Archived News from July 1999
  

Saturday, July 31, 1999

RetroFX
(posted by uzplayer - 15:14)
 
JoseQ's Emuviews got the authorizaton today to release another screenshot of the RetroFX Emulation Project of Ghost & Ghoblins. I gotta say! They look good and I am looking forward to the demo version of this game. View the picture locally on Emucamp by clicking on the link below. Thanks to JoseQ's Emuviews for the information.

Atari
(posted by uzplayer - 14:52)
 
Z26 Version 1.32 has been released! There is absolutely no description on what's new on the website so I guess you'll have to find out for yourselves. Download it at the link below and thanks to Cloy for the information.

Update from Zoop: This version introduces preliminary support for Starpath Supercharger games.

Link: Z26 Website

PSX
(posted by uzplayer - 10:12)
 
Two things to report from the PSX Emu Scene today:

(A) Wondering what happened to Connectix Virtual Game Station? Well, a LOT. Apparently during this injunction, they have been gearing up as the Windows version is complete and so is the MAC Upgrade which is soppose to improve performance and compatibility. In the long term, Connectix states that they want to enhance performance and compatibility, adding better controller support, NETPLAY, and cautiously evaluating 3D Card support. Read the article at the link below.

(B) This isnt another Bleem! bashing article. David Herpolsheimer has sat down with Gamespot and told him about "life after Bleem!" First they report that Bleem! has sold over 50,000 units in the past two weeks! Some other interesting items to note is that there is talk about a Dreamcast version of Bleem! PSX Emu and he has revealed that he is considering creating a Dreamcast emu for the PC! Apparently it is feasable as he discusses how it can be done. Click on the link below for more info.

Thanks to DVGC for the info.

Addtion: The Bleem! Support Page on EmuHQ has been updated their Saved games page. There are now over 350 saved games for Bleem! and 250 screenshots of Bleem! in action. Goto http://www.emuhq.com/bleem to take a look. (I'd put the html but this newspro script and I dont have a good relationship. It never does what I want it to.)

Arcade @ Home
(posted by uzplayer - 09:50)
 
DVGC is reporting that Arcade @ Home is gonna see another big update. Here's what's gonna be new in ver. 0.36c:

o Now supports images in ZIP files! Call your snap shots images.zip and your flyers flyers.zip. For speed reasons, it only supports the png image format while zipped.
o Vertical splitter bar between the game list and the tabbed view allows you to adjust the width of each section.
o New preferences switch to disable the Windows Start key!
o Can now change the directories where Arcade@Home looks for files from within preferences (no need to edit the MAME.CFG file)!
o Toolbar updated to look like Windows 98/IE.
o When searching for new games (when a new MAME is installed) it now gives a summary of which games were added and deleted. There's also a report option where you can review this report at a later date.
o Finally tracked down the run-time error 6 a few people were getting. This error happened when you select the wrong decimal symbol for your language/country in Control Panel. Windows then can't decode the floating point value for the Gamma and Beam settings. Therefore, if it detects this, it warns you and disables these settings. Note that this is a Windows/Microsoft Visual Studio v6 problem.
o Lockout feature for your kids or for when friends come over. Just Run Arcade@Home with the lockout switch "Arcade.exe lockout".
o New Help menu item that views Arcade@Home's web based Q&A.
o Modified the file exists routine for faster overall speed.
o Widened a few drop down lists so all text is now visible.
o HotRod joystick option now sets the -hotrod setting.
o The Driver Status now shows NOT WORKING instead of just NOT.
o The Windows shut down option no longer brings up a requester on startup.
o Made some slight menu changes and tab order corrections.

Seems like another big update. Yesterday, beta were sent out to private beta testers. There should possibly be a release today.

Tips from the allmighty Wook
(posted by uzplayer - 09:41)
 
It's good to have friends in high places. Tommorow: Look for my editorial on IRC. I will tackle the problems of being an outsider. Be prepared! In the meanwhile, make sure you email that guy that harrassed Zoop and take a look at today's Internet tips courtesy of the allmighty Internet coorespondant, Wook!

o SNK releases the full character cast and teams featured in King Of o Fighters 99.
o http://www.neogeo.co.jp/kof99/toppage/99_index.htm

o GameFan OnLine reports that Ebay has been closing auctions which
o feature Dreamcast imported goods.
o http://www.gamefan.com/hotinfo.asp?s=2018&rs=

o Nintendo signed three American companies to provide the development o items for the "dolphin". Fastest Gaming News OnLine dissects the
o details.
o http://www.fgnonline.com/news/8591.html

o VideoGames feature on "The History Of Street Fighter" makes for a
o good read. It's still Capcom week.
o http://www.videogames.com/features/universal/sfhistory/

SegaPower
(posted by uzplayer - 00:45)
 
Two bits from SegaPower tonight. One disturbing.

(A). SMSPower is now known as Sega Power. All the luck to Zoop on it.

(B). Zoop recieved the following disturbing email.

From: "Joshua Moore" (niue@home.com)
To: cornut@cybercable.fr>
Subject: Salut Raton
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 1999 16:58:45 -0400


Alors comme ca j'ai vu que ton enculee de grand mere vient de crever? C'est con ca hein? Ben moi ca me fait plutot plaisir de vous voir crever sale bougnouls. Maintenant j'attends plus qu'une chose; C'est que toi aussi tu creves comme un de la merde. De tout de facon, tu la connais la difference entre de la merde et un Bougnoule? Ben la merde ca existe et ca sert a qqchose, les bougnouls ca devrait pas exister et a part fouttre la merde ca sait rien faire d'autre. Creve comme ta putain de grand mere vient de crever sale bougnoule. Et casses toi, marre de ta gueule de con de raton. FILS DE PUTE.

Translated:

So I saw that your fucking grand mother just died? That's bad, isn't it? But in fact I actually enjoy seing you die, dirty arabs. Now I'm only waiting for a last thing; is that you also die like a (missing word) of shit. In all cases, do you know the difference between shit and an arab? Shit exists and is useful, arabs shouldn't exists and only know how to (untranslatable) shit. Die like your bitch grand mother did, dirty arab. And fuck off, I'm sick of your face of (untranslatable, don't even understand the word). Son of a bitch.

Let me just make a statement about this. This is fucked up bullshit. I mean it's one thing to insult just me, of which if you insult me, leave Emucamp out of it, but to insult Zoop liek that, makes me really mad. Insults towards Zoop is like an insult towards me and everyone else that works for Emucamp because if it werent for Zoop, we wouldnt be here. Zoop is a great person, probably one of the nicest people you will ever talk to. Let this idiot know how you feel! Email Joshua Moore.. Thanks to our own Zeroage for raising my attention to this..

Update by ZeroAge: Please , do not bomb e-mail this dude. If you want to use programs like this one you are on your own.

Link: SegaPower

Friday, July 30, 1999

Retrogame's Countdown
(posted by ZeroAge - 19:03)
 
Ok , so I must say I'm a little bit disappointed with this . Atila finally revealed what that countdown was about . Well , Happy Birthday Atila :)

Link: Retrogames

Dolphin
(posted by ZeroAge - 16:43)
 
From IGN's Article :
"Earlier this morning Nintendo announced that it has teamed up with developer Factor 5 to license the company's pioneering sound tools technology MusyX for its next-generation console."
And , you ask , what is MusyX ??? Well, let's quote IGN's Article again :
"MusyX puts emphasis on interactivity in games. However, thanks to powerful software (and Dolphin's hardware), programmers can up the quality of their MIDI sounds so that they rival that of Redbook audio streams. The end result, theoretically, are games that sound as if they feature streamed studio music, but everything is interactive, and all in Dolby Surround Sound."
Well ,in my opinion this is completely useless because I really think that the PSX2 is gonna kick some Dolphin's ass . Thanks to UNAE for the news .

Palmtop Emulator
(posted by uzplayer - 10:03)
 
Emualliance is reporting the finding of a Palmtop Emulator. Here's an excerpt from the Palmtop Website:

"The Palm OS Emulator (POSE) is software that emulates the hardware of the various models of Palm Computing platform devices. It is extremely valuable for writing, testing and debugging applications. These "virtual" Palm Computing devices can be created by running the emulator on Windows or Mac OS computers. "

"The emulated device can be loaded with new ROMs, so you can test your application with many virtual devices, including older or newer devices than you might own, foreign language ROMs, and debug-enabled ROMs that provide extra error checking and debugging features."

Go check it out at the website below. Thanks to Emualliance for the info.

On a side note, I am begging the people of Emualliance. PLEASE STOP CHANGING YOUR LAYOUT! It's giving me a headache! Everytime I go on that site, you had another layout! STOP PLEASE!

PSX
(posted by uzplayer - 09:55)
 
This I found funny! Here's an excerpt from one of the millions and millions of good and bad reviews Bleem! has gotten in the past month!

"It has earned my official Microwave Award, which is to say I'm going to microwave the CD it came on as soon as I finish writing this review. Don't bother with bleem."

I am a fan of Bleem! but that was just too damn funny! Read the rest of it at the link below. Thanks to EmuHQ for the info.

Retrogames Countdown
(posted by uzplayer - 09:51)
 
It's almost here! Whatever Atila was counting down, tommorow is the day we will see it! Of course it sure as hell baffled me until all of a sudden, I put two and two together and figured it out! I remember that Emuviews did have something to do with it of course.. Well, I hope it goes well.

On a side note, the HotRod Joystick contest is nearing closure. Goto Emuviews if you want to enter. Drawing is tommorow, July 31, 1999. Good luck! I got my ticket! ;-) (Couldn't have been more obvious.. Eh?)

Links: Retrogames - Emuviews

Raine
(posted by uzplayer - 09:43)
 
I think I missed this on IRC last night, but the Raine website has seen an update. The emulator now supports two more games which are:

o Quiz H.Q.
o Quiz Torimonochou

Take a look at the screenshots by going to the Raine website at the link below. Thanks to EFNet for the info, and thanks to DVGC for reminding me.

Links: Raine Website - DVGC

Q-Bert Remake
(posted by uzplayer - 09:40)
 
If you have been paying attention to the news on the web lately, you will notice that there is a now a remake of the game Q-Bert coming to a PC near you! Well, videogames.com has posted a Preview of this up and coming game. There will be new features on this game, as well as the old Q-Bert available for play as well! This is one of my favorite classic games of all time as I remember being a kid, playing this game for hours on my Colecovision! Read the preview at the link below. Thanks to DVGC for the info.

More from Wook
(posted by uzplayer - 09:32)
 
Look for my editorial comments, this Sunday! In this week's editorial, I will be addressing the problems of an outsider like myself walking into a couple IRC Channels. In the meanwhile, enjoy Wook's surfing tips!

o Capcom has been busy lately. Breath of Fire IV will appear on
o the PSX in 2000. Also, GameFan OnLine changed their web
o format around a little. Think the old format was better.
o http://www.gamefan.com/hotinfo.asp?s=1999&rs=

o Let's just call this Capcom week, GameSpot News scores
o another major goodie with a movie from Strider 2.
o http://headline.gamespot.com/news/9907/29vgstrider/index.html

o Borland has decided to give away free downloads of Turbo
o Pascal v5.5 and Turbo C v2.1 among other items on their site.
o CmdrTaco at Slashdot alerted people about this.
o http://community.borland.com/museum/

Pretendo
(posted by uzplayer - 09:25)
 
Directly from the website on our very own servers, here's a Pretendo update:

"First of all, I can finally say that we have things running, and with graphics. A few problems have arisen with Neil Bradley's core, so for the time being, we are using Shu Kondo's core, which is also written in assembly. Once Neil and I work things out, I will then choose the faster of the two cores to be the main. The other core will be available via plugin. Right now, only mapper 0 games are running, however hopefully another mapper or two will be added in for the next release. It is hard to say when the next release will be, but however long it takes is however long we truly need. It is currenty difficult to project a release date as of now."

Read the rest of the update at the link below. Thanks to Delta for the email.

The Legendary Site
(posted by ZeroAge - 06:37)
 
Ok , I'm just updating to tell you guys that the guy who runs The Legendary Site has started updating again (he was on vacation for about a month) so you should go there and check out that amazing site.

New emulator
(posted by ZeroAge - 03:13)
 
This is a new emulator (well , at least for the public , because it's kind of old) for the 8051 and it's called XPemul51 . Well , I don't know if there are any other emulators for the 8051 cpu , and I don't even know the use of this emulator , but it IS an emulator and it's made by a brazilian dude . If you happen to know any use for this , please e-mail me so I can post it here . The homepage is in portuguese, but if there's any interest I'll translate what I can (just mail me) .
Update : The author told me what the 8051 is used for . It's used in medical equipment , modems and lots of other stuff . It's also heavily used to teach microcontrollers . All in all , unless you are studying electronics or something like that , you shouldn't use this :)

Thursday, July 29, 1999

Rocknes 0.94a released
(posted by ZeroAge - 23:35)
 
According to Fx3 , this new version should fix a bug that some people were having on startup .
Update: Here's the exact list of what's new on this release:
- Border color enabled to prevent possible crash on startup;
- Frameskip back to value 2 as default;
- Video resolution set to 320x240 autodetect;
- Config file included in the ZIP pack.

Bochs
(posted by ZeroAge - 23:14)
 
I don't know if there was any update about this before , but there's a new version of Bochs released in 18/07/99 . Here's what's new :
- Instruction based simulation clock
- Various types of breakpoints (time, read, write, mode switch)
- New debugger commands and fixes (see changelog)
- Mouse support through PS/2 interface
- IDE and VGA improvements and fixes
- New instructions (CPUID, INVLPG)
- Support for AC and ID bits
- Intel division 'emulation'
- BIOS improvements
There are some more bugfixes . You can download it from the homepage below (I'm having some trouble with my ftp program) .

Shark
(posted by uzplayer - 23:01)
 
A new release of the anticipated emulator Shark has been released. Apparently there are quite a lot of new features. However, the author wants us to discover for ourselves... Download a copy from Emuviews.. Thanks to EFNet, Daves Classics, and Retrogames for the information..

Link: Emuviews

Basilisk II
(posted by ZeroAge - 22:53)
 
There's a new version of Basilisk II (a mac emulator for win) . It's supposed to be very good , but I couldn't run it (some weird bug) . Well , if you want a mac emulator with colors and don't want to pay for it (since executor and fusion are commercial) you should give this one a try . Here's what's new :
-1999-07-27 Lauri releases Windows port of Basilisk II v0.7. Now supports sound. Many fixes to FPU and one to the CPU. Option to set Cpu Id to 68030. Runs Open Transport.
Also , I would like to show you guys this picture . It's SoftWindows 1.0 running under Basilisk II running under Windows 98 running under Virtual PC running on a PowerMac . Thanks to the OS Emulation Page for the pic and the news :) You should go there if you want info on emulators for mac and others :)

Borland
(posted by ZeroAge - 20:38)
 
This must be the best news I've seen in a long time . Borland has released freeware copies of their old products . Until now , they have only released Turbo Pascal 1.0 , 3.02 and 5.5 (wich was the first Turbo Pascal to have OOP stuff) and Turbo C 1.0 , 1.5 and 2.01 . If you want to learn how to program , I really suggest using any of this programs instead of those new ones for windows (they sux :P) .
Btw: Inprise (also know as Borland) has also announced Delphi 5 . I have never used Delphi , but this must be good news for some of you guys :)

BrMSX 2.01 Released
(posted by Sav2880 - 14:05)
 
A new version of the BrMSX 2.01 has been released. It is a major bugfix release from the version 2 release, which added MSX2 support but was rather buggy. This release should resolve most of those issues, so start playing your favorite newer MSX games today! You can get a direct download from the link below.

Thanks to TFH and the MSX Emulation Page for the news.

How is your emu gonna fare in Windows 2000?
(posted by uzplayer - 10:39)
 
This guy named Sonikku_a has recieved a Release Candidate 1 of Windows 2000 and took the liberty to test some of our favorite emulators. Here are some of the results:

o ZSNES - works, no sound.
o MAME32 - runs fine
o SNES9x - Windows version works great, 3DFX support is awesome.*
o UltraHLE - works*
o DGen - Works fine
o DTMNT - works (no sound)
o PSemuPro - works fine
o bleem! - Doesn't work (DAMNIT!)
o Nemu64 - Works fine
o Callus95 - works fine
o Genecyst - Does not work
o GameBoy98 - Works fine
o MagicEngine - Works, No sound

* = Had to use hacked INF's to get Voodoo2 card working under Win2k, support is NOT native.

I assume that there is no sound because of the fact that they lessened up the DOS portion of Windows. Why do I get the feeling we are gonna be yelling at Bill Gates about this version? Thanks to EmuHQ for the information.

Link: EmuHQ

PSX
(posted by uzplayer - 10:35)
 
To sync it up with the full version 1.4, the demo version of 1.4 has been released. Here's the excerpt from EmuHQ:

"Bleem! 1.4 (demo) has been released! Based off the brand new 1.4 (full) release made just 2 days ago, this new demo is full of speed/compatibility upgrades. Be sure to check it out!"

Sounds good to me. Download it at either Bleem, or EmuHQ. Thanks to EmuHQ for the info.

Rumor Mill
(posted by uzplayer - 10:30)
 
JoseQ has posted another one of his rumor mills. In it he discusses that new team RetroFX, MAME, Shark, and that new dynamic recompiling Williams Emulator. An interesting read. Check it out

One Word.. Wook
(posted by uzplayer - 10:21)
 
Prudential wanted to charge me $5k per 6 months on auto insurance. I wanted to chew the guy out cuz not even a bad driver could get charged that much. Then I realized that it's not worth it and just said thank you very much and hung up the phone. That's NJ's high rates for ya. Here's some Wook:

o A feature worth reading called "Simply Shooters" located at
o CNet's GameCenter. Simply shooters looks at yesterdays
o classic shooters through current arcade shooters.
o http://www.gamecenter.com/Consoles/Features/Shooters/?st.gc.fd
o .gcb

o Fashionable news from GameFan OnLine, reports that Tommy
o Hilfiger and Nintendo have closed a deal to produce a
o designer GameBoy.
o http://www.gamefan.com/newhotinfo/hotinfo.asp?storyid=1983

o GameSpot News has landed a major interview. Noah Falstein
o answers lots of big questions. If you don't know, Mr.
o Falstein was the man behind the original Sinistar.
o http://headline.gamespot.com/news/99 07/28 pc sin/index.html

o Next Generation OnLine poses an interesting, indirect,
o question. Which company would you rather be, Sega or Sony?
o http://www.next-generation.com/jsmid/news/7224.html

I am sorry.. I just have to open my big mouth again, but Tommy Hilfiger style Game Boys? That's just plain stupid. Nintendo is gonna loose money on this one. Watch..

RetroFX
(posted by ZeroAge - 00:31)
 
There's a new group called RetroFX that is doing something wonderful .The group is directed by Dirk Stevens (creator of Eagle , a graphic engine that is used in alot of emulators that tries to improve the graphics) . Quoting from the home page :
"I am proud to introduce you to our team, RetroFX. We are dedicated to innovate retrogaming and bring back to life classic arcade games in a way, never seen before.
What we do is simple. We combine an emulated game-engine of a classic arcade game with new graphics, music, soundfx and effects. This way we bring back to life the game in a very new way."

You can check out a picture of what they are doing here. This is something that we should REALLY be looking forward to . You should also go to Emuviews for more information on the project .

Wednesday, July 28, 1999

Rocknes
(posted by ZeroAge - 22:15)
 
Rocknes 0.94 has been released , with a VERY nice extra feature . This is the second NES emulator to support NES movies (the other one being Nesticle) . There are other bugfixes and stuff . Check it out because Rocknes is a very good nes emulator and one of the most updated ones .

Chrono Cross
(posted by ZeroAge - 20:32)
 
I just HAD to update about this . Total RPG has a very good preview of Chrono Cross , the sequel to Chrono Trigger (wich is , in my opinion , the best RPG of all times) . If you have never played Chrono Trigger , go buy the damn cart (or get the ROM :P ) right now . Thanks to StormCade for the link !

Interview
(posted by uzplayer - 13:39)
 
From the site that runs smoother then a dreamcast (EmuHQ) comes the information that JoseQ has done an interview with tha authors of Raine. Sounded like an interesting interview. Check it out at the link below and once again, thanks to EmuHQ for the info.

Waah! *>_<*
(posted by GurtyGurt - 09:48)
 
Argh! Sorry! I've been getting WAY behind on things. I got a new job, see, and I've got flu at the moment...plus Emutech is WAY off schedule, I've left a few channels, etc. So...well, this is the easiest to update. And I don't have much to say! Sorry! Well, here. Have a look at my crappy personal page. It's worth it for the Wierd Junk page alone, with pictures of funny and exotic memorabilia. Oh well, it's crap, but I felt kinda guilty for not doing anything for about 3 weeks. Hello! :P

Link: My Crap Page

Sony Parody
(posted by uzplayer - 09:29)
 
Thought you might find this funny. But if you believe this, then you have a serious problem. It's a comical editorial story about Sony releasing a Bleem! Emulator Emulator for PSX. Thanks to Retrogames for the info.

Let me stress for the gulliable people out there. THIS IS A JOKE!

Front End
(posted by uzplayer - 09:25)
 
As reported by DVGC and Retrogames, Tim (the author or Arcade @ Home and maintainer of the site with the same name) is close to getting yet another release out. One highlight is that he fixed a runtime bug, as well as other features are being added. Goto Arcade @ Home for more information.

MAC
(posted by uzplayer - 09:16)
 
Version 0.7 of the Basilisk Emu (Macintosh Emu) has been released. Here's what's new:

o with 32-bit clean ROMs, the CPU type is now reported as a 68030
(for those OpenTransport fans :-)
o added new prefs item "nosound" to disable sound output
o sound output implemented for BeOS, Linux, Solaris and AmigaOS
(requires Sound Manager 3.x)
o dummy/audio_dummy.cpp: created
o dummy/prefs_dummy.cpp: created
o dummy/xpram_dummy.cpp: created
o macos_util.cpp: added FileDiskLayout()
o video.cpp: removed useless BlankMousePointer flag
o uae_cpu: updated to UAE 0.8.9
o uae_cpu/gencpu.c: fixed bug in CAS2, OpenTransport works now
o Unix: moved Linux- and FreeBSD-specific files to their respective
directories
o Unix: added 64-bit data types (needed by timer_unix.cpp)
o Unix: added keyboard translation method using raw keycodes instead of keysyms (controlled by "keycodes" and "keycodefile" prefs items) which doesn't depend on the selected keymap
o Unix: when running as root, Basilisk II tries to assign real-time
priorities to some threads
o Unix: calls to nanosleep() protected by autoconf define
o Unix/main_unix.cpp: tick thread replaced by POSIX.4 timer then possible
o Unix/timer_unix.cpp: uses POSIX.4 timing facilities when possible
o Unix/video_x.cpp: all X calls during emulation are now done from
the redraw thread which is also active in DGA mode; as a result,
XLockServer()/XUnlockServer() are no longer necessary
o Unix/sysdeps.h: changed C++ comments to C comments as this file is
included by some *.c files in uae_cpu [Brian J. Johnson]
o Unix/sysdeps.h: added unaligned access functions for SGI MIPSPro
compiler [Brian J. Johnson]
o Unix/Irix/unaligned.c: created [Brian J. Johnson]
o Windows: updated sources

You can get the BeOS, Unix, AmigaOS and/or Windows ports at the link below. Thanks to Cloy for the info.

MSX
(posted by uzplayer - 09:08)
 
I got to commend the MSX Emu scene. They have been definitely keeping up with expectations as now, NLMSX has seen an update. Here's what's new in Ver 0.07:

o Fixed a bug in the VDP command LMMC.
o Dynamic publisher runs just fine now.
o Adding disk change support. Use the function key F6 to
select a disk image for drive A.
o Added the correct ID for a V9958 chip, solved problems with
the golvellius 2 demo.
o The GRAPH key is now available under the F8 key.

Get it at the link below. Thanks to Arnaud for the info.

More from Internet Coorespondant Wook
(posted by uzplayer - 09:02)
 
Yet another day where I have too much to do. Have stuff to do at work and stuff to do with my business, personal, and more. But why should you care? Most of you are on summer break! Lucky bastards! I wish I was in your place right now! Here's today's daily Wook:

o Another game which keeps coming back, Micro Machines will get
o a sequel on the PSX. Fastest Game News OnLine discusses
o CodeMasters confirmation of the title.
o http://www.fgnonline.com/news/8495.html

o Game Informer notices a Capcom change of plans for the USA
o version of Dino Crisis. Capcom decided to tone the violence
o down and replace all weapons with "super soaker" squirt guns.
o http://www.gameinformer.com/news/jul99/072799y.html

o Marvel vs Capcom artwork has been made available on GameFan
o OnLine.
o http://www.gamefan.com/newhotinfo/hotinfo.asp?storyid=1973

BRMSX
(posted by ZeroAge - 01:49)
 
The BrMSX Homepage is working now, and Ricardo explains everything about the newest version of BrMSX in there. If you are into MSX emulation, you should really go there, since BrMSX is the fastest msx 1 (and now 2) emulator around, and it's also one of the best.

Update: Changed the link to go straight to BrMSX home page , and also I would like to say that Ricardo says that this version is still very buggy . Quoting from the page :
"This version of BrMSX is full of bugs. I was going to call it just a beta release, but in fact this looks like more an omega release. However, it can run SD-Snatcher..."

Seiken Densetsu 3... in ENGLISH!
(posted by Spinner 8 - 00:09)
 
Yes, the damn translation's finally here. After years of DeJap, begging, pleading, bitching, demanding, and asking politely, Square's SNES Adventure game is finally in English, thanks to Neill Corlett, Lina`chan, Nuku-nuku, and SoM2Freak, as well as some other people probably. Get it directly from Emucamp, pretty please, so as not to lag down Mr. Corlett's server.

(Lina`chan) Victory! Enjoy the game! ^.^v

Tuesday, July 27, 1999

Next-Gen Retro Part Deux
(posted by squeegee - 23:04)
 
...and Hasbro Interactive strikes again. This time it's a 3D update to arcade, console, and cartoon classic, Q*Bert. The new game will feature huge new -real- 3D pyramid levels, as well as a graphically-enhanced version of the original 2D game. Like the aforementioned Pong, Q*Bert is expected to be released for the PlayStation by the end of this year. This is all great, but I just wonder what bandwagon game corporations will jump on when they run out of games to remake. Maybe porn? One can only hope...

Anniversary
(posted by Zoop - 18:21)
 
We, at SMS Power, released four new Sega roms today, in celebration of the 28 months anniversary of the site, which coincide with the Emulation Camp anniversary, as they both derived from the old SMS Camp, which some of you might remember. The four releases are Space Invaders for SG-1000, Lucky Dime Caper for Master System, Wonderboy 3 for Game Gear and Star Gate for Genesis. Check out the link below to get the roms, and be sure to download them from a mirror. Enjoy!

Link: SMS Power

Article
(posted by uzplayer - 13:42)
 
An interesting article has been posted on C-Net Gamecenter about emulation. It just said the basics, although they also say that emulators are 100% legal to own. (That sounds like a kick in Nintendo's face.) Read it at the link below. Thanks to Zophars Domain for the information.

Confession!
(posted by uzplayer - 10:20)
 
This I found a little funny, but a little disturbing at the same time. Greevy of Emutech 2000 is taking a break from the Emu scene for a bit. Here's an excerpt from the website. Pay attention to the bottom part:

"i think i've made more enemies than friend since some time ( damnit.. ). i'm way not great as Atila,Prophet,Zophar,Dave,BWB,Zach, JoseQ only to name a few.."
"This "Assassin" thing ( i still dont know wtf is that )make ET2K look like a lamers site.."

This can be taken for one of two thins. Either he's confessing that it's fake, or they havent even informed their staff members about what it is, which is really screwed up having their staff members taking the heat for this.

On the flip side, I would like to thank Atila, Prophet, Zophar, Dave, BWB, Zach, JoseQ, Skates (yes I am even thanking Emualliance), and whoever else involved for agreeing with me about the fact that it's fake. I didnt think there was that big of a response from a small shot like myself posting my opinion. Thanks again guys.

That's all you will hear about Assassin from me. Unless if they confess, or they release it. In the meantime, read the grim statement of Greevy at the site linked below.

Update: Emutech 2000 took the statement away. Dont bother going there to look.

Link: Emutech2000

PSX
(posted by uzplayer - 09:57)
 
Bleem Ver 1.4 has been released! Here are the changes and what's new:

o Significant Direct3D Speed Optimizations
o Significant Direct3D Texture Improvements
o Improved Direct3D support for Background Graphics
o Improved Direct3D Clipping (FF8's Popup Menus, etc.)
o Corrected Minor Software Graphics Errors (Vertical Lines in FF7)
o Overall Speed Improvements (Tekken3, Crash3, etc.)
o Significantly Improved MemoryCard Support (MGS, GT, MediEvil, Parasite Eve, Street Fighter EX + a, Xenogears, and MORE)
o Improved Emulation (Gex, Gex3:Deep Cover Gecko, Warcraft 2, Vigilante8, Tempest X3, Arkanoid Returns, and more)
o Added Mouse Support
o Corrected Weird Polygon Clipping Issues with TNT/TNT2 Chipsets
o Insert Disc Message doesn't lock out Configuration Menus
o Added "FrameSkip Disable" Option (FF7 Battle Menus)
o Fixed UnInstall Crash
o Corrected Internal Game Compatibility Database
o Improved Sound Effects and Music
o Improved CDXA Sound
o Improved CD-ROM Support for Multi-Disc games
o Improved "Best Screen Mode" Logic for 24bpp/32bpp (FF7, FF8)
o Improved MDEC Support (Xenogears, MicroMachines, and MORE)
o Improved Overall Compatibility
o Added AutoConfig for Gravis Xterminator
o Miscellaneous Bug Fixes
o ...and believe it or not, MORE!

As you can see, that's just the begining of the features you'll find. Get it at the link below. On a side note, I went to the local Electronics Boutique, and actually saw Bleem! on the shelves. I casually talked to the retail person there, and he said in more words or less that "it sucks!"

Link: Bleem!

MSX
(posted by uzplayer - 09:50)
 
Wow. The MSX Emu-scene must be jumping for joy on all the new releases lately. Now, another emu, NO$MSX Beta version has been released. Here's what's new:

o added performance indicator
o DSX replaced INT29 by INT21/06 for redirected output
o >SCRIPT.TXT
o zoomed 8x8 sprites (maus, schnelle 15)
o fast movsw instead movsb for draw/hide/copy sprites, and other video speedup
o debugger follow jump works on djnz, too tested 386 pmode version on 386-33 whew, hero runs at 150% without frameskip
o two color display mode support for screen 0 and very nice
dithered screen 1/2 two color mode on 'real' hercules, hgc with variable color 0(beamrider)
o 256x200 pixels full screen video mode (requires expensive
SVGA monitor)

Download it at the link below. Thanks to Arnaud for the information.

More Tips from Wook
(posted by uzplayer - 09:45)
 
Damn. Too much work. I am backed up today. Here's Wook with Internet Tips:

o PC's are next to pokeimilated (that's pokemon + assimilated).
o These creatures are over-populating their environment.
o GameInformer should suggest a Pokemon hunting season be
o instituted.
o http://www.gameinformer.com/news/jul99/072699y.html

o GameFan OnLine reports Tom and Jerry have been picked up by
o NewKidCo. Expect ports for the PSX, N64, and GameBoy Color.
o http://www.gamefan.com/newhotinfo/hotinfo.asp?storyid=1947

o What exactly are Sega's Dreamcast broadband plans?
o Next-Generation Online posted some good scoop about an
o experiment Sega is trying in Japan.
o http://www.next-generation.com/jsmid/news/7202.html

o Following up on the Tron story, IGN's SciFi has added a few
o new details about both Tron movie projects.
o http://scifi.ign.com/news/1984.html

Interviews
(posted by ZeroAge - 03:22)
 
Two new interviews made by MGandhi at the Kinox website . The first one is with Richard Ragon (CEO of HotRod) and the second one is with Saint from "Build Your Own Arcade Controls FAQ" . Both are very good interviews , and if you are into arcade emulation you should really take a look at them .

Link: Kinox

SNES Emulator Release
(posted by squeegee - 01:40)
 
SNEeSe, a frequently updated open source SNES emulator for DOS, was updated to version 0.33. This release adds a couple of SPC and sound fixes. Download the binary from here, or the source from the homepage, and try it out if you like. Do you like? I DON'T CARE IF YOU LIKE!@!#

Monday, July 26, 1999

Vengeance On Hell 1.0
(posted by Spinner 8 - 23:40)
 
Hey! Here's another neat hack for you people! Yeah! :) It's Castlevania: Vengeance On Hell, by Ballzysoft Industries. Version 1.0 was released yesterday, and it looks great! Ballz, Braxton, and aStROcReEp 2000 completely re-did the text and graphics for Castlevania 2 (NES), and gave the game a much darker feel. Plus, it's got a really funky font. :) This is an excellent hack, and I encourage you to get it and stuff.

Next-Generation Retrogaming
(posted by squeegee - 22:56)
 
It was bound to happen. After seeing the infamous Nintendo64 Pong demo, I used to always joke about a commercial Pong 64 game, but I never thought of seeing anything like it. But in this day of commerical retrogaming, anything is possible. Hasbro Interactive (next-gen Frogger, Centipede, owners of Atari) has announced a 32-bit 3D version of Pong for the PSX, which is slated for release by the end of this year. Check out the link for screenshots and details.

Some other opinions about Assassin
(posted by uzplayer - 22:42)
 
Once again, I usually dont mention stuff like this, but another site, Emualliance, (yes the same site that keeps changing it's layout more times then I have fallen asleep in class) has jumped on the bandwagon and has labeled Assassin as a fake. Although he has gotten the information that it's by someone in the emu scene and it's a console emulator. Read it at the link below.

Genesis Emulator Release
(posted by squeegee - 22:37)
 
Joe Groff has updated the SDL port of DGen to version 1.17. Here's what's new, straight from the author's (no, not the horse's) mouth:
  • Save RAM implementation has been overhauled, so now games with overlapping ROM and save RAM (like Phantasy Star IV and Sonic 3 + Knuckles) can save games correctly. Many thanks to Steve Snake for helping me make this work right.
  • Crude PAL mode support, give the '-P' option to use it. Doesn't work very well yet.
  • I made some changes that should (hopefully) make DGen run properly on big-endian platforms, but I don't have any way of testing it. If you have a PowerPC, SPARC, or other big-endian system, give it a try and help me iron out the wrinkles. :)
  • Window is now emulated properly, so Herzog Zwei split-screen and other little bugs should be fixed. Thanks again to Steve.
  • A little bug that caused SDL to complain about not being able to initialize sound, even if bool_sound was false in dgenrc, was fixed. This should help all you folks without sound cards.
  • Assembler tile rendering is now in place for the new raster effect engine.
  • A small but noticeable speed increase. :) [PKH]
  • All the SDL-dependent stuff has been separated into the sdl/ directory, and I wrote a little platform-dependent (pd) API so you can attach an interface for your favorite Unix-like operating system and toolkit. :) If you want to do a port to BeOS, MacOS X, QNX, etc. this should make your life easier. I also hope to have raw Xlib and SVGAlib interfaces to replace SDL, and thus require one less thing to download. :)
  • Improved sound writing method, by Daniel Wislocki . He says this improves flaky sound in 44kHz, and also fixes the problem of the emulator being too fast. I have a very slow computer, so I have to take his word for it. ;)
  • I also removed most of the messages dgen makes (except for errors), so that it is quieter. If you liked having all those messages, tell me and I'll put them back in. ;)

    DGen is an open source Genesis emulator for Windows by Dave, and has also been ported to MacOS, DOS, and BeOS.

    • NES Emulator Release
    (posted by squeegee - 22:26)
     
    PASOFAMI. Shareware Famicom emulator for Windows. Updated to version 1.1u. Everything's in Japanese. Only five more letters left in the alphabet until version 1.2...or 1.11a.

    Interview
    (posted by uzplayer - 22:10)
     
    Luigi of Emulation 64 has conducted an interview with Lionel, the author of the N64 Virtual Machine. Here's the email excerpt:

    "I have just conducted an interview with Lionel, the author of the N64 Virtual Machine emulator. It is a very informative interview and I highly recommend that you read it. It was a pleasure talking with Lionel and he was very nice. He gives a little status update on where he currently is with his work on his emulator. He says that he is learning a lot in this coding experience."

    Read the interview at the link below. Thanks to Martin of Emulation64 for the email.

    Link: Emulation64

    Windows 98 for MSX
    (posted by ZeroAge - 19:34)
     
    Hi , while browsing the web, I found this extremely interesting site . This company called CyberSoft makes software for the MSX (very good ones , indeed) , and they made this MSX Windows 98 v1.1 . It's REALLY well made (for the MSX) , and I don't know if it works on emulators . Well , check it out .

    Snes9x v1.20 Windows released!
    (posted by H-Clone - 18:48)
     
    I've spent the day moving 60Kg bags of Gum Arabic in a warehouse and my arms are totally lacerated. I'm knackered and not in a good mood. Still, here's some good news:
    As promised, the new version of Snes9x arrives. Key updates are 3dfx support, ZSNES's SuperFx code, many DirectSound fixes and SA-1 support for MarioRPG. Sounds good, and it's still tiny. Download it below. Thanks to Zophar's Domain for the news.

    BrMSX 2.0 is out!
    (posted by Sav2880 - 16:07)
     
    Ricardo Bittencourt, known for his great (and super-quick) emulators has released version 2.0 of BrMSX. It adds support for the MSX-2 as well as its already amazing MSX-1 support. This by far is the fastest MSX emulator for me as I can play F1-Spirit in blazing speeds on it, so be sure and check this new revision out and play some of the Castlevania and Y's and Metal Gear games ... on their original platform.

    Jaguar
    (posted by uzplayer - 14:16)
     
    Seems like we havent heard much from the Jagulator camp lately. Well, today.. we heard somethng. (Ok. That was stupid but I have a damn headache!) He mentiones that some problems were solved including color and that he is looking into netplay for the emu. Read more info at the Jagulator Website linked below. Thanks to EmuHQ for the info.

    Interview
    (posted by uzplayer - 10:01)
     
    Emuunlim has conducted an email wars interview with TRAC. In the interview, he outlines his thoughts on Emulation, SNEeSe, and various other things. Get it at the link below.

    Links: Email Wars - Emuunlim

    Dracula X
    (posted by uzplayer - 09:58)
     
    Some of you may remember a project called the DraculaX Project. This project was intended to copy the popular game, DraculaX, well unfortunately due to legal action by Konami, the project has been canned. Here's an excerpt directly from the website:

    "Due to the threat of legal action by Konami of America, I am unable to continue with the Dracula-X copy project. We have come to a mutual agreement, but unfortunately it involves the complete abandonment of the project. I ask that all mirror sites please delete the mirrored files immediately, and please do not spread them around."

    The author stresses to NOT flame Konami regarding this incident. The author also speculates that it's a possibility that Konami will release a Castlevania compilation for the Dreamcast that will include Dracula X. If you would like to read the complete posting, click on the link below. Thanks to Emuunlim for the information.

    Windows port of Snes9x
    (posted by ZeroAge - 04:32)
     
    There is going to be a new release of the Windows port of Snes9x tomorrow (or today , I don't know) . Here's what Gary has to say :
    "Lots has changed: the sound problems are fixed (hopefully), the stability problems fixed, SA-1 support, Windowed or full-screen, 3D/FX support, Kreed's output image processing fixed, TV mode, stretch image mode, more GUI options, ZSNES Super FX code, etc. TNT card owners can simulate the results of the 3D/FX support by enabling stretch image mode."
    He also says that he could release it right now, but he hasn't finished writing the readme , and he would get flooded with questions by e-mail . Let's just hope that there will be no further problems and that the release won't be delayed .

    Ghost's n Goblins
    (posted by ZeroAge - 02:50)
     
    Brad Levicoff (A.K.A Zophar) is offering $65 ($50 if you don't go trough the game twice) to any person who can actually finish Ghost's n Goblins (my personal favorite) without cheating . Everyone who wants to try should go to Zophar's Domain to check out the rules .

    Sunday, July 25, 1999

    Emucamp Article
    (posted by uzplayer - 22:12)
     
    I have posted my first editorial here at Emucamp. This one addresses the Lamers in Emulation. As I have turned a few heads in emulation in the past couple of weeks, I hope this turns a few more. Read it by clicking at the link below.

    More Opinions on Assassin
    (posted by uzplayer - 21:50)
     
    The Fox has just posted his weekly editorial. Usually I dont post information like this, but I just had to as it had inconsistencies.

    He does make a few interesting points, but one flaw. He compares it to Bleem! Bleem! had verifiable screenshots, we knew what it emulated, and there was even a leaked beta. Assassin doesnt have any of that and some anonymous author is working on it.

    But hey. It's a good editorial. Go read it at the link below.

    On another note, look for my editorial on Lamers in Emulation being posted later on tonight!

    Nostalgia
    (posted by uzplayer - 21:15)
     
    If you were playing around with PC's back in the day, you will have played around with the first ever Windows version released. Well, for those people who want to go back to that simpler time, and for those who wonder how this whole mess of Windows 98 came from, you can take a look at the screendumps below. Thanks to Retrogames for the information.

    Arcade @ Home
    (posted by uzplayer - 20:58)
     
    A bugfix has been released for the popular MAME Frontend Arcade @ Home. Here's the list:

    o Added a toolbar to select several different game list options.
    o Fixed the run-time error 35753 when trying to download from the net.
    o The run-time error 6 some people are getting on startup has something to do with the German version of Windows 98. If you set your international settings to English (Standard) the problem goes away. I've added some changes to the code which may fix the problem, but I can't duplicate it here. Note that other international versions work. I'm still doing research about this problem.
    o Finds history.dat information where it missed a few games before.
    o Clicking on the close window box in preferences no longer locks you out of the program.
    o Now runs on NT4.0 again. I don't know why NT won't run MAME.EXE when it's in quotes, but it doesn't. I also didn't know anyone used Arcade@Home in NT so I didn't think it was a big issue.
    o Breakers Revenge is now excluded when you select Hide NeoGeo Games.
    o Only searches for games if you save the mame.cfg file.
    o The function Delete High Score File now actually works.
    o Fixed a couple of typos.


    Get it at the link below. Thanks to DVGC for the Info

    Note: If you already possess Ver 0.36a, you can goto the site and download an upgrade file.

    SNES
    (posted by uzplayer - 20:49)
     
    Apparently we missed not one, but two updates of the SNEeSe (Achoo!) emulator. Here's what's new.

    Ver. 0.32:
    o Sound: Fixed some problems that caused sound generation to be used when sound was disabled
    o SPC: Fixed a bug that caused SPC timers to lose cycles in conditional branches
    o SPC: Now allowing SPC timer targets to be set when timer is enabled as it seems to fix other timing problems
    o Render: Fixed some problems with layers using 16x16 tiles having small virtual screens

    Ver. 0.30
    o GUI: Fixed yet another small GUI bug
    o Joypad: Tore out the old joypad code
    o Allegro: Now linking with Allegro 3.11, should fix some sound card incompatibilities
    o SPC: Bug fixes in 4 SPC opcodes, and a serious bug in the SPC CTRL register fixed, AND a new sound DSP/sound generation core, all thanks to Butcha! (Compatibility noticably improved!)

    Download it by clicking at the link below. Thanks to DVGC for the info

    Links: SNEeSe Website - DVGC

    More on GB for PSX
    (posted by uzplayer - 20:12)
     
    I have just gotten an email regarding the Gameboy converter for PSX. Linked below, you'll find two GB Emus for PSX of which one of them also supports the SMS and PCEngine. (At least that's what it said.) Take a look for yourself at the link below and thanks to Kidrobo for the info.

    MSX
    (posted by uzplayer - 16:29)
     
    RUMSX Ver. 0.18 has been released. Is it me, or has there been a LOT of MSX releases lately? Here are the changes:

    o RuMSX was not able to find required files, if started from Windows NT command-prompt.
    o RuMSX caused lockup of the Windows NT shell (SP4), if new instance was started after 1st one closed (problem was related to the used sound-driver).
    o VDP processes now also commands in screens-modes less than screen 5 (only if CMD bit set).
    o FullScreen display sometimes used an incorrect aspect-ratio if zooming is active. (depending on the currently used resolution)
    o VDP failed to switch to PAL (50Hz) (this bug was new since RuMSX V0.15)
    o Fixed problems during large debug-output (i.e. disassembly is performed)
    - Could not interrupt: Ctrl+C for break added
    - RuMSX did not terminate if closed during output
    o HiRes drivers for Screen 5, 6, 7 and 8 added (drivers do currently not support sprites)
    o MouseEmulation required DirectX 5.0, even if DirectX 3.0 would be enough!
    o "MSX web links..." added to the help-menu
    o KANA-LED did not work since RuMSX V0.16, fix includes general improvement of KANA-LED
    o New topic "VDP behavior added" to the RuMSX help documentation. Changes of this documentation are still not implemented yet. Thanks to Alex Wulms for this VDP description!
    o Compiler changed from Visual C++ 5.0 to 6.0a
    o Added autofire if using Joysticks,
    - Button 3 is autofire MSX-Joystick button 1
    - Button 4 is autofire MSX-Joystick button 2
    o increased sound-buffer for proper playback on SoundBlaster Live! and other new soundcards
    o added beta-support for DirectX-Joysticks
    o TMS9918A (MSX1) used always the previously set screen-refresh rate. This value is now fixed in the configuration-files (50Hz)
    o Concatenated tape-images might fail to load
    o updated SETUP.EXE-utility for registration of additional extensions (*.ds1, *.ds2, *.ri)
    o MSX-Basic documentation updated (PAD, PDL, ...)
    o Sprites in mode 1 (SCREEN 0-3) were incorrectly affected by the VDP horizontal-adjustment setting

    Wow.. All that and a bag of chips. Get it from the website linked below. Thanks to tfh for the info.

    Exclusive Update: BRMSX will see a new release soon. What's the exclusive you asked? MSX-2 Emulation! Thanks once again to tfh.

    More from Internet Coorespondant Wook
    (posted by uzplayer - 16:17)
     
    Take my advice. If you have wisdom teeth problems, drink LOTS OF BEER! Will numb you right up! Here's Wook with today's tips:

    o ZDNet posted a rumor about Pixar considering a Tron remake or
    o creating a sequel movie. One can only hope we'll get a new batch of o Tron games, if the movie is
    o green-lighted.
    o http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2301037,00.html

    o Custom GameBoy cases for sale with the proceeds going to charity.
    o Dancesite and Nintendo deserve credit for combining art and a
    o worthy cause.
    o http://www.dancesite.com/gameboys.shtml

    o Gamers Advocate Group, which from time to time covers some
    o emulation items, has begun to post its archived newsletter on the
    o web. Just take a glance at the news section for the archives.
    o http://www.konnections.com/rom/

    Saturday, July 24, 1999

    Saturn
    (posted by uzplayer - 17:12)
     
    A-Saturn Emulator ver. 0.14d has been released. Here are the new features:

    o primitive function implemented VDP2 (use DirectX)
    o Saturn pad support by keyborad (use DirectX)

    This release does not play commercial games. Get it from the website linked below. Thanks to DVGC for the info.

    Translation
    (posted by uzplayer - 16:46)
     
    A new translation group called Faux and Sqrl translations has been established. Read the cut of this email for yourself.

    "Faux and Sqrl Translations are a so-called "elite" group of two anime-crazed humor writers out to kill some time. Their MST3K-like brand of humor will be applied to the SNES game "Soul Blazer 2", eventually becoming a full blown website with a re-written script, captioned screenshots, and a mix of observational comedy and semi-deranged, coffee induced rantings."

    No comment. You can reach them by clicking on the website below.

    Tips of the Day from Internet Coorespondant Wook
    (posted by uzplayer - 16:42)
     
    Listening to the Woodstock coverage? It's been cool so far accept this one band that I dont remember what their name is, but they really just plain sucked! Forget that though! Emucamp got something better! No, it aint Woodstock, it's WOOKSTOCK! (Had to do it once Wook ;-) ) And he's on everyday for your enjoyment!

    With a lifespan that survived a canceled tv series and flooding every console known to humankind with a port or two, EarthWorm Jim is coming back from the grave. Game Informer News places EarthWorm Jim 3D as an October 1999 N64 release.
    http://www.gameinformer.com/news/jul99/072399z.html

    IGN's got a preview of Castlevania: Special Edition.
    http://ign64.ign.com/previews/11971.html

    SegaDojo and Gaming Edge are running a contest with the winner taking home a Sega Dreamcast.
    http://www.segadojo.com/enter/contest/contest.htm

    Archaic Ruins Returns Home
    (posted by Puyolin - 16:08)
     
    Wow, what can we say about Archaic Ruins, except that it was and still is one of your best emulation sources. I remember going there when it was on Parodius.com. Well folks, it's back on Parodius! Archaic Ruins is back to its roots! Thanks to Zophar for the news.

    Friday, July 23, 1999

    Hu-Go with CD Support Released!
    (posted by Sav2880 - 22:14)
     
    The newest version of this emulator, Version 0.98, has made a huge step in adding CD support. Dracula X, a game regarded as the most popular game for the CD system, is now playable up to the fourth level as well. It's great to see another Turbo-Grafx 16 emulator hit the stage of CD emulation, and everyone who has Turbo CD's is encouraged to test their games, and let the authors know if they work (and how well!). You can get the emulator and find out how to contact the authors at the below link.

    Zophar's Domain Staff Appreciation Day?
    (posted by uzplayer - 10:49)
     
    Not much to say. Accept Zophar came out of hiding and has declared today "Zophars Domain Staff Appreciation Day." If you appreciate the staff of Zophar's Domain, then goto the site and send them an email.

    Retrogames Countdown Poll
    (posted by uzplayer - 10:33)
     
    In light of Atila's countdown on Retrogames, JoseQ's Emuviews has put up a poll as to what that countdown could be. You can goto it by clicking on the link below. Thanks to Retrogames for the information.

    While I am on the subject, a person emailed me yesterday with his theory on what the countdown could be. If you look at http://www.dvdviews.com, you will discover that JoseQ is giving a DVD Player away. The countdown is pretty much going at the same pace between the two. I will give credit to the person later as I gotta find more news.

    Arcade @ Home
    (posted by uzplayer - 10:25)
     
    As mentioned yesterday, Arcade @ Home Front End was going to see a release shortly, and it has. Arcade @ Home ver. 0.36A has been released. There are a lot of new features which were listed yesterday, but I am sure there are some left out. Goto the website linked below to download it and find out more information. Thanks to DVGC for the info.

