Copyright: Help File for VGB-Max Version 3.2 - 16-bit


Contents

Help File for VGB-Max Version 3.2

16-bit version

Contents:

            What is VGB-Max?

            System Requirements for Running VGB-Max v3.2.16

            How to Use VGB-Max v3.2

            Editing the List Files

            Error Messages

            VGB-Max Homepage


What is VGB-Max?

      VGB-Max is the ultimate front-end for the immensely popular VGB-DOS Gameboy emulator.   With VGB-DOS you can play almost any Gameboy game on your computer in up to twelve different colors, at different processing speeds, and lots more options that the hand-held system does not include.   However, like most DOS programs, VGB-DOS is powerful but has an awful interface that relies on lengthy command line parameters.   So not long after the debut of VGB-DOS, front-ends, or programs that work as a user-friendly shell around another program, began appearing for VGB-DOS.   VGB-Max is such a program.   And although VGB-Max is just one of many front-ends for VGB-DOS, no other one does as much as VGB-Max alone.

      VGB-Max surpasses its competition because it incorporates everything that any of them can do, and more.   It has a very user-friendly, yet powerful, interface that gives you control over every option of VGB-DOS .87, plus incorporates a few of its own. VGB-Max is the only front-end that comes with a data file that provides the full names and color tables for over 380 games and another file packed with over 1000 cheat codes for almost 100 games.   For more information, read the documentation file VGB-MAX.DOC.


System Requirements for VGB-Max v3.2

System Requirements for Running VGB-Max v3.2.16

      Windows 3.0 or higher

      4 megabytes of memory (8 megabytes recommended)

      4.7 megabytes of hard drive space

      VGB-DOS .87 or .88

      ROM images in GB file format


VGB-Max Homepage

      The VGB-Max Homepage is one of the hottest Gameboy emulation sites on the web.   Here you can find the most recent version of VGB-Max, often updated list files, news on recent developments, and dozens of links to the worlds most popular Gameboy emulation sites.   Why not check it out at

http://www.voy.net/~kdg/VGB-Max.html


Gameboy Hand-held Video Game System

      The Gameboy is a hand-held video game system developed by Nintendo in 1989.   The Gameboy has an incredibly large game library even though its LCD screen only supports four colors, all in varying shades of green. There are two models of Gameboys: regular and pocket sized.

Gameboy Specs:

            8-bit CPU running at 4 mhz

            8 kbytes RAM

            8 kbytes video RAM

            2.6" screen with 160x144 resolution

            4 channel stereo sound

            Runs on 4 AA batteries (regular) or 2 AAA batteries (pocket)

            6" by 3.5" size (regular) or 4.5" by 3" (pocket)

            10.6 oz (regular) or 4.5 oz (pocket)


How to Use VGB-Max v3.2

Basic Functions:

            Selecting Games

            Selecting Cheats

            Changing Colors

            Changing Background Gif

            Playing Games

Intermediate Functions:

            Changing Search Settings

            Changing Categories, Ratings, and Sizes Displayed

            Enabling and Disabling Cheats

            Setting Autofire Properties

            Changing Keys

            Changing Joystick Control

            Changing Visual Properties

            Changing Sound Properties

            Enabling and Disabling Sound

Advanced Functions:

            Changing Advanced Options

            Printing Lists

            Setting Autosave Feature

            Changing Game Properties

            Importing .CFG files

            Editing ALIAS.LST

            Editing CHEATS.LST

            Editing GAMES.LST

            Editing REVIEWS.LST


Editing the List Files

Editing List Files

The following files can be customized using a text editor:

            Editing ALIAS.LST

            Editing CHEATS.LST

            Editing GAMES.LST

            Editing REVIEWS.LST


Error Messages

The following error messages are given by VGB-Max v3.2:

            ALIAS.LST not found.

            <cart>.CFG not found.

            <cart>.GB has a bad header.

            <cart>.GB not found.

            Cheat code not correctly formatted.

            CHEATS.LST not found.

