The Ultimate Emulator Project

Shadow Angle

New member
Emulators are the greatest way to experience the past, and for free. NES and Gameboy ROMs are held with no real threat of legal punishment, and they bring back the greatest that was ever done back during gaming.

But there is soo much to do for the Emulator scene. Netplay is still weak (with the exemption of LAN and top of the line High Speed), there are games yet to be properly emulated, and the PSx emulators are a plain hassle to get working fully.

I just wanted to bring back the force of getting emulators back into shape once again. My idea was a result of Jug claiming that net play on the XB360 is unmatched (given you pay for it, and must have an ether net Internet connectoin). At the same time, I was in lust for a good NES, SNES, and Game Boy (Color) emulator for the 360. That's when it hit me: There is still so much more to be done to make a emulator perfect.

My idea for that perfect emulator is optimized net play (chat via text 'n voice, too) for dialup and highspeed alike, perfected ROM emulation (steady FPS, perfect sound, etc...), auto updating and patching, and console platform support (namely on CD based consoles, such as the 360, PS2/3, Game cube/Revolution, and maybe even the DS and PSP).

This emulator project is not for just a NES, or SNES, or GB, or Genesis, or PSx, or even MAME. It will cover as many possible, and hopefully all retro consoles, from the classic arcades and Atari/Intelivition, to the advanced arcades and XB/PS2/GC. All emulators that are made and powered and accessed by a master client, and the client will need an expansion of any desired emulator to have that emulator for use. Each emulator will have a universal net play system, a organized set of control configuration, video and audio perfection, and so on, all powered by the client. The emulators could run off normal ROMs, but would work best with special ROMs. This new ROM format would be exactly the same, but it would have signature video and audio configuration, such as a set frame rate limit, audio rate limit, sprite display, audio organizing, and the like. This new ROM format would help make the emulator run smoothly, as it works with it, and not for it. The ROM format, if configurated to, would separate each sections of a split screen to the corresponding player on net play.

These emulators would run on PC and CD based consoles alike, as well as the new Gen handhelds. W/ the PS2/3 and gamecube's Internet linkup, XB and 360's XBL, and the DS/PSP/Revolutions WiFi LAN and Internet linkup, any platform could connect to the web for patches, news updates, and multi player (LAN and Internet play).

And that's just the start of my idea for a perfect emulator, and a branch of emulators. I'm hear bringing this idea to air to see if anyway wants to help me with it. 10 codes, and gathering a few of the best emulaor coders (If at all possible), will help. My idea for this is to get started on a PC and 360 release of a NES and Gameboy emulator under this formula.

This project, for now, will be named DeBolt Retro.

anyone want to help me?
 

alcoatjez

Capo di Tutti Capi
May I ask how long you're into emulation? Sorry to be so harsh, but if you would have known anything from the emulation scene, you would know that the chance of succeeding for this project is <0.01%... [pessimist mode off]
 

Shadow Angle

New member
alcoatjez said:
May I ask how long you're into emulation? Sorry to be so harsh, but if you would have known anything from the emulation scene, you would know that the chance of succeeding for this project is <0.01%... [pessimist mode off]

I've been into emulation since I was 7 (started with a Snes emulator, then worked my way up to nes, GB, and then N64, MAME, and I'm starting to use a PSx emulator). I'm not always up to date with the emulator news, but I've been doing it as of late.

And I do know this is a 100 mils of a long shot. But if it means accually pulling it off, and having the worlds greatest emulators out and about, then all the better.
 

alcoatjez

Capo di Tutti Capi
Shadow Angle said:
And I do know this is a 100 mils of a long shot. But if it means accually pulling it off, and having the worlds greatest emulators out and about, then all the better.

My comment was not meant to be rude, I was just being realistic. I really hope you can pull it off. I'll be the first to congratulate you then ;)
 

Cheetah

New member
I wish you the best of luck with your project, but I have to agree with alcoatjez. People have been trying to create "the perfect emulator" as long as they've been making emulators. To perfectly render video and audio, and to have every game run equally as flawlessly, you would need an army of the best programmers in the world, and to do it in any decent timeframe, you would likely need to dump quite a lot of cash into the development as well.

The downside to emulation is that your system has to, well emulate another system. That takes a lot of power. I myself haven't been into game emulation for too long at all, just a few weeks probably, but emulation isn't exactly new to me.

Everyone knows Windows is a more popular OS, so you get more software for it. I personally love Apple computers, and to run Windows based programs, you need(ed) a program called VirtualPC. Given Microsoft bought the rights to said prgram quite some time ago, so it's been argued that they were designing crappy limits into the functionality of the program to keep more business of their own. Anyway, running a 1.1Ghz PC with WinXP Pro, I can run many programs flawlessly. On a 1.6Ghz Mac, a lot of those same programs would run as slow as you could imagine, because it had to emulate another system. Emulation takes a lot of time and a lot of know how....I suggest doing as much research as you can before you start throwing around an overzealous gameplan.

Again, I really hope you can pull it off, I'd probably be willing to spend some money on a program like that...But it's a pretty ambitious goal.
 

