Sites' moves -
Dave's Video Game Classics is now up and running smoothly on a T3 in New York. Some links may not work because of this. If your DNS hasn't updated yet, the IP is 207.155.180.55. Zophar's Domain has it's domain name (zophar.net) functioning again, so zophar.malicia.com is no longer functional. JoseQ's EmuViews should be settled at emuviews.com tomorrow and there should be no more need to use the IP.

Raine update -
Richard Bush has revealed that sound will be working in Ninja Warriors, Liquid Kids, Mega Blast, Taito Tetris, Space Invaders DX, Ninja Kids, Growl, Crime City, Superman Drift Out and more. No release date has been announced as of yet.

Gameboy Lite development info -
A new gameboy emulator called Gameboy Lite is under construction. Its being coded by Don Jarrett and Daniel Maresca Jr. Although there's no webpage or screen shots yet, we do have some information for you. The z80 emulation is 100% done, and the tile palette is 50% done. A tile editor is also in the making. We'll post more info when we get it.

GrayBox update -
Arthur Langereis has released some new details on the next release of GrayBox. First, a new programmer has joined the fold, Allan Jensen. Together, they have developed a new plug-in architecture for their emulator. There will be plug-ins for audio, video audio, input and mapper parts. A first beta is due out by the end of October.

PSyKe development suspended -
Rasky has updated his webpage with some possibly bad news. He's going to take a small break (about a month) from his PlayStation emulator and then he will decide whether he will continue working on PSyKe:
"But, I'm sorry, I've a very bad news for you all. PSyKe is officially suspended for a month. mOoNsHaDo and me had some discussions in last days, and he decided to leave the team. I have some very talented friends that want to help me continuing PSyKe, but I'm not so sure that *I* want to continue PSyKe. This is why I'm suspending it for a month: I need to think. I hope that mOoNsHaDo will change his mind and go back working on it, I'm waiting for him. Otherwise, I'll let you all know what I'll do at the end of October. The site should not been updated until that date. And, please, please, don't mail me: I've decided to suspend it, and your mails are simply useless."
- Rasky, Remaining Author of PSyKe
There is some good news to report. PSyKe now has its own domain, www.psyke.com and MDEC (PSX Video) emulation is partially working now.

Gekko to return as commercial emulator -
Johan Köhler, author of Gekko, the world's first Neo Geo emulator, has revealed that he's is still working on his emulator. Only now it will be released commercially with SNK's blessing. Read all about it at: http://www.elitegamer.com/interviews/dra-92498.htm

SNES Emulation Centre returns -
After a few days of down time, and weeks of server problems, SNES Emulation Centre is back up.

DarkMazda's Domain update -
As most of you already know, DarkMazda's Domain (home of AAGT, translators of Rockman & Forte) lost its webhost and will be gone very shortly. They will be back when they can find a new home. To hear the complete story from DarkMazda himself, download this RM file.

SNeSe to be continued?? -
I've received a number of e-mails regarding SNEeSe, an SNES emulator for DOS that was recently discontinued, possibly being resumed very soon. Here's an IRC chat that ensued between Slaik and the 'mystery man':
TRAC - SNEeSe is NOT dead!
Slaik - TRAC: Please explain.
TRAC - Simple - I used to be a co-author; I've received the go ahead to continue on the project.
Slaik - Ahh... Cool.
TRAC - It was either that, or make a new SNES emulator... something I didn't want to have to bother with.
TRAC - expect some news on it in a couple weeks... until then... this is all that's being said... SNEeSe lives on...
Can anyone verify this?

PSX Emulator article on IGN -
IGN posted an article 2 weeks ago that I think deserves some mention. It talks about the PSX, the fact that it's being emulated, and more.
Here's an excerpt:
Just recently, the idea of emulating the PlayStation has taken its first major steps toward reality. Two separate emulators have successfully replicated the console's basic operation – and more. Drawing on cutting-edge 3-D acceleration technology, they are able to not only run real PlayStation games, but run them better than the real thing… in some cases.
Thanks to Jason Z. for the news.

SNEmul (lack of) update -
Also a bit of a SEC exclusive here... but you may or may not have noticed that SNEmul has been rather quiet of late. Well I did so I mailed the authors. It turns out that as seems to be the case these days the authors currently have very little time to work on thier outstanding emulator. A tile editor had been implemented but has proven very bug ridden... but for now SNEmul is on hold... which is a great shame.

