History

This is a simplified history, for the full history please look at the ACE documentation.

• Version 1.26 (01.01.2024)
  • Fixed video memory address bug during SSCR ASIC register update in a very specific case.
  • Fixed sign handling when reading sprite hard Y position from ASIC I/O page.
  • Fixed emulation of CRTC 1 “sick mode” (fixes DSC4 demo from Logon System).
  • Improved again plugins SDK; now, you really have no excuse not to create your own plugins!
  • Moved plugins configuration tool types from their icons to ACE's main icons.
  • Added more default builtin symbols for system vectors and ASIC registers.
  • Added support for memory mapped and relative symbols.
  • Improved all GUI elements making use of symbols to take advantage of the new attributes.
  • Improved symbols import script to support memory mapped and relative symbols (compatible with any assembler).
  • Updated some AREXX commands.
  • Fixed arec2raw video conversion tool to comply with the new version of ffmpeg.
  • Added new features to snapshots.

• Version 1.25 (08.09.2022)
  • Added a splash screen to deal with plugins which are slow to initialize or activate/deactivate.
  • Added MagicBeacon notification support when making a screen grab.
  • Improved plugins API (v7) regarding mice and joysticks events (better plugins portability and efficiency).
  • Clean up in plugins SDK (better documentation).
  • Added analog joysticks support to plugins API (Amstrad Plus only).
  • Upgraded mice and joysticks plugins to use the new plugin API.
  • Added info bulle to inform the user about mouse events being captured/released by a plugin.
  • Improved joysticks internal management to natively support Playstation, Xbox and generic gamepads layouts.
  • Improved joysticks plugins to handle combined (use one gamepad to control both CPC joysticks) and analog modes.
  • Minor fix in CRTC 0 and 2 emulation.
  • Minor fix in Gate Array emulation.
  • Updated Multiface Two plugin's icon (thanks to Christophe 'Highlander' Delorme).
  • All plugins but joysticks are now automatically deactivated when selecting a quick prefs preset.

• Version 1.24 (30.08.2021)
  • Added a filter to improve audio output quality (using fresample.library).
  • Added new features in plugin API (v6 API).
  • Added a plugin to emulate the Multiface Two from Romantic Robot.
  • Added a new window to show the internal keyboard matrix.
  • Improved PSG noise emulation (thanks to Zik and Targhan).
  • Improved mice and joyticks plugins.
  • Fixed a crash when loading invalid snapshots.
  • Minor fixes in GUI.

• Version 1.23 (25.04.2021)
  • Added preferences window to configure scriptable events.
  • Added new AREXX commands to directly access CRTC and PSG registers.
  • Added support for new chunks in snapshots (DSCA, DSCB, ROMS et TAPE).
  • Minor fix in PPI emulation of Amstrad Plus (AsT/Impact).
  • Minor fix in PSG emulation (Zik/Futurs').
  • Preferences windows of ACEpansion plugins are now automatically enabled or disabled by ACE depending on their state.
  • Some fixes in various windows.
  • Speed optimisation in real time windows update mecanism when they are a lot of symbols.
  • Internal fixes so that ACE can now be compiled for AmigaOS 3.x (no public version planned yet).

• Version 1.22 (19.10.2020)
  • Improved plugins SDK.
  • New Spanish translation thanks to Juan Carlos Herran Martin.
  • Memory default contents now depends on chip type.
  • Removed tape to hard disc wrapper feature.
  • Added ability to emulate the GX4000.
  • Added fast preferences to quickly reconfigure ACE in the main basic configurations.
  • Added support for extended cartridges.
  • Improved virtual keyboard.
  • Improved symbols management window.
  • New AREXX commands.
  • Internal changes to ease portability.
  • Fixed minor bugs and regressions in GUI and plugins.

• Version 1.21 (22.05.2020)
  • Added full implementation on Z80 IM 0 when used from plugins.
  • Fixed ROM icon transparency from ROM preferences window.
  • Fixed a bug in internal ROM management which was introduced with 1.20.

• Version 1.20 (10.05.2020)
  • Added a history of the last 10 used files in devices context menus.
  • Added a preferences window to edit ROMs configuration (in addition to tooltypes and AREXX interface).
  • Fixed minors bugs in emulation of Amstrad Plus hard sprites.
  • Implemented emulation of ASIC bug where hard sprites' pixels are not displayed right after a bitmap read of write access.
  • Fixed a few Z80 vs memory access timings with illegal instructions.
  • Improved symbols window.
  • Improved memory editor.
  • Added preferences for screen geometry settings depending on the CPC model.

• Version 1.19 (17.09.2019)
  • Added management of plugins activation from ACE icon.
  • Fixed overflow detection in CRTC editor window.
  • Fixed the last kwown emulation issue of CRTC 3 (fixes Tennis Cup 2 intro).
  • Fixed wrong timing of OUT (0),A opcode when putting data on bus.
  • Added support for up to 4096K expansion RAM (compatible with MemCard 2M and CPC4MB).
  • Added support for new snapshot chunks MX??, so that up to 4160K can be stored.
  • Added preferences save from the menu (resynchronize the icon's tooltypes with run time settings).
  • Improved joysticks plugin to make use on the sensors.library instead of the lowlevel.library (thanks to Szilárd Biró for his code examples)
  • Fixed small issues and made internal modifications to ease code portability.

• Version 1.18 (18.05.2019)
  • Added various AREXX commands.
  • Improved Gate Array windows.
  • Improved memory editor.
  • Improved symbols window.
  • Improved breakpoints management window.
  • Improved menus.
  • Fixed a bug in NMI handling when triggered from a plugin.
  • Upgraded and optimized plugin API, added Autodoc in SDK (v4 API).
  • Moved Magnum Light Phaser and Trojan Light Phazer emulation from ACE core to plugins.
  • Added plugins for Gun-Stick and West Phaser emulation.

• Version 1.17 (18.08.2018)
  • Disassembler and memory editor can now be multiple.
  • Added new windows (ASIC interrupt and video registers, advanced controls, user counters).
  • Rearranged some menus, windows and shortcut keys.
  • Fixed all known bugs in memory map display.
  • GUI speed optimizations.
  • Updated German catalog (thanks to Stefan 'polluks' Haubenthal).
  • Huge internal changes regarding GUI and AREXX to prepare future features.
  • Altivec is no longer required.

• Version 1.16 (18.03.2018)
  • Speed optimisation of the emulation (almost 20% faster for Amstrad Plus emulation).
  • Fixes in timings regarding floppy disc and FDC emulation.
  • Fixes in ASIC emulation.
  • Fixes in CRTC 4 emulation.
  • Added an option to automatically pause emulation when the main window becomes inactive.
  • Improvements in internal MUI classes.
  • Added an Ambient filetype for AREC files (ACE video recording).
  • Improvements in memory editor and disassembler windows.
  • Added support of assembly file containing a list of EQUs for symbols import (compatible with ACE symbols export, with Pasmo, …).
  • Added an option to be able to provide video recording with a name when driven from AREXX port.
  • Fixed a memory hit introduced with ACE 1.15.
  • Fixed a bug in breakpoints conditions (ASICPageOn token was not working).

• Version 1.15 (18.02.2018)
  • Added real time video recording.
  • Added symbols support in all windows.
  • Added clipboard support in main window and memory editor.
  • Added advanced search feature in memory editor.
  • Added an option to display image over the visible area of the screen.
  • Added support for new chunks in snapshots (symbols, compressed memory).
  • Improved plugins API for interrupt handling.
  • Added new examples scripts (including one to import symbols from vasm or rasm).
  • Added an option to disabled CPC+ unstable hi-Z emulation.
  • Added new AREXX commandes.
  • Improved breakpoints.
  • Fixes in CRTC 4 emulation.
  • Fixes in disassembler.
  • Little speed optimisation.

• Version 1.14 (09.03.2017)
  • Reworked layout of several windows.
  • Updated german catalog (Stefan 'polluks' Haubenthal).
  • Added new icons for GUI, drawers, plugins and filetypes (Mathieu 'Hwikaa' Delaruelle).
  • Re-optimized emulation speed that had deteriorated in version 1.13 (ACE is now 5% faster).
  • Greatly improved CRTC 0 emulation.
  • Fixed some minor issues in emulation of CRTC 1, 3 and 4.
  • Improved internals to ease portability on AmigaOS and AROS.
  • Added support for breakpoints on Maxam and WinAPE BRK opcodes.
  • Improved some AREXX commands.
  • Updated the cross-development examples to use vasmz80_oldstyle assembler instead of pasmo.

• Version 1.13 (07.11.2016)
  • Added new step by step modes in Z80 window.
  • Added decimal/hexadecimal configurable views.
  • Various improvements in GUI.
  • Improved AREXX commands.
  • Improved portability and 64-bits compatibility.
  • Fixed minor bugs in MUI code.
  • Fixed minor emulation issues thanks to Kevin Thacker test suite.

• Version 1.12 (16.07.2016)
  • Migration from gcc 4 to gcc 5.
  • Fixes in CRTCs emulation.
  • Added new APIs in the plugin interface.
  • Added new plugins for Kempston and AMX mice.
  • Added new plugin for joysticks (replaces internal emulation).
  • Fixed version string of the executable (it prevented Grunch from detecting ACE version).
  • Fixes in snapshots handling.
  • Fixes in tape to hard disc interface.
  • Automatic reconfiguration of the floppy disc drives depending on the inserted disc image.
  • Fixed a bug in ASIC SSCR mask.

• Version 1.11 (13.09.2015)
  • Fixed mode 2 pixel shift on CPC with CRTC type 4 (AMS40226).
  • Fixed somes issues with video frame buffer management.
  • Added emulation of mixed border/display words bug at screen start when register 6 is set to 0 on CRTC 0 and 2.
  • Added emulation of half-border at end of line on CRTC 0 and 2 (can be seen in OUT(Dated)/Semilanceata).
  • Added a AREXX command to export the current breakpoints in a REXX script.
  • Added support for a new “configurable breakpoints” chunk in saved/loaded snapshots.

• Version 1.10 (15/05/2015)
  • Added plugin interface so that everybody can add some hardware expansions emulation to ACE (you want emulation for RS232, for VirtualNet96, for PlayCity? Just do it!).
  • Removed built-in printer and Digiblaster support and implemented them as plugins (source code included as an example).
  • Added german catalog thanks to Stefan 'polluks' Haubenthal.
  • Fixed overlay support to avoid an alignment problem that was triggered by MorphOS 3.8 (Stefan Blixth and Charlie).
  • Added audio mono output (internal speaker mixing way).
  • Internal clean up and optimizations.
  • Fixed some minor bugs.

• Version 1.9 (30/03/2015)
  • Fixed CRTC 0, 3 and 4 emulation (all demos that were not working as expected are fixed).
  • Finalized Amstrac Plus emulation (no more known problems).
  • New option to automatically reconfigure CPC keyboard depending on host's keyboard.
  • Added new windows for keyboard and joysticks.
  • Added disassembler for DMA instructions.
  • Improved CPC versu host's charset conversion.
  • Added new AREXX commands.
  • Fixed minor bugs in MUI interface.

• Version 1.8 (19/11/2014)
  • Added drag and drop support.
  • Re-introducted automatic experimental frame skipping.
  • Added screen grabbing feature.
  • Improved rendering engine for future extensions.
  • Added icons to snapshots.
  • Improved emulated CPC information window.
  • Fixed catalog version to ease translator work.
  • Improved some internals to ease ports.
  • Fixed minor bugs.

• Version 1.7 (15/06/2014)
  • Added tape emulation through audio files.
  • Added icons and filetypes for Ambient.
  • Added new icons for the drawers and the executable.
  • Added predefined launchers for stock CPC configurations.
  • Reworked preferences menu with new options.
  • Added new AREXX commands.
  • Added new tooltypes.
  • Added new “about” window to know about the currently emulated CPC.
  • Fixed minor bugs.

• Version 1.6 (21/04/2014)
  • Changes in the layout of various windows including the main window.
  • Improved tape to hard disc interface.
  • Improved configurable breakpoints (complex conditions, scripts, names…).
  • Fixed minor bugs.
  • Added DK'Tronics memory expansion issues emulation.
  • Improved CRTC 0 emulation.
  • Added new AREXX commands.
  • Added a separate window for emulater screen monitor emulation configuration.

• Version 1.5 (07/04/2013)
  • Added Amstrad Plus emulation (the entire Amstrad CPC range is now emulated).
  • Added support for light guns (Magnum Light Phaser and Trojan Light Phazer).
  • Added system friendly wrapper to access the hard disc from the operating system of the emulated CPC (benefit of faster than light files accesses, long file names, directories…).
  • Added screen monitor settings to the main window (brightness and vertical hold).
  • Added several new tooltypes and AREXX commands to configure and control the emulator.
  • Improved disc images internal structure to prepare replacement of DSK format.
  • Minor bug fixes.

• Version 1.4 (18/07/2012)
  • Internal improvements.
  • Added emulation of the different Gate Array versions (ACE is the first and only CPC emulator to propose this!).
  • Added a MANUFACTURER option to choose the brand of the CPC to emulate.
  • Fixed the Gate Array analyzer window which could have a wrong size.
  • Added mapping of “ENTER” from the CPC numeric keypad on “F12” (useful for PowerBook G4 keyboard).
  • HexEdit.mcc MUI class is now optional.
  • New more user-friendly icon.
  • Fixed some typos in french and english catalogs (RickD).

• Version 1.3 (14/05/2012)
  • Added synchronisation phase precise display with partial bytes and artefacts support (ACE is the first emulator to do this! Watch… Enjoy… And cry!¹⁾).
  • Added interlaced mode support.
  • Improved DSK support (all DSK extensions are now managed).
  • Fixes in FDC emulation.
  • Fixes in Gate Array emulation (Beb).
  • Fixes in CRTC 1 emulation.
  • Fix in I/O port breakpoints management.
  • Improved full screen mode.
  • Minor changes in GUI.

• Version 1.2 (29/01/2012)
  • Migration from gcc 2 to gcc 4.
  • Improvements in the GUI.
  • Added a disassembler window.
  • Improved breakpoints.
  • Fixes in CRTC 1 emulation (phi2x).
  • Fix in PSG emulation (phi2x).

• Version 1.1 (18/09/2011)
  • Improved Gate Array & CRTC emulation and synchronisation.
  • Fixes in CRTC 1 emulation.
  • Improved CRTC 0, 2, 3 & 4 emulations.
  • Fixes in English translation (Stefan A. Haubenthal).
  • Improved French version.
  • Fixed to make ACE compatible with MorphOS 1.x (Stefan A. Haubenthal).

• Version 1.0p1 (16/08/2011)
  • Fixed a bug in arguments handling that caused a hit (Grzegorz Kraszewski).
  • Fixed a bug in locales handling that caused a hit (Grzegorz Kraszewski).

• Version 1.0 (15/08/2011)
  • First public version.