Looking to learn about emulators and roms

My son is getting old enough to start playing videogames and I'd like to introduce him to the games I grew up with.

Problem is, I don't know anything about roms and emulators. I started doing a little reading but found it difficult to get answers on a few basic things so I thought I'd join a community and learn little by little, so thanks for any help and guidance in advance.

I've read that RetroArch is one of the best emulators to go with and I like the look of Launchbox as a front end. I own all Nintendo consoles starting with the NES all the way up to GameCube and a Sega Genesis.

I guess my first question is...do I need a PC with certain specs? If so, what is suggested?

Second, is there a way for me to use my controllers so I can try to keep the experience true to its original feel?

Thanks and looking forward to learning and then inevitable questions that I'll have!

Hey there pal, its great that you are trying to get into emulation!

1. First off, most any computer newer than 2005 can run just about any emulator from NES to Playstation no problem. Anything higher, then we might be getting into the realm of high specs, for systems like Gamecube and Ps2.

2. Yes, there are ways to get controllers to work on the PC! There are usb adapters for just about any controller you can find, some being as cheap as 10 dollars, and some like our very own UlaoUlaos project 'Bliss-Box' that can be up to 100 dollars and cover just about any controller you can think of. Now, controller setup can differ emulator to emulator.

Now, I have no experience with RetroArch and Launchbox, but setting up individual emulators isn't so hard, usually its as simple as Download emulator, Download Rom, and open up the emulator to run the Rom. Some emulators can be a little odd to set up though.

We are here to help people ask me or ulaoulao or Mupen i have more expirence with nes also i can set up amiga i can set up alsp pcsx but will be hard easy set up is for gba
im use windows so i cant help you if you use linux or mac
in windows you just need adapter , controler and drivers im think im never tested retroarch its not run on my integreted graphics
im more use my dell than Pc
just write what platform you will use and we (i try too) help you
:happy:im happy there are people who still try and love emulating
for emulating playstation you need better graphic card than mine also CPU
for me playstation emulator laging im have Core2Duo , 1GB ram ddr2, 512 mb Ati Radeon 4350
you need at least 3 or 4 core procesor 2 or more GB of Ram good graphic card with 1 or 2 Gb of memory
nividia is expensive so if you want something cheap get Ati(*now company havie name AMD)
but remember not mix up im mean :
nividia+ intel =+(good card is a monster and you have limitless machine)
not ati+intel= cpu is good card suck
and not amd+nividia= card is very good cpu suck
so intel+nividia
amd+ati
of course if you will play on pc
you can aslo buy xbox or playstation there is moded bios for those consoles also ported emulators of course you will not play on playstation in xbox games but i think in reverse yes
of course i write about old xbox (360 or something im never have any of those)
or playstation 2 im never have those but im want someday :
already moded bios in both already aded chip to run pirates (in xbox im dont know but ps2 have it)
and as i say ported emulators for ps2:
NesterJ AoEX R3 (mappers fixed + new mappers nester fork)
fceu mm for ps2
and imbnes
so you need good architecture im miss time spend with my pegazus(polish name of asian clone called nes/famicom)
anyway im think you need something lightweight and with option conect to tv and controlers
for me its not the same its lost feel of old times

Thanks for the responses guys. I have an old laptop I don't use anymore that I'd love to dedicate to emulation if it can handle the job.

It's an HP Pavilion dv6775 with 3GB of RAM, 1.67ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. I'm unsure of the graphics card but I'll try to figure that out. The GameCube is the newest console I have that I would want to try and emulate if my PC can handle it. The problem I thought i might have is that my PC is Windows Vista. Does RetroArch support Vista?

If not, do you guys use different emulators for every console? Is there a solution for one emulator for all consoles?

