$HOME/.dgen/dgenrc

The file $HOME/.dgen/dgenrc is parsed by dgen() when the emuator is started. It is used to set controller keys, as well as other characteristics of the emulation. The contents of this file may be overriden with the contents of another similarly-formatted file, via the -r commandline switch.

Each rc file consists of an unlimited number of lines, which each have the format 'fieldname = value'. A line may also be a comment, if it begins with the hash mark (#) character.

Each fieldname is prepended by a name, which identifies the type of this field:

key_*

A key value. May be set to a key identifier listed in the section below.

bool_*

A boolean value. "false", "no", and "0" values are taken as false, while "true", "yes", and any number except 0 are taken as true.

int_*

An integer value, greater than or equal to 0.

Some fields take special value sets, which are addressed in their respective sections. None of the field names or values are case-sensitive.

The fields fall under a few basic groups. They are listed below, with their default values in brackets ([]):

key_pad1_up [up]

key_pad1_down [down]

key_pad1_left [left]

key_pad1_right [right]

key_pad1_a [a]

key_pad1_b [s]

key_pad1_c [d]

key_pad1_x [q]

key_pad1_y [w]

key_pad1_z [e]

key_pad1_mode [backspace]

key_pad1_start [return]

Map keys to the first Genesis controller. Each of these fields has a corresponding "key_pad2" field, to map to the second controller.

bool_joystick [false]

Use joysticks to emulate the controllers. Note that the keyboard keys will still work if this value is set. This field is only available if you have joystick support enabled.

joypadX_bY

Maps button number Y, on joystick X to a Genesis controller button. Valid button values are "a", "b", "c", "x", "y", "z", "mode", and "start". Joystick 1 will always emulate controller 1, and joystick 2 will always emulate controller 2.

bool_sound [true]

Enable the sound subsystem.

int_soundrate [22050]

Sound frequency to play at, in hertz (Hz).

bool_16bit [true]

Use 16-bit sound. If this is false, sound will be condensed to 8-bit (which causes a speed penalty).

int_soundsegs [8]

Number of sound segments to use for sound buffering. Choosing a lower value will lower the sound latency, but may cause performance to hiccup if set too low. Should be a power of two from 4 to 32.

bool_opengl [false]

Use the OpenGL renderer, if it is available.

int_opengl_width [640]

The width of the OpenGL window to use.

int_opengl_height [480]

The height of the OpenGL window to use.

bool_fullscreen [false]

Try to run fullscreen, if possible.

int_scale [1]

Amount by which to scale the window from the default 320x240 resolution. This does not affect the OpenGL renderer; it only has effect if the software renderer is in use.

key_fullscreen_toggle [alt-enter]

Key to toggle fullscreen mode (this may do nothing if SDL doesn't support fullscreen toggling on your platform.)

key_slot_X [X]

Sets the current save-state slot to number X.

key_save [f2]

Saves state to the current slot.

key_load [f3]

Loads state from the current slot.

key_fix_checksum [f1]

Fixes the checksum value. Some older games will freeze with a red screen if the ROM has been hacked or modified with Game Genie codes. If it does, pressing this, and resetting should fix the problem.

key_quit [escape]

Exit DGen.

key_craptv_toggle [f5]

Toggles Crap-TV image filters. So far, these filters are only available if DGen was compiled with the x86 assembly routines.

key_reset [tab]

Restart the Genesis emulation.

key_cpu_toggle [f11]

Switch CPU emulators. The x86 assembly CPU emulator StarScream is fast, but has glitches which affect a few games. Switching to the slower Musashi core will fix these problems, at a speed penalty.

key_stop [z]

Pause emulation, so you can concentrate on real life for a few seconds. :)

key_screenshot [f12]

Take a screenshot.

bool_autoload [false]

Automatically load the saved state from slot 0 when DGen starts.

bool_autosave [false]

Automatically save the saved state to slot 0 upon exit. Setting both of these fields true, you can exit DGen, and automatically start a game where you left off when you start it again.

bool_frameskip [true]

Automatically skip frames, when it is necessary to maintain proper emulation speed. This has no effect if sound is enabled, as the sound loop skips frames automatically to maintain constant sound speed.

bool_fullscreen [false]

Run in fullscreen mode, if it is available.

int_scale [1]

Amount by which to scale the window. Setting this to 2 will double the dimensions of the window, 3 will triple it, and so on. It must be a positive integer.

bool_opengl [false]

Use OpenGL mode to render the screen, if available.

int_opengl_width [640]

Width of the OpenGL resolution to use.

int_opengl_height [480]

Height of the OpenGL resolution to use.

int_nice [0]

If set to a non-zero value, DGen will call usleep() with the specified parameter after rendering each frame. This will slow the program down (if it is running too fast on your computer), and allow the operating system to reclaim some CPU time.

See the file "sample.dgenrc" in the DGen/SDL distribution.

A key identifier can have the prefixes "shift-", "ctrl-", "alt-" and "meta-", or any combination thereof, to require that the specified modifier be pressed in combination with the key. For example, the identifier "alt-enter" would correspond to holding down the Alt key while pressing Enter.

The numbers "0" through "9" ("kp_0" through "kp_9" for the numeric keypad), letters "A" through "Z", and function keys "F1" through "F12" map to their key equivalents. In addition, the following identifiers map to their similarly-labeled key counterparts. Identifiers on the same line map to the same key: escape backspace tab capslock caps_lock lshift shift_l rshift shift_r lctrl ctrl_l lmeta meta_l lalt alt_l ralt alt_r rmeta meta_r rctrl ctrl_r return enter space

scrollock scroll_lock numlock num_lock

insert home page_up pageup delete end page_down pagedown left right up down

kp_home kp_up kp_pageup kp_page_up kp_left kp_right kp_end kp_down kp_pagedown kp_page_down kp_insert kp_delete kp_period

kp_enter kp_divide kp_minus kp_multiply kp_plus

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This manual page was written by Joe Groff Aq joe@pknet.com .