            Component(s) not found.

            GAMES.LST not found.

            <gif>.GIF not found.

            Invalid Name Specified.

            No gif files found.

            No ROM images found.

            PKUNZIP.EXE not found.

            REVIEWS.LST not found.

            VGB component not found.


About Box

The About Box gives information on version number, programmer, game producers copyrights, and the location of the VGB-Max Homepage.

    Command objects:	Ok button


Color Change Screen

The Color Change Screen allows you to change a specific color, with the mixed color shown in the box to the right.   The title bar of the Color Change Screen shows which color is currently selected.

    Command objects:	Red color scroll bar

Green color scroll bar

Blue color scroll bar

Ok button

Cancel button


Game Properties Screen

The Game Properties Screen, also known as the List Editor, allows you to make permanent changes to VGB-Maxs data files, without using a text editor.

    Command objects:	Enabled check boxes

Ok button

Cancel button


Background Image Selection Screen Screen

Background Image Selection Screen

The Background Image Selection Screen allows you to change the gif file used as the background image in certain screen modes.   Image file names are shown in the list at the upper left.   The actual graphic is shown in the box below with the file size in the box labeled Size.

    Command objects:	Image list

Ok button

Cancel button


Key Mapper

The Key Mapper allows you to change the key map.

    Command objects:	Keyboard

Ok button

Cancel button

Defaults button


Main Interface Screen

The Main Interface Screen is where most of the work is done.   Games are listed in the box on the left, and the selected games information, including name, rating, producer, category, size, and source file, is shown in the box in the upper right.   Cheat codes for the selected game, if available, are shown in the box directly below the info box.   The colors used for the selected game are shown below the cheat codes.

    Command objects:	File menu

List menu

Game menu

Control Menu

Visual menu

Sound menu

Help menu

Minimize button

Exit button

Games list

Cheats list

Color boxes

Play button


Print Screen

The Print Screen allows you to print lists to a printer, to disk as standard text, or to disk as HTML, in one of thirty-two formats.   Before printing, either the Printer Setup Screen or the Save As Screen will be displayed.

    Command objects:	To printer radio button

To file as text radio button

To file as HTML radio button

Complete list radio button

Shown in games list only radio button

Sources, cartnames,ratings, and sizes check boxes

Page heading(s) check box


Search Settings Screen

The Search Settings Screen allows you to modify where VGB-Max looks for components.

    Command objects:	Search all drives radio button

Specify locations radio button

Drive boxes

Directory boxes

Ok button

Cancel button

Show on startup check box


Sound Properties Screen

The Sound Properties Screen allows you to change the stereo and volume settings of VGB-DOS.

    Command objects:	Stereo radio buttons

Volume scroll bar

Ok button

Cancel button


Startup Screen

The Startup Screen is the first thing to appear once VGB-Max is run.   The progress box at the bottom tells what VGB-Max is doing at that moment, and occurs in the following order: loading, loading settings (or using default settings if settings file not found), set search parameters (shown only when the Search Settings Box is to be shown on startup), searching for components, loading game data, loading cheat data, preparing interface, and freeing memory.


Visual Properties Screen

The Visual Properties Screen allows you to change the screen mode, image brightness levels, and visual processing speed.

    Command objects:	Screen mode radio buttons

Brightness scroll bars

Display speed scroll bar

Ok button

Cancel button


Print Setup Screen

Printer Setup Screen

The Printer Setup Screen allows you to change the destination printer and the print quality of a list to be printed.

    Command objects:	Name dropbox

Properties button

Ok button

Cancel button


Save As Screen

The Save As Screen allows you to change the destination file name and directory of a list to be printed.

    Command objects:	Save in dropbox

File area

File name box

Save as type dropbox

Save button

Cancel button

Help button


File Menu

The File Menu allows you to perform many actions that the main interface allows, plus access screens that change the behavior of VGB-Max.

    Command objects:	Play command

Advanced Options command

Search Settings command

Save .LST commands

Print command

Exit command


List Menu

The List Menu allows you to change which categories, ratings, and sizes appear in the games list.

