Emulation (open discussion) [Archive] - Armageddon Games Forums

ZTC

09-06-2004, 04:18 PM

I haven't seen a topic like this posted, so I thought I might start one.
I bascially want this thread to be an open discution about emulation and roms.
Subjects that come to mind(but not limited to) are as following:
Your thoughts in general
Public domain roms
Have you downloaded any?
ect, ect

One thing I'm curious about is this(to start the discussion):
would it legal to have a Sega CD emu that can play the Sega CD discs?

NESLolo32

09-06-2004, 05:34 PM

I'm planning on building a MAME cabinet from my scratch design..

*b*

09-06-2004, 05:47 PM

it's the games that are illegal, not the player, so no, Cyborg, it's not illegal to play official disks with an emulator... or is it? I'm pretty sure it isn't, but don't hold me to it

ZTC

09-06-2004, 11:34 PM

it's the games that are illegal, not the player, so no, Cyborg, it's not illegal to play official disks with an emulator... or is it? I'm pretty sure it isn't, but don't hold me to it

Heh, I won't hold you to it, but something comes to mind:
bleem! Who remembers that program that allows a person to play PS1 games on the PC?
Eh, oh well.

Thoughts on public domain roms?
(and would it be alright to post links to them, as long as there are no 'indecent' links or illegal roms/links with them?

DarkDragoonX

09-07-2004, 11:08 AM

Heh, I won't hold you to it, but something comes to mind:
bleem! Who remembers that program that allows a person to play PS1 games on the PC?
Eh, oh well.

Well, there's also Magic Engine, which allows you to play PC Engine and Turbo Duo games on your PC. They charge money to register it, and haven't been shut down.

Sony DID get into a legal battle with bleem!, but as I recall, bleem! won, and were allowed to keep selling their product... I think bleem! had to shut down simply because of a combination of legal fees and the fact that they really weren't making that much money.

Here's a snippet of an article I found about the subject:

Bleem launched its PlayStation emulator just over two and a half years ago, only to be instantly sued by Sony for a mix of copyright infringement, intellectual property violation and brand degradation.

Sony's case against Bleem followed a parallel action targeting Connectix, which launched a PlayStation emulator of its own earlier in the year, for the Macintosh. Unlike the Connectix case, however, Bleem won the support of the court, beating a temporary injunction against sales of its emulator and later defeating Sony's demand to ban the sale of the emulator permanently.

Sony's failures in court went to its head, Bleem later alleged in a countersuit of its own. The emulation company claimed that the Japanese giant's US operation had initiated a dirty tricks policy which, in part, involved attempting to have Bleem thrown out of the May 1999 E3 show, one of the world's largest games industry shindigs.

May 2000 saw the announcement of the Dreamcast version of Bleem - Bleemcast - at which point Sony sued the company again. Once more, Sony alleged that Bleem was violating its patents.

Now, as we all know, bleem! shut down shortly after the Bleemcast announcement. I think that they just weren't making enough money to pay the legal fees to deal with all of Sony's lawsuits, and were thus forced to give up.

Pangolin

09-07-2004, 02:28 PM

I dotn agree. Its rips off the company. Well, if its a new game at least.
Nes, Snes, N64 and Gamboy are all ok now, as there are no gfames selling anymore. Byt GBA, GC etc is wrong methinks.

ZTC

09-07-2004, 02:35 PM

yeah.
right now emulation for old/outdated systems is kind of a grey area for me.
new systems/games is completely out of the question
it's just not right

Feasul

09-07-2004, 03:45 PM

Kairyu

09-07-2004, 07:09 PM

I think that morally (not legally) it's ok to download new games if and only if you are doing it just to try it out, like a rental. And if you like it then you buy the game. After all, it's usually better to play a console game on the console, right?

Well, sure, it's like a rental, except that instead of a rental place buying 1+ copies which are rented out to a few individuals temporarily, one person gives permanent copies to 1000+ individuals.

But yes, unless you've got a controller or modified one of your own, it's not even close to the origional experience. Ever play a 6-button fighting game with a keyboard? Hadoken suddenly becomes DIFFICULT. So when you want to do something complex like, say, Somersault Justice... I mean, I suck pretty bad on my own, but it's like some sort of joke to watch me play on a keyboard.

BTW, there's a post in one of the Sticky topics on this forum about posting ROM links: NO. Emulators are okay, but if there are ANY roms on the site which aren't PD, then NO. And if you need to ask, then NO, your rom is NOT PD.

Masamune

09-07-2004, 07:18 PM

There's nothing I love more than downloading fresh PS2 isos and playing them on my PS2. Or pulling the old rent, rip, burn is also tons of fun. I rented about 7 PS2 games from the local video rental store, and the clerk asked me "Are you gonna play all those games in 5 days?" "Hell no, buddy, it'll take me atleast a few months." ;) So in conclusion... Yes I think it's wrong. No I do not care. If I can obtain 30 - 50 dollar software for free, then I'm not going to hesitate. =p

*note to mott- it just came in today, and i don't even need the damn card! XD*

deathbyhokie

09-07-2004, 07:31 PM

Heh, I won't hold you to it, but something comes to mind:
bleem! Who remembers that program that allows a person to play PS1 games on the PC?
Eh, oh well.

there's also epsxe, which is alive and well, as well as my player of choice.

Archibaldo

09-07-2004, 07:55 PM

I would rather actually buy the game because I'd hate playing it on the computer. I find it more comfortable to play on the system and that way you can take it to your friends house and play it on thier console.
Using a ROM just as a "rental" I think would be ok. Why pay for a game that ends up being horrible in the first place? It wouldn't be wrong if you just keept it for like a day or two.

ZTC

09-07-2004, 11:27 PM

But yes, unless you've got a controller or modified one of your own, it's not even close to the origional experience. Ever play a 6-button fighting game with a keyboard? Hadoken suddenly becomes DIFFICULT. So when you want to do something complex like, say, Somersault Justice... I mean, I suck pretty bad on my own, but it's like some sort of joke to watch me play on a keyboard.
heh, I have a sidewinder gamepad, so it's pretty easy to play some of the games.

BTW, there's a post in one of the Sticky topics on this forum about posting ROM links: NO. Emulators are okay, but if there are ANY roms on the site which aren't PD, then NO. And if you need to ask, then NO, your rom is NOT PD.
Thanks for clarifying that for me :thumbsup:

Anyone reccommend a SNES emu that can run smoothly on a P1 MMX @ 233 MHZ?
(and yes, that's my main computer :( )
Gens(and Gens+) works excellent on my 'dinosaur' of a system(now I just need to get a few Sega CD discs to try with it...)

Lutraphobiac

09-08-2004, 12:32 PM

I do not download ROMS, but this is only because I have all of the ROMS that I could want already. I have about 600+ NES ROMs and quite a few SNES and genisis roms. I have little interest in using emulators for high end consoles.

I think it is okay, but you can never beat the feel of the real system. That is why I have been looking for an NES. They are getting to be pretty rare it seems.

Kairyu

09-08-2004, 01:36 PM

heh, I have a sidewinder gamepad, so it's pretty easy to play some of the games.

Thanks for clarifying that for me :thumbsup:

Anyone reccommend a SNES emu that can run smoothly on a P1 MMX @ 233 MHZ?
(and yes, that's my main computer :( )
Gens(and Gens+) works excellent on my 'dinosaur' of a system(now I just need to get a few Sega CD discs to try with it...)

Well, I'd say try ZSNES, DOS version, and then ZSNES, windows version. If it's still slow, try doing stuff like changing the screen size/filtering or disabling the sound. Beyond that, you'd be better off asking an expert in the field...

Edit: I've got a Sidewinder, as well a Capcom PC Fighter 6 pad which I got with MMX PC. They just doesn't work with my computer. There seem to be compatibility issues with the hardware that can't be fixed.

ZTC

09-08-2004, 02:35 PM

Well, I'd say try ZSNES, DOS version, and then ZSNES, windows version. If it's still slow, try doing stuff like changing the screen size/filtering or disabling the sound. Beyond that, you'd be better off asking an expert in the field...
I've tried ZSNES for windows, and it doesn't cut it. :( I'll try the dos version, I just have to remember where it can be found...
btw, SNES9x works better, but the frame rate is still choppy(about 3/4 speed)
Now if I can find a better emulater for NES besides JNES.

I would love to tell you guys where I found a good amount of PD roms, but there's links to illegal roms, and hentai links. If there wern't, I'd post the link. But if you want to know where the PD roms can be found, give me an e-mail, or IM me via AIM (The Cyborg x2)
(but don't say I didn't warn you!)

Vagla

09-08-2004, 06:14 PM

Sidewinder? What's the point when you can use a PSX controller with a Radioshack PSX to USB adapter? The things are only $10.50, support the joysticks and force feedback, and work with both the original controller and the later varieties such as DualShock 2.

Needless to say, playing PSX and N64 games on my PC and laptop is much, much better with my DualShock 2 than with a keyboard. When it comes to NES, though, it's keyboard all the way! ;)

As for the thread's topic, I don't see a problem with emulation of anything that isn't produced anymore. Beyond that, however, emulation of games should only be done if you own a game (preferably, you'd dump the ROM or ISO yourself instead of downloading it. The hardware for this isn't really expensive for the GBA). But that's just my opinion, anyway. *shrugs*

Gerudo

09-08-2004, 07:22 PM

I'll try the dos version, I just have to remember where it can be found... apparently you've never heard of Zophar's Domain (google it) or ZSNES.com...

anyways, you're going to need at least a p300 or more to have a decent framerate... or a damn good video card.

ZTC

09-09-2004, 12:29 AM

... :mad2:
just have to browse aroud garage sales for parts then...

What are some of the best emulatiors for every single system?

DsS Game

09-09-2004, 12:35 AM

it's the games that are illegal, not the player, so no, Cyborg, it's not illegal to play official disks with an emulator... or is it? I'm pretty sure it isn't, but don't hold me to it

It's not illegal IF YOU HAVE A COPY OF THE GAME. It is if you don't own the original copy.

The only new games I get are the ones for gba since they seem to be easy to rip off either way.

Daywalker

DsS Game

09-09-2004, 12:39 AM

I've tried ZSNES for windows, and it doesn't cut it. :( I'll try the dos version, I just have to remember where it can be found...
btw, SNES9x works better, but the frame rate is still choppy(about 3/4 speed)
Now if I can find a better emulater for NES besides JNES.

I would love to tell you guys where I found a good amount of PD roms, but there's links to illegal roms, and hentai links. If there wern't, I'd post the link. But if you want to know where the PD roms can be found, give me an e-mail, or IM me via AIM (The Cyborg x2)
(but don't say I didn't warn you!)

Get Nesticle or RockNES. Nesticle works well for PCs that have low performance rates. My old packard bell comp was slow as fuck. Talking about 75 mHz here but it work for that.

