EmuZoo #1
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EMU ZOO: Video & Computer Games Emulation Newsletter
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Issue #1
Written On July 5, 1997
By Dcepticon
Send all e-mail to: dcepticon@audiophile.com
***Please do not ask me for ROMs or the location of ROMs***
EMU ZOO Home Page coming soon!
Copyright (c) 1997 Dcepticon Publications
No part of this newsletter can be reproduced or archived without
written consent from the owner. However, you are free to print them
for personal use.
If you would like to unsubscribe, e-mail dcepticon@audiophile.com
with the "UNSUBSCRIBE" in the subject line. Within your message, you
MUST include the list number that you are in. Your list number is
stated at the top of your newsletter.
==============================
C O N T E N T S
==============================
1.) Introduction
2.) News: what's cookin' this week in the emu scene
3.) Sneak Preview: a look at the beta of SNES96 /w sound for MS-DOS
4.) Hot List: a list of my favorite emulators
5.) Review: Genecyst v0.13
6.) Survey
7.) Recommended Links
8.) Outroduction
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==============================
1.) INTRODUCTION
==============================
Hello and welcome to the first ever edition of the EMU ZOO
newsletter. I am your host, Dcepticon, and I live in Vancouver, BC.
That's in Canada for those geographically-impaired.
EMU ZOO (pronounced EEH-MOO ZOO) is a free weekly newsletter
distributed through e-mail dedicated to video and computer games
emulation. Initially I was planning to do a web site based on
emulation, but that has already been done to death, so I opted for a
simple newsletter instead. EMU ZOO primarily features articles
written by myself, but I will be grateful to anybody who can help out
by submitting news, stories, and opinions. Full credit will be given
to those who contribute.
If you are on "LIST X" (it says what list you are on at the
top of the
message), then that means you are getting this newsletter even though you
did not request a subscription. The reason you are getting EMU ZOO is because
you are a contributor to the emulation scene and I especially wanted you to
check
out the newsletter. If you do not want to receive this newsletter next
time, follow
the instructions above on unsubscribing.
My thanks to the EMU NEWS SERVICE, from which many of my news
bits (those which are specified) are taken from. The EMU NEWS SERVICE
is an excellent source for emu news that is updated everyday and is
located at "http://members.aol.com/emunews/index.htm".
As of this writing, I already have over 200 people scheduled
to receive this first issue. I want EMU ZOO to be a forum where fans
can discuss video and computer games emulation. This is NOT a fan
club, but we are a group of emulation enthusiasts that can exchange
ideas through the newsletter. In order for this to happen, I will
establish a letters section within the newsletter where I will print
the most relevant and interesting e-mails sent to me regarding
emulation. At the end of each e-mail that I print, I may add my own
personal comment or just leave it to the reader to correspond with
the person who wrote that particular message.
I am currently looking for web space to host the Official
EMU ZOO Homepage. The homepage will be an archive of EMU ZOO
newsletters as well as other emulation FAQs, text files, documents,
etc. If you enjoy the newsletter and can kindly donate around 10MB
of web space, contact me at dcepticon@audiophile.com.
Enough of that...without any further ado, I present you the
first ever edition of the EMU ZOO newsletter...
==============================
2.) EMU NEWS
==============================
>>>>> Bloodlust Software, the creators of the popular NESticle NES
emulator recently released a new emulator dubbed "Genecyst". It is
a DOS based emulator for the Sega Genesis written in C++ and
assembly. V0.12 was the first version released and v0.13 is the
current version just released tonight with a few minor bug fixes
including primitive Z80 emulation, among others. Both are quite
buggy and still lack a few key features, but runs very fast and
smoothly. Genecyst is FREEWARE, meaning you do not have to
register or pay for the software. To download a copy, go to Bloodlust
Software's Official Genecyst Home Page located at
"http://www2.southwind.net/~bldlust/genecyst.html".
>>>>> The following news piece is quoted from the EMU NEWS SERVICE:
"TG16 EMULATOR FOR WIN32 RELEASED! This is the Win32 port of Jens
Restemeier's VPCE for DOS. The man responsible for this port is none
other than Edward Massey, author of MageX. Unfortunately, this release
is based on the ver 0.1 source code from VPCE. It is not synchronized
with the ver 0.2 sources yet. Also, from what I can gather from the
Edward has to say about it on his page, there are a lot of bugs to
work out. But hey, it's free!"
If you want to check it out, go to the VPCE for Win32s Homepage at
"http://www.greenvillenc.com/home/edward/turbogfx/".
