WHDLoad Support in FS-UAE Launcher

FS-UAE Launcher has special support for running individually zipped (or compressed with LHA) WHDLoad Games. It will even store save-games in the state directory.

Alternative Ways to use WHDLoad

This page contains details about how the WHDLoad feature is manually enabled, there are two other ways to use WHDLoad games in FS-UAE:

  • Use the online game database (recommended), this will give you automatic support for running WHDLoad games, no configuration needed.
  • Create an Amiga Workbench environment on an emulated hard drive and install the WHDLoad package and games manually.

Enabling the WHDLoad Feature

This feature is enabled by:

  • Inserting a zip/lha file containing a WHDLoad game as the primary hard drive.
  • Write the name of the slave in the WHDLoad Arguments text box, optionally along with slave options.
  • Just write the full name of the slave only, do not include the directory name.

You should currently not use save states when you use this feature. The temporary creation of hard drives will confuse the save state system

Example WHDLoad Arguments:

Lotus2.slave

The following automatically happens when WHDLoad arguments is specified and you start the game:

  • The contents of the zip/lha file is unpacked to a temporary folder, which is what is really used as the primary hard drive in FS-UAE.
  • WHDLoad is downloaded (if not already downloaded) and merged into the temporary drive.
  • Kickstart images are copied into the temporary drive -needed for several WHDLoad slaves.
  • If any modified files (from an earlier launch) are found in the state dir, these are copied/merged into the temporary drive.
  • The slave is located and a startup-sequence file is created to boot the WHDLoad game.
  • The contents of the temporary drive is analyzed and checksummed, so any modified files can be saved to the state dir when FS-UAE is done running.

Here is a more advanced example of WHDLoad Arguments, showing how to specify slave options:

Lotus2.slave PRELOAD BUTTONWAIT CUSTOM1=1 CUSTOM2=1

Details Regarding the Temporary Drive

You don’t need to read the following information unless you are interested in the exact details on how the WHDLoad support is implemented.

First of all, the zip/lha file containing the game is unpack to the temporary drive, and then a routine is performed to transform this into a bootable system. At the time of writing, the following files are downloaded and copied into the drive:

Devs/Kickstarts/kick40068.A1200.RTB
Devs/Kickstarts/kick34005.A500.RTB
Devs/Kickstarts/kick40068.A4000.RTB
C/WHDLoad

The following kickstart files are copied from your kickstart directory if they are available (matched by checksum, not names):

Devs/Kickstarts/kick34005.A500
Devs/Kickstarts/kick40068.A1200
Devs/Kickstarts/kick40068.A4000

The following file is populated with some default values:

S/WHDLoad.prefs

The registration key (if found) is copied to:

S/WHDLoad.key

SetPatch from Workbench 3.0 is copied, provided that a Workbench 3.0 disk is indexed by the file database function:

C/SetPatch

Finally, the startup sequence is written to:

S/startup-sequence

The startup sequence consists of starting WHDLoad with the slave, followed by running uae-configuration SPC_QUIT 1 to quit the emulation when the slave is done running.

Registered WHDLoad

If Documents/FS-UAE/WHDLoad.key is found, it will be copied to DH0:S/WHDLoad.key when preparing the temporary hard drive. This only applies to people having purchased WHDLoad before the full version became free, and who wants to use the registered version.

158 thoughts on “WHDLoad Support in FS-UAE Launcher”

  1. Is there any way to turn off the PrintScreen screenshot functionality? I number of games have PrintScreen as the exit key for WHDLoad and instead of being able to exit I have to instead shut down the emulator session since it grabs a screen shot (which I don’t need).

    Reply ↓

    • Hi, the PrintScr key that WHDLoad refers to is actually the ‘*’ on the numeric pad. You can see this if you look of pictures of the Amiga keyboard. So, you actually need to press your numpad * key, and not the print screen button 🙂

      Reply ↓

  2. Hi Frode,

    I have a bunch of WHDLoad .lha files that are not in the game database, which work ok with the P-UAE emulator in RetroArch. When I try to select any of these as the first hard drive in FS-UAE 2.9.12dev on Mac OS, they all appear greyed out in the Finder dialog. I have checked the obvious things – all the files are owned by the same user that is running FS-UAE and have permissions 644 (I tried altering to 755 with no effect). I also tried extracting one of the lha archives using the “lha” program and repacking it as a zip, which also appears greyed out in Finder.

    What did I miss?

    Thanks

    Reply ↓

    • Not sure what’s going on there.. no files are excluded by the Launcher… When testing, I can choose any file type (also non-hard-drive files) in the file selector. Can you choose other files? What about the floppy selector, do you have the same problem there?

      Reply ↓

      • Yes it allows me to select other files (.hdf and so on).

        I can also choose any file on the floppy drive tab (including the .lha files, though of course choosing those just results in the awaiting bootable media screen).

        Reply ↓

  3. Hi Frodo,

    quick question – when I add CUSTOM1=1 to one of preloaded configs (from DB), how to save it so I don’t have to add it all the time?

    Thanks!

    Reply ↓

  4. Hello.

    Is it possible to use the online database settings without having the uuid? I use a frontend and load the WHDLoad files via the command line, but each time they load with a default set of options. I’d like to use the settings that I have downloaded and are available via the launcher gui.

