emulation.net News Archives

March 1998

I found a useful utility online which will perform automatic price comparisons of any computer-related items. Since several users had asked for a suggestion on where to purchase various PC emulators, this utility is now integrated into the IBM PC page; you can get online price comparisons for Virtual PC, RealPC and SoftWindows, and even order online!

Insignia has updated RealPC to version 1.0.3 and SoftWindows to version 5.0.3. These versions lay the groundwork for Windows 98 support, as well as fixing several bugs and finalizing 3Dfx support!
A disassembler for Gameboy ROMs, Discott, has been released for Macintosh!
Rebirth 2 is coming soon! This version has direct integration with Cubase VST, a new drum unit (the 909), and new sound effect units!
The VICE Project, a portable Commodore 64 emulator, is in need of a good Macintosh programmer! VICE 0.14 for UNIX has just been released, supporting SID sound effects, hardware-level 1541, and perfect cycle-level emulation without losing much speed! Write to Ettore Perazzoli if you're interested in starting a Macintosh port.

fMSX has been updated to version 1.5.2! This update now uses the Appearance Manager for an improved user interface. Also, sound support has been improved dramatically; many users, especially those using virtual memory, will notice that sound effects and SCC music are much more accurate. Improved video support smooths out irritating graphical glitches in titles like Space Manbow and Fantasy Zone 2. Finally, several bugs have been fixed since the previous release, so this new version should be even more stable.
A few users have warned me that some vMac software sites had some disks available which were infected with the nVIR virus! If you have downloaded this software, you are at risk of infecting your virtual Mac, and possibly even your real Mac! So be careful out there, and if you've been playing with vMac recently, you might want to download the most recent version of Disinfectant and scan your hard drive. If you have not used vMac, the virtual Macintosh emulator, you are not at risk.

It's been some time since the last update! Sorry; Berkeley's spring break has just begun, so I've spent the last few days traveling home and getting in some much-needed rest and socialization. Updates will probably be infrequent until I get back home on Sunday.
MasterGear 1.0.5-SV, the Swedish version of MasterGear, has been released! Thanks, SkalMac!
Another avid MAME fan has hooked up his Macintosh inside a standard arcade cabinet; he even routed MacMAME's video to the arcade cabinet's monitor!
An EPROM burner/reader for the Macintosh is being designed! This would allow Macintosh users (with good hardware experience) to read in ROM chips.
I've been in touch with the new SNES9X programmers now--these guys are for real, and they're unbelievable! They've already pored over the SNES9X code and found all kinds of bug-fixes. Although I've only seen part of what they have done, it's astounding. Also, the next Macintosh release will have a beautiful, improved interface!

SimCoupe, a Sam Coupe emulator, has been updated to version 0.7.2v3.
GrayBox, a Nintendo emulator, has been updated to version 0.2.1! This version fixes a crashing bug and now recognizes Nintendo ROMs that don't have the proper file type.
The new team of SNES9X programmers seem to be making some awesome progress! The SNES9X Preview Page shows examples of the new emulator running transparency, color addition/subtraction, and SuperFX games perfectly! I can't wait until enough bugs are fixed to do a real release.
Hasbro Interactive has acquired the rights to over 75 classic Atari games, in order to make new, updated versions (like the recently released Frogger 3D). Could this cause problems with the MAME project?
Several distributors report that Virtual PC 2.0 is now in stock.

An emulator for the Solar Warrior arcade machine is being ported to Macintosh, courtesy of Phil Stroffolino! This machine is also very similar to Double Dragon, so that may see an emulator in the future as well!
The Japanese Final Fantasy 2 for iNES has been translated into English! This IPS patch will allow you to run Final Fantasy 2 in English. (Nintendo never released Final Fantasy 2, 3, or 5 in America, and reordered the numbering scheme to hide the loss; the American game known as Final Fantasy 2 is in reality Final Fantasy 4). You'll need to have acquired the Japanese Final Fantasy 2 ROMs already to make this patch work--I cannot give them to you.
An emulator for Centipede has been written entirely in BASIC! MacSloMo is a port of this emulator using FutureBASIC II, and truly lives up to its name--it is laughably slow. Still, it is an achievement for those programmers who still prefer the simplicity of BASIC, as the source code is available online.
Frodo/MacOS, a Commodore 64 emulator, has been updated to version 4.1.5! This version features improved sound support, and is more compatible than previous versions.
Oric/MacOS has been updated to version 1.0.1, and now features sound support.
MO5/MacOS has been updated to version 2.0.3, fixing some bugs.
vMac has been updated to version 0.1.9, fixing some bugs and adding several new features (for example, it can now emulate a 68020).
An emulator for the TO8 is under development, known as TO8/MacOS. It's currently very buggy but hopefully will improve soon.

