fMSX |
VGB |
VGBA |
iNES |
MG |
ColEm |
Speccy |
Windows |
Symbian |
PocketPC |
How? |
Who? |
Tell! |
Emulators are programs that run software written for old computers or videogame consoles on the new hardware. Essentially, an emulator makes old software "think" that it is running on the original hardware, while it actually runs on your computer. I am creating emulators since 1993 and have made quite a few of them. For those who would like to try making an emulator on their own but do not know where to start, I have written a short introduction into the craft.
Originally, I developed emulators for PCs and Unix workstations. With time though, even mobile devices such as PDAs and cell phones became capable of emulating older hardware. Thus, at this page you will find my applications for Nokia Symbian-based smart phones and instructions on how to set them up.
If you work for a game company that would like to run its legacy games on mobile phones or other hardware, and need help, contact me.
An article about emulators on Nokia phones at AllAboutSymbian.com
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S60: All 3rd Edition S60 phones, such as N-series and E-series devices, 3250, 5500, 6290, etc., should work. Nokia E62 works, but has faulty firmware that prematurely turns the backlight off. This problem seems to affect all applications using direct screen access. Unfortunately, even the "Backlight Always On" feature, found in my applications, fails to work around this problem. | UIQ: There is currently only one application ported to the UIQ: it is ColEm. All UIQ3 phones, such as Sony Ericsson M600, P990, W950, P1, and Motorola Z8/Z10, should work, although only Z8 has been tested so far. Please, test ColEm on other UIQ3 phones! It is a free application. |
S60: To enable this feature, go into Tools | Application Manager | Options | Settings and set "Software Installation" setting to "All".
.sis
extension) from
this page and install it to your phone. You may need to click
through several warning messages always shown when installing
application from a non-affiliated source.
S60: Copy all your files into the \Others\<EmulatorName> directory on your memory card. For example, ColEm games will go into the E:\Others\ColEm directory. | UIQ: Copy all your files into the \Other\<EmulatorName> directory on your memory card. For example, ColEm games will go into the E:\Other\ColEm directory. |
Bug Reports:
If you have any problems running these applications, please,
tell me and other
users about your problems. I am especially interested in how
well my applications run on UIQ3 phone, as I only have a single
phone (Motorola Z8) to test them on. Don't forget to include the
model of your phone.
Purchasing Software:
Just like my other products, all commercial
software at this page comes with free lifetime upgrades by email,
as long as the software is being developed and the user does not violate
the terms of license agreement. Do make sure you keep me posted about
your email address changes though.
There are discounts when you buy two or more of my programs. You can get $6 off two products, $12 off three products, $24 off four products, and $35 off five or more products. To get a discount, enter the appropriate coupon name (CPN32 .. CPN35) when ordering software.
Keyboard Use:
Some applications, such as Speccy or fMSX, may require the
use of full keyboard found in such phones as Nokia E61 and E70. Even if
your phone has no full keyboard, most emulated programs will still work
though. Just make sure you always choose the joystick option when given
a choice. If a program absolutely needs a few keyboard keys, you can make
use of the on-screen virtual keyboard. To enable the on-screen
keyboard:
S60:
Press the green SEND key, go into Input |
On-Screen Keyboard, and choose either "Single Key Entry"
(keyboard will disappear after entering a key) or "Multiple Keys
Entry" (keyboard will stay visible until manually toggled off). With
the on-screen keyboard enabled, press EDIT
or LSHIFT key to toggle the keyboard.
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UIQ:
Press the CLEAR key, go into Input |
On-Screen Keyboard, and choose either "Single Key Entry"
(keyboard will disappear after entering a key) or "Multiple Keys
Entry" (keyboard will stay visible until manually toggled off). With
the on-screen keyboard enabled, press the OK
key on the directional pad to show the keyboard,
CLEAR key to hide the keyboard.
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0
as SHIFT, #
as
CONTROL, and *
as ALT modifiers. Finally, if
you need some keys often, or do not like the default key locations, you
can reassign keys and joystick buttons:
S60:
To reassign a key, press the green SEND key,
select Input | Map a Key, and choose a new assignment. To reassign a
button, select Input | Map ... Button, and likewise choose a new
assignment.
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UIQ: At the moment, you cannot reassign keys or buttons in UIQ. This feature will be coming in the next releases of my UIQ applications. |
Pen Use:
This tip only applies to pen-based devices (i.e. mainly to Sony Ericsson
UIQ phones). These devices often do not have a directional pad and
physical softkeys. Instead, you can use the touch screen, laid out in
the following way:
OK | UP | CLEAR |
LEFT | RIGHT | |
SOFT1 | DOWN | SOFT2 |
Zooming Display:
When your phone screen has less pixels than the emulated display, the
display will be shrunk to fit your screen, at the cost of losing some
image quality. This is inevitable and should not be considered a bug.
