==============================================
      Open2x DR7 (F100), 31st March 2009
==============================================


This should be considered a release candidate, 
so please report all bugs straight away.

Read these instructions before starting.

How to install:
   * Copy the contents of the ON_SD directory to the root of a FAT32 formatted SD card.
     NOTE:  If you encounter problems, try a different card reader or card.  Some
     F200s won't read SDs that F100s will and vice-versa.  Some card readers will
     corrupt data going to a card they don't like.  Try, try again.
   * Insert the SD card into the GP2X and boot whilst holding Start+Select
   * After the "Firmware Upgrading" screen, you will be promted to press any button - do so.
   * Wait for the installation to complete (Formatting NAND/Copying Firmware are the two stages).
   * When the image on-screen tells you to, turn off the machine.
   * Boot the machine holding Start+Select.
   * Wait for the firmware upgrade to complete
   * Done!


KNOWN PROBLEMS:
---------------
* The emulator frontends Capex and Rage2X crash when run
  in TV-out mode.  This affects the latest FBA and 
  GnGeo.  Jycet or Juanvnc should get in touch
  with the Open2x team if they have some spare time so
  we can isolate the problem.  
  
  In the meantime, a workaround for Rage2x is to 
  launch Rage2X without enabling TVout.  
  Set the "TV Daemon Always Started" option in
  the GMenu2X link settings.  Also set the "Wrapper"
  option to yes.  After Rage2X is started, hit Select
  to enter the options screen.  Make sure the
  "Relaunch Menu" option is not set and the "TV Out"
  option *is* set.  You can now launch a game and 
  when done it will return you to GMenu2X.  Be sure
  to disable TVout mode before trying to run Rage2X
  again.  

  A workaround for FBA2X is to simply use an older
  version that used selector instead of Capex.
  
  You might want to set the Y-axis tvout scaling 
  to 94% if you notice the image is hanging off the 
  bottom of the screen. (Gngeo sets scaling a bit
  weirdly and this helps on my NTSC TV)

* Some SDL games that used Paeryn's HW-accelerated
  SDL and double-buffering will never, ever work
  with the TV-out tweaker until they are recompiled
  with a (as-yet-unreleased) updated version of SDL.
  If you see a game that just flickers a lot and
  still hangs off the right side of the TV screen,
  you have found one of these games.  Sorry, the
  scaling registers are being trashed every buffer
  flip by SDL. :(


New in DR7:
--------------------------------

* Lots more work on the TV-Out tweaker.  It now has
  better compatibility.  Mame and PocketSnes should now
  work (They use an older minlib that trahses the VSCL
  register for some reason.  My tweaker detects this.)
  For best results, try to use 4:3 scaling modes, which
  preserve the aspect ratio.  When Minlib trashes the
  register the only way out is to restore it to a 4:3
  ratio to the HSC register.  Simple eh??? hehehehe
  God this tweaker has given me burnout.

  Furthermore, I added a new option, "Scaling Tweak" that
  should be turned OFF when using LemonBoy2X.  Furthermore
  LemonBoy2X requires that "YUV Tweaking" be turned ON, 
  because it does lovely weird stuff with the YUV layers.

  Additionally, the tv out option "Stubborn Fix" has
  been removed because I figured out a way to do it
  in a way that won't affect other programs, so now it
  is automatically applied.  Older Fenix games and some
  old SDL games now work right no matter what. (Spout,
  Blingo, Ruckman, etc)

  Rlyeh's PAL overscan tweak is now optional and can be
  enabled in the GMenu2X settings.  It was always enabled 
  before, and I have no idea if it was helping or hurting.  
  I also fixed the video player, mp2x, to properly set 
  the scaling registers in PAL mode.
  (It was ignoring them before when in PAL mode and this
  might be why some people had the bottom of the screen
  cut off.)
 
* Games relying on the "selector" frontend should now
  display text properly (hopefully).  This was because
  of a misplaced libiconv preloadable module.

* Some F200 units had a garbled screen when trying to
  first install the firmware.  This was probably 
  because I left an F100 kernel in the F200 install.
  I guess some units didn't like this (although mine
  did).  It's been replaced with an F200 one.

* I forgot to mention in DR6 that Open2X now has
  stick-click emulation.  If you didn't notice, there
  is an option in the Open2X settings to change it from
  Vol-/+ to Up+Down+Left+Right or disabled.  F200 and
  DPAD-modded F100 users will need to know this if 
  they want to use the bundled music player, Gmu, 
  as it uses stick-click a lot.

* Orkie's "Compat" compatibility package is now
  included.  Launch it from the Applications section.
  It allows you to run games that were dynamically
  linked and incompatible with Open2X's newer libraries.
  It is NOT yet compatible with Joy2xd or maybe lots
  of other new Open2X features.   Work might be done
  to improve that in the coming months. 