About a million of you thought it would be worthwhile to pass the Amiga information mentioned in yesterday's update through AltaVista's Babelfish translator. Unfortunately, this produced a laughably bad result which, in my opinion, was at least as unclear as relying on the original German text. Thankfully, though, a few German readers did a real translation:

Professional Amiga Emulator for MacOS announced After the disaster in the Amiga market, many users switched to MacOS. However, no decent Amiga emulator was available, as on the Atari platforms. Although there was a freeware solution, it has proven to be unusable for more demanding applications. Next week, finally, a professional Amiga emulator for MacOS is supposed to be released. It is being developed by Ossowski, a company well known in the Amiga sector, and it will be distributed in Germany by Arktis Software. The target price is DM 119 (about US$ 65), presumably including ROM images and licenses for them. More details and the name of the product are to be announced next week, MacGadget will of course keep you updated.

A little bit of invesigating leads me to believe that this "Professional Amiga Emulator" is Amiga Forever 2.0, which will be available on April 1st. This version does include the promised Mac OS support, by bundling the newest version of UAE along with the Amiga ROMs. However, as usual, Mac users get the short end of the stick--none of the included extras or utilities have Macintosh equivalents, and for some reason, Mac support is currently labeled "experimental." And since the UAE software is currently freeware, and has been available from emulation.net for quite some time, this is not exactly what I'd call a newly-developed, professional Amiga emulator. Well, if you want a legal way to get at the Amiga ROMs, this is your chance.

Virtual PC 2.0 is shipping! Connectix began distribution on Friday, and the upgrades from version 1.0 will begin shipping on Monday. I hope to have a full review written in a few days, comparing the most recent versions of RealPC and Virtual PC, head-to-head. So far I can say that performance is truly astounding, and compatibility is much higher than 1.0. If you have a G3, this version is said to be up to twice as fast as version 1.0 in many circumstances!
A MAME fanatic has mounted MAME in an arcade cabinet. Truly a dedicated fan at work!
Many readers have written me regarding a form letter being sent out by Lismore Systems, developers of Blue Label (or so they claim). The letter states that they are continuing work, but due to financial conditions are behind schedule. This may be the case, but I still remain skeptical. We shall see.
A new Amiga emulator may be under development! A German site called MacGadget seems to have a report on a new emulator for the Amiga coming to the Mac OS, but unfortunately, I can't understand all the details.
The Swedish version of iNES 0.7.7 is now available! Thanks, SkalMac!
Dust, the disk converter utility for NoSTalgia, has been updated to version 1.0.2.

Graybox, a Nintendo emulator, has been updated to version 0.2! This version includes sound support!
Official Virtual PC 2.0 information is now on Connectix's home page! They list new features in version 2.0, benchmarks comparing Virtual PC 2.0 to SoftWindows 5.0, and 3Dfx information. There's also a free upgrade for users who bought Virtual PC 1.0 after January 1, 1998.
freeMSX, an MSX emulator, has been updated to version 0.7.0!
The source code for Handy, an Atari Lynx emulator for Windows, has been released to the public! Perhaps some eager programmers could port this to Macintosh.
The Site of the Week has been updated, with a site dedicated to Commodore 64 games!

Power PC Engine has been updated to version 0.3.3! The audio drivers have had another bug removed and sound is finally on par with a real TurboGrafx 16! Unfortunately, the promised assembly CPU core is still under development. The next version, 0.4, is promising better compatibility as well as CD-ROM support.

