1) Minimum requirements

* Pentium 2 or compatible
* Graphics card with full SM 1.0 support (VS 1.1 & PS 1.4)
* Windows XP SP2 / 32-bit
* DirectX 9.0c
* 256MB of free RAM
* 25MB of free hard disk space

Note that these are merely prerequisites to run the executable at all. Some CPU architectures are better suited to run Makaron then others; right now Core2 seems to outperform other designs.
Makaron should run just fine on Windows 2000 SP4. Windows 9x/ME, Vista or 64-bit operating systems have not been tested.
To actually use Makaron you'll also need:

* Sets of Dreamcast ROM image files
* DirectX-compatible gamepad

Any gamepad will do, but unless it has at least a directional pad, one analog stick and 7 buttons, you will not be able to map all of Dreamcast controller functions.
You will need three sets of ROM files (BIOS & FLASH), one for each respective region: Asia (JP), Americas (USA) and Europe/Australia (EU).
Put the files in the ROM folder. You can try and substitute files you have for the ones you do not, but remember this might not work.

- "BIOS_JP.bin" & "FLASH_JP.bin" pair: BIOS revison 1.004
- "BIOS_USA.bin" & "FLASH_USA.bin" pair: BIOS revision 1.01d
- "BIOS_EU.bin" & "FLASH_EU.bin" pair: BIOS revision 1.01d

USA & EU BIOS files seem to be exactly the same. Proper FLASH files are very important, as many so-called USA/JP ones are just EU hacks. Dreamcast stores user preferences in the FLASH area, along with last valid RTC settings. Most emulators therefore overwrite those files with updated values. You can suspect your FLASH file is invalid/damaged when:
- NTSC BIOS (orange swirl logo) sets 50Hz refresh rate, instead of 60Hz
- You are being asked to set up current date/time every time you run emulator
- BIOS does not boot GDI images specified for that region

Note that it is perfectly normal for Dreamcast (and therefore Makaron) to ask for date/time again after it has not been turned on (used) for more then a month or so. More on this below.
DevBox ROM (BIOS revision 1.011) set is also supported to some degree. You'll need to substitute it for one of the region sets. There's not much use for it, but it does have different swirl animation :)

If you get missing DirectX DLLs errors, you need to install newer version of DX9c runtime. Go visit Microsoft homepage.

2) GD-ROM images

The only way for Makaron to emulate CD/GD media is to use image file(s). The supported formats are CDI and GDI, and the CDI has to be self-bootable type. Some CDI images are unreadable under Windows but will boot in Dreamcast - those will do fine.
GDI images will require proper ROM files and region settings or will not boot (well, duh).
Once Makaron is started you can't 'change' the emulated CD/GD media, since there is no user interface that would allow you to do so.
Actually, ISO format is supported as well, but since it's not bootable it's of no use to anyone but me. ISO or non self-bootable CDI will simply make Makaron enter CD-Player in BIOS.

Windows CE based games and programs will not work as there is no MMU support (yet?). Those crash after SEGA logo, with "0x00005800" in error message.
Some pirated games have broken or otherwise nasty loaders that will crash Makaron. Don't expect that to be fixed. Use GDI rips of the discs you own to play.

There is one special case: "Bangai-O". I had a choice - to slow down Makaron quite a bit, or to create a special profile to run this particular game. I consider the ugly way it does DMA transfers a bug so I've opted for the profile. Simply put, DMA timings are more strictly enforced to make things work.
As a result I need to detect "Bangai-O" being loaded. This is done by fingerpriting the boot section of the data track and works only for GDI images. Right now the only version being detected is EU region one.

3) Configuring Makaron

The main window menu is a stub and doesn't work. All settings are to be made in the INI files before the executable is run.
Unless you know what you're doing, stick to defaults and SH4 recompiler. Available MMX/SSE extensions will be used to improve speed and accuracy of the emulator. 
As long as the PVR window is the active one, F12 key will show/hide a simple menu. In this menu you can try and tweak few graphics settings, but keep in mind those will revert to defaults every time Makaron is restarted.
You can exit Makaron running in full screen mode by pressing ALT+F4 (you might need to press it twice).

Certain JP/USA titles will hang with a black screen or crash Makaron right after SEGA logo. It appears these get confused by RGB video cable. Switch to composite in the INI file and that will work. There is no difference between RGB and composite video out on Makaron.
Pirated versions of those titles might have it reversed and will not work with composite video cable, but will work with RGB. Go figure :)

If you get date/time setup window every time you run Makaron, follow this procedure:
- skip (accept) the first window
- enter BIOS
- enter configuration menu
- choose time & date setting option
- once the window opens, just close it by accepting (make sure the time doesn't advance a minute at that particular moment)
- leave to main menu
- close Makaron

This will store valid time into the FLASH file. Unless it's read-only file or is corrupted :)
You cannot set Makaron's realtime clock to any arbitrary time you wish. It's disabled for now. Makaron will simply use local time for Dreamcast RTC.

Makaron does not change Windows registry. To remove it, simple delete all the files.

4) Maple plugins

I'll make this short & simple:
* edit Makaron.ini and set "PADcfg = 1" (in [Settings] section)
* run Makaron, select and set up your game pad
* before you run Makaron again, set "PADcfg = 0"

You can map analog (pressure-sensitive) buttons/triggers to L & R. If your pad is some sort of all-analog type and you can't get it to work properly (on L/R or other buttons) drop me a note. I might be able to fix that with some feedback.
If you map digital buttons to analog triggers L & R, check the "digital" option as well. This will make the plugin report full press rather then half-way one on them.
Check "SEGA" for games that tend to ignore non-standard pads, equipped with C & Z buttons. This will prevent the plugin from reporting their existence (though if assigned, C & Z will return valid values when pressed).

Obviously, virtual controller device can't be configured. It's there to add more VMUs and unassign pads from ports.

Anything else you want, you'll need to figure it out yourself.
Force feedback is not yet supported, as is keyboard or mouse.
And no, you can't use plugins from other emulators.

x) Known problems

Well, there are tons of bugs and missing functionality :)
Remember, this is work in progress.
