General Emulation Discussion

Inviere

And a SWEET little Mini Megadrive

moonlighting_1

https://terraonion.com/en/producto/megasd/

orders open on sega cd sdcard fpga

HeartOfTheCity

Inviere wrote: »

And a SWEET little Mini Megadrive

The Retroflag Mega Drive case looks fantastic, as to be expected. The Blast16 front-end looks incredibly slick (and apparently was going to be used for the official Mega Drive Mini) - but it's going through a lot of bug revisions at the moment, so might hold off doing this for a bit.

Inviere

HeartOfTheCity wrote: »

The Retroflag Mega Drive case looks fantastic, as to be expected. The Blast16 front-end looks incredibly slick (and apparently was going to be used for the official Mega Drive Mini) - but it's going through a lot of bug revisions at the moment, so might hold off doing this for a bit.

Indeed, the case & frontend look absolutely class. I might build one for the shelf

Inviere

The RetroArch Disc Project:

Looks preliminary at the mo, but will be a very, very cool feature for those who like to use original discs. Obviously shown here on a laptop which isn't ideal, but I imagine using this feature on something with a proper/nice interface where you put the disc in and it boots seamlessly will be the goal (Launchbox hopefully)

Doge

Looks like the EmuVR Devs have netplay working so you can play your friends online in VR in your very own retro 90s virtual bedroom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlAAqdX8WxI

KeRbDoG

Doge wrote: »

Looks like the EmuVR Devs have netplay working so you can play your friends online in VR in your very own retro 90s virtual bedroom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlAAqdX8WxI

To be realz both rooms should look the same right? Wonder if they will allow yea to be able to virtually shoulder your competitor in the room to put them off

Doge

KeRbDoG wrote: »

To be realz both rooms should look the same right? Wonder if they will allow yea to be able to virtually shoulder your competitor in the room to put them off

Since you can customize your own room it isnt really what theyre going for, youre not sitting side by side but in your own room while playing multiplayer.

Hellrazer

Wasn't sure whether to put this in the mame of shame thread or here. :D:D

Just finished this this morning.

Its an Ikea lack table top build.

Raspberry pi 2b+ in it with an emulation station image.Approximately 800 arcade only roms on it.
17" 16:9 screen.
Buttons are sanwa copies. Everything is hidden underneath inside the table.
The reason for the comic book pages as borders is because My wife is a big (original) wonder woman fan and it was easier to get it past letting me have it in the sitting room :):)

Took about 8-10 hours of work and cost me around 45 euros in total.
Screen was lying under the stairs. Had the Pi already. Table cost 2 euros on adverts.
Had to pay 18 for the screen protector and the buttons were €16 delivered with the encoder board.
Had to buy a hole saw set for €9.00 in the range.
Did all the wiring myself and the cutting the table to fit the monitor was a b**tard to get right.

eddhorse

Looks good, well done

KeRbDoG

KeRbDoG wrote: »

To be realz both rooms should look the same right? Wonder if they will allow yea to be able to virtually shoulder your competitor in the room to put them off

Doge wrote: »

Since you can customize your own room it isnt really what theyre going for, youre not sitting side by side but in your own room while playing multiplayer.

I don't think yea got what I meant, net multiplayer great but it simulates sitting in the same room with a mate playing the same game - I jokingly said it would be great to have a way to nudge your fellow player in the virtual world to put them off we all did that right or was it just me?

1o059k7ewrqj3n

Have any of you tried the newest version of Swiss for Gamecube? I think it's r634. I only ask because there seems to be a much better method for playing games through the memory card port off of SD card.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANx7UtqRv7U

I had a couple of games that would work via this method but run with slight graphical glitches or with performance problems. This method stated in the video seems to fix that completely.

I might add; I own the games I run from the SD card, I just want to try and save the laser in my console so I thought this might do the trick.

Doge

KeRbDoG wrote: »

I don't think yea got what I meant, net multiplayer great but it simulates sitting in the same room with a mate playing the same game - I jokingly said it would be great to have a way to nudge your fellow player in the virtual world to put them off we all did that right or was it just me?

What a bully! Now i know why Ciderman refuses to play online multiplayer with me, traumatic memories! :pac::P

The Last Bandit

What's the general state of PC emulation these days for these consoles ?

