View Full Version : Emulators for the N900
Anwarboy11
2009-11-15, 13:41
If you wan't to know how to get hold of the removed emulators follow this link.
http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=439894&postcount=143
All the removed emulators are now available again in the repo's
I'm making this thread as a reference point for people to come when looking for emulators for the n900.
Available
Playstation 1 - PCSX-m - http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=47227&page=2
Game boy colour - Vgb - http://maemo.org/downloads/product/Maemo5/vgb/
Game boy advance - Vgba - http://maemo.org/downloads/product/Maemo5/vgba/ -
Nintendo Entertainment System - iNES - http://maemo.org/downloads/product/Maemo5/ines/ -
Windows - DOSBox - http://maemo.org/packages/view/dosbox/
Sega 8 bit consoles - Mastergear - http://maemo.org/downloads/product/Maemo5/mg/
MSX home computer emulator - FMSX V3.5.7-1 - http://maemo.org/downloads/product/Maemo5/fmsx/
ColecoVision emulator - ColEm V2.5.5-1 - http://maemo.org/downloads/product/Maemo5/colem/
Sinclair ZX Spectrum emulator - Speccy V1.6.9-2 - http://maemo.org/downloads/product/Maemo5/speccy/
Not Officially Available At The Moment - Being made
Nintendo 64 - Not yet user friendly, needs GUI
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=32937&highlight=mupen64plus
SNES - DrNokSnes - still in testing - http://maemo.org/packages/view/drnoksnes/
ScummVM - Needs porting from n8xx to n900 - http://maemo.org/downloads/product/OS2008/scummvm/
GemRB - Needs porting from n8xx to n900 - http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=32986
Frodo C64 - Needs porting from n7xx to n900 - http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=5764&highlight=Frodo
Possible in the future
Neogeo - gngeo - doesn't work but someone could fix it http://maemo.org/downloads/product/OS2008/xgngeo/
Xmame - Dead file needs fixing http://maemo.org/downloads/product/OS2008/xmame/
Hatari - Atari ST(e)/TT/Falcon emu - Needs porting - http://koti.mbnet.fi/tammat/hatari/index.shtml
Dreamcast - Needs new emu, don't thinks theres one for the n8xx
Nintendo DS - unlikely but not impossible.
Playstation 2 - Apparently one in the making
Never will be available
PSP - Haven't you woken up? :p
Xbox - Head in the clouds! :D
PS3 - Yup defo coming to n900 ;)
Other Game Related Apps
WiiControl - Use your wiimote to play these games! http://maemo.org/packages/view/wiicontrol/
Classic gaming wallpapers - Currently removed
Remember to rate the thread!
And let me know if any information is outdated or incorrect;)
Sega Master System is available. It's the mastergear emulator. But it hasn't reached the extras repository yet, AFAIK.
my eyes hurt looking about the green text..
Anwarboy11
2009-11-15, 14:24
Don't forget dosbox :)
Can you give a little info on dosbox, what does it emu?
Can you give a little info on dosbox, what does it emu?
DOS running on an x86 PC. Great for old PC games.
http://maemo.org/packages/view/dosbox/
Laughing Man
2009-11-15, 14:27
DOS applications. Back when computers were just starting to get fancy GUIs Windows was also mainly command line driven. =p
xn0wh3r3x
2009-11-15, 14:31
n64???????
There should be a special section for game engine emulators, Like ScummVM (Lucasarts adventure games) and GemRB (Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale and such)
Anwarboy11
2009-11-15, 14:45
There should be a special section for game engine emulators, Like ScummVM (Lucasarts adventure games) and GemRB (Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale and such)
Don't know much about those, but ill see what info i can find
I'm waiting for Frodo for Fremantle too btw. C-64. great stuff. Put that on the list, since it's there for previous maemo versions.
Soulfarmer
2009-11-15, 14:50
We need GemRB to be ported too! Mmmmm Baldur's Gate 2..
Anwarboy11
2009-11-15, 14:51
I'm waiting for Frodo for Fremantle too btw. C-64. great stuff. Put that on the list, since it's there for previous maemo versions.
Can you give me a link to include
Thanks for the list :) I am wondering though how well the controls work (without connecting a wiimote which is not practical when you are on the move ;))
Maybe some company could develop bluetooth controls that can be attached to the N900? That would be awesome..
Don't know much about those, but ill see what info i can find
Here's a thread about ScummVM:
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=33126
And here's one about GemRB:
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=32986
Anwarboy11
2009-11-15, 14:54
Thanks for the list :) I am wondering though how well the controls work (without connecting a wiimote which is not practical when you are on the move ;))
Maybe some company could develop bluetooth controls that can be attached to the N900? That would be awesome..
Well, there's this mobile gaming controller called the zeemote http://www.zeemote.com/
Hmm looks promising but I cant picture myself using this e.g. on a bus? Needs to be attachable, like a case...
Anwarboy11
2009-11-15, 15:01
Hmm looks promising but I cant picture myself using this e.g. on a bus? Needs to be attachable, like a case...
Personally i think the n900 keyboard will do just fine :D
You can also use a wiimote. Same issue though with any BT controller most likely. I doubt anyone is gonna make one of those weird giant cases that has controls built in (unless its DIY).
I think the keyboard will suffice for mobility just fine.
wickeddeus
2009-11-15, 15:15
Where is MAME?
Where is MAME?
I second that.
I second that.
I'll third it. So there you have it, it must exist now. Someone find the link. :D
This information should go to the wiki, please.
Anwarboy11
2009-11-15, 16:28
I'll third it. So there you have it, it must exist now. Someone find the link. :D
I found Xmame in os2008 but all links were broken so i didnt bother listing
Hatari - Atari ST(e)/TT/Falcon emu
http://koti.mbnet.fi/tammat/hatari/index.shtml
https://garage.maemo.org/projects/hatari
No Maemo 5 version yet.
What about SEGA Genesis (Mega Drive) ?
What about just the plain old Atari 2600, 5200 or whatever flavors came out of that?
What about SEGA Genesis (Mega Drive) ?
I think there has been some work/discussion done for PicoDrive and DGen on maemo. Doesn't look like there is much other than a few threads here though.
406NotAcceptable
2009-11-15, 19:37
PSP emulation may be possible. The Pandora can manage the Dreamcast, which has more/similar power, so I would expect the N900 to perform similarly. I have doubts we would be able to play the most strenuous games for either, but early titles, 2D games, and RPGs should be possible.
PSP emulation was possible on a Pentium with 133 MHz. I used to play a lot Tekken 3 on my PC running bleem PSX emulator 10 years ago.
PSP != PSX... Crap, the no-shouting feature removes my capitalization...
Windows - DOSBox - http://maemo.org/packages/view/dosbox/[/COLOR]
That should say "DOS - DOSBox", or "Old PC - DOSBox", or similar, but not Windows.
2disbetter
2009-11-16, 03:52
That should say "DOS - DOSBox", or "Old PC - DOSBox", or similar, but not Windows.
My question follows along these lines...
The dosbox build for the n900, how extensive is it's emulation of the x86? Do we have bios emulation? Is it possible to install win95 for example? Do the BOCHS plug-ins work with this build? (for 486 and 386 emulation?)
I know that hardware wise the phone is more than capable of running it. (I base this statement off of running win95 on my dell x3 which is like 6 years old)
While running a windows product on an open source platform might seem sacrilegious, it is most certainly going to be what I'm doing if I can. With OQO's death in the business world, the N900 appears to be one of the closest substitutes.
At the bear minimum, would you be able to install a desktop linux version? (ubuntu, etc.)
Thanks and look forward to collaborating with folks here.
2d
You left out Dreamcast...
PSP != PSX... Crap, the no-shouting feature removes my capitalization...
Also, PSX != Playstation 1 either.
Rotkaeqpchen
2009-11-16, 08:56
Would anyone please be so kind to SHARE a video with VGBA and DrNokSNES running on the N900? If I had mine, I would have postet a video on day one!
PLEASE ! I would be very very grateful !
whaleyboy
2009-11-16, 09:05
I wonder if we'll see the Sega Saturn emulator, Yabause, ported over...there's already a linux version
http://sourceforge.net/projects/yabause/files/
Lot's of great 2D games worth playing on the Saturn!
optimaxxx
2009-11-16, 11:52
Other Game Related Apps
WiiControl - Use your wiimote to play these games! http://maemo.org/packages/view/wiicontrol/
Could we add the ps3 open remote app?
Shanezlar
2009-11-16, 12:57
Would anyone please be so kind to SHARE a video with VGBA and DrNokSNES running on the N900? If I had mine, I would have postet a video on day one!
PLEASE ! I would be very very grateful !
There are videos of DrNokSNES on the N900 on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0wbLaMXeu4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1adgozQElVg
Rotkaeqpchen
2009-11-16, 13:07
Thanks, but i already know them. Both do not really focus on performance and settings. VGBA is missing at all...
www.rzr.online.fr
2009-11-16, 14:09
has amiga 's uae been ported to ARM ?
Anwarboy11
2009-11-16, 16:02
Thanks, but i already know them. Both do not really focus on performance and settings. VGBA is missing at all...
Search for vgba on n8xx, its the same thing really
Rotkaeqpchen
2009-11-16, 16:20
Not even a video on the N8x0 available...
Dr-Rossi-46
2009-11-16, 16:31
what about the sega genesis(mega drive)/saturn and dreamcast? would be great to play gems like shining force and sonic on the n900 ;-)
Also, PSX != Playstation 1 either.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation
Search for vgba on n8xx, its the same thing really
Anwarboy
many thanks for this thread I have added this info to the Games wiki page here
http://wiki.maemo.org/N900_Games
Mike C
Anwarboy
many thanks for this thread I have added this info to the Games wiki page here
http://wiki.maemo.org/N900_Games
Excellent work on that wiki page, mikec.
Anwarboy11
2009-11-17, 16:26
Anwarboy
many thanks for this thread I have added this info to the Games wiki page here
http://wiki.maemo.org/N900_Games
Mike C
Thanks for uploading to wiki :)
bartekxyz
2009-11-18, 14:44
has amiga 's uae been ported to ARM ?
UAE4All:) It's available on s60, gp2x and bunch of others ARM based devices. On my old trusty n95 it runs most of games @ 25fps without sound. Sound emulations takes away like 5-7fps.
