libretro/emulators/xm6typeg.yml

emulator: xm6typeg
type: standalone
core_classification: enhanced_fork
source: "http://retropc.net/pi/xm6/index.html"
upstream: closed-source
based_on: "XM6 v2.06 by PI."
profiled_date: "2026-08-10"
core_version: "3.38"
display_name: "XM6 TypeG (Sharp X68000)"
mode: standalone
cores:
  - xm6typeg
  - XM6TYPEG
  - XM6TYPEG-WINDOWS
systems:
  - sharp-x68000

notes: |
  Closed-source Windows fork of XM6 v2.06, extended by GIMONS from 2010 and
  maintained again by PI. since version 3.34 (xm6g.pdf p.1, p.3). Distributed from
  PI's XM6 page as a single archive, xm6_typeg_338_20260223.zip, holding an x64
  xm6g.exe, the Visual C++ 2015-2019 runtime it imports (mfc140u.dll,
  msvcp140.dll, vcruntime140.dll, vcruntime140_1.dll) and the 32-page manual
  xm6g.pdf. No source is published; the analysis below reads xm6g.exe, and the
  XM6 v2.06 sources cited alongside are PI's own release, xm6_206s.zip from the
  same page. ES-DE launches it through the XM6TYPEG and XM6TYPEG-WINDOWS find
  rules with the working directory set to the emulator folder, on Linux under
  Wine or Proton. The archive alone does not run: the manual opens with that
  warning (xm6g.pdf p.5).

  Machines emulated are X68000, XVI, Compact, X68030 and the 040turbo and
  060turbo accelerator configurations (xm6g.pdf p.3). System files are resolved
  beside xm6g.exe. A twenty-entry name table at xm6g.exe:0x140592350 holds them,
  against ten in Filepath::SystemFile[] (XM6 2.06 vm/filepath.cpp:472-483), and
  each path is built by copying the name, splitting it, and refilling drive and
  directory from GetModuleFileNameW, the sequence XM6 2.06 spells out in
  Filepath::SysFile and Filepath::SetBaseDir (vm/filepath.cpp:88-105, 172-186).
  The path is rebuilt from the module path on every load, with no configured
  directory taking part. Loading reads a fixed byte count and compares it
  against the count returned, so every min_size below is a floor: a longer file
  loads and its tail is ignored.

  Two files are mandatory. LoadROM (xm6g.exe:0x1404fc9a5) leaves through its
  failure exit when the IPL read fails, and the CG read falls back to CGROM.TMP
  before failing the same way, which is the string "XM6 requires two ROM files,
  IPLROM.DAT file and CGROM.DAT(or CGROM.TMP) file." Nothing in the executable
  substitutes for either. The system options page probes IPLROM.DAT,
  IPLROMXV.DAT, IPLROMCO.DAT and IPLROM30.DAT with GetFileSizeEx and accepts a
  file only at exactly 131072 bytes (xm6g.exe:0x140428f80, size test at
  0x14042920a).

  XM6 Utility, published separately at the same address, synthesises CGROM.TMP
  from the installed Windows fonts and SCSIINROM.DAT or SCSIEXROM.DAT from the
  Human68k version 3.02 disk image HUMAN302.XDF, which it requires at 0x134000
  bytes (XM6Util scsirom.cpp:86-90). It stamps the SCSI ROMs with "XM6 " at
  offset 0x1ff8 and a version at 0x1ffc (XM6Util scsirom.cpp:243-245), and
  xm6g.exe reads both files back and tests that signature
  (xm6g.exe:0x14050147c, 0x1405015e0) to raise the startup warning that names
  these files as substitutes and discourages them. Nothing rejects the file, and
  no genuine ROM is hashed anywhere in the executable.

