About

WebMSX WebMSX, or simply WMSX, is a new cross platform MSX emulator designed for the Web. WebMSX is great for displaying MSX software running inside webpages. You can launch the emulator and load ROMs, DSK and CAS images with a single link. Join friends in multiplayer games or pair programming sessions with the new NetPlay! function. Please go to https://webmsx.org to enjoy it online! Refer to /doc for parameters reference and URL usage examples. Refer to /release for stable release files and deployment examples. MSX and the MSX logo are shown here as a tribute. All trademarks are property of their respective owners. New in Release 6.0 3 MSX turbo R machines (Japanese, European, American) V9990 video, Superimposed and Mixed modes, or Dual Screens Improved CPU Turbo emulation and control, Z80/R800 speed settings Improved Kanji support, with MSX-JE input editor and dictionary 6 MSX1 Palettes. Color, B&W, Green and Amber CRTs with scanlines New AZERTY key mapping. Simplified hotkeys Features 12 Generic machines (MSX1, MSX2, MSX2+, MSX tR). NTSC 60Hz or PAL 50Hz V9918, V9938, V9958 and V9990 video, Superimposing, Mixed, Dual Screen modes PSG, SCC, SCC-I, FM-PAC, PCM, MSX-MUSIC and OPL4-Wave sound Kanji support, with MSX-JE Japanese text input editor and dictionary Cross platform HTML5/JS. Runs in any Browser, tested in Chrome/Firefox/Safari Show MSX software running on any webpage, or with a link to the WebMSX page Finally enjoy MSX games on your iPhone/iPad! Installs as a WebApp, runs offline Open files from local storage, iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, web links NetPlay! Connect several users on the same Virtual MSX machine over the internet CPU and VDP Turbo modes up to 8x, with manual or software activation Load Cartridge ROMs, HardDisk (Nextor), Disk and Tape images Powerful Drag & Drop system for loading media files Dynamically import files to any MSX disk drive, automatic image creation Savestates support. Export and share Savestate files and links Customizable Keyboard, Joysticks, Joykeys, and Mouse controllers Customizable Touch Controls/Virtual Keyboard for mobile devices (iOS, Android) Joykeys support. Emulates MSX Joysticks using Host Keyboard Virtual buttons. Maps Host Joystick buttons to MSX Keyboard keys Easily toggle extensions like SCC+, SCC, PAC, MegaRAM, Nextor, DoublePSG, etc. Adjustable speed, Pause and Frame-by-frame advance PSG/SCC/OPLL Stereo Sound simulation, configurable Copy & Paste text, Screen Capture, Debug modes CRT Scanlines, resizable Screen, Full Screen and Full Windowed modes 6 MSX1 Palettes. Color, B&W, Green and Amber phosphor simulation Javascript API for loading media and machine control About the MSX turbo R machines We still have some limitations on the tR and R800 emulation in this release. There is no PCM and MIDI support yet, and R800 CPU advanced timing may not be completely accurate. Also, R800 emulation hits very hard on the emulator performance, so it may not run smoothly on all devices, specially smartphones. There are options to tweak the R800 timing and clock speed from 0.5x to 2.0x. About the V9990 Video chip The current V9990 implementation also has some limitations on the Command Termination and Horizontal INTs. But none of the available/tested software seemed to rely on the incomplete functions. About the light C-BIOS version The light version with only C-BIOS ROMs can be found at: https://webmsx.org/cbios About the NetPlay! feature WebMSX 5.0 brings NetPlay!, in which any number of users may connect and control the same virtual MSX machine. To access the feature, open