                            =======================
                            VBE 32 bit BIOS for DOS
                            =======================


1 SYNOPSYS
==========

vbe32 [/l] [/c CONFIG]


2 DESCRIPTION
=============

The `vbe32' utility is a 32 bit TSR (Terminate Stay Resident)
VBE BIOS that completly substitutes the original VBE BIOS of your
video board.

It allow to set an arbitrary video mode list with the favourite
modes which work best with your video hardware without any
restrictions in size and frequencies.

With this utility you can play all the DOS games that use the
standard VESA VBE services with your PC Monitor, TV and Arcade
Monitor.

At the startup the configuration file `vbe.rc', created with
the utility `vbev', is read and all the modelines present
are activated. The format of this configuration file is
specified in the document `advv.txt'.

These are some example rc files:

    ntsc.rc - NTSC TV.
    pal.rc - PAL TV.
    standard.rc - Arcade Standard Resolution (15 kHz).
    medium.rc - Arcade Medium Resolution (25 kHz).
    extended.rc - Arcade Extended Resolution (16.5 kHz).
    pcvga.rc - VGA PC Monitor.
    pcsvga60.rc - SVGA PC Multisync Monitor.

All the modelines present in the configuration files are used
to create the list of available VBE mode. For every modeline
five VBE modes with 8, 15, 16, 24, 32 bits are added.


3 OPTIONS
=========

These are the command line options supported:

    /l
        Load in memory the utility

    /c CONFIG
        Use an arbitary configuration file


4 CARDS
=======

The program supports all the `svgaline' drivers listed in the
`carddos.txt' file.


5 LIMITATIONS
=============

* The VBE 1.2 standard isn't supported. This makes the program
  useless for 16 bit applications. Eventually this support may
  be added in future.
* The VBE 3.0 standard isn't supported. Eventually this support
  may be added in future.
* The VBE protect mode interface isn't supported.
* It uses a lot of low memory. Approx 200 kbyte.
* It cannot be unloaded. It's a limitation of the DPMI support
  not resolvable.


6 APPLICATION PROBLEMS
======================

Some applications are able to use only some common resolutions
like 320x240, 400x300, 512x384 and 640x480. Others resolutions
may be completly ignored or crash the application.

Others applications may get in trouble if the list of avaliable
VBE modes contains duplicate resolutions or is too big.
Add only the best modelines and avoid duplicates.


7 TESTS
=======

Doom Legacy with the `nv3' driver (http://www.newdoom.com/doomlegacy)
Duke Nukem 3D with the `nv3' driver


8 EXAMPLES
==========

Load it:

    vbe32 /l

Load it with an arbitrary configuration file:

    vbe32 /l /c c:\cab\myconf.rc


9 BUGS
======

The configuration file is checked only for the
`device_video_modeline' options.
All the other options are ignored.


10 COPYRIGHT
============

This file is Copyright (C) 2002 Andrea Mazzoleni.