    If that’s not possible, could you please add it as a feature request?

    Many thanks for all your hard work on such a fantastic emulator.

    Reply ↓

    • Yes, I can understand the curiosity. It’s actually because of Amiga Forever. Their 3.1 disk contains a modified SetPatch, so it does not match the SetPatch found in disks indexed by the TOSEC project, or images of original WB disks. I want to always load a specific SetPatch version so that:
      * The experience is the same for all users, and reproducible, and
      * For net play support, it is vital that all players have the exact same version.

      So the answer is really “because Cloanto hasn’t messed with the SetPatch version in their 3.0 disk”.

      Reply ↓

      • > “Their 3.1 disk contains a modified SetPatch, so it does not match
        > the SetPatch found in disks indexed by the TOSEC project, or
        > images of original WB disks.”

        Sorry but my authority is Commodore, not TOSEC. I verified (Amiga Forever 7, picking 3.1 in the Media tab) that their SetPatch is an exact 40.16, but imploded to 9272 bytes (in the floppy version) from the original 13484 (as included in the HD version). Even Commodore was using Imploder to make some files fit those packed floppy disks, so what exactly is your problem with that?

        Reply ↓

        • The problem is that if the files don’t match exactly (as stored on disk), there will be problems with net play (out of sync issues). For other purposes, it does not really matter.

          Reply ↓

  6. Hi there, thank you for this most amazing software!
    I’ve been searching the forums, but I seem to be unable to figure this one out.
    My problem is, I am trying to save state while playing these games but the save state / load state menu is greyed out.
    I have updated advanced settings in FS-UAE launcher with:
    relative_temp_feature = 1
    save_states = 1

    I have installed the WHDLoad games using the online games database method with FS-AUE launcher and they all play perfectly.
    I’m running FS-UAE 2.8.1u3 on Windows 10.
    When I run a WHDLoad game from FS-UAE launcher, a Save States folder is created in Documents/FS-UAE. When I quit the game, either by using the WHDLoad quit key in the game, or from the FS-UAE menu, this folder disappears.

    Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

    Reply ↓

  7. I just wanted to let you know that WHDLoad 18.2 no longer needs registration and free to use fully.

    Reply ↓

  8. Hi,

    Thanks for a great emulation system. I’m a bit confused about how to provide the .RTB/rom files mentioned above. I am having some trouble with ‘DOS-Error #205 (object not found)’ errors when launching some stuff, demos mostly. From what I’ve read (http://wiki.abime.net/games/whdload/advanced) RTB and rom files need to be provided, which I thought fs-uae launcher was doing automatically? Should I put these somewhere for it to find? Any ideas?

    Reply ↓

    • It sounds like you have assembled your own hard drive and installed WHDLoad on it – which is fine. But in this case FS-UAE does not know what’s actually running on the Amiga and cannot help you. So, you need to provide the .rtb/.rom files according the WHDLoad documentation. The page you found (http://wiki.abime.net/games/whdload/advanced) seems to document this.

      When using the game database with FS-UAE Launcher and the “automatic” WHDLoad game feature, yes, then FS-UAE Launcher sets up the hard drive automatically, including populating it with the .rtb and .rom files. But when you create your own hard drives, FS-UAE Launcher will not (and should not) make any modifications to it.

      Reply ↓

      • Thank you for the help. I apologize for not providing enough detail. I’m using FS-UAE’s Launcher and built-in WHDLoad system, not my own hard drive/hd image. Here are two examples: http://www.whdload.de/demos/Scoopex_2Unlimited.html, http://www.whdload.de/demos/Anarchy_3DDemo.html. Mounting the .lha for either one, with a “standard” A1200 config, stops with the error #205 I mentioned. Adjusting memory or other settings doesn’t seem to make a difference.

        It’s no big deal, I’m just curious as to why they won’t work. I don’t want to take more of your time, If you think the forum’s a better place to ask I’ll go there. Thanks again.

        Reply ↓

        • Hi, you cannot use those .lha files directly. Those are the *installers* for the WHDLoad slaves :-/ FS-UAE Launcher needs an archived version of the finished install.

          Reply ↓

      • I got a WHDLoad game i am trying to play, Eye Of the Beholder AGA, but where do i put the rtb and kickstart files ? Unable to see where they are going, copied them into the archived folder under Devs/Kickstarts/ but no luck .. Thx 🙂

        Reply ↓

        • Hi, if you are using the online game database, the WHDLoad support files will be automatically downloaded. Kickstarts will be automatically copied if you have the correct ones in FS-UAE’s main kickstarts directory.

          Reply ↓

  10. Hello!
    First, thanks a lot for this great emulator!
    I’m using Launchbox as a front-end and do launch FS-UAE with WHDload games. Problem at the moment is (as stated by you) that the save-function is not working properly. With “unsafe_save_state = 1” in the settings.ini I can save states but it’s hit or miss with loading the save state…
    Do you have any plans to include the save feature for WHDload in a future version?
    Many thanks!