the NetPlay! control dialog available on the System Menu (Power button). One user must be the "Server" and start a NetPlay! Session. Just choose a name for the Session, or let the emulator generate it randomly, then hit "START". Once the Session is started and active, other users may join the Session simply by entering the same Session name and hitting "JOIN". All users connected have complete control over the machine, except that only the Server user may load/change media files (ROMs, Disks, etc). All features of the emulator work during NetPlay! Any Client user may leave the Session at any time, but only the Server user may end the Session completely. Be careful not to make your Session name public! Anyone that knows your Session name will be able to join it while its active. Send the session name only to people you want to invite. Another way of sharing your Session to users is sending them a link that will open the emulator and join the session automatically. In the NetPlay! dialog, once you are Hosting a Session, there will be a link button on the upper right, that will generate the link and copy it to your clipboard. IMPORTANT: NetPlay! performance is completely dependent on the network quality. The lower the network latency between users, the better. Higher bandwidths with higher latencies won't help much. The Client may need some time to find and connect do the Server. It uses a specialized P2P protocol, and tries to use STUN to traverse NATs/routers so users don't have to worry about IPs and opening ports. Use at your own risk! :-) To make all this work seamlessly, WebMSX uses modern Web technologies including WebRTC, which are supported by all major browsers and platforms. Unfortunately, those technologies may still not be available on Apple iOS, so NetPlay! may not work on those devices. About the Nextor Hard Disk Drive To make the Hard Disk Drive available, you must first activate the Hard Drive Extension, through the Extensions Menu on the user interface, or by using the respective Presets. The Hard Disk device may be placed "before" the Floppy Drives, so it will appear on the system as Drive A, or "after" the Floppy Drives, so it will appear as Drive C. The position depends on which Slot the Extension is activated on. If using Presets, there are two available: HARDDISK will place the device as Drive A, and HARDDISKC will place it as Drive C. On the Hard Drive menu (HD icon), there are options to automatically create Empty and Boot disks of several sizes. You can also load DSK images, Files or ZIPs normally. WebMSX Configuration and Launch Options Several parameters are available for customizing the emulator. They can be changed either directly in Javascript if you are hosting the emulator in your own page, by loading a Configuration File, or via URL Query Parameters if you are creating links or bookmarks to open the emulator, or just using it in your browser. All parameters are in the form of properties in the global object WMSX. Just set these object properties in Javascript, or use URL Query parameter/value pairs. For example: WMSX.ROM = "files/Game.rom"; is the same as https://webmsx.org?ROM=files/Game.rom To load an external Configuration File, set the CONFIG_URL parameter. The config file must be a valir JSON object. This object's properties will be merged with the standard configuration properties. For example: WMSX.CONFIG_URL = "files/CustomMachines.json"; or https://webmsx.org?CONFIG_URL=files/CustomMachines.json All emulator Savestates, Settings and Preferences can be stored in multiple isolated spaces, using the Environments