  SCSI ROM requirements follow the machine (xm6g.pdf p.17). SCSIINROM.DAT is
  needed by SUPER, XVI and Compact and by any machine set to the internal SCSI
  interface; SCSIEXROM.DAT drives the CZ-6BS1 external board, which is the only
  SCSI variant the SASI models can take. X68030 needs neither, its SCSI ROM
  being part of IPLROM30.DAT or IPLROM30S.DAT. IPLROM30S.DAT and ROM30S.DAT are
  a pair used only when Expansion ROM is enabled on the X68030 options tab, for
  ROMs patched for 060turbo (xm6g.pdf p.17).

  The Mercury Unit carries an OPN (YMF288) whose rhythm section is sampled from
  external files. The fmgen and X68Sound engines read six WAV files named from a
  table at xm6g.exe:0x1405c0090 (0x1404ed610, CreateFileW at 0x1404ed8bf); the
  ymfm engine reads ym2608_adpcm_rom.bin instead (0x140574fec, ReadFile at
  0x140575095), which is why the rhythm level control is documented as inert for
  ymfm.

  xm6g.ini and the state file STATE.XM6, the twentieth table entry, are written
  by the program and are not listed below. RTC.DAT and the SRAM files are listed
  because they are battery-backed images with hardware counterparts that preload
  settings when supplied, even though XM6 TypeG creates them on exit when they
  are absent (xm6g.pdf p.18).

files:
  # -- IPL ROMs, one per emulated model, read at 0x20000 bytes and byte-swapped --

  - name: IPLROM.DAT
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: true
    size: 131072
    validation: [size]
    description: "X68000 boot ROM version 1.0, base models"
    source_ref: "xm6g.pdf p.16, xm6g.exe:0x1404fc9a5 (read at 0x1404fcbb7), xm6g.exe:0x14042920a, XM6 2.06 vm/memory.cpp:249-270"
    note: >-
      Covers the first model, ACE, EXPERT, PRO and SUPER. LoadROM reads 0x20000
      bytes and fails when fewer are returned, and the failure aborts
      initialisation. The startup warning naming version 1.00 (05/07/1987) as
      recommended only advises; it does not reject the file. The recommended
      source is the free X68BIOSE.LZH package (xm6g.pdf p.6).

  - name: IPLROMXV.DAT
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    size: 131072
    validation: [size]
    description: "X68000 XVI boot ROM version 1.1"
    source_ref: "xm6g.pdf p.16, xm6g.exe:0x14042927c, XM6 2.06 vm/memory.cpp:256-258"
    note: >-
      Selects the XVI machine, which also needs SCSIINROM.DAT. The options page
      offers the machine only when this file is exactly 131072 bytes.

  - name: IPLROMCO.DAT
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    size: 131072
    validation: [size]
    description: "X68000 Compact boot ROM version 1.2"
    source_ref: "xm6g.pdf p.16, xm6g.exe:0x14042946b, XM6 2.06 vm/memory.cpp:259-261"
    note: >-
      Selects the Compact machine, which also needs SCSIINROM.DAT. Same exact
      size test as the other IPL ROMs.

  - name: IPLROM30.DAT
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    size: 131072
    validation: [size]
    description: "X68030 boot ROM version 1.3, $FE0000-$FFFFFF half"
    source_ref: "xm6g.pdf p.16, xm6g.exe:0x14042965a, XM6 2.06 vm/memory.cpp:262-264"
    note: >-
      Upper half of the X68030 and X68030 Compact boot ROM, paired with
      ROM30.DAT. It carries the SCSI ROM for those machines, so neither
      SCSIINROM.DAT nor SCSIEXROM.DAT applies to them.

  - name: ROM30.DAT
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    min_size: 131072
    validation: [size]
    description: "X68030 boot ROM version 1.3, $FC0000-$FDFFFF half"
    source_ref: "xm6g.pdf p.16, xm6g.exe:0x1404fd1f8, XM6 2.06 vm/memory.cpp:311-313, 328-335"
    note: >-
      Lower half of the X68030 boot ROM, loaded through the SCSI ROM slot and
      the only one of those read at 0x20000 bytes rather than 0x2000. Without it
      the X68030 machine does not load.
      The copy here is the X68000 Firmware set's ROM30.DAT (SCSIIN, ROM Human 2.x, ROM FLOAT and the SCSI-IOCS binary), read out of an X68030 by the XM6 2.06 utility, which stamps its name at the tail of the image.

