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	Frequently Asked Qustions (FAQ) list

This has been written to prevent any of these questions to be
mailed to the author. Read this file: if your question is already
answered, don't bother asking twice.

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Q) Why is SSE so slow?
A) The saturn / titan hardware is very complex, it's a difficult
   task to write fast enough routines to get decent speed.
   And SSE is still in its primitive stages of developement,
   speed has not been heavily taken in consideration, now i'm
   focusing best on compatibility.
   This should change in the future.

Q) How can i speedup the emulation?
A) There are several methods:
   - upgrade to a higher PC configuration.
     this is the most effective way to reach higher performances.
     not only in SSE. :)
   - downclock the cpu (lower the execution percentuage), halving
     the clock usually can give you about +50% of speed.
     this may break some games, though.
   - disable the sound cpu. some games may not work, though.
   - disable some video layers using F7~F12.
     you will lose graphic emulation, but the speed will gain alot.
   - turn on frameskipping (when it will be implemented ;p )
   - disable sound output (when sound will be implemented ;p )
   - send your superoptimized asm saturn / titan emulation core,
     and wait for the next version.
   *HINT* if you want your name added to the greets list,
   follow the latter suggestion.

Q) Why the new version is slower than the previous?
A) Most probabily because some saturn / titan features were added
   and require time-consuming routines, such as special video
   effects, or because emulation timing was adjusted to more
   precise values, and this influences the execution speed.

Q) Why SSE has no dynarec in it? It should be way faster!
A) Yes, faster, but i prefer to work on the interpreter until the
   compatibility is quite good, and my knowledge of the hardware
   much depeer. Then i will think about implementing dynarec
   and all those self-mod techniques. That won't be easy, though.

Q) What language is SSE written in?
A) Mostly plain C. The SH2 cpus, the M68000 sound cpu and some other
   minor things are written in Assembly. Proportions will invert in
   a not-too-far future i hope.

Q) Why *EMUNAME* is faster than SSE?
A) There are several possible causes:
   - it is designed better.
   - it's more optimized.
   - it uses a dynarec engine.
   - it's not a saturn / titan emulator.
   All or any of these can be be present in the same emulator
   together.

Q) Why my most beloved game *GAMENAME* doesn't work?
A) Because it uses some unknown / unimplemented saturn or titan
   feature or because it hurts an heavy bug in the emulation
   core. Be patient and wait for another release.
   Else play it on another emulator / on the saturn / titan.

Q) Why *GAMENAME* hangs while playing a video / loading?
A) That's because the inner logics of the saturn cdrom are not
   really easy to emulate, because no accurate information is
   available. Only SEGA and other saturn developers have such
   documentation. Without that it's really difficult (not impossible,
   though) to get the cd block to work.
   Videos and CD Music must be possibily avoided.
   ie. if a video starts, press any possible button to skip it.
   If it's not possible, well, you cannot play :(
   Or you may be lucky and the video doesn't crash :)

Q) Why *GAMENAME* was working before but isn't in this version?
A) Er ... i've changed something that breaks that very game.
   It may be either a newly introduced bug, or simply the effect
   of a more precise emulation (bugfix or optimization).
   The mileage may vary.
   If you want to play that game, use the older version :)

Q) SSE complains about *GAMENAME* using some kinda cdrom command or something ...
A) Not all the cd block commands are emulated, because of my little
   knowledge of its internal mechanisms or MSCDEX limitations. Moreover,
   the current cd block implementation is purely based on my guess.

Q) SSE suddenly crashes when emulating *GAMENAME*, and sometimes resets my PC!
A) Heh, some flaw i haven't fixed before the release ... there are problems
   here and there that may break the execution, i'm sorry about that.
   If you experienc this only in one game, tell me which is and i'll try
   to fix it. If it doesn't work at all on your PC, try it on another one
   and look for this problem. Also try with other games. If the problem
   persists, it may be a bad SSE executable, try downloading it again.
   If this happens with a specific version only, tell me.
   [The previous SSE builds were afflicted by some insidious, dangerous
   memory leaks. They have been removed. But new ones have appeared.
   They sometimes break emulation as well]

Q) I get cracks between the polygons in *GAMENAME*
A) Try it with -polycoordfix set to either 0,1 or 2. The default is 2.
   For instance, Sonic Wings Special needs -polycoordfix 1, while most full-3d
   games (Daytona USA, Elandoree etc.) need -polycoordfix 2.
   -polycoordfix 0 disables the polygon coordinate fix.

