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UAE4ALL

UAE4All is an optimized "Lite" Commodore Amiga 500 emulator based on the E-UAE core. It emulates Commodore Amiga 500 hardware with OCS (Original Chip Set), 512 KB / 1 MB / 2 MB Chip RAM, and up to 4 floppy drives (currently restricted to 2 - DF0 & DF1).

This repository provides both a standalone emulator build (optimized for MiyooCFW handhelds and Linux) and a Libretro core (uae4all_libretro.so) for RetroArch / Libretro frontends. Remember to provide uae4all_libretro.info file in RetroArch core_info directory for core to be detactable.

Emulation can utilize multiple Motorola 68000 CPU cores:

  • UAE core: Full C-based core with the highest game compatibility (default for standalone release).
  • Cyclone: Highly optimized ARM assembly core for maximum performance on ARM architectures.
  • FAME / FAME-C: Fast M68k emulation library for x86 and ARM platforms.

Flavors

Standalone (MiyooCFW & Linux)

Revamped version of UAE4ALL for MiyooCFW supported devices (Bittboy, PocketGo, Powkiddy V90 / Q90 / Q20, etc.) and native Linux.

  • Based on the GCW0 port by zear & Nebuleon (with contributions from smurline and goldmojo for other platforms).
  • Upstream stock emulator for MiyooCFW 1.3.3 was based on zear's repository, originally ported by @jamesofarrell with FAME core (see "james_zear" branch).
  • Current releases default to the UAE core for wider game compatibility, while still supporting Cyclone and FAME cores.

Libretro Core (uae4all_libretro)

Downstream implementation based on Chips-fr/uae4all-rpi, adapted into this codebase to produce the uae4all_libretro.so core for RetroArch and other Libretro frontends.

Changelog (Standalone / MiyooCFW)

UAE4ALL rev. 1.2

  • Added extra "2MB RAM" option in menu (increased memory to enable extra features in particular games).
  • Added virtual button mapping to L2/R2 and L3/R3 (more keyboard bindings at your will).
  • Enabled music in menu (via SDL_mixer, negligible in-game performance impact).

UAE4ALL rev. 1.1a

  • Added log warning about missing kick.rom file when not found in /mnt/.uae4all directory.

UAE4ALL rev. 1.1

  • "Status bar" option is now configurable in the main menu and uae4all.cfg (STATUS_BAR 0 or -1).
  • Added hotkeys to increase/decrease throttle (SELECT + X / Y).

UAE4ALL rev. 1.0

  • Load DF0 as first argument parameter (allows loading ADF/ROM directly from console frontend).
  • Show/hide status bar option (editable through *.cfg or emu GUI).
  • Disabled splash screen by default (faster initial load speed).
  • Semi-darkmode for all notifications.
  • Fixed A/B button mapping for V90/Q90 in menu screen (cohesive with Gmenu2X / SimpleMenu).
  • Frame throttling fine tuning now works in "auto" frameskip mode.
  • Added lib7z savestate compression method.
  • Compatibility increase: switched default m68k emulation to UAE core.

BIOS / Kickstart ROM Requirements

The emulator requires an Amiga 500 Kickstart 1.3 BIOS ROM to run games.

Standalone

Place your Kickstart 1.3 ROM named kick.rom into:

  • $HOME/.uae4all/kick.rom (on console), or
  • the local working directory alongside the executable.

Libretro

Place the Kickstart ROM in the RetroArch system directory using the exact filename below:

System Version Filename Size MD5
Amiga 500 Kickstart v1.3 rev 34.005 kick34005.A500 262,144 bytes 82a21c1890cae844b3df741f2762d48d

Compiling Instructions

1. Build Environment Setup

Cross-compiling with Docker (MiyooCFW)

You can use the official MiyooCFW toolchain Docker container:

git clone https://github.com/Apaczer/uae4all
cd uae4all
docker run --volume ./:/src/ -it miyoocfw/toolchain-shared-uclibc:latest
cd /src

Alternatively, set up a native Debian 9 toolchain environment for MiyooCFW.

2. Standalone Build (Makefile)

  • Cross-compile Standalone MiyooCFW binary:

    make clean
make -j$(nproc) platform=miyoo

  • Distribution IPK package (for Gmenu2X / MiyooCFW):

    make -j$(nproc) platform=miyoo gm2xpkg-ipk

  • Native Linux build:

    make -j$(nproc)

3. Libretro Core Build (Makefile.libretro)

  • Cross-compile core for MiyooCFW:

    make -j$(nproc) -f Makefile.libretro platform=miyoo

  • Native build:

    make -j$(nproc) -f Makefile.libretro

4. M68k CPU Core Selection

Both makefiles allow selecting the desired M68k CPU core by passing flags:

