Go here for support and questions regarding the Amiga Xtra's startup pack.. http://www.ressurectionxtras.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=65&t=347

Amiga Xtra's startup pack.  With a selection of 328 games.  A mix of floppy (ADF) games and hard drive installed (WHD) games.  Just consider this a sneak peak of what is to come.

The configuration database comes with definitions for numerous ADF and HDF games to get them running as well some preset controller configs to make getting going easier.  But due to the Amiga being a disk based system with a GUI interface (aka mouse) some work by you, the user, will be needed.  This document it intended to help you walk thru using the Xtras to their max capacity.  

The amiga started pack is basically divided into two types of images and two types of games.  The image types are ADF (floppy disk images) and HDF files (Hard disk files).  I'll explain the advantage/disadvantage of each.  The two types of games are ones that use the joystick (and a little bit keyboard) and those that primarily rely on the mouse for input and control.


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HDF Images

HDF images are based around hardfile images.  In the Xtra's we use them in combo with a file called "_whdload.hdf" to load WHD games.  Essentially disk games that were converted to be installed on a hard drive image.  Advantages are fast load times.  In some cases bug fixes for games.  Copy protection removal.  Disadvantage would be no fancy trainers like with ADF's.  Although some whd drivers for games do allow you to "activate" certain cheats (more on this later).

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Using HDF Images

When you first select a game with HDF images (has HD on the end of the name) the emulator may ask you to select which version (AGA, OCS, CD32, etc) or it will just dump you into the configuration screen.  Nothing else really to do here.  If you set the "Floppy Volume" from a previous run you might want to set it back to 0.  Just press B to start the game.

If everything is setup ok the whdload script menu should pop up.  It will list all "versions" of a game in this WHD image as well as any documentation.  Documentation can include such things as FAQ's, Codes, Tips, Cheats, Walkthru's, etc.  There should also be a text file describing the games WHD driver and options (sometimes cheats as well) available to the user.

Select the game/documentation by moving the mouse (left or right analog depending) and pressing the left mouse button (A or black depending).  If you select a document you can scroll thru it by either grabbing the scroll bar on the right and dragging it, pressing X (space) to advance thru it.  Click on the [.] symbol to close it or just press Start+Back (escape).

Once you select a game it should load rather quickly.  Piece of cake!


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Navigating

Being that the original Amiga was essentially a home computer with a real keyboard and a mouse.  There are numerous ways to navigate, start a game, etc that you need to be aware of.  Depending on the game you may have a few intro's or cracktro's to navigate thru.  Here is what you do.

If the game seems stuck at a menu or a cracktro try these things..  Press the left mouse button, right mouse button, space or enter ( X & Y ), even the joystick fire (A) if it is a joystick game.  If that doesn't work try pressing both left and right mouse buttons at the same time.  You can even do Back+Start which is the same as hitting the "Escape" key.

Alot of trainers require you to use the mouse to navigate the menu options so just press down/up on the analog stick assigned to the mouse until "start game" is highlighted.  Also be sure to pay attention to what the screen says.  Sometimes it gives a hint as to what to do like press LMB (left mouse button).

Some games don't load on their own and bring up the Amiga workbench.  Just use the mouse (left or right analog stick depending) and move it on top of the disk loaded into drive 1 (df0).  Double click the left mouse button (tap A or White depending).  This will open a window with the contents of the disk.  Look for an icon with the games name on it.  Double click on that to start loading the game.

Some games will ask you to enter a name, or press 1 or 2, or pick a language.  So just use the pop-up keyboard (press left analog stick).  You can move the keyboard around with the right analog stick.  Use the transparency buttons (top right circle shaped) to make it possible to see behind the keyboard.  Left analog stick and dpad can be used to select letters.  X (toggle shift on/off).  Y (toggle ctrl on/off).  Back (backspace).  Start (enter).  The keyboard location and transparency is saved per game making this very convenient to use!


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ADF Images

ADF images are based around disk images which usually means disk swapping and waiting for the game to load.  But the advantage to ADF files are most of them come with trainers.  So if you like trainers you may find it worth your while to use the ADF files.  Things that can help you with the load time are fast forward and save states.

