Community The Emulation Thread - When That PC Port Just Ain't Happening

low-G

old school cool
Nov 1, 2018
898
1,718
93
Man, I'm pissed (well not really but it's the best word i can find). The other day I decided to finally try Yuzu/Ryujinx and I liked what i tried.
So i decided to get an old unpatched switch as a dumping machine and do things the right way.

And I found one for 190€ (It was just the switch + the joycons + a charger, no dock but since it would be a dumping machine i don't really care), on ebay resold by a pawnshop (so they gave me 30 days return which was nice) but for whatever reason it kept saying "paypal is not available at this time" so I said I'll try again later. Big mistake it was gone when I checked again.

And now my next option (that i know it's 100% hackable) costs 50 extra euros (sure it includes the dock and a few other things, but i won't use them).
Guess I'll have to keep looking.
I assume it makes a difference to you if you're dumping your own or if you're downloading dumps of games you own? That's probably not even a legal technicality and Nintendo won't get any extra money.
 

Cacher

Romantic Storm
Jun 3, 2020
4,133
12,610
113
Pre-order is open again, btw. So tempting...
I assume it makes a difference to you if you're dumping your own or if you're downloading dumps of games you own? That's probably not even a legal technicality and Nintendo won't get any extra money.
I can't speak for curi0usBystander, but I think downloading the dump can be illegal in some countries, like Japan.
 
Dec 5, 2018
1,544
3,873
113
I assume it makes a difference to you if you're dumping your own or if you're downloading dumps of games you own? That's probably not even a legal technicality and Nintendo won't get any extra money.
I can't speak for curi0usBystander, but I think downloading the dump can be illegal in some countries, like Japan.
If the switch wasn't such a recent system I probably wouldn't care (since the system would just be out of support).

As far as legality of downloading the dumps it's probably legal here (with a bunch of asterisk).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cacher

low-G

old school cool
Nov 1, 2018
898
1,718
93
I can't speak for curi0usBystander, but I think downloading the dump can be illegal in some countries, like Japan.
So it may be illegal to do a dump of something you have a license to but not otherwise obtain a dump to something you have a license to? I remember in the old days everyone talked about it was more about retention and how many personal duplicates of data you are allowed. (i.e. a 'backup')
 

Cacher

Romantic Storm
Jun 3, 2020
4,133
12,610
113
So it may be illegal to do a dump of something you have a license to but not otherwise obtain a dump to something you have a license to? I remember in the old days everyone talked about it was more about retention and how many personal duplicates of data you are allowed. (i.e. a 'backup')
In Japan case, yeah, legally you can dump a physical game, but it has to be for private use. No downloading or distribution.
 
Last edited:

Alextended

Segata's Disciple
Jan 28, 2019
5,461
8,524
113
[...]
Drift King 97 is an awesome racing game in the Wangan/Initial D mould (actually among the first in the former series and a precursor to Dreamcast's underrated Tokyo Xtreme Racer games). After trying it I love how drifting feels, it's like Sega Rally mud slides though you have to be a bit more precise and in control of your lane so you don't crash in either edge or the traffic you're overtaking as you attempt to beat your rival. The timestamp in the first video is a great introduction with some nice footage and I also found a tribute video (which is all gameplay as the game lacks replays). Sounds change when you're going through tunnels and the time of day changes as you progress in the race. The PlayStation port is available in English as Tokyo Highway Battle (which helps a ton when upgrading your car parts) but I prefer how this version feels/looks despite the lower draw distance, mesh shadows etc., as the 2D backgrounds move smoother and there's no polygon warping or obvious seams as on the PlayStation, it also supports the Saturn 3D Control Pad but not the DualShock or Dual Analog controller.

[...]
I found some more footage of the Sega Saturn Drift King '97 after searching for it for another topic. I don't know if it's on original hardware as above but it looks to be without enhancements (or the remastering in the tribute video which made the colors weird). It also shows a half decent player actually drifting and what not. Since it's a review, I don't (yet?) agree with all his complaints, but I didn't get far (due to the Japanese). Traffic didn't seem out to get me, I just had to avoid drifting into them and pass when clear, I don't see why later tougher rivals would also make traffic more difficult but maybe that's the case. Drifting rocks!
 
Last edited:

Stevey

Gromlintroid
Dec 8, 2018
2,694
8,252
113
41
Does anybody have any experience with emulating the Amiga?

Loved those games back in the day.