    Reply ↓

    • Hi, I know some improvements I can do to the save state system, which should at least make it somewhat safer to use with WHDLoad. But, it will probably never be completely safe to use (for that matter, the save state system isn’t 100% safe with floppies either). I don’t have any timeline for improvements to the save state system :-/

      Reply ↓

  11. Hi Frode, I just noticed that WHDLoad became free (no key file needed). How does FS-UAE integrate WHDLoad? Is it possible to support WHDLoad 18.2 (which is the registration-less version)?

    Reply ↓

  12. Hi,

    Not sure if this is a bug or a limitation with Arcade launcher, but in 2.6.2 for windows I can’t seem to start zipped WHDLoad games: It just hangs straight after clicking on the screen with all the inputs. Its stuck on the animated square progress indicator.

    Unzipped folders work in Arcade, and Zipped do work in launcher.

    Reply ↓

    • Actually, now I can’t start whdload files anymore 🙁
      Wether zipped or not, it doesn’t even work in the launcher.

      Not sure what has happened, but it gets stuck on the message ‘Preparing WHDLoad…’

      Reply ↓

      • hmmm… I just moved all my WHDLoad library to my old fs-uae location, copied just 1 game, re-scanned, and now its working again.

        I wonder if the problem was the amount of WHDLoad games? (I have an entire TOSEC) – or maybe there was a corruption in the database? I will try rebuilding tomorrow and see if I still have problems

        Reply ↓

      • ok, done a re-scan and WHDLoad games still not launching. seems to be relate to the size of the database?
        tried in 2.4.1 and works fine

        Reply ↓

  13. não consigo rodar jogos aga no WHDload. abre uma mensagem:
    DOS-error # 103 ( not enough memory available) on loading ¨BansheeAGA.slave¨

    Reply ↓

    • Hi, sounds like you should add more memory, for example 8 MB fast RAM. Also, please use English if you have follow-up questions!

      Reply ↓

  14. Hello! Does anybody know where to put the WHDLoad key when using the portable installation?

    TIA

    Reply ↓

  15. Hi,

    what about zip files containing an lha file?

    It seems that in this case whd games are not recognized… am I wrong?

    Thanks

    Reply ↓

    • Hi, you are correct. FS-UAE Launcher does not index files within archives within archives.

      Reply ↓

  16. Hello!
    First of all: THANK YOU, Frode, and the community for delivering this masterpiece of emulation. I really love it.

    But now i have two Problems (MAC OS-X), one is solved (perhaps someone got the same problem, so i wrote it down):

    1. FA-UAE Launcher is showing just some games (19 of 4000) – SOLVED:
    In newest Version of fs-uae launcher just 19 games where showed, but i got the whole gamebase Amiga Archive local.
    Soloution: I renamed the Path /myusername/documents/FS-UAE to /myusername/documents/OLD_FS-UAE and startet FS-UAE launcher again.
    Then i scanned my files again and updated the game database – now my games are complete again.

    2. WHDLOAD 18.1 wants to get registered:
    Many games are using WHLOAD (fs-uae is using 18.1) – but some games have trouble (After Burner – SEGA 0947; WHDLOAD 1.2):
    “Sorry, you have to register WHDLoad first to continue.”
    This Errormessage apears on some games – its really annoying. OK – i read you created a new 2.7.7dev version – ill try this.

    Regards,
    Ali

    Reply ↓

    • Update: fs-uae launcher 2.7.7 runs fine with WHDLOAD 18.2.
      But: When ending a game in fs-uae arcade with CMD+Q, the Session will end but it doesnt return me to the gamelist.
      The Screen iremains black – all i can do is pressing CMD+Q again and then fs-uae arcade is complete ended.

      Reply ↓

  17. Hi there
    about whdload and commandline:
    since fs-uae can utilize the open amiga database i was thinking about something;
    wouldnt it be possible from the commandline to have fs-uae “lookup” and parse the configuration needed for the specified game via the database? (thus avoiding the use of individual cfg files)

    i know nothing about programming, but i assume once you have scraped the game dir, the info is saved locally?

    forgive my ignorance, i love the work youve ptu into this!, cheers

    Reply ↓

    • whdload and commandline part #2
      another way was, if fs-uae in the commandline could identify (via a database) what type of amiga/kickstart was needed . you could then define “default” cfgs to automate things. my reasoning for blabbering on about this is frontend use. particular in arcade cabs. setting up winuae in such a cab is alot of work 🙂 so im hoping fs-uae is the way!

      Reply ↓

  18. Hi Frode,
    I think there should be no need to copy the files:
    C/RawDIC
    C/Patcher
    C/WHDLoadCD32
    C/DIC
    as these are not used when running an installed program.
    Thx & Bye 🙂

    Reply ↓

    • Hi, you right, in fact, the files are not copied any more, the documentation is outdated. Fixed now 🙂 Thanks for the feedback!

      Reply ↓

      • Hi there,

        I recently got hold of a collection of WHDLoad games. I put its directory on the search path of FS-UAE, but they’re not appearing as available on the game variants list (only the individual disk files I already had). Is there something else to do that I’m missing? Thanks!

        Reply ↓

        • Hi, difficult to say without more information. Have you remembered to also run the file database update function to actually index the new files?