Flag Description
UAE_CORE=1 UAE C-based core (highest compatibility, default for standalone)
CYCLONE_CORE=1 (*) Cyclone ARM assembly core (fastest on ARM, default for Miyoo Libretro)
FAME_CORE=1 FAME M68k emulation library (x86 assembly)
FAME_CORE=1 FAME_CORE_C=1 FAME C implementation (default for native Libretro, to heavy for cross-compiling locally)

Example:

make -j$(nproc) UAE_CORE=1
# or for libretro:
make -j$(nproc) -f Makefile.libretro platform=miyoo CYCLONE_CORE=1

*) The CYCLONE is an experimental core, currently missing Savestate implementation and maybe less accurate than others

Profile-Guided Optimization (PGO)

All release builds for standalone have Profile-Guided Optimization applied for an approximate 5–10% performance boost:

  1. Set PROFILE = YES in Makefile.
  2. Compile the binary.
  3. Run the emulator on the target device for a few minutes with representative gameplay (exit normally through the GUI menu to write profiling data).
  4. Copy the generated *.gcda files from /mnt/profile back into the /src directory in the repository.
  5. Set PROFILE = APPLY in Makefile.
  6. Recompile for the final optimized build.

Controls

Standalone (MiyooCFW)

  • B: Joystick fire button
  • Y: Mouse left button
  • X: Mouse right button
  • L1: Switches between joystick and mouse control (when using mouse press R to change the mouse speed)
  • R1: Virtual keyboard, use the B button to press a key (A/X/Y/L2/R2/L3/R3 can be used to map a key to, return to the main menu to reset keymaps).
  • RESET: Brings up the UAE4all menu
  • SELECT + R1: Quick load state.
  • SELECT + L1: Quick save state.
  • START: SuperThrottle on/off
  • SELECT + Y: increase Throttle (only under v20220507 release or later)
  • SELECT + X: decrease Throttle (only under v20220507 release or later)

Libretro Core (RetroPad)

RetroPad Button Action
D-Pad Joystick directions / Mouse movement (in mouse mode)
B Fire button 1 / Red
A Fire button 2 / Blue
L2 Left mouse button
R2 Right mouse button
L Switch to previous floppy disk (DF0:)
R Switch to next floppy disk (DF0:)
Select Toggle virtual keyboard
Start Toggle mouse emulation
  • Mouse Emulation: Pressing Start toggles mouse mode, where the D-Pad and Fire buttons control mouse pointer and buttons.
  • Dual Joystick Support: Automatically switches between mouse and second joystick when mouse or 2nd joystick inputs are triggered.
  • Multi-Disk Switching: L and R buttons switch the inserted disk on DF0: for multi-disk games. Disks should follow the standard naming scheme with (Disk X of Y) (e.g. Game (Disk 1 of 2).adf).

Compatibility List

Differences observed between UAE core and FAME core:

Titles with better performance on FAME:

  • Zool II – more optimized / higher framerate.
  • Jim Power in Mutant Planet – more optimized / higher framerate.
  • Xenon 2: Megablast – crashes after sprite collision with bomb on UAE core.

Titles running better on UAE core (compared to FAME):

  • Superfrog – smooth video with "auto" frameskip (no video jitter).
  • Alien Breed – smooth video with "auto" frameskip (no video jitter).
  • James Pond – boots and runs without crashing (CR PDX by TIC).
  • The Great Giana Sisters – boots and runs without crashing.
  • Nicky II – boots and runs without crashing.
  • The Addams Family Mansion Mayhem – no sprite freezes during gameplay.
  • Moonstone: A Hard Days Knight – passes loading screen when disk B is read in DF1.

General UAE4ALL emulation known quirks:

  • James Pond – player sprite can pass through walls.
  • Moonstone: A Hard Days Knight – requires mounting disk 1 (DF0) and disk 2 (DF1) simultaneously.

FAQ

Q: What is the difference between this version and stock UAE4ALL (MiyooCFW 1.3.3)?
A: This revision provides higher compatibility (UAE core option), user-friendly features (command-line direct ADF loading, throttle hotkeys, status bar toggle, 2MB RAM option, virtual buttons), bug fixes, and lib7z savestates. The source code is also maintained and open for community contributions.

Q: How do I set up the standalone emulator?
A: Use ./uae4all by adding exec permission and copy the ./data/ folder alongside it. Place your Kickstart ROM at $HOME/.uae4all/kick.rom.

Q: How do I set up the Libretro core in RetroArch?
A: Copy uae4all_libretro.so to your RetroArch cores folder and place kick34005.A500 into your RetroArch system/ directory.

Credits & Upstream

  • UAE & E-UAE authors for base Amiga emulation.
  • Chui & fox68k for the original UAE4ALL.
  • zear & Nebuleon for the GCW0 port.
  • smurline & goldmojo for additional platform changes.
  • @jamesofarrell for the initial MiyooCFW port.
  • Chips-fr for the Libretro port.
  • Apaczer for MiyooCFW improvements, standalone updates, and Libretro integration.

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Amiga 500 emulator for Miyoo - Bittboy / PocketGO / V90 ...

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