Had a google and found WinUAE, but I've never ran an emulator before so feel out my depth just reading about it :anguished-face:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cacher and Li Kao

low-G

old school cool
Nov 1, 2018
898
1,718
93
Does anybody have any experience with emulating the Amiga?

Loved those games back in the day.

Had a google and found WinUAE, but I've never ran an emulator before so feel out my depth just reading about it :anguished-face:
I did Amiga emulation on WinUAE, I believe it was around 2002. Either way it was a super long time ago, and I did manage to set it up and things basically seemed perfect. From my memory, it was tricky. Building my own custom versions of MAME was easier. I had the barrier of never having tried an Amiga before (but I had heard of the legend for many years at that point, saw the screenshots on DOS game boxes of far superior looking Amiga versions...), so I had to learn all about Amiga generally.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Stevey

EdwardTivrusky

Good Morning, Weather Hackers!
Dec 8, 2018
7,277
12,381
113
Stevey I used WinUAE quite a lot but it was years ago. It's simple to use but is a bit odd if you've never used an Amiga before. You need to get WinUAE, Kickstart (BIOS) and the Amiga Workbench disks (OS disks). Most Amiga games will come as disk images which you mount on the workbench or autoload. It can be confusing due to the different hardware revisions of the A500, A600, A1200 as some games will not work on newer/older Amiga hardware configs but there should be a readme saying what the game is compatible with.

Many people will create a HDD image file and transfer the floppy images to that for ease of use.

Lemon Amiga has a simple enough tutorial to help explain stuff and get you running... once you've downloaded the Kickstart and Workbench disks.
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: Li Kao and Stevey

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,705
15,606
113
Interesting timing with Stevey yesterday I felt like playing old computer games for a change. I have been guilty of equating emulation with consoles for too long when there is a treasure trove of great computer classics to (re)experience, with some scanlines goodness. I don’t know why, I weirdly want to see Flood running again.
I also, after suffering through Metroid Dread, want to play some chill and meaty CRPG.

One or the other, maybe both desires satiated ? Or will I simply browse the net ? :anguished-face:
 
  • Like
Reactions: xinek and Stevey

EdwardTivrusky

Good Morning, Weather Hackers!
Dec 8, 2018
7,277
12,381
113
For true pain to while away an afternoon and totally smash those rose-tinted nostalgia spectacles get a Spectrum/C64+128/Amstrad CPC 464 emulator and see how long you last on those old games of our youth. Though some games do still keep me entertained for a while if i'm honest most of the games of my youth are painful to play these days. Spectrum audio is 99% pain for example.


I would recommend having a look for a BBC Micro emulator and playing the original Elite or Exile for a while. Just like us old folk did at school.

Shift+F12 to restart and load disk, F10 to start. Check help for helpful keyboard mapping.

There's tons of browser based emulators too, many based on PCE.js: James Friend | PCE.js - Classic Mac OS in the Browser
It's also available as a native app if you want to download it and run it natively.
 

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,705
15,606
113
Jeez, is 2000 ? Dosbox sure doesn't make it easy to customize it. GUI, what are those ?
Had to dig a little bit and found a fork that supports shaders. Not bad, not bad. Still unsure about the screen size but that's trouble for another time. Albion demo looks pretty good with easymode.

Now to google how to play GOG games with a Dosbox fork.
 

EdwardTivrusky

Good Morning, Weather Hackers!
Dec 8, 2018
7,277
12,381
113
Li Kao This might interest you.


Shaders that work with DOSBox standard, well SVN Builds anyway?

And some more DOSBox versions.
I use DOSBox-X sometimes, have dabbled with DOSBox ECE but never played with Shaders as i don't care for scanlines tbh.


I really need to spend some time this holidays to setup my DOSBox environment again. I've been playing with AMP-Shell but if anyone has any other suggestions for a DOSBox UI they use then let me know.
 

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,705
15,606
113
The first two are exactly what I found :photoblobheart:

That being said, new issue, so not surprised. Win11 HDR is very bright on my end, I like to call it blowtorch mode. And I got used to it.
So obviously when I go fullscreen on Dosbox the HDR gets its wires crossed and I get a grey veiled picture. No fucking idea how I can fix that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: EdwardTivrusky

EdwardTivrusky

Good Morning, Weather Hackers!
Dec 8, 2018
7,277
12,381
113
Try this, i wonder if there's a dos batch file or powershell script that you can use to disable AutoHDR, run DOSBox and then re-enable AutoHDR when you close the session? If not, one will show up soon.

