Honest Opinions Needed About Emulation


TelcoLou posted on Dec 28 2006 at 10:09 PM said:
Blah posted on Dec 28 2006 at 10:04 PM said:
Just don't try anything bigger than 2gb, it wont work.

Um, what? 4GB cards work fine ... :huh:

Only SD 2.0/SDHC cards don't work on the GP2X... hopefully that can be fixed.
 
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Shikaku posted on Dec 28 2006 at 11:15 PM said:
Only SD 2.0/SDHC cards don't work on the GP2X... hopefully that can be fixed.
Craig said that 8GB cards already kind of work in the GP2X. I think it's something that will be added in a later firmware update (though no one can say when that will be, of course). :)

@dochuge: Don't worry. You'll be able to handle the GP2X.
 
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@dochuge: Don't worry. You'll be able to handle the GP2X.

Thanks Shinneri,

I hope you are right! I am doing a lot of reading about this console now that I've taken the plunge. I already downloaded the emulators I want to try first. About EIGHT total! Some seem really easy, some don't like the Neo Geo emulator. Looks like you have to download two additional files AND rename them? Well, I found both and did rename them. Just seems a little odd. Others, like the SMS one seems very very easy to setup. If most emulators work well and aren't super frustrating to get working, then the GP2X will be worth it.
 
I don’t know if you can change your order, but I advice you to get the TV out cable instead of the card reader, you can pick the reader at any computer store for a very low price whatever country you live in, but the TV out cord is another story, were you will have to pay for shipping it to you + it is a little bit more expensive than the card reader, if you were able to change your order know that you will need an extension cable and maybe another converter, but I wouldn't get these now if I were you, I would just leave them for later.

Regarding cards, the main three things you will need a bigger card for are:
1. Movies: Those can be easily re-encoded to maintain quality on GP2X screen but with around 50% decrease in size.
2. NeoGeo big ROMs: Most of the small ROMs collection contains great games so worry not.
3. Collections: like if you wanted to have all known MegaDrive's ROMs, NES ROMs, SNES ROMs, MAME ROMs ...etc all on the go, but I don't think you would want that, because in that case even a 4 GB card won’t be enough.

Now regarding SNES, I am not that heavy SNESer, but I can tell you the following: It is fully playable for games that don't have a special chip, but it is not perfect.

Now NeoGeo is worth the effort you are putting to set it up, I am not sure if you noticed but Shikaku has a FAQ in his signature that is truly useful.

Don't get disappointed by NES, it is fully playable on the GP32 and this implies it will be so on GP2X, the only problem is that no developer had put time on enhancing the port that was already made for it, so NES is absolutely possible but you will just have to wait for the saviour developer for Nintendo's beloved 8 bit console.

Again do not ignore the homebrew scene, it has many great games, and don't forget that beside emulators, you can use virtual machines and interpreters to play first person shooter games like doom and quake, great games like Ultima, and most importantly, point and click adventures using Scumm-vm.

Finally, if you needed any more help, do not hesitate TO READ THE READ ME FILES that come with the emulators ;) after that you can ask here and everyone will be more than glad to help (some of us here admit that they spend on this board more than they spend with their GP2Xs :) ), welcome to the community dochuge.
 
I don’t know if you can change your order, but I advice you to get the TV out cable instead of the card reader, you can pick the reader at any computer store for a very low price whatever country you live in, but the TV out cord is another story, were you will have to pay for shipping it to you + it is a little bit more expensive than the card reader, if you were able to change your order know that you will need an extension cable and maybe another converter, but I wouldn't get these now if I were you, I would just leave them for later.

Yeah, I know that card readers are dirt cheap but the TV out cable I'd rarely use. I want handheld emulation

Regarding cards, the main three things you will need a bigger card for are:
1. Movies: Those can be easily re-encoded to maintain quality on GP2X screen but with around 50% decrease in size.

That's cool and something I certainly will dabble in after I have emulation all setup and ready to go.

2. NeoGeo big ROMs: Most of the small ROMs collection contains great games so worry not.

Great news! Honestly, one of the things that sold me about the GP2X was its good neogeo emulation. Hand-held neo geo? WOW! I remember REALLY wanting a NeoGeo when they came out but the cost was CRAZY for BOTH the system and those huge carts.


3. Collections: like if you wanted to have all known MegaDrive's ROMs, NES ROMs, SNES ROMs, MAME ROMs ...etc all on the go, but I don't think you would want that, because in that case even a 4 GB card won’t be enough.

No, I'm pretty picky actually. I just add the ROMS I want, entire sets are nice to have and peruse through on the PC but I wouldn't want every rom on the SD card. Just the choicest ones.

