ParaJVE comes with a Graphical User Interface that makes it easy to select the game to be ran ; this is usually the preferred way to start a gaming session. Some users, however, may have more specific needs (homebrew developers, or third party front-end users, for instance), that's why ParaJVE provides several different ways to tweak its launching. This section describes the different options available.
Command line parameters and switches
The emulator now supports a larger set of command line parameters. They can
be added at the end of the script line invoking the java runtime (by editing
ParaJVE.bat on windows, or ParaJVE on other platforms).
Here is the list of supported parameters and switches :
Launching a game that is not included within the ParaJVE distribution
ParaJVE comes with a rather complete games bundle, but there will be occurrences when you want to run an extra game that is not included within the original ROMs package, or when an homebrew developer would like to assemble and/or test his latest code in the emulator. There are several ways to proceed (some are making use of the Graphical User Interface, others are Command-Line based).
All you have to do is setup your IDE so that it calls ParaJVE with the extra
In the game selection dialog, click the
In the game selection dialog, click the
In the emulator menu, select the
Unless you know exactly what you do, the
This method can be used to instruct ParaJVE to directly load an external ROM
binary without poping up the game selection dialog. This is especially geared towards
homebrew developers as it will allow them to integrate the emulator more tightly in
their development cycle. With this feature, they can invoke ParaJVE directly from
within their preferred IDE and make it execute their current work (provided that their
IDE can invoke external tools, for assembling the source then call ParaJVE).
GAME parameter, you can further
read this section.
This method can be used to run an external game ROM (downloaded from the internet,
for instance).
"Select another ROM" button, and
browse to the file containing the binary ROM to be ran. Once done, click the
"Run Game" button, and ParaJVE will be launched with the specified binary.
This method is likely to be used by homebrew developers that use the AS09 assembler only :
it instructs ParaJVE to assemble some 6809 source code, and load the resulting binary
(rather than directly loading an already assembled ROM).
"Assemble Source" button, and
browse to the main source file to be be assembled. Once done, click the
"Build ROM & Run Game" button. The AS09 assembler is then invoked to
build the ROM, and if successful, the generated binary is loaded by ParaJVE. If an error
occurs during the assembly phase, an error dialog will notify you about the problem.
This is not a Launching method per se, it is rather a trick to avoid the need for a
relaunch ; its purpose is to force ParaJVE to reload a ROM binary (or reassemble a
source) if for some reasons its content changed since it was first loaded.
[Debug
menu item (or [Debug if you started the
emulator with some source code as described here). The ROM is
then reloaded (or rebuilt, displaying a message in case of assembly error), and a
dialog asks whether the emulator should be reset or not. Clicking the YES
button will reboot ParaJVE (ie. perform a clean restart), whereas clicking
NO will let the emulation resume its execution without any reset.
NO option is usually discouraged,
as it resumes execution in the same exact state as when it was suspended (excepting for
the cartridge memory area that has just been reloaded or rebuilt), the other memory
areas and sub-systems (CPU and chips) are left untouched... For instance, you could
very well end up with the PC register pointing to a cartridge address that is not
intended to be executed anymore - and this is only one funny scenario amongst many others!
Skipping the game selection dialog
For the users that launch the emulator through a third party front-end,
ParaJVE can easily be started directly (ie. without poping up the game selection
dialog). In order to do so, all you have to do is make use of the
Also, for the developers that seek a way to invoke ParaJVE with their assembled ROM directly from within their IDE, have a look at this section.
ParaJVE emulates an ever-growing set of vectrex peripherals and devices,
that can be plugged in the first and/or the second gameport (depending on the peripheral
type). To change the peripheral attached to one of the two gameport, select the new
device menu item in the gameport menu : either [Controls
or [Controls.
The devices currently attached to the two gameports will have a check mark before their
associated menu item. At any time, there can be only one device plugged into a gameport
(attaching another device will unplug the old peripheral first) when a gameport has
no device plugged-in, the Empty device (fake device place holder) is used.
The basic peripheral for the vectrex is its joystick (made of two analog axis, along with four fire buttons). This device is of course emulated, and unless you change it, a joystick is plugged by default in each gameport. To support the joystick(s), ParaJVE maps some of your keyboard's keys (hitting these keys will make the emulator act as if the corresponding joystick button/axis was operated).
To change the current key-mapping and tweak it to your needs, select the [Controls menu item. Then, in the Joystick#1 or Joystick#2
tabs, click on the buttons you want to configure, and simply hit the key you want to
be bound to that button.
| Target Component | Mapping for GamePort #1 |
Mapping for GamePort #2 |
|---|---|---|
| X Axis : LEFT | |
|
| X Axis : RIGHT | |
|
| Y Axis : UP | |
|
| Y Axis : DOWN | |
|
| Action : Button 1 | |
|
| Action : Button 2 | |
|
| Action : Button 3 | |
|
| Action : Button 4 | |
ParaJVE can also handle any gamepad physically connected to your computer and map it
to a virtual vectrex joystick (instead of using the keyboard). To use a physical controller
within ParaJVE, it must have been connected before the emulator started (otherwise
ParaJVE will not see this controller as available). Every detected controller will be
listed under the [Controls sub-menus.
