Mednafen PC-FX Documentation

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# PC-FX Documentation

Last updated March 19, 2024
Valid as of 1.32.1

Table of Contents:

- Introduction
- Firmware/BIOS
- Default Key Assignments
- Settings Reference

## Introduction

- Internal backup memory and external backup memory are emulated.
- Motion decoder RLE and JPEG-like modes are emulated.
- KING Background 0 scaling+rotation mode is supported.
- Mouse emulation.
- Working CD+G playback.

## Firmware/BIOS

Place a correct BIOS image file in the correct location.

The filename listed below is per default pcfx.bios setting.

Filename: | Purpose: | SHA-256 Hash:
--- | --- | ---
pcfx.rom | PC-FX BIOS version 1.00. Recommended BIOS version. | 4b44ccf5d84cc83daa2e6a2bee00fdafa14eb58bdf5859e96d8861a891675417

## Default Key Assignments

Key(s): | Action: | Configuration String:
--- | --- | ---
ALT + SHIFT + 1 | Activate in-game input configuration process for device on virtual input port 1. | input_config1
ALT + SHIFT + 2 | Activate in-game input configuration process for device on virtual input port 2. | input_config2

Key: | Action/Button:
--- | ---
Keypad 4 | IV
Keypad 5 | V
Keypad 6 | VI
Keypad 1 | III
Keypad 2 | II
Keypad 3 | I
Keypad 8 | MODE 1
Keypad 9 | MODE 2
Enter/Return | Run
Tab | Select
W | Up
S | Down
A | Left
D | Right

## Settings Reference

Caution: Any settings that change emulation behavior as seen from the emulated game are shown with the setting name bolded in the table. One should be conscious of these settings if one has changed them from the default values when using network play or movies, as they can cause desychronizations if not set the same among hosts(or between the recording emulator and the playing emulator).

Setting: | Value Type: | Possible Values: | Default Value: | Description:
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
pcfx.adpcm.emulate_buggy_codec | boolean | 0 1 | 0 | Hack that emulates the codec a buggy ADPCM encoder used for some games' ADPCM.
pcfx.adpcm.suppress_channel_reset_clicks | boolean | 0 1 | 1 | Hack to suppress clicks caused by forced channel resets.
pcfx.bios | string |  | pcfx.rom | Path to the ROM BIOS
pcfx.cdspeed | integer | 2 through 10 | 2 | Emulated CD-ROM speed. Setting the value higher than 2, the default, will decrease loading times in most games by some degree.
pcfx.cpu_emulation | enum | fast accurate auto | auto | CPU emulation mode. fast - Fast Mode Fast mode trades timing accuracy, cache emulation, and executing from hardware registers and RAM not intended for code use for performance. accurate - Accurate Mode Increased timing accuracy, though not perfect, along with cache emulation, at the cost of decreased performance. Additionally, even the pipeline isn't correctly and fully emulated in this mode. auto - Auto Mode Selects "fast" or "accurate" automatically based on an internal database. If the CD image is not recognized, defaults to "fast".
pcfx.disable_bram | boolean | 0 1 | 0 | Disable internal and external BRAM. It is intended for viewing games' error screens that may be different from simple BRAM full and uninitialized BRAM error screens, though it can cause the game to crash outright.
pcfx.disable_softreset | boolean | 0 1 | 0 | When RUN+SEL are pressed simultaneously, disable both buttons temporarily.
pcfx.fxscsi | string |  | 0 | Path to the FX-SCSI ROM Intended for developers only.
pcfx.high_dotclock_width | enum | 256 341 1024 | 1024 | Emulated width for 7.16MHz dot-clock mode. Lower values are faster, but will cause some degree of pixel distortion. 256 - 256 pixels This value will cause heavy pixel distortion. 341 - 341 pixels This value will cause moderate pixel distortion. 1024 - 1024 pixels This value will cause no pixel distortion as long as interpolation is enabled on the video output device and the resolution is sufficiently high, but it will use a lot of CPU time.
pcfx.input.port1 | enum | none gamepad mouse | gamepad | Input device for Port 1 none - none gamepad - Gamepad mouse - Mouse
pcfx.input.port1.multitap | boolean | 0 1 | 0 | Enable multitap on PC-FX port 1. EXPERIMENTAL emulation of the unreleased multitap. Enables ports 3 4 5.
pcfx.input.port2 | enum | none gamepad mouse | gamepad | Input device for Port 2 none - none gamepad - Gamepad mouse - Mouse
pcfx.input.port2.multitap | boolean | 0 1 | 0 | Enable multitap on PC-FX port 2. EXPERIMENTAL emulation of the unreleased multitap. Enables ports 6 7 8.
pcfx.input.port3 | enum | none gamepad mouse | gamepad | Input device for Port 3 none - none gamepad - Gamepad mouse - Mouse
pcfx.input.port4 | enum | none gamepad mouse | gamepad | Input device for Port 4 none - none gamepad - Gamepad mouse - Mouse
pcfx.input.port5 | enum | none gamepad mouse | gamepad | Input device for Port 5 none - none gamepad - Gamepad mouse - Mouse
pcfx.input.port6 | enum | none gamepad mouse | gamepad | Input device for Port 6 none - none gamepad - Gamepad mouse - Mouse
pcfx.input.port7 | enum | none gamepad mouse | gamepad | Input device for Port 7 none - none gamepad - Gamepad mouse - Mouse
pcfx.input.port8 | enum | none gamepad mouse | gamepad | Input device for Port 8 none - none gamepad - Gamepad mouse - Mouse
pcfx.mouse_sensitivity | real | through | 1.25 | Mouse sensitivity.
pcfx.nospritelimit | boolean | 0 1 | 0 | Remove 16-sprites-per-scanline hardware limit.
pcfx.rainbow.chromaip | boolean | 0 1 | 0 | Enable bilinear interpolation on the chroma channel of RAINBOW YUV output. This is an enhancement-related setting. Enabling it may cause graphical glitches with some games.
pcfx.resamp_quality | integer | 0 through 5 | 3 | Sound quality. Higher values correspond to better SNR and better preservation of higher frequencies("brightness"), at the cost of increased computational complexity and a negligible increase in latency.
pcfx.resamp_rate_error | real | 0.0000001 through 0.0000350 | 0.0000009 | Output rate tolerance. Lower values correspond to better matching of the output rate of the resampler to the actual desired output rate, at the expense of increased RAM usage and poorer CPU cache utilization.
pcfx.slend | integer | 0 through 239 | 235 | Last rendered scanline.
pcfx.slstart | integer | 0 through 239 | 4 | First rendered scanline.

Setting: | Value Type: | Possible Values: | Default Value: | Description:
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
pcfx.debugger.disfontsize | enum | 5x7 6x9 6x12 6x13 9x18 | 5x7 | Disassembly font size. Note: Setting the font size to larger than the default may cause text overlap in the debugger. 5x7 - 5x7 6x9 - 6x9 6x12 - 6x12 6x13 - 6x13. CJK support. 9x18 - 9x18; CJK support.
pcfx.debugger.memcharenc | string |  | shift_jis | Character encoding for the debugger's memory editor.
pcfx.enable | boolean | 0 1 | 1 | Enable (automatic) usage of this module.
pcfx.forcemono | boolean | 0 1 | 0 | Force monophonic sound output.
pcfx.scanlines | integer | -100 through 100 | 0 | Enable scanlines with specified opacity. Opacity is specified in %; IE a value of "100" will give entirely black scanlines. Negative values are the same as positive values for non-interlaced video, but for interlaced video will cause the scanlines to be overlaid over the previous(if the "video.deinterlacer" setting is set to "weave", the default) field's lines.
pcfx.shader | enum | none autoip autoipsharper scale2x sabr ipsharper ipxnoty ipynotx ipxnotysharper ipynotxsharper goat | none | Enable specified OpenGL shader. Obviously, this will only work with the OpenGL "video.driver" setting, and only on cards and OpenGL implementations that support shaders, otherwise you will get a black screen, or Mednafen may display an error message when starting up. When a shader is enabled, the "pcfx.videoip" setting is ignored. none - None/Disabled autoip - Auto Interpolation Will automatically interpolate on each axis if the corresponding effective scaling factor is not an integer. autoipsharper - Sharper Auto Interpolation Same as "autoip", but when interpolation is done, it is done in a manner that will reduce blurriness if possible. scale2x - Scale2x sabr - SABR v3.0 GPU-intensive. ipsharper - Sharper bilinear interpolation. ipxnoty - Linear interpolation on X axis only. ipynotx - Linear interpolation on Y axis only. ipxnotysharper - Sharper version of "ipxnoty". ipynotxsharper - Sharper version of "ipynotx". goat - Simple approximation of a color TV CRT look. Intended for fullscreen modes with a vertical resolution of around 1000 to 1500 pixels. Doesn't simulate halation and electron beam energy distribution nuances.
pcfx.shader.goat.fprog | boolean | 0 1 | 0 | Force interlaced video to be treated as progressive. When disabled, the default, the "video.deinterlacer" setting is effectively ignored with respect to what appears on the screen, unless it's set to "blend" or "blend_rg". When enabled, it may be prudent to disable the scanlines effect controlled by the "pcfx.shader.goat.slen" setting, or else the scanline effect may look objectionable.
pcfx.shader.goat.hdiv | real | -2.00 through 2.00 | 0.50 | Constant RGB horizontal divergence.
pcfx.shader.goat.pat | enum | goatron borg slenderman | goatron | Mask pattern. goatron - Goatron Brightest. borg - Borg Darkest. slenderman - Slenderman Spookiest?
pcfx.shader.goat.slen | boolean | 0 1 | 1 | Enable scanlines effect.
pcfx.shader.goat.tp | real | 0.00 through 1.00 | 0.50 | Transparency of otherwise-opaque mask areas.
pcfx.shader.goat.vdiv | real | -2.00 through 2.00 | 0.50 | Constant RGB vertical divergence.
pcfx.special | enum | none hq2x hq3x hq4x scale2x scale3x scale4x 2xsai super2xsai supereagle nn2x nn3x nn4x nny2x nny3x nny4x | none | Enable specified special video scaler. The destination rectangle is NOT altered by this setting, so if you have xscale and yscale set to "2", and try to use a 3x scaling filter like hq3x, the image is not going to look that great. The nearest-neighbor scalers are intended for use with bilinear interpolation enabled, for a sharper image, though the "autoipsharper" shader may provide better results. none - None/Disabled hq2x - hq2x hq3x - hq3x hq4x - hq4x scale2x - scale2x scale3x - scale3x scale4x - scale4x 2xsai - 2xSaI super2xsai - Super 2xSaI supereagle - Super Eagle nn2x - Nearest-neighbor 2x nn3x - Nearest-neighbor 3x nn4x - Nearest-neighbor 4x nny2x - Nearest-neighbor 2x, y axis only nny3x - Nearest-neighbor 3x, y axis only nny4x - Nearest-neighbor 4x, y axis only
pcfx.stretch | enum | 0 full aspect aspect_int aspect_mult2 | aspect_mult2 | Stretch to fill screen. 0 - Disabled full - Full Full-screen stretch, disregarding aspect ratio. aspect - Aspect Preserve Full-screen stretch as far as the aspect ratio(in this sense, the equivalent xscalefs == yscalefs) can be maintained. aspect_int - Aspect Preserve + Integer Scale Full-screen stretch, same as "aspect" except that the equivalent xscalefs and yscalefs are rounded down to the nearest integer. aspect_mult2 - Aspect Preserve + Integer Multiple-of-2 Scale Full-screen stretch, same as "aspect_int", but rounds down to the nearest multiple of 2.
pcfx.tblur | boolean | 0 1 | 0 | Enable video temporal blur(50/50 previous/current frame by default).
pcfx.tblur.accum | boolean | 0 1 | 0 | Accumulate color data rather than discarding it.
pcfx.tblur.accum.amount | real | 0 through 100 | 50 | Blur amount in accumulation mode, specified in percentage of accumulation buffer to mix with the current frame.
pcfx.videoip | enum | 0 1 x y | 1 | Enable (bi)linear interpolation. 0 - Disabled 1 - Bilinear x - Linear (X) Interpolation only on the X axis. y - Linear (Y) Interpolation only on the Y axis.
pcfx.xres | integer | 0 through 65536 | 0 | Full-screen horizontal resolution. A value of "0" will cause the current desktop horizontal resolution to be used.
pcfx.xscale | real | 0.01 through 256 | 3.000000 | Scaling factor for the X axis in windowed mode.
pcfx.xscalefs | real | 0.01 through 256 | 1.000000 | Scaling factor for the X axis in fullscreen mode. For this setting to have any effect, the "pcfx.stretch" setting must be set to "0".
pcfx.yres | integer | 0 through 65536 | 0 | Full-screen vertical resolution. A value of "0" will cause the current desktop vertical resolution to be used.
pcfx.yscale | real | 0.01 through 256 | 3.000000 | Scaling factor for the Y axis in windowed mode.
pcfx.yscalefs | real | 0.01 through 256 | 1.000000 | Scaling factor for the Y axis in fullscreen mode. For this setting to have any effect, the "pcfx.stretch" setting must be set to "0".