>>>>> The following news piece is quoted from the EMU NEWS SERVICE:
"UAE-0.6.9 Beta 2 for PowerMacintosh Released! This is the Mac port
of the popular Amiga emulator. New since the last release was that
some minor bugs were corrected and a minor speed boost."
You can check out the UAE-0.6.9 for PowerMacintosh for yourself at
"http://www.pratique.fr/~jblancha/"
>>>>> The following is a quote from the EMU NEWS SERVICE:
"MacMAME 0.25.6 Released! According to the author, "Fixed incredibly
stupid bug whereby Battlezone/Red Baron were displaying a green
screen." This is the Mac port of the incredibly popular Multiple
Arcade Machine Emulator. M.A.M.E. supports far too many games to
mention here. So if you have a Macintosh, you should try this one out"
To try it out for yourself, go to Bradman's Emulation Shop at
"http://www.primenet.com/~bradman/mame/".
>>>>> Paul Robson just released a new version of his popular Gameboy
emulator for DOS. Version 2.937 of Gameboy 97 features some minor
bug fixes and a standard 180 x 144 display. The official Gameboy 97
homepage is at "http://members.aol.com/autismuk/gameboy.htm".
>>>>> The following news piece is a quote from the EMU NEWS SERVICE:
"GenEm PPC .20.1 Beta 3 for MacOS! Brian Verre just release the new
version of his GenEm port for Macintosh. New in this version: Sprite
bug fixed, Backup-RAM support, Speed limiter added, 5-8% performance
increase"
For additional information, go to the GenEm PowerPC Homepage at
"http://www.execpc.com/~wverre/genem.html".
>>>>> A new version of VPCE (Virtual PC Engine) for the Macintosh has
been released. This is the first conversion of the DOS VPCE for the
Macintosh. This emulator is even buggier than the original, which was
already buggy itself, so don't expect much. As of now there is still
no official homepage dedicated to the VCPE but you can download a
copy from "http://emulation.net/pcengine/index.html".
>>>>> A new NES emulator designed for Amiga called A/NES has just
recently been released. The latest version is 0.10alpha. A/NES is
written in 100% assembly language and is very fast. Since it is
still in early stages of development, the emulator itself is very
buggy and many ROMs are incompatible. If you want to try it anyway,
go to "http://home2.swipnet.se/~w-28134/ANES/".
>>>>> The next version of ESNES will have sound emulation. Private
beta testing is currently taking place.
==============================
3.) SNEAK PREVIEW
a look at the beta of SNES96 /w sound for MS-DOS
==============================
(Note: this was article was written on Tuesday, July 1, 1997)
I managed to get a copy of the private beta version of
SNES96 with sound emulation (even though I'm not an official beta
tester) and it sounds better than I expected. This represents a
milestone in SNES emulation. Imagine finally playing Final Fantasy 3
or Lufia with sound on your computer. Sound makes a HUGE difference,
giving games a completely different, more immersive feel.
I tested the beta with some games and the sound was pretty
good, with roughly 60-70% accuracy. It really all depends on what ROM
you are running and what part of the game. One game that sounds great
is Donkey Kong Country 3. Sometimes the music and effects sound
perfect but in others they sound too slow/fast or garbled. Also, the
sound occasionally caused lock-ups or crashes. This doesn't really
worry me though, considering that this is still the beta version. I'm
sure the public release version will be a lot more stable.
I loved the new sound support in SNES96 but I still wish the
emulator itself had a few new features other than the sound itself.
Personally, a GUI and multiple video modes would really be
appreciated. The speed in the beta I tested was just about the same as
in the previous version, which kinda disappointed me. I was hoping for
a speed increase comparable to the Genecyst.
The public release of SNES96 with sound should be coming out
any day now, and I can't wait to play Final Fantasy 3 with perfect
audio. Hopefully once the public version is out, Gary Henderson can
focus on other new features, like a GUI or a speed boost. SNES96 has a
really bright future, and is definitely the top SNES emulator of the
moment.
==============================
4.) HOT LIST
a list of my favorite emulators
==============================
This week's HOT LIST is about my current favorite emulators.
Usually the HOT LIST is based on the survey that I run with every
issue of EMU ZOO but since this is the very first issue I can't do
that.
MY CURRENT FAVORITE EMULATORS
1.) Magic Engine v0.8
This is still the best emulator around. Parodius and
Bomberman rule!
2.) NESticle v0.34
The closest emulation of any system to date. Having NESticle
is in many ways better than having an NES!
