Pandora''s Emulators - What Will Work And What Won''t

[Miknal]

I also think it's kind of funny that PSP has a higher likelihood rating on this list than DS does but that's not surprising given that the former has a dev claiming it (a little prematurely IMO) and the latter doesn't.

I still can't get my head around the fact dreamcast emu is more likely than saturn.

I know, I know, messy hardware blah blah blah. But Shenmue 2 as a goer and clockwork knights as a fail just seems wrong.

 

[Monk]

Yes, very good work. Of course if you lose interest and stop maintaining it, we'll hunt you down and kill you.

Just for the record, I disappeared WITH A TRACE, thank you very much. ;-)

But seriously, I gave Monkey my blessings to do this, I really don't have time or enthusiasm for it these days.






Errr... run Prophet, RUN!

 

[Loonie]

I also think it's kind of funny that PSP has a higher likelihood rating on this list than DS does but that's not surprising given that the former has a dev claiming it (a little prematurely IMO) and the latter doesn't.

I can sort of understand it. Nintendo have always had bloody weird display architecture for their portables, and the DS has certainly carried on that legacy.

 

[Exophase]

I can sort of understand it. Nintendo have always had bloody weird display architecture for their portables, and the DS has certainly carried on that legacy.


GBA is not as bad as SNES (for the most part, don't get me started on OBJ windows) but Nintendo DS is certainly worse than GBA is. Still think it's more feasible than PSP though. At the very least, I think it (and Saturn) shouldn't be categorized with ones like PS2/Gamecube/XBox.

 

[MonkeyChops]

...Nintendo DS is certainly worse than GBA is. Still think it's more feasible than PSP though. At the very least, I think it (and Saturn) shouldn't be categorized with ones like PS2/Gamecube/XBox.

Fixed!

Exophase = qualified dev

 

[Esn]

Exophase made some interesting comments here about the possibility of emulating games for early Pentium computers.

 

[dooradley]

Hello, I've been watching the Pandora news with growing interest and I just wanted to clarify something before considering buying one.
What I'm looking for is a system that can fully emulate the N64.
And not like the Xbox or PSP's shoddy performance and questionable compatibility...I want a handheld that fully emulates the system like the PC does. That means playing Rogue Squadron and all the other games that those two systems can't handle.

So my question to you good people is- is the Pandora CAPABLE of doing it?

 

[PhonicUK]

So my question to you good people is- is the Pandora CAPABLE of doing it?

Entirely capable, but willing is another question.

There is no doubt that it is fast enough to do it, its more a matter of someone taking the time to port an existing emu for linux/x86 to linux/ARM - which involves writing a new dynarec core (Not fun business!)

The N64 is based on a custom MIPS variant chip (The R4300i) - perhaps there is a small amount of overlap with existing projects that have MIPS dyanrec cores (The PSP emulator?) Not the same MIPS variant I know but there should some be some overlap in the instruction set.

 

[dooradley]

I have no idea what you're talking about lol.
I've heard alot about Dynarecs in regards to N64 emulation. I guess I'll just have to cross my fingers. I won't purchase until it happens, though!

 

[WizardStan]

Not being an emulator guy, here's what I know.
Dynamic recompilation is, instead of reading the ROM one instruction at a time and then doing what that instruction would have done if it were on the actual hardware, it takes that instruction (or a large sequence of instructions) and rewrites them, adding and rearranging instructions as needed, into something that resembles native code. That native code can then be run directly on the hardware without need for the emulator to stop between instructions to figure out what to do next.
Basically, reading one instructions at a time and then doing a simple translate is easy (like wrestling an alligator) but very slow. Dynamic recompile is magnitudes faster, but is really hard to do.

 

[dooradley]

Gotcha.
That's why I'm starting to think if what I want is ever going to happen, its got to be built from the ground up. I can't be the only one to think it would be damn cool to have a handheld N64!

 

[cbox]

Gotcha.
That's why I'm starting to think if what I want is ever going to happen, its got to be built from the ground up. I can't be the only one to think it would be damn cool to have a handheld N64!

You aren't the only one, but emulators don't materialize out of thin air. Someone has to be committed enough to write them, or port them if there is a port, and if they are doing it for free they have to be even more committed.

 

[dooradley]

Of course. I was just trying to find out if anyone was working on one, as I was thinking about preordering a Pandora. Now I know I can hold off.

 

[gruso]

So I hear FreeDO (3DO emu) is finally going open source this week. h34r:

 

[Esn]

Intellivision emulator by WizardStan.

I also added it to the PandoraWiki article.

 

[gruso]

So I hear FreeDO (3DO emu) is finally going open source this week. h34r:
Well you got fooled, didn't you.

 

[Shaun199three]

Lol I saw a ds emulator for psp. It didn't look very playable and seemed to be going only about 3fps (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ38tL8ukNs). There are a decent number of n64 emulators for psp so I'm very optimistic about what the Pandora will be able to pull off.

 

[mypetfrog]

Can some one at OP not start a 'fund' specifically for N64 development? Not the pledging crap that often happens, but an actual pot of paypal cash or something that will go to any dev who creates a working N64 emul?

I'm sure there would be enough of us willing to slam in a few quid?

 

[JayFoxRox]

When do people get it?
People just don't have the knowledge or the interest in making an N64 emu.
And those who can do it, are probably not influenced much by a bit of money.

if you want an emulator: build one
if you want other people to start: stop requestion it
if you want a pot of money for it: just go ahead and invest your own money, then encourage others to do the same

And OP shouldn't be involved in the whole emulation thing at all because it could get them in some serious trouble I think.

 

[Shaun199three]

When do people get it?
People just don't have the knowledge or the interest in making an N64 emu.
And those who can do it, are probably not influenced much by a bit of money.

if you want an emulator: build one
if you want other people to start: stop requestion it
if you want a pot of money for it: just go ahead and invest your own money, then encourage others to do the same

And OP shouldn't be involved in the whole emulation thing at all because it could get them in some serious trouble I think.

I think the psp emulator you were making has made everybodies expectations really high. Anyways if you do successfully get the psp emulator working, would it be possible to use emulators made for the psp. I know the psp's n64 emulator probaly wont be very playable but I'm sure plenty of other emulators will. I would also be looking forward to psp's large homebrew collection.