HELP - need Idiots Guide to saving in WHDLoad

[Harrisonmike]

Hi all -

I have read SO many threads about saving in WHDload and let's assume I'm technically capable enough to actually get WHDload to run a game, and know that F10 is usually the quit key, but what I don't understand:

- If pressing F10 saves your same, how do you load it back again
- Are all games the same, or can you do something to save any game?
- Also I'm on a Mac, so already having to work out how to change key allocation on the keyboard

I have NO idea about coding, so when I read responses about all this coded content, my eyes glaze over.

Can someone please help with a simple 'click this' and 'do that' to help?

Thank you!

Mike

[Minuous]

You just save using whatever method the game provides for doing so, it is different for each game but should be described in the game's manual. Then you quit WHDLoad to ensure it is actually written to disk.

To load it back again, you just relaunch WHDLoad, and use whatever game-specific method for loading.

[Harrisonmike]

Thanks for writing Minuous - do you mean quit WHDLoad by hitting F10 (or whatever the quit command is for the game)??

[Minuous]

Yes, quit from WHDLoad back to Workbench. Most commonly F10.

[Solo Kazuki]

And if not F10, mostly it's written which key is to quit on splash screen when You run WHDLoad game.

[daxb]

Just read this and you will know nearly everything: http://whdload.de/docs/en/opt.html

[jotd]

you can configure the master quit key in s:whdload.prefs. Must be in decimal. Rawkeys: $59 = F10 = 95 in decimal.

It overrides whatever quitkey is configured in the slave (often F10 or num "*" but can be anything)

F10 isn't the best key as some games use it (Desert Strike). Best keys are the num keypad keys like "*" or "-" (well, I use the upper left key of the keypad)

saving has nothing to do with quitting. Well, make sure you quit properly and not by a reset since writes may not be flushed to disk. Happened a lot. There's also an option to write immediately just in case (with ugly black flashing screens)

[daxb]

The keycode must be in rawkey code and this is not the decimal value, right?

Your mean the opposite (global <-> local). Local options will overwrite global options.

[Galahad/FLT]

Originally Posted by Harrisonmike

Hi all -

I have read SO many threads about saving in WHDload and let's assume I'm technically capable enough to actually get WHDload to run a game, and know that F10 is usually the quit key, but what I don't understand:

- If pressing F10 saves your same, how do you load it back again
- Are all games the same, or can you do something to save any game?
- Also I'm on a Mac, so already having to work out how to change key allocation on the keyboard

I have NO idea about coding, so when I read responses about all this coded content, my eyes glaze over.

Can someone please help with a simple 'click this' and 'do that' to help?

Thank you!

Mike

Ok, so lots of Amiga games you were able to save your game to floppy, not all, but those where it was most important, they had that option, so the facility to save a game is clearly marked within a game menu.

Obviously no one wants a game that now installs to hard drive to still save to floppy, so we redirected the saves to hard drive, to trigger the save, you still utilise the games built in function to save.

In whdload of old, it would then save the game immediately to hard drive, cue lots of black screens and flashing between game screens and black screens.

Some save file systems are convoluted and take ages like this, so whdload was changed, the save would be done to ram disk (i.e. memory) and was virtually instant as a result, but the data wouldn't be transferred to hard drive until you pressed the quit key to exit the game and whdload, made the save process not intrude on the game, and was faster to save once exited the game environment.

To load the game, you would simply use the games built in load feature/menu, and so long as its been handled by the person who wrote the install, the game will load the save and voila, you can continue.

But its imperative you use the correct quit key to exit back to Amiga CLI or Workbench so that the save data gets written to hard drive in exit.

[jotd]

The keycode must be in rawkey code (not ascii code). rawkey code is given here:

http://www.whdload.de/docs/en/rawkey.html

and I mean decimal. F10 = $59 = 95. So QUITKEY=95

And global options overwrite slave options (for quitkey). But if you set quitkey in command line or tooltype, it will overwrite global options.

increasing priority: slave => global => local

[Cubemon]

Originally Posted by Harrisonmike

- If pressing F10 saves your same, how do you load it back again
- Are all games the same, or can you do something to save any game?
- Also I'm on a Mac, so already having to work out how to change key allocation on the keyboard

To clarify -- WHDLoad doesn't provide any kind of quicksave/quickload functionality like some emulators do. WHDLoad doesn't save anything per se, it just helps the game to save its data on a hard drive (or whatever device you're running on). The F10 key just quits the game or program you're running, and moves data saved by the game -- if any -- from memory to the HDD.

Your emulator might be able to save and load states, so that you can save the state (the whole memory and other variables of the emulated machine) and you can load it later and pick up exactly where you left off.

Most Amiga games do not provide a built-in save/load function. I'd say mainly adventure, rpg and strategy games do. With more arcade-style games your only option is to use state saving provided by the emulator.

[admiral]

Should quit key not work, you should probably upgrade 68000 --> 68010

[jotd]

Originally Posted by admiral

Should quit key not work, you should probably upgrade 68000 --> 68010

Should quit key not work, you should probably issue a bug report in mantis for that particular slave

We've processed dozens of those old installs to add quitkey for 68000 along the years.

If you have a 68010 you have more possibilities to debug/train the games (using hrtmon) on a real machine. But for simple play it's not that useful. I still love that CPU because it's funny to be able to add a 68010 in an amiga where none of the official models include it.