3.) Gameboy '97 (build 2.937)
This is the premiere Gameboy emulator. With build 2.937, it
has finally surpassed Virtual Gameboy.
4.) SNES96 /w sound (private beta)
I know this is a private beta and I'm not even supposed to
have it but once I got sound I could never go back! Besides,
this beta is every bit as stable as the last version with the
sound disabled. DKC3 is beast with this emulator.
5.) Genecyst v0.12
A hot emulator that is quickly gaining popularity. For me it
is superior to GenEM due to it's awesome GUI (graphical user
interface) and super fast performance. Too bad it still lacks
sound and is still incompatible with many ROMs.
==============================
5.) REVIEW
==============================
GENECYST
By Bloodlust Software
I have just seen the future of Genesis emulation, and it's
called Genecyst.
Bloodlust Software, the creators of the outstanding NESticle
emulator, has just recently released Genecyst v0.13, the second build
of an amazing DOS based emulator for the Sega Genesis written in C++
and assembly. It boasts a killer GUI reminiscent of the one in
NESticle and a truckload of features (such as joystick support, VESA
support (you can change resolutions on the fly), Game Genie codes, and
much more). My favorite part about Genecyst is it's blazing speed--I
was able to run many different games on my P90 while in Windows 95
with no frame skipping at full speed! A good number of the games I
tried didn't work properly but the Genecyst proved to me that full
speed 16-bit emulation on my P90 was indeed very possible. I commend
Bloodlust Software for their outstanding work and thank them for
keeping their software free.
Genecyst has a lot of pros, but unfortunately, it also has
it's share of cons. For one thing there is STILL no sound support
(which really drives me crazy!). Also, Genecyst is in VERY early
stages of development right now, and is nowhere near complete. As of
now, v0.13 is lacking many things, namely solid Z80 emulation, sound
emulation (as I stated earlier), 6-button joystick inputs, and a lot
of the graphic modes are yet to be emulated. On top of that, the VESA
2.0 support needs to be refined (I couldn't get some of the video
modes to work, even with Display Doctor) and the 68000 emulation is
still buggy, and as a result, many ROMs don't work properly or don't
work at all. Just judging from the ROMs I have tested, I estimate a
70% compatibility rate.
Despite it's flaws, the future of Genecyst and eager Genesis
fans everywhere is extremely bright. Since NESTicle was released, the
reputation of Bloodlust Software in the console game emulation
community is unparalleled. They are nowhere near finished with
Genecyst and a lot of work is still going to be done. They will refine
the 68000 emulation as well as the graphics emulation, and MMX support
is planned for the future. I'm assuming that sound support is not far
off, and once that's in place, Genecyst will most likely replace David
Michel's MagicEngine as #1 on my list of emulators.
==============================
6.) SURVEY
==============================
If you would like to respond to the survey, please
cut and paste the following into a new message and send it to
dcepticon@audiophile.com with "EMU SURVEY" in the subject field. (make
sure you answer the questions before sending it). The results of the
survey will be displayed in the "HOT LIST" section of next week's
edition of EMU ZOO.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
EMU ZOO SURVEY
1.) What is your favorite game system?
2.) What is your favorite emulator?
3.) What is your favorite ROM?
4.) What unreleased emulation-related product in the works are you
most excited about?
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==============================
7.) RECOMMENDED LINKS
==============================
Here are my favorite emulation links for this week. Enjoy!
EMU News Service
The latest emu news. Updated daily!
http://members.aol.com/emunews/index.htm
Archaic Ruins
A great emu site by an emu expert.
http://archaic-ruins.parodius.com/
Paul McGunnigle's Emulation Homepage
A very impressive site. Highly recommended.
http://web3.ukonline.co.uk/paul.mcgunnigle/index.htm
==============================
7.) OUTRODUCTION
==============================
That's it for EMU ZOO #1. Next week's EMU ZOO will feature an
editorial, survey results, letters, and more. Spread the word about
EMU ZOO! Until next week...
-Dcepticon
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Dcepticon
dcepticon@audiophile.com
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Date: July 7, 1997
Author:
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If you've ever wanted to write a journalistic article about emulation,
interview an author of an emulator, or write an editorial expressing
new insights on the emulation scene, then perhaps you should submit an
article to Archaic Ruins!
The criteria for having your work published is that your work must show
effort. Interviews must contain at the minimum, 10 questions. Editorials
must be at least 2 to 3 pages and quotations from multiple sources to support
your views and opinions. Humorous writings are also accepted!
- The Archaic Ruins Staff
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