DarkMazda's Domain shutting down -
DarkMazda's Domain, home of AAGT, may be shutting down. Just incase you don't know what AAGT is, they are the group that's translating Rockman & Forte. Here's what is posted on the page:
"Sorry for saying this. But DarkMazda's Domain is being shutted down!!!! Peon.net is going down so everything that has to do with my page is down.. Sorry to tell you this.. I can't do anything about it.. So I am really sorry to say this but I am REALLY SORRY!!! :( If anyone can submit me a Domain name with hosting or any webspace more then 40 mb or 50.. Please E-mail me at drkmazda@earthlink.net So.. This is our LAST EVER UPDATE!!!! Well it looks I am off.. see you all later when we meet again!! Peace out yall!!! Thanks for all of the people that support us!!!!"
This is a really cool page (IMHO), and I'd hate to see it shut down so please help them if you can. BTW, if this page goes away then the R/F translation might do the same thing. =(

NSFE to merge with TrueReality -
In a surprising announcement, Gordon Hollingworth has decided to merge parts of Niki Waibel's Nintendo 64 emulator (TrueRealty) into his own Nintendo 64 emulator (NSFE). Gordon and Niki have been discussing this for some time now (they both share the same webpage). By combining the best of TrueReality's emulation core and NSFE's GUI/OpenGL code, they hope to create "a fully functional N64 emulator for Windows, UNIX, DOS, MAC etc." When released, NSFE will be available as both a binary and source code.

X-MAME for Linux OpenGL -
Mike Oliphant is developing an OpenGL driver currently for xMAME. This can be ported to other systems in the future as well! The page has some cool screen shots. Check em out!

Emulation Zone returns (Yet another scandal) -
Not all that long ago Emulation Zone, one of the oldest emulation sites still online, made a statement that it might not continue for various reasons. Now it has returned, with a new design, new server, and new maintainers. And, a new scandal. [NOAM] and SwampGas of Zophar's Domain claim that Emulation Zone has ripped off their site. No Carrier, creator of Emulation Zone denies it. Zophar has not commented at this time. It all sounds so familiar doesn't it? Remember Emulation Zone vs. Node 99? (Actually most of you probably don't, that was in '96 ;) Anyway, this story is too long to make a post, but not developed enough to make an article out of, so I'll just post the arguments here and let you be the judge.

Raine update -
Here's the latest from the Raine camp, 2 more games are now playable on Raine: Rodland (with sound!) and Taito/Sega Tetris. Of course, we'll have to wait until the next release of Raine, but hopefully that won't be too far off.

NSFE update -
Gordon Hollingworth has announced that the first release of NSFE (the successor to Reality64) *should* be released sometime in October. It will be more advanced than the original Reality64 but will not be able to play any commercial games. It will, however, have an integrated debugger (similar to PSEmu Pro), so Gordon's billing this a 'developer' release since it may be of some use to N64 demo programmers. NSFE is a Nintendo 64 emulator for Windows.

Retrocade update -
Some happenings with Retrocade include: Dig Dug support has been added, as have some scanlines and new video modes! Scan lines currently only works with certain video modes, such as: 256x256, 224x288, and so on. Finally a work around for that nasty 1/4th screen bug with Ndivia128 cards has been added. This should hopefully cure the remaining problems people are having. This is not an actual bug fix, as it has been determined the bug is with the video card itself, and not the emulator.

Vertigo 2099 returning? -
Okay, most of you know by now that the ROM releasing group, Vertigo 2099, was recently disbanded. Well, now it seems they are regrouping, or 'something'. This page has the Vertigo logo, and exclaims, "the bitch is back", and "it ain't over til the fat lady sings" (with appropriate image). This page says "Vertigo 2099, coming soon!" And finally, This page, the GameShock site (remember it's mention on emu.internexus.net before it went down?) says that it's presented by Vertigo 2099, and is being remodeled. These were all uploaded on 98.09.11, that's five days after the Vertigo closing message on the Advert City hosted site. I will keep you posted if/when I find out more.

RAINE update -
Mario Silva has sent us screen shots of 3 new games running under RAINE. They are: Blood Brothers, Cabal, and Darius (fully playable and sound!). You can view them at my new RAINE page. The official RAINE page will be back online later today.