    Command objects:	Attribute commands

Include all commands


Game Menu

The Game Menu allows you to change how games are played.

    Command objects:	Properties command

Import .CFG command

Autosave command

Enable & disable cheats commands

Autofire commands


Control Menu

The Control Menu allows you to change the input commands for VGB-DOS.

    Command objects:	Key map command

Enable & disable joystick commands

Swap buttons & keys commands


Visual Menu

The Visual Menu allows you to change the visual properties of VGB-DOS.

    Command objects:	Properties command

Background gif image command

Color commands


Sound Menu

The Sound Menu allows you to change the audio properties of VGB-DOS.

    Command objects:	Properties command

Enable & disable sound commands


Help Menu

The Help Menu allows you to access this help file and other information.

    Command objects:	Contents command

Index command

About command


Error: ALIAS.LST not found.

Cause:	 The ALIAS.LST file was not found in the VGB-Max directory.

Effect:	 No aliases will be recognized.


Error: <cart>.CFG not found.

Cause:	 The saved options file for the ROM image displayed could not be found.

Effect:	 VGB-Max will not import the .CFG file.


Error: <cart>.GB has a bad header.

Cause:	 The ROM image displayed has an invalid file header.

Effect:	 The ROM image displayed will not be referenced by VGB-Max.


Error: <cart>.GB not found.

Cause:	 The ROM image displayed has been erased or moved since startup.

Effect:	 The ROM image displayed can not be played.


Error: Cheat code not correctly formatted.

Cause:	 The cheat code is incorrectly formatted or no effect has been specified.

Effect:	 The cheat code and effect will not be added to the list until properly formatted.


Error: CHEATS.LST not found.

Cause:	 The CHEATS.LST file was not found in the VGB-Max directory.

Effect:	 No cheat codes will be available.


Error: Component(s) not found.

Cause:	 At least one of the components could not found in the selected directories.

Effect:	 VGB-Max will not begin search until all components are found or the automatically search all drives option is selected.


Error: GAMES.LST not found.

Cause:	 The GAMES.LST file was not found in the VGB-Max directory.

Effect:	 All games will be unrecognized.


Error: <gif>.GIF not found.

Cause:	 The gif file displayed has been erased or moved since startup.

Effect:	 The gif file displayed can not be shown by gif viewers.


Error: Invalid name specified.

Cause:	 No name for the ROM image selected has been typed in.

Effect:	 The Game Properties Screen will not accept changes.


Error: No gif files found.

Cause:	 No gif files could be located anywhere on the system.

Effect:	 Gif viewers will be disabled.


Error: No ROM images found.

Cause:	 No games could be located anywhere on the system.

Effect:	 VGB-Max terminates execution.


Error: PKUNZIP.EXE not found.

Cause:	 PKUNZIP.EXE could not be located in the VGB-Max directory.

Effect:	 ZIP files will not be searched for ROM images and any game that is archived in a ZIP file will not be played.


Error: REVIEWS.LST not found.

Cause:	 The REVIEWS.LST file was not found in the VGB-Max directory.

Effect:	 No reviews and/or notes will be available.


Error: VGB component not found.

Cause:	 VGB-DOS could not be located.

Effect:	 VGB-Max terminates execution.


Editing ALIAS.LST

      The ALIAS.LST file contains information on games that are practically identical to another.

Two things to remember while editing this file:

               Comments are made by placing an asterisk (*) character in

                    the first character position on a line.

               Structure is very important; misplacing a character can cause

                    VGB-Max to crash or display the wrong information.

Structure of ALIAS.LST:

      Game name:

               Full name referenced in GAMES.LST, beginning at character

                    position 1.

      Alias game name:

               Full name of a game to remove from the games list if both games are found,

                    beginning at character position 40.


Editing CHEATS.LST

      The CHEATS.LST file contains all the code codes and their effects.

Three things to remember while editing this file:

               Comments are made by placing an asterisk (*) character in

                    the first character position on a line.

