• fancy open/close animation
• mouse binds
• permit explicit filename on "screenshot"
• support multiple (host) gamepads
• more than just on X11
• (re)draw on emu pause
• documentation of commands and cvars

Miscellaneous Notes (as of 00010)

• The list of cvars and their variable counterparts are in console/s9xcmds.cpp:S9xInitCvars().
• List of recognized commands are in console/s9xcmds.cpp:S9xInitConsoleCommands().
• List of default binds are in console/s9xconsole.cpp:console_c::bind_play().
• List of keysyms used by console are in beginning of console/keymap.cpp (key names) and in the beginning of console/keymap.h (key symbols).
• Large function at end of unix/x11.cpp to remap X11 keysyms to s9xconsole keysyms (S9x_XKeysymToS9xKeysym).
• "default.cfg" holds more complex binds; C++ provides a minimal set of binds. The plan is to start with the hard-coded binds, load "default.cfg", then load "snes9x.cfg". This sequence provides layers of fallbacks, should one file or other be unfindable.
• Implementation rewritten from scratch as of 00010.
• The console is compiled in when the C preprocessor macro USE_S9XCONSOLE is defined in the Makefile.s9xconsole; remove the define to disable any s9xconsole use.
• Compile (on linux) with "make -f Makefile.s9xconsole snes9x".

Quickstart/Tour

(Updated as of diff 00010)

First of all, the patch only hooks up with the X11 version.

On startup, the console pops open (due to a bug, key-repeat mode is off at this moment. Close and re-open the console to restore key-repeat). Press backspark (`) to close the console. Press backspark (`) again to open the console. Notice the console prompt (]), and the shark (^) underneath to indicate the cursor.

All command entry at the console prompt start with slat (/) or backslat (\). Text that does not start with either are treated as chat text (which currently does nothing useful, as there's nowhere to send chat).

Type in "/echo hello world" and press Enter. The console displays "hello world", a nice friendly message.

Type in "/cvarlist" and press Enter. The console displays the list of cvars. Use PageUp and PageDown (navigation keys only for now) to scroll up and down. When you scroll up, notice the rows of sharks (^) just above the prompt, indicating scrollback mode.

Type in "/clear" and press Enter. The console clears, leaving a solitary prompt.

Type in "/set foo 0" and press Enter. This command creates a new cvar named "foo", with a value of 0.

Type in "/foo" and press Enter. This command displays the cvar name and the current value of "foo".

Type in "/foo 42" and press Enter. This command silently sets the value of "foo" to 42. This command works since "foo" exists now. If "foo" did not exist, this command would fail (error message).

Type in "/foo" and press Enter. This command now displays the new value of "foo".

Type in "/baz" and press Enter. The console shows an error message, since "baz" does not exist as either cvar nor command.

Type in "/.load foo; .push 4; .add; .store foo; foo; .load foo; .push -2; .add; .store foo; foo" and press Enter. This sequence of commands increments "foo" by 4, displays the value of "foo", decrements "foo" by 2, then displays the value of "foo" again.

Type in "/cvarlist foo" and press Enter. The console displays the value of foo again, but in a more verbose manner.

Type in "/set bar echo Hello World" and press Enter. This command sets the value of "bar" to be "echo Hello World". Type in "/bar" and press Enter, to see the value of bar. Now type in "/vstr bar" and press Enter. The console shows a nice friendly message again.

Type in "/editbindlist" and press Enter. This command shows keybindings for edit-mode. These binds are in effect when the console is visible (edit mode). Scroll up and down to browse more of the list.

Again, type in "/clear" and press Enter, to clear the console.

Type in "/bindlist" and press Enter. Now the console displays binds during play-mode. These binds are in effect when the console is invisible (game mode). Scroll up and down to browse more of the list, then scroll all the way back down, or type in "/clear" and press Enter.

Press backspark (`) again to close the console and start playing. Currently these keys are bound:

• Enter - P1 Start
• Space - P1 Select
• u - P1 up
• h - P1 left
• j - P1 down
• k - P1 right
• d - P1 A
• c - P1 B
• s - P1 X
• x - P1 Y
• a - P1 L
• z - P1 R
• TAB - turbo mode
• ` - open console
• ESC - quit snes9x

Binding 'y' to be P1 B: Press backspark (`) to open the console. Type in "/bind y +joypad1B" and press Enter. Close the console and test that 'y' acts as the SNES B button.

Binding 'Pause' to be game pause: Open the console. Type in "/bind PAUSE toggle cpu_paused" and press Enter. Close the console, test the Pause key. Toggle the console while in paused mode. To force unpause, the command is "/set cpu_paused 0".

Binding '.' to be pause-while-hold: Open the console. Command "/alias +holdpause set cpu_paused 1". Then "/alias -holdpause set cpu_paused 0". Then "/bind . +holdpause". Close the console and test the '.' key. Snes9x pauses while the '.' key is held. (The commands can also be done in one line as "/alias +holdpause cpu_paused 1; alias -holdpause cpu_paused 0; bind . +holdpause")

When all is done, press ESC to quit out of Snes9x. Or open the console, and give the command "/quit".

To reset the emulator, command "/reset".

Sources of inspiration