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Using ADF Images

When you first select a game with ADF images (any game that doesn't say HD at the end) the emulator is going to ask you to select which image to place in drive 1 (aka DF0).  The game image you want to pick would be the boot disk.  But before you do that you may need to decide which "version" of this game you want to play.  Some games have AGA and OCS versions, or they might have a Trained/Megatrained disk, and in some cases the archive will contain special additions and add on disks.  So once you pick the type of game you want (AGA/OCS) (Trained/Megatrained) you want to select the 1st disk in that set.  Usually the first disk has a (1) or a (0) in it's name.  So select that.  It will be loaded into drive 1 (DF0).

Then the game configuration screen will come up.  From here you want to load up drives 2-4 with as many disks as you can.  So select each one in order and select disks (2-4) which usually are labeled with a (2)-(4).  One other thing you might wanna consider changing before starting the game is "Floppy Volume".. if you're an Amiga diehard like me and miss the 'old floppy sounds set this to 25%.  If it annoys you just leave it at 0%.

The only other two things you might wanna do before starting the game is the following.  Mouse speed... if you have super fast reflexes than the usual default of 200 oughta do.. but if you're slow like MM then 100-150 might be better for you.  Set "Clip Excess Video Borders" to Yes.  This will remove all the extra junk on the screen.  I like this.. others don't... so try it out and see what you think.  

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Switching disks...

Unfortunately the emulator only lets you store up to 4 floppies in the drives and some games have more than 4 disks.  On top of that some games don't recognize any drives beyond DF0:.  So here is what you do.  When the game asks for a disk.  Go into the menu (press right analog stick) and pick "Change/Rotate/View Disks".  From here you can see what disks are mounted in what drives.  If the disk you need is already mounted all you may need to do is just press the "X" button until the disk you need is in drive 1 (DF0).  Once done just go back into the game and press a button.  Some games take the joystick buttton, the mouse, and others a key (like space).  So just try pressing, A, White, X, and Y, etc.  If you don't see the disk you need mounted on a drive just highlight a drive and press A to change the disk in the drive.  Try picking one that makes sense or you'll end up doing more disk swapping than you need.

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Changing versions (AGA/OCS) (Trainer/Megatrainer/No Trainer)

Due to different versions being stored in the same ZIP files you may need to delete your configuration (press black) in order to get the game to run right.  Deleting the configuration is NOT needed when switching from trainer versions to non-trainer versions most of the time.  Just from AGA to OCS.  If you switch from an AGA to OCS, or from OCS to AGA you will need to delete your configuration (press black).  Keep in mind any savestates will be deleted.  No biggy since the auto config database will take care of you.  Just be sure to load the proper disks into the proper drives.  

To switch from a Trainer to a Megatrainer or No trainer just simply select that disk when you first select a game and the pop-up list comes up.  The emulator remembers how the rest of the drives are set up on boot so you don't have to worry about any disk changes you did with the drives screwing things up.


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Tips And Tricks

Savestates are your friend

Using a savestate can save you alot of time.  Once a game is done loading and is at the title menu go into the "In Games->Utilities" menu and save your state.  This will save you the pain of waiting for the game to load.  You can even take advantage of the "Auto-Load Most Recent Save State?" option in the "Configurations->General Settings" menu.  Save states work great with both ADF's and WHD's so I highly recommend using them.  Even over internal game saves.

Fast Forward is your friend

Great for speeding up load times on ADF images.  Helps a little with WHD as well.


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Preset Controller Configs!

The emulator comes with a handful of preset controller configurations to help make your Amiga gaming easier.  When you select these the controller mappings are modified to make the experience of playing the selected game easier.  The two most used configurations will be "Standard Joystick" and "Standard Mouse".

"Standard Joystick" is setup for games that are mostly geared towards joystick use.  The dpad and the left analog stick are mapped to joystick 1.  A to the firebutton.  B is mapped to joystick up for games that require you to push up to "jump".  X is mapped to "space" and Y is mapped to "return" for games that require those keys to be pressed.  Pressing start is the same as pressing "F1" and pressing start+back is like hitting the "Escape" key.  The mouse is mapped to the right analog stick so that you can use the mouse to get games going.  Left mouse buttton is white, and Right mouse button is black.

"Standard Mouse" is setup for games that require a mouse to use (like strategy, adventure and RPG games).  In this configuration the mouse is mapped to the left analog stick and the Left and Right mouse buttons are assigned to A and B respectively.  It may be a little confusing switching between the two but after a while you'll realize how more convenient it is.  All the rest of the buttons are mapped the same as Standard Joystick except white and black which are mapped too....

"Pinball" is setup for the many pinball games that exist for the Amiga.  These games use left/right shift to control the paddles.