System 16 update -
Many people are wondering when the next version of the System 16 emulator with all the great emulated sound will be released. NAO has allowed us to post the information. Yesterday, Beta 2 of V0.80 was sent to beta testers fixing a few remaining bugs. If all goes well, and there aren't any problems left, a PUBLIC release should be available within 2 weeks or so. Stay tuned for more info.

mOoNsHaDo Leaves PSyKe? -
Emulators Unlimited is reporting that mOoNsHaDo has left Psyke (PlayStation emulator). The reports cites "a lack of enthusiasm in the emulation scene" as the reason for his decision. No further information is available at this time.

VGB update -
Marat Fayzullin has announced that a new version of Virtual Gameboy will be released shortly:
"Among features are faster emulation (due to some optimizations in memory access), multiple bugfixes to serial I/O and display controller, bugfixed MBC3 mapper emulation, separate GameBoy and Pocket GameBoy modes, almost-perfect Super GameBoy emulation (no more color glitches, no more scrambled SGB frames, etc.), and also preliminary emulation of GameBoy Color."
There is no exact release date as of yet. Stay tuned...

PSEmu update -
The PSEmu Pro development team has updated several of their drivers:

• Graphics Driver: Kaz Soft (Brand New!)
• CD-ROM Drivers: DudAspi and DAO/CDRWIN

PSyKe update -
Giovanni Bajo and Stefano Crosara have posted new screenshots of the PSyKe playing Tenken 3! To check them out, head on over to here.

Final Fantasy V petition -
Although this has absolutely nothing to do with emulation, I have a number of updates to due today due to LSS (Lazy staff syndrome). An FFV petition has been set up at http://www.thegrid.net/kin/ff5/petition.htm. For anyone who would like to see FFV translated by Squaresoft and come out for the PSX, you will probably want to sign it. Otherwise, you can always download the FF5 patch and play it on ZSNES :)

madNES update -
Robert Rosario continues working hard on the next release of madNES. New features include support for multiple state save files (up to 25 per game), 9 new mappers and a modest speed increase. No release date is known as of yet.

Raine update -
It has been announced on the official Raine (a multi arcade emulator for DOS) homepage that 3 new games will be playable in the next release! From the homepage:

• More games added to Raine, we begin with Crime City
• Also playable are Rastan Saga & Master Of Weapons with sound!

Nofrendo author's computer stolen -
Here is what's on the Nofrendo's page:
"Sorry there haven't been any updates. My computer was stolen on Aug. 24th, and all the Nofrendo source code was lost. =( Seriously, this sucked dick with a dry mouth.
Don't fear, though, work has begun on Nofrendo 2, and the core is nearly complete, including full sound. More to come later. This project has not been cancelled!"
We here at Zophar's Domain are totally sorry for what happened, and we wish good luck to Matt Conte.

Snes9X update -
Good news for Snes9x. Gary has gotten a new laptop so work on the Snes9x core has been resumed. Also, Jerremy's request for help on the Windows port has been answered:
"Gary has a new laptop so he can resume work on Snes9X, although his time is going to be limited for a few months (busy with family life and work). Just a few of the things of being a working man. And I've been contacted by three people who offered their help on the Windows port, so if all goes well then a updated Windows version is being worked on."

Retrocade to be released at midnight (PST) -
Perhaps one of the most widely anticipated emulators ever is about to be released, Retrocade. The official release date is Monday, September 14, 1998 at 12:00am Pacific Standard Time (US). When released, it will support 100 games and it will be available for DOS. Windows 95, Unix, Macintosh and ARM ports will follow. An official FAQ is already available and you can even begin downloading the support files now. Stay tuned...this one's going to be huge.

JoseQ's EmuViews update -
Well, JoseQ's EmuViews, which went down 98.08.27, is back up! Or it WAS back up. Right now the site displays TV color bars and the message:
"EmuViews will be right back...
Hardware Upgrade...
Stay Tuned...
We're experiencing technical difficulties... EmuViews should be back shortly..."
Oh well. Hopefully it will be running again tomorrow.

