Arculator
A Freeware Acorn Archimedes Emulator for Windows and Linux


Home
Download
Screenshots
WIP
RPCemu Spoon
Email


This site is hosted by NETnorth

24th June 2023
Arculator 2.2 released.

Changes since 2.1 :
  • New podules: Acorn AEH50 Ethernet II, Acorn AEH54 Ethernet III, Acorn AKA32 SCSI Podule, Design IT Ethernet 200 Morley A3000 User and Analogue Port, Risc Developments High Density Floppy Controller
  • Support for HFE v3 and SCP disc images
  • Integrated debugger
  • Optimisations
  • Bugfixes

5th September 2021
Arculator 2.1 released.

Changes since 2.0 :
  • New podules : Acorn AKA05 ROM Podule, Acorn AKA10 IO Podule (w/AKA15 MIDI Upgrade), Acorn AKA16 MIDI Podule, Aleph One 386PC/486PC Podule, Computer Concepts ColourCard, State Machine G16 Graphics Accelerator, Oak 16 Bit SCSI Interface
  • Minipodule support for A30x0/A4000. Currently included : Acorn AKA12 MIDI/IO Podule, ICS A3INv5 IDE Interface, ZIDEFS IDE Interface
  • Added A4 laptop emulation
  • Added A500 prototype emulation
  • Added HFE disc image support (read/write)
  • Fixed MEMC1 timing
  • Bugfixes

9th November 2019
Arculator 2.0 released.

Changes since 0.99 :
  • FPA10 emulation
  • Podule emulation. Current included podules : AKA31 SCSI Podule, AKD52 Hard Disc Podule, Computer Concepts Lark, HCCS Ultimate CD-ROM, ICS ideA, RISC Developments IDE Podule, Wild Vision MIDI Max, ZIDEFS
  • Much better CPU/memory timing. Now emulates ARM3 cache and MEMC1/MEMC1a timings
  • Added emulation of GamesPad, RTFM and Serial Port/Vertical Twist joysticks
  • Improved sound filter emulation
  • Re-implemented FDI support
  • Added HostFS (ported from RPCemu)
  • Disc drive noise
  • Linux port
  • Numerous bug fixes
  • Many other changes

26th May 2010
All RPCemu development has moved to http://www.marutan.net/rpcemuspoon/. This is because the only branch still doing anything is the one with the silly name.


15th August 2009
Arculator 0.99 released.

Changes since 0.9/0.9a :
  • ICS IDE interface emulated, when new FDC is not in use
  • Improved IOC mapping, improvements on !PCem, NetBSD etc
  • ArculFS now read/write, and now ROM based
  • Sound improved a little
  • Can now disable all video borders
  • SWPB now works, also corrected SWP and MUL encoding - Fire & Ice now works
  • Return of FDI support
  • ADP protected disc image support
  • FDC improvements
  • High-res mono monitor emulation (1152x896)
  • A3010 joystick emulation

23rd March 2008
I've added a donation link on the left, explanations as to why are on the relevant page.


16th June 2007
RPCemu 0.7 released.

Changes since 0.6 :
  • New dynamic recompiler CPU core - between 2 and 4 times the speed of the interpreter, depending on machine, applications etc
  • RISC OS 4 now works properly with lazy task swapping on recompiler
  • CD-ROM support. .ISO images on all platforms, direct drive access on Windows and Linux
  • Now supports hard disc images above 2gb - the new limit is 32gb
  • New DOS port
  • Now compiles and (mostly) works on big-endian machines (eg PowerPC Macintosh)
  • Source code improved a bit

10th June 2007
Arculator 0.9a released.

Only change is that FDI support has been temporarily removed for licensing reasons.


6th February 2007
Arculator 0.9 released.