  - name: IPLROM30S.DAT
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    min_size: 131072
    validation: [size]
    description: "Expansion boot ROM, $FE0000-$FEFFFF"
    source_ref: "xm6g.pdf p.16-17, xm6g.exe:0x140592350 index 4"
    note: >-
      Read in place of IPLROM30.DAT when Expansion ROM is checked on the X68030
      options tab, the setting stored as EXTROM. Paired with ROM30S.DAT and
      intended for ROMs patched for 060turbo.
      The copy here is XEIJIPLROM30.DAT written by XEiJ 0.26.08.08 with -model=X68030 -iplrom16=on -memory=12 -cgrom=CGROM30.DAT: IPLROM 1.6 of 2025-08-03, the patched IPL its documentation names for the 060turbo, since no dump of the Mankai replacement ROM circulates.

  - name: ROM30S.DAT
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    min_size: 131072
    validation: [size]
    description: "Expansion boot ROM, lower half"
    source_ref: "xm6g.pdf p.16, xm6g.exe:0x1404fd201"
    note: >-
      The other half of the expansion pair, loaded through the same SCSI ROM
      slot as ROM30.DAT and read at the same size.
      The copy here is XEIJROM30.DAT from the same XEiJ run: SCSIINROM 16, ROM Human 2.60, ROM FLOAT 2.03 and ROM Debugger 3.60.

  # -- CG ROMs, read at 0xc0000 bytes, model specific first then CGROM.DAT then CGROM.TMP --

  - name: CGROM.DAT
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: true
    min_size: 786432
    validation: [size]
    description: "X68000 character generator ROM"
    source_ref: "xm6g.pdf p.17-18, xm6g.exe:0x1404fcf11 (read at 0x1404fd013), XM6 2.06 vm/memory.cpp:283-289"
    note: >-
      Supplies the glyphs the X68000 renders, mapped at $F00000-$FBFFFF. Used by
      the base models and as the fallback for every machine whose own CG ROM is
      absent. Initialisation fails when neither this file nor CGROM.TMP loads.

  - name: CGROMXV.DAT
    system: sharp-x68000
    aliases:
      - CGROM.DAT
    required: false
    min_size: 786432
    validation: [size]
    description: "X68000 XVI character generator ROM"
    source_ref: "xm6g.pdf p.17-18, xm6g.exe:0x1404fcd99"
    note: >-
      Preferred when the XVI machine is selected. CGROM.DAT is used when it is
      missing.

  - name: CGROMCO.DAT
    system: sharp-x68000
    aliases:
      - CGROM.DAT
    required: false
    min_size: 786432
    validation: [size]
    description: "X68000 Compact character generator ROM"
    source_ref: "xm6g.pdf p.17-18, xm6g.exe:0x1404fcdac"
    note: >-
      Preferred when the Compact machine is selected, with the same fallback to
      CGROM.DAT.

  - name: CGROM30.DAT
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    min_size: 786432
    validation: [size]
    description: "X68030 character generator ROM"
    source_ref: "xm6g.pdf p.17-18, xm6g.exe:0x1404fcc36 (read at 0x1404fcd42)"
    note: >-
      Preferred when X68030 or X68030 Compact is selected, with the same
      fallback to CGROM.DAT.

  - name: CGROM.TMP
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    min_size: 786432
    validation: [size]
    description: "Synthesised font ROM, fallback when no CG ROM is present"
    source_ref: "xm6g.pdf p.18, p.6, xm6g.exe:0x1404fd041, XM6 2.06 vm/memory.cpp:286-289"
    note: >-
      Read at the same size, only after CGROM.DAT fails. XM6 Utility builds it
      from the fonts installed on the machine that generated it, so no hash is
      declared. XM6 TypeG treats it as non-recommended and raises a suppressible
      startup warning whenever it is in use.