Anwarboy11
2009-11-18, 19:07
:) any new info let me know!
maven1975
2009-11-19, 06:22
New demo of EMU's. Classic Gaming!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQTBndY24L4
Anwarboy11
2009-11-20, 20:46
New demo of EMU's. Classic Gaming!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQTBndY24L4
pretty good vid from nokia
Fingers still crossed for MAME...
Jack6428
2009-11-21, 16:32
thanks for the topic, having it all in one and all...
Am I stupid that I can't figure out how to remap the controls in VGBA or is it not possible? The southpaw setup is killing me.
Anwarboy11
2009-11-21, 17:43
thanks for the topic, having it all in one and all...
No probs m8 :D
Fingers still crossed for MAME...
MAME is coming but i was hoping to port something newer than has been available in the past. I might do a MAME4All port while waiting for the official pandora support to be added for SDLMAME (by the maintainer). However, it would definitely be easier to wait because once the pandora target is complete it will be easy to get latest MAME on Maemo. It remains to be seen if it will have good enough performance, but the SDLMAME dev obviously thinks so (pandora and N900 being almost identical in hardware capabilities). It's not clear when that will happen, so i will spend some time on MAME4All to see how involved it will be to port.
iNES and Mastergear hang after launch for me :-(
N64!!!! Does anyone know when it will be available??
HangLoose
2009-11-24, 13:52
tried downloading the drnoksnes from the page and didnt work...
first i clicked in the install button, then the app manager was launched automatically and told me to add the repository. After that the progress bar "progressed" and in the end nothing...
Am I doing something wrong?
tried downloading the drnoksnes from the page and didnt work...
first i clicked in the install button, then the app manager was launched automatically and told me to add the repository. After that the progress bar "progressed" and in the end nothing...
Am I doing something wrong?
Which page and which device ?
Anwarboy11
2009-11-24, 16:00
N64!!!! Does anyone know when it will be available??
You can only download it when your on the n900
HangLoose
2009-11-24, 18:14
Which page and which device ?
This one:
http://maemo.org/downloads/product/OS2008/drnoksnes/
What am i doing wrong?
This one:
http://maemo.org/downloads/product/OS2008/drnoksnes/
What am i doing wrong?
That's for Maemo4 (N800/N810), don't work under Maemo5 (N900) :)
HangLoose
2009-11-24, 18:27
But how come in nokia videos they show the n900 playing with the same emulator?
But how come in nokia videos they show the n900 playing with the same emulator?
Because the emulator is in Maemo5 Extras-devel repository: http://maemo.org/packages/view/drnoksnes/
Warning: Read this first: http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=32676&highlight=extras+warning
HangLoose
2009-11-24, 18:31
Obrigado. :)
Because javispedro has a development version in extras-devel. But that's not what you tried to install...
Oops too slow. :D
HangLoose
2009-11-24, 18:35
And btw, are you guys trying the extras?
I am afraid of trying since I use the phone not just for fun but I require it to call many people during the day (including using skype... :D its great!)
And btw, are you guys trying the extras?
I am afraid of trying since I use the phone not just for fun but I require it to call many people during the day (including using skype... :D its great!)
If you enable the repository and just install the emulator and then disable it again, you should be safe. I've been using the emulator without any problem.
/me blames Javispedro for not promote it :p
I will be when i have an N900....
For now, i'm just using the SDK.
HangLoose
2009-11-24, 19:17
Thanks for the help i got it working...
Made a mistake of showing to the wife, now she wants the same phone :P
Btw, do you guys recommend other software in the devel (that has been working okay) that wont explode my phone? I really am spending a lot of time organizing everything and I dont want to reflash it...
thanks
<blatant_plug>Yeah, check out UQM: http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=1506
http://maemo.org/packages/package_instance/view/fremantle_extras-testing_free_armel/uqm/0.6.7-0maemo/
There's even a network combat option so you can be pwned by your wife...
Then, go report on the testing page so it can show up in extras...</blatant_plug>
HangLoose
2009-11-24, 19:55
hehe thanks for the tip man :) ill try that out...
After grabbing the available versions of the emus, I had to grab the extras-devel versions. the southpaw control scheme of vgba and ines were killing me!
Props to the devs things are really shaping up!
After grabbing the available versions of the emus, I had to grab the extras-devel versions. the southpaw control scheme of vgba and ines were killing me!
Props to the devs things are really shaping up!
You can also contribute testing&voting these apps, in order to make them available for other users via Extras:
http://maemo.org/packages/package_instance/view/fremantle_extras-testing_non-free_armel/ines/3.6.7-1/
http://maemo.org/packages/package_instance/view/fremantle_extras-testing_non-free_armel/vgb/3.5.4-1/
HangLoose
2009-11-25, 17:28
hm.. snes and genesis are more much kind of oldies... (and atari of course)
any idea if Dgen is going to be ported?
gosh i would love a genesis emulator. I really want to play Shining Force for some reason =s
HangLoose
2009-11-27, 07:14
road rash, toe jam & earl, jungle strike... ;)
Mhh n1 to see the emulators for vba and so on removed!
LOL they removed all gameboy emulators! WHY DAT
Anwarboy11
2009-11-29, 12:03
Mhh n1 to see the emulators for vba and so on removed!
LOL they removed all gameboy emulators! WHY DAT
read first post on this thread, ive said why
It would be nice if you could upload your batchfile to rapidshare, because megaupload never works for me!
Thank you Anwarboy11
Best Regards
Neo
Rushmore
2009-11-29, 18:09
Heck I can not even get iNes, VGB, VGBA or he Sega emu's to work. All exit out when trying to access the menu or launch a rom.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NPEBODE2
Note: I have just uploaded the file so it may be a while before megaupload lets you download.[/B]
how long would it take before you are able to download the file from megaplaud?
Anwarboy11
2009-11-29, 18:55
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NPEBODE2
Note: I have just uploaded the file so it may be a while before megaupload lets you download.[/B]
how long would it take before you are able to download the file from megaplaud?
i really don't know, check back tomorrow
i“ve set up a temporary repository for nintendo emulators - check this post (http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=399461&postcount=30) for more information :)
Rushmore
2009-11-29, 22:00
The VGB, VGBA and Sega ones are in desperate need of fit to screen scaling options. VGB is a postage stamp. I still have a GBA so I can play Cannon Fodder, Mario Golf, Mario Tennis and Project S11 :)
Update:
Already there! Press ctrl + enter and the emu's scale to screen.
what about psx games? is it possible to emulate them?^^
Anwarboy11
2009-11-30, 21:51
what about psx games? is it possible to emulate them?^^
Not that i know of, as soon as i find out anything i will update this thread so keep checking back
thx for your work here :) ill keep up checking this thread^^
The VGB, VGBA and Sega ones are in desperate need of fit to screen scaling options.
Never had a screen-sizing issue with anything I've loaded into VGBA. Which game(s) in particular do you have issues with?
Anwarboy11
2009-11-30, 22:02
thx for your work here :) ill keep up checking this thread^^
:D your welcome
Rushmore
2009-11-30, 22:07
Never had a screen-sizing issue with anything I've loaded into VGBA. Which game(s) in particular do you have issues with?
I did not know that you press ctrl + enter to get the emu's to scale to the screen. Much better now:)
Anwarboy11
2009-11-30, 22:58
I did not know that you press ctrl + enter to get the emu's to scale to the screen. Much better now:)
I'm so jealous that you have your n900 and are playing retro :mad:
Have you tried out the emulators with wii control and video out yet?
Rushmore
2009-12-01, 13:29
I'm so jealous that you have your n900 and are playing retro :mad:
Have you tried out the emulators with wii control and video out yet?
Not yet. I already have a Dingoo that plays great from composite output and already has a very good gamepad set-up. Best $85 I ever spent. Even plays NeoGeo games like Metal Slug 5 smooth with sound. I think the N900 would play NeoGeo even better, but we of course need MAME and the other arcade emulators to find out.
I still think the keyboard is an issue, just like the Droid was, since unless you want non-intuitive orientation of keys, you have to skip over a key to go left and right. This is the kiss of death for games that require fast directional change. G1 keyboard was weak, but was orientated better for games and has a little space between keys.
fiendskillz
2009-12-02, 06:00
when i install the snes emulator, it says its missing something? i used that link that guy posted from the repository.
ok dumb question but i copy the files in the download (from OP) but i cant install them what am i doing wrong do i use the application manager to install them or what im so lost
p.s sorry for being a noob
I'm so jealous that you have your n900 and are playing retro :mad:
Have you tried out the emulators with wii control and video out yet?
Playing any game using the wiimote on the N900 is *terrible*. There's random lags all over the place so there's no way you can play anything that requires precision. RPGs would be fine... ironically, the Mario games are utter hell thanks to the Wiimote lag.
11/(14-17)/09
2009-12-02, 13:41
Good to know zero. Anyone have a perspective on ps3 remote, or that little zeemote thing, or any other game controllers?
Am I the only one who sees the GBA emulator crash often?
Whenever I play advance wars, the emulator will freeze up every time a commander use a special power or if any other fast graphic animation happens.
The battle animations are Slooooow, but stable. I can live with that, but the special attack power animations crash the emulator every time...
PS3 remote does not work as it needs to be paired over usb, so would require usb host and some coding to get it supported.
munky261
2009-12-03, 09:23
I just had to reflash my N810 and drnoksnes and ines wont install from the debs, says dependancies are missing. Anyone got any ideas?
Install the dependencies. It's what the application manager does automatically from repositories and why it's recommended to only install apps that way.
kkhitzat
2009-12-03, 15:47
Hi everyone,
I downloaded the mastergear emulator and it works great but i have two problems, i can't find how to get a custom key configuration, and the screen should be that small??
Is there a way to get it bigger??
Pease, someone can help me?
Thanks!
Any news on the Nintendo issue ?
munky261
2009-12-03, 19:12
Here is a screenshot of the errors its giving. What repositories have these missing dependancies?
Rushmore
2009-12-03, 19:50
Hi everyone,
I downloaded the mastergear emulator and it works great but i have two problems, i can't find how to get a custom key configuration, and the screen should be that small??
Is there a way to get it bigger??
Pease, someone can help me?
Thanks!
crtl + enter works for all current emus
epson800
2009-12-06, 10:31
PS3 remote does not work as it needs to be paired over usb, so would require usb host and some coding to get it supported.
can't we use a usb to miniusb and direct connect to the n900? or just hack a cord?
also are you sure a usb is needed at all to pair? i believe all that is required is to get it "unpaired" with the ps3 first?? altho now that i think about it im not sure if thats possible
MonkeyMagic
2009-12-06, 10:58
can't we use a usb to miniusb and direct connect to the n900? or just hack a cord?
