emulator
Latest
WP7 Game Boy emulator demoed, soon you can show your Pokemans in Silverlight (video)
Classic gaming on the go is more or less old-hat for many smartphone platforms, but Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 is still playing catch-up. Latest addition is this Game Boy emulator, running in Silverlight courtesy of Samuel Blanchard, who created the video below and then triple-letterboxed it for your squinting pleasure. Right now it is still a work in progress, unable to save your in-game progress and needing some further polish, but it certainly looks like it runs well enough -- though hopefully he gets that aspect ratio fixed before offering this up for download.
iDOS strikes back, returns to the App Store (update: gone again)
If you've been cheekily holding on to the old version of iDOS, the one that got yanked from the App Store in record time, we're sorry to say that you've got a decision to make. It's now back and available for download, and if you want to keep your old one you're going to have to update all your other apps around it. This free version has been simplified somewhat and graced with a suite of formerly freeware apps that we haven't seen since we lost our giant box of floppies back in 1999, including Wolfenstein 3D and the original Duke Nukem -- back when he was kicking butt in 2D. These are the only proggies that you can easily access from within the emulator, but we're told you can still move others into the /Apps/iDos/documents folder and run them from there. Now if only we could find our TIE Fighter floppies... Update: So much for that. [Thanks, Adam]
iDOS 2: The return of the emulator
Back in October of 2010, we told you about iDOS, a 99¢ software emulation of good old DOS. The universal app was able to even run an ancient version of Microsoft Windows (3.0), and came with a handful of "freeware / abandonware" applications like Ms. PacMan PC and DigDug. Unfortunately, the app was yanked from the App Store very quickly. It's back on the App Store again, this time for free and with a vastly simplified setup. iDOS now comes with Wolfenstein 3D, the original Duke Nukem I and II, Major Striker, SuperNova and Kingdom of Kroz II. You can apparently move other DOS applications (if you can grab the code from those old floppies) into the /Apps/iDos/documents folder to run them in iDOS. The app features a PC compatible soft keyboard, a virtual mouse, gamepad and joystick, and it's possible to force a 4:3 screen aspect ratio (640 x 480). We don't know if Apple will yank iDOS from the App Store again; the fact that it was allowed back onto the store is amazing in itself, so the developers must have changed something just enough to keep the powers-that-be at Apple happy. In the meantime, if you've got a hankering for some hot DOS action, download this app fast. [Via Engadget]
The Daily Grind: Would you play on a progression server?
EverQuest fans have been abuzz ever since SOE announced that a new progression server will come to the game this March. A progression server is kind of like a "way back" machine, resetting an MMO to the core game with expansions rolled out at a steady pace thereafter. It basically allows one to experience a sped-up version of how the MMO initially developed while forcing the players to stay together within certain boundaries. Even if your memory is long and clear enough to know that the good old days weren't always good, nostalgia has a way of sucking you in, prompting cries for a "classic shard" to try to duplicate that original experience. And that doesn't always necessitate some shadowy underground emulator (which we can't talk about on Massively anyway, so don't do it!). Sometimes the companies themselves try to cash in on the nostalgia. Gamers coming to a long-established MMO years after launch often feel behind the curve as the bulk of the playerbase is already at max level, yet progression servers put everyone on equal footing -- at least initially. So would you play on a progression server if your MMO offered one? What would it be like to go back to old vanilla World of Warcraft or Ultima Online's era of a free-for-all frontier? Or would it be an unnecessary nostalgia trip that would fail to recapture that unique initial experience? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
GameBoy Advance Phone caught in the wild (by the guy who built it)
Perhaps if there was some sort of Brundlefly-style gadget mix-up five years ago, the outcome would look like this: an HTC Hermes jammed inside a GameBoy Advance housing. This prototype, presented by Windows Phone Hacker, features some fun changes that make it feel more like your beloved handheld gaming console, and less like your dated Windows Mobile Pocket PC, including a startup GIF animation of the original GameBoy Advance boot screen, custom software that keeps the OS in landscape mode, and custom notifications and ringtones from the Mario games. Also included is PocketGBA emulator for playing GameBoy Advance ROMs on the phone itself. Of course, this is just the beginning of the project: we look forward to seeing a version where the buttons work! In the meantime, check out the thing in action after the break. [Thanks, Juan]
PlayStation Phone caught on video playing unofficial PSOne Android app
This seems like a pretty natural fit -- the PlayStation Phone, which, hilariously enough, still hasn't been formally acknowledged by Sony, was recently captured on video running a PSOne emulator Android application called ROM Buddy PSX. It should be stressed that the handheld (which has supposedly been branded the Xperia Play) doesn't have this functionality built in -- the video is simply demonstrating how the Play's slide-out gamepad can be used to interact with the App, and the zombies therein. Of course, that doesn't make the video any less dead sexy. Check out the video after the jump to see the PlayStation Phone living up to its unofficial name, playing ROMs of Resident Evil 2 and Rage Racer.
