as "reserved." 
Well, this poses a HUGE problem- because now two bytes have to be
taken into account to calculate the mapper number, and one may or
may not be invalid (the bulk of ROMs out there today have shit in
the headers).

So what's the best thing to do?  Ignore all the people who have dirty
ROM headers?  Well, I tried to do this, but there's too many problems,
the crappy headers are already far too widespread.

So I've come up with the "-nowhining" command-line option.  Whining
is on by default.  If Nofrendo encounters a mapper number it *thinks*
is invalid, it will tell you, and let you run it as a normal mapper
(0-15) ROM.  If it does run, I HIGHLY suggest you use my utility
cajoNES to clean out the crap in the header, or hex edit it yourself.

If you turn "-nowhining" on, Nofrendo will assume your headers are
clean, and only attempt to run ROMs exactly as they appear.

I hope this makes everyone happy.

Carded.
=======
This is Nofrendo, a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator for 
MS-DOS/Windows based PC's.  It uses single-file style .NES ROMs, which
you will need to dump or find yourself.  That's your job, be creative.

You'll need a computer, some memory, probably a monitor.  Sound cards
are always nice, too.  Jacking yourself up on caffeine won't hurt.

Turn your head and cough:
-------------------------
 o NES registers/PPU/battery-backed RAM; all the standard crap
 o 100% ASM 6502 core, courtesy Neil Bradley
 o Digital sound support
 o Support for mappers 0,1,2,3,4,7,9,11,15,16,19,21,22,23,32,33,34
 o Line based graphics engine- supports raster/split screen effects
 o Real time save-state files, 10 slots per game
 o 4- and 2-button digital joystick/pad support
 o 5 different video modes, including one VESA 2.0 mode (faster)
 o LFN's under Win95
 o Twin dufolator valves / overhead spindlerods
 o Volume control
 o My own "wicked accurate" palette
 o Screen shots (oldskool PCX format)
 o Automatic frameskipping / speed throttling

Motivation.
===========
Okay, so there's like 5 billion other NES emulators.  So why another 
one?  Why the fuck not?

You see, I'm broke and need something to do when I'm not out modeling
for the covers of supermarket romance novels.  And since I'm a Toys
'R Us kid (I don't want to grow up), I'm getting back to my roots by
playing slash emulating NES games.

Idealistic.
===========
Nofrendo is and _always_ will be free.  I will never charge a cent for 
it.  I will implement your requested features.  I will let you pinch
my routines.  I will help you with your own emulator.  I will drink
your beer.

I will NOT give you ROMs.  I will NOT deal with flames.  I will NOT be 
providing round-the-clock assistance for this program- remember what I 
said about not charging for it?  Please respect the fact that this is 
a spare-time project, primarily done for my own enjoyment.  It works 
for me and I like it.  If you like it I'll be ecstatic.  If not, I
don't care.  Hey, there's plenty of other emulators out there for you.

If you can't find ROMs anymore, thank Nintendo of America for being
total raging cockheads.

Do NOT distribute Nofrendo in any form other than the archive provided
on the homepage.  Distributing Nofrendo with ROM images will most
likely cause cancellation of this project.  You probably won't get
many chicks, either.
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