Dreamcast, Saturn, Gamecube, 3DO

Seriously thinking of a big clear out and just building an emulation PC using a Ryzen powered Asrock A300 of similar small PC.

Retr0gamer

Dreamcast: Some good fast emulators out there but not very accurate emulation. Plenty of bugs and glitches

Saturn: It's gotten better but still very inaccurate. Bugs and glitches in lots of games.

Gamecube: Dolphin is a really great emulator but it sacrifices accuracy for speed and resolution improvements. Lots of big games work well. Lots of games are a mess. Emulation of the Flipper/Hollywood GPU with shaders causes issues.

3DO: Why even ask? (actually I don't know this one).

Check out redream for dreamcast emulation. Newish and looks and plays well.
Yabaouse for Saturn I think is your best bet and its made a lot of progress but still kinda crap

Inviere

The Last Bandit wrote: »

What's the general state of PC emulation these days for these consoles ?

Dreamcast, Saturn, Gamecube, 3DO

Seriously thinking of a big clear out and just building an emulation PC using a Ryzen powered Asrock A300 of similar small PC.

This is precisely what I did. I got tired of having no space, hoarding junk, having 90%f my collection in storage, the stupid pricing of retro stuff, etc etc. Now, I would preface this by saying, as you’ll prob agree with, that original hardware, on a real crt, with rgb interconnects, is the definitive and best way to play. But that’s not to say you can’t get damn close with some of today’s modern emulators.

With all due respect to Retr0’s post, I’m not sure I’d agree with his info, or that it’s entirely accurate. So here’s my thoughts on it.

Dreamcast has come on immensely, like seriously. Have a look at Redream. It’s a free emulator, with a premium version if you so choose. Premium allows you to increase the internal resolution of the games, and for the whopping price of €5, I think it’s a fantastic deal to compensate the guy for his work and contributions. A LOT of games play amazingly well, and with the resolution bumped, you might find yourself losing interest in playing these games on a real DC at some stage. Obviously it’s not perfect, you may encounter bugs here and there, but the emulator is being actively developed with updates frequent.

Saturn, Retr0 isnt far wrong here, it still has a ways to go before being properly able to take over from real hardware. It has definitely improved, and continues to do so all the time, but it’s a tricky beast. Expect bugs and glitches, though again, many games play very very well.

GameCube, I find GC emulation is incredibly good. The modern versions of Dolphin (and not the stable releases, believe it or not they only update the stable releases very infrequently, so you need to use the nightly versions to get the proper modern releases) are amazing. Ubershaders have completely eliminated shader cache stutter, the graphics resolution can be internally increased, making GC games look nothing short of gorgeous at high resolutions, compatibility is massively high, support for the GameCube controller adapter for the Wii U meaning you can use real GC controllers. For me, and the games I like, Dolphin has replaced original hardware as the best way to play. Same with Wii, Dolphin can use the Bluetooth chip from a real Wii (I built a tiny circuit to connect the chip to usb) and allow you to use real a Wiimote and Nunchuk to play Wii games with the same resolution increases etc, it’s brilliant.

3DO, it’s actually not bad at all. I think it’s strongly game dependent though, lots like Need for Speed will play perfectly, others might have bugs. I use a RetroArch core for 3DO, so no messing about with controls etc, seems fine for as much as I’ve used it (which admittedly isn’t much).

It doesn’t end there though, PCSX2 is coming on leaps and bounds, and PS2 compatibility is very good with many many games being perfect (perfect as in perfectly playable without noticing bugs or glitches). PPSSPP handles PSP like a champ, allowing you to increase the resolution of the games faaaaaaaar beyond what original hardware could do, making them look amazing (same with PS2 btw). RPCS3 is making incredibly strides, with updates very frequently, I’ve played several games to completion without any noticeable problems (check out Demon Souls at 4k resolution, 60 FPS). Cemu is a champ for Wii U stuff, they’re just about to release a version that uses Vulkan, so expect some further improvements before long. Hell, Yuzu is already running Switch games at resolutions and framrates a real Switch wouldn’t be able for. I’d say in a years time, Yuzu will be able to replace the Switch in terms of compatibility etc.