feature. Just set the ENVIRONMENT parameter (or E for short) to any number in the 1..99 range. For example: WMSX.ENVIRONMENT = 2; or https://webmsx.org?E=2 Another important concept is the use of configuration Presets. Some configurations are a bit complicated and may require setting various parameters in conjunction. For those cases, its easier to use a Preset that will automatically set all the relevant parameters for a specific task. You may specify any number of Presets to be used by setting the PRESETS parameter (or P for short) with a comma separated list of the Preset names to apply. For example: WMSX.PRESETS = "RAM128, NODISK"; or https://webmsx.org?P=RAM128,NODISK IMPORTANT: Any parameter setting via Javascript must be done AFTER importing the webmsx.js file. Media Loading The emulator can be set to automatically load files like ROMs, DSK and CAS images. Additionally, files can be loaded and automatically injected into any of the Disks Drives, without having to first create an image. Image files may be compressed in ZIP or GZIP formats. If several Disk images are found in a ZIP file, all of them (up to 10) will be loaded in the Drive Stack. Available parameters: Parameter Function Shortcut for URL form CARTRIDGE1_URL URL of ROM image file to load in Slot 1 ROM, CART1 CARTRIDGE2_URL URL of ROM image file to load in Slot 2 CART2 CARTRIDGE1_FORMAT Force ROM Format for Cartridge in Slot 1 ROM_FORMAT, CART1_FORMAT CARTRIDGE2_FORMAT Force ROM Format for Cartridge in Slot 2 CART2_FORMAT DISKA_URL URL of Disk image file to load in Drive A: DISK, DISKA DISKB_URL URL of Disk image file to load in Drive B: DISKB HARDDISK_URL URL of Disk image file to load in the Hard Drive HARDDISK DISKA_FILES_URL URL of file or ZIP (for several files) to load in Drive A: DISK_FILES, DISKA_FILES DISKB_FILES_URL URL of file or ZIP (for several files) to load in Drive B: DISKB_FILES HARDDISK_FILES_URL URL of file or ZIP (for several files) to load in Hard Drive HARDDISK_FILES TAPE_URL URL of Tape image file to load TAPE STATE_URL URL of SaveState file to load STATE, SAVESTATE AUTODETECT_URL URL of file to load with media auto-detection AUTODETECT, AUTO, ANY ROM Format (or Mapper Type) The ROM Format is auto-detected. To force a format, set the CARTRIDGE1_FORMAT and CARTRIDGE2_FORMAT parameters, or access the User Interface. You can also put the format specification in the ROM file name, between brackets. Example: Game [KonamiSCC].rom Valid Formats Normal, Mirrored, NotMirrored, ASCII8, ASCII16, Konami, KonamiSCC, KonamiSCCI, ASCII8SRAM2, ASCII8SRAM8, ASCII16SRAM2, ASCII16SRAM8, MegaRAM, GameMaster2, KoeiSRAM8, KoeiSRAM32, Wizardry, FMPAC, FMPAK, MSXDOS2, Majutsushi, Synthesizer, RType, CrossBlaim, Manbow2, HarryFox, AlQuran, AlQuranDecoded, Halnote, SuperSwangi, SuperLodeRunner, Dooly, Zemina80in1, Zemina90in1, Zemina126in1, MSXWrite, KonamiUltimateCollection Choosing a Machine There are 12 different generic machines. The default machine is the MSX2+, and the emulator will try to auto-detect your region. You can ask for a specific machine by setting the MACHINE parameter (or M for short) with the respective Machine ID: Machine Machine ID Specific Machine Machine ID MSX tR Auto-detection MSXTR MSX tR American (NTSC 60Hz) MSXTRA MSX tR European (PAL 50Hz) MSXTRE MSX tR Japanese (NTSC 60Hz) MSXTRJ MSX2+ Auto-detection MSX2P MSX2+ American (NTSC 60Hz) MSX2PA MSX2+ European (PAL 50Hz) MSX2PE MSX2+ Japanese (NTSC 60Hz) MSX2PJ MSX2 Auto-detection MSX2 MSX2 American (NTSC 60Hz) MSX2A MSX2 European (PAL 50Hz) MSX2E MSX2 Japanese (NTSC 60Hz) MSX2J MSX1 Auto-detection MSX1 MSX1 American (NTSC 60Hz) MSX1A MSX1 European (PAL 50Hz) MSX1E MSX1 Japanese (NTSC 60Hz) MSX1J It's possible to define additional Custom Machines, by loading an external Configuration File (CONFIG_URL parameter). Contact the author for details! Enabling Extensions The emulator supports several Extensions, or optional components that can be turned on/off. Some are in the form of expansion cartridges that can be inserted in either Slot 1 or 2. We use Presets to make configuring Extensions easier: Extension Default in Machine Presets Hard Disk interface (Nextor) -- HARDDISK, HARDDISKC, NOHARDDISK Floppy Disk interface with 2 drives All DISK, NODISK Standard RAM Mapper, adjustable size MSX2 or higher RAM128..RAM4096, RAMNORMAL Kanji Characters with MSX-JE Japanese MSX2 or higher KANJI, NOKANJI V9990 Video -- V9990 MSX-MUSIC sound with BASIC extension MSX2 or higher MSXMUSIC, NOMSXMUSIC OPL4 Wave sound -- OPL4 Double PSG -- DOUBLEPSG SCC-I Sound Cartridge with 128K RAM -- SCCI, SCCI2 (in Slot 1/2) SCC Sound Cartridge -- SCC, SCC2 (in Slot 1/2) PAC SRAM Cartridge -- PAC, PAC2 (in Slot 1/2) MegaRAM Cartridge -- MEGARAM, MEGARAM2 (in Slot 1/2) Loading BASIC files and Typing commands after launch The emulator can be set to automatically Run/Load BASIC programs after launch, or type any commands or text in the BASIC prompt. NOTE that these are not necessary for AUTOEXEC.BAS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files, or if you have loaded a Tape Image file (in which case the emulator will automatically detect and Run the first program in the Tape). Available parameters: Parameter Action BASIC_RUN Run the specified file BASIC_LOAD Load the specified file BASIC_BRUN Run the specified bynary file BASIC_BLOAD Load the specified bynary file BASIC_TYPE Type the specified text BASIC_ENTER Type the specified text then hit ENTER Controlling boot speed and automatically pressing keys at boot time Parameter Action FAST_BOOT Boot at max. speed BOOT_KEYS Keys to keep pressed at every boot, comma separated BOOT_KEYS_ONCE Same as above, but only on first boot (do not use both) BOOT_KEYS_FRAMES Optional number of frames for Boot Keys Launch URL Examples WebMSX is great for displaying MSX software in the web. With a simple URL, you can launch the emulator and automatically load and run anything. You may combine several settings and media loading options in a single link. Here are some examples: To load a game in ROM format: https://webmsx.org?ROM=https://gamesarchive.org/Goonies.rom To load a game in a ZIPped Disk Image and insert a SCC+ Sound Cartridge: https://webmsx.org?DISK=https://gamesarchive.org/SDSnatcher.zip&PRESETS=SCCI To launch an European MSX1 machine, loading a Disk image and then run a BASIC program: https://webmsx.org?MACHINE=MSX1E&DISK=https://basicmuseum.org/Demos.dsk&BASIC_RUN=Bubbles.bas Presets Reference Preset Description HARDDISK, HARDDISKC, NOHARDDISK Hard Drive Extension DISK, DISKA, NODISK Floppy Drives Extension RAMMAPPER, RAM128 - RAM4096, RAMNORMAL RAM Mapper Extension & sizes V9990 V9990 Video Extension KANJI, NOKANJI Kanji ROM Extension MSXMUSIC, NOMSXMUSIC, DOUBLEPSG, OPL4 Sound Devices Extensions SCCI, SCCI2, SCC, SCC2 SCC+/SCC Cartridge (in Slot 1/2) PAC, PAC2 PAC SRAM Cartridge (in Slot 1/2) MEGARAM, MEGARAM2, MEGARAM256 - MEGARAM2048 MegaRam Cartridge (in Slot 1/2) & sizes VSYNCON, VSYNCOFF, VSYNCDISABLED VSync options ALLSTEREO, ALLSTEREO2 Stereo simulation for all devices (default/variation) PSGSTEREO, PSGSTEREO2 PSG Stereo simulation (default/variation) SCCSTEREO, SCCSTEREO2 SCC Stereo simulation (default/variation) OPLLSTEREO, OPLLSTEREO2 OPLL Stereo simulation (default/variation) ALTSLOTCONFIG Alternate Slot Configuration. RAM at Primary Slot 3 BOOSTED Boosted Machine with HardDisk and CPU/VDP 3x Turbo Parameters Reference Parameter (+ new) Default Description ENVIRONMENT 0 Emulator Environment. Isolate Savestates & Preferences. 1..99 CONFIG_URL -- Configuration file to merge. Processed before URL parameters MACHINE -- Machine Type. Leave blank for auto-detection PRESETS -- Configuration Presets names to apply, comma separated CARTRIDGE1_URL -- URL of ROM image file to load in Slot 1 CARTRIDGE2_URL -- URL of ROM image file to load in Slot 2 CARTRIDGE1_FORMAT -- ROM Format for Cartridge in Slot 1 CARTRIDGE2_FORMAT -- ROM Format for Cartridge in Slot 2 DISKA_URL -- URL of Disk image file to load in Drive A: DISKB_URL -- URL of Disk image file to load in Drive B: HARDDISK_URL -- URL of Disk image file to load in the Hard Drive DISKA_FILES_URL -- URL of file or ZIP (for several files) to load in Drive A: DISKB_FILES_URL -- URL of file or ZIP (for several files) to load in Drive B: HARDDISK_FILES_URL -- URL of file or ZIP (for several files) to load in Hard Drive TAPE_URL -- URL of Tape image file to load STATE_URL -- URL of SaveState file to load AUTODETECT_URL -- URL of file to load with media auto-detection SLOTXY_URL -- URL of ROM file to load in Slot X-Y (X,Y are numbers). Omit Y for primary slot SLOTXY_FORMAT -- ROM Format for Slot X-Y loaded above NETPLAY_JOIN -- Join NetPlay! Session automatically NETPLAY_NICK -- NetPlay! Nickname, optional BASIC_RUN -- Run the specified file name BASIC_LOAD -- Load the specified file name BASIC_BRUN -- Run the specified binary file name BASIC_BLOAD -- Load the specified binary file name BASIC_TYPE -- Type the specified text BASIC_ENTER -- Type the specified text then hit ENTER BOOT_KEYS -- Keys to keep pressed at every boot, comma separated BOOT_KEYS_ONCE -- Same as above, but only on first boot (do not use both) BOOT_KEYS_FRAMES -1 Number of frames for Boot Keys. -1: auto; > 0: frames FAST_BOOT 0 Number of frames for Fast Boot. 0: off; 1: auto (same as Boot Keys frames); > 1: number of frames VDP_TYPE -1 VDP Chip. -1: auto; 1: V9918; 2: V9938; 3: V9958 + VDP_PALETTE 2 MSX1 Palette. 0: WebMSX Original; 1: V9918; 2: V9928; 3: V9938; 4: Toshiba; 5: Fujitsu FM-X RTC_ACTIVE -1 RTC Chip. -1: auto; 0: not present; 1: present RAMMAPPER_SIZE 512 RAM Mapper size when active. 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, in KB RAMNORMAL_SIZE 64 Normal RAM size when active. 16..64, in KB VOL 1.0 Master Volume factor SPEED 100 Default emulation speed (in %) SCREEN_ELEMENT_ID "wmsx-screen" HTML Element ID to place the Emulator Screen ALLOW_URL_PARAMETERS true Allows overriding any parameters via URL query parameters AUTO_START true Auto-Start the emulator as soon as ready AUTO_POWER_ON_DELAY 1200 Auto-Power-ON after specified msecs. -1: no Auto-Power-ON MEDIA_CHANGE_DISABLED false Block user from changing Media (Cartridges, Disks, etc) SCREEN_RESIZE_DISABLED false Block user from changing Sreen size SCREEN_FULLSCREEN_MODE -1 FullScreen mode. -2: disabled; -1: auto; 0: off; 1: on (Full Screen); 2: on (Full Windowed) SCREEN_FILTER_MODE -3 Screen CRT Filter level. -3: user set (default auto); -2: browser default; -1: auto; 0..3: smoothing level SCREEN_CRT_SCANLINES -1 Screen CRT Scanlines. -1: user set (default off); 0: off; 1..10: level SCREEN_CRT_PHOSPHOR -1 Screen CRT Phosphor Effect. -1: auto (off); 0: off; 1: on SCREEN_DEFAULT_SCALE -1 Screen size. -1: auto; 0.5..N in 0.1 steps SCREEN_DEFAULT_ASPECT 1.14 Screen Aspect Ratio (width) in 0.1 steps SCREEN_CONTROL_BAR 1 Screen Bottom Bar controls. 