For bigger phone screens:
S60:
Press the green SEND key and go into
Output | Zoom Display, where you can select one of four zoom
options:
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UIQ:
Press the CLEAR key and go into Video |
Zoom Display, where you can select one of four zoom options:
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Recording Ringtones:
You can record in-game music into MIDI files and use them as ringtones.
To start recording:
S60:
Press the green SEND key, go to Main |
Record Music, and click it to start recording. Recording stops when
you click the above option again, load a new game, or quit the
application. Recorded MIDI files can be found in the E:\Sounds
directory.
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UIQ:
Press the CLEAR key, go to Audio | Record
Music, and click it to start recording. Recording stops when you click
the above option again, load a new game, or quit the application. Recorded
MIDI files can be found in the E:\Other\<EmulatorName>
directory.
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Network Play Feature:
In some applications, you can use WiFi or GPRS in your phone to play
games over the Internet. To use the NetPlay feature, both you
and your opponent must run the same game. The NetPlay will work
between Windows and Symbian versions of my applications, as long as
you both have the same application (i.e. two copies of MG-Symbian,
or MG-Symbian and MG-Windows, etc.). To start
NetPlay:
S60:
Press the green SEND key, go to Main |
Network Play, and click it.
|
UIQ:
Press the CLEAR key, go to Input | Play
Over Network, and click it.
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EMUL8 Discussion Group |
Report and discuss your problems here. You may need to create a Google account to post to this group, but you do not have to become a member. |
iNES 3.5 S60 3rd Edition
(download
trial
or see homepage)
Also see iNES review at AllAboutSymbian.com. |
Added ability to play over the network, with another copy of iNES
running on a Symbian phone or a PC. Fixed several stability problems.
iNES is running at the normal speed again.
iNES will run Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Famicom
cartridge files with
|
Virtual GameBoy 3.4 S60 3rd Edition
(download
trial
or see homepage)
Also see Virtual GameBoy review at AllAboutSymbian.com. |
Added GameLink support, "fill & soften" zoom mode, screen
orientation and backlight controls. Fixed a couple of SRAM related
bugs. Fixed several instabilities in the Symbian-specific code.
Virtual GameBoy will run GameBoy, Super GameBoy, and GameBoy
Color cartridge files with
[SEND] , then select the Input page).
|
MasterGear 2.5.1 S60 3rd Edition
(download
trial
or see homepage)
Also see MasterGear review at AllAboutSymbian.com. |
Added the new "fill & soften" zoom mode and fixed several
instabilities introduced in the last release. Version 2.5.1 fixes
problems loading and saving state from the application menu.
MasterGear will run SEGA Master System, GameGear, and SG1000
cartridge files with
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ColEm 2.4 S60 3rd Edition (also see homepage)
ColEm 2.4 UIQ3 (also see homepage) |
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Created UIQ3 port (please test!), added
the new "fill & soften" zoom mode, fixed several stability problems.
ColEm will run ColecoVision cartridge files with
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Speccy 1.5 S60 3rd Edition (download trial or see homepage) |
Added network play support, new "fill & soften" zoom mode, and
support for "extended format" .DSK files. Fixed many bugs with
ZX Spectrum +3 and TR-DOS disk support. Fixed instabilities and the
speed problem introduced in the previous version. Enter coupon
CPN32 when ordering a product from me and add Speccy-Symbian to
your order for free.
Speccy will run ZX Spectrum snapshots in
Important: Files with
|
fMSX 3.4 S60 3rd Edition (also see homepage) |
Added network play feature and the "fill & soften" zoom mode. Fixed
several bugs introduced in the last release, including the speed problem,
and much more.
fMSX will run MSX, MSX2, and MSX2+ cartridge files (
|
Virtual GameBoy Advance 3.4 S60 3rd Edition Trial (buy it if you like it, or see homepage) |
Fixed several core emulation bugs and a few Symbian-only bugs, added
"fill & soften" zoom mode, screen orientation, and backlight
controls.
VGBA will run Nintendo GameBoy Advance cartridges from
Given the low speed and the lack of sound, I strongly suggest that you download trial first and buy the full version only if the trial works for you. If VGBA runs too slow on your phone but you still want a playable GameBoy emulator, try Virtual GameBoy (VGB) instead. Control keys:
Important: Many S60 phones have very small RAM (usually less than 64MB) most of which is already taken by the system and active applications. As GBA games can easily reach 16MB in size, not all of them will run on VGBA. Try running smaller games. If they still do not run, reboot your phone to free up more RAM and try again. If this still does not help, buy yourself a real GameBoy Advance. |