RockNES has most of the sounds and graphics down to a T.

The only ROM I really need is the jap version of Mario 2. In the states its called The Lost Levels.
Sorry for the double post.

Daywalker

ZTC

09-09-2004, 12:45 AM

It's not illegal IF YOU HAVE A COPY OF THE GAME. It is if you don't own the original copy.Daywalker

Uh, I hate to say that you're wrong, but Nintendo(and possibly other companies) DO NOT allow archive copies of games; but that doesn't stop people :mischief:

Could that be contested? Probably. Look at what happened with DVD rippers, they won the archive battle. The same thing could happen with Nintendo. Who knows?

If I may, what games has anyone downloaded, and why?
(for me, it's usually public domain roms, and imports that haven't been released in the US at all, like Final Fight Tough for the Super Famicom, or Zero Wing for the Mega Drive)

MottZilla

09-09-2004, 01:26 AM

Cyborg, what "Nintendo" allows or says, doesn't mean jack shit. The law states and any prior actions support that you are legally entitled to make backup copies of any software you purchased. There is no reason for you not to be able to as far as common sense goes.

However, making copies of games and distributing them to those whom are not legally entitled is not. This means, putting files up for download, giving your friends copies, etc.

Anyways emulation is totally legal. The only things to keep in mind are COPYRIGHTS. System bios roms are always copyrighted. All commercial game software is ussually copyrighted. These things you may not obtain or make a copy of unless you own the original. :O It's all common sense really.

As far as the old vs. new, no one really gets hurt horribly by old game system roms being distributed. If anything it raises populairity for sequels.

ZTC

09-09-2004, 01:35 AM

You make a good point Mott.

DsS Game, thanks for pointing out Nesticle(and RockNES) for me, thanks!

DsS Game

09-09-2004, 05:24 AM

Uh, I hate to say that you're wrong, but Nintendo(and possibly other companies) DO NOT allow archive copies of games; but that doesn't stop people :mischief:

Could that be contested? Probably. Look at what happened with DVD rippers, they won the archive battle. The same thing could happen with Nintendo. Who knows?

Dude if u read disclaimers on any site where you would normally download ROMs, it gives you an agreement. You agree to that agreement only if you have the original copy of a game.

Daywalker

Vagla

09-09-2004, 05:54 AM

Er, yes, because we all know that everything on ROM site agreement pages, like the 24 hour rule, is true. </sarcasm>

It's my understanding that there really is no problem with dumping/ripping your own ROM or ISO from your own legitimate copy of the game. However, downloading a ROM or ISO for a game you own is not legal. People simply use that as an excuse to justify downloading games. Honestly, I see nothing wrong with the excuse, since not everyone has backup software and downloading games can be more convenient than dumping/ripping them yourself, but it's still not an adequate excuse.

DsS Game

09-09-2004, 10:44 AM

It really isn't illegal if your downloading a game that yo already own. Your practically downloading a backup of a ame you have. I don't see that being illegal.

Daywalker

Kairyu

09-09-2004, 08:34 PM

It really isn't illegal if your downloading a game that yo already own. Your practically downloading a backup of a ame you have. I don't see that being illegal.

Daywalker

HA HA HA no.

It really IS illegal if you're downloading a game that you already own. You're literally downloading a copy of the game which you didn't pay for, unless you paid some ROM site for the download, which would probably be even worse than just downloading it for free.
Not that downloading it for free is good just because it could be worse. Think of it this way: there are very, very few judges in this country who would be willing to let you get off with having shot someone in the foot just because it was better than shooting them in the head.
Of course, if you don't already see it as being illegal, I doubt you're going to listen to some random poster on a message board like me. Regardless of the fact that I actually have a slight clue as to what I'm talking about.

Now, here's something unrelated to the immediate discussion I've been wondering about. Are .SPCs, .PSFs, etc. legal? I can't imagine how they could be. But they're on Zophar's Domain, and I was under the impression that the point of that site was to have a compilation of all emulation materials that they could get away with providing(legally). So is Zophar's Domain less legit than I thought, or do the sound files not qualify for legal protection, or what?

me2

09-09-2004, 09:31 PM

I used to download tons of ROMs. I had... *counts* All but 8 SNES games, all the NES games, all the GBA and GB games up to 2003, and one N64 ROM. I deleted them, and now only use ISOs to pre-view games.

...Oh, and can you make a CD Burner into a DVD Burner without buying the harddrive? And can you edit blank CDs to make them bigger?

ZTC

09-10-2004, 12:09 AM

:odd:
interesting question; but I wouldn't know how to answer it :shrug:

Anyways, I just got BattleArena Toshinden 2 PSX game, and I was wonderin what would be a good emulator that can (a) play the black CDs, and (b), would run semi-decent on my system(see page 1)?

Here's another question: what do you think of 'hacked' ROMS?
(like the PD ROM Atari Invaders)

MottZilla

09-10-2004, 01:13 AM

DsS Game, in the USA, downloaing copies of copyrighted works is illegal without permission from the copyright holder. However, in the USA, it is legal to make backup copies of copyrighted software and such you own. You however are not to distribute such copies without copyright holder permission etc etc.

In otherwords no matter how you spin it, if you've downloaded a ROM, you've violated someone's copyright. The catch is, unless you are copying something that is still being sold, the copyright holder may not be inclined to take you to court unless you are mass distributing copies of their product or something. However it's still illegal or in copyright violation.

ZTC

09-10-2004, 02:17 PM

Again, Mottzilla makes a good point and sets things straight. :) :thumbsup:

And to add to what he said, one has to be careful when companies rehash a game(or games);
example, the Mega Man collections for GC, PS2, and GBA

MottZilla

09-10-2004, 04:16 PM

Exactly man. Companies also often start attacking prior to rereleases of products. I.E. when Zelda 3 was being rereleased on GBA they started attacking sites that offered the SNES rom.

Anyways, they aren't being mean, they have every right to protect their property.

Xyvol

09-12-2004, 02:50 PM

I'm looking for a PS2 emulator. My reasoning for this is when my roomate's watching tv I'd like to be able to come in my room and play using the computer. The ones I was able to find would only play a select list of games. Are there any good PS2 emulators out there? Do they use the CD/DVD drive to play the disks? I'm not really interested in downloading games, I just want to play what I have.

I'm surprised that Nintendo hasn't made a big deal about the older NES emulators and roms, since they've been doing a lot of re-releasing lately. They've got the classic collection for the GBA, Zelda, Mario, Excitebike, ect. and I hear they may relese more. It's kind of annoying really, I because I didn't pay ~$100 for a handheld NES/SNES player. I want to see more original GBA games.

MottZilla

09-13-2004, 12:16 AM

No, you're screwwed. If you want to play "on the computer" get a video card or device capable of TV in. No emulator at this point could possibly compare to the experience of using the real PS2 hardware. It will remain this way for quite some time as well.

Nintendo probably hasn't made a huge deal over their re-releases vs. roms because they are selling these things so cheap and they cost damn near nothing to produce.

Anyways, I'm with you on the GBA and NES ports, wtf. It was a nice addition to like, Metroid Zero Mission to have the original. However, SNES ports, provided they are good ports, are great. Unfortunately they aren't that great. GBA should focus on quality original games (like Metroid Zero Mission, while a remake its actually an original game, never before see like that before, only based on the metroid concept.

Metroid Zero and Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland (Kirby's Adventure remake) are my favorite GBA games.

ZTC

09-13-2004, 12:31 AM

Now if I can find a reliable place to download plugins for epsxe...

oh, I tried ZSNES DOS, the speed is almost 100%, but it's buggy as hell :mad2:, especially with sound not playing. Oh well, i'll just try to find a dos version of snes9x, and see if I get a speed improvement...

DsS Game

09-13-2004, 09:16 AM

ZTC

09-13-2004, 10:24 AM

P1 MMX at 233 MHZ
2MB built on video
64MB EDO RAM

( it's an old Packard Bell tower that I bought at a garage sale for $10 )

DsS Game

09-13-2004, 08:56 PM

Unless you change the frame rate a bit, I don't think your gonna have a great time with an snes emulator.

I dunno I think at most u need a 500 mhz to comp for it to run smooth. My old comp. was 600 mHz but it didnt run completely smooth but it was tolerable.

Daywalker

ZTC

09-14-2004, 01:06 AM

meh, I still can run Street Fighter II Turbo, Final Fight Tough, Super Mario RPG, Final Fantasy II, ect somewhat decent, eventhough the framerate is about 7
I don't mind that much, it just runs about 3/4 speed(it's sometimes better to have that when playing certian games)

MottZilla

09-14-2004, 02:39 AM

With a 233mhz, certain games are bound to run slower, like anything using color arithmetic (when they do effects to simulate translucent water or fog) or any special chips like super fx, sa-1, sdd1, etc.

Anyways, you also may want to try an OLDER version of ZSNES. Like around 0.7XX. As it got newer it got slower. Btw sound may not be playing because I believe sound emulation output may be disabled by default.

ZTC

09-15-2004, 12:14 AM

thanks for the info
btw, I have sound enabled via commandline swiches, because if I mess with the sound menu, the sound stops working after a minute. When that happens, the whole computer requires a restart in order to get the sound working :mad2:
there's also sprite layer problems when playing Super Mario RPG, and other problems when playing BSZELDA...
oh well, just have to keep looking.

MottZilla

09-15-2004, 02:08 AM

ZTC

09-15-2004, 02:21 AM

didn't know that about SMRPG :thumbsup:
maybe tomorrow i'll look for other SNES emulators...
though, i still like snes9x better than ZSNES, because, it's runs faster, it has more of a 'windows' configuration, and it has a better handling of save states(and custom save states)

MottZilla

09-15-2004, 04:15 PM

Whatever works best when you are dealing with an older machine. With newer machines though... even then for SNES its whatever works best because none are totally accurate.

ZTC

09-16-2004, 12:27 AM

*now to contiune on with the discussion*
(but a question first, could this be stickied?)

What Roms have you downloaded, and why?
(the ones that i've mention are because either i can't find them, or they're imports [like Zero Wing] )

DsS Game

09-16-2004, 06:47 AM

ZSNES is not a very accurate emulator, BSZelda is very sensitive, and doesn't work in all versions of ZSNES. Super Mario RPG uses the SA-1 chip by the way, which means it takes even more power to emulate since it must emulate the SA-1. Graphics problems, try hitting the 7, 8 or 9 keys, one of them switches between new and old gfx engines. One may look correct while the other does not. Also one may be faster than the other.

I thought it was accurate? Some say its one of the best cause the emulation is perfect.