There is no usb host feature on n900 unfortunately
epson800
2009-12-06, 11:13
There is no usb host feature on n900 unfortunately
http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/16/dtechs-bt0032-bluetooth-3-port-usb-hub/
:) now it does
http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/16/dtechs-bt0032-bluetooth-3-port-usb-hub/
:) now it does
This is a USB dongle that adds a 3 port USB hub and bluetooth to the laptop. If you go look at the USB Host Mode Thread, there's one part where it goes into searching for the holy grail Bluetooth to USB adapter, but thus far, it doesn't seem to exist.
Dr-Rossi-46
2009-12-07, 19:58
Hi everyone,
i can't find how to get a custom key configuration
me too!! help please can't play serveral games because i have the qwertz keyboard....
out of interest when are these emulators going to be moved out of devals?
is there a wiki for newbies on how to install and use these emulators ? I installed Mastergear...but I have no idea, where I put the roms.
Dr-Rossi-46
2009-12-08, 14:52
you can put the roms in every folder you want to! you only have to find it later in the mastergear!(srry for my english)
SNES emulator would be nice, is that one almost ready out of development?
me too!! help please can't play serveral games because i have the qwertz keyboard....
You can change the łapping of your keyboard
Steting ---> Text input ---> Hardware keyboard layout then choice English to have QWERTY keyboard
munky261
2009-12-09, 00:47
Drnoksnes plays perfectly. I havent ran across a game it has any problems with.
Drnoksnes plays perfectly. I havent ran across a game it has any problems with.
It doesn't seem to like Soul Blazer :mad:
Lazarpandar
2009-12-09, 05:38
Drnoksnes plays perfectly. I havent ran across a game it has any problems with.
Please tell me you can say the same for VGBA!
Is it possible to have a full screen for the Master gear emulator ?
munky261
2009-12-10, 14:44
I dont use vgba, so I couldnt tell you...sorry.
where does one find games for the mastergear emu?
Rushmore
2009-12-10, 15:14
The current emulators are appreciated, but very limited in function. No diagonal mapping is fine if you have a d-pad or keys that are arranged for two key presses of up, down, left and right, but not for the KB on the N900.
The game emulators are weak compared to Android: No zip support, less options, no diagonal mapping, slower performance, weak audio and much lower game compatability. This is compared to the G1, since Droid is on another level of game goodness.
BUT, both devices suck compared to just about everything else compared to the N900. I have a Dingoo, DS and PSP for gaming anyways. Heck, I can use the emulators on the G1 too:). G1 is now a gaming system for me and back-up phone.
I sure hope the Pandora emulators get ported, but I think they do not have diagonal mapping options either- Pandora has a d-pad. At least there is zip support and more games apparently work:)
Wild that the G1 plays games better than the N900- just shows the actual emulator needs to leverage the chipset.
does anyone know where I can get games for mastergear so I can test it
I did a little searching for emus that are feature complete and open source, there seem to be a number of them. The issue is lack of developer(s) to take on the project. I'll try and compile a list later if I can, there is a ton of out of date info/abandoned projects to sift through. Might have to be this weekend as my laptop decided to stop booting yesterday. Using N900 only now, lol. Pretty awesome.
I totally appreciate Marat's work, which he is releasing on maemo for free. I took a quick look at his site it seems his emus are closed source as he is selling them on other platforms. He posts here maybe he can shed some light on his plans for his emus on maemo.
He also has a ton of developer info for emulation compiled on his site. Great resource!
As for diagonals, it seems like you can overlay onscreen controls for his emus (mastergear/ines at least). Somewhat limiting, but works ok if you need diagonals and use the Kb for buttons.
does anyone know where I can get games for mastergear so I can test it
Try typing 'game gear roms' into google...
Just want to say that if you need diagonal keys in drnoksnes you could press for example both up and left to get the diagonal up-left. Useful for slow-paced games mostly I guess.
Tovalisa
2009-12-13, 18:31
does anyone know where the emulators for n900 are or why they removed them?
squirreluk
2009-12-13, 19:50
ok i need some help. i have this master gear emulator, i belive it plays master system and game gear roms, when i try game gear roms nothing happens and when i try master system roms i get a debugger screen.
Just want to say that if you need diagonal keys in drnoksnes you could press for example both up and left to get the diagonal up-left. Useful for slow-paced games mostly I guess.
Tell that the people without dedicated up/down key's here in europe ;)
I hope every Emu allows remapping to wasd or something else.
i hope this too @ youNit
i was happy to see all these Emus running at the n900 but with the "german" keyboard layout its terrible to play the games i guess.
i hope there will be soon a little patch just to change the keyboard layout so the arrow keys working properly without to change the whole keyboard layout..
i guess this sould be easy for a maemo programmer to build a new german layout where the arrow keys working the right way..
hopefully crown77
My only issue with emulators is that they seem to drain the battery very fast!
1hr of VGBA brings my battery usually to 50%!
I am wondering does anyone else notice similar battery drainage?
It really gets frustrating because my baby n900 usually lasts a full day with medium to heavy usage but as soon as i turn on my emu's it just drains very fast!
mr2600
My only issue with emulators is that they seem to drain the battery very fast!
1hr of VGBA brings my battery usually to 50%!
I am wondering does anyone else notice similar battery drainage?
It really gets frustrating because my baby n900 usually lasts a full day with medium to heavy usage but as soon as i turn on my emu's it just drains very fast!
mr2600
Hmm...that's not good, maybe they haven't been optimized well enough. What version of vgba do you have?
I can't find the Wii control drivers for the N900 in the repository.
Any suggestions?
Eikido
For drnoksnes I could easily change keys. For gba I didn't find a way
drnoksnes is really good, saves states automatically for each game. Really addictive playing civilization :)
i hope this too @ youNit
i was happy to see all these Emus running at the n900 but with the "german" keyboard layout its terrible to play the games i guess.
i hope there will be soon a little patch just to change the keyboard layout so the arrow keys working properly without to change the whole keyboard layout..
i guess this sould be easy for a maemo programmer to build a new german layout where the arrow keys working the right way..
hopefully crown77
Depending on the upstream source, it may not be possible to make all the different localized "up" and "down" keys act as they should without rewriting a lot of code. Fortunately, most emulators let you redefine all the controls. This is a Nokia design problem; we can hope they have enough sense to put four rows on the next thumbboard device so that everyone can have up and down arrows.
My only issue with emulators is that they seem to drain the battery very fast!
1hr of VGBA brings my battery usually to 50%!
I am wondering does anyone else notice similar battery drainage?
It really gets frustrating because my baby n900 usually lasts a full day with medium to heavy usage but as soon as i turn on my emu's it just drains very fast!
mr2600
The problem is that the processor is running "full time" (as with any game) and furthermore has to emulate some other general computational system (one that can run any of a number of different games). This makes it more demanding computationally and harder to optimize. That does sound like a pretty poorly-optimized GBA emulator, though. I don't know anything about the program, but look for an option to cap the framerate.
MAME News
The most recent upstream release of SDLMAME is on the autobuilder. It may or may not build properly (worked in the armel target of the SDK) and should be considered alpha quality if it does. It is optified, which is good considering the lone binary is 35 MB. :O This is just an initial test build which might be used for profiling (i suspect i need to change some build flags for that though.)
This seems to be as good a place as any to mention this developer release. Those who are familiar with the risks of extras-devel (which are legion) are welcome to see if it even runs on the N900 and try some performance testing to see where it needs the most work. Performance in the SDK for the x86 build was...glacial. ROMs go in /opt/sdlmame/roms. Any (development-related) comments could be made in the discussion of the port i started on the sdlmame forum: http://www.bannister.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=57157
spinnukur
2009-12-17, 03:07
Nm, got it but how do I install it now via the download I just did?
Rushmore
2009-12-19, 18:07
Installs fine, but when you run the app it opens for an instant and then closes.
Will be cool when it is working:)
Rushmore
2009-12-19, 18:10
Depending on the upstream source, it may not be possible to make all the different localized "up" and "down" keys act as they should without rewriting a lot of code. Fortunately, most emulators let you redefine all the controls. This is a Nokia design problem; we can hope they have enough sense to put four rows on the next thumbboard device so that everyone can have up and down arrows.
The problem is that the processor is running "full time" (as with any game) and furthermore has to emulate some other general computational system (one that can run any of a number of different games). This makes it more demanding computationally and harder to optimize. That does sound like a pretty poorly-optimized GBA emulator, though. I don't know anything about the program, but look for an option to cap the framerate.
MAME News
The most recent upstream release of SDLMAME is on the autobuilder. It may or may not build properly (worked in the armel target of the SDK) and should be considered alpha quality if it does. It is optified, which is good considering the lone binary is 35 MB. :O This is just an initial test build which might be used for profiling (i suspect i need to change some build flags for that though.)
This seems to be as good a place as any to mention this developer release. Those who are familiar with the risks of extras-devel (which are legion) are welcome to see if it even runs on the N900 and try some performance testing to see where it needs the most work. Performance in the SDK for the x86 build was...glacial. ROMs go in /opt/sdlmame/roms. Any (development-related) comments could be made in the discussion of the port i started on the sdlmame forum: http://www.bannister.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=57157
MAME runs great with sound for hundreds of games on the G1 and especially Droid, so the N900 should be at least as good as Droid, since same 3430 and less OS overhead compared to Android.
bmouring
2009-12-22, 19:56
Running SDLMAME 0.135u2-0maemo1, have one zip'd rom (1943.zip, works on the other versions/platforms of MAME I've tried), running it nets a window that auto-closes with "Loading Complete" (I believe, it disappears quickly) centered. Running with verbose option nets the following:
/home/opt/sdlmame $ DISPLAY=:0 ./mame -v
Unexpected option gl_lib queried
Setting SDL_VIDEO_GL_DRIVER = '' ...
