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author Firehawke <Firehawke@gmail.com>2019-11-23 13:27:38 -0700
committer Vas Crabb <cuavas@users.noreply.github.com>2019-11-25 18:51:44 +1100
commita10af356cc076718b731f3515be7dbbccb5e849f (patch)
treec5945f42444110e0a7167718e45db944ba717721 /docs
parentaadd818687caa73d2748d63c725d0794724f99ae (diff)
Update documentation (nw)
* Update MAME docs revision to 0.216 * Add FAQ question about autofire with walkthrough of setup process. * Add VSCode .gitignore for RST compilation temporary folder (/docs/source/_build) * Add a caveat about autofire+normal fire mapping * Add -lowlatency to the docs.
Diffstat (limited to 'docs')
-rw-r--r--docs/source/commandline/commandline-all.rst10
-rw-r--r--docs/source/commandline/commandline-index.rst1
-rw-r--r--docs/source/conf.py4
-rw-r--r--docs/source/usingmame/commonissues.rst35
4 files changed, 47 insertions, 3 deletions
diff --git a/docs/source/commandline/commandline-all.rst b/docs/source/commandline/commandline-all.rst
index c5bced793c5..e2154f6c849 100644
--- a/docs/source/commandline/commandline-all.rst
+++ b/docs/source/commandline/commandline-all.rst
@@ -1087,7 +1087,17 @@ Core Performance Options
**-str** *<n>* **-video none -sound none -nothrottle**
+.. _mame-commandline-lowlatency:
+**-lowlatency**
+
+ This tells MAME to draw a new frame before throttling to reduce input
+ latency. This is particularly effective with VRR (Variable Refresh Rate)
+ displays.
+
+ This may cause frame pacing issues in the form of jitter with some
+ systems (especially newer 3D-based systems or systems that run software
+ akin to an operating system), so the default is off (**-nolowlatency**).
Core Rotation Options
---------------------
diff --git a/docs/source/commandline/commandline-index.rst b/docs/source/commandline/commandline-index.rst
index b2caa063d14..c2cb93efbf1 100644
--- a/docs/source/commandline/commandline-index.rst
+++ b/docs/source/commandline/commandline-index.rst
@@ -143,6 +143,7 @@ Core Performance Options
| :ref:`[no]refreshspeed <mame-commandline-norefreshspeed>`
| :ref:`numprocessors <mame-commandline-numprocessors>`
| :ref:`bench <mame-commandline-bench>`
+| :ref:`lowlatency <mame-commandline-lowlatency>`
Core Rotation Options
diff --git a/docs/source/conf.py b/docs/source/conf.py
index 4130e982e30..f9f86c1c431 100644
--- a/docs/source/conf.py
+++ b/docs/source/conf.py
@@ -62,9 +62,9 @@ copyright = u'2019, MAMEdev Team'
# built documents.
#
# The short X.Y version.
-version = '0.205'
+version = '0.216'
# The full version, including alpha/beta/rc tags.
-release = '0.205'
+release = '0.216'
# The language for content autogenerated by Sphinx. Refer to documentation
# for a list of supported languages.
diff --git a/docs/source/usingmame/commonissues.rst b/docs/source/usingmame/commonissues.rst
index bf489fdd9fb..86a89442b43 100644
--- a/docs/source/usingmame/commonissues.rst
+++ b/docs/source/usingmame/commonissues.rst
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ Common Issues and Questions (FAQ)
19. :ref:`Blackscreen-DirectX`
20. :ref:`ControllerIssues`
21. :ref:`ExternalOPL`
+22. :ref:`Autofire`
.. _rapid-coins:
@@ -242,4 +243,36 @@ What happened to the MAME support for external OPL2-carrying soundcards?
MAME added support in version 0.23 for the use of a soundcard's onboard OPL2 (Yamaha YM3812 chip) instead of emulating the OPL2. This feature was never supported on the official Windows version of MAME and was dropped entirely as of MAME 0.60, because the OPL2 emulation in MAME had become advanced enough to be a better solution in almost all cases as of that time; now it's superior to using a sound card's YM3812 in all cases, especially as modern cards lack a YM3812.
-Unofficial builds of MAME may have supported it for varying amounts of time as well. \ No newline at end of file
+Unofficial builds of MAME may have supported it for varying amounts of time as well.
+
+
+.. _Autofire:
+
+What happened to the MAME support for autofire?
+-----------------------------------------------
+
+A Lua plugin with providing enhanced autofire support was added in MAME 0.210; the old built-in autofire functionality was removed in MAME 0.216. This new plugin has more functionality than the previous built-in autofire in older MAME revisions; for instance, you can specify an alternate button for the autofire.
+
+You can enable and configure the new autofire system with the following steps:
+
+* Start MAME with no system selected.
+* Choose *Plugins* at the bottom (just above Exit)
+* Turn Autofire on.
+
+The setting will be automatically saved for future use.
+
+Once you're inside a system of your choice, bring up the MAME menu (typically the **tab** key) and go into *plugin options*. From there, depending on whether you have an existing autofire button set up or not, it will either show the existing entry/entries or it will ask you to select the input for the autofire.
+
+Typically you'll be choosing *P1 Button 1* for systems like Galaga, Alcon, or the like. The *Hotkey* is the button you press for the autofire effect. This can be any keyboard key or joystick button that you wish. As of 0.216, mouse buttons are not yet supported.
+
+*On frames* and *Off frames* are how long to leave the button pressed and unpressed in number of frames. Some systems do not read the inputs fast enough for 1 and 1 to be usable. You may need to try 2 and 2 (e.g. Alcon) or other combinations. Try fine-tuning these to your taste.
+
+The autofire configuration for that system will be saved in a ``systemname.cfg`` (e.g. ``alcon.cfg``) file inside the Autofire folder for future use. Each system will have its own configuration.
+
+Note that if you set the autofire button to an input button that's also defined in MAME's inputs for the running system, you may get unexpected results-- Using Gradius as an example:
+
+ If you set button 1 on your controller to fire, then set autofire to button 1 as well, holding the button down to shoot will not trigger the autofire because the button never gets released from you holding the non-autofire button 1. This will also happen if you set a different button as autofire (say, button 3 in this case), and hold button 1 down while holding button 3 down.
+
+ If you set button 3 on your controller to autofire and set button 3 to be powerup as well, you will trigger the powerup action every time you grab a powerup because the powerup button is also being held down along with the autofire button.
+
+ It is suggested you choose a button for autofire that is not in use for anything else in the current system.