Q) Is there a list of the options available for SSE?
A) Type "sse.exe -h" or "sse.exe -help" or "sse.exe -?" to get it
   displayed on screen.

Q) When i type sse -help to get the help screen, i cannot read
   it because the text scrolls down and is too much to fit the
   prompt!
A) Type "mode 80,50" before. This should help.
   (Else change the prompt window properties by clicking on
   the prompt / sse link icon with the right mouse button and
   selecting the last option (Properties).
   Then play with the screen size).
   You can also redirect the help text to a file in the usual
   way (sse -help > *filename.ext*).

Q) Why the image of the first 16 sectors of the saturn cdroms
   is required in the DOS port?
A) Because i'm using the MSCDEX cdrom interface, and trying to read
   the lower 16 sectors just reports there's no cd inserted
   under Win9x. This is the easier workaround i thought of.
   I understand it may be boring, but i cannot think of anything
   else. Suggestions are appreciated.
   NOTE: The lower 16 sectors are used in saturn cdroms to hold
   very important informations for the game itself.

Q) Why the Win32 port doesn't require that image?
A) The Win32 port uses WNASPI32 cdrom interface, so it is able
   to read the lower sectors.

Q) Why can't i hear any sound on my PC?
A) Simply because sound has not been implemented :)

Q) My Antivirus complains about SSE being infected! What should i do?
A) It may be becaues of SSE being compressed with UPX. Since i don't
   have any AV installed, i cannot say, but some AVs may check for strange
   executable self-decompression, which i think UPX uses on startup.
   It may be a real virus as well. Try to check with some other AV
   or try your luck and run SSE anyway.
   Remember that i have no responsibility in such matters.

Q) Where can i find a saturn / titan BIOS?
A) There are two methods:
   - buy a saturn / titan and a par + com link and dump it by yourself, or
   - search the net, you may be lucky and find one.
   Always remember that you are allowed to have a BIOS dump only
   if you physically own a saturn / titan hardware.
   As you can see there's no way to get a BIOS by asking to me.
   I' not allowed to give you one.

Q) Where can i find saturn cdroms / titan rom images ?
A) Either buy them or search somewhere else.
   Don't ask me such things.
   Remember that some of the titan rom sets floating in the net are
   corrupted (bad CRC). Check them with your favourite rom manager.

Q) How can i help you?
A) If you think you have any useful technical information, then
   feel free to tell me. The same applies if you found a bug, or
   you want to send me some written appreciation, you're welcome.
   Such things are always useful to keep the motivation up.
   Also, you can indirectly help me by reading the documentation
   before asking me anything.
   If you do any of these things, then: thanks!

Q) I think i've found a bug! This game has garbled gfx/no controllers/bad polys!
A) Write me all the info you can on the game! Name, country, version ...
   And then about the bug: does it happen on other PCs? Have you tried with
   any other SSE configuration? Which is the video layer to be
   bugged? Does it use the DSP? Is it a permanent loop? Can you pass thru
   this bug with some trick? Use the info in the 'debugger' to help me:
   for example, in the case of video garbage, try to locate which exact
   layer is the source, and tell me which is his disaply mode (the NBGX XXX-X
   txt you can find at the left of the screen).
   If you need further info, write me.

Q) I'm developing my own emulator, can i ask you a couple of
   technical questions?
A) Why not? Ask me whatever you want, if it's developement related.
   If i can help, i'd be glad to. In turn you can help me with your
   knowledge, or just with your motivation.
   Technical emails always strike me to do better.

Q) I have an Action Replay and a COMM Link to connect it to
   the PC. Are you interested in it? May it be useful to complete
   SSE?
A) Yes! If you can send / sell it to me, you're really cool!
   If you're interested in such a wonderful action, please tell me.
   Anyway, this equipment would be useful only to an emulator
   author these times, being the Saturn dead.


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