Build version: 0.135u2 (Dec 18 2009)
Build architecure: SDLMAME_ARCH=
Build defines 1: SDLMAME_UNIX=1 SDLMAME_X11=1 SDLMAME_LINUX=1 SDLMAME_NOASM=1
Build defines 1: LSB_FIRST=1 NDEBUG=1 DISTRO=generic SYNC_IMPLEMENTATION=tc
SDL/OpenGL defines: SDL_COMPILEDVERSION=1212 USE_OPENGL=0
Compiler defines A: __GNUC__=4 __GNUC_MINOR__=2 __GNUC_PATCHLEVEL__=1 __VERSION__="4.2.1"
Compiler defines B: __unix__=1
Compiler defines C: __USE_FORTIFY_LEVEL=0
SDL Device Driver : x11
SDL Monitor Dimensions: 800 x 480
Using SDL single-window soft driver (SDL 1.2)
Keyboard: Start initialization
Input: Adding Kbd #1: System keyboard
Keyboard: Registered System keyboard
Keyboard: End initialization
Mouse: Start initialization
Input: Adding Mouse #1: System mouse
Mouse: Registered System mouse
Mouse: End initialization
Joystick: Start initialization
Joystick: End initialization
Audio initialized - driver: pulse, frequency: 48000, channels: 2, samples: 512
sdl_create_buffers: creating stream buffer of 57344 bytes
ouput: opened output notifier file /tmp/sdlmame_out
Illegal instruction
Contents of the sdlmame_out file:
MAME 4864 START empty
I may give this a closer look when I get a bit of time over the winter break.
any word on a Genesis emulator ?
2disbetter
2009-12-22, 22:04
any word on a Genesis emulator ?
Check the repos, MasterGear has been in extras for a while now.
2d
TheLongshot
2009-12-22, 22:15
Check the repos, MasterGear has been in extras for a while now.
2d
Wrong generation. MasterGear is a Sega Master System/GameGear emulator.
Check the repos, MasterGear has been in extras for a while now.
2d
MasterGear is an emulator of Master System, (8-bit system from Sega) while Genesis/Mega Drive was the 16-bit gaming system from Sega.
8-bit
Sega: Master System
Nintendo: NES
16-bit
Sega: Genesis/Mega Drive
Nintendo: SNES
2disbetter
2009-12-22, 22:39
MasterGear is an emulator of Master System, (8-bit system from Sega) while Genesis/Mega Drive was the 16-bit gaming system from Sega.
8-bit
Sega: Master System
Nintendo: NES
16-bit
Sega: Genesis/Mega Drive
Nintendo: SNES
WHICH probably explains why I can't get any of my (16bit) roms to work with it.
Thanks for correcting/educating me.
2d
Running SDLMAME 0.135u2-0maemo1, have one zip'd rom (1943.zip, works on the other versions/platforms of MAME I've tried), running it nets a window that auto-closes with "Loading Complete" (I believe, it disappears quickly) centered. Running with verbose option nets the following:
Contents of the sdlmame_out file:
MAME 4864 START empty
I may give this a closer look when I get a bit of time over the winter break.
Thanks for giving it a try. I have a question: is the ROM for the late version MAME or one of the ancient versions that usually make their way into the highly optimized derivatives? The ROMs aren't universally compatible.
The compiler threw all kinds of warnings with the default optimization flag in armel build so don't waste too much time troubleshooting. Trying another known good ROM for MAME 0.135 would be a good idea though, especially one that uses a different processor emulator.
I'll push a version with -O0 to the autobuilder so we have a baseline. I'm sure it will be too slow but it will be useful for diagnosis.
Rushmore
2009-12-23, 01:05
Thanks for giving it a try. I have a question: is the ROM for the late version MAME or one of the ancient versions that usually make their way into the highly optimized derivatives? The ROMs aren't universally compatible.
The compiler threw all kinds of warnings with the default optimization flag in armel build so don't waste too much time troubleshooting. Trying another known good ROM for MAME 0.135 would be a good idea though, especially one that uses a different processor emulator.
I'll push a version with -O0 to the autobuilder so we have a baseline. I'm sure it will be too slow but it will be useful for diagnosis.
I have verified sets, since Mame4all requires 34/35b roms. They work fine on the Dell Axim, Dingoo, PSP, Droid and G1. All use the same set.
Some play better than others, with G1 and Droid being the best.
bmouring
2009-12-23, 04:54
Thanks for giving it a try. I have a question: is the ROM for the late version MAME or one of the ancient versions that usually make their way into the highly optimized derivatives? The ROMs aren't universally compatible.
The compiler threw all kinds of warnings with the default optimization flag in armel build so don't waste too much time troubleshooting. Trying another known good ROM for MAME 0.135 would be a good idea though, especially one that uses a different processor emulator.
I'll push a version with -O0 to the autobuilder so we have a baseline. I'm sure it will be too slow but it will be useful for diagnosis.
Just checking, but even wit no ROMs in the /opt/sdlmame/roms/ directory, shouldn't it open up and just have nothing to run? I ask since this failure occurs before I even have a chance to run the ROM. I'll still give some of my other ROMs a try, and grab a 34/35b ROM if I don't already have one.
I have verified sets, since Mame4all requires 34/35b roms. They work fine on the Dell Axim, Dingoo, PSP, Droid and G1. All use the same set.
Some play better than others, with G1 and Droid being the best.
As i said, this is the latest version of MAME (0.135uX). ROMs intended for 0.35 from years ago are really not likely to work properly with it.
bmouring: sounds like it's probably a problem with the compiler optimizations then. Don't sweat testing with another ROM; i'll push the unoptimized package to the autobuilder when i get back to my dev box on Christmas. Then test. :)
An update on SDLMAME: i'm getting the "Bad instruction" error, even with the unoptimized binary, so the upstream source isn't ready for armel yet. I feel a lot of packing of structs and aligning of arrays coming on...
Rushmore
2009-12-28, 05:22
As i said, this is the latest version of MAME (0.135uX). ROMs intended for 0.35 from years ago are really not likely to work properly with it.
bmouring: sounds like it's probably a problem with the compiler optimizations then. Don't sweat testing with another ROM; i'll push the unoptimized package to the autobuilder when i get back to my dev box on Christmas. Then test. :)
Sorry- had MAME4ALL stuck in my brain. I am used to 34b/35 romsets being the files ran on portables. I have 135 too, but the set is HUGE. 20gb plus huge. Of course, a lot of those are hard drive games or games like Dead or Alive that run slow on Atom netbook cpus and mobile core duos. Take up too much space as well (HD games do).
No problem though, since MAME can be sorted by CPU and you can then pick out games that should work fine. Neo Geo also plays smooth with sound on the DS, Droid and PSP, so the N900 should be good for em'.
A lot of great CPS2 and Cave games play very well on Droid and the PSP, so MAME should find a happy home on the N900:)
does anybody know if its possible to change the controls at vgb and vgba?
i got the qwertz keyboard and the arrow keys there suck for gaming...
heeelp plz :D
Rushmore
2009-12-28, 19:39
Just checking, but even wit no ROMs in the /opt/sdlmame/roms/ directory, shouldn't it open up and just have nothing to run? I ask since this failure occurs before I even have a chance to run the ROM. I'll still give some of my other ROMs a try, and grab a 34/35b ROM if I don't already have one.
How do you access that directory or put roms in it? Do you add the directory in storage mode?
Heman1310
2009-12-28, 23:53
Im not sure if this has been said before, but you can play gba games in full screen by holding ctrl and then enter.
Rushmore
2009-12-29, 05:36
does anybody know if its possible to change the controls at vgb and vgba?
i got the qwertz keyboard and the arrow keys there suck for gaming...
heeelp plz :D
The dev that kindly made the apps (almost all that work on the N900) posts on this forum, but the answer right now at least is "no". The SNES app is the only one that can be key mapped ATM.
Hellow :)
Atari ST emulation with Hatari emulator is now available in extra-devel :)
http://maemo.org/packages/view/hatari
http://maemo.org/packages/view/hatari-ui
http://maemo.org/packages/view/emutos-512k
Thanks to Eero Tamminen for this wonderful work :)
Atari ST Emulation thread : http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=27059
Thanks also to joksanen for this Youtube video :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_GcCgkH6xM&hd=1
Anwarboy11 : Can you change the status of Hatari on the first page of this thread ? Thanks :)
ldesnogu
2010-01-01, 11:52
An update on SDLMAME: i'm getting the "Bad instruction" error, even with the unoptimized binary, so the upstream source isn't ready for armel yet. I feel a lot of packing of structs and aligning of arrays coming on...
It turns out the problem indeed was alignment, but with a twist: it looks like the alignment fixup routine of the kernel isn't able to detect VFP/AdvSIMD instructions.
I have proposed a patch for SDLMAME here:
http://www.bannister.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=56686&page=5
It probably isn't enough, but I'm now blocked by my n900 that doesn't accept user inputs. I guess I need to understand how SDL and Maemo work together :)
imation_nz
2010-01-03, 02:47
Hi i have downloaded theses to my computer can anyone quickly tell me how to load them onto my n900?
And can i load them all?? and then just use my ROMS
1) Don't quote the whole huge friggen eye-searing post needlessly.
2) Use the repositories to install apps. Anwar needs to remove that link, it's a disservice. Here's an explanation. (http://wiki.maemo.org/Repository) Here (http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=439894&postcount=143) are instructions how to set up b-man's repository for the removed emus. You may brick your device or otherwise negatively affect it by doing this, as you are using some untested software.
3) You can legally use ROMs to games that you own. To illegally acquire others, don't ask here. Please.
SDLMAME News
Thanks to the excellent detective work by LDESNOGU, my current dev build of SDLMAME works. Sound is distorted and speed is too slow to be useful, but it's progress. More news when i have something to report.
imation_nz
2010-01-03, 03:09
Thanks sorry i have fixed post :)
O.k so do you think theses will go back into the extras once testing has been done or have theses been fully removed?
So you do not recommend using theses at the moment?
SDLMAME News
Thanks to the excellent detective work by LDESNOGU, my current dev build of SDLMAME works. Sound is distorted and speed is too slow to be useful, but it's progress. More news when i have something to report.[/QUOTE]
Great stuff! Maybe you could try Pac Man or other simpler targets for emulation. Pac Man uses just Z80 3MHz and some Namco sound chip so it should run full speed.
mas5acre
2010-01-03, 22:36
There's a new emulator being worked on for cps/cps2.
hmmm....haven't got an n900 yet D: ...but will get one sometime in the future...couldn't help but recognize the "need for diagonals" issue...i have a solution...why not bother the producers to implement macro's into the emulators. For those who don't know what a macro is, it is the option to assign a multitude of commands to one button press, for example you could assign the command down, forward, X to the enter key (for those familiar with street fighter pressing the enter key would then result in a hadouken from ryu)...because n900 has a qwerty keypad this feature would be extremely useful, think about it, you'd be able to set your own diagonals with this feature. The macro feature is already implemented in the kawaks emulator on windows.
Another useful feature would be the ability to save and load key configurations in seperate .ini files, and have them 'automatically' or 'conveniently' loaded for an assigned rom when it starts.
Is there any way to load a save file from VisualBoyAdvance? I have game saves from ages ago from there that I wanna bring over to the N900 and play again but it didn't work for me.
Waoh, the Emulators are back in the repository!
Which repo are they in? I can't find them in Testing :-(
Which repo are they in? I can't find them in Testing :-(
Some already landed in Extras, others are in -testing.
Is it possible to have the front page updated?
Is it possible to have the front page updated?
The front page is only updated with fresh apps that have screenshots, currently the emus doesn't have yet.
Anwarboy11
2010-01-07, 13:03
The front page is only updated with fresh apps that have screenshots, currently the emus doesn't have yet.
You speak the truth :)
Cool thanks for the Update.
Done a quick install and test of the VGBA and VGB emu's
they seem to work great good to have them back.
Only thing I noticed is that sometimes when I try and close I get a freeze then the "...is not responding would you like to close?"
but the games play fine and I'm happy :-)
I know have the following:
Mastergear - Not working (never managed to get this working)
VGBA - Working
VGB - Working
DOSBOX - Installed but haven't tested yet.
Anwarboy11
2010-01-07, 13:28
Updated thread
sinetype
2010-01-07, 14:21
I'm unable to acces the application through the app manager on the device... It keep searching for updates for minutes...
Anyone having the same problem?
Cool thanks for the Update.
Done a quick install and test of the VGBA and VGB emu's
they seem to work great good to have them back.
Only thing I noticed is that sometimes when I try and close I get a freeze then the "...is not responding would you like to close?"
but the games play fine and I'm happy :-)
I know have the following:
Mastergear - Not working (never managed to get this working)
VGBA - Working
VGB - Working
DOSBOX - Installed but haven't tested yet.
Can you describe your problem with the MasterGear emulator ?
PSX
Nintendo DS
and Playstation 2
wouldnt be possible to play in the foture on n900
believe me :/
PSX
Nintendo DS
and Playstation 2
wouldnt be possible to play in the foture on n900
believe me :/
Well, PSX seems possible at least: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUdRFapNLDI
naw, much too slow
Under development/not ready yet
woodyear99
2010-01-07, 16:23
On all the emulators available for the n900 can yall recommend games that work well using only the touch screen? When playin games on the go it is a hassle at times to use the keyboard.
On all the emulators available for the n900 can yall recommend games that work well using only the touch screen? When playin games on the go it is a hassle at times to use the keyboard.
The scummvm uses touchscreen,
there games like monkey island 3 or something
Original post was ok as a summary, but discussing individual emulators here is a TERRIBLE IDEA.
1 star.
oldpmaguy
2010-01-08, 02:42
Can someone give help concerning where to place roms to make them accessible to the emulators? I have no idea even where to begin. Thanks much.
Ed.. Never mind. I had the Mass Storage still connected, and it seems like you need to disconnect before the N900 can find the files you added. I just put the roms into subfolders in My Documents, and it was easy to load them.
Superbly crafted ports of the emus, BTW. Now if I could just handle the keyboard better! Thanks to all coders.
Those are screenshots from my N900 of one of the first vector arcade games, Battlezone, and a game called Venture that later made its way to Atari and Coleco consoles and i lorved it.
So, in case it wasn't obvious from that post, or this one (http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=463472&postcount=28), i've uploaded a new SDLMAME package to -devel that is much more functional than the last.
It's still not ready for normal users, and i'm actually a bit worried it's damaging my speaker when i forget to turn off the sound, but this will be the last clandestine SDLMAME news: next time there's news, it will be official in a thread of its own and it will be a release that will be intended to go into Extras-testing.
Flandry, if u don't mind me asking, what's the default rompath?
Flandry, if u don't mind me asking, what's the default rompath?
It should find them in ~/roms, ~/MyDocs/roms, and mmc1/roms (that's on the microSD). Think that'll cover it? :) Other data goes in an appropriately-named subdirectory in one of those. For now all the paths are set in the sdlmame-start script in /opt/sdlmame.
If you do use it, please send me a message with any improvements you make in the settings or maps. A lot of making this ready for release is making sure controls are covered adequetely on this little keyboard and there are a lot of machines in there.
That's great, there's no shortage of tweaks, that's for sure! Keep up the good work :D
ViciousXUSMC
2010-01-11, 18:46
found drnoksnes on the normal repos today, downloaded it and gave it a test run with super bomber man. Works great but its so hard to navigate properly without a proper dpad! I died many times in frustration :D
So I have wiicontrol and the other one so that I should be able to pair my wiimote up to the N900 but i hardly see myself taking a wiimote with me when its bigger than the N900 itself, so guess its best to find games that only demand left/right movement like mario to play or take the time to learn an awkward dpad.
RPG like final fantasy 3 or chrono trigger would be good too since there is no need for fast reflexes. Zelda and Secret of Mana are out the door though.
Rushmore
2010-01-11, 19:02
Thanks for the update, Flandry!!!!
Seeing Venture brought tears too my eyes. Any way of allowing all MAME files to be on the SD card? The less us noobs have to full with Xterminal, the better for everyone ;)
A few games to see how well the port is going are:
1. Galaga
2. DIg Dug
3. Gorf
4. Vulgus
5. Xevious
6. Metal Slug (Neo Geo)
7. Ghosts n Goblins
8. Varth
9. Three Wonders
10. Snow Brothers
11. Star Castle
All of these games have their own qwirks as far as emulation, but cover a good scope of mame platforms to emulate for a portable device. If these play smooth with sound, the N900 has struck gold :)
Anunakin
2010-01-11, 19:25
Try it:
xmame.SDL -fullscreen -scale 2 ./ROMNAME.zip
Pablo Diablo
2010-01-11, 20:33
is it me or do most mame games not work? I`m getting an error saying. one or more rom file is missing...
I got some games to run but most dont
ViciousXUSMC
2010-01-11, 20:46
is it me or do most mame games not work? I`m getting an error saying. one or more rom file is missing...
I got some games to run but most dont
Thats probably an issue with your roms not the program, I would test them with MAME on your computer first to verify. As MAME is special compared to most other emulators it has a master rom that is consider the parent to several smaller children roms. The Parent is usually the main version or first one and the children the several updates or variations.
Chances are you have one of the children roms and are missing the needed parent rom for it to work.
I'll make a few follow-up comments for context and expectation management. I will probably wax philosophical. :)
Seeing Venture brought tears too my eyes.
When i played the console version, those hall monsters used to completely freak me out when they came into the room after too much delay. I don't get adrenaline like that these days even from Doom3 and its ilk. :D
Any way of allowing all MAME files to be on the SD card? The less us noobs have to full with Xterminal, the better for everyone ;)
The current settings look for the data files in three locations. Two of them can be seen by the built-in file manager (the media card and MyDocs). The app itself will stay where it's at. :P
A few games to see how well the port is going are:
1. Galaga
2. DIg Dug
3. Gorf
4. Vulgus
5. Xevious
6. Metal Slug (Neo Geo)
7. Ghosts n Goblins
...
All of these games have their own qwirks as far as emulation, but cover a good scope of mame platforms to emulate for a portable device. If these play smooth with sound, the N900 has struck gold :)
My main testing ROM is Ghosts 'n Goblins. In the brief trial run, Dig Dug seems to be emulated perfectly.
Philosophy of the SDLMAME Maemo port
The advantage of using the latest release of SDLMAME instead of an old MAME branch project like most mobile device port maintainers do is that all the improvements of the main upstream source go directly into the port for "free". In this case, there's an added bonus in that the SDLMAME maintainer has an interest in arm support for his own devices (which is why this port is possible right now). My intent is to just be a maintainer of the port, not a MAME developer. I don't have time to get fully into the MAME codebase, so this is a way to contribute to MAME and Maemo and possibly my own uses without a huge investment.
Similar to my reasons for using a modern MAME upstream source are my reasons for picking MAME itself. The good thing and bad thing about MAME is that it's a very thorough emulator. It's good because it means that if it emulates on any system it runs on, it should work on all of them. It's bad because it means there is more overhead than there would be if it had all kinds of speed hacks.
It's basically the stability and versatility vs. performance tradeoff common in the tech world. The N900 is a powerful enough system to run the ROM drivers i'm interested in seeing emulated without resorting to cheap hacks and custom projects, and future Maemo devices will only get better. Making a port that tracks the improvements in MAME and doesn't introduce hard-to-maintain device-specific changes will be a more useful contribution in the long run.
Expectations for SDLMAME on Maemo
All of that was basically an elaborate excuse to justify the minimal amount of changes to the upstream source i plan on making for this port. Besides the initial optified packaging that is done, getting the UI, config and keymaps into useful condition and any optimizations necessary to get reasonable performance on the old ROMs are the only other changes i plan on making.
And as for compatbility, if it is a pre-1990 ROM and works well in MAME on the PC, it should work well in this port when completed. That's my target.
Rushmore
2010-01-12, 04:25
I'll make a few follow-up comments for context and expectation management. I will probably wax philosophical. :)
When i played the console version, those hall monsters used to completely freak me out when they came into the room after too much delay. I don't get adrenaline like that these days even from Doom3 and its ilk. :D
The current settings look for the data files in three locations. Two of them can be seen by the built-in file manager (the media card and MyDocs). The app itself will stay where it's at. :P
My main testing ROM is Ghosts 'n Goblins. In the brief trial run, Dig Dug seems to be emulated perfectly.
Philosophy of the SDLMAME Maemo port
The advantage of using the latest release of SDLMAME instead of an old MAME branch project like most mobile device port maintainers do is that all the improvements of the main upstream source go directly into the port for "free". In this case, there's an added bonus in that the SDLMAME maintainer has an interest in arm support for his own devices (which is why this port is possible right now). My intent is to just be a maintainer of the port, not a MAME developer. I don't have time to get fully into the MAME codebase, so this is a way to contribute to MAME and Maemo and possibly my own uses without a huge investment.
Similar to my reasons for using a modern MAME upstream source are my reasons for picking MAME itself. The good thing and bad thing about MAME is that it's a very thorough emulator. It's good because it means that if it emulates on any system it runs on, it should work on all of them. It's bad because it means there is more overhead than there would be if it had all kinds of speed hacks.