 
  • Like
Reactions: Li Kao

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,705
15,606
113
Evidently the GOG provided Dosbox directly launches in Fullscreen and doesn't fuck up HDR.
Scanlines or brightness, mmh.
 
  • Eyes
Reactions: Cacher

EdwardTivrusky

Good Morning, Weather Hackers!
Dec 8, 2018
7,277
12,381
113
Evidently the GOG provided Dosbox directly launches in Fullscreen and doesn't fuck up HDR.
Scanlines or brightness, mmh.
Can you change the dosbox.conf file for the version of Dosbox you're using to make it launch directly in fullscreen or is it a different issue?
 

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,705
15,606
113
Can you change the dosbox.conf file for the version of Dosbox you're using to make it launch directly in fullscreen or is it a different issue?
Mmh, good idea, I will try that.
What a mess of an integration, if you activate HDR everything is brightened to hell and back, when all anyone ever asked is for the games that support HDR to well, display in HDR.

Edit - I would say it works, not like there is a pop up telling me everything is fine, it just doesn't seem to darken.
Edit 2 - Wait, now it's my desktop that got a grey veil, fuck that noise. Unchecking HDR.

Now, as I clearly want to destroy my afternoon, I must look for how to run GOG games on an external Dosbox. It's evidently doable, but the devil being in the details, and with my luck...
 
Last edited:

EdwardTivrusky

Good Morning, Weather Hackers!
Dec 8, 2018
7,277
12,381
113
The easiest way is to rename "Dosbox" in the GOG game's folder to something like "_Dosbox" and then copy in the "Dosbox" folder of the Dosbox distro you want to use. I just did it with Elvira and it worked. You'll need to fiddle with the configs etc to get it looking how you want but eh, that's no problem really.

You could copy the shortcut file in the GOG game folder and edit the paths to point to the version of Dosbox you want to use. That might have mixed results and as Dosbox is like 40mb at most i'd go with copying the dosbox folder into each game.

I'm sure there's a Dosbox GUI out there that will let you choose what Dosbox to use on a per-game basis but i've only used AmpShell and that lets you chose which Dosbox exe to use. It's in the Advanced tab when you add a new game.
 

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,705
15,606
113
Hmm, I'm finding nothing. Frustration rising. IF I can't use Gog games in the manner I want, which doesn't seem that unreasonable, just another version of Dosbox, then I will rethink my purchasing habit on the site. Well not entirely true, I found an entire forum of retro PC enthusiasts who don't seem enthusiasts about GOG way of doing things.

For info I tried to replace the dosbox folder of Stonekeep with mine, but all I got was sound. While alt-tabbing I saw that the game was running in a fucking postcard, and when I select it, get the postcard on screen, ALT+ENTER and I get... well the game back in the background with sound only.
There must be an issue somewhere in this frankeninstall, but where...
 

EdwardTivrusky

Good Morning, Weather Hackers!
Dec 8, 2018
7,277
12,381
113
Oh, i just renamed old dosbox folder, dropped in the dosbox folder from "dosbox optional" and double clicked the existing shortcut.
It sounds like you have a .conf conflict, Have a look at which .conf file has been updated/created and check the options there. By default GOG shortcuts use "dosbox-single.conf" so check that one.

You could also move/rename the existing .conf files and run the game again to see which configs are created and edit those.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Li Kao

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,705
15,606
113
Oh, i just renamed old dosbox folder, dropped in the dosbox folder from "dosbox optional" and double clicked the existing shortcut.
It sounds like you have a .conf conflict, Have a look at which .conf file has been updated/created and check the options there. By default GOG shortcuts use "dosbox-single.conf" so check that one.

You could also move/rename the existing .conf files and run the game again to see which configs are created and edit those.
I just solved the issue by moving the conf where Gog expects it AND nuking my autoexec settings.
The whole thing is a little too involved to my liking, and I'm more than a bit frustrated, but all in all if this works reliably for most games, meh, I'm good.
 

EdwardTivrusky

Good Morning, Weather Hackers!
Dec 8, 2018
7,277
12,381
113
Welcome to DOS Gaming under emulation. It was even better when you were editing config.sys and autoexec bat files to try to eek out 2 or 3 kb so you can get the mouse driver, memory manager, cd driver, soundcard driver etc all loaded in with enough memory free for the game itself.

Dosbox is easy-mode comparatively.

Once you've worked out which config is being used by default or is mentioned in the shortcut you are running you can just edit that file. When you have a working config you like, make a copy and use it as a template for the other games. You'll probably need to tweak it for some games but the majority will be happy enough.
 