  # -- SCSI ROMs, tried at 0x20000 then 0x2000, external also at 0x1fe0 --

  - name: SCSIINROM.DAT
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    min_size: 8192
    validation: [size]
    description: "Internal SCSI interface ROM, SUPER and later"
    source_ref: "xm6g.pdf p.17, xm6g.exe:0x1404fd1ef (reads at 0x1404fd327, 0x1404fd3dd), XM6 2.06 vm/memory.cpp:305-310, 328-345"
    note: >-
      Required by SUPER, XVI and Compact, and by any machine whose SCSI
      interface option is set to internal, that option defaulting to none. The
      loader tries 0x20000 bytes first and falls back to 0x2000. A copy carrying
      "XM6 " at offset 0x1ff8 was synthesised by XM6 Utility and raises the
      startup warning.

  - name: SCSIEXROM.DAT
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    min_size: 8160
    validation: [size]
    description: "External SCSI interface ROM, CZ-6BS1 board"
    source_ref: "xm6g.pdf p.17, xm6g.exe:0x1404fd20a (retry at 0x1404fd419), XM6 2.06 vm/memory.cpp:316-318, 341-352"
    note: >-
      Drives the CZ-6BS1 board, the only SCSI variant the first model, ACE,
      EXPERT and PRO can take, and mutually exclusive with the internal
      interface everywhere else. After 0x20000 and 0x2000 the loader retries at
      0x1fe0 bytes into buffer offset 0x20, the WinX68k high-speed layout, so
      8160 is the real floor.

  # -- Battery-backed images, read at startup, written on exit when changed --

  - name: SRAM.DAT
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    size: [16384, 65536]
    description: "SRAM image for EXPERT and the other base models"
    source_ref: "xm6g.pdf p.18, xm6g.exe:0x140592350 index 14, XM6 2.06 vm/sram.cpp:70-81, 112"
    note: >-
      Holds the boot device and memory switch settings for the first model, ACE,
      EXPERT, PRO and SUPER. A supplied image preloads those settings. The
      standard capacity is the 16 KB X68000 SRAM; the SRAM64K modification the
      emulator reproduces raises it to 64 KB. No size is enforced.

  - name: SRAMXVI.DAT
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    size: [16384, 65536]
    description: "SRAM image for XVI"
    source_ref: "xm6g.pdf p.18, xm6g.exe:0x140592350 index 15"
    note: >-
      Per-model SRAM introduced by XM6 TypeG, which keeps one image per machine
      instead of the single SRAM.DAT of XM6 v2.06.

  - name: SRAMCMP.DAT
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    size: [16384, 65536]
    description: "SRAM image for Compact"
    source_ref: "xm6g.pdf p.18, xm6g.exe:0x140592350 index 16"
    note: >-
      Read when the Compact machine is selected.

  - name: SRAM030.DAT
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    size: [16384, 65536]
    description: "SRAM image for X68030, 040turbo and 060turbo"
    source_ref: "xm6g.pdf p.18, xm6g.exe:0x140592350 index 17"
    note: >-
      Shared by X68030, X68030 Compact and the 040turbo and 060turbo
      configurations.

  - name: RTC.DAT
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    description: "RTC alarm settings for timer start"
    source_ref: "xm6g.pdf p.18, xm6g.exe:0x140592350 index 18"
    note: >-
      Alarm registers of the battery-backed clock, used by the timer start
      feature and applying to every machine. XM6 TypeG creates it on exit when
      it is absent.