          Reply ↓

          • I think I found the problem… As per the torrent’r readme: “The whole collection has been now been re-processed as “Amiga LhA archive within a DOS Zip archive” to try and preserve certain special characters used by the Amiga.”. Will try to remove this “double packing” and see if it works.
            Thanks!

          • Yes, the launcher will not look in archives within archives, so extracting the individual archives should work 🙂

  20. Hi,

    Now that Whload 18.2 is free, how can I use the free version in Windows with FS-UAE Launcher?

    Reply ↓

  23. Hi Frod !!!

    Can i load a WHD Games by command line ???

    Tnx For your attenction and tnx for your great work ! 😀

    Reply ↓

    • Yes, there is some basic support for that. You can start fs-uae-launcher with the path to a WHDLoad zipped game file, or with the UUID of an online database game variant.

      Reply ↓

      • Hi Frod and thanks for you answer !!

        I try to create a shortcut with command line , but i fail . . .

        Can you write an example of a simple command line with args to load a WHD Game ??? I want to use that with Maximus arcade frontend for my cabinet !

        Thank you So much !!!

        Reply ↓

        • Are you using FS-UAE Launcher.exe (from the portable Windows version) by any chance? If so, this isn’t the “real” executable, and you need to use Windows\fs-uae\fs-uae-launcher.exe instead.

          If not, please post what shortcut options you have used.

          Reply ↓

          • ok , i use a portable version of FsUae, and i tried as you have suggested , to use the exe in windows\fs-uae\ folder . . .

            S:\Emulation\fs-uae-suite_2.6.0beta2+portable_windows\Windows\fs-uae\fs-uae-launcher.exe S:\Emulation\Roms\AMIGA WHD games zipped\AgonyDemo_v1.1.zip

            When i click on the shortcut it simply open the launcher window . . . Where is my error ??

          • No way . . . With the quotes the result is the same . .. It open the launcher windows . . .

      • Ok Frod . .. IT WORKS !!!!

        i have used the fs-uae-launcher.exe with not the zipped whd game , but with the configuration created for the launcher to play whd version of agony !!!

        so this is the only way to play WHD games by shortcuts ?

        Anyway, thank you so much for your support !!!

        Reply ↓

        • No, there are other ways, for example:
          – You can also create self-contained Amiga harddrive (zipped directory hard drive with Workbench, WHDLoad and the game installed). In this case, you can also run it without FS-UAE Launcher.
          – You can give fs-uae-launcher.exe the UUID of a game database WHDLoad variant, for example c7a3263c-b075-5951-807f-4133db25f62e for Lotus 2 WHDLoad. This only works if you have the online database set up, and have the game files scanned of course.
          – Or you can give fs-uae-launcher.exe the path to a zipped WHDLoad game to try to configure WHDLoad automatically, as I mentioned in the the first reply.

          Enjoy 🙂

          Reply ↓

  24. If I purchase a WHDLoad key, will this become redundant if/when you make use of a more recent trial version?

    Reply ↓

    • Newer FS-UAE versions will use newer versions of WHDLoad. But a purchased WHDLoad key will work with newer WHDLoad versions as well. I am not affiliated with WHDload, so I cannot personally guarantee it. But I have never heard that WHDLoad keys have become obsolete. I have also a WHDLoad key, which have worked for years with all WHDLoad versions.

      Does this answer your question?

      Reply ↓

      • Excellent to hear this. So all I do is register, and drop the .key file in the root of the portable ver of the FS-UAE folder?
        (I tried it with a known broken pirated key – it was already documented as such and said it should cause the WHDLoad to break if it was in the correct location, which it did).
        The reason was just to test I knew where to put a legitimate version before I commit to purchase.

        Thanks for a speedy reply.
        Kind regards,
        Arthur.

        Reply ↓

        • Yes, all you have to do is “drop the .key file in the root of the portable ver of the FS-UAE folder”!

          Reply ↓

  25. Hi Frod,

    I’ve signed into the launcher with my OAGD account and have synced the games database. However, there are lots of games missing from the list. For example, there is no reference to Sensible Soccer at all.

    Where is OAGD getting its information from and have I done something wrong in the config? Do I have to ‘point’ FS-UAE to my games folder where my WHDLoad games are?

    thank you very much for a FANTASTIC piece of software with FS-UAE
    Craig

    Reply ↓

    • Hi, please see http://oagd.net/faq (the first entry) for at least a partial answer your questions. But yes, you have to let FS-UAE Launcher scan your game collection in order for the games to appear (use the scan files and configurations function.

      Reply ↓

  26. Hi,

    I got my WHDLoad key yesterday. 🙂 I am also building a “Rom” browser on an intel nuc that can launch multiple emulators with custom config for each game directly from kodi.
    http://tinyurl.com/nax6vyj
    For this reason I would really appreciate that feature too. Preferably avoiding the GUI and being able to directly launch any .fs-uae config with WHDLoad support or without directly from the command line.

    Thanks a lot for all the great work !

    Regards,
    Tobi

    Reply ↓

    • If you have a working .fs-uae config which works fine in FS-UAE Launcher, and can launch it through fs-uae-launcher with the latest development versions. Just run the .fs-uae through fs-uae-launcher instead of fs-uae.
      – You can also start fs-uae-launcher with an UUID to an online database game.

      Another requested feature is to be able to start fs-uae-launcher with the path to a zipped WHDLoad game, without preconfiguration. This is registered here https://github.com/FrodeSolheim/fs-uae-launcher/issues/22 (you can subscribe to the issue if you are interested).

      Reply ↓

  27. Hi, Using WHDLoad is working ok except for a few demos and games where the Amiga gives an error about specific kickstart files not present in Devs/kickstart

    When installing WHDLoad it does not create that folder, what do you do, I have the rom files just not sure what to call them and why should it be needed? surely the point of WHDLoad is to emulate stuff so it works on OS2/3 if ya see what I’m saying.

    Any help appreciated 🙂
    Mark

    Reply ↓

    • Hi, are you installing WHDLoad manually? It sounds like it from the way you ask. This particular page is about the automatic WHDLoad usage in FS-UAE Launcher. I will help you anyway, but I just need to know if you are using WHDLoad “manually” or “automatically” before I can give a good answer 🙂

      Reply ↓

  28. I have the same problm concerning saving games with WHDload. Apparently they save, and i can load them afterward from within the game, but after i quit, the saves vanish.

    But yet there’s are save state folders of those games inside the My Documents/FS-UAE.

    I had this problem with Loom and Legend

    Reply ↓

    • For many WHDLoad games, you have to quit the WHDLoad slave using the WHDLoad slave quit key (often F10 or *) in order for WHDLoad to save the games to disk! I’m guessing that this is the problem.

      (Perhaps FS-UAE will be more clever in the future, and know which quit key is correct for each slave, and then “magically” quitting the WHDLoad slave before ending the emulation).

      Reply ↓

      • Thanks!

        If i forget to quit WHDload, and close the emulator instead, is there any chance of losing my saves?

        Reply ↓

        • Yes, there’s a good chance for that, since many WHDLoad slaves only actually save data when the slave quits, if I recall correctly.

          Reply ↓

  29. I would like to have WHDLoad automagically start to load the proper *.Slave file and run the game, but I can’t seem to do it. Here’s what I’m currently trying.

    I have this set:

    hard_drive_0 = ~/.fs-uae/hdd/WHDLoad

    And then I use Midnight Commander to launch with these command lines:

    # Commodore Amiga A1200
    regex/i/\.(ad[fz]|ipf|dms)$
    Open=fs-uae –floppy_drive_0=%f

    regex/i/\(WHDLoad\)$
    Edit=fs-uae –hard_drive_1=%f

    # Commodore Amiga CD32
    regex/i/\(CD32\)\.cue$
    Open=fs-uae –amiga-model=CD32 –cdrom-drive-0=%f

    Basically, when I press F4, it launches FS-UAE, sets DH0 with WHDLoad, and DH1 with the game. How do I get WHDLoad or FS-UAE to autostart the game at DH1? Does it make any sense to do it this way?

    I’m getting tired of using “cracked” ADF floppies with annoying boot screens.

    Reply ↓

  30. i cant seem to get whdload games to run. i have placed the key file in the root directory, and upon start the CLI opens, notifies me of the patch from workbench applied (enlighten) and shows the whd popup. when it closes, i get a black screen and every few seconds i get weird flickering artefacts from the cli – and this happens with every single game i tested so far…

    Reply ↓

      • Never mind, i just found out that i used an illegal keyfile – the games work fine without it!

        Reply ↓

      • Now that i have bought my WHDLoad key, i have one more question: is there a way in FS-UAE to change the WHDLoad preferences? I would like to reduce the time of the remaining popup (The one that comes after the “unregistered” one) and as far as i understand the WHDLoad.prefs, this seems to be supported in WHDLoad….

        Reply ↓

        • There’ll be a new settings page in the next development version of FS-UAE Launcher where you can change the timeout 🙂

          Reply ↓

  31. “Create a full Amiga Workbench environment on an emulated hard drive and install the WHDLoad package and games manually”

    Actually, this line is a half of the truth. There is a small subset from the Workbench need. On most cases all you need is small hd drive with following structure:

    c/ which contain all programs from C folder from WHDLoad + some other like Assign, SetPatch and so on, if needed

    s/ there will go WHDLoad preferences and key + startup-sequence file, which will start up the simple script:

    cd game_dir

    (exec the setpatch if needed)

    whdload slave_file.slave

    And basically that’s it. Some games needs a specific libraries or other components which should be present in the Workbench, but that’s minority.

    Reply ↓

    • You are right (plus for installing games you need “Installer” and Intuition running) . I didn’t actually mean that the WHDLoad runtime itself requires a full WB environment, but that this would be the typical user scenario 🙂 Nevertheless, I’ve removed the word “full” to avoid confusion.

      Reply ↓

  32. Hi, wonderful software! I am having a slight problem with WHDLoad though; can you explain how I run a WHDLoad game (zipped or unzipped) that is not currently included in the Open Amiga Database?

    Games on my system but not in the online database are not detected or added to my library when I use the ‘Scan’ function.

    Many thanks; again, great software!

    Reply ↓

    • You can select a zipped WHDLoad game as the first hard drive in FS-UAE Launcher, and the launcher should figure out the there is a .slave in it, and configure automatic WHDLoad support. However, you also need to set the Amiga model to A600 or A1200, and also probably add some fast memory (8 MB should do).