MegaApple

Just another Video Game Enthusiast
Sep 20, 2018
1,445
3,664
113
Super Robot Wars OGs is fun to play and great to look at. So far the game is not difficult except one optional challenge of an early stage. There is a fan translation out there. Highly recommend to people who love mechas.


Did you put filters from PCSX2 or ReShade?
 

Cacher

Romantic Storm
Jun 3, 2020
4,133
12,610
113
Did you put filters from PCSX2 or ReShade?
Reshade(y)

The original CRT shaders on PCSX2 are pretty bad. Reshade is better and adjustable but my favorite would be Retroarch's CRT Royale filter. Somehow I couldn't make PS2 emulation to work on Retroarch so I use Reshade on PCSX2 instead.
 
Last edited:

Alextended

Segata's Disciple
Jan 28, 2019
5,461
8,524
113
It's also in the VR thread but nobody ever checks that so here you go folks 🎅

I only use EmuVR for lightgun games, otherwise it's a janky hassle compared to plain RetroArch. On my PC, PlayStation games like Time Crisis work optimally, maybe with slow down when there are too many sprites on screen in the Point Blank games and such. There's also one exception I've found so far, in Ubisoft's Gunfighter aiming doesn't work at all. Two Dreamcast games also work flawlessly for me, The House of the Dead 2 and Confidential Mission. These two make setting it up worthwhile. Sadly Virtua Cop 2 Dreamcast seems to momentarily freeze every time I press the trigger. On the Saturn side unfortunately games just don't perform well so once again the Virtua Cop games aren't playable to a good standard. That's my experience, maybe better/different PCs get better results. A couple FBN arcade games like Dragon Gun and Beast Busters also seem to somewhat function, but holding down the trigger for rapid fire use makes every shot after the first (which works as it should) land in the same position as that so you can only aim in semi auto. I've not tested PS2 lightgun games (actually I can't even get the PCSX2 core to work in RetroArch at the moment) or any other systems with it yet. Hopefully they keep improving this aspect of it. My ideal VR emulator frontend would just be RetroArch itself supporting VR even if it's just a large screen in the void rather than a full room, keeping your configuration and everything else the same as out of VR. I don't know why they've got this janky mess with the custom Game Scanner and presets you cannot alter in EmuVR.
 
Last edited:

Alextended

Segata's Disciple
Jan 28, 2019
5,461
8,524
113
Sweet, this one's getting fan translated as well, I had no idea. It looks like it's quite far along (but far from finished as well). I've always wanted to play it actually.

A Saturn SRPG that looks real nice with the FFTactics/Grandia/Xenogears/Ys/Trails 3D backgrounds with 2D sprites look + some nice SFIII style special attacks.
 
Last edited:

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,705
15,606
113
Jesus, never lose hope, I guess. So you are telling me there is hope for… insert jp game here ?
I don’t know, Black Matrix, the whole of Far East of Eden… even Hanjuku Hero ?

I don’t believe you :confounded-face:
 

Alextended

Segata's Disciple
Jan 28, 2019
5,461
8,524
113
Has anyone sourced a Naomi mame romset that works with Flycast? I wanted to test The Maze of the Kings and Lupin the 3rd: The Shooting in EmuVR but can't.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cacher

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,705
15,606
113
Little help please ? :anguished-face:
I tried using Retroarch on Steam and after losing 1 good hour on this piece of shit I turn to you people in order to not lose the afternoon.

- I'm trying to use PCSX2.
It isn't included in the DLC cores.
I understand that I have to dl it on Libretro.
I copy the dll in the cores folder of the steam version.
I create the fucking folder structure needed, where I copy my bios
retroarch/ └── system/ └── pcsx2/ ├── bios/ ├── cheats/ ├── cheats_ws/ └── memcards/ (optional)

- Result
I can select the core (but it has no license)
I can launch the core and run the PS2 home menu
If I launch a game, back to Retorach, it tells me there was no content to run and looks like it ran the PPSSPP core (?)


PS. More than half the time Retroarch doesn't really stops when you quit, have to stop the process. I wouldn't have believed someone who told me they would shit the bed harder with each passing year, but here we are.