               Structure is very important; misplacing a character can cause

                    VGB-Max to crash or display the wrong information.

               Each game must be separated by one blank line.

                    Comments do not count as a blank line.

Structure of CHEATS.LST:

      Game name:

               Full name referenced in GAMES.LST, beginning at character

                    position 1.

      Codes:

               Codes begin on new lines at position 3   Each section of the

                    code must be separated by a minus sign (-).   For codes

                    that require more than one patch you can separate the

                    patches by a plus sign (+).

      Effects:

               Effects follow the code with a space between the code and

                    the effect.


Editing GAMES.LST

      The GAMES.LST file contains all the game data, including names, ratings, categories, and color tables.

Two things to remember while editing this file:

               Comments are made by placing an asterisk (*) character in

                    the first character position on a line.

               Structure is very important; misplacing a character can cause

                    VGB-Max to crash or display the wrong information.

Structure of GAMES.LST:

      Internal cartname:

               Maximum of 16 characters, beginning at character position 1.

      Full name:

               Maximum of 35 characters, beginning at position 18.

      Rating:

               One character, at position 53, representing the rating of the

                    game as one of the following: one star (1), two stars (2),

                    three stars (3), four stars (4), a game that emulates

                    poorly (E), or unknown (U).

      Category:

               One character, at position 54, representing what category

                    the game falls in: action (A), adventure (D), educational/

                    quiz (E), fighting (F), head-to-head (H), puzzle (P),

                    racing (G), role-playing (R), sports (S), or unknown (U).

      Primary background color:

               Six characters, beginning at position 56, in RGB format.

      Secondary background color:

               Same as above except beginning at position 63.

       Tertiary background color:

               Same as above except beginning at position 70.

       Background outline color:

               Same as above except beginning at position 77.

      Primary sprite color:

               Same as above except beginning at position 85.

      Secondary sprite color:

               Same as above except beginning at position 92.

      Tertiary sprite color:

               Same as above except beginning at position 99.

      Sprite outline color:

               Same as above except beginning at position 106.

      Primary window color:

               Same as above except beginning at position 114.

      Secondary window color:

               Same as above except beginning at position 121.

      Tertiary window color:

               Same as above except beginning at position 128.

      Window outline color:

               Same as above except beginning at position 135.


Editing REVIEWS.LST

      The REVIEWS.LST file contains short reviews and/or notes on games.

Two things to remember while editing this file:

               Comments are made by placing an asterisk (*) character in

                    the first character position on a line.

               Structure is very important; misplacing a character can cause

                    VGB-Max to crash or display the wrong information.

Structure of REVIEWS.LST:

      Game name:

               Full name referenced in GAMES.LST, beginning at character

                    position 1.

      Review:

               Review and/or notes starting on a new line at character position 3 and using

                    only that line.


About command:

    Shows the About Box.


Advanced Options command:

    Shows the Advanced Options Screen.


Aliases:

    A game that is essentially the same as another, but with a different name.


Attribute commands:

    When checked, games with matching attributes are shown in the games list.


Background gif image command:

    Opens the Background Image Screen.


Blue color scroll bar:

    Scrolling up increases blue in mix.

    Scrolling down decreases blue in mix.


Brightness scroll bars:

    Scrolling up increases the brightness of the selected object(s).

    Scrolling down decreases the brightness of the selected object(s).


Cancel button:

    Closes the active screen without saving changes.


Cancel button:

    Cancels the print job.


Cheats list:

    Clicking on a cheat activates the desired effect.

    Clicking on it again deactivates the effect.


Check boxes:

    When checked, the option is activated.


Color boxes:

    Double-clicking or right-clicking opens the Color Change Screen so that the selected color may be changed.


Color commands:

    Clicking opens the Color Change Screen so that the selected color may be changed.


Color tables:

    Sets of colors, with each game having a distinct set.