    MSX
    (posted by uzplayer - 10:20)
     
    NLMSX Version 0.05 has been released. Here are some of the changes:

    - Several Bugfixes
    - Screen 12 emulation is added
    - Release Notes got added.
    - Name changed from MSX2 to NLMSX

    Get it at the link below. Thanks to Arnaud de Klerk for the info.Update: Another MSX Emulator has been released today called MSKISS. What's notable about this emulator is that it's the first emu that can play SD-Snatcher. Download it at the same website linked below. Once again, thanks to Arnaud de Kletk for the info.

    Various
    (posted by uzplayer - 10:17)
     
    Of course you know, Woodstock 99 is taking place as we speak in Rome NY. What you might not know is that you can listen to it over the Internet, watch it in most pay-per-view cable channels, and you can listen to it on the radio via. sattelite in 1 of over 120 cities including New York City, Washington DC, and more. I believe the website below has the information that you will need. Happy drinking everyone. (Just because I aint going to Woodstock this year, doesnt mean I aint gonna get dead drunk this weekend ;-) )

    Link: K-ROCK Radio

    More from our Internet Coorespondant Wook
    (posted by uzplayer - 10:13)
     
    TGIF. I deserve this weekend! I been working my @#@! off this week. To start off, here's Wook's Internet Surfing tips of the day!

    Game Informer News gives more facts about the Classic Gaming
    Expo in Las Vegas. Including some guest appearances, new
    commercial retro titles, and a pong tournament!
    http://www.gameinformer.com/news/jul99/072299d.html

    SNK decided today, they didn't need Electronic Arts afterall.
    According to GameFan OnLine, SNK will now publish Fatal Fury:
    Wild Ambition for the United States PSX market.
    http://www.gamefan.com/newhotinfo/hotinfo.asp?storyid=1902

    SNK will be gearing for a nice Christmas Shopping season with
    ample new Neo Geo Pocket Color titles. GameSpot News
    possesses a serious list with items like a Sega port, the
    first Namco title, and SNK vs Capcom information, among other
    titles.
    http://headline.gamespot.com/news/9907/22vgneo/index.html

    In the why can't we all get along department, Next-Generation
    OnLine covers the beginning of a legal dance between Namco
    and Konami.
    http://www.next-generation.com/jsmid/news/7183.html

    Thursday, July 22, 1999

    Arcade @ Home
    (posted by uzplayer - 23:33)
     
    A new release of the Arcade @ Home Front End is right around the corner, perhaps even tonight or tommorow as according to the website linked below, there have been no reported problems from the beta testers. Here's a list of new features:

    o Now supports the new PNG image file format as well as PCX, BMP, GIF, JPG, TIF, TGA, and PCT.
    o Displays game history from history.dat file (on Game Info tab).
    o VERY cool screen saver function where it cycles through random games after a user adjustable amount of time. Note that this only works when the Arcade@Home window is active (if you see a game you would like to play, just hit your [Ctrl] key). =)
    o Added report that verifies the ROM zip file integrity (uses unzip32.dll).
    o New Preferences window where many settings are configured.
    o Now supports a game list background image like MAME32. Uses the file "Arcade\arcade.gif" (which can be changed to any GIF file you wish or turned off completely in preferences).
    o Can now change the alt screen shot cycle speed (1 to 10 seconds).
    o The alternate screen shot default directory is now FLYERS and the mame.cfg setting is now "flyers=FLYERS" to go with the MAME32 standard.
    o Added two new columns, Category and Version which show the game genre (shooter, platform, etc.) and the version of MAME that the game was added. See the catver.ini file to update this listing.
    o Plays sound on startup and when selecting certain settings (can be turned off or changed to any WAV file "Arcade\startup.wav" & "Arcade\click.wav").
    o Added "Refresh Game List" function which searches for installed games.
    o Added "Search List for Game" function which searches the game names and file names.

    o New filter that lists only games you've already played (kind of like a favorite game list).
    o Supports new MAME v0.36 joysticks (PSX and N64) and goes with the new MAME standard of using joystick names instead of numbers.
    o Enhanced ROM and sound sample downloading now allows you to also specify your own search URLs (directly to where the un-protected ROMs are located). Add the URLs in the "Arcade\roms.dat" & "Arcade\samples.dat" files.
    o Pixel Size setting adjusted to MAME v0.36 standard.
    o Enhanced Sync and VESA function adjusted to MAME v0.36 standard.
    o Tweaked modes switch added for tweaked VGA modes.
    o Can delete the current screen shot by right clicking on the image and selecting delete.

    o Hover mouse over screen shot to see the file name of the image.
    o Detailed verify report shows results at the bottom.
    o Display Vector and Rotation Options switched to be more logical.
    o Changed hide tabs to be a button instead of a checkbox.
    o Creates default.mwr file when searching for new games.
    o Can read the whatsnew.txt and readme.txt files from within the program.
    o Changes made to the mame.cfg file are immediately updated.
    o Skip lines now supports negative numbers.
    o Added some status indicators while searching the internet for a file.
    o If MAME crashes it no longer causes a lock-up or an error 52.
    o No longer generates an overflow error when the log file is over 32K.
    o Large screen shots no longer cover the tabs.
    o No longer reports that it cannot find MAME.EXE if you are using AMAME or another executable instead.
    o Programmed work-around for Puzzle de Pon R and Magician Lord (Home) that didn't display as a Neo-Geo game.
    o No longer gives an error when you maximize the window at 640x480.
    o Wrong alternate screen shots are no longer displayed.
    o No longer shows the wrong screen shot on slower machines.
    o Doesn't cause an error if there are no games on the game list.
    o Will now run certain Windows apps where it wouldn't run them before.
    o Doesn't center the window after certain functions.
    o Can now use long path names for directories.
    o View Only NeoGeo Games filter no longer removes other filters.
    o No longer deletes the game stats file under certain circumstances.
    o Vector default setting now sets beam to 1.2 and flicker to 35.
    o Game list title is now displayed correctly when a different font is selected.

    o Correctly sets the SNES Joystick command line.

    Wow.. Lots of new features. And that's just a few. He claims to have more features not listed and a few surprises. Click on the link below for more info.

    PC Engine Emulator Progress
    (posted by squeegee - 22:01)
     
    Check out the Hu-Go! homepage for the latest development notes. It seems that Zeograd has gotten some TurboGrafx-CD ISO's to work, and may release a new alpha version as early as tommorrow. Hu-Go! is an open source PCE/TG-16 emulator for DOS, which is based off of hmmx's xpce source code, which is based off of Bero's FPCE source code. And that, my friends, concludes today's exciting episode of Six Degrees of Bero. I hope you all enjoy your lovely parting gifts, 'cause that's all you're gonna get from me.

    NES Emulator Release
    (posted by squeegee - 21:38)
     
    FCE Ultra, an NES emulator for DOS, has been updated to version 0.15. This release adds or fixes support for Mappers 4, 19, 24, 25, 26, 67, 76, and 80; implements a safer method of writing to DOS memory, improves sound, optimizes Game Genie emulation, includes QND 0.22, and various bug fixes. FCE Ultra is based on the source code of Bero's FCE, and QND is a .nes format ROM manipulator that is included with the FCE Ultra distribution. Word to spacegoats.

    Wook Follow-Up
    (posted by squeegee - 21:14)
     
    On a whim, I decided to check out one of Wook's infamous story leads. For those of you who got excited when you saw "Game Boy Color will see a version of Frogger soon", don't worry, the game is already out, and has been for months! In fact, Frogger (distributed by Majesco Sales) was one of the very first games released for the GBC, coming out at the same time as the SNES and Genesis versions. The Genesis version is arcade perfect, while the SNES and GBC versions feature 2D graphical updates. It seems that GameFan Online just got around to reviewing the game, that's all.

    10.. 9.. 8..???
    (posted by uzplayer - 10:45)
     
    I noticed this a couple of days ago, but Atila of Retrogames seems to have a countdown going on. I guess we will find out in a few days although it does sound interesting.

    Link: Retrogames

    New Rumor Mill
    (posted by uzplayer - 10:35)
     
    JoseQ has just posted another Rumor Mill. In it this time, he talks about Raine and Shark Emus, and much more. Also notable in this Rumor Mill, he talks about the Assassin Project. Sure enough, he was one of the people to read my opinion, and has agreed with me that the emu is a fake. Read more about it by clicking on the link below, and thanks to our very own Terry for bringing this up to my attention.