Kvik :cryblob:
 
  • Sad
Reactions: xinek

Alextended

Segata's Disciple
Jan 28, 2019
5,461
8,524
113
If it runs in PPSSPP then you associated it with the wrong core, try resetting association of that content so that it asks again when you run it and choose the right one. But PCSX2 is still pretty recently added (not sure if it's gone past the alpha/preview state or not, I haven't tried it in a while) and last I tried it even did cause issues like you mention in terms of not shutting RetroArch down on exit but having the process still run, it required changing RA's video output API to one that the core supports rather than auto switch, etc. Stand alone PCSX2/Dolphin are probably best/more featured still rather than via RetroArch. Mednafen (all the Beetle cores) is said to also be better stand alone but I've had no issues with the core versions so I'm using them for every available system they exist.

If you intend to use cores unavailable as Steam DLC then why not install (or just dump in a folder) RA out of it so that they're downloadable from within its GUI?
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Li Kao

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,705
15,606
113
If you intend to use cores unavailable as Steam DLC then why not install (or just dump in a folder) RA out of it so that they're downloadable from within its GUI?
I don't understand what you mean :-/
I would have liked to use PCSX2 inside Retroarch for the much better CRT Shader selection than PCSX2 plain one.
 

Alextended

Segata's Disciple
Jan 28, 2019
5,461
8,524
113
I just meant, RetroArch is available as downloaded exe install or downloaded zip, why get it on Steam then download cores like PCSX2 from libretro? If you get RetroArch itself from libretro, all cores can be downloaded/updated from within RetroArch by going to a certain menu item rather than finding them on web.

And yeah RA is great but PCSX2 core state is what it is, at the moment. Hope it improves fast.
 
  • Like
Reactions: xinek and Li Kao

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,705
15,606
113
I just meant, RetroArch is available as downloaded exe install or downloaded zip, why get it on Steam then download cores like PCSX2 from libretro? If you get RetroArch itself from libretro, all cores can be downloaded/updated from within RetroArch by going to a certain menu item rather than finding them on web.

And yeah RA is great but PCSX2 core state is what it is, at the moment. Hope it improves fast.
Oh it was also to see where RA on Steam is at this moment, since the Deck is hopefully coming soon. And I did try my old RA outside of Steam first, but for some reason half my pad inputs weren’t set up.
I guess I will retry this stand alone RA and continue to wonder if the Deck will be a wise purchase.
 

Kvik

Crossbell City Councillor
Dec 6, 2018
4,149
10,267
113
Downunder.
Sorry for the late reply. I had an early night for once

More than half the time Retroarch doesn't really stops when you quit, have to stop the process.
It's an ongoing bug. They even acknowledge it in the release notes for the alpha.

So, in regards to setting up pcsx2 in the Steam build, there are a few things to check:

If you can open the core and see the PS2 menu or MC browser, then you've taken care of the first step. Secondly, make sure pcsx2_libretro.info is present inside the info folder. If you don't have this file, chances are the core association won't work, hence the PPSSPP core is wrongly associated as you've noticed.

Once you've taken care of these two things, check the information screen in the ROM's entry. Make sure Core and Database are associated properly. If the game still doesn't load, then you might have to "force" the video driver to use opengl instead of vulkan. Normally they'll autoswitch seamlessly, but depending on the setup, this could fail.

let me know how you fare.
 
  • Love
  • Like
Reactions: Cacher and Li Kao

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,705
15,606
113
It was the info file ! I had to google it, find a Libretro github page, copy the content and paste it in a .txt, rename, put in the right place.
Now an inquiring mind would wonder why the ever living fuck this file was absent and not mentioned in the PCSX2 Libretro page.
A playful mind would, uh, play.

I'm just tired. Fucking RetroArch. Every. Time.

Thank you so much Kvik
 
  • Comfy
Reactions: Kvik

Kvik

Crossbell City Councillor
Dec 6, 2018
4,149
10,267
113
Downunder.
why the ever living fuck this file was absent and not mentioned in the PCSX2 Libretro page.
Normally the full distribution will include all the info files, but the steam distro will only include relevant files for the cores that come with it, hence the exclusion.
 

low-G

old school cool
Nov 1, 2018
898
1,718
93
I heard that for PCSX2 1.7.0 they'll have the latency improvements. Are those latency improvements already implemented in the unstable builds?
 

Alextended

Segata's Disciple
Jan 28, 2019
5,461
8,524
113
Idk since when but Test Drive/Le Mans 24 Hours has largely been fixed in Flycast. It runs, plays & looks great, only rolling demos still bork the main car off track.
 

Knurek

OG old coot
Oct 16, 2018
2,437
5,998
113
Durante how do you feel about PCSX2 devs going out of their way to break Ar Tonelico 2 retranslation patch under their emulator?
Pity, kind of wanted to finally play it on Deck... :\
:steam_pig_mad: