MSX/SVI/ColecoVision/SG-1000 (blueMSX)¶

blueMSX is a cycle accurate emulator that emulates all generations of MSX computers as well as SVI, ColecoVision and Sega SG-1000.

Author/License¶

The blueMSX core has been authored by

The blueMSX core is licensed under

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

Extensions¶

Content that can be loaded by the blueMSX core have the following file extensions:

Databases¶

RetroArch database(s) that are associated with the blueMSX core:

Microsoft - MSX
Microsoft - MSX2
Coleco - ColecoVision
Sega - SG-1000

BIOS¶

The blueMSX core requires the 'Databases' and 'Machines' folders from a full installation of blueMSX.

Go to Main Menu > Online Updater > Core System Files Downloader and download 'blueMSX.zip'. That's all you need to do! The 'Databases' and 'Machines' folders will be extracted and moved to your RetroArch 'system' folder automatically.

Alternatively, if your frontend doesn't have the 'Core System Files Downloader':

You can download the 'Databases' and 'Machines' folders from an official full standalone blueMSX emulator installation. Get blueMSXv282full.zip near the bottom of the page.

Move/Copy the 'Databases' and 'Machines' Folders to RetroArch's System directory.

Features¶

Frontend-level settings or features that the blueMSX core respects.

Feature Supported Restart ✔ Screenshots ✔ Saves ✕ States ✕ Rewind ✕ Netplay ✕ Core Options ✔ Memory Monitoring (achievements) ✔ RetroArch Cheats ✕ Native Cheats ✕ Controls ✔ Remapping ✔ Multi-Mouse ✕ Rumble ✕ Sensors ✕ Camera ✕ Location ✕ Subsystem ✕ Softpatching ✕ Disk Control ✔ Username ✕ Language ✕ Crop Overscan ✕ LEDs ✕ Directories¶

The blueMSX core's library name is 'blueMSX'

The blueMSX core saves/loads to/from these directories.

Frontend's System directory

File Description bluemsx.ini blueMSX Config bluemsx_history.ini blueMSX History Geometry and timing¶

The blueMSX core's core provided FPS is 60
The blueMSX core's core provided sample rate is 44100 Hz
The blueMSX core's base width is (Base width)
The blueMSX core's base height is (Base height)
The blueMSX core's max width is (Max width)
The blueMSX core's max height is (Max height)
The blueMSX core's core provided aspect ratio is (Ratio)

Usage¶

ColecoVision Gamepad Mapping is as follow:

Button 1 as Retropad A
Button 2 as Retropad B
Dial keys 1 to 8 as X, Y, R, L, R2, L2, R3, L3
Star (*) as Select, Hash (#) as Start
0 & 9 are on keyboard 1 & 2 for Player 1
0 & 9 are on keyboard 3 & 4 for Player 2.

SpectraVideo Cassettes¶

To play SpectraVideo cassettes type 'cload' then 'run'

or BLOAD ''CAS:'',R depending on the game.

Multiple-disk games¶

If foo is a multiple-disk game, you should have .dsk files for each one, e.g. foo (Disk 1).dsk , foo (Disk 2).dsk , foo (Disk 3).dsk .

To take advantage of BlueMSX Disk Control feature for disk swapping, an index file (a m3u file) should be made.

Create a text file and save it as foo.m3u . Then enter your game's .dsk files on it. The m3u file contents should look something like this:

foo (Disk 1).dsk foo (Disk 2).dsk foo (Disk 3).dsk

After that, you can load the foo.m3u file in RetroArch with the BlueMSX core.

An alternative is to append disks to the current playlist via the "Disk Image Append" option RetroArch menu.

Core options¶

The blueMSX 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.

Machine Type (Restart) [bluemsx_msxtype] (Auto|MSX|MSXturboR|MSX2|MSX2+|SEGA - SG-1000|SEGA - SC-3000|SEGA - SF-7000|SVI - Spectravideo SVI-318|SVI - Spectravideo SVI-328|SVI - Spectravideo SVI-328 MK2|ColecoVision|Coleco (Spectravideo SVI-603)) Manually select the machine type you would like the core to start in.
Crop Overscan [bluemsx_overscan] (disabled|enabled|MSX2) Forces cropping of overscanned frames

Crop Overscan On

Crop Overscan MSX2

VDP Sync Type (Restart) [bluemsx_vdp_synctype] (Auto|50Hz|60Hz) Match the game/machine region frequency to avoid emulated speed issues.
No Sprite Limit [bluemsx_nospritelimits] (OFF|ON) Remove the 4 sprite per line limit which can reduce or remove sprite flicker in some games.
Sound YM2413 Enable (Restart) [bluemsx_ym2413_enable] (enabled|disabled) Awaiting description.
Cart Mapper Type (Restart) [bluemsx_cartmapper] (Auto|Normal|mirrored|basic|0x4000|0xC000|ascii8|ascii8sram|ascii16|ascii16sram| ascii16nf|konami4|konami4nf|konami5|konamisynth|korean80|korean90|korean126| MegaFlashRomScc|MegaFlashRomSccPlus|msxdos2|scc|sccexpanded|sccmirrored|sccplus| snatcher|sdsnatcher|SegaBasic|SG1000|SG1000Castle|SG1000RamA|SG1000RamB|SC3000) When a ROM game or application is in the database, the emulator uses the databases to apply the correct mapper. If the sha1 value of a dump is not yet in the databases, it uses an automatic mapper detection system, but it can fail in some cases. In this situation, you can manually select the correct mapper.