New features from Senor Quack in DR6: 
-------------------------------------

* Software reset:  if a program crashes or hangs, press
  VolUp+VolDown+A+B+X+Y+L+R and then release all buttons
  and watch as the Open2X kernel kills off the errant program
  and automatically relaunches GMenu2X. It should take 5
  seconds or so for the menu to start to relaunch, though
  it might take a little longer if it's a big program.

* TV tweaking daemon, customizable for each program.  Gives
  most programs 100% perfect TV out.  Will not work with some
  HW-accelerated SDL apps that used double buffering,
  however.  Supports tweaking the YUV layer if you find your 
  movies are off-center in the video player, too.   
  NOTE: I only have an NTSC TV, so I have no way of knowing
  if this even works with PAL TVs, please get back to me
  and lemme know if it works or not.

* Support for direct control of the GP2X from a USB gamepad.
  Joy2Xd is a new background daemon that can be fully
  customized for all sorts of USB gamepads.  When running,
  the first joystick (leftmost USB port) can control
  every single GP2X button in every single GP2X app ever
  made, including GMenu2X.  Play games and watch movies from
  the comfort of your couch.  If an app crashes, you can 
  just hit the same buttons you would on the GP2X to relaunch
  the menu: VolUp+VolDown+A+B+X+Y+L+R.  For each app, you 
  can configure you you want the USB joystick used to 
  control the GP2X to be hidden or shown to apps.  This
  configurability allows compatibility with every single 
  emulator I tried.  Some need the hidden option turned on,
  some have good customizability and don't need it.  Be sure
  to run the configuration program in Settings before 
  turning Joy2XD on from the Open2X settings screen.

* Controls remapping for SDL applications (and others that
  read /dev/GPIO for their button inputs).  In the GMenu2X
  links settings, you'll see you can map each GP2X button
  to a different one.  This should work on every single SDL
  program every compiled for the GP2X that used the SDL
  input layer. (Some apps did not but they are very few)

* Support for volume scaling and muting for all applications.
  Press Vol-/+ in GMenu2X and see the icon in the bottom
  right change to indicate Normal Mode, Headphones Mode, and
  Mute Mode.  You can configure the volume levels in the
  Open2X settings.  Mute mode entirely mutes the GP2X for
  all apps until you change it back.  Headphones mode makes
  the GP2X much quieter overall so you don't lose your
  hearing.  Thanks to PokeParadox for helping me get this
  wedged into GMenu2X.

* Support in GMenu2X for SD insertion/removal.  GMenu2X now 
  stores all links in a special folder on your SD: .open2x_gmenu2x/
  Hit X in GMenu2X to unmount your SD card before removing it.
  If you insert a new one, GMenu2X will automatically scan and
  display its links.  Make sure your SD's filesystems are free
  of any errors, as these can make unmounting flakey.
  Sometimes Linux just won't let go of a filesystem and there's
  nothing I can do about it, so sometimes you might find you
  still need to reboot if you see Gmenu2X doesn't pick up the 
  new card.

* Touchscreen calibrator for F200s

* LCD timings calibrator.  Your timings will be applied at every
  boot.  My F200 unit gained a much better screen image by 
  reducing the timing to -4. Scanlines were much less 
  noticable.  Even F100 units can benefit. Note: FPLL mode is
  not really good to use because it is tied to the CPU speed.

* MMUhack built right into the Open2X kernel.  Write buffering
  is turned on by default for any and all apps and will not
  affect compatibility. This provides a small speedup to a lot
  of apps.  Write caching is a configurable option for each 
  link but that often requires that the program originally 
  used mmuhack.o, lest screen artifacts occur.  Most people
  will never need this as Open2X now automatically loads its
  own version of the MMUhack module when it detects a game is
  trying to load its own. (Open2X uses a wrapper for insmod
  and modprobe for this purpose)

* Automatic importation of all old GMenu2X links into the new
  /mnt/sd/.open2x_gmenu2x/ link location

* Application section links restorer.  If you mess up any
  links in the application section, this will remove them all
  and copy in all the default ones.

* New GMenu2X options: Booting gmenu2xes found on SD cards is now
  turned off by default and configurable. Always apply fast RAM 
  tweak is a new option that overrides all link settings if you
  want an overall speedup for no cost in battery life. New
  display of current uptime in the bottom info bar so you can 
  better estimate remaining battery life, especially on F200 with
  no battery gauge.  There is now a separate gamma setting for
  TV mode because I found TV looked washed out most of the time.
  External drives can now be unmounted as well as mounted (to
  allow clean, safe shutdowns)

* Open2X now has stick-click emulation.  If you didn't 
  notice, there is an option in the Open2X settings to change it 
  from Vol-/+ to Up+Down+Left+Right or disabled.  F200 and
  DPAD-modded F100 users will need to know this if 
  they want to use the bundled music player, Gmu, 
  as it uses stick-click a lot.

NEW APPLICATIONS:
-----------------
* Mindless made the Open2X image viewer.  It kicks ass, try it out.


IRC:
#open2x on FreeNode