Dust, a utility for converting Atari ST disks, has been updated to version 1.0.1!
A keenly perceptive emulation.net reader noticed that the Magic Cap section was no longer around! It seems that it was lost somehow during site reorganizations. This has been fixed.
Mac OS Rumors has a brief preview of Virtual PC 2.0, including performance benchmarks.

MacMAME 0.31 is promising support for PunchOut! Dave's Classics has some impressive pictures; it looks like this upcoming version will be better than ever!
NoSTalgia, an Atari ST emulator, has been updated to version 0.4! This version supports TOS 1.6 and 2.0, as well as hard disks, and more emulated ST RAM.
The March 18 date quoted for Virtual PC was incorrect; it should be shipping even sooner than that.

The only important news of the hour: SNES9X is being continued!! An anonymous group of programmers has agreed to take the code off of Gary and Jerremy's hands. (In fact, they are even going to release the source code to the public!) They have already contacted me about doing a Macintosh port, and of course I agreed! When this next version is completed, expect a port as soon as possible! (Please note: I have not seen the new version of SNES9X in action yet, so I have no idea if it works as well as has been claimed. However, there are pictures on the SNES9X homepage of Super FX games running, without glitches--if true, this would be utterly amazing!)

Apparently, Cyberian Outpost will not be receiving stock of the Virtual PC 2.0 upgrade until March 18. My apologies to everyone who tried ordering it and got placed on a backorder list.
Thanks to some diligent searching by readers, the TI-92 ROMs have been located.
The Mr. Do Competition 98 has completed; the winner, with 1,999,750 points, is Jordan Yin. Congratulations!
The Sinclair series of computers were mislabeled on the table below; it has been corrected.

Nintendo's legal department has reached a new low--harassing Dave's Classics, a popular web page dedicated to classic emulation.
An emulator for the TI-92 calculator, MacTiger, has been released!
The MAME Work In Progress page details all of the current happenings with the MAME team.
A correction: It turns out that an ADB license from Apple is necessary to legally sell ADB devices, since the interface is patented.

Send feedback to emulation.net.
Back to emulation.net.

