Q: What do you charge for this setup?
A: Nothing. It is 100% completely free!
Q: Where do I go to download everything needed to set up sharp x1?
A: Everything can be downloaded from here.
Q: Can I use the emulator I already have?
A: Please use the one included in the download because it is the right version to work with the module and also contains the correct bios. Furthermore, the other emulators are not able to load save state files (.xst) and thus this setup WILL NOT work with other emulators. Thank you.
Q: In what folder do I need to store the ROM files?
A: Well, this is the ONLY thing that you will have to do differently to get this system up and running. Why? In addition to loading single disk games directly, this setup also takes advantage of many save state files (.xst) in order to avoid multiple disk loading. Some save state files (.xst) "point" to compilation disks that house multiple games. Some save state files (.xst) "point" to two regular old floppy disk/rom type files and simply load 'em up for you so that you do not have to. Either way, the save state files (.xst) will be "looking for" the rom/compilation files in the following exact location:
S:\Hyperspin Roms_Seagate\Sharp X1\Roms
You have THREE choices on how to make this happen. OPTION 1: If you just happen to have an external drive assigned the letter "S:", simply store the Roms in the location described directly above and you are ready to go. Just make sure you go into HLHQ global settings and select "Real" next to "Real_or_Virtual_S:_Drive". This tells the module you are using a "real" drive. See image directly below.
OPTION 2: If you do not have an external drive assigned the letter "S:", select "Virtual" and do the following. Store the Roms in ANY location you want. On any drive you want. Just make sure that the final characters of the romPath are exactly "\Hyperspin Roms_Seagate\Sharp X1\Roms". Just make sure the romPath looks like the ones below this paragraph (see below). It DOES NOT MATTER what the blue folders are called as long as the red folders are accurately named. But make sure you do have a couple of blue folders in front of the red folders. That is all you have to do. The module will do the rest. Also, FYI: If you run Hyperspin as an administrator, the command prompt window is also launched with admin privileges and strangely you will NOT be able to see the S: virtual drive in Windows Explorer. If you run Hyperspin wihout admin privileges, you will be able to see the virtual S: drive in Windows Explorer. This is the link that I found that mentioned this fact. Scroll down to Mumblic's response. I have tested it. It is accurate.
C:\Games\Sharp\Hyperspin Roms_Seagate\Sharp X1\Roms
D:\ROMS\House\Tree\Hyperspin Roms_Seagate\Sharp X1\Roms
K:\Hyperspin\Craig\Hyperspin Roms_Seagate\Sharp X1\Roms
L:\Game Roms\X68000\Tornado\Fart\Hyperspin Roms_Seagate\Sharp X1\Roms
D:\ROMS\House\Tree\Hyperspin Roms_Seagate\Sharp X1\Roms
K:\Hyperspin\Craig\Hyperspin Roms_Seagate\Sharp X1\Roms
L:\Game Roms\X68000\Tornado\Fart\Hyperspin Roms_Seagate\Sharp X1\Roms
OPTION 3: This was provided by dougan78 over at Hyperspin. For this option, make sure you go into HLHQ global settings and select "Real" next to "Real_or_Virtual_S:_Drive".
Option 3: Mapped Network Drive
Create a folder called Sharp X1. Create sub folders Hyperspin Roms_Seagate\Sharp X1\Roms. All of the Roms will be in the Roms folder so this will be 4 levels deep. Next Right click on the Sharp X1 folder click on properties. Click on the Sharing Tab. Click on Advanced Sharing. Click on checkbox for Share this folder. Leave the default name. Click on permissions tab. Select Full Control for Everyone. Click Ok. Click Ok. Click Ok. Open Windows Explorer (Computer, My Computer, This PC). Click Map network drive. Select S: for the drive letter. Click Browse and browse to your computer and find the shared Sharp X1 folder (Be sure network discovery is on in network and sharing center). Be sure reconnect at sign in is selected. Click finish. Now you have your S: all set to go with the proper path. Be sure that Real Drive is selected in the Module settings in HLHQ. |
Q: How can I be sure the Virtual (or Real) drive is really working?
A: This is a great question. Here is the answer. Once you have everything "set up," run "Grobda (Craig).xst" from within Hyperspin. Do this in windowed mode with bezel OFF. And make sure you are not hiding the menu bar in HLHQ settings. The wheel image looks like this (see Image 1 to the right). Once loaded, select (in emulator task bar) Screen > Information Bar to bring the drives onto the screen of the emulator. Do you see text in the floppy drive windows? See Image 2 to the right and note the subtle red arrows pointing at the floppy drive windows. If you see text like that in the floppy drive windows you can be confident that the virtual (or real) drive is set up correctly and the save state file (.xst) is able to appropriately "find" the roms to which it is "pointing." If those floppy drive boxes are empty, something is not right. Please use this exact game to test this fact. And don't forget to unselect Screen > Information Bar after you are done with the confirmation.
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Q: What emulator settings can be manipulated in HLHQ?
A: The following settings can be manipulated on both a GLOBAL and ROM-Specific Level. I have the defaults set to what seems to work the most often. But you WILL have to change them for some games. The images below show you what the settings look like inside the emulator for illustration purposes only. Again, you can manipulate these settings inside HLHQ.
Real or Virtual Drive (global setting only) - Default set to Real. See above for details.