      I’m currently also working on expanding the number of WHDLoad games supported in the online game database 🙂

      Reply ↓

  33. This page says…

    “Enabling the WHDLoad Feature: This feature is enabled by: Inserting a zip file containing a WHDLoad game as the primary hard drive”

    So I’ve created a test.fs-uae file with…

    hard_drive_0 = “/mnt/store/Emulation/Games/Commodore – Amiga/NavySeals.zip”

    …in it, yet when I run “fs-uae-launcher FS-UAE/Configurations/Test.fs-uae” it starts and echos out…

    WARNING: HD not found: “/mnt/store/Emulation/Games/Commodore – Amiga/NavySeals.zip”

    … even though it’s there (/mnt/store/Emulation/Games/Commodore – Amiga/NavySeals.zip: Zip archive data, at least v2.0 to extract).

    What am I missing here?

    Reply ↓

    • When you select a WHDLoad zip file using the hard drive selector in FS-UAE Launcher, the Launcher performs some additional checks there and then – see if the archive contains a .slave file, and if so, automatically populate the WHDLoad Arguments option field.

      When you just point hard_drive_0 to a zip file in a configuration file, no such check is performed (and will not happen either). But perhaps I’ll make a feature where – if you give FS-UAE Launcher a zip file as a command line argument – it will automatically configure the WHDLoad feature (if the zip file is a zipped WHDLoad game).

      Reply ↓

  34. Is there a way to store whdload saves when using this method? For example I tried playing Lemmings 2 The Tribes by adding Lemmings2.zip to the launcher. After I use Save in-game, WHDLoad creates data/L2-Saved-Positions which serves as a save disk. However, as I understand it, the extracted directory is only temporary and is deleted after quitting the game, and so is the savefile, is that right? If that is the case, the function doesn’t seem very useful at this state, at least not vs running WHDLoad-installed games from Workbench.

    Another problem using this method is that FS-UAE hangs up after I quit the game. For example (I checked it with Lemmings 2 and Benefactor), when I hit F10 in-game, which is a WHDLoad ‘quit’ button, I am thrown back to Amiga shell, but I cannot do anything, also F12 (FS-UAE menu) doesn’t work, and I cannot release mouse pointer either (with midle mouse button), the only thing I can do is switch to console and kill fs-uae instances. Is it because of that? http://s1.zrzut.pl/04nRtHJ.png – I don’t have a WB 3.0 disk because I only have Workbench 3.1 from my Amiga 1200 Magic.

    Reply ↓

    • Yes, FS-UAE Launcher deletes the temporary directory after use, but before this happens, it copies *altered files* (and new files) to the state dir. When you later re-launch the game, these files are added to the temporary directory before the game is started. Therefore, saves should work – if not, there’s a bug somewhere!

      When the WHDLoad game exits, FS-UAE should automatically quit as well (by running uae-configuration quit from within the Amiga). Since the F12 menu (etc) does not work either, it sounds like FS-UAE has indeed tried to shutdown, but that FS-UAE itself hangs for some reason (so no, it is not related to missing SetPatch or anything like that). Are you using the stable 2.4.1 version? If so, could you try the latest development version instead and see if the problem still persists?

      Reply ↓

        • Hmm, I guess it is possible UAE hangs before the data is written to disk, but my first thought is that it should have been written already. But I have verified that Lemmings 2 / WHDLoad and save data works fine on my computer. I do not expect there to be anything interesting in the log file :-/

          Reply ↓

          • I verified that the freeze happens before saving any data, because after that ~/FS-UAE/Save\ States/Lemmings\ 2\ The\ Tribes/ is empty and /tmp/fs-uae-eb2tz0bd/ is undeleted. Another thing that I checked is that fs-uae installed from the debian repository and fs-uae-steam package both present the same behaviour (on the same system) so maybe it’s something wrong with my system? Though it’s a perfectly normal debian testing installation. And the final clue, maybe the most important one: after the freeze, kwin is taking 100% CPU until I kill fs-uae processes. So maybe the problem is not in fs-uae itself but in how it interacts with KDE? My kwin comes from kde-window-manager 4.11.13-2 so it’s the latest on debian testing.

          • Well I tried running it in XFCE with the same effect – FS-UAE frozen and kwin taking 100% CPU. So it’s probably because fs-uae is using kwin and nothing to do with KDE itself.

  35. “The registration key (if found) is copied to:
    S/WHDLoad.key”

    Where does it look for the file? I added the directory containing my WHDLoad key to Settings -> Scanning and Indexing but it doesn’t find it.
    Running fs-uae with strace doesn’t show anything about fs-uae looking for the key file.

    Reply ↓

    • Hi, it looks for the file in the (Documents)/FS-UAE directory, i.e. the directory containing the Configurations, Floppies folders, etc.

      Reply ↓

  36. I really miss the Save State feature from this. Will it come in the future?

    Thanks for this great software!

    Reply ↓

  37. Hi, i am maybe idiot. But how i can add support for WHDload??? I download whdload rom whadload.de. And then extract. Extract archive i copy on linux to /home/Martin/Dokuments/FS-UAE/. But i have ever whd load game gray text! 🙁 And cant run it. Alert window say me: you not have all files.. :-(( please help me.