	I found a useful utility online which will perform automatic price comparisons of any computer-related items. Since several users had asked for a suggestion on where to purchase various PC emulators, this utility is now integrated into the IBM PC page; you can get online price comparisons for Virtual PC, RealPC and SoftWindows, and even order online!
	Insignia has updated RealPC to version 1.0.3 and SoftWindows to version 5.0.3. These versions lay the groundwork for Windows 98 support, as well as fixing several bugs and finalizing 3Dfx support! A disassembler for Gameboy ROMs, Discott, has been released for Macintosh! Rebirth 2 is coming soon! This version has direct integration with Cubase VST, a new drum unit (the 909), and new sound effect units! The VICE Project, a portable Commodore 64 emulator, is in need of a good Macintosh programmer! VICE 0.14 for UNIX has just been released, supporting SID sound effects, hardware-level 1541, and perfect cycle-level emulation without losing much speed! Write to Ettore Perazzoli if you're interested in starting a Macintosh port.
	fMSX has been updated to version 1.5.2! This update now uses the Appearance Manager for an improved user interface. Also, sound support has been improved dramatically; many users, especially those using virtual memory, will notice that sound effects and SCC music are much more accurate. Improved video support smooths out irritating graphical glitches in titles like Space Manbow and Fantasy Zone 2. Finally, several bugs have been fixed since the previous release, so this new version should be even more stable. A few users have warned me that some vMac software sites had some disks available which were infected with the nVIR virus! If you have downloaded this software, you are at risk of infecting your virtual Mac, and possibly even your real Mac! So be careful out there, and if you've been playing with vMac recently, you might want to download the most recent version of Disinfectant and scan your hard drive. If you have not used vMac, the virtual Macintosh emulator, you are not at risk.
	It's been some time since the last update! Sorry; Berkeley's spring break has just begun, so I've spent the last few days traveling home and getting in some much-needed rest and socialization. Updates will probably be infrequent until I get back home on Sunday. MasterGear 1.0.5-SV, the Swedish version of MasterGear, has been released! Thanks, SkalMac! Another avid MAME fan has hooked up his Macintosh inside a standard arcade cabinet; he even routed MacMAME's video to the arcade cabinet's monitor! An EPROM burner/reader for the Macintosh is being designed! This would allow Macintosh users (with good hardware experience) to read in ROM chips. I've been in touch with the new SNES9X programmers now--these guys are for real, and they're unbelievable! They've already pored over the SNES9X code and found all kinds of bug-fixes. Although I've only seen part of what they have done, it's astounding. Also, the next Macintosh release will have a beautiful, improved interface!
	SimCoupe, a Sam Coupe emulator, has been updated to version 0.7.2v3. GrayBox, a Nintendo emulator, has been updated to version 0.2.1! This version fixes a crashing bug and now recognizes Nintendo ROMs that don't have the proper file type. The new team of SNES9X programmers seem to be making some awesome progress! The SNES9X Preview Page shows examples of the new emulator running transparency, color addition/subtraction, and SuperFX games perfectly! I can't wait until enough bugs are fixed to do a real release. Hasbro Interactive has acquired the rights to over 75 classic Atari games, in order to make new, updated versions (like the recently released Frogger 3D). Could this cause problems with the MAME project? Several distributors report that Virtual PC 2.0 is now in stock.
	An emulator for the Solar Warrior arcade machine is being ported to Macintosh, courtesy of Phil Stroffolino! This machine is also very similar to Double Dragon, so that may see an emulator in the future as well! The Japanese Final Fantasy 2 for iNES has been translated into English! This IPS patch will allow you to run Final Fantasy 2 in English. (Nintendo never released Final Fantasy 2, 3, or 5 in America, and reordered the numbering scheme to hide the loss; the American game known as Final Fantasy 2 is in reality Final Fantasy 4). You'll need to have acquired the Japanese Final Fantasy 2 ROMs already to make this patch work--I cannot give them to you. An emulator for Centipede has been written entirely in BASIC! MacSloMo is a port of this emulator using FutureBASIC II, and truly lives up to its name--it is laughably slow. Still, it is an achievement for those programmers who still prefer the simplicity of BASIC, as the source code is available online. Frodo/MacOS, a Commodore 64 emulator, has been updated to version 4.1.5! This version features improved sound support, and is more compatible than previous versions. Oric/MacOS has been updated to version 1.0.1, and now features sound support. MO5/MacOS has been updated to version 2.0.3, fixing some bugs. vMac has been updated to version 0.1.9, fixing some bugs and adding several new features (for example, it can now emulate a 68020). An emulator for the TO8 is under development, known as TO8/MacOS. It's currently very buggy but hopefully will improve soon.