To assign a physical controller to one of the two vectrex gameports, select the associated
sub-menu entry. A dialog will then appear, letting you configure the mapping between
the controller buttons/axis and the virtual joystick. Once validated, you can use your
controller to play in the emulator.
The vectrex games can poll the joystick using two different modes : either Digital, or Analog. These modes do not change the way the buttons work (they are always polled as being either pressed or released) ; the difference lies in the way the axis coordinates are handled.
While operating in Digital mode, ParaJVE will use the four directions keys to control the joystick axis (as defined in the key mapping configuration).
To enter Analog mode, you must first have a (virtual) joystick plugged in
the target gameport, and operating in digital mode (this is the case by
default). Then, double-click anywhere in the emulator window. As a result, the
Analog mode will be activated (the mouse cursor vanishing is an indication),
and from now on, every mouse move will be converted as an analog move in the
corresponding virtual joystick. This will last until you switch back to digital
mode, by clicking any mouse button.
Note that double-clicking the left mouse button will enter analog mode for the
joystick plugged in the first gameport (if any), while double-clicking with the right
mouse button will operate on the joystick plugged in the second gameport, if any.
The lightpen is a legacy peripheral that was supported by a very small set of original games. It is a kind of pen, dragged around the screen by the user, that detects the light emitted by the display beam. This device is emulated within ParaJVE (since version 0.6.0) by using the Mouse moves.
When starting one of the four embedded games that requires the lightpen, this device
is automatically assigned to the appropriate gameport, so it is immediately available.
If you launch an external ROM that makes use of the
Lightpen [Controls menu item) to activate its emulation.
When the lightpen is plugged in, the Mouse Pointer is replaced with a Cross that figures the position of the lightpen on the screen. By default, the lightpen is considered inactive (it cannot detect the light beam) as long as no mouse button is pressed. It becomes active when either (or both) the Left or Right mouse button(s) is(are) pressed. If the Right mouse button is pressed, the lightpen operates in accurate mode (that means that its precision is greater than normal, but also that it is likely to loose track of the light more easily if you move the mouse too fast).
PS/2 Keyboard adapter Emulation
The PS/2 adapter is a connector (created in 2007) that provides a way to connect a PS/2 keyboard into the vectrex second gameport (and let the vectrex program access the keyboard hits).
When the Keyboard Adapter is plugged into the game port, it remains inactive
until you press the engagement key (PAGE_UP by default). Once the keyboard
has been activated, it will intercept any keypress (including the keys already mapped
to joysticks or the general keys) and forward them to the gameport. This will last
until the keyboard is disengaged (by pressing PAGE_DOWN by default).
ParaJVE does not embed any game making use of this adapter so far, so its emulation for the time being is aimed at homebrew developers that wish to write some code that uses this adapter.
The VecVoice is a passive peripheral, as it does not require any user action to carry out its task (it is a sound synthesizer that is entirely driven by the vectrex program, through the gameport signals). Therefore, 'using' the VecVoice emulation is as simple as pluging it into the second gameport, and let the VecVoice-enabled games operate it!
So far, the only embedded game that makes use of the VecVoice is Verzerk,
and launching this game automatically instructs ParaJVE to plug the VecVoice in the
gameport, so you don't even have to do anything to have it working. However, if you
happen to launch an external ROM that makes use of the
VecVoice, you will have to plug it manually (using the [Controls menu item) to enjoy its emulation.
Taking a snapshot of the current screen
If you want to save a picture of the current screen display, you can do
so, at any time, by hitting the ScreenShot shortcut key (which is PRINTSCREEN,
by default). You can also get the job done via the [File
menu item (but first pausing the emulation by hitting the PAUSE key might prove
helpful in this scenario).
The emulation will then enter paused mode (if not already done),
and a file requester will popup, waiting for you to enter the name of the file where to
save the picture.
You can cancel the saving by hitting the ESCAPE key. The format used to
encode the picture depends on the file extension you provided (the only supported file
formats are BMP, JPG and PNG, this later being
the default if no extension was specified).
Checking for new releases of ParaJVE
ParaJVE comes with an integrated way to check if a newer version is
available for download. Whenever you want to check if a newer version is released,
select the [Help menu item. The emulator
will then gather information about the latest version over the internet , and open a
dialog telling whether a new version is available (providing a link to the download
site, in that event).
If you are concerned about privacy, rest assured that ParaJVE will not send any personal information of any sort on the internet (in fact, the emulator just downloads a version manifest) ; also, rest assured that this check is never performed without you asking for it to occur.
Browsing the ParaJVE development blog
The emulator will open your preferred browser and automatically load the
ParaJVE development blog for you if you
select the [Help menu item. In some (undefined)
occurrences, the browser's page might only open after the emulator has been closed.