Modern emulators are damned impressive, but for me, the real hook is when you move away from having a folder of individual emulators that you use. This breaks the experience a lot, and for whatever reason, I find it harder to engage with emulation that way. What sold me was having a professional frontend for everything, with metadata like screenshots, preview videos, box art, game manuals, etc etc. Only then, emulation becomes a ‘product’ as such, where you launch the frontend, and have systems and games available from the Atari 2600 up to the Wii U, all presented to you in a manner that makes you feel like you’re using a real system....much like the effect the Snes Mini et al gives, only waaaay better. I use Launchbox, and one new feature is the ability to pause a game, then browse through high res scans of that games manual, through the pages, and return to the game, all without the controller ever leaving your hand. The days of launching Zsnes with a mouse, clicking file, load rom, and playing the game, are long gone.

^^ it can be a real project to set that all up, but the learning curve isn’t steep, and it becomes mostly repetition after a while. RetroArch handles most everything up to the modern stuff. Having one emulator for 90% of systems is a dream, and you can set different configs for different systems, so I’ve shaders set for certain consoles, then I’ll switch to something like a GameBoy, and it’ll load a GB game, put up the GB DMG overlay, switch to the Gameboy shader, and then if I switch to something else, it’ll load that config. It’s an incredibly versatile emulator. Well, I’m not sure emulator is quite correct. RetroArch is more like a frontend, and the individual cores you can download from within it, they are the actual emulators.

I don’t regret the move one bit. If I had a spare room, maybe I’d go back to shelves of carts and original hardware, but I don’t. The effect of having everything available to emulate means since switching, I’ve played way more games than I would have otherwise. If you do go down this road, I’ve learned tons from doing it, and have documented a lot of info Incase disaster strikes and I ever had to do it again. I’d be happy to help if stuck etc

Retr0gamer

I find with Dreamcast, PS2 and Gamecube they have the popular games working nicely. However I've played those already and like to explore the weirder stuff in the libraries which is what makes those consoles so special. And its there that you run into lots of issues. PS2 emulation in particular has a very long way to go. Dreamcast and Gamecube though I can see being sorted out in the next year or two.

Going to give PSP emulation a go soon as I've so many great games for that system but I just don't like to use the PSP or Vita. I heard the emulation for that system is pretty solid.

The Last Bandit

Thanks for the info !! Just trying out 'redream' and it looks pretty good alright.

I've no shortage of ways to emulated the older 8/16 bit stuff, using Retroarch on both the Nvidia Shield TV and Switch - the Switch is epic for 16 bit RPGs

Its the later stuff I don't emulate yet, that said I'll definitely be keeping PS2 & Xbox.

I think with me its a case of way too much stuff and nowhere near enough time to use it so going to trim the fleet down to the essentials with both consoles and computers. Seriously, I don't need 5 MSX computers !!

Retr0gamer

You still need one though. Those Konami games are *little chef kiss*

Inviere

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I find with Dreamcast, PS2 and Gamecube they have the popular games working nicely. However I've played those already and like to explore the weirder stuff in the libraries which is what makes those consoles so special. And its there that you run into lots of issues. PS2 emulation in particular has a very long way to go.

Have you any examples of this, and do you know what versions of the emulators you were using? I'm not at all saying that these emulators are perfect, but PS2 aside, I've never run into anything on GameCube for example that gives 'lots of issues'...

Take look at the Dolphin compatibility list - https://dolphin-emu.org/compat/ Playable games listed at 61.4% (Runs well, only minor graphical or audio glitches. Games can be played all the way through), Perfect games listed at 32.9% (No issues at all!), that's 94.3% of games can be played either perfectly, or very well all the way to completion.

PS2 does have a long way to go, but it has made large strides of late. It's seemingly because the PS2 used bespoke hardware, with virtually no documentation available for it.

CiDeRmAn

Wow, emulation has really come a long way alright, though I do miss those heady, late 90's days when I was using Nesticle and Mame, disk-spanning the bigger files across a couple of floppies in a Internet Cafe in Dublin, before getting them home!

Hmmm....

Maybe a forum rename is in order....

Inviere

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Maybe a forum rename is in order....

Arcade Retro & Systems Emulation..........

Inviere

For the first time Silent Hill 2 is rendering more in-game than just a grey screen. Actually, we're not far from what is expected from this game (visual issues left for now are some transparency problems, wrong color of the text in-game and ligthing in darker areas). Performance wise very good (even with my old and slow i3 2100) and it' stable (never found a crash or hang after many tests).