Now regarding SNES, I am not that heavy SNESer, but I can tell you the following: It is fully playable for games that don't have a special chip, but it is not perfect.

Well if it runs pretty much close to full speed on most games I will be happy. I do know that my Asus had a really tough time with certain SNES titles like Stunt Race FX (which is pretty chip heavy). So I think this is a problem overall in emulation world.


Now NeoGeo is worth the effort you are putting to set it up, I am not sure if you noticed but Shikaku has a FAQ in his signature that is truly useful.

Thanks for the info, it didn't look too difficult but it certainly takes a few more steps than other emulators. I definitely want neogeo up and running.


Don't get disappointed by NES, it is fully playable on the GP32 and this implies it will be so on GP2X, the only problem is that no developer had put time on enhancing the port that was already made for it, so NES is absolutely possible but you will just have to wait for the saviour developer for Nintendo's beloved 8 bit console.

Yeah, seems weird because its probably the most popular console of all time. Is it a compatibility thing with many games not working or is it a speed/glitch issue?

Again do not ignore the homebrew scene, it has many great games, and don't forget that beside emulators, you can use virtual machines and interpreters to play first person shooter games like doom and quake, great games like Ultima, and most importantly, point and click adventures using Scumm-vm.

No, I intend to discover all of what the GP2X is about, including homebrew and commercial titles. I would love to play Day of the Tentacle again.

Finally, if you needed any more help, do not hesitate TO READ THE READ ME FILES that come with the emulators ;) after that you can ask here and everyone will be more than glad to help (some of us here admit that they spend on this board more than they spend with their GP2Xs :) ), welcome to the community dochuge.


One of the reasons I got the GP2X was the wealth of information that there is for the system. Wiki is nice to have and I will use that board and this one to get my GP2X up and running. Honestly, if I thought I would be off on my own and not get the help I needed (through FAQS or the community) I would not have purchased one. I'm not the most tech savvy guy out there but I think I'll be able to get things up and running. I'll probably never be able to tweak the inner workings of the GP2X like some of you guys, though. Thanks for the welcome, I'm glad to be here. Should get my GP2X early next week. I already have all my emulators neatly arranged and ready for transfer over to an SD card.
 
Maybe I was blaming SNES emus a bit, but don't be afraid : most games works just fine! You can play Chrono Trigger fullspeed (with a little overclocking) if you want, just a few games are to slow even overclocked, like FF6, some others are a bit faster but not fullspeed yet, like F-Zero, Mario Kart...

And transparencies aren't such a problem! the biggest issue I saw was crossing a cavern covered by fog, made by a transparent white layer, which of course wasn't transparent, so I didn't see anything! but all I had to do, was to disable this layer (by pushing the stick + A, B, X or Y), and go on ;) (it was in FF4)
Also, you don't see the rain in Zelda, so the beginning looks like a clear summer afternoon ;)

And sound may not be perfect on some games

But really, most game are very playable, and fullspeed!

Nintendo devices are always hard to emulate, not because of the CPU (SNES only have a pitifull 3Mhz cpu, whereas NeoGeo' main CPU is 12Mhz), but because of their weird graphics subsystem that are not as common as 68000 or Z80 processors ;)
 
NES seems just about perfect to me, at least on GPFCE -- great compatibility and speed. The emulator doesn't have a fancy frontend though (just uses selector and scripts for options). When Rlyeh releases fNES, we will be set.
 
GPFCE runs a little slow on some games at the standard clock, but if you put it up to 220MHz, you shouldn't have a problem with most games. The compatibility is very good.
 
NES seems just about perfect to me, at least on GPFCE -- great compatibility and speed. The emulator doesn't have a fancy frontend though (just uses selector and scripts for options). When Rlyeh releases fNES, we will be set.

That's great, I know there are a few NES emulators but I chose the GPFCE one. As long as it's not obtuse and difficult to use. A save state would be nice too. I will tell you, with a powerful enough PDA, Morphgear runs NES beautifully! But the buttons are horribly placed and the d-pads on many PDAs are rectangular. UGH. At least the Asus has a round one. Another reason I'm getting the GP2X is the dpad and button layout.


As for Nintendo hardware, I hear you. On the Morphgear website I read that the GBA hardware archetecture is really "different" and is a bitch to emulate properly. I'm not surprised that the GP2X doesn't emulate GBA that well yet. I'd much rather emulate NES and SNES anyhow. Heck, I'd rather emulate GB and GBC first. Some GBA roms are 16 megs. And it's still "too new" a system for me. Still, if someone could properly emulate GBA on the GP2X that would be awesome.
 
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