Daywalker

ZTC

09-17-2004, 01:18 AM

have you tried to run BSZelda with ZSNES?
it's a big pain in the ass, not to mention that the sound (music and effects) is horrible at best

emulatiors aren't perfect, for example, they can't play every single ROM for that particular system, some of the added processors aren't fully supported or not even supported(like a few for snes9x), but that's usually for one or two special games(like Star Ocean and Street Fighter Alpha 2, for another example, but snes9x supports that), certain import roms has someting different(i don't remember what) that is completely foreign to an emulator, so it won't run; if a rom runs in one emulator, it's not gaurnteed to run in another version or a totally different emulator(like BSZelda not running in snes9x, but it runs under certain versions of ZSNES)
I hope I cleared that up for you :D

MottZilla

09-17-2004, 02:42 AM

I actually wrote a great reply about this, but mozilla crashed, and I wasn't gonna type the damn thing again. But yes, ZSNES is actually very inaccurate. ZSNES is/was designed to play games, and as fast as possible. Many games that aren't as sensitive, work great, and used to work fast. Newer versions pretty much crippled speed.

ZSNES plays lots of things amazingly well, but other things, it totally falls on. Emulation of the CPU, the SPC700 chip (sound), extra chips like DSP, SFX, SDD1, etc. are not perfect. Never will be.

Also, ZSNES still does not support realtime SDD1 emulation, while SNES9X does. ZSNES and Snes9X still support SDD1 games with GFX packs to avoid SDD1 emulation all together.

ZTC

09-17-2004, 03:21 AM

and to make things a little speedier, you can use the GFX packs with SDD1 in snes9x

I would say that snes9x would be the best emulator for really old systems, like mine
(and since i got a better updated version of it yesterday, it runs a little bit faster :D )

DsS Game

09-17-2004, 06:26 AM

I dunno prolly the reason why it was great for me was cause I had an older version. The sound was great for me because it was actually a great replica.

I already know about emulators not being perfect. I need an emulator that would run the jap version of super mario 2 (US version of the Lost Levels) I always wanted to see how that game was in old school mario graphics.

Daywalker

MottZilla

09-17-2004, 11:21 PM

SDD1 emulation is not "faster" unless your PC is REALLY slow. Realtime SDD1 decompression shouldn't burden you that much, unless ofcourse if you really are running like a pentium 233mhz. ;p

ZTC

09-18-2004, 11:38 PM

my computer really is a P1 MMX @ 233 MHZ, but i haven't found any roms that need to use those capabilites :shrug:

DsS Game, I'm pretty sure that JNES supports Japan imports, hope that helps!

MottZilla

09-19-2004, 12:05 AM

For NES I recommend Nestopia, and second FCE Ultra.

ZTC

09-20-2004, 01:36 AM

hey, what are some good hacking utilites for roms?

MottZilla

09-20-2004, 02:15 AM

Depends on what you want to do. http://www.zophar.net has nearly anything you could think of. If it's not there though there is a good chance it's not available at all.

ZTC

09-20-2004, 10:05 AM

should of known that zophar had that kind of thing...
thanks Mott!:thumbsup:

now i'm curious about this: would a Neo*Geo emulator run on my system?
(see above or previous pages)

MottZilla

09-21-2004, 01:00 AM

Yes. NeoRageX would run. If not, try FinalBurnAlpha or Kawaks.

ZTC

09-21-2004, 01:24 AM

thanks, you're always a big help.

how about we contiune with the general discussion, shall we?

Kairyu

09-21-2004, 08:06 PM

In that case, I'd like to pose a question, and re-pose an old(er) unanswered question.
(By the way, sorry if I sounded rude, DsS Game. I actually was trying to be a jerk, for whatever reason, and in hindsight that was stupid and unneeded. I really had no cause to jump on you like that, and I should have tried being polite before being rude. I apologize.)
(Also, thanks, Vagla, for suggesting the PSX->USB converter- I can now suck at SFA3 without justification!)

1: How would I go about saving copies of my PSX games onto a hard drive in a format that could be read by EPSXE? I'd rather not risk damaging my CD's when I bring my laptop around. Can I just copy the CD's contents to a folder, or would I need to make ISO's or something? If so, are there any programs you'd reccommend?

2:
Now, here's something unrelated to the immediate discussion I've been wondering about. Are .SPCs, .PSFs, etc. legal? I can't imagine how they could be. But they're on Zophar's Domain, and I was under the impression that the point of that site was to have a compilation of all emulation materials that they could get away with providing(legally). So is Zophar's Domain less legit than I thought, or do the sound files not qualify for legal protection, or what?

MottZilla

09-22-2004, 01:32 AM

SPCs and PSFs are based on copyrighted work and if the copyright holder wants them removed they have every right.

About PSX, you need to make ISOs. I would suggest a program like Nero to make a disc image. If the game is only a data track, you could even go with FireBurner. Also you could go with CDRWin, but you'd best make sure to do an entire binary and not binary and wave files, atleast that's my opinion. Also ISOBuster is good for making ISOs.

Kairyu

09-22-2004, 08:13 AM

Ah, thanks! I wasn't sure if my SPC collection was legal. Of course, it isn't, but at least now I know.

Superstrider

09-22-2004, 10:55 AM

As for me, I download only Gameboy Roms... (Including advance, if you are wondering...) I only do that because most of the games I downloaded you can't get anywhere else, (Besides game store like Funcoland, or pawn shops; but those are very rare...) Does this make me a bad person?

ZTC

09-22-2004, 11:02 AM

eh, it's a grey area, but i stick to the older stuff
but i haven't download any for a number of days cause i've been engrossed with final fintasy 4-6 for the snes(with #5 i found a hacked translation :D )

[edit] i found out the problem, and fixed it, yay! :D

i find that's it is alright to get roms, as long as they aren't sold anymore, or if the games are for older systems(and being a college student, money is hard to come by :( )

Zero Wing

11-29-2004, 11:26 AM

Question,
1) which woud be the best Genesis emulator?
2) where can I find a Saturn emulator?

ZTC

11-29-2004, 12:21 PM

been awhile since I've seen this one...

1) gens, also has Sega CD and 32X capabilites, but you need to find the bios for them; gens+, more of the same, but with Master System and Game Gear coded into it
2) no idea

MottZilla

11-29-2004, 04:13 PM

Try looking at Zophar.net for SegaSaturn emulators, but beware none are good.

Kairyu

11-29-2004, 11:46 PM

As long as this is back around...

Any way to use a SNES emulator as a Super Game Boy? I mean, play Super Game Boy optimized games through ZSNES or SNES9X or whatever.

vegeta1215

11-30-2004, 01:17 AM

As long as this is back around...

Any way to use a SNES emulator as a Super Game Boy? I mean, play Super Game Boy optimized games through ZSNES or SNES9X or whatever.

I think you should check out some GB emulators for that feature. I know I've used one that supported Super Game Boy optimizations, but it's been so long, that I can't remember which one it was.

This site is a great source for emulators, I'm sure you'll be able to find one here: http://www.emulator-zone.com/

MottZilla

11-30-2004, 01:45 AM

The Super Gameboy fyi contained actual gameboy hardware and thus is not supported by any snes emulator. Like vegeta said, many GameBoy emulators let you enable the SGB borders or color things.

Kairyu

11-30-2004, 10:39 PM

Ah well, thanks anyway.

Dr. Weird

12-01-2004, 10:15 AM

Is there any way to convert save states among NES emulators? i.e. jnes, nesten, ect....

DsS Game

12-01-2004, 10:58 AM

smygb supports alll different versions of the Gameboy (Like GBC, Super Gameboy)

Daywalker

Zero Wing

12-01-2004, 11:15 AM

smygb supports alll different versions of the Gameboy (Like GBC, Super Gameboy)

Daywalker

I have that one myself, but it has no configurable controls :mad:

Mottzilla, thank you for the head's up

ZTC

12-01-2004, 12:08 PM

Is there any way to convert save states among NES emulators? i.e. jnes, nesten, ect....

not that I know of.

And I ask a similar question, is there a way to convert SNES9X save states to ZSNES?
--------
what kind of periphal(sp?) do you use when using the emulators?
since I'm on the family comp, and mine is down, I'm stuck using the keyboard; the weird thing is, I'm better at Street Fighter II Turbo with the keyboard than I am with the Sidewinder

DsS Game

12-01-2004, 01:36 PM

I have that one myself, but it has no configurable controls :mad:

Mottzilla, thank you for the head's up

Yeah i know. Oh well I got used to the controls anyhows so no biggie for me =P

Daywalker

punkonjunk1024

12-01-2004, 01:58 PM

Sorry if its been asked already, but too much reading for jake... Does anyone know where I can get bleem! or anything of the like? I have a PS1 usb controller, so it'd be awesome to play my games on my PC.

I DO DL roms, alot. and *cough* alot of ones I don't own *cough*... my POV is, yes, its illegal, but so are the 350 burned CDs in my cd case. I wouldn't have the money to buy them, but I still get it through the ability to copy it... And games are a bit different than music, but I'm getting the exposure to the game, and becoming alot more likely to buy it or related games than if I were in the mindset "NO! its wrong says nintendo!" (not to shoot anyone down, just IMO)

MottZilla

12-01-2004, 05:39 PM

I also have a PSX to USB adaptor and use my original PSx Dual Shock controller from ages ago on my PC. It's a well built controller (made in japan, NOT china). It's awesome.

Kairyu

12-01-2004, 06:49 PM

Sorry if its been asked already, but too much reading for jake... Does anyone know where I can get bleem! or anything of the like? I have a PS1 usb controller, so it'd be awesome to play my games on my PC.

It has been asked, but that's okay, it is a lot of reading. Search for Zophar's Domain, they should have bleem!, but I use EPSXE myself.

Zero Wing

12-01-2004, 09:18 PM

It has been asked, but that's okay, it is a lot of reading. Search for Zophar's Domain, they should have bleem!, but I use EPSXE myself.

yeah, it's a decent emulator, again, I ask as before--
are there converters for NES emulator save-states?

DsS Game

12-02-2004, 12:49 AM

I can never get any of the PS2 emulators to work on my comp.

I can't find a different version of Kalleira that actually wants to go online. Does anyone know where I can find it?

Daywalker

MottZilla

12-02-2004, 02:45 AM

DssGame, PS2 emulators that exist are not capable of playing commercial games. While one or two has gotten to the point of running some, they require top notch systems no doubt (got a 64bit athlon cpu?) and you are better off using a REAL PS2 unit to play. Zero Wing, check Zophar's utilities section, they might have something.

DsS Game

12-02-2004, 02:57 AM

Oops. I meant PS1 my bad.

Daywalker

MottZilla

12-02-2004, 03:08 AM

Well then, get EPSXE, and follow one of the turtorials or read the instructions and it shouldn't be hard to get it up and running. I recommend for the GPU plugin to use Pete's Software Rendering plugin.

FireGirl

12-02-2004, 08:18 PM

Well emulators are illegal period but woo woo woo do not panic I FORTUNATELLY GOTTEN a way to solve this: I am going to make on a game on the internet to download to where you get to make your own game.

But will ZC go out if you make that (th@) site?

NOT A CHANCE IN THE WORLD BECAUSE ONCE I make th@ game I am going to see if its programs can go with ZC and since it will advance more the awnser shall be Yes.

Masamune

12-02-2004, 08:22 PM

No. Emulators are %100 legal. You might be thinking of the BIOS, which I'm fairly certain aren't legal.

But good luck with whatever the hell you were trying to say....

MottZilla

12-03-2004, 01:18 AM

FireGirl, no one cares what you have to say. Go away.

Emulators aren't illegal. We don't need stupid kids like you spouting their trash.

DsS Game

12-03-2004, 09:11 AM

Grr them newbs lol.

Daywalker

punkonjunk1024

12-03-2004, 12:17 PM

MottZilla

12-03-2004, 03:21 PM

Then someone get a staff member to look into it.

ZTC

12-03-2004, 04:02 PM

Then someone get a staff member to look into it.

yep, only thing you can do with that...
---
I don't remember if this was brought up, but would BIOS files needed to run certain emulators be legal? (ie, the Sega CD portion of gens, or EPSXE)

MottZilla

12-03-2004, 05:28 PM

The Bios files are ussually copyrighted and illegal to distribute. Forinstance Sega CD, Sega 32X, Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, PSX, PS2, NeoGeo, NeoGeo CD, and so forth.

FireGirl

12-03-2004, 08:03 PM

Well, hold on now it is not against God's law to have emulators so, it is morally ok and the only three ways to get caught most likely are:

If you turn yourself into the company.

Someone from the company comes to your house & sees it or if your are going to turn around AND START SELLING THEM!!!

So as long as you do not make profit you are ok I promise ok but Motzilla please change your post & last, please understand when I make my game on the internet where you get to make your own game, you know I'll just make it to go along with a ZC program versions (at least one) to download so people CAN WAYYYYY EASIER make there own game like whatever they wish.

But I will contact the guy who makes the versions of ZC about it who may I contact though?

FireGirl

12-03-2004, 08:07 PM

Masamune

12-03-2004, 08:25 PM

FYI, there is no way in hell Nintendo is going to come to your house to look in your window to see if you're playing on VBA. That would be an extremely inefficient way to go about stopping piracy. And please, know what you're talking about before you decide to add in your 2 cents. That wasn't meant to be a flame. I'm just saying, you don't know wtf you're talking about.

MottZilla

12-04-2004, 01:53 AM

I'm not changing my fucking post. Who the fuck mentioned God? I don't care what your beliefs are. We don't want your opinion on anything. You're an idiot. Go away. You don't know anything about creating anything. Zelda Classic developers will not respond to you due to you being an idiot. Now go away kid.

DsS Game

12-05-2004, 10:56 PM

Yeah you pretty much ditched yourself in a hole firegirl. Do yourself a favor and know the things your talking about before you say anything else.

Daywalker

vegeta1215

12-05-2004, 11:05 PM

Yeah you pretty much ditched yourself in a hole firegirl. Do yourself a favor and know the things your talking about before you say anything else.

Lets gets back to the discussion at hand, shall we?

DsS Game

12-06-2004, 08:27 AM

Damn why does it gotta be my post? lol.

Daywalker

Dr. Weird

12-06-2004, 10:55 AM

I'll start things goin again :sweat:

which is better, SNES9X or ZSNES?

Zero Wing

12-06-2004, 11:13 AM

ZTC

12-06-2004, 11:23 AM

both have their ups and downs :shrug:

here's an interesting problem--
when I'm recording an AVI of gameplay through SNES9X the colors are "wrong", is there anything I can do about it?
(playing Zelda 3, opening the Misery Mire dungeon enterence with the medallion)
And what would be the best compression codec to use for the AVI?
(assuming I don't have other problems once this is fixed :sweat: )

vegeta1215

12-06-2004, 01:31 PM

I think ZSNES is a better emulator than SNES9x, but one thing that has been bugging me about ZSNES is that it's sound is screwy (at least in the Linux port - not sure about the others). I've tried the work in progress version, but it's not any better :(

Anybody tried SNEeSE? It's also a SNES emulator. All around it can't touch ZSNES and SNES9X, but it's sound support is amazing. I'm hoping ZSNES will use some of their stuff to improve their sound (SNEeSE is open source like too)

punkonjunk1024

12-06-2004, 01:38 PM

I agree, I use ZSNES. I've never had a sound problem on XP. :shrug:

ZTC

12-06-2004, 01:42 PM

ZSNES sound in WIN is pretty good, though, I've had problems with the DOS port
I prefer SNES9X, I feel that the interface is better than the one ZSNES has

punkonjunk1024

12-06-2004, 01:53 PM

Yeah... When I use the DOS port in a shell, the sound is completely raped. Either none at all, or it comes in so funky I disable it anyhow... and restarting in true dos takes too long :(

MottZilla

12-06-2004, 04:17 PM

I know and talk to the author of SNEeSe fairly often. As you said it doesn't yet support alot of things ZSNES and SNES9X do, but that's because it's just him (TRAC) working on it. Not to mention he's going for accurate emulation, not play as many games as you can. I don't know if you know this, but ZSNES and maybe SNES9X in the past and currently may still use special game hacks to overcome inaccurate emulation. Remember BS-Zelda? The author of the original "complete hack" tested it on ZSNES. Because of this it doesn't run properly on a real SNES. But it runs on zsnes? ZSNES doesn't mimic the strick and bitchy behavior of the real SNES hardware. SNEeSe mimics this much closer, as I noticed SNEeSe behaved the same way the real SNES did with BS-Zelda.

Anyways. I ussually use ZSNES as I started out with that because it was faster tha SNES9X back when I still used DOS. Now I just use which works best for the game I wanna play.

vegeta1215

12-06-2004, 05:11 PM

I know and talk to the author of SNEeSe fairly often. As you said it doesn't yet support alot of things ZSNES and SNES9X do, but that's because it's just him (TRAC) working on it. Not to mention he's going for accurate emulation, not play as many games as you can. I don't know if you know this, but ZSNES and maybe SNES9X in the past and currently may still use special game hacks to overcome inaccurate emulation.

Cool.

Sorry to sound like I came down so hard on SNEeSe, it wasn't intentional. I understand his situation. It's hard to compare with ZSNES and SNES9X though, when like you said, they are concerned about playing as many games as possible, not necessarily being as accurate. As far as I know, they still use hacks to play many games.

If the work that guy has done on SNEeSe just in terms of it's sound emulation is any indication of what's to come, I'm very excited :)

Kairyu

12-06-2004, 06:42 PM

I like ZSNES's rewind key, for when I'm going through a game and I do something really stupid on accident, like cast a healing spell on a boss instead of my party or something. But, my only experience with SNES9X is one crappy old version on a High School PC from the days before transparency, so I'm not really well-versed on the competition.

It seems a ZSNES WIP which supports SDD-1 compression was just released. I'd say 'bout time, but then again they aren't really getting paid for it or anything.

FireGirl

12-06-2004, 08:11 PM

Well, let me tell you something good about myself I LOOOOOOVE SOUTH-OF-THE-BORDER spicy hot stuff, I LOOOOOVVVVE Mega Man & (and) I LOOOOVVVVVEEEEEE SUGAR FREE STUFF EVEN THOUGH I AM A TEENAGER BUT THE BEST O' ALL IS DIET CHERRY 7 UP!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have something to say about emulators, they can help people in the games you know why? Because I have Dragon Quest VII (Seven) [7] for SNES BUT IT IS IN JAPANESE & I CAN NOT READ JAPANESE!!!

So if I get Dragon Quest VII as an emulator I might be able to get the downloaded version & even get it to where I will be able to read the game in english & even learn Japanese!!!

vegeta1215

12-06-2004, 11:45 PM

I have something to say about emulators, they can help people in the games you know why? Because I have Dragon Quest VII (Seven) [7] for SNES BUT IT IS IN JAPANESE & I CAN NOT READ JAPANESE!!!

So if I get Dragon Quest VII as an emulator I might be able to get the downloaded version & even get it to where I will be able to read the game in english & even learn Japanese!!!

Dragon Quest VII was released here in the US as Dragon Warrior VII for the Playstation in 2001. Are you sure you don't mean Dragon Quest VI? That was for the SNES and was not released here in the US. There is a project to translate the game at DeJap: http://www.dejap.com/index.php

DsS Game

12-07-2004, 08:23 AM

Wow that was so random.

Anyways I rather prefer ZNES over SNES9X due to sound. I think it's perfect.

Daywalker

MottZilla

12-07-2004, 03:19 PM

Rainman

12-07-2004, 03:27 PM

Oh, misread the question. I said that I don't download ROMs which isn't technically correct. I have roms on my computer right now. I don't think that you should download ROMs that are currently being sold. Particularly I've seen that there is a GBA emulator out there and I think that that's wrong to do. I have a NES and SNES emulator. Since neither of those sytems are being sold than I don't feel wrong about downloading them.

Zero Wing

12-08-2004, 12:41 PM

Then you are horribly mistaken. ZSNES's sound emulation is light years away from perfect and likely never will be. Case and point, BS-Zelda with the Roto hack. On real hardware the SPC chip gets locked up, but not in ZSNES. This is due to incorrect SPC emulation.
heh, I've had sound trouble with the DOS port....

wow, just seen Zophar's Domain, do you reccomend any utilites for patching roms?

ZTC

12-08-2004, 01:31 PM

here's a few more questions to add to my other unanswered ones

what's the reccomended port of BS Zelda?
what are some decent ROM hacking utilities?
(I want to try my hand in it... :evil: )

Kairyu

12-08-2004, 03:48 PM

what are some decent ROM hacking utilities?
(I want to try my hand in it... :evil: )

Do you have any advanced programming background? If not, you're pretty much limited to stuff like Hyrule Magic, SMILE, Temporal Flux, etc. which are game-specific and a bit limited...

MottZilla

12-08-2004, 05:44 PM

For rom patching I recommend SNESTool.

For BS-Zelda get the patched rom at a site called Bs-Zelda Homepage. DreamNom and I have been working together to get a more real hardware compatable Bs-Zelda patch. The one that's there now should work fine on any emulator though.

Just look for the "Players Choice" rom.

Rom Hacking utilities ussually have specific purposes, with the exception of a good hex editor which can do anything so long as you know what you are doing. There are lots of tools (zophar.net) which can edit specific games, edit text, edit graphics. If you are new to hacking then don't aim too high or you will fail. Many games like on SNES use comperssion for graphics or text causing problems for unskilled translation hackers.

Rainman, I know what you mean. However I still use GBA emulators, but only to play games I actually own on a larger screen with a PSX controller. ;) I pretty much own the few GBA games I'll ever wanna play.

DsS Game

12-08-2004, 06:32 PM

Then you are horribly mistaken. ZSNES's sound emulation is light years away from perfect and likely never will be. Case and point, BS-Zelda with the Roto hack. On real hardware the SPC chip gets locked up, but not in ZSNES. This is due to incorrect SPC emulation.

With the DOS port. The windows port I compared it. Good example would be Super MEtroid. I went to the Red Soil area of Brinstar and compared the music and sound. Amazingly I found them to be very very close to be the original. I dunno if it was my comp but it lagged a bit.

Daywalker

MottZilla

12-09-2004, 02:08 AM

I'm not talking nessisarily about the sound "quality" but about the accuracy of the sound chip emulation.

Anyway, I got my xbox modded now, and it's an emulating machine! I can play NES, SNES, N64, Genesis, Master System, GameBoy, and a bunch of arcade games on it. Now all I need is a PS2 to Xbox controller adaptor. ;)

ZTC

12-10-2004, 11:53 AM

Mottzilla, thank you very much :D
already got Hyrule Magic, and I was starting to make some progress with it, and it crashed :( oh well
thanks again for where I can get BS Zelda

now I repeat my questions from earlier--
http://armageddongames.net/showpost.php?p=977319&postcount=102

DsS Game

12-10-2004, 01:57 PM

Man I heard once you mod an xbox to be an emulating machine, it won't be able to play XBox games anymore. Is that true?

Daywalker

Lutraphobiac

12-10-2004, 03:33 PM

I don't download ROMS since I already have all of the ROMS I would ever need. About 600 NES, and most if not all of the popular SNES games, are in my possesion. I know it is wrong, but I do not care.

MottZilla

12-10-2004, 04:26 PM

No it plays Xbox games just fine. Played Ninja Gaiden on my xbox just yesterday.

Dr. Weird

12-13-2004, 11:27 AM

er, what is "BS Zelda"

MottZilla

12-13-2004, 04:53 PM

The 16-Bit SNES Zelda remake for the japanese SNES called the Super Famicom which was only available through the Bandai Sateliview service. The ROM image was dumped and hacked so it can be played quite nicely on a emulator like ZSNES.

Superstrider

12-13-2004, 04:57 PM

MottZilla

12-13-2004, 05:26 PM

If your batteries are dead, in the SNES games i've opened they all use a battery holder with a very common lithium battery. All you have to do is remove it from the holder and replace it with a new one of the same type. Remember to put it back in with the right polarity though. ;)

Superstrider

12-14-2004, 12:20 PM

It's easier to play off the computer. But thanks for the advice.

punkonjunk1024

12-14-2004, 02:08 PM

Yes, ZSNES is a good program. I've started downloading SNES Roms, mainly because most of those games you can't get anymore. And if you can, there may be flaws... (Like a dead internal battery...) The roms alliviate this problem. It sucks playing with a keyboard, though... Ah, I own all over with a keyboard... I'd rather be playing SNES on a keyboard, or my USB controller if its a a fighting game than I would a snes pad. :shrug: but thats just me.
*goes back to trying to find a fracking star ocean translated rom*
speaking of which, is anyone allowed to tell me where to find this translated rom, or is it still copyrighted, even though its completely changed? I'm not trying to get in trouble, if its a no, just say so.

DsS Game

12-14-2004, 02:19 PM

Somehow I can fight on the keyboard in a fighting game. I dunno how though o_o.

Daywalker

MottZilla

12-14-2004, 03:50 PM

Star Ocean the original game is copyrighted in Japan, and the US supposively respects their copyrights. So no you can't get the rom here, however if you have the japanese rom already there is a site like www.dejap.com that has a translation patch.

punkonjunk1024

12-14-2004, 05:20 PM

I got it, and a patch, horray for my schools T1, I DLed 8mb in like 10 minutes:D:D:D:D:D
Does anyone know where I can get a patching program?

Kairyu

12-14-2004, 11:05 PM

Zophar's Domain. I don't know if any one in particular is better than the others.

If you use ZSNES, though, it has a built-in patcher. I think you just need to give both files the same name.

MottZilla

12-15-2004, 04:33 AM

Get SNESTool for patching. Or if using ZSNES or SNES9X rename your ips patch to the same name as your rom i.e. if you have Star Ocean (J).zip rename your ips file Star Ocean (J).ips and place it in the same folder as the rom and load with snes9x or zsnes. It should auto patch on loading. If not, try the folder where your SRAM files are saved to for the ips files.

punkonjunk1024

12-15-2004, 02:13 PM

I found a really nice rom download site, and grabbed a rom titled "rpg maker II" ...Anyone have any idea what this is? I can't check it out till I'm ungrounded, but it sounds like an awesome concept. Its fully translated, too. :)

DsS Game

12-15-2004, 08:15 PM

RPG maker isn't a rom it's an actual program that let's you create your own RPG's.

Only thing is you got to be dedicated to making a RPG cause that takes loads of time.

Daywalker

punkonjunk1024

12-15-2004, 08:59 PM

Ah, I'm not that much of an idiot. I know what RPG maker is. The thing is, this is an actual ROM titled RPG maker, I grabbed I and II. Ima check it out a lil more, but it won't play now.
Ah, and I started star ocean. this is fucking great. this is orgasmic. the translation is relatively well done.
This gameplay is awesome. I see myself buying this game as soon.. as... I.. can... the PS1 one, anyhow.
EDIT : I got it running... Its kinda sweet. I'd really rather work with something like RPG maker... speaking of which, can someone direct me to this? I've always had an interest, but my computer could never handle it... thinking about it now, I think this one easily could. :)

Kairyu

12-16-2004, 12:08 AM

punkonjunk1024

12-16-2004, 12:15 AM

Ah, I meant the RPG maker 2000, or whatever the windows software thingus is. Not the rom.

Superstrider

12-16-2004, 10:39 AM

I was about to point that out. RPG Maker is for Playstation, while RPG Maker 2 is for PS2. (I should know, I own the first one.)

vegeta1215

12-16-2004, 11:11 AM

I'm, um, pretty sure you aren't allowed to ask for that, since it is actually sold in stores for money. Of course, I can't really blame you, what with it not being sold in any American stores...

He can ask for links to where it can be sold or imported. He didn't really specify, so he's fine.

I thought I saw an RPG Maker game for the PS at this video game store by me which has a lot of used/imported stuff. Or maybe it was a PC version. I can't remember :shrug:

punkonjunk1024

12-16-2004, 01:44 PM

Hm... I could have sworn it was something for PC. Z3r0x7 used to use it, but maybe it was a port, or something. I'll look it up when I overcome this laziness... And I have seen RPG maker for PS1, my cuz had it, and he claimed it was terrible, inputting all information on a dpad... I had enough trouble putting in my golden sun transfer password, I'd get really irritated putting in an entire game on a Dpad.

EDIT: This might be what I'm talking about. (http://www.rpg-maker-downloads.tnrstudios.com/)
I don't have time now to read more into it... accursed bell.

Kairyu

12-16-2004, 06:22 PM

Ah, I meant the RPG maker 2000, or whatever the windows software thingus is. Not the rom.

Shouldn't matter, as RPGM2K, RPGM2K3 and RPGMXP are all still products that are supposed to be paid for. Downloading them is illegal. And, might I add, takes... oh, ~3 hours on a 56k modem.

I think that IS what you're looking for, but, as I said, downloading them is illegal, so you may want to edit that out. I'm not 100% sure, but it's probably not really worth taking a chance over.

punkonjunk1024

12-16-2004, 08:38 PM

OK, well then, let me rephrase - I'd love some more information, as I've never heard of it costing money before. I wouldn't like anyone to give me illegal links... I think I can do that myself. -_-'

DsS Game

12-17-2004, 01:54 AM

it's illegal but its not like anyone gets caught with having that program.

Daywalker

Superstrider

12-18-2004, 01:27 PM

I thought I saw an RPG Maker game for the PS at this video game store by me which has a lot of used/imported stuff. Or maybe it was a PC version. I can't remember :shrug:

You're right. I saw the first one being sold at Game Crazy. I also own it, and that is proof enough. I also saw a stategy guide for the PS2 version being sold also. (I looked through it, and it shows you how to execute the most difficult events in RPG Maker, not only a tutorial on how to create your characters.)

The PC Versions, however, were never released in the states. Some guy hacked and translated them for our use.

DsS Game

12-27-2004, 02:49 AM

Does anyone know any NES emulator that can play the japanese version of super mario 2 aka the lost levels?

Daywalker

punkonjunk1024

12-27-2004, 08:22 PM

I can't say for sure without the rom, but between rockNES and nesticle, I've never had a problem with anything... the jap release of fire emblem loads up on rockNES.

deathbyhokie

12-27-2004, 09:05 PM

I thought I saw an RPG Maker game for the PS at this video game store by me which has a lot of used/imported stuff. Or maybe it was a PC version. I can't remember :shrug:

i'm a little late on this, but:

they made an RPG maker game for PS. it wasn't too good. too kto long to make, etc. whereas they never released the Pc version in the US, a few guys translated it and were distrubting it, but then got shut down. so your best bet is to hold out for the people to bring over a fully translate PC version(or to find someone who has the illegal version)

DsS Game

12-27-2004, 09:28 PM

I can't say for sure without the rom, but between rockNES and nesticle, I've never had a problem with anything... the jap release of fire emblem loads up on rockNES.

Those didnt work for me. I wouldnt ask if I hadn't tried, especially nesticle since it couldn't play Gryzor (European version of Contra).

Daywalker

Superstrider

12-28-2004, 12:58 PM

i'm a little late on this, but:

they made an RPG maker game for PS. it wasn't too good. too kto long to make, etc. whereas they never released the Pc version in the US, a few guys translated it and were distrubting it, but then got shut down. so your best bet is to hold out for the people to bring over a fully translate PC version(or to find someone who has the illegal version)

If you are looking for the PC version...

RPG Maker 2003 (http://server1.timecircuits.com/rm2k3.zip)

Have fun with it.

ZTC

12-28-2004, 04:36 PM

Does anyone know any NES emulator that can play the japanese version of super mario 2 aka the lost levels?

Daywalker

have you tried NESTen?

firebug

12-28-2004, 05:52 PM

it really depends on what version of smb2j you have, as to which emus will play it. if you have found a FDS image, NEStopia is an excellent emu for those. it can be found here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/nestopia/ if you have found a dump of a pirate cart of smb2j, it may be unlikely that you could play it on any emu, as those pirate carts used some wierd mappers sometimes. there is a specific rom, (which i'm sure is just a hack of the FDS image with a title screen added) that is the only one that will work with pocketNES, and i have never had any problems in ANY emulator. the actual file name you would be searching for is: Super Mario Bros 2 (J) [p1].NES and there is an IPS patch here: http://www.parodius.com/~roni/stuff/smb2j-ips.zip that gives it a neat title screen :) have fun!

ZTC

01-08-2005, 03:10 PM

are there any keyboard-macro programs that would work under an emulator, cause I think the keyboard is starting to wear out with the repeated key presses....

MottZilla

01-08-2005, 05:38 PM

Does anyone know any NES emulator that can play the japanese version of super mario 2 aka the lost levels?

Daywalker

Try Nestopia, http://sourceforge.net/projects/nestopia/
http://www.zophar.net/Files/nestopia109bin.zip

Nestopia plays every game I've ever wanted to play and is quite possibly the best NES emulator at the current time.

Dr. Weird

01-10-2005, 04:06 PM

what are the differences between Final Fantasy 2 and Final Fantasy 4 ROMS?
and is there a english translation patch for FF4?

MottZilla

01-11-2005, 03:04 AM

Shit man there are alot of differences. Final Fantasy 2 US was the "Easy Version" of Final Fantasy 4 japan. It removes special commands like Dark Cecil's dark wave power which for the cost of some HP, he'd do that move on all enemys. He does it to you when you face him as a paladin. Various things were done to make it easier, they removed the item called the porno mag.

Dialog was changed, it was less obvious what the true feeling of characters were in the US version. Forinstance Rosa was totally wanting to get it on with Cecil if I remember. Anyways, get the Final Fantasy IV SNES rom and a translation patch and play it with your favorite emulator. If you can't do that, buy the Playstation release of Final Fantasy IV that is in Final Fantasy Chronicals.

ZTC

01-12-2005, 04:59 PM

i started playin it recently, and i already notice the differences....
were there dating sim games made for 16bit systems, and if so, are there roms available?

MottZilla

01-13-2005, 02:51 AM

Not that I know of, possibly there are japanese untranslated ones.

Superstrider

01-13-2005, 10:49 AM

i started playin it recently, and i already notice the differences....

You know FF4 is available on Playstation... As part of Final Fantasy Chronicles. (The other game that comes with it is Chrono Trigger, by the way.)

ZTC

01-13-2005, 11:46 AM

Not that I know of, possibly there are japanese untranslated ones.
er, how about for 32-bit systems?

MottZilla

01-14-2005, 02:34 AM

Hundreds of japanese games never make it here, and I wouldn't doubt there are dating sim things for playstation.

automatic

01-14-2005, 09:25 AM

Emulation is good. I'm of the opinion that information should be free. That includes my entertainment, and my entertainment includes ROMS, DVD rips and the music of popular artists in the form of copyrighted (and infringed-upon) mp3s. Most of my software requires a keygen or crack. The rest either came with my computer, or is freeware.

Screw Corporate America. Screw Corporate Japan, for that matter.

See, here's the thing... the people that made those games... the artists, the designers, the programmers... they've already been paid. They've been taken care of. They don't get my money when I buy a game... the corporation does. Well, they really don't need my money... not as much as I do, that's for damn sure. I 've got bills to pay. Giving your money away for something that is readily available for free is for chumps.

"But automatic, if you can't afford it, you don't deserve it..."

Um, no. This isn't a moral issue. I can do it, and I do do it. There is no should or should not.

Those that are deserving of my money are individuals, not corporations. I have art on my walls made by people I know that I paid for. I pay money to see local bands play live music. These are people trying to make a living, not corporations trying to make a profit. And yeah, that is an important distinction to me.

Well, that's my take on it. Enough of the tirade.

My Favs (The reason I have the emulators in the first place):
NES (FCE Ultra) - Bionic Commando, Solstice, Crystalis
SNES (ZSNES) - Chrono Trigger, Super Metroid
Genesis (Gens) - Sonic Spinball, Flashback
GBA (VBA) - Metroid Fusion, Metroid Zero Mission, LoZ - The Minish Cap
N64 (PJ64) - Goldeneye

ZTC

01-14-2005, 11:34 AM

If the corporations don't make money, they can't pay the programmers and designers....

don't remember if I did a list (it's incomplete)--
GameBoy (smygb) MegaMan 3-5, Xtreme 1-2
NES (FCE Ultra, NESTEN, JNES) MegaMan 1-6, Metal Gear
SNES(SNES9X, ZSNES) MegaMan 7, X2, X3, MegaMan & Bass, Zelda 3, Final Fight Tough, Final Fight/FF Guy, Final Fight 2; Final Fantasy 2 (US), 3(US), 4J, 5J; Kirby SuperStar, SuperMario RPG
Genesis (Gens, Gens+) Battletoads and Double Dragon, Zero Tolerance, Zero Wing, Duke Nukem 3D
Arcade (none yet....)MegaMan- the Power Battle

automatic

01-16-2005, 03:40 AM

If the corporations don't make money, they can't pay the programmers and designers....
That's true. But not everyone is pirating software or ripping dvds. Most people playing games and watching movies still actually buy them. Just not me.

And it's been said before, but the most traffic in illegal roms are for systems that no longer sell. Nintendo isn't going to lose any money on someone having a rom of Milon's Secret Castle.

MottZilla

01-16-2005, 06:21 AM

automatic, just realize that while you may indeed be a part of a small group doing that, the group is ever increasing. And like Cyborg said, in the short term you are right. If you pirate the game, the people that worked on it are already getting paid. But in a not so short term, if the company isn't pulling in enough in sales, which is there ONLY source of income remember, they might have to lay off workers.

Ofcourse, if we are lucky, they will lay off over payed useless management jobs that mostly sit around with their thumbs in their asses.

vegeta1215

01-16-2005, 10:13 AM

And it's been said before, but the most traffic in illegal roms are for systems that no longer sell.

You sure about that? I can't even begin to tell you how much activity the gamefaqs page for The Minish Cap was getting months before it came out - meaning people were playing it somehow, and my guess would be via a ROM. (it did come out in Europe before we got it over here, but not that long before). This is just one example, but I think there are a lot of people pirating new games.

Kairyu

01-16-2005, 09:14 PM

Yeah, if Gamefaqs is any indication, the GBA is being heavily emulated. And like Mott said, It's not getting better or anything. And despite Mott's hopes, it's very unlikely that they'll get rid of the useless people- they'll just spend less on new, fun games that people will enjoy and just go for stuff people will buy.

MottZilla

01-17-2005, 04:51 AM

Yes, GBA is pirated, people in european or asian factorys steal cartridges during early manufacturing runs which then are given/sold to a ROM release group and the ROM file hits the net before any units ever leave the factory. Sad isn't it? But realize this, Nintendo DS, currently, has no pirating. GameCube, after quite a few years, STILL has no fool proof way of pirating games. Only recently has the first "mod chip" been released, and it's plagued with errors, problems with reading DVD-R media, etc.

So just remember, with every new console there is a chance that such pirating could be put off. Also remember that companies at any time should they feel the need to, invest more into copy protection methods.

automatic

01-17-2005, 06:20 AM

Yeah, if Gamefaqs is any indication, the GBA is being heavily emulated. Yeah, this is true. But this is pretty much the exception, not the rule.

There are PS2 and GCN emulators out there (I don't know about XBox, but probably...) but most people don't have buff enough systems to run them. If they do, they're probably playing HL2 instead of bothering with trying to get a GCN rom working. GBA is being exploited because the emulator will run on your grandma's old Apple IIe (well, you know what I mean).

Also remember that companies at any time should they feel the need to, invest more into copy protection methods. Just about every form of copy protection has lasted all of five seconds, and thank god for that. Any digital copy protect is usually hacked within a matter of days after it's implementation. Spending resources to develop copy protection is just about the most wasteful thing a company can do... all it does is stave off the inevitable piracy for a few moments.

As far as companies losing money... I really don't think they are. At the current ratio of piracy, that is "pirates" vs "good citizens," I think the good citizens far outweigh the pirates. People have been making cams and promo dvd rips of current run Hollywood movies for years, now. Plenty of time for Hollywood to go belly-up if they were being seriously damaged in any way by it. But they haven't, because the general populace wouldn't even dream of pirating movies. Most people watching movies are paying full box-office price for them.

So, let the moral and upstanding majority support Hollywood and the software and game manufacturers. That leaves plenty of room for the rest of us pirates to maneuver around.

Kairyu

01-17-2005, 09:51 PM

Just about every form of copy protection has lasted all of five seconds, and thank god for that. Any digital copy protect is usually hacked within a matter of days after it's implementation. Spending resources to develop copy protection is just about the most wasteful thing a company can do... all it does is stave off the inevitable piracy for a few moments.
Not really. Protection methods do work sometimes. But, I'm beginning to wonder if the best way for a developer to make a game hard to emulate is to use really weird and complicated stuff like the graphics chips in Star Ocean and Street Fighter Alpha 2 for the SNES. Even if they can dump the program, they can't really play the ROM.

As far as companies losing money... I really don't think they are.
Oh, they are. It's just a question of how much. Obviously it's not crippling the industry right now, but it is money being wasted.

At the current ratio of piracy, that is "pirates" vs "good citizens," I think the good citizens far outweigh the pirates. People have been making cams and promo dvd rips of current run Hollywood movies for years, now. Plenty of time for Hollywood to go belly-up if they were being seriously damaged in any way by it. But they haven't, because the general populace wouldn't even dream of pirating movies. Most people watching movies are paying full box-office price for them.

It's much easier to find illegal video games than illegal movies, in my experience. The mediums aren't the same--most video game fans have above average computer skillz, and download their games, which can be found in full or near-full quality and in many places, online. Movie knock-offs are generally lower-quality, or have too large a file size to mass distribute online. Generally, at least.

So, let the moral and upstanding majority support Hollywood and the software and game manufacturers. That leaves plenty of room for the rest of us pirates to maneuver around.

No one likes a freeloader! Carry yer own weight, lazy! Seriously, though, considering the direction the majority seems to have taken Hollywood, I'd rather not let them decide the future of video games.

MottZilla

01-18-2005, 03:33 AM

Gee automatic, I didn't realize YOU were a copy protection expert. Chances are you are someone that just knows where to find already cracked warez if anything... And copy protection is a waste huh? Did you know all the effort Nintendo put into making the GameCube Disc format is STILL paying off? While there is a small level of piracy, it's minute compared to Xbox and PS2.

Copy Protection can be made extremely well for video games, and it's people like you that don't care that will make that happen. Sure, any copy protection can be defeated, but it comes at a price. Just look at what it costs to make a GBA cartridge with roms, it's not cheap. I'm talking about the flash cartridges. All it would take is Nintendo, Sony, or Microsoft to decide to incorperate a non optical disc component, like a simple card that goes into a slot and wham bam, that will set pirates back. The problem right now is optical discs are so easy to copy, and it's not that expensive to buy a modchip.

Anyways... incase you haven't noticed, people don't like people like you when they start basically bragging about how they don't care they are STEALING game software. I don't know about everyone else, but I for one make a point of buying games from my favorite development houses, like Capcom, Konami, Namco, etc. When you buy the games, you support the company, which is what it's all about.

vegeta1215

01-18-2005, 03:40 AM

I don't know about everyone else, but I for one make a point of buying games from my favorite development houses, like Capcom, Konami, Namco, etc. When you buy the games, you support the company, which is what it's all about.

I totally agree. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks this way.

ZTC

01-18-2005, 01:57 PM

I totally agree. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks this way.

yeah, but what happens when one buys a 'used' game from, say Funcoland, unfortunately, the main companies don't get the money from the game (correct me if I'm wrong).
I try to buy new, but I don't see new SNES carts being made. :rolleyes:
Anyways, speaking of copy protection, what does it mean when a rom is "ISDA Protected"?

automatic

01-18-2005, 11:06 PM

Anyways... incase you haven't noticed, people don't like people like you when they start basically bragging about how they don't care they are STEALING game software. I don't know about everyone else, but I for one make a point of buying games from my favorite development houses, like Capcom, Konami, Namco, etc. When you buy the games, you support the company, which is what it's all about.
It sounds to me like we've each pretty much made up our minds on how we feel about emulation and piracy. You are for supporting corporate interests. I am not. Neither of us is about to change the other's mind.

Seems pretty cut and dry to me. There's no need for personal attacks.

For you it may be all about buying games to support the company. For me it's all about playing the games I want to play and could not otherwise afford to buy, or even find because the game is long out of print. So spare me the self-righteousness. This is an open discussion on emulation, not a trial for judging others on the choices they make regarding piracy. </derail>

vegeta1215

01-19-2005, 01:29 AM

For me it's all about playing the games I want to play and could not otherwise afford to buy, or even find because the game is long out of print.

Hmm...you may be onto something. I saw a classic 1960's car down the block from me. I think I'll go steal it since I can't afford to buy one for myself, let alone find one for sale. :disgust:

btw, don't take that comment personally - I only made it to point out how flawed your justification is. (which happens to be everyone's justification for downloading ROMs)

Anyways, I don't want this thread to go on like this anymore. We could argue for a long time over whether its right to download ROMs or not, so lets just get back to regular emulation, okay?

MottZilla

01-19-2005, 02:15 AM

ISDA Protected means the ISDA, a group out to protect it's members interests/rights represents the owner of that game. I.E. the ISDA represents Capcom and will take care of any illegal copies of their games being distributed online.

Anyway, automatic.. I'm not "supporting corporate interests", I'm supporting the company as a whole in all they do. Companies like Capcom employ direct or indirectly hundreds to thousands of people. If you just steal their products, they can't employ these people, and they loose their jobs, all because theives like you didn't give a damn.

You seem very confident that it's alright for you to be in what you think is a niche group that effectively steals game software.

Now about used games/old no longer produced games. Copies of these don't nessisarily hurt anyone unless you could 2nd hand resellers. But it's totally different when you are talking games that are still in production.

Now automatic, sorry but you aren't the magical board moderator. We can talk about whereever our topic leads to. And it went to not YOU but to people who share your ideals. It is "all about" games you enjoy. But you don't understand that when you play some great game that you enjoy, esspecially an illegal copy, you should buy the game. I understand wanting to play games you can't afford to buy at the time, but you can rent these games. And even if you get a copied game, you can always buy the game when you have sufficant funds.

automatic

01-19-2005, 05:48 PM

Hmm...you may be onto something. I saw a classic 1960's car down the block from me. I think I'll go steal it since I can't afford to buy one for myself, let alone find one for sale. :disgust:
That might be an relevant example, if you could make a copy of the car.

Also, the issue of theft and piracy are a big part of emulation. I know that the creators of emulators, generally speaking, openly denounce piracy. But the reality is, they are making piracy easier, and more accessable to the general public.

And I'd like to state that piracy is a type of theft, yes, but it's a far cry from walking out of the store with a copy of "Bonestorm" under your coat. What I think is odd is when people take my choice to play copied games as a personal affront to their delicate sensibilities. If I came across as "bragging" or whatever, I didn't mean to. I was just simply stating my own personal beliefs on the issue, and why I choose to play copied games. Instead of being insulted, one might try to realize that there is another point of view that is equally as valid as their own, regardless of the legality.

(And Mottzilla, I don't mean to beat this dead horse any more, but if you weren't intending to make a personal statement against me solely, but all people who play copied games, that's fine. It just seemed that way. On a related note, you might want to take a look at the poll results at the top of this page. The red bar next to "yes" clearly shows how most people on this board feel about downloading roms.)

vegeta1215

01-19-2005, 10:03 PM

That might be an relevant example, if you could make a copy of the car.

My example was not about copying, it was about theft (as you went on to discuss)

MottZilla

01-20-2005, 02:44 AM

automatic, I wasn't targetting YOU, as I said before, I'm talking about the ideals you have stated. Yes, lots of people at AGN have ROMs but remember, most of AGN are retrogamers, which means they aren't all downloading the GBA roms and Xbox/Ps2 ISOs.

Now about piracy versus theft. Yes, shoplifting the actual original item is different, but the end result is nearly the same. It's just that when you steal from the retailer, they lose the money on the unit you stole since it is never sold, where as with piracy, you never go near the store, and eventually that unit will be sold.

Anyway, I can't say I "respect you" for your ideals about piracy, but I do respect that you can have your own and different opinion than mine. It really seems to me the difference is that you don't seem to care about supporting companies by buying their games because others will likely do that for you. Not a big deal, nothing to lose sleep about.

By the way, Bonestorm, wasn't that the gme Bart Simpson was trying to steal?

automatic

01-20-2005, 04:07 AM

By the way, Bonestorm, wasn't that the gme Bart Simpson was trying to steal?
Indeed it was. :)

Zero Wing

01-20-2005, 11:09 AM

would there be the proverbial "better" emulator for logging sound/dumping music banks?

Lutraphobiac

01-20-2005, 11:38 AM

I have ROMS for almost all of the NES games and most of the popular SNES games out there. BUT I also have bought most of the NES remakes for the GBA:SP. I use ROMS as a last resort I suppose.

I think a better analogy to piracy is not theft from a store, but sneaking into a concert, movie, or play. I believe then that there IS something morally wrong with using a ROM of a game that is still in production. Someone gave up time and energy, and used his countless hours of training in college to make a product that he hopes you will enjoy. All he asks is that you compensate for that loss of time and energy. I don't see why we should not do so. While you might be able to live under the protection of a Parent, and spend your allowance, this guy has to support himself in the real world.

ZTC

01-20-2005, 12:24 PM

you make a good point :D

speaking of conversions, are there any programs that can directly convert sfc(i think that's what SNES music is called :shrug: ) to midis?

Kairyu

01-20-2005, 02:42 PM

would there be the proverbial "better" emulator for logging sound/dumping music banks?

For what system?

you make a good point

speaking of conversions, are there any programs that can directly convert sfc(i think that's what SNES music is called ) to midis?

SPCs. Yes, there are a few at zophar.net. I think they're called SPC2MID and SPCTOOL, but I'm not sure. You'll need a basic understanding of how Midis and SPCs work, though, since track instruments must be selected manually.

MottZilla

01-20-2005, 03:27 PM

SPCTool converts SPCs to IT (Impulse Tracker) mod music files which sound quite nice. I recommend it whenever possible.

DsS Game

01-20-2005, 03:46 PM

you make a good point :D

speaking of conversions, are there any programs that can directly convert sfc(i think that's what SNES music is called :shrug: ) to midis?

I think there is but I forgot the name of it. I just know any game I wanted to listen to its track, I listen to them on winamp.

Daywalker

Zero Wing

01-21-2005, 01:27 PM

For what system?

Sorry, forgot that detail ;)

um, for NES, Master System, Game Gear, and Game Boy based emulators

ZTC

01-24-2005, 04:18 PM

SPCs. Yes, there are a few at zophar.net. I think they're called SPC2MID and SPCTOOL, but I'm not sure. You'll need a basic understanding of how Midis and SPCs work, though, since track instruments must be selected manually.
thanks, the reason I'm asking for direct SPC to MIDI is that I can directly work with the said files in detail, and then I can also prepare them for mp3 conversion to burn to a CD.
=====
What are some good arcade emulators?
(besides MAME)

Kairyu

01-24-2005, 04:26 PM

I use WinKawaks.

MottZilla

01-25-2005, 03:32 AM

Well remember Arcade games aren't all on the same hardware. MAME is actually a huge compilation of emulators which were made by and contributed to by many many people. MAME emulates more games and more hardware than any other emulator known. Anyway, Kawaks is a CPS1/CPS2/Neogeo emulator. There are others that emulate these 3 and more, such as FinalBurnAlpha and Nebula. And ofcourse, MAME. Also I heard Raine supports CPS1/2 and I don't know about neogeo.

ZTC

01-26-2005, 01:26 PM

Tried WinKawaks, liked it, but how do the others compare?

MottZilla

01-26-2005, 03:51 PM

They all perform probably similar for the systems they all emulate. Nebula may be a tad slower depending on your settings. If you like kawaks, stick with it. It's a good emulator. Nebula supposively has quite accurate NeoGeo emulation I believe, but it doesn't really affect the playability of any games. They all can play the same stuff. Maybe minor differences here and there. So pick the one you like and have fun really. I have all 3, plus mame.

ZTC

01-26-2005, 04:19 PM

I've notice that there are many versions of the same rom on an emulation site, my question, why are there different versions?

MottZilla

01-27-2005, 01:37 AM

ZTC

01-28-2005, 11:22 AM

Because... there are so many versions of the cartridge in existance? FYI, there can easily be 3 versions, USA, Japan, Europe, then add in revisions, forinstance many games get 1 revision, some maybe another or even 3 different versions.

Rom images are about preserving the software, not just get 1 copy of a game and say it's done. Every revision of a game should be dumped and preserved. Thats why you can later obtain whatever version you desire.

*smacks self on head*

thanks; is there extention for Winamp to play SPC files without converting them?
(the reason being, I want to know what file is which before I use them in one of my ZC quests....)

Kairyu

01-28-2005, 11:33 AM

SNESAmp.

If you can't find it in the SPC utilities in Zophar's Domain, try the Winamp Players section.
It's best feature is probably .RSN playing. Create a .RAR of a group of SPC files, change the filename to .RSN, and SNESAmp can open them.

Maleficent

01-29-2005, 12:43 AM

So what are you guys views on abandonware, you know games that were put out by a compony that has went bankrupt or simply dismantled.

Masamune

01-29-2005, 12:55 AM

So what are you guys views on abandonware, you know games that were put out by a compony that has went bankrupt or simply dismantled.

If they went bankrupt, then obviously their games were shit and not worth playing. =\

And when the fuck did this thread turn into "Ask Mott about every little fucking that comes to mind"? The last 2 pages have basically been questions for mott. :odd:

MottZilla

01-29-2005, 02:13 AM

Abandonware is just another name for warez that you're less likely to get in trouble for copyright infringement such as making illegal copies. Remember, illegal copies of games are all subject to the same standard, that it's up to the holder to defend their rights. Most of the big companies hire others to do this for them. Such as the ISDA. They represent Nintendo, Capcom, etc.

ZTC

01-31-2005, 01:18 PM

And when the fuck did this thread turn into "Ask Mott about every little fucking that comes to mind"? The last 2 pages have basically been questions for mott. :odd:

nope, my questions have been for anybody who can answer them; is it my fault when Mott decides to answer them first?

So what are you guys views on abandonware, you know games that were put out by a compony that has went bankrupt or simply dismantled.
well, if the company is completely gone, and nobody has taken the rights to the company and games; well, if it was a good game, hell, I'd get the rom.

punkonjunk1024

01-31-2005, 06:04 PM

Obviously mottzilla just knows more about emulation than the rest of us. If you feel so inclined, jump right in and answer a few Q's, too. Or not. I would if I were so up on emulation, but I'm not. it's good information, either way. :|

EDIT: Heres an emulation question for you... Don't link me to zophar. I've obviously already checked. what I'd like, read this before you warn me, is a link to public domain/free not copyright protected roms. the stuff that we're allowed to post. I can't really really find anything thats well organized, and I've checked out everything at zophar. on occasion, I find stuff, but theres always problems with the site.

MottZilla

02-01-2005, 03:07 AM

Goto google.com and type in public domain roms. There are a couple sites that host them for popular systems like SNES/NES.

Superstrider

02-01-2005, 11:08 AM

Emu-Russia has a lot of good Roms for the old systems. (SNES, Genesis, etc.) However, it doesn't have emulators anymore...

Zero Wing

02-07-2005, 01:43 PM

have you tried Nerologic?

Freedom

02-08-2005, 02:02 AM

Can anyone recommend a good GBA emulator?
I've tried he visualboy advance, several versions, and the sound is awful.
Works ok otherwise.
I'm running windows 98, 64MB ram 400MHz processor.

punkonjunk1024

02-08-2005, 09:10 AM

I've searched myself... Visual boy is just about the only one that doesn't cost teh $$$. Maybe get a new videocard, because nothing is better than VB for free. :shrug:

lord of the pit

02-08-2005, 09:48 AM

Can anyone show me a good x box emulator? I looked for one but I could not find any.

MottZilla

02-08-2005, 02:22 PM

Freedom, from the readme..

System requirements
-------------------

Fast computer (Pentium III 500 Mhz recommended) and Microsoft DirectX 7 or
greater.

You're below the requirements for VBA, which is quite possibly the best and fastest GBA emulator.

Freedom

02-08-2005, 03:24 PM

Actually I got it running pretty good after a couple of hours of tweaking last night.
You're right Mottzilla, my computer is six years old, I need a new one, but it's what I've got.
Sizing the window down and setting the frames speed up seems to have done the most good, it sounds petty good now, and seems to run ok.

Zero Wing

02-09-2005, 02:00 PM

what group of emulators do you reccomend (various systems) for a comp that's clocked at 450Mhz?

ZTC

02-11-2005, 02:01 PM

are there any hacks available to enable the sram for Megaman: the Wily Wars rom?

MottZilla

02-12-2005, 04:02 AM

Zero, a 450mhz machine could run games with ZSNES, SNES9X, GENS, FCEULTRA, NESTOPIA, FINALBURNALPHA, KAWAKS, and maybe some older ones with MAME. You probably won't do well with systems such as N64 with anything besides UltraHLE which isn't that easy to use nor highly compatable or stable. You could pull of PSX emulation maybe with EPSXE. Don't bother trying anything past N64.

Cyborg, MM Wily Wars didn't use SRAM, it used EEPROM saving most likely. No emulator supports it, as wily wars is the only game to use it. There is a hacked save state however to allow you to play the wily tower awarded for beating all 3 games.

Zero Wing

02-14-2005, 11:29 AM

thanks Mottzilla, but what the heck is "FINALBURNALPHA"?

ZTC

02-14-2005, 01:54 PM

Cyborg, MM Wily Wars didn't use SRAM, it used EEPROM saving most likely. No emulator supports it, as wily wars is the only game to use it. There is a hacked save state however to allow you to play the wily tower awarded for beating all 3 games.

dang, thank's for the spoiler ;) :rolleyes:

now to find an optimal configuration for gens...

Masamune

02-14-2005, 06:56 PM

what the heck is "FINALBURNALPHA"?

an extremely good CPS2 emulator. ;p

MottZilla

02-15-2005, 02:03 AM

Capcom CPS1, CPS2, Neogeo and toplan or something emulator actually. And it has (currently disabled) Sega arcade support for some games.

ZTC

02-16-2005, 12:30 PM

here's another question :rolleyes:

I'm going to be burning a CD of roms and emulators for a friend, and I was wondering,
for snes roms, is it possible to zip ips patches with the rom, and be able to load the zipped rom with the patching?

Gomar

02-17-2005, 10:46 PM

ZSNES is not a very accurate emulator, BSZelda is very sensitive, and doesn't work in all versions of ZSNES. Super Mario RPG uses the SA-1 chip by the way, which means it takes even more power to emulate since it must emulate the SA-1. Graphics problems, try hitting the 7, 8 or 9 keys, one of them switches between new and old gfx engines. One may look correct while the other does not. Also one may be faster than the other.

BS Zelda is sensitive? I find that odd, because I have the ROM, and have had almost no trouble with it at all in ZSNES (windows version). Unless I guess if perhaps you're talking about the unpatched one.

MottZilla

02-18-2005, 02:42 AM

Gomar, did you know BS-Zelda (the patched one) doesn't work properly on the REAL snes? Atleast until dreamer nom started working on making it work properly. I was testing his hacks on my snes copier awhile back. I forget if we ever got the whole thing working properly, it's been awhile. Anyway, ZSNES is not very accurate, it's intended to play the most popular games fast. It's goal has never seemed to be accurate hardware emulation.

ZTC

02-23-2005, 05:00 PM

what does everybody reccomend for a Plastation emulator that's been extensively tested for NTSC timing games?

MottZilla

02-24-2005, 04:32 AM

Epsxe is the best bet. Should do BOTH pal and ntsc just fine.

Dark Knight

02-25-2005, 03:11 PM

Can anyone recommend a good GBA emulator?
I've tried he visualboy advance, several versions, and the sound is awful.
Works ok otherwise.
I'm running windows 98, 64MB ram 400MHz processor.

Whether or not this is answered in a post or not is beyond me, the rest of the thread didn't load.

Anyways, first off, you need around 200MBram for VBA to run properly and at full speed, also, don't have any other programs running.

Another thing, you need to set your frameskip to 1.

You might need a faster processor as well.

No$GBA or whatever is pretty good from what I have heard, but, to get the full benifets you'll have to register it. =/

vegeta1215

02-25-2005, 04:11 PM

No$GBA or whatever is pretty good from what I have heard, but, to get the full benifets you'll have to register it. =/

I used to use No$GB. It was pretty cool cause it let you set up your own color palette for old GB games. (like Super Gameboy, but more involved) I was playing Final Fantasy Adventure on there and I had it set up so the background and landscapes were in shades of green, enemies were red and yellow, and my character was purple. It looked really cool.

ZTC

03-02-2005, 11:24 AM

I'm looking for an emulator that has good sound logging/music bank ripping for the Game Boy and NES; any reccomendations?

MottZilla

03-02-2005, 04:52 PM

There are none. All GBS and NES music "ripping" is done via ASM hacking. Zophar.net probably has what you are looking for in their archive. If you just wanna record a wave file of gameplay you could use several emulators.

ZTC

03-04-2005, 01:36 PM

I'm trying to decide on which version of MAME to get, but I have no idea which would be best
(considering my comp config.; the old 350MHZ & 64MB ram)

MottZilla

03-09-2005, 05:07 PM

Hmm... What game are you hoping to emulate...? Because MAME is not the best choice ALOT of the time. MAME is pretty demanding on power. To give you an example my 1533mhz amd athlon xp 1800+ cannot run Mortal Kombat 3 Ultimate full speed/no frame skipping on newer MAMEs with the new DCS sound system emulation which is slower than in older versions. That's pretty sad.

So once you tell me what you are hoping to play I can give you a better idea.

ZTC

03-10-2005, 11:37 AM

let's see...
Mortal Kombat 1/2; Capcom vs. series (including SNK, Marvel Super Heros 2, ect.); some of the early 90s racing games; the Mario arcade games; and some others that I can't think of at the moment

MottZilla

03-10-2005, 04:41 PM

MK1 and 2, no way on that system. Capcom vs SNK, MvC2 are both Naomi and not emulated, they are encrypted, and you're screwwed. Get them for dreamcast. Racing games... like Cruisin Usa? No fucking way will that system run those man. The mario thing should be fine.

To give you an idea of the ideal MAME pc, we are talking 64bit amd 2ghz or more for later more intense games. For a good deal of stuff my system is quite sufficant, 1533mhz amd & 512mb pc133 ram.

If you wanna play the CPS2 capcom VS games, MvC, MvSF,XvSF, get FinalBurnAlpha. It's extremely fast and should run well on your system.

ZTC

03-16-2005, 12:29 PM

shit...
what's a good program extention for ePSXe for playin the black discs via the cd-rom drive?

Foamy

03-16-2005, 02:11 PM

can some one fill me in on what program u r talking about?

ZTC

03-16-2005, 02:29 PM

ePSXe is a program that allows a person to play (legally or illegally) Plastation games on the computer. Does that help?

Foamy

03-16-2005, 02:46 PM

Ya I think I get it now, thanks 4 the help :)

MottZilla

03-16-2005, 04:02 PM

In my experience few disc drives are very good at playing games directly from the disc because PSX games are CD-ROM Mode 2 XA. Even my really nice DVD-Writer gets really shitty data read rates on such a disc. It is recommended to rip the disc to an iso and load that/emulate the disc image. Forinstance Mega Man X4 for me ran really shitty from the CD, odd slowdowns from trying to stream the music. Once I imaged it to the hard disk, there were no problems at all. I experienced similar issues with FMVs.