    More from our Internet Coorespondant Wook
    (posted by uzplayer - 09:54)
     
    I installed a HD I found in a dumpster at my college two years ago, sure enough it worked. Just needed a few jumpers. Only problem is that it had everyone's records from 1996 and below of the college. ;-) Here's Wook's tips of the day:

    o Adrenaline Vault has joined the mix of sites posting reviews
    o on the last Bleem update. Out of the several new reviews,
    o this one leans towards objective.
    o http://www.avault.com/reviews/reviewtemp.asp?game=bleem&page=1

    o SNK begins selling the Neo Geo Pocket Color retail, for
    o $69.99, the first week of August 99. NGCP's only available
    o directly from SNK prior to August.
    o Thank Game Informer News for the great news.
    o http://www.gameinformer.com/news/jul99/072199a.html

    o Today's Special: Frog Legs. GameFanOnLine says Game Boy Color
    o will see a version of Frogger soon.
    o http://www.gamefan.com/newhotinfo/hotinfo.asp?storyid=1892

    o GameSpot News delivers the goods on Street Fighter EX 2.
    o Complete with pictures, observations, and a miny review.
    o http://headline.gamespot.com/news/99 07/21 vg sfex/index.html

    The People's Site
    (posted by H-Clone - 09:10)
     
    Don't worry, that title is being sarcastic. The new vote is up (and as some of you will have noticed, has been for about 4 days, but I forgot to post the news). The new poll lets you vote on some proposed changes/additions to Emucamp, so it's more important than the average one. I trust I can rely on your vote.

    The results of the last poll are linked below, along with a mini-commentry.

    Wednesday, July 21, 1999

    2600 Emulator Release
    (posted by squeegee - 22:37)
     
    Joe D' Andrea has released an IRIX port of Stella, an open source multi-platform Atari VCS emulator. This new port is right in line with version 1.1, and can be downloaded from the homepage. Stella 1.1 also exists for DOS, Windows, UNIX, and Linux. Bradford W. Mott is the author of Stella, and Young MC is the author of "Bust A Move."

    Assassin
    (posted by uzplayer - 14:28)
     
    New information has been revealed about Assassin, the currently unidentified emulator. Here's the information:

    1) It will be written for all standard graphics drivers (DirectX. glide etc.)
    2) You can see it when the author releases it
    3) The project was started earlier in the year
    4) 1 person working on it
    5) That person wishes to remain anonymous at this time but is not a novice coder
    6) No screenshots released to public as yet
    7) Sukh and Mark Bridgett are involved by directly supporting and publicising the emulator

    Ok. I have been silent about this long enough. My editorial opinion is that this emu is a fake. I think it's nothing but a publicity stunt. We have only known about this project for about 3-5 days and there's still little information on it. I'm saying this right now, until I hear more, in my mind, it's a fake! And if it isnt, then I will issue DIRECTLY TO THE AUTHORS via Emucamp, an apology, but until there is proof, it's fake to me!

    Update: Sukh of Emutech2000 just emailed me regarding the Assassin Emu. He assured me that it is not fake and that information on what it emulates, and screenshots will be up soon. We'll see.

    Yet Another Update: Seems like ever since I have denounced the emu calling it fake, now a screenshot has surfaced. Although heavilly sensored. But that still doesnt prove anything. Click on the link below to take a look and let me know what you think.

    Comeback64/WinCE Progress
    (posted by uzplayer - 14:14)
     
    Screenshots are now available on Comeback64/WinCE. Also, Domenico Dato issued the following update:

    o The problem with the SH3machines was solved, and i would
    like to publically thank Panutat Tejasen (Jimmy) for helping me on this.
    o Added Load cartridge menu: now emulator can load and
    execute .crt cartridge files
    o Added Load program menu: to load and execute .prg
    program files
    o Added CPU reset menuo Added About dialog boxo Fixed
    color palette
    o "Now i'm able to load on CB64CE one of my all time favourite
    games: Manic Miner :-). The problem is still *SPEED*: no game is playable at this time. Too slow. I'm going to clean up the code a little and try some performance improvement."

    You can view the screenshots at the link below, and you can find out more information at the second link below. Thanks to Johan Fitie for the email.

    The Games Nostalgia Project
    (posted by uzplayer - 14:05)
     
    A new project is underway by a guy named "A Change Of Seasons" called The Games Nostalgia Project. The project sounds interesting as it intends to sequel and redesign classic video games by Atari, Sega, and other game companies for Windows 95/98/NT/2000. Some of the projects he is working on are Altered Beast 2, Golden Axe 4, and H.E.R.O: Danger In Downton. He promises to post pictures of his first project, Altered Beast 2 in the coming days. Click on the website below for details.

    Bleem! again
    (posted by uzplayer - 10:08)
     
    Now how many reviews are they gonna do? Seems that now IGN has gotten on the bandwagon and decided to review Bleem! (PSX Emulator.) Of course like the other review, this one aint favorable either. Click below to read it, thanks to DVGC for the info.

    Update: The Bleem! site has been updated with what's coming up in the next beta:

    - Corrected Weird Polygon Clipping Issues with TNT/TNT2 Chipsets
    - Significantly Improved MemoryCard Support (MGS, GT, MediEvil, Parasite Eve, and MORE)
    - Improved Emulation (Gex, Gex3:Deep Cover Gecko, Warcraft 2, Vigilante8)
    - Added Mouse Support
    - Added "FrameSkip Disable" Option (FF7 Battle Menus)
    - Fixed UnInstall Crash
    - Corrected Internal Game Compatibility Database
    - Improved "Best Screen Mode" Logic for 24bpp/32bpp (FF7, FF8)

    Goto the Bleem! site for more details.

    MOD Chips For Dreamcast
    (posted by uzplayer - 10:06)
     
    A company by the name of National Console Support rented two Dreamcasts over the weekend to explore how the territorial lockout could be overcome. Although some success was achieved, they totally burned out one Dreamcast board, and had to send the other one to their Asian Partnet for additional research. At the end they ended up giving up $700.00 in deposits to Hollywood Video. The company should make an announcement of what is needed in terms of a MOD Chip next week. Umm correct me if I am wrong, but wouldnt it have been just easier to program a small emu in WinCE that would act essentially as an Electronic MOD Chip instead of demolishing a DC and loosing $700.00 in deposits? I mean it's common sense. Oh well if you wish to read the story, click on the link below. Thanks to DVGC for the info.

    Amiga
    (posted by uzplayer - 09:55)
     
    The Simply Amiga Site has been updated with LSD docs disks and a few new games. I personally liked the Amiga and it's really too bad I never got a chance to play it until of course, Emulation ;-) If this interests you, click on the link below and thanks to The Administrator for the news.

    And yet more from our Internet Coorespondant Wook
    (posted by uzplayer - 09:49)
     
    You know? I should quit smoking. I quit for a year before, and I have now gotten back into it a few months ago. Oh and on another side, I recovered well from my heart attack as my fiance decided she didnt want an expensive wedding. (Not that you all would care, but it saves me like $15,000 SO I DO DAMNIT!) Ok.. To begin this morning, here's the tips of the day courtesy of our freelance Internet coorespondant, Wook.. Oh and Wook, keep up the good work.

    CNet published a feature about the recent popularity of
    handhelds. The article covers three units: neo geo pocket,
    game boy, and tiger.
    http://www.gamecenter.com/Consoles/Features/Pocket/index.html

    Koei shows off their upcoming PSX2 title over at Retokyo.
    http://retokyo.com/games/index.htm

    GameFan OnLine reports a rumor about the PSX & N64 prices
    dropping to $99 usa dollars. Seems this has been rumored for
    awhile, no word yet if the price of Bleem will drop by the
    same amount to match the PSX price drop.
    http://www.gamefan.com/newhotinfo/hotinfo.asp?storyid=1874

    EA dumps the USA psx version of Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition.
    Unless a new publisher steps forward, North Americans will
    need a mod chip and the import.
    http://headline.gamespot.com/news/99/07/20 vg/fatal/index.html

    Nintendo
    (posted by Roni - 06:00)
     
    A new version of RockNES a NES emulator for DOS has been released! Here's what's new: Minor fix for noise channel (sounds better); Removed some general junk; Fixed problem with keyboard when a joystick isn't found; Fixed maximum frame rate (10) by command line switch; Fixed no sound problem on rate 1 (22050Mhz); Removed Win9x EAGLE warnings; Compiled with Allegro 3.9.23 (WIP) - 19990718; Removed code to shutdown RockNES on Allegro's crash due the newer version; Updated configuration file (keyboard scancodes table); Joypad code updated; Some changes displaying messages. Have fun! See ya!

    Tuesday, July 20, 1999

    C64
    (posted by uzplayer - 23:32)
     
    Got an email from Johan Fitie saying that there is now a Comeback 64 (Commodore 64 Emulator) wallpaper available for Windows. If you are a fan of Comeback 64, and wish to put this thing on your desktop (my opinion, why?) then click on the link below.