WinUAE 6.0.0 Released – Major Chipset Emulation Overhaul

Release Date: July 3, 2025 · Category: Technical Update

WinUAE version 6.0.0 introduces a significant internal rewrite of the core custom chipset emulation, including Agnus/Alice and Denise/Lisa components. This update focuses on improved cycle accuracy, better parallelization, and broader compatibility with low-level hardware behavior expected by advanced Amiga software.

Custom Chipset Rewrite

• Internal emulation logic for Agnus/Alice and Denise/Lisa fully overhauled.
• Denise/Lisa emulation now operates on a separate thread, improving performance under accurate emulation modes.
• Cycle-accurate handling of VPOSW/VHPOSW and mixed hardwired vs programmed sync logic.
• Support for full subpixel resolution in AGA bitplanes and sprites; legacy subpixel toggle removed.
• Fully independent horizontal and vertical counter emulation, with correct behavior outside standard display ranges.
• Support for UHRES DMA slots (ECS/AGA), including impact on DMA priority scheduling.
• NTSC LOL (Long Line) logic and STRLONG interaction now emulate horizontal offset as on real hardware.
• Improved blitter sequencing with cycle-accurate channel scheduling; mid-blit modifications tracked for compatibility testing.
• Accurate collision detection enabled by default; optimized for performance.
• Display pipeline now reveals bitplanes and sprites during blanking intervals in debug mode.

Input and Peripheral Enhancements

• Low-level keyboard emulation introduced, with firmware-based emulation of CSG 6570-036, 68HC05C, and D8039HLC MCU models.
• Caps Lock LED, matrix scan behavior, and keyboard disconnect states fully emulated.
• PCI emulation expanded to include Matrox Millennium/Mystique and Voodoo 3 (86Box port).
• RIPPLE IDE controller and A1000 WOM expansion support added in the expansion menu.

System Fixes and Adjustments

• Default configuration now cycle-exact A500; replaces legacy approximated mode.
• Prometheus PCI IO, Mediator TX, and TekMagic memory mapping logic corrected.
• Improved RTG (uaegfx) compatibility with zero-byte-per-row scenarios in Picasso96.
• GDI mode resource management refined during native/RTG transitions.
• Improved clipboard sharing and host/guest clipboard size limit introduced (30 KB max).
• Updated CD32 CD read logic to better reflect sequential read patterns and reduce re-read latency.
• WASAPI now auto-selects fallback audio modes when preferred channels are unavailable.

Deprecations and Removals

• All legacy software filter support has been removed due to elimination of 16-bit color modes.
• Subpixel emulation option removed; now enforced in accurate emulation modes.
• Obsolete 16-bit host color depth support fully deprecated.

Additional Improvements

• Expanded DMA debugger, sample ripper filenames include address/length metadata.
• UI tree state now persistent between sessions; configuration file tree behavior improved.
• Integer scaling logic adjusted for better handling of combined overscan and filter modes.
• Debugger window now properly restores focus to prior application window.
• TV Overscan and RTG filter interactions now render correctly under various display pipelines.

Known Caveats

This release includes extensive internal changes to timing-sensitive subsystems. Users are advised that edge cases, particularly under JIT or fast emulation modes, may exhibit regressions. Testing under non-default expansion devices or custom RTG pipelines is recommended before production use.

Download

Official builds and changelog are available at:
https://www.winuae.net/