	About a million of you thought it would be worthwhile to pass the Amiga information mentioned in yesterday's update through AltaVista's Babelfish translator. Unfortunately, this produced a laughably bad result which, in my opinion, was at least as unclear as relying on the original German text. Thankfully, though, a few German readers did a real translation: Professional Amiga Emulator for MacOS announced After the disaster in the Amiga market, many users switched to MacOS. However, no decent Amiga emulator was available, as on the Atari platforms. Although there was a freeware solution, it has proven to be unusable for more demanding applications. Next week, finally, a professional Amiga emulator for MacOS is supposed to be released. It is being developed by Ossowski, a company well known in the Amiga sector, and it will be distributed in Germany by Arktis Software. The target price is DM 119 (about US$ 65), presumably including ROM images and licenses for them. More details and the name of the product are to be announced next week, MacGadget will of course keep you updated. A little bit of invesigating leads me to believe that this "Professional Amiga Emulator" is Amiga Forever 2.0, which will be available on April 1st. This version does include the promised Mac OS support, by bundling the newest version of UAE along with the Amiga ROMs. However, as usual, Mac users get the short end of the stick--none of the included extras or utilities have Macintosh equivalents, and for some reason, Mac support is currently labeled "experimental." And since the UAE software is currently freeware, and has been available from emulation.net for quite some time, this is not exactly what I'd call a newly-developed, professional Amiga emulator. Well, if you want a legal way to get at the Amiga ROMs, this is your chance.
	Virtual PC 2.0 is shipping! Connectix began distribution on Friday, and the upgrades from version 1.0 will begin shipping on Monday. I hope to have a full review written in a few days, comparing the most recent versions of RealPC and Virtual PC, head-to-head. So far I can say that performance is truly astounding, and compatibility is much higher than 1.0. If you have a G3, this version is said to be up to twice as fast as version 1.0 in many circumstances! A MAME fanatic has mounted MAME in an arcade cabinet. Truly a dedicated fan at work! Many readers have written me regarding a form letter being sent out by Lismore Systems, developers of Blue Label (or so they claim). The letter states that they are continuing work, but due to financial conditions are behind schedule. This may be the case, but I still remain skeptical. We shall see. A new Amiga emulator may be under development! A German site called MacGadget seems to have a report on a new emulator for the Amiga coming to the Mac OS, but unfortunately, I can't understand all the details. The Swedish version of iNES 0.7.7 is now available! Thanks, SkalMac! Dust, the disk converter utility for NoSTalgia, has been updated to version 1.0.2.
	Graybox, a Nintendo emulator, has been updated to version 0.2! This version includes sound support! Official Virtual PC 2.0 information is now on Connectix's home page! They list new features in version 2.0, benchmarks comparing Virtual PC 2.0 to SoftWindows 5.0, and 3Dfx information. There's also a free upgrade for users who bought Virtual PC 1.0 after January 1, 1998. freeMSX, an MSX emulator, has been updated to version 0.7.0! The source code for Handy, an Atari Lynx emulator for Windows, has been released to the public! Perhaps some eager programmers could port this to Macintosh. The Site of the Week has been updated, with a site dedicated to Commodore 64 games!
	Power PC Engine has been updated to version 0.3.3! The audio drivers have had another bug removed and sound is finally on par with a real TurboGrafx 16! Unfortunately, the promised assembly CPU core is still under development. The next version, 0.4, is promising better compatibility as well as CD-ROM support.
	Dust, a utility for converting Atari ST disks, has been updated to version 1.0.1! A keenly perceptive emulation.net reader noticed that the Magic Cap section was no longer around! It seems that it was lost somehow during site reorganizations. This has been fixed. Mac OS Rumors has a brief preview of Virtual PC 2.0, including performance benchmarks.
	MacMAME 0.31 is promising support for PunchOut! Dave's Classics has some impressive pictures; it looks like this upcoming version will be better than ever! NoSTalgia, an Atari ST emulator, has been updated to version 0.4! This version supports TOS 1.6 and 2.0, as well as hard disks, and more emulated ST RAM. The March 18 date quoted for Virtual PC was incorrect; it should be shipping even sooner than that.
	The only important news of the hour: SNES9X is being continued!! An anonymous group of programmers has agreed to take the code off of Gary and Jerremy's hands. (In fact, they are even going to release the source code to the public!) They have already contacted me about doing a Macintosh port, and of course I agreed! When this next version is completed, expect a port as soon as possible! (Please note: I have not seen the new version of SNES9X in action yet, so I have no idea if it works as well as has been claimed. However, there are pictures on the SNES9X homepage of Super FX games running, without glitches--if true, this would be utterly amazing!)
	Apparently, Cyberian Outpost will not be receiving stock of the Virtual PC 2.0 upgrade until March 18. My apologies to everyone who tried ordering it and got placed on a backorder list. Thanks to some diligent searching by readers, the TI-92 ROMs have been located. The Mr. Do Competition 98 has completed; the winner, with 1,999,750 points, is Jordan Yin. Congratulations! The Sinclair series of computers were mislabeled on the table below; it has been corrected.
	Nintendo's legal department has reached a new low--harassing Dave's Classics, a popular web page dedicated to classic emulation. An emulator for the TI-92 calculator, MacTiger, has been released! The MAME Work In Progress page details all of the current happenings with the MAME team. A correction: It turns out that an ADB license from Apple is necessary to legally sell ADB devices, since the interface is patented.