NEC - PC Engine / CD (Beetle PCE FAST)¶

Background¶

Beetle/Mednafen PCE FAST is a libretro port of Mednafen PCE Fast with the PC Engine SuperGrafx module removed.

The Beetle PCE FAST core has been authored by

Mednafen Team

The Beetle PCE FAST core is licensed under

GPLv2

A summary of the licenses behind RetroArch and its cores can be found here.

BIOS¶

Required or optional firmware files go in RetroArch's system directory.

Which PCE CD BIOS file the Beetle PCE FAST core will use can be configured by the 'CD BIOS' core option.

Any CD-ROM System BIOS will work, but some of them are known to be incompatible with certain games.

Filename	Description	md5sum
syscard3.pce	Super CD-ROM2 System V3.xx - Required	38179df8f4ac870017db21ebcbf53114
syscard2.pce	CD-ROM System V2.xx - Optional
syscard1.pce	CD-ROM System V1.xx - Optional
gexpress.pce	Game Express CD Card - Optional

Extensions¶

Content that can be loaded by the Beetle PCE FAST core have the following file extensions:

.pce
.cue
.ccd
.iso
.img
.bin
.chd

RetroArch database(s) that are associated with the [Core name] core:

Features¶

Frontend-level settings or features that the Beetle PCE FAST core respects.

Feature	Supported
Restart	✔
Saves	✔
States	✔
Rewind	✔
Netplay	✔
Core Options	✔
RetroAchievements	✔
RetroArch Cheats	✕
Native Cheats	✕
Controls	✔
Remapping	✔
Multi-Mouse	✕
Rumble	✕
Sensors	✕
Camera	✕
Location	✕
Subsystem	✕
Softpatching	✕
Disk Control	✕
Username	✕
Language	✕
Crop Overscan	✕
LEDs	✕

Directories¶

The Beetle PCE FAST core's library name is 'Beetle PCE Fast'

The Beetle PCE FAST core saves/loads to/from these directories.

Frontend's Save directory

File	Description
*.srm	Save

Frontend's State directory

File	Description
*.state#	State

Geometry and timing¶

The Beetle PCE FAST core's core provided FPS is 59.82
The Beetle PCE FAST core's core provided sample rate is 44100 Hz
The Beetle PCE FAST core's base width is 512
The Beetle PCE FAST core's base height is 243
The Beetle PCE FAST core's max width is 512
The Beetle PCE FAST core's max height is 243
The Beetle PCE FAST core's core provided aspect ratio is 6/5

Loading PC Engine CD content¶

To load PC Engine CD content, Beetle PCE FAST needs a cue-sheet that points to an image file. A cue sheet, or cue file, is a metadata file which describes how the tracks of a CD or DVD are laid out.

If you have e.g. foo.bin, you should create a text file and save it as foo.cue. If you're playing a single-track Saturn game, then the cue file contents should look like this:

foobin.cue

 FILE "foo.bin" BINARY
  TRACK 01 MODE1/2352
   INDEX 01 00:00:00

After that, you can load the foo.cue file in RetroArch with the Beetle PCE FAST core.

Certain PC Engine content are multi-track, so their .cue files might be more complicated.

ISO + OGG and ISO + WAV format games are supported, but they require a properly formatted cue sheet. For iso files, tracks should be denoted as BINARY, for ogg files, they should be denoted as OGG, and for wav files, they should be denoted as WAVE.

CHD¶

Alternatively to using cue sheets with .bin/.iso files, you can convert your games to .chd (MAME Compressed Hunks of Data) to reduce file sizes and neaten up your game folder.

To convert content to CHD format, use the chdman tool found inside the latest MAME distribution and point it to a .cue file, like so:

chdman createcd --input foo.cue --output foo.chd

Core options¶

The Beetle PCE FAST core has the following option(s) that can be tweaked from the core options menu. The default setting is bolded.

Settings with (Restart) means that core has to be closed for the new setting to be applied on next launch.