Changes since 0.8 :
  • Fixed ARM bugs - Bug Hunter now works, Phaethon no longer crashes on level 3
  • Fixed bug in 82c711 - Nebulus now works on new FDC
  • Fixed timing in modes 48/49
  • Various optimisations
  • Can now emulate ARM3 at 33mhz
  • Now emulates two hard discs
  • Removed software scaling options - improvements to hardware scaling mean these are not necessary anymore
  • Improved FDI support in new FDC - more games supported (eg Wolf 3d, SF3000 etc) with hard disc install
  • Mouse & keyboard shouldn't lock up in some stuff anymore
  • Some other fixes

26th December 2006
RPCemu 0.6 released.

Changes since 0.51 :
  • Working StrongARM emulation
  • Changed timing system, sound much more stable
  • Moved blitting to seperate thread, big speed boost in some stuff on dual core/hyperthreading CPUs
  • Optimisations to ARM + memory, speed boost between 10% and 25%
  • Fixed abort handling and MSR/MRS in 26-bit modes, more stuff now works, eg Ankh, Blu, Era, Reactivity, RISC OS 6
  • Changes to MMU permissions, ArmLinux now starts (but doesn't run yet)
  • Crash bug fixed in 32-bit colour
  • Can now alter video refresh rate from the default of 60hz
  • Better mouse support in Linux
  • Early GUI in Linux
  • Linux port now works on x86-64
  • Fullscreen mode (Windows only)

23rd October 2006
Arculator 0.8 released.

Changes since 0.7 :
  • Improved timing. Each model now performs much closer to the original machines (this means slower than previous versions)
  • Can now emulate MEMC page sizes other than 32k, so all memory configurations from 512k to 16 megs are now possible
  • Preliminary FDI support in 82c711 FDC
  • Better FDI support in WD1772 FDC
  • Fast disc emulation in 82c711 FDC
  • Bugfixes to video code. Man United Europe now looks better. Less flicker in Populous, Zarch etc
  • Keyboard/mouse fix, now doesn't freeze in Lemmings 2 and some other games
  • Fixed broken sound in Sensible Soccer and Xenon 2
  • Sound now in stereo
  • Some minor optimisations
  • Seperate ROM + CMOS files for Arthur, RISC OS 2, RISC OS 3 (old FDC) and RISC OS 3 (new FDC)
  • Tracked WD1772 hanging bug down to an incorrectly set CMOS bit! Now fixed

17th July 2006
RPCemu 0.51 released.

Just a quick release to fix some palette corruption issues.

28th June 2006

Uploaded a new archive for RPCemu 0.5 - the Windows build now works on non-AMD processors.

27th June 2006
RPCemu 0.5 released.

Changes since 0.4 :
  • Optimised flag emulation, outer loop, pipeline refilling - 30% speed increase
  • Couple of new instructions - latest Artworks Viewer now runs
  • Bugfix in IOMD timers - !ArcQuake and !SICK now work
  • Bugfix in MMU - large memory configurations work with all OSes now
  • Bugfix in dirty buffering - no more display artifacts
  • Windows interface slightly better
  • Added workaround for blitting issues on some graphics cards
  • Preliminary sound emulation (Windows 9x only)

9th May 2006
Arculator 0.7 released.

Changes since 0.6 :
  • Improved video code - display always centred correctly, multisync mode support (eg 640x480, 640x512 and 800x600), borders always drawn correctly (eg Zelanites)
  • Fixed bug with LDMxx!, !NewLook now works, Arthur desktop now works
  • Fixed bug in WD1772 FDC, disc writing now works again
  • Some improvements to ArculFS

28th April 2006
Arculator 0.6 released.

Changes since 0.5 :
  • Improved FDI support - many more games work
  • Improved video routines - new hardware scaling option, faster! Also more video modes implemented
  • ArculFS - read files from the Windows file system (read-only at the moment)
  • Can emulate ARM250

27th March 2006
RPCemu 0.4 released.

Changes since 0.3 :
  • Fixed stupid bug with flyback bit in IOMD control register - RiscOS 3.x nowstarts up correctly every single time (why did XXXX X work?)
  • Rewritten video emulation - now supports 16-bit & 32-bit colour, has correctly coloured cursor, some video acceleration, etc.
  • HostFS - allows access of the Windows filesystem from RISC OS
  • Now supports 2 hard discs
  • Now supports >16 megs RAM, and VRAM
  • Now licensed under the GPL
  • Preliminary Linux port, thanks to Peter Naulls

23rd January 2006
Arculator 0.5 released.

Changes since 0.4 :
  • Working 82c711 emulation. This allows high density disc access and avoids the hanging bug in 1772 emulation
  • Along with 82c711 emulation comes IDE hard disc emulation
  • Preliminary FDI support (1772 only)
  • Increased frequency of keyboard/mouse updates - mouse now much smoother
  • Slight optimisations to video

11th January 2006
RPCemu 0.3 released.

Changes since 0.2 :
  • Fixed up various 32-bit problems in the ARM core, XXXX XX X now works
  • IDE hard disc emulation
  • Fixed bugs in floppy emulation
  • Added emulation of ARM610 and ARM710
  • Low video resolutions (eg 320x480) now supported better
  • Faked sound interrupts (not enough for !Replay, but enough to fool Dune II)

4th January 2006
RPCemu 0.2 released.

Changes since 0.1 :
  • Ignored all unimplemented memory accesses, including Econet - RiscOS 3.7 now works
  • 70% speed increase
  • CMOS now actually saves
  • Cursor now correct colours
  • Less restrictive ROM loading

26th December 2005
RPCemu 0.1 released.

An early release, but a lot of software works already.


14th November 2005

New WIP page - for showing off new developments


12th October 2005
Arculator 0.4 released.

Changes since 0.35 :
  • Delayed IRQ by one instruction - Lemmings 2 now has sound.
  • Fast disc access.
  • Can disable scanline effect.

5th October 2005
Arculator 0.35 released.

Changes since 0.3 :
  • Fixed reading of R15 in some instructions - Nebulus now works.
  • Sound improved a bit.
  • Fixed RSC instruction (don't think it affects anything though).
  • Altered ARM timing.
  • Beginnings of new-style Arc emulation (HD floppies + IDE hard discs in theory, not working yet though).
  • Palette splits slightly more stable (Lotus 2).

22nd August 2005
Arculator 0.3 released.

Changes since 0.25 :
  • Much improved sound (filter still a bit off though).
  • Slight ARM optimisations - 10% speedup.
  • Bug fixes to VIDC and IOC - TCD Powerscroll and ARMageddon Megademo 3 now work.
  • Emulated prefetch - Elite now works (stupid protection).
  • Fixed stupid video mode 0 bug.
  • Replaced mouse hack with mouse capture technique.

22nd July 2005
Arculator 0.25 released.

Changes since 0.2 :
  • Disc emulation improved - can now access 720k DOS disc images, write to discs, and up to 4 drives now supported.
  • Arculator will now try to load a 2 meg file called 'rom.rom' before trying ic24-ic27.rom. This allows use of one-file ROM dumps, and Arthur, RiscOS 2 and ARM Linux ROM dumps (none of which really work, but never mind).
  • Slight changes to video emulation, Zelanites demo now looks okay.
  • Slight ARM optimisations.

I'm on the lookout for documentation on the ST-506 controller (HD63463) and/or the A540 SCSI controller. If anyone has documentation on these chips then please email me.


28th June 2005
Arculator 0.2 released.

Changes since 0.1 :
  • Added support for dual/quad MEMCs (8 and 16 megs of RAM).
  • ARM3 emulation.
  • ARM & video optimisations - 25% speed boost.
  • Rewritten video emulation - support midscreen palette/mode changes, correct cursor in 256 colour modes, better scrolling in hardware scrolling games, etc.
  • Reduced sound lag and improved sound overall.
  • Added fullscreen mode.

22nd May 2005
Arculator 0.1 released.

Changes since 0.09 :
  • Couple of CPU bugs fixed - Disc access now okay (hack no longer required), many more programs/games run.
  • Hack to work around other CPU bug.
  • Better video emulation - more modes, scrolling in James Pond and Chuck Rock, correct scrolling in supervisor.
  • New attempt at sound (quite poor).
  • Better mouse emulation.