It's basically the stability and versatility vs. performance tradeoff common in the tech world. The N900 is a powerful enough system to run the ROM drivers i'm interested in seeing emulated without resorting to cheap hacks and custom projects, and future Maemo devices will only get better. Making a port that tracks the improvements in MAME and doesn't introduce hard-to-maintain device-specific changes will be a more useful contribution in the long run.
Expectations for SDLMAME on Maemo
All of that was basically an elaborate excuse to justify the minimal amount of changes to the upstream source i plan on making for this port. Besides the initial optified packaging that is done, getting the UI, config and keymaps into useful condition and any optimizations necessary to get reasonable performance on the old ROMs are the only other changes i plan on making.
And as for compatbility, if it is a pre-1990 ROM and works well in MAME on the PC, it should work well in this port when completed. That's my target.
Major Kudos!
Every game I have tried has worked (MAME 135 set)! Some better than others, but games I would expect to work well- do.
For just getting started, you have done a great job!
One nice update down the road would be the ability to rotate the screen for shooters and other games with a long screen. Games like Vulgus are an example. BTW, that game works great!
Please let me know if you would like me to do a test list of some games and how they perform. If not, no problem. I look forward to your updates!!!!
You did a good job with scaling already and sound is pretty good. When this is optimized for the N900 it will kick some serious butt!
Between you and fms, N900 has a great outlook for old school gaming :)
And also kudos to the other game devs as well :)
Thanks for the update, Flandry!!!!
Seeing Venture brought tears too my eyes. Any way of allowing all MAME files to be on the SD card? The less us noobs have to full with Xterminal, the better for everyone ;)
A few games to see how well the port is going are:
1. Galaga
2. DIg Dug
3. Gorf
4. Vulgus
5. Xevious
6. Metal Slug (Neo Geo)
7. Ghosts n Goblins
8. Varth
9. Three Wonders
10. Snow Brothers
11. Star Castle
All of these games have their own qwirks as far as emulation, but cover a good scope of mame platforms to emulate for a portable device. If these play smooth with sound, the N900 has struck gold :)
Hi. i have to know where i must put the rom files. and wich rom version are compatible.
thank you very much.
ENFDO.
Rushmore
2010-01-12, 04:56
Create a directory called "roms" in either the internal media memory or microsd card and put the roms there.
Flandry,
One point of caution is that some bigger roms appear to lock the N900 up while they are loading. I tried King of Fighters 2003 and it locked up at 64 percent. Pulled the battery out to restart. Small price for progress :)
There are some free legal roms available from the MAME website which could possibly be part of the final installation ? Or an optional add-on pack?
I'd love to see Shinobi working, as well as Ghouls and Ghosts (I imagine both will be tough to play on the N900 keyboard though). Great games like Pipe Dreams and Puzzle Bobble would be perfect for the N900 though. The likes of 1943 would be perfect in portrait mode, and Gauntlet would be old school fun. Double Dragon will be difficult to control with the keyboard!
There are some free legal roms available from the MAME website which could possibly be part of the final installation ? Or an optional add-on pack?
Last i looked those are released only through the MAME website; they can't be distributed.
I hope to disable and remove the drivers for most unsupported ROMs. Ideally it would be an automated script that works by release date. If this can be done cleanly, as i think it can, it will also reduce the size of the binary and build time a lot.
mangamannn
2010-01-12, 13:47
Now have interest of matain ports of SDLMAME to maemo, what the interest in mantain ports of SDLMESS?
Hi everyone, I'm new here so bear with me!
I have downloaded emulators for Nintendo, Megadrive and Gameboy etc. How do you download the games to play. When I open these emulators it brings up a page to load a file?
I'm completely new to this and have no experience in Maemo whatsoever.
Thanks,
Pia
Well, you need to have actual game rom to play anything. Roms are under copyright so telling where to find those is not recommended.
Emulator is like a real Nintendo console, you need actual game to play anything.
find some home brew roms then stick them in folder on mass memory where you can find them easy
when you get pop up saying load file use arrow to navigate directory to find the folder you made.
its best to have a folder for each emulator
LordJuanlo
2010-01-12, 15:39
Thanks for this port Flandry, I love MAME and it's wonderful to have it on the N900
Anunakin
2010-01-12, 18:14
I compiled xmame 0.106 for N900 (No Tested, Working with qemu!):
http://maemo.vivaphp.net/fremantle/xmame_0.106_n900.deb
And for N800/N810 (Tested and Working):
http://maemo.vivaphp.net/pool/xmame_0.106_armel.deb
I think sdlmame so slow, then xmame... but there are game working on sdlmame and anothers on xmame...
Rushmore
2010-01-12, 19:06
I compiled xmame 0.106 for N900 (No Tested, Working with qemu!):
http://maemo.vivaphp.net/fremantle/xmame_0.106_n900.deb
And for N800/N810 (Tested and Working):
http://maemo.vivaphp.net/pool/xmame_0.106_armel.deb
I think sdlmame so slow, then xmame... but there are game working on sdlmame and anothers on xmame...
Thanks!
I will try this when I get home. SDLMAME does play almost every rom I have tried, but seems to be slow for about 60% of the games I tried. I was hoping it was an optimization issue. If not, it will be about equal to XMAME, since will end up being playable for about the same amount for games.
Still, 106 is way better than 034 / 35b that most use with portable devices ;)
Would be very cool if SDLMAME could be faster and I appreciate both of your efforts! Does XMAME have the same interface and game search as SDLMAME?
BTW, I appreciate that the N900 is not going to play all games perfectly. I mainly tried games that work on the DS (Neo Geo), PSP, G1 and Droid. The latter three play MAME 034b / 35 and Final Burn.
MAME 106 would cover a lot more games than work on those devices. MAME 135 playing smoothly would be Nirvana. Except 3D games of course, since most do not play well on my Q8200.
Anunakin
2010-01-12, 19:13
xmame 0.106 is same as Gentoo and Ubuntu PC distros...
I used this FLAGs for optimization...
#N8xx
CFLAGS = -O2 -mcpu=arm1136j-s -mtune=arm1136j-s -fomit-frame-pointer -fsigned-char -mfpu=vfp -mfloat-abi=softfp
#N900
CFLAGS = -O2 -mcpu=cortex-a8 -mtune=cortex-a8 -fomit-frame-pointer -fsigned-char -mfpu=neon -mfloat-abi=softfp
Rushmore
2010-01-12, 20:15
xmame 0.106 is same as Gentoo and Ubuntu PC distros...
I used this FLAGs for optimization...
#N8xx
CFLAGS = -O2 -mcpu=arm1136j-s -mtune=arm1136j-s -fomit-frame-pointer -fsigned-char -mfpu=vfp -mfloat-abi=softfp
#N900
CFLAGS = -O2 -mcpu=cortex-a8 -mtune=cortex-a8 -fomit-frame-pointer -fsigned-char -mfpu=neon -mfloat-abi=softfp
I appreciate the effort with 106!
The current version of SDLMAME on the N900 is very impressive for a young project. Hard to believe some of these games actually load up, yet alone play. I am finding more games that play smooth that I did not expect. The first time I have ever had an up to date MAME play on a device this size. Sure hope Flandry keeps up the great work on this.
The nice thing about MAME 135 is no need to hunt for a 106 set. I updated to 135, so hope the fallout is not too high ;)
Might need to go a Googlin' tonight.
Update on 135. Wow, earlier versions of Golden Tee Golf plays perfectly. Tons of potential here folks :)
I compiled xmame 0.106 for N900 (No Tested, Working with qemu!):
http://maemo.vivaphp.net/fremantle/xmame_0.106_n900.deb
And for N800/N810 (Tested and Working):
http://maemo.vivaphp.net/pool/xmame_0.106_armel.deb
I think sdlmame so slow, then xmame... but there are game working on sdlmame and anothers on xmame...
Hey! Big thanks for keeping us cheapo N8x0 users remembered with this release. :)
You rock Anunakin!
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/8896/screenshot2010011219391.png
Anyone else find it weird that the some of the images for these old arcades are bigger in byte size then the game itself?
Hey! Big thanks for keeping us cheapo N8x0 users remembered with this release. :)
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/8896/screenshot2010011219391.png
I've never tried uploading for Diablo. It's just never really occurred to me that it might work. You seem happy with Xmame but i'll try it with my other ports next time, ok?
Anyone else find it weird that the some of the images for these old arcades are bigger in byte size then the game itself?
It's a tribute to the extreme economy of programming back then (assembler and lots of hackish tricks). I'm just fine with gcc and bloated libraries thankyouverymuch.
xmame 0.106 is same as Gentoo and Ubuntu PC distros...
xmame stopped being maintained a while back at around that version. Originally, the plan was to restructure it. In the end, it was abandoned and sdlmame became the official replacement MAME port for non-windows systems.
I used this FLAGs for optimization...
#N900
CFLAGS = -O2 -mcpu=cortex-a8 -mtune=cortex-a8 -fomit-frame-pointer -fsigned-char -mfpu=neon -mfloat-abi=softfp
Interesting. That's quite a collection you got there. :D I get better performance with SDLMAME using just -O3, but -O3 with those fancy arch-specific flags gives a pretty consistent 1.5% increase in performance with my test ROM. Heh.
Being a complete noob, i am still discovering standard options to SDLMAME that improve performance much more drastically than optimizing routines or messing with compiler flags. I had completely overlooked the YUV overlay option that uses hardware acceleration to do scaling...d'oh. That wasn't a trivial improvement: it's about a 2.5x acceleration with the undemanding old test ROM. It took gng from ~35% to ~90% performance, so with frame dropping it's pretty well emulated now.
I also fixed the autosave in the new version--i think. It's still a dev release and will probably brick everyone's phone. You shouldn't install it. Don't come crying to me, or more importantly, to T.M.O. when you do anyway, and it does. :P
LordJuanlo
2010-01-13, 11:01
Wow, that's an awesome performance increase, I tried Wonder Boy a couple of days ago and it struggled a bit (but it was playable). I can't wait to try it again with the new version
Good work, I was hoping to get >100% with GNG, though. Maybe there is some parts still to optimize
LordJuanlo
2010-01-13, 11:30
Good work indeed!
Tried Wonder Boy again and the game runs *much* faster, at least twice than before, and graphics look smoother and filtered. Keep up the good work Flandry!!!