CD Image Cache (Restart) [pce_fast_cdimagecache] (disabled/enabled)

Loads the complete image in memory at startup. Can potentially decrease loading times at the cost of increased startup time.
CD Bios (Restart) [pce_fast_cdbios] (System Card 3/Games Express/System Card 1/System Card 2)

Select which PC Engine CD BIOS to use.
No Sprite Limit (Restart) [pce_nospritelimit] (disabled/enabled")

Remove 16-sprites-per-scanline hardware limit.
CPU Overclock Multiplier (Restart) [pce_ocmultiplier] (1/⅔/⅘/6/⅞/9/10/20/30/40/50)

Overclock the emulated CPU.
Horizontal Overscan (352 Width Mode Only) [pce_hoverscan] (300 to 352 in increments of 2. 352 in default.)

Modify the horizontal overscan.
Initial scanline [pce_initial_scanline] (0 to 40 in increments of 1. 3 is default.)

Adjust initial display scanline.
Last scanline [pce_last_scanline] (208 to 242 in increments of 1. 242 is default.)

Adjust last display scanline.
(CD) CDDA Volume % [pce_cddavolume] (0 to 200 in increments of 10. 100 is default.)

Adjust CDDA Volume %.
(CD) ADPCM Volume % [pce_adpcmvolume] (0 to 200 in increments of 10. 100 is default.)

Adjust ADPCM Volume %.
(CD) CD PSG Volume % [pce_cdpsgvolume] (0 to 200 in increments of 10. 100 is default.)

Adjust CD PSG Volume %.
(CD) CD Speed [pce_cdspeed] (1/2/4/8)

Set the speed of the emulated CD drive.
Turbo Delay [pce_Turbo_Delay] (Fast/Medium/Slow)

Adjust turbo delay.
Turbo ON/OFF Toggle [pce_Turbo_Toggling] (disabled/enabled)

Enables Turbo ON/OFF inputs.

Look at the Joypad section for more information.
Alternate Turbo Hotkey [pce_turbo_toggle_hotkey] (disabled/enabled)

Enables Alternate Turbo ON/OFF inputs.

You can avoid remapping Button III and IV when switching to 6-button gamepad mode with this.

Look at the Joypad section for more information.
P1 Turbo I [pce_p0_turbo_I_enable] (disabled/enabled)

Awaiting description.
P1 Turbo II [pce_p0_turbo_II_enable] (disabled/enabled)

Awaiting description.
P2 Turbo I [pce_p1_turbo_I_enable] (disabled/enabled)

Awaiting description.
P2 Turbo II [pce_p1_turbo_II_enable] (disabled/enabled)

Awaiting description.
P3 Turbo I [pce_p2_turbo_I_enable] (disabled/enabled)

Awaiting description.
P3 Turbo II [pce_p2_turbo_II_enable] (disabled/enabled)

Awaiting description.
P4 Turbo I [pce_p3_turbo_I_enable] (disabled/enabled)

Awaiting description.
P4 Turbo II [pce_p3_turbo_II_enable] (disabled/enabled)

Awaiting description.
P5 Turbo I [pce_p4_turbo_I_enable] (disabled/enabled)

Awaiting description.
P5 Turbo II [pce_p4_turbo_II_enable] (disabled/enabled)

Awaiting description.

User 1 - 2 device types¶

The Beetle PCE FAST core supports the following device type(s) in the controls menu, bolded device types are the default for the specified user(s):

None - Doesn't disable input.
PCE Joypad - Joypad
Mouse - Mouse

Joypad¶

Which PCE Joypad button mode is in use can be configured by the Mode Switch input.
The regular Turbo inputs for 2-button mode are only active when the 'Turbo ON/OFF Toggle' core option is set to On.
The Alternate Turbo inputs for 2-button mode are only active when the 'Turbo ON.mdOFF Toggle' core option is set to On and the 'Alternate Turbo Hotkey' core option is set to On.

User 1 - 5 input descriptors	PCE Joypad 2-button	PCE Joypad 6-button
II	II	II
III	II Turbo On/Off	III
Select	Select	Select
Run	Run	Run
D-Pad Up	D-Pad Up	D-Pad Up
D-Pad Down	D-Pad Down	D-Pad Down
D-Pad Left	D-Pad Left	D-Pad Left
D-Pad Right	D-Pad Right	D-Pad Right
I	I	I
IV	I Turbo On/Off	IV
V		V
VI		VI
Mode Switch	Mode Switch	Mode Switch
	Alternate II Turbo On/Off
	Alternate I Turbo On/Off