    Reply ↓

    • You do not have to extract .zip or .lha files containing WHDLoad games. But after you have stored them inside the FS-UAE directory, you need to re-run the Scan Files & Configurations function so FS-UAE Launcher discovers the new files (and make sure the .zip or .lha files are stored somewhere inside one of the directories listed there).

      Reply ↓

  38. Any news on this feature request?

    I would really love to see command line added to this awesome emulator.

    Thank you very much.

    Regards

    sirlee

    Reply ↓

    • If you use one of the latest development versions (2.5.23dev at the time of writing), FS-UAE Launcher can load and run .fs-uae configurations. This will works with the launcher WHDLoad support.

      Reply ↓

  39. Hi ! 🙂

    I was wondering whether it was now possible to invoke fs-uae by command line with whdload support (without having to use the uae-launcher GUI) ? I think you mentioned it was planned last year.

    I’m setting up a machine autobooting into Advance Menu for many different platforms ; it would be perfectly integrated if I could start whdload games via the command line 🙂

    Thanks again for your work,
    cheers

    Reply ↓

    • Hi, there’s no support for this yet. I will soon allow fs-uae-launcher to load and run a configuration, i.e. something like fs-uae-launcher --run /path/to/config.fs-uae. That should help you 🙂

      Reply ↓

  40. I have followed the above instructions: pointed the HardDrive entry to the zip file (the emulator fills in the appropriate .slave file name by default) but when I try to run it it doesn’t work – No WHDLoad spalsh screen… it just dumps me to a CLI with the message Unknown Command IF.
    I have uninstall and reinstalled. The first time it runs after a fresh install I see the notice that WHDLoad is being downloaded, then never again.
    I’ve got to be doing something wrong… please help.

    Reply ↓

    • uugh….. nevermind.
      I messed with this for days then tonight I found the web page about using the database, followed those instructions and bam – it works.
      It might be useful to note that on the WHDLoad page.

      Reply ↓

  41. Hi could you provide me with an idiots guide to playing whdload zip games please. I have the whdload key also.

    Reply ↓

  42. Having trouble getting this feature to work.

    http://puu.sh/47IJU.png

    It looks like one of the launcher’s Python scripts is screwed up somehow, but I have the latest version AFAIK and I have no idea how to fix it.

    I’m running Windows 7 64-bit, if that helps.

    Reply ↓

    • Thanks, I received the log file. The problem is that the code assumes that the .slave resides within a sub-directory within the .zip, For example GameName/Something.slave. When the slave is found at the top level, the code throws an exception. I’ll fix that in the development series 🙂 -But in the meantime, you can “re-zip” the slave with a sub-directory, and it should work!

      Reply ↓

  43. Firstly – awesome work. Thanks to fs-uae I’ve been able to play SWOS with updated teams via the WHDLoad feature this evening.

    I have one question regarding the OSX version: is it possible to set the launcher to boot straight in to a particular WHDLoad image/configuration?

    The reason I ask is I have an old Mac mini hooked up to a tv that is controlled entirely through remote buddy/remote control, for running Plex/XBMC etc. I’d like to be able to launch say SWOS or Speedball 2 via the remote without having to resort to screen sharing to configure the launcher/select a configuration.

    Reply ↓

    • Thanks! Starting FS-UAE Launcher and booting directly into a game isn’t supported right now, men planned to be implemented soon 🙂

      Reply ↓

      • Thanks for the reply.

        I’ve just checked out the work you’re doing with Game Center, and that looks like it will do exactly what I want…

        Reply ↓

        • Yes, if you don’t mind the extra step where you start game center first and then select the game, that should work just fine 🙂 -Just leave a comment if it does not work properly (the game center is quite recent / alpha).

          Reply ↓

          • I’ve got it set up, using the alphas, but it doesn’t seem to want to recognise my SWOS and Speedball WHDLoad zips. It recognises Super Cars 2 fine. Is there a particular place I need to put them? I’ve currently got them copied into Hard Drives, Floppies and Downloads for good measure… 😉

          • No, they can be anywhere where FS-UAE Launcher “finds them”, but if you have added these zips after the last file scan, you need to use the “Scan Files and Configurations” functions again to add these files to the file database. If that does not work, you can send the zips to frode@fs-uae.net and I’ll check them out!

  44. “You should currently not use save states when you use this feature. The temporary creation of hard drives will confuse the save state system”

    I understand that I can’t use save states but can I use in-game saves that write back to the WHDLoad image? I’d like to play some adventure games and doing so would be tricky if I can’t save my progress.

    Thank you in advance.

    Reply ↓

    • Yes, you can use the game’s own save system, only save states are currently problematic when using the WHDLoad support.

      Reply ↓

  45. I downloaded a full WHDLoad games pack (pre HDD installed) and zipped some of those folders. I Opened that zip file as a hard drive and FS-UAE automatically named it “alienbreed2.slave”…etc. But the games did not load up. It stopped at the Amiga Dos window, showing “Unknown Command IF”. Do I really need to install that program and register it, for WHDLoad games to work properly within the FS-UAE? Maybe you should make your own FS-UAE/WHDLoad variant, which will automatically load those pre installed games? That would be a great improvement in FS-UAE development. Thank you!