Fullscreen (global setting only) - Default set to false. SkipLine - Default set to false. Adds horizontal lines to screen if set to true. CPU - Default set to 4MHz. Global_HideMenuBar - Default set to false. (The following setting only allows the user to select of only ONE of the following (Keyboard, JoyKey-1, JoyKey-2)) Device - Default set to Keyboard. (The following three settings can be set to true/false independently of one another) Joystick - Default set to true, Mouse - Default set to false. FM Board - Default set to false. (There are some roms/disks that seem to set this to true by default, irregardless of HLHQ settings, FYI) |
Some examples of Roms/Games that set FM Board to true by default
BLOCKLE for X1 (Craig) Block'N (Craig) Block'N II (Craig) Can Can (Craig) I will add more later. |
Oh yeah, when manipulating settings for a specific game, always choose the save state file (.xst) if one is applicable for that game. So for Hamburger (see pic to the right), apply the settings to the save state file (.xst) and NOT to the other similarly named file. In order to easily identify the save state file (.xst) I have included the text (Craig) at the end of every save state file (.xst) because the file extension (.xst) does not show up in the list. See pic to the right again. Thanks.
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Q: Are there any settings in HyperHQ that are essential for this setup?
A: Yes. You must select "wheels only" in HyperHQ. For the games that have multiple roms/disks and are loaded via a save state file (.xst), only the save state file has a wheel assigned to it. This allows only one wheel per game for these multiple disk games. See image to the right to see the setting. Click to enlarge.
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Q: Assuming that I am using a "Virtual" S: drive, do I set the HyperLaunch HQ romPath to the ACTUAL location of the Roms or to the VIRTUAL drive?
A: Set the romPath to the ACTUAL location of the Roms. Just like you would for any other system. For example, if your ACTUAL location of the Roms is the following: C:\Games\Sharp\Hyperspin Roms_Seagate\Sharp X1\Roms, set the romPath to that full ACTUAL location. Do NOT set the romPath to the "Virtual" S: drive location: S:\Hyperspin Roms_Seagate\Sharp X1\Roms.
Q: What Rom file types should I include in HyperHQ and Hyperlaunch HQ for this system?
A: I have the following file types listed in HyperHQ and Hyperlaunch HQ. Feel free to cut and paste.
d88,2d,xst,rar,zip,tap
d88|2d|xst|rar|zip|tap
d88|2d|xst|rar|zip|tap
Q: Does the module support Fullscreen mode?
A: Yes. But the emulator was a little weird for a while. At first it would not support fullscreen. But then it would after I changed settings to run emulator as an administrator. But that messed up some other stuff (module stopped being able to load games). And then I deselected "run emulator as administrator" and then everything works. Weird sounding I know. Please let me know how it works for you. Thanks.
Q: How does one take control of the emulator "mouse"?
A: I do not know if the real sharp x1 had a mouse or not. But if you encounter a game where you need to take control of a "pointer" mouse type thing on the emulator screen, the 4,6,8,2 number buttons control the "pointer"/mouse. See the game "Diablo" as an example. I have no idea what to do in the game but you will see there is a red pointer that needs to be controlled. The Mouse setting in the HLHQ settings does not seem to make a difference whether set to true or false as far as this game is concerned. Just FYI.
Q: Do you have any "general" advice on controls for games?
A: From the Neo Kobe Guide: (Click HERE for ENTIRE Guide....just FYI)
=== Controls === For games, movement is almost always numpad 4,6,2,8. The buttons are usually some combination of Spacebar, Esc, Tab, and ZXCV. Keep Caps Lock on, because some games only recognize uppercase input. Also remember that many games were designed for a joystick. The Xmillenium emulator has a joykey function that maps a virtual joystick to the arrow keys and ZX buttons of your physical keyboard. -------------- And I would add: Keep Scroll LOCK OFF....seems to mess things up sometimes. I will try to have module make sure it is OFF. |
Q: Are there any games that will not load/play on the emulator listed above?
A: Yes. But they do work with an alternative emulator. It still needs a module. These games include:
1) Gandhara
2) Champion ProWres Special 3) Thexder 4) Star Stream 5) Sweet Mint 6) Daiva 3 could not get to work on either emulator There could be more. Let me know if I missed any. Thanks |
Q: Other Thoughts?
1) Do not erase or change the name of any roms because both the module as well as the save state files (.xst) rely on specific names to work properly. In addition the compilation roms are used to load many different games.
2) For games with two disks, the module loads disk A into the first drive and disk B into the second drive. It seems like this was working for all the games that I played around with but I cannot be sure this will work for all games in the setup. A game might expect disk B to be loaded into the first drive at a certain prompt. But I did not see that with any of the games that I played. Let me know if you find any like that.
3) This setup does NOT include every rom available for sharp X1. I tried to weed out the Japanese text ones that are not really playable although some made it through. If there is a game you want that is not included, please let me know.
4) As of right now, the module turn ON CAPS LOCK, TURNS ON NUM LOCK, and TURNS OFF SCROLL LOCK. If this needs to be added to HLHQ as a choice let me know. Thanks
5) All of the games that are more than 2 disks AND were NOT included on a compilation disk have been left out of this setup. But the good news is that most of those games are unplayable Japanese text type games. But if there is a game you want added, let me know and I will do my best to add it.
2) For games with two disks, the module loads disk A into the first drive and disk B into the second drive. It seems like this was working for all the games that I played around with but I cannot be sure this will work for all games in the setup. A game might expect disk B to be loaded into the first drive at a certain prompt. But I did not see that with any of the games that I played. Let me know if you find any like that.
3) This setup does NOT include every rom available for sharp X1. I tried to weed out the Japanese text ones that are not really playable although some made it through. If there is a game you want that is not included, please let me know.
4) As of right now, the module turn ON CAPS LOCK, TURNS ON NUM LOCK, and TURNS OFF SCROLL LOCK. If this needs to be added to HLHQ as a choice let me know. Thanks
5) All of the games that are more than 2 disks AND were NOT included on a compilation disk have been left out of this setup. But the good news is that most of those games are unplayable Japanese text type games. But if there is a game you want added, let me know and I will do my best to add it.