Controllers¶

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

User 1 device types¶

None - Doesn't disable input. There's no reason to switch to this.
RetroPad - Joypad
RetroKeyboard - Keyboard - Keyboard inputs are always active. Has keymapper support.
RetroPad Keyboard Map - Joypad - Awaiting description.

User 2 device types¶

None - Doesn't disable input. There's no reason to switch to this.
RetroPad - Joypad
RetroKeyboard - Keyboard - Keyboard inputs are always active.

Controller tables¶ Joypad¶ User 1 and 2 Remap descriptors for 'RetroPad' device type RetroPad Inputs blueMSX core inputs Button 2 Button 2, Coleco Button 2 Button 3 Button 3, Coleco #2 Select Select, Coleco Star (*) Start Start, Coleco Hash (#) Joy Up Joy Up Joy Down Joy Down Joy Left Joy Left Joy Right Joy Right Button 1 Button 1, Coleco Button 1 Button 4 Button 4, Coleco #1 Button 5 Button 5, Coleco #4 Button 6 Button 6, Coleco #3 Button 7 Button 7, Coleco #6 Button 8 Button 8, Coleco #5 Button 9 Button 9. Coleco #8 Button 10 Button 10, Coleco #7 Keyboard¶ RetroKeyboard Inputs RetroKeyboard Keyboard Backspace BACKSPACE Keyboard Tab TAB Keyboard Return RETURN Keyboard Pause PAUSE Keyboard Escape ESCAPE Keyboard Space SPACE Keyboard Quote ' COLON Keyboard Comma , COMMA Keyboard Minus - NEGATIVE Keyboard Period . PERIOD Keyboard Slash / DIVIDE Keyboard 0 0 Keyboard 1 1, Player 1 Coleco #0 Keyboard 2 2, Player 1 Coleco #9 Keyboard 3 3, Player 2 Coleco #0 Keyboard 4 4, Player 2 Coleco #9 Keyboard 5 5 Keyboard 6 6 Keyboard 7 7 Keyboard 8 8 Keyboard 9 9 Keyboard Semicolon ; SEMICOLON Keyboard Equals = CIRCUMFLEX Keyboard Left Bracket [ LEFT BRACKET Keyboard Backslash \ BACKSLASH (YEN) Keyboard Right Bracket ] RIGHT BRACKET Keyboard Backquote ` AT Keyboard a A Keyboard b B Keyboard c C Keyboard d D Keyboard e E Keyboard f F Keyboard g G Keyboard h H Keyboard i I Keyboard j J Keyboard k K Keyboard l L Keyboard m M Keyboard n N Keyboard o O Keyboard p P Keyboard q Q Keyboard r R Keyboard s S Keyboard t T Keyboard u U Keyboard v V Keyboard w W Keyboard x X Keyboard y Y Keyboard z Z Keyboard Delete DELETE Keyboard Keypad 0 NUMPAD 0 Keyboard Keypad 1 NUMPAD 1 Keyboard Keypad 2 NUMPAD 2 Keyboard Keypad 3 NUMPAD 3 Keyboard Keypad 4 NUMPAD 4 Keyboard Keypad 5 NUMPAD 5 Keyboard Keypad 6 NUMPAD 6 Keyboard Keypad 7 NUMPAD 7 Keyboard Keypad 8 NUMPAD 8 Keyboard Keypad 9 NUMPAD 9 Keyboard Keypad Period . NUMPAD COMMA Keyboard Keypad Divide / NUMPAD DIVIDE Keyboard Keypad Multiply * NUMPAD MULTIPLY Keyboard Keypad Minus - NUMPAD SUBTRACTION Keyboard Keypad Plus + NUMPAD ADD Keyboard Keypad Enter NUMPAD PERIOD Keyboard Up UP Keyboard Down DOWN Keyboard Right RIGHT Keyboard Left LEFT Keyboard Insert INSERT Keyboard Home CLS Keyboard End STOP Keyboard Page Up SELECT Keyboard F1 F1 Keyboard F2 F2 Keyboard F3 F3 Keyboard F4 F4 Keyboard F5 F5 Keyboard Caps Lock CAPS Keyboard Right Shift RIGHT SHIFT Keyboard Left Shift LEFT SHIFT Keyboard Left Control CONTROL Keyboard Left Alt GRAPH Keyboard Print PRINT

Keyboard Left or Right Shift + Keyboard 0 = UNDERSCORE

Compatibility¶

External Links¶

Official blueMSX Website
Official blueMSX SourceForge Repository
Libretro blueMSX Core info file
Libretro blueMSX Github Repository
Report Libretro blueMSX Core Issues Here