    Reply ↓

    • Hi, you need kickstart 2.0 or higher to run WHDLoad games, so use for example A600. But please note that many WHDLoad games need A1200, and most either need or benefit from more memory, so you’ll most likely want to add 8 MB fast memory…

      For running WHDLoad games more effortlessly, you should consider enabling the online database – this will download the correct/best settings for each WHDLoad game automatically. The database is currently in beta, see http://fengestad.no/fs-uae/database 🙂

      Reply ↓

  46. I seem to have a small problem with WHDLoad games.

    I have my zipped files containing my old installed games, dropped my WHDLoad key into FS-UAE & entered the slave name.

    Files are downloaded as expected, the OS boots & my WHDLoad splash screen pops up. This confirms my registered key. From here, if a slave needs the Devs: … kickstart images, it complains:

    Shell tells me it cannot find SetPatch & after this, I get a requested stating that it cannot find the Devs: kickstart files. I have them myself & FS-Launcher also downloads them fine, but some games aren’t loading because of this.

    My first game tested was Another World.

    Do you have any ideas what might be happening?

    Thanks, Russ.

    Reply ↓

    • The Launcher only downloads some RTB files for the kickstarts (files with additional information about the kickstarts). FS-UAE Launcher will also copy the correct kickstarts, but this requires that you have those kickstarts indexed in the FS-UAE Launcher file database. So if you use “Scan Files & Configurations” from the database, you should have a green checkbox for A500 at least. I cannot distribute the kickstart files, so the Launcher cannot automatically download those.

      SetPatch will be copied in if you have a Workbench 3.0 disk indexed. I cannot distribute copyrighted Workbench files. This file is not always required, and the boot process will continue without it.

      Reply ↓

      • Thanks for the quick reply.

        I need to make sure I understand this correct. In my ‘Scan Files & Configuration’, I add the folder with my kickstart files (eg. Kickstarts/kick34005.a500 & kick40068.a1200) & also add the folder with my Workbench 3.0 disk (adf) then click scan?

        If this is correct, I do not have anymore ‘green’ ticks & I still cannot get the WHD zipped game to load. However, if I create a hard drive with the files in the same drive as the game & boot from that (Not using the WHDSlave command in Launcher), the game reads the kickstart files & loads without a problem.

        I’m sure this will be a simple solution but I just can’t get my head round it.

        Reply ↓

        • The most likely explanation is that you don’t have the preferred kickstart versions. I.e. you might have a 1.3 kickstart ROM file, but not exactly the same as the Launcher expects. One reason that the Launcher is a bit picky about this is because of the net play support. As you run the kickstart import function, you can see the SHA-1 checksums listed there. For example, the a500 one should be 891e9a547772fe0c6c19b610baf8bc4ea7fcb785, commonly known as
          “Kickstart v1.3 r34.5 (1987)(Commodore)(A500-A1000-A2000-CDTV)[!].rom” – or “amiga-os-130.rom” from Amiga Forever. (http://fengestad.no/fs-uae/kickstarts)

          Reply ↓

          • Thank you, all working fine now & importing all my WHD games as we speak.

        • Currently, SetPatch is only automatically extracted from a WB 3.0 disk (The reason is that SetPatch from Amiga Forever’s 3.1 disks is not the same as the one in normal 3.1 disks, and this would cause problems for net play).

          Reply ↓

    • The temporary hard drive is created on disk (somewhere below the standard temporary files directory) and deleted after FS-UAE is done running (after changed files have been copied to the state dir).

      Reply ↓

  48. Hi,

    I am loving this program! I have a registered version of WHDLoad and I have copied the files to ~/Documents/FS-UAE/WHDLoad and it picks up the reg key fine. However, it still downloads files (patcher) which seem to take some time. Is there something I’m missing to speed this process up?

    Thanks,

    Pete.

    Reply ↓

    • The WHDLoad binaries are downloaded on demand from the Internet (to ensure everyone has the same version – for example for net play compatibility). The files are cached, so they are only downloaded once (the patcher binary isn’t needed for runnning games, and the next stable version will not download this one).

      Perhaps there’s a network problem preventing FS-UAE Launcher from downloading the files? The files are small so it should be very fast (seconds at most). Perhaps check if the firewall blocks it (and/or disable firewall/anti-virus etc temporarily).

      Reply ↓

      • Thanks for the quick reply.

        I’ve turned off my firewall and tried again. Downloading Patcher is coming up and takes around a minute to complete. My internet is very fast (almost 70 down) so I am puzzled. Then restoring changes can take another 30 to 40 seconds.

        I an running version 2.0.1 from the ppa. Should I try a later dev version?

        Thanks,

        Pete.

        Reply ↓

        • Just to let you know, dev version 2.1.32dev installed and the issue is resolved.

          Fantastic program!

          Reply ↓

  49. Hi, Thanks for the great work! I have a registration key for WHDLoad but sadly every time I try a WHDLoad game, I get the unregistered window. The key is in My Documents\FS-UAE. Using Latest version of the emulator, Windows 8 x64. Thanks.

    Reply ↓

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