Genome

north west south west
[Harsh]
I've been into emulation since I was 7
im sorry but how old are you now? as far back as i can recall emulation came about (mainstream) in the mid 90's. so say it was 96 that would make you....damn hold on 2006-1996=10 so 10+7=17. most people who makes emulators are adults. i mean ppl who range from mid 20's to late thirties and beyond. its not a matter of age, dont get me wrong. its a matter of experience. i takes an incredible amount of knowledge in the subject. (more than anyone here posses imho)it doesnt sound plausible to make a perfect emulator.:( [/Harsh]

but if you really want to i would start by taking the emulator M.E.S.S and hacking it. it already plays most systems and you wouldnt have to worry about programing an emulator from scratch. the only problem is this will still be a very hard task to do.

dare to dream though.:happy: gl whatever you decide to do.;)
 
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TheCreator

New member
If you wanted this perfect emulator, then you should expect to be paying for that kind of thing. The thing is, emulators could easily start being made by Sony, Sega, Microsoft, Nintendo, etc. tomorrow if they wanted to, and because they know the code they could create a perfect one. But the catch is, that's never going to happen and if it did don't come here in 5 years expecting to download it for nothing as freeware, they'll want money.

That's where our emulator programmers come in, and it's there hobby out of commitment, skills and time to bring our emulators, most wouldn't get payed for this, and it'supo to them to learn the code that Sony has in a safe somewhere. Because of this, emulators will never be perfect.

It's also up to the coders if they want to merge all the emulators together, and having these "signed" games would only be possible if Nintendo, Sony, etc. made them. The netplay would also be difficult to emulate, as it has to be done differently for all the consoles.

Realsitcally speaking, if you want something, as mentioned in this forums, is the "emulator os" where you can pick an emulator to load up, or have a frontend program for the emulators. But again, there will be no 'perfect' emulator, unless the actual creators want to step in and in that case we'd have to pay.
 

Shadow Angle

New member
well... I'm 16, so you were close Genome.

as for all that you meantioned Creator, I can see where you're going with this. On the contrary, I feel it could be worth a shot still. Better to try and fail misrabally, then to hold off, and eventually ask 'what if...?'

and alcoatjez, don't feel like I take offence. On the side note, I'm not making any promises. :p
 

Genome

north west south west
well... I'm 16, so you were close Genome.

hmmm i can do math:laugh: . seriously though i wasnt trying to offend you with that statement. just trying to prove a point (i also had dreams of making an emulator when i was 16 or 17. but then i realised im too damn stupid :laugh: )

gl man. hope you achive your goal.
 

-=VampyR=-

Immortal
but then i realised im too damn stupid
...or that you have no programming skills,it sounds better.
 

onewecallgod

New member
Shadow Angle said:
I've been into emulation since I was 7 (started with a Snes emulator, then worked my way up to nes, GB, and then N64, MAME, and I'm starting to use a PSx emulator). I'm not always up to date with the emulator news, but I've been doing it as of late.
there's a difference between an emulator player and an emulator writer. your ability to use an emulator doesn't reflect your skill as a coder, life isn't so simple, buddy. if you have trouble setting up something as simple as ePSXe, your project is doomed to fail.
 

TheCreator

New member
I just don't think we're going to be able to combine all the emulators, it'll take too long to start from scratch and we'll have to have all the programmers chip in and then change all the front ends. Not all the programmers are going to want to do this, plus then we'd have to have the programmers in emulating the net play/2 player over net and many are just going to want to stick to their own projects.

Unless you have the skills to combine all these emulators, the idea sounds unrealistic on such a scale. Emulators have been combined (Fusion (SMS/GG/Genesis) Atari, PC emulators, etc.) but when we're talking 32-bit consoles upwards, it's not possible to achieve such perfection.
 

Zach

New member
We are giving you the best kind of support you can get dude, it's called the truth. It's not like the movies where someone has an epiphany in the last 20 minutes and wins the contest/get's the girl/wins the race/ programs the most advanced emulator on the planet
 

-=VampyR=-

Immortal
so much for support from this forum too, eh?
Put it this way...it's not as easy as said.It requires too much work.
There is MESS...it has lots of systems emulated.
 

Genome

north west south west
It's not like the movies where someone has an epiphany in the last 20 minutes and wins the contest/get's the girl/wins the race/ programs the most advanced emulator on the planet

aaaah movies. they make our own dreary dead-end lives seem happy :laugh:

I just don't think we're going to be able to combine all the emulators, it'll take too long to start from scratch and we'll have to have all the programmers chip in and then change all the front ends. Not all the programmers are going to want to do this, plus then we'd have to have the programmers in emulating the net play/2 player over net and many are just going to want to stick to their own projects.

Unless you have the skills to combine all these emulators, the idea sounds unrealistic on such a scale. Emulators have been combined (Fusion (SMS/GG/Genesis) Atari, PC emulators, etc.) but when we're talking 32-bit consoles upwards, it's not possible to achieve such perfection.

There is MESS...it has lots of systems emulated.

hmm no one reads my posts:closedeye
Genome said:
but if you really want to i would start by taking the emulator M.E.S.S and hacking it. it already plays most systems and you wouldnt have to worry about programing an emulator from scratch. the only problem is this will still be a very hard task to do.
 
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