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Save states
If you find a game really too long, too
difficult and that it doesn't have saving
options (or that the existing options are not
so interesting), then you will be more than
interested by the blueMSX save states
features !
You can choose between two features. In
both cases, blueMSX saves the complete CPU
state, including the emulated machine with
all his specifications and
the path to the rom, dsk or cas file of your
game or application.
So don't try later to load a save
state in another machine and don't change the
place of your games on the harddisk !
It's also recommended to put your games in a
directory with a simple path (for example : C:\MSX\Roms)
before your first CPU save states if you have
the intention to share them with other fans.
If you use cheats, the parameters of
the cheats are not saved. So it
means that if you load later a save state,
you need to re-apply exactly the same cheats
on the game after loading of the save state.
This feature is really fast, because you
leave blueMSX decide for you the name of the .sta
file, that will be stored in the QuickSave
directory.
The more easy way to make a quick save state
is the hotkey : F8 by default. You can
also use the File menu and select the option
"Quick Save State"
A unique file name is always created, by
using this system : the name of the game or
demo, followed by "_" , a number of
2 digits (the first combination is "00")
and the extension .sta.
This feature is slower, because you must
precise yourself the name of the file (with
the extension .sta) and the path to
this file on your harddisk
The more easy way to make a customised save
state is the hotkey : LAlt+F8 by
default. You can also use the File menu and
select the option "Save CPU State".
Questions and
answers
How to run a save state ?
The .sta file can be
runned in blueMSX almost like a .rom, .dsk or
.cas file.
The more easy way to run a save state is the
hotkey : F7 by default (only for the
quick save states) or LAlt+F7 by
default.
You can also use one of these 3 procedures to
load a save state :
- use the File menu and select the option
"Quick Load State" (only for the
quick save states) or the option "Load
CPU State";
- drag and drop a .sta file in the
window of the emulator;
- double-click on a .sta file (only
if you have first registered some files types
with blueMSX by using the menu Options /
Settings / Windows Environment).
If you choose the option 'Load CPU State",
you can preview the different save states and
check their exact time (hour - day) of saving,
so you can more easily select the save state
that interests you.
How to know the exact content of
a save state ?
If you are very curious about
the exact content of a blueMSX save state,
simply rename the .sta file with the
extension .zip and unzip the file !
The number of files that you'll find can vary
from one machine to another, especially if
you compare a boosted machine to a non-boosted
machine.
In all cases
- a screenshot of the starting point for the
save state is included, it's a .bmp
file
- different binary files keep the parameters
for all chips and extensions of the used
machine, the names of these files end with _00
- the path to the cas/dsk/rom file on your
harddisk is kept in the binary file board_00
- the file date.txt keeps the exact
time (hour - day) of the saving
- the file version is a text file
with the number version of the save state (currently,
it's version 8 - older versions of the
blueMSX save states are not compatible with
this version, used since version 2.5)
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