Procedure for Saving WHDLoad

[jamespstevenson]

Hi

Running my registered version of WHDLoad via Gamebase Amiga, great stuff and generally working really well!

When I go to save a state (Shift+End+*numeric pad number 0-9*), I get a message saying

WinUAE: Current configuration is not fully compatable with save sates.

1: Can anyone tell me what my options and settings should be regarding saving game states, how to set up the config correctly.

2: How do I quit from WinUAE running a WHDLoad-ed game so that the state is saved automatically - I understand this is a feature of WHDLoad

Many thanks! James

[Galahad/FLT]

Originally Posted by jamespstevenson

Hi

Running my registered version of WHDLoad via Gamebase Amiga, great stuff and generally working really well!

When I go to save a state (Shift+End+*numeric pad number 0-9*), I get a message saying

WinUAE: Current configuration is not fully compatable with save sates.

1: Can anyone tell me what my options and settings should be regarding saving game states, how to set up the config correctly.

2: How do I quit from WinUAE running a WHDLoad-ed game so that the state is saved automatically - I understand this is a feature of WHDLoad

Many thanks! James

WHDLoad doesn't currently use or save savestates.

WHDLoad will save to hard drive any hiscores or GAMESAVES if the WHDLoad patcher who wrote the install added them to the slave.

Save states are basically where you can reload at the exact same place you left, WHDLoad doesn't do this.

If you read the install readme for whatever game it is you are playing, it will say in there exactly what features the patcher has added, and any disk operations will save once you press the relevant quit key (listed in the start splash screen).

[Toni Wilen]

WinUAE: Current configuration is not fully compatable with save sates.

Disable all "external devices" like bsdsocket, uaescsi etc.. Only extra ram, harddrives and RTG is supported.

But note that state saving with harddrives can be unstable.

[jamespstevenson]

Thanks for the advice, my only confusion is that according to the help file, WHDLoad does handle saves (copied and pasted):

To run the WHDLoad games, simply choose a game from the Playble WHDLoad list, and click the WHDLoad button under extras for that game. GameBase will then load a special program called WHDRun which will unzip the game into it's own directory, and WinUAE will mount the game directory as a second drive WinUAE will boot up and automatically load the chosen game.

The WHDRun program is very clever and watches the game directory, if files are changed or added (i.e. savegames or highscores) it will zip these new/changed files into a seperate zip.

So the next time you play the game, it will unzip both zips making sure you're savegames are kept intact but without modifying the original game zip.

Please note that for saves to remain working properly you should quit whdload, rather than quit winuae, to do this press the * key on your numberpad, and thanks to a special program, quitting whdload will also quit winuae.

Should I gather from this that by quitting as instructed my save state should stay intact? And what key/option should I be using to save the game state in the first instance!

Thanks again for your help.

[Galahad/FLT]

Originally Posted by jamespstevenson

Thanks for the advice, my only confusion is that according to the help file, WHDLoad does handle saves (copied and pasted):

To run the WHDLoad games, simply choose a game from the Playble WHDLoad list, and click the WHDLoad button under extras for that game. GameBase will then load a special program called WHDRun which will unzip the game into it's own directory, and WinUAE will mount the game directory as a second drive WinUAE will boot up and automatically load the chosen game.

The WHDRun program is very clever and watches the game directory, if files are changed or added (i.e. savegames or highscores) it will zip these new/changed files into a seperate zip.

So the next time you play the game, it will unzip both zips making sure you're savegames are kept intact but without modifying the original game zip.

Please note that for saves to remain working properly you should quit whdload, rather than quit winuae, to do this press the * key on your numberpad, and thanks to a special program, quitting whdload will also quit winuae.

Should I gather from this that by quitting as instructed my save state should stay intact? And what key/option should I be using to save the game state in the first instance!

Thanks again for your help.

You're getting confused.

If you use WinUAE's save state function, you will have circumvented WHDLoads save functions.

You need to exit out of WHDLoad first so that anything that was supposed to be saved will be done on exit, if you save state before that, WHDLoad will have saved nothing, and Gamebase will not detect any additional files because none have been created.

In ALL cases with WHDLoad, always use the quitkey function provided by the install, and if you are doing that in conjunction with a Hard drive environment, there is ZERO point to using a save state.

Save state is essentially for restarting a game at the same point you left because it has no save features.

If the game does have a save feature and works, there is no reason to use Save State.

[Hungry Horace]

Originally Posted by Galahad/FLT

You need to exit out of WHDLoad first so that anything that was supposed to be saved will be done on exit....
In ALL cases with WHDLoad, always use the quitkey function provided by the install, and if you are doing that in conjunction with a Hard drive environment, there is ZERO point to using a save state.

I dont use GameBase but is there perhaps a way to enable whdload in GB to globally use NOWRITECACHE, so that both can still be used?

This would avoid the need to use the quitkey.


Another way to reliably use save-states with WHDload, is to have the game load all the files into RAM: from ADFs without actually using any HD within UAE. I've done this on PSPUAE and it works pretty well.

[Retro-Nerd]

You can set global tool types in Gamebase Amiga. The frontend utilises the whdload.prefs too.

[Galahad/FLT]

I just don't see the point, if you have a hard drive Amiga setup in WinUAE, just save programs as you normally would, no need to use Save State, especially as Toni says, its not 100% reliable with hard drive setup anyway.

[Hungry Horace]

Originally Posted by Galahad/FLT

I just don't see the point, if you have a hard drive Amiga setup in WinUAE, just save programs as you normally would, no need to use Save State, especially as Toni says, its not 100% reliable with hard drive setup anyway.

some people like to use save-states on games that dont otherwise have a save facility (platform games, that sort of thing),

Thus my suggestion re: using RAM: instead an HD. This is perfectly reliable - although, agreed, not something I would do myself for "normal" (read, non-portable) game-playing, that's for the individual to choose however.

I doubt such practice would be well suited to usage with GameBase however, and it takes some setting up.