Anunakin
2010-01-13, 13:26
Flandry, I go try sdlmame on N810... but on my PC it is very slow if compares with xmame on PC...
I think cold be that params you told! :(
If you mean running in the SDK then it could be. I haven't tried running the x86 binary since i got it compiled for armel. All the parameters are in the start script so it's easy to change them if you want for testing.
If i completely misunderstood you then i'm sorry. My portugues isn't nearly as good as your english. :)
Anunakin
2010-01-13, 14:58
I tried sdlmame on Ubuntu and Gentoo Linux, out of scratchbox, and I see it so slow if compares with xMame... on N900 this can be good to use sdlmame, but on N8x0 ... I don't try!
Flandry, I dont have a N900 for tests, but I go give a chance for sdlmame on N8x0 ... can you send me you Makefile ou ./configure options and you loader script for N900 ?
I got some sources for a SDLPSX emulator, from a old project .... if I have some success on it... I put for public ...
Hi everyone, I'm new here so bear with me!
I have downloaded emulators for Nintendo, Megadrive and Gameboy etc. How do you download the games to play. When I open these emulators it brings up a page to load a file?
I'm completely new to this and have no experience in Maemo whatsoever.
Thanks,
Pia
You have to dump the contents of your original cartridge onto your N900/computer. Look on the official emulator sites to see how to do this.
Rushmore
2010-01-13, 16:14
Flandry, a few questions for your great efforts with SDLMAME:
1. Is .135u3-0maemo1 the newest version? That is what I have.
2. Any way to add framerate adjustment option and sound disable to the UI to go along with the current input options on the main screen?
3. Can the config file be accessed to adjust the framerate globally? I am thinking just 1 frame skipped (2 for some) will work wonders. I you can, how do we access this file and edit it?
4. Any chance of a screen rotate option?
I have tried MANY games and almost all work. Even the Metal Slugs and Golden Tee Golfs load up :) Great job!!!!!
Framerate option should help the performance of those games out big time.
Flandry, a few questions for your great efforts with SDLMAME:
1. Is .135u3-0maemo1 the newest version? That is what I have.
2. Any way to add framerate adjustment option and sound disable to the UI to go along with the current input options on the main screen?
3. Can the config file be accessed to adjust the framerate globally? I am thinking just 1 frame skipped (2 for some) will work wonders. I you can, how do we access this file and edit it?
4. Any chance of a screen rotate option?
I have tried MANY games and almost all work. Even the Metal Slugs and Golden Tee Golfs load up :) Great job!!!!!
Framerate option should help the performance of those games out big time.
I'm not really taking feature requests until i get it working well enough to bother with features. ;) Please wait until it has a thread of its own.
All of the configuration files are in .sdlmame/ in your home directory. There's also a script called sdlmame-start.sh in the app directory that has most of the flags. Currently it sets -autoframeskip, which will skip to keep at 100% speed as needed. Newest version is 0maemo3 i think. That's what the package page or app manager is for. :P
Rushmore
2010-01-13, 16:41
I'm not really taking feature requests until i get it working well enough to bother with features. ;) Please wait until it has a thread of its own.
All of the configuration files are in .sdlmame/ in your home directory. There's also a script called sdlmame-start.sh in the app directory that has most of the flags. Currently it sets -autoframeskip, which will skip to keep at 100% speed as needed. Newest version is 0maemo3 i think. That's what the package page or app manager is for. :P
Thanks for speedy response!
1. I appreciate your process and look forward to the new thread :)
2. I updated to the new Maemo FW and checked last night but no updates showed for MAME. Perhaps I need to uninstall so it finds it again? NEVERMIND. Just tried it and it is updating now. Thank you! I remember having a refresh error last night. That was the problem.
3. Since you have set to autoskip- that is even better :)
Look forward to your updates! I am a game nut and have MAME on Dingoo, Tmo Dash, PSP, N-Gage, Dell Axim, G1 and Droid (when I had one). Your emulator is the first I have ever seen that plays a current MAME version.
You ROCK! :)
UPDATE: Great job again! A noted speed improvement for all tried and even better on others with version 3. Playable games with good framerates just increased a bunch :)
Funny how all portable emulators have trouble with Galaga 88. I look forward to that game playing smooth on the N900 one day and agree with the 135 mameset approach. Easier to find roms and works with more games :)
I think my last post could have been worded a little better.
I meant to say that a .jpg screenshot image of an arcade game, in some cases, is actually bigger in byte size than the game/rom file itself.
To me, that just wobbles my brain on how that is even possible. :confused:
It's a tribute to the extreme economy of programming back then (assembler and lots of hackish tricks). I'm just fine with gcc and bloated libraries thankyouverymuch.
You might want to consider rewording what you said as well since I haven't a clue what the heck you're talking about here. :)
I've never tried uploading for Diablo. It's just never really occurred to me that it might work. You seem happy with Xmame but i'll try it with my other ports next time, ok?
So all I have to say is, "ok?" on this?
ok? :D
LordJuanlo
2010-01-14, 12:10
Anyone updated to new Maemo version?. It looks like there are graphics performance improvements and this could help SDLMame a bit
Anyone updated to new Maemo version?. It looks like there are graphics performance improvements and this could help SDLMame a bit
I wish i had thought to do a before and after benchmark. I was more concerned about it messing with oprofile and didn't think about it. It's sorta irrelevant because everyone is going to be updating sooner or later, but it would have been interestin to see. In any case it was a small change, if any at all.
Addison: Anunakin seems intent on compiling SDLMAME for diablo so ...
Rushmore: man, i think they have self-help groups for that. :D
LordJuanlo
2010-01-14, 15:09
I just updated Maemo, had to redownload my apps again including SDLMame (I used Nokia Updater on my PC). It doesn't feel faster in the only ROM that I have installed right now (Wonder Boy), it looks like those performance enhancements are small.
I just updated Maemo, had to redownload my apps again including SDLMame (I used Nokia Updater on my PC). It doesn't feel faster in the only ROM that I have installed right now (Wonder Boy), it looks like those performance enhancements are small.
Haha this is what i get for checking T.M.O before i'm awake. I thought you were talking about PR1.0.1 because i hadn't seen the announcement for PR1.1 yet. :D The enhancements to GL ES in PR1.1 aren't likely to have any effect on SDLMAME because it doesn't use GL ES, at least not yet. (I have yet to profile the app since discovering the YUV overlay option, so i don't know yet where the most benefit would be gained.)
LordJuanlo
2010-01-14, 16:20
Yeah, the 1.1 is what I was talking about hehe. Do you think SDLMAME would be faster using GL ES?.
I have tried some more games with different results:
- Bubble Bobble, works well and fast
- Ghost and Goblins, same, it works very well
- Shinobi (LOVE this game!!), lots of sound hiccups and it runs slow
Rushmore
2010-01-14, 17:24
Haha this is what i get for checking T.M.O before i'm awake. I thought you were talking about PR1.0.1 because i hadn't seen the announcement for PR1.1 yet. :D The enhancements to GL ES in PR1.1 aren't likely to have any effect on SDLMAME because it doesn't use GL ES, at least not yet. (I have yet to profile the app since discovering the YUV overlay option, so i don't know yet where the most benefit would be gained.)
I know you want this type of stuff when MAME gets it's own thread (when is that? ;) ) But here are some results since updating to your newest 0meamo3 version:
The following very brief sample play great amongst many more:
Mr Do
Dig Dug
Jungle King
Gaplus
Galaga
Pacman
Block
Vulgus
Side Pocket
Atari Tetris
Astro Force
Aurail
Bubble Bobble
Bomb Jack
Zaxxon
Cameltry
Aerofighters
DonDonPachi
Examples that do not play well:
1. Galaga 88
2. Pacmania
3. Galaxian
4. Most Neo Geo games
This must be a driver issue, since more complex games play well and Neo Geo games play well on the G1 and Droid (but only plays MAME 34b /35 and Final Burn). I have complete confidence based on Flandry's progress already that the N900 will have the best MAME experience of all current devices.
I have tried no HD based games, but all others I have tried work and I have tried several hundred so far. About 60% play well on the current build. For MAME 135, that is amazing progress so soon.
MAME 135 on a phone sized device. Wild in a good way :)
javispedro
2010-01-14, 17:39
Haha this is what i get for checking T.M.O before i'm awake. I thought you were talking about PR1.0.1 because i hadn't seen the announcement for PR1.1 yet. :D The enhancements to GL ES in PR1.1 aren't likely to have any effect on SDLMAME because it doesn't use GL ES, at least not yet.
The update will have quite an impact on fullscreen applications that were not setting the uncomposited flag, though.
Rushmore
2010-01-14, 18:03
The update will have quite an impact on fullscreen applications that were not setting the uncomposited flag, though.
I tried some from my list of MAME games that were not playing smooth and they still perform the same after update. Would have been great if it did help though. Still, Flandry is off to a great start!
Perhaps this flag issue is more for games made for the N900?
I tried some from my list of MAME games that were not playing smooth and they still perform the same after update. Would have been great if it did help though. Still, Flandry is off to a great start!
Perhaps this flag issue is more for games made for the N900?
I think he meant that not using the YUV overlay would be faster now than before. My knowledge of the ins-and-outs of different ways to actually scale and draw stuff to the screen is fairly limited, so I'm just grateful that those who prepared SDL and the other libraries built in good support for these kinds of things.
javispedro
2010-01-14, 21:39
I think he meant that not using the YUV overlay would be faster now than before. My knowledge of the ins-and-outs of different ways to actually scale and draw stuff to the screen is fairly limited, so I'm just grateful that those who prepared SDL and the other libraries built in good support for these kinds of things.
YUV SDL surfaces will most probably use Xv which as fast as you can get on the N900 (though some problems when multiple apps try to use it if I remember lcuk's words correctly).
Wow, do MAME emulated games have YUV data (really dunno about arcade machines)? Or is it just doing conversion?
Yeah good work Flandry, its coming along really well.
2 questions tho
1. when you bring up the frame skip option up on screen some roms say 2 partial updates and others say 3 partial updates what does this mean?
2. when playing r-type at first i was getting a jerky 60 / 62 % then after 2 mins of the rom running on demo the keyboard lit up and the rom ran at 97 / 100% speed, even with frame skip set at 0/10 it ran at a lovely smooth 82%.
what do you make of this?
Rushmore
2010-01-15, 01:19
Yeah good work Flandry, its coming along really well.