I'm also very interested in a nice user interface, which is how I discovered Launchbox. Any thoughts on user interface?

lets see :)
some research here how run on vista 64 bit
http://libretro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5615
im think they fixed it now in release 1.3.4
but if not you have way to fix it
for info about graphic card read in : computer->device manager->display adapters there you have info
if you want know more get this :https://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/SysInfo/GPU-Z/
dv6 ^^ my favorite laptop good graphic card (not intagreted) my notebook was damaged with his graphic card
last option is read a sticker on notebook if called ati or nividia its "real" card if you dont have sticker you have integrated graphics
in hp i was have 512 mb ram of graphic card(ati mobility hd 4350) if you have 2gb of memory and bus of 128->256 bits your card is fine and can also used for normal gaming not only emulators games like : stalker soc,stalker copp, heroes 3 golden edition, portal 1,2, half life two episode 2 episode 1
etc..
you can also use emulationstation (gui) but im think is not easy for beginers to set up
any way everything should work fine even if you will have a 512 mb card or integrated graphics
but with integereted graphic you need every emulator im mean one emulator for nes, one for snes etc...
newest or just a fair is integreted graphic intel 945 if you have older im dont know what will work for you
if you have older gpu im dont know it will helps (integreted graphics)
on my dell 420 im was tested only nestopia and fceux so im dont know what else will run
one more thing matter also frequrency of cpu your is slower but im think you will not feel fps drop if you play just on emulators
thats all..

My Son is 6 and I do the same, have been emulating since 98...

TIPS

1) Get a front-end, I like this one http://quickplay.sourceforge.net/ind...itle=news_show
2) Get the roms, we can't hep you here but the best place are the rom sharing torrent groups. You need to get in by word of mouth.
3) Get all your emulators here http://emulator-zone.com
4) Don't use clumsy silly controllers. Let your Son learn how it was meant to be played. Like when the game says press A, he presses A not X on some silly xbox controller. Get this http://4-play.bliss-box.net
5) Get a nice Intel rig, not AMD. AMD is good an all but INTEL always preforms better on emulators.
6) Start playing.

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1.67ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor

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Good for older emulators not much good for gamecube+ stuff. Vista is very poor at emulation, best to use win7. Win 10 is coming along but still giving a few issues.

I started playing around a bit today and found it was much easier than I thought. I couldn't get RetroArch to work so I just tried some console-exclusive emulators like zSNES and Project64. I downloaded Launchbox as my front-end and that has also been pretty straight forward. I was able to get a few of my favorite multiplayer games working but didn't test gameplay at all because I don't currently have a way to connect my classic controllers.

I will likely be buying the Bliss Box. About the Bliss Box...I see it comes with 2x N64 cables. Am I able to purchase more to let me use 4 controllers at once? I guess this question would apply to all consoles, as I also have a couple 4-player SNES cables.

Lastly, I found that my graphics card is an NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS. Do you think this could handle the Gamecube? This the last Nintendo console I have that I would want to try and emulate. If I tried and it couldn't handle it, would it simply just crash the emulator or could it do some greater damage?

As always, thanks for the help.

yes good like mine :D but its 256 mb of graphic memory im was have 512 mb :d should be enough those card all called "low end"? im think
for true gaming suck but should be fine for emulators and video playing(movies) but dont try run games and movies in high resolution example :
my dell have 1280x800 if i try in higher it will be out of rage(too much resolution) and for me movies in HD laging
im think sega and gamecube your card should be better than that
and you know you should have more video memory in your card but this cant be set up so graphic card will get rest of memory from ram
im will do some test with sega and gamecube but im think even my chip intel 945 will be better so dont worry
i will add screenshots after tests i have moded drivers (yes improved driivers for gaming :) )
first tests will be on orginal drivers from MS moded drivers just add extra settings
for me gamecube run(emulator dolphin5.0) rom megaman 9 i use dx9 settings in graphics
sega runs pefectly emulator fusion rom sonic
im think ps2 emulator will run too and laged but is only thinking im dont belive it run on my graphics
your card will be better
now project64 and rom bomberman 64
nes,snes atari and all 2d consoles also mame should work
im testing on my dell 420
im will not add screenshots im lazy to do that whatever all run :)

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I will likely be buying the Bliss Box. About the Bliss Box...I see it comes with 2x N64 cables. Am I able to purchase more to let me use 4 controllers at once?

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The additional cables are in the works. You would want to watch for the Kickstarters. I think the next KS for the Bliss-Box is going to be a low goal for cables only but it will depend on the factories requirements. Either way, there will not be a deal that buying one now is going to interfere with. So its best to get one and wait for the cable deals later.

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Originally Posted by ulaoulao

The additional cables are in the works. You would want to watch for the Kickstarters. I think the next KS for the Bliss-Box is going to be a low goal for cables only but it will depend on the factories requirements. Either way, there will not be a deal that buying one now is going to interfere with. So its best to get one and wait for the cable deals later.

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Do you know when this is expected to happen?