Snes9X problems -
The latest news from the Snes9x webpage is that development of Snes9x core has been halted. This is just temporary due to computer hardware problems:
"Gary, he maintains the source, currently can't work on Snes9X because his portable computer broke down, this means that he can't work on Snes9X. He normally worked on Snes9X when traveling from between his work and his home. But he can't work on Snes9X at home or at work, so until his portable is fixed or until he gets a new one, Snes9X development is on a halt. I myself am in a phase of switching jobs and am VERY busy these last few weeks so I haven't been able to work on the Windows port that much. If there are any programmers out there with Borland C++ Builder 3 experience AND Visual C++ experience AND want to help on the Windows version then please mail me... (you need both Visual C++ and Borland C++ Builder 3 to compile the Windows source)"
Fortunately, there is some good news to report. The BeOS port of Snes9x was updated to version 1.05c. This is a minor update that fixes a few bugs.

Genesis YM2612 Tech Info request -
A few weeks ago, Genecyst x.xx was released. One of the new features was the ability to log the YM2612/PSG register writes to a .GYM file. In the readme.txt file, Sardu writes "Someone (not me) could possibly write a utility to convert this data into a .MID or other music file." Well, programmer Paul Jensen is doing exactly that and he would like to make a tech request:
"I have started development on a utility that will convert Genecyst's .GYM files (YM2612 log files) to standard MIDI format files. So far, the utility can read from a .GYM file, and read from/write to a .MID file. All that's left is to convert the YM2612 registers and values to MIDI commands and values. I am looking for as much information as I can find on the Yamaha YM2612 used in the MegaDrive/Genesis."
You can contact him at pejcs@pacbell.net.

Vertigo 2099 is no more -
Vertigo 2099, one of the oldest and best the ROM releasing group has been disbanded. This comes as an surprise to me, and I really don't know what to say, except that they will be missed. This was their last update:
"As some of you may have already seen and heard, Vertigo 2099 is no more. Seems that some issues have caused us to close down. I will not disclose or discuss it since no one seemed to have thought about emailing and telling me about this. I had to read it myself, so that's that. Thanks to all the other visitors of this site for sending in thoughtful emails regarding this, each one is appreciated. As to what will happen to this site, i'll keep it up so people may have a reference to what was released. Updates will still be made if needed. Here is the last pack that will be released, VT-RIP."

PSyKe update -
With all the hoopla surrounding the release of PSEmu Pro last week, you might think that PSEmu Pro is the only PlayStation emulator around. Not true. PSyKe burst on the scene earlier this year and continues to get better. Just today, the PSyKe webpage was updated with the latest news on PSyKe's progress:
"I have worked during last month basically on CPU, and I've obtained about a 30% speed increase, that can be see mostly with 2D games: for example, Metal Slug now is full frame rate on my P166 with 3DFX. Memory cards emulation is almost complete, I have to fix only some bugs and add support for memcard files in the GUI. I have fixed also some bugs in CDROM emulation (eg. Wipeout 2097 demo - and probably also the full game - works ok), and in the pad emulation (some games didn't found the controllers). In these days I'm working on MDEC skipping, so that PSyKe will skip all the movies, instead of simply freezing. All this stuff will be in PSyKe 0.20, that will be probably released at the end of September."
- RaskY, Co-Author of PSyKe
Please note that the next release *should* be out by the end of the month - but this is no guarentee that it will. Please do not bother the authors about the exact release date. Whenever it comes out, you'll find out here.
For Unix users, Sadruddin Rejeb has been working on a PlayStation emulator called Sope. Although not as advanced as PSyKe or PSEmu, the T-Rex demo is working almost perfectly now.

PSX on Dreamcast rumor -
According to an article recently posted, there are "RUMORS" going around about the Dreamcast console being able to run PSX games once released. Quoting directly from that article, "Apparently, a group of hackers who are working on one of the most widely-known PC PSX emulators was recently contacted by insiders at Sega with a very specific agenda: to see whether their emulator could be programmed to work with Dreamcast. And, according to legend, the team thinks that it is indeed just about feasible.". I don't know what to make of this, but you can draw your own conclusions. Click here to read the entire article.

NeoRAGE rumor confirmed -
I'm not sure exactly how many people actually read "readme.txt" files, but if you downloaded the latest version of NeoRAGE, you probably noticed this...
"We are VERY disappointed in many people out there, we are doing a lot of work on our spare time and for free. And we couldn't imagine that so MANY people was so totally out of respect that they use a hacked version of NeoRAGE. There will always be some scum that doesn't hesitate to hack our work. Even to use a hacked version is respectless against us. When people that we trust and respect are doing it we are loosing our motivation.
So don't expect any sound update soon, if ever to the public."
- Anders Nilsson and Janne Korpela
Authors of NeoRAGE