2 questions tho
1. when you bring up the frame skip option up on screen some roms say 2 partial updates and others say 3 partial updates what does this mean?
2. when playing r-type at first i was getting a jerky 60 / 62 % then after 2 mins of the rom running on demo the keyboard lit up and the rom ran at 97 / 100% speed, even with frame skip set at 0/10 it ran at a lovely smooth 82%.
what do you make of this?
How do you bring up the frame skip option? I have been using MAME since it just emulated the old Namco romsets and have not seen that error before.
javispedro: I suspect that with the small output resolution of a lot of old arcade machines, adding a conversion for hardware scaling was a fairly high priority for MAME, but i don't know any details.
1. when you bring up the frame skip option up on screen some roms say 2 partial updates and others say 3 partial updates what does this mean?I've not seen that before and any answer i'd give at this point would be a complete guess. :D
2. when playing r-type at first i was getting a jerky 60 / 62 % then after 2 mins of the rom running on demo the keyboard lit up and the rom ran at 97 / 100% speed, even with frame skip set at 0/10 it ran at a lovely smooth 82%.
what do you make of this?
Could it have been the media crawler running in the background? What happens if you run it now?
All applications are closed with just mame open. load r-type it runs at a jerky 40% then 30secs later it just kicks in 96% (it seems to coincide with the backlight going off then coming on just the 1st time only) and much smoother with perfect sound,this seems to be the only rom that does it, but i havnt tried them all since the update tho.
The partial update info comes under the fps and speed % top right of screen (@Rushmore - which you can get up and adjust by pressing the voume down button on the side of the phone) it didnt show before the latest update i'm sure of it and it doesnt do it on all roms.
Are you aware that when the emultor is running idle the back light and keyboard light constantly go off and on every 10 secs or so. but when playing (testing) no problems with the lights.
Anunakin
2010-01-15, 12:52
Flandry, I got sdlmame compiled for N8x0, and I removed Xinerama code... because on diablo it not compile with -lXinerama ....
Rushmore
2010-01-15, 15:55
Flandry,
What other improvements do you think you can do to make your already great early effort with MAME 135 even better?
I think you are on the brink of true greatness for gamers on the N900. Your MAME N900 efforts should become a thing of legend :)
I do not know details but I think OpenGL rendering is one main thing missing. Other than that are asm CPU cores for optimal performance but maybe not that significant as video side
oldpmaguy
2010-01-15, 16:59
Hi all,
Could someone point me to the download of this build of MAME everyone is discussing?
Sorry to sound like a noob, cause I'm really not that much of one, I just am new to the N900 flavor of Linux. I have plenty of experience messing about in my own crude way.
Please don't just tell me to "wait until it shows up in the official apps to download list"! I take full responsibility - I have to start somewhere, I just don't know where this depository is for the works in progress.
It's not some great secret, is it? Just a link will suffice, I'd appreciate it. I'd search for it but I don't even know the proper name by which these projects get referred to. A bloke's got to start learning someplace, you know?
It's called SDLMAME and it's in one of the extras repositories.
GL ES support is not as easy as flipping a switch and it's not something i'm going to look into until it's clear it's the best way to get where i want MAME to be. There is no 3D rendering going on in MAME--it's all emulated--and from the few conversations on drawing performance i was privy to, the memory bandwidth of the device is often the limiting factor for graphics-intensive apps. I hope someone who knows the details better can pitch in with better knowledge, but my understanding is that without independent RAM of its own to use, bringing in the GPU for drawing can actually reduce performance because of extra transfers to/from RAM. Whether that's actually the case or not, the limitations of the N900 hardware compared to a PC are such that i'm not at all sure that GL ES is going to be worth the effort. I haven't done any detailed profiling yet since the update.
Regarding the question of how much the PR1.1 system updates influence SDLMAME performance, here's what i found (using just a single older ROM):
No hardware scaling: 34% -> 52%
YUV overlay: 86% -> 88%
Which is kinda what i expected as mentioned earlier.
One interesting thing is that the kernel is now more occupied during execution than the mame binary is, in either case. I'm not sure what that means, but it suggests that the actual emulation is still the minor part of the cycle usage.
Could someone point me to the download of this build of MAME everyone is discussing?
It's not some great secret, is it? Just a link will suffice, I'd appreciate it. I'd search for it but I don't even know the proper name by which these projects get referred to. A bloke's got to start learning someplace, you know?
It's not a great secret: i clearly mentioned it's in -devel, meaning Extras-devel (http://wiki.maemo.org/Extras-devel). It's a place for stuff not considered ready for users.
Anyone there??????????
just checking why this thread stopped at 5.05pm.............:confused:
Rushmore
2010-01-16, 01:31
Bottom of the 9th plays great on SDLMAME. WOW :)
Track & field and Hyper sports work superb but the run like hell cheat isnt compatible with this version of mame.:(
Its hard to qualify from the 1st event even though i'm bashing the phone buttons like a man possessed.:mad:
It looks good on tv out tho.
oldpmaguy
2010-01-20, 16:46
Ok you guys, thanks for helping a noob out to finding his way to extras-devel! I'm brave/foolish enough to dive in (my love of retro gaming makes me so).
And the result is - I am thoroughly impressed with SDLMAME. And you guys are underrating it - I've been playing some higher-res games and getting good frametrates, smooth gameplay, and acceptable (if a little choppy) sound. I am in heaven, really, this is going to only get better. A ton of thanks to you, Flandry.
So a few requests/suggestions (should I put these in the devel section? I don't know how to do that).
1) I'd like the GUI to start out stretched to fullscreen. It's incredibly tiny at first - but after you open a game that has a stretched aspect ratio, then exit the game, the menu keeps that stretched screen size. Would it be possible to simply have the menu start out at a fullscreen/stretched aspect ratio? It would be welcome.
2) Searching for games is confusing/awkward. A full alphabetical meta-list would be better than the way the current "smart-search by letter" functions.
Actually, it's not too bad now, but for some reason the search gets truncated. It would be better to get all the games that start with the letter that gets entered, and only begin to limit the search as more letters are added into the string.
Is there some sort of limit on how many games can be displayed in the list at once? I don't understand why entering "a" only gives games "aa through ac", when I've got games with "ad through az" in their title as well. The "a" search string should show all games that begin with the letter "a", and should only limit the results as more letters are added to the string. You get the idea.
Other than that, I can't think of anything that is a problem - I've only played a couple of games so far.
I look forward to everyone's suggestions about the best games to play. I'll say right now that out of two 1996 shmups, "Air Attack" runs smoothly at 0/10 skip, while "Air Gallet" crawls, but it's like watching anime on your N900!
Ed. Also would like to add for wish list - 1) Favorites folder
2) Possibly screenshot integration into GUI?!?!
And a couple of questions - 1) is there CHD support for SDLMAME at this point? Some CHD's are only about 100 MB, I would load them if the game was worth it. I don't know where to put the CHD file, though.
2) How to enter "random" for a random game? It says that in the default search string, but I don't know how to enact it.
Rushmore
2010-01-20, 17:21
Ok you guys, thanks for helping a noob out to finding his way to extras-devel! I'm brave/foolish enough to dive in (my love of retro gaming makes me so).
And the result is - I am thoroughly impressed with SDLMAME. And you guys are underrating it - I've been playing some higher-res games and getting good frametrates, smooth gameplay, and acceptable (if a little choppy) sound. I am in heaven, really, this is going to only get better. A ton of thanks to you, Flandry.
So a few requests/suggestions (should I put these in the devel section? I don't know how to do that).
1) I'd like the GUI to start out stretched to fullscreen. It's incredibly tiny at first - but after you open a game that has a stretched aspect ratio, then exit the game, the menu keeps that stretched screen size. Would it be possible to simply have the menu start out at a fullscreen/stretched aspect ratio? It would be welcome.
2) Searching for games is confusing/awkward. A full alphabetical meta-list would be better than the way the current "smart-search by letter" functions.
Actually, it's not too bad now, but for some reason the search gets truncated. It would be better to get all the games that start with the letter that gets entered, and only begin to limit the search as more letters are added into the string.
Is there some sort of limit on how many games can be displayed in the list at once? I don't understand why entering "a" only gives games "aa through ac", when I've got games with "ad through az" in their title as well. The "a" search string should show all games that begin with the letter "a", and should only limit the results as more letters are added to the string. You get the idea.
Other than that, I can't think of anything that is a problem - I've only played a couple of games so far.
I look forward to everyone's suggestions about the best games to play. I'll say right now that out of two 1996 shmups, "Air Attack" runs smoothly at 0/10 skip, while "Air Gallet" crawls, but it's like watching anime on your N900!
Ed. Also would like to add for wish list - 1) Favorites folder
2) Possibly screenshot integration into GUI?!?!
And a couple of questions - 1) is there CHD support for SDLMAME at this point? Some CHD's are only about 100 MB, I would load them if the game was worth it. I don't know where to put the CHD file, though.
2) How to enter "random" for a random game? It says that in the default search string, but I don't know how to enact it.
How do you do the skip option? I see no menu option for this.
Fireshark, Tigerheli, DoDonPachi, DonPachi play much better than I expected.
Still, funny how I can not find the frame skip option.
BTW, Flandry has plans to improve the options and UI, so I am happy with the current progress and will wait for updates.
Thanks
Hello, Could you update the first post with the cps2emu port that I did?
https://garage.maemo.org/projects/cps2emu
About gngeo, i did a build with some n900 optimizations and is working ok. I will upload to garage when i have time..
Thx!
:)
oldpmaguy
2010-01-20, 18:10
How do you do the skip option? I see no menu option for this.
Volume Down is frameskip cycle-down.
Oddly, it seems that Volume Up is not frameskip cycle-up; rather it seems to be "load savestate". But I haven't figured out what "save state" is yet (but I am pleased at the possibility for savestates in MAME, esp on a portable unit!)
Still not ready to take feature requests, but i have profiled the program again and the drawing and YUV translation functins are the holdups, so i am faced with coding optimized assembler routines or implementing GL ES to pursue any significant speedup. Before doing that i will probably do more thorough testing and tweak the keymaps and other control setups to see how the current codebase compares with my expectations. As has been noticed, much of the UI is still unaltered from upstream, which is intended for PCs wih full keyboards.
A summary of which controls are actually important and which keys should be mapped to what is still welcome as i mentioned a while ago. Time spent messing with keymaps could probably better be spent on development.
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