0: on hover; 1: always SCREEN_FORCE_HOST_NATIVE_FPS -1 Force host native video frequency. -1: auto-detect. Don't change! :-) SCREEN_VSYNC_MODE -2 VSync mode. -2: user set (default auto); -1: disabled; 0: off; 1: auto (on when available) + SCREEN_VIDEO_OUT -1 Video output. -1: auto; 0: Internal VDP; 1: External V9990; 2: Superimposed; 3: Mixed; 4: Dual (main: Internal); 5: Dual (main: V9990) + SCREEN_COLORS 0 CRT color type. 0: Color; 1: B&W; 2: Green Phosphor; 3: Amber Phosphor AUDIO_MONITOR_BUFFER_BASE -3 Audio buffer base size. -3: user set (default auto); -2: disable audio; -1: auto; 0: browser default; 1..6: base value. More buffer = more delay AUDIO_MONITOR_BUFFER_SIZE -1 Audio buffer size. -1: auto; 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16384: buffer size. More buffer = more delay. Don't change! :-) AUDIO_SIGNAL_BUFFER_RATIO 2 Internal Audio Signal buffer based on Monitor buffer AUDIO_SIGNAL_ADD_FRAMES 3 Additional frames in internal Audio Signal buffer based on Monitor buffer + R800_CLOCK_MODE 0 R800 CPU Clock. 0: auto; (0..2]: R800 CPU clock multiplier + R800_TIMING 1 Precise R800/S1990 timings. 0: off, 1: on; 2: VDP waits only. Turn off for faster and lighter emulation Z80_CLOCK_MODE 0 Z80 CPU Clock. 0: auto (soft-turbo possible); (0..8]: CPU clock multiplier VDP_CLOCK_MODE 0 VDP Command Engine Clock. 0: auto (soft-turbo possible); (0..8]: Engine clock multiplier; 9: instantaneous Z80_SOFT_TURBO_MULTI 1.5 Z80 CPU clock multiplier when in AUTO mode and activated by software. 1..8: multi VDP_SOFT_TURBO_MULTI 1 VDP Command Engine clock multiplier when in AUTO mode and activated by software. 1..9: multi + CPU_SOFT_TURBO_AUTO_ON 0 Automatically activate the CPU Soft Turbo when supported by machine. 0: off, 1: on + CPU_FAKE_TR_TURBO -1 Simulated tR CHGCPU Turbo activation. -1: auto; 0: off; 1: on. Auto ON for 2+, never for tR + CPU_PANA_TURBO -1 Simulated Panasonic Turbo activation. -1: auto; 0: off; 1: on. Auto ON for 2+, never for tR JOYSTICKS_MODE 0 Joysticks (on Host) controls. -1: disabled; 0: auto; 1: auto (swapped) JOYKEYS_MODE -1 JoyKeys controls. -1: disabled; 0: enabled at port 1; 1: enabled at port 2; 2: enabled at both ports; 3: enabled at both ports (swapped) MOUSE_MODE -1 Mouse controls. -1: disabled; 0: auto; 1: enabled at port 1; 2: enabled at port 2 TOUCH_MODE 0 Touch controls. -1: disabled; 0: auto; 1: enabled at port 1; 2: enabled at port 2 + MOBILE_MODE 0 Forced Mobile interface mode. -1: disabled; 0: auto; 1: enabled DEBUG_MODE 0 Debug Modes. 0: off; 1..7: mode. Don't change! :-) SPRITES_DEBUG_MODE 0 Sprites Debug Modes. 0: off; 1: unlimited; 2: no collisions; 3: both. May cause problems :-) KEYBOARD_JAPAN_LAYOUT 1 Japanese keyboard layout. 0: ANSI, 1: JIS ROM_MAX_HASH_SIZE_KB 5120 Maximum ROM size for Hash calculation HARDDISK_MIN_SIZE_KB 720 Minimum file size to be accepted as HardDisk image (besides all valid Floppy formats) MEGARAM_SIZE 2048 MegaRAM size in KB DISK_ROM_START_PAGE 0 Change starting page for ROMs > 16KB when format is DiskPatch. 0..1 PSG_VOL "f" PSG Volume adjust: 0..f (hex digit). Set globally or for each channel (4 values) PSG_PAN "8" PSG PanPot adjust: 0; 1..8..f (hex digit). Set globally or for each channel (4 values) SCC_VOL "f" SCC Volume adjust. Same as above (5 values) SCC_PAN "8" SCC PanPot adjust. Same as above (5 values) OPLL_VOL "f" OPLL Volume adjust. Same as above (14 values) OPLL_PAN "8" OPLL PanPot adjust. Same as above (14 values) PAGE_BACK_CSS -- CSS to modify page background color. Applied to the body element