Command line parameters:

    Commands that follow the filename of a program and modify attributes used in that program.   For example, VGB-DOS -backgroundcolor0 #FF0000 is a command line parameter used by VGB-DOS to change the primary background color to red.


Contents command:

    Opens this help file at the contents.


Defaults button:

    Resets the keys to defaults.


Directory boxes:

    Changes the directory for location of component.


Display speed scroll bar:

    Scrolling to the right increases display speed.

    Scrolling to the left decreases display speed.

    Scrolling all the way to the left unsynchronizes the display rates.


Drive boxes:

    Changes the drive for location of component.


Check commands:

    When checked, the option is activated.


Exit button:

    Saves settings and exits VGB-Max.


Exit command:

    Saves settings and exits VGB-Max.


File area:

    Shows directories and files with matching attributes.


File header:

    A 512 byte identification tag at the beginning of .GB files.


File name box:

    Type in the name of the file to save here.


Game properties command:

    Opens the Game Properties Screen.


Games list:

    Clicking on the name of a game shows that games information and allows it to be played.


Gif:

    Graphical interchange format.


Green color scroll bar:

    Scrolling up increases green in mix.

    Scrolling down decreases green in mix.


Help button:

    Opens this help screen.


HTML:

    Hypertext markup language.


Image list:

    Clicking on an image name opens that image for viewing.


Include all commands:

    Clicking activates all attributes of the selected class.


Index command:

    Opens the index for this help file.


Import .CFG command:

    Imports the options in <cart>.CFG file into VGB-Max.


Keyboard:

    Dragging an unused key into the desired command box swaps keys.


Key map:

    A code that identifies which keys activate buttons.


Key map command:

    Opens the Key Mapper.


LCD:

    Liquid crystal display.


Minimize button:

    Minimizes VGB-Max.


Name dropbox:

    Changes the destination printer.


Ok button:

    Closes the active screen and saves changes.


Ok button:

    Closes the active screen.


Ok button:

    Prints the list.


Play button:

    Executes VGB-DOS.


Play command:

    Executes VGB-DOS.


Print command:

    Opens the Print Screen.


Print complete list radio button:

    Printed lists will contain a list of all games found.


Print page heading(s) check box:

    When checked, printed lists will contain table heading(s) and show the numbers of games listed and found.


Print properties button:

    Opens the printer properties box for the selected printer.


Print shown in games list only radio button:

    Printed lists will contain a list of all games currently listed in the games list.


Print to file as HTML radio button:

    Printed lists will be written to disk in HTML 3.2 table format.


Print to file as text radio button:

    Printed lists will be written to disk in standard format.


Print to printer radio button:

    Printed lists will be sent to the printer spool.


Red color scroll bar:

    Scrolling up increases red in mix.

    Scrolling down decreases red in mix.


RGB:

    Red-Green-Blue.   The first two characters, or byte, represents red; green is represented by the middle byte and blue by the last one.   Range of byte values include all hexadecimal numbers between and including 00 and FF.


ROM:

    Read only memory.


Save as type dropbox:

    Sets the default extension for the file and shows all file with matching extensions in the file area.


Save button:

    Prints the list.


Save .LST commands:

    Saves the selected .LST file to disk.


Save in dropbox:

    Sets the destination directory.


Screen mode radio buttons:

    Selects the screen attributes.


Search all drives radio button:

    Select to allow VGB-Max to search all drives for components.


Search settings command:

    Opens the Search Settings Screen.


Sound properties command:

    Opens the Sound Properties Screen.


Specify locations radio button:

    Select to allow you to manually specify the locations of components.   Components must be found in selected directories to begin search.


Stereo radio buttons:

    Selects the stereo quality.


Unrecognized games:

    Games that could not be referenced in GAMES.LST.   Such games will use default settings governed by VGB-Max for all intensive purposes.


VGB-DOS:

    Virtual Gameboy: MS-DOS Port.


Visual properties command:

    Opens the Visual Properties Screen.


Volume scroll bar:

    Scrolling to the right increases volume.

    Scrolling to the left decreases volume.