  # -- Mercury Unit rhythm samples, read by the OPN (YMF288) section --

  - name: ym2608_adpcm_rom.bin
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    description: "YM2608 ADPCM-A rhythm ROM, ymfm engine"
    source_ref: "xm6g.exe:0x140574eb0 (name at 0x140574fec, read at 0x140575095)"
    note: >-
      Rhythm source for the Mercury Unit OPN when the FM engine is set to ymfm.
      The name is appended to a directory and the file is read whole; when it is
      absent the rhythm section stays silent and the emulator runs.

  - name: 2608_BD.WAV
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    description: "Mercury Unit rhythm sample, bass drum"
    source_ref: "xm6g.exe:0x1404ed610, name table 0x1405c0090, CreateFileW at 0x1404ed8bf"
    note: >-
      One of the six rhythm samples the fmgen and X68Sound engines read for the
      Mercury Unit OPN. The name is built as 2608_ plus the table entry plus
      .WAV. A missing file is handled through ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND and leaves
      that instrument silent.

  - name: 2608_SD.WAV
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    description: "Mercury Unit rhythm sample, snare drum"
    source_ref: "xm6g.exe:0x1404ed610, name table 0x1405c0090"

  - name: 2608_TOP.WAV
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    description: "Mercury Unit rhythm sample, top cymbal"
    source_ref: "xm6g.exe:0x1404ed610, name table 0x1405c0090"

  - name: 2608_HH.WAV
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    description: "Mercury Unit rhythm sample, hi-hat"
    source_ref: "xm6g.exe:0x1404ed610, name table 0x1405c0090"

  - name: 2608_TOM.WAV
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    description: "Mercury Unit rhythm sample, tom-tom"
    source_ref: "xm6g.exe:0x1404ed610, name table 0x1405c0090"

  - name: 2608_RIM.WAV
    system: sharp-x68000
    aliases:
      - 2608_RYM.WAV
    required: false
    description: "Mercury Unit rhythm sample, rim shot"
    source_ref: "xm6g.exe:0x1404ed610, name table 0x1405c0090, 0x1404ed808-0x1404ed841"
    note: >-
      Last of the six. This entry alone has a second accepted name,
      2608_RYM.WAV, the spelling carried by widely circulated sample sets.

  # -- Libraries looked up by name at runtime, absent from the import directory --

  - name: X68Sound.dll
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    description: "FM synthesis engine by m_puusan"
    source_ref: "xm6g.pdf p.29, p.31, xm6g.exe:LoadLibraryW at 0x140488dfb"
    note: >-
      One of the three FM engines the sound options offer, alongside the
      built-in fmgen and ymfm. Not shipped in the archive; without it that
      engine cannot be selected.

  - name: c86ctl.dll
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    description: "Control library for external OPM hardware"
    source_ref: "xm6g.exe:0x1404b2da6, version query at 0x1404b2daa"
    note: >-
      Loaded by name to drive a real YM2151 through a C86BOX class device
      instead of software synthesis. The executable reads its file version
      before use.

  - name: pcidebug.dll
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    description: "PCI bus bridge library, used to reach a ROMEO sound board"
    source_ref: "xm6g.exe:LoadLibraryW at 0x1404fa344, FreeLibrary at 0x1404fa2f5"
    note: >-
      Loaded on demand and freed again. Absent, the feature that needs it is
      unavailable and the emulator continues.

  - name: SOUND Canvas VA.dll
    system: sharp-x68000
    required: false
    path: "%ProgramFiles%/Roland/Sound Canvas VA/SOUND Canvas VA.dll"
    description: "Roland Sound Canvas VA plugin used as MIDI output"
    source_ref: "xm6g.exe:0x14048418a, INI key VstSCVA"
    note: >-
      Hosted as the MIDI output device when the VSTi option is selected. The
      path is fixed to the Roland installation directory and the setting is
      stored as VstSCVA.
      The plugin does not synthesise on its own: the Roland installer places SCCore.dll and eleven data files (GM, GM2 and SC-VSC .drk, .tnf and .drf sets, parameter1.dat to parameter3.dat) beside it, and the DLL loads them from its own directory.