​No interest in Silent Hill 2? Great! This also improved rendering in many other games, here's a list based in all my tests:

Bloodrayne: fog now renders correcly
Dragonball Z Sagas: video before in-game is rendering for the first time
Halo: menus are now visible
Kill Switch: character model now is rendered better (still incorrect, but improved)
Commandos Strike Force: screen flickering fixed, characters and enemies models are rendering better
​
Code is still in development/testing, there's still some regressions to take care before making this part of the development builds, but I'm sure we can all agree this very promising

AND...

Thanks to kd-11's contributions this month, Gran Turismo games are now running with near-perfect graphics!

^^ framerate still has a ways to go, but it's crazy to think Gran Turismo 5 & 6 are within reach now of emulation.

RPCS3 is nothing short of amazing considering it may as well be emulating extraterrestrial technology. Seriously impressive emulator

Inviere

Just on the topic of more 'recent' console emulation, here's a quick & brief (albeit technical) state of play video from MVG on original Xbox emulation. The heart of the matter is Cxbx originally came along, had a very HLE approach, compatibility was low, and eventually died off. Then some years later, Cxbx-Reloaded came out, still had the same HLE approach but certain facets of it shifted to LLE, compat is improved, but as it's based on Cxbx, still has the same limitations. A more recent emulator has come out, Xqemu, with is an LLE based approach, still very early days, but should overtake Cxbx-Reloaded at some stage.

Retr0gamer

Inviere wrote: »

Have you any examples of this, and do you know what versions of the emulators you were using? I'm not at all saying that these emulators are perfect, but PS2 aside, I've never run into anything on GameCube for example that gives 'lots of issues'...

Well the definition of lots of issues is different for some people. Graphical glitches and games just not looking right is enough to turn me right off. Admittedly it was a while ago when I tried redream and dophin but I remember Maken X had sound issues, D2 didn't run and Lack of Love and Jet Set Radio had minor graphical glitches which put me off. Dolphin I tried Super Mario Galaxy, F-zero GX, Contra, custom Robo and Geist. Contra rebirth didn't work while the others while playable were just off enough to annoy me.

I think Redream and dolphin will get there in the end and be great emulators and are already impressive but PS2 really has a long way to go. I'm not saying that to belittle the work done by the people behind it, it's more that there's a huge amount of work that needs to be done to get that system well emulated.

Inviere

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Well the definition of lots of issues is different for some people. Graphical glitches and games just not looking right is enough to turn me right off. Admittedly it was a while ago when I tried redream and dophin but I remember Maken X had sound issues, D2 didn't run and Lack of Love and Jet Set Radio had minor graphical glitches which put me off. Dolphin I tried Super Mario Galaxy, F-zero GX, Contra, custom Robo and Geist. Contra rebirth didn't work while the others while playable were just off enough to annoy me.

You should try a more recent build to be fair. Similarly, your own personal hardware will affect results, which if not up to the task, shouldn't be used to criticise the emulator (not saying this point is relevant to you, it's just a broad point). I know Mario Galaxy and F-Zero GX, and Contra etc all play beautifully, at resolutions the Switch can only dream of, let alone the Wii.

I do accept your overall point, that any glitches/bugs generally stand out big time when it comes to emulation, and can severely break the experience. I share that same opinion, so I'd consider myself to have high standards in context. I still maintain though, that particularly with Dolphin, it's good enough to replace original hardware (for 90%+ of the games anyway). That's if the users hardware is good enough, and they've configured everything properly too.

Redream is very cool, and gets better all the time, but I'm not sure it's enough to supersede a real Dreamcast just yet - for the very reason you mention, graphical bugs and glitches. It's very, very playable though.

I think Redream and dolphin will get there in the end and be great emulators and are already impressive but PS2 really has a long way to go. I'm not saying that to belittle the work done by the people behind it, it's more that there's a huge amount of work that needs to be done to get that system well emulated.

Fully agree. The PS2's hardware has no real documentation, so anything we have today is by trial and error, hard work, and luck. Within 1 year, Dolphin and Redream will have bettered themselves significantly, PCSX2 though, that's going to need far more than 12 months to reach maturity. I'd agree, very impressive work so far, but a LOT more needed.

KeRbDoG

'Modern Vintage Gamer's take on 'The Current State of Original Xbox Emulation on the PC'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiWH4TcFCAY

Inviere

Why I love emulation....