PlayStation Phone captured in the wild, on video
Well, the leaks have been flying fast and furious: the presumed PlayStation Phone has been in the hands of folks for a hot minute, and now a video has popped up showing one lucky hombre playing Resident Evil 2 and Rage Racer on the device. The hardware is apparently on the up and up, although the fact that the titles had to be loaded through ROM Buddy (a third-party Android app for running ROMs) suggests that the software is still being tinkered with. Or that this is all a terrible hoax. That said, it looks like this thing is pretty much a done deal. See for yourself after the break. [Thanks, Dan]
PlayStation Phone sized up with numerous devices in another in-depth Chinese preview
Okay, now this is getting ridiculous. It's been literally less than 48 hours since we saw the first in-depth Chinese-language preview of Sony's still yet-to-be-confirmed PlayStation Phone, and believe it or not, we've got another one. (Our resident translator Richard Lai suggests this might be the same PS Phone just being passed around the various websites.) It's just as long and arguably just as in-depth with an absolute ton of comparison pics with the PSP Go, the Xperia lineup, a DSi, a Droid... the list goes on. Much of what's written is the same, and the PlayStation Pocket app is still a mystery. The preview does say a third-party emulator was downloaded and tested, with 70 percent success, but that doesn't actually tell us anything. Anyway, even if you don't know Chinese, hit up the source and bask in the glory of a ton more pics. [Thanks, Shaun]
NES emulator lands on Windows Phone 7, barred from the Marketplace
It's an important time in any young OS's life: NES emulation. Windows Phone 7 has just passed this important puberic milestone, thanks to the hard work of Matt Bettcher. Unfortunately, Microsoft doesn't seem to recognize the significance, and is keeping the emulator out of the Marketplace (as per its no-funny-business terms of service). Matt's trying to drum up some community support to change Microsoft's mind on the matter, and in the meantime he's planning to open source his project. There's video after the break of the emulator running inside the WP7 emulator. It does the heart good! [Thanks, Sheeds]
Windows XP partially re-created in LittleBigPlanet 2, ups the stakes for gamer ambitiousness (video)
We've seen an CHIP-8 emulator and even a virtual CPU built inside games, but we've yet to encounter a game recreation of Windows. Thanks to a quartet of industrious LittleBigPlanet 2 beta players, though, we can now finally check that off in our copy of 100 Geeky Projects You Must Witness Before Dying. As the video above shows, major Windows functions they've emulated to date include a working start menu and mouse cursor, multiplayer support for a variety of bloatware games, and even the good ole' blue screen of death. That's pretty impressive stuff from an ambitious platforming title that won't officially ship until mid-January. Needless to say, once the full version arrives, we expect to see a working copy of Lion running stat. You heard us folks -- we're setting the bar that high.
Alleged Legend of Zelda prototype released
Lost Levels, a website dedicated to pulling unreleased video games out of the void of obscurity, recently obtained a pretty epic find: An alleged prototype build of the original, Famicom version of The Legend of Zelda. What's different about this early build? Well, apparently, while the retail version of Zelda was responsible for crushing the spirits of many a lesser gamer, this prototype build was designed to be played by sweet, little babies. The difficulty of the early version of the game appears to be fairly reduced, as the prototype features a much more liberal rate of rupee distribution and an easier palette of enemies compared to the retail release, as evidenced by the screenshot comparison above (prototype on the left). If you've got the right emulator, you can download and play the prototype right now -- or, if you're not in the dungeon-diving mood, you can check more details about the Zelda prototype on The Cutting Room Floor wiki.
Android Dreamcast emulator nullDCe gets early video preview, still a work in progress
Never underestimate the power of Dreamcast to live on long past its intended expiration date (which, if you ask Sega, would have been around September 2007). The final flagship console from the Haus of Sonic is survived by a multitude of emulators propagating across a multitude of platforms... and well, here's another. Drk||Raziel has posted some videos showcasing the work in progress of nullDCe for Android (on what we make out to be a AT&T Samsung Captivate). The footage ranges from buggy (Soul Calibur) to pretty smooth (Crazy Taxi), but again, no one's calling this a finished product. See it for yourself after the break.
Dockstar FreeAgent hacked into inexpensive emulation masterpiece (video)
Hello, multipurpose! Seagate's Pogoplug-based FreeAgent DockStar -- at least at a glance -- isn't much good to those who aren't buying up DockStar HDDs. But if you dig a little deeper, you'll realize that this minuscule adapter packs a 1.2GHz Marvell processor, 128MB of RAM and 256MB of ROM. There's also a smattering of USB ports and an Ethernet socket; add that all up, and you've got a hacker's playground. One Hunter Davis decided to see just how much he could squeeze out of this here peripheral, which can be widely found for as little as $25 nowadays. Thanks to a copy of Debian Linux, a good bit of programming know-how, a DisplayLink USB-to-VGA adapter and a USB sound adapter, he was able to concoct a homegrown emulation console that could handle nearly everything he threw at it. 'Course, you'll have to spring for those other parts if you don't have a house full of random doodads, but once he figures out how to install a battery and make the entire setup portable... look out! Head on past the break for an in-action video.
Kinect used to control Super Mario on a PC, redefine convergence (video)
If, like us, you've been waiting to see Kinect in control of a truly marquee game, your wait has now come to an end. The same fella that brought us the Kinect lightsaber has returned with a hack enabling eager nostalgics to enjoy a bout of Super Mario controlled only by their body contortions. OpenKinect was used to get the motion-sensing peripheral -- originally intended exclusively for use with an Xbox 360 -- to communicate with his PC, while a simple NES emulator took care of bringing the 25-year old plumber to life. The video awaits after the break.
Game Boy emulator being developed in JavaScript by a very smart person
Sure, it's one thing to build a Game Boy emulator out of what is typically viewed as a limited-purpose language for enhancing website interactivity for the usual emulator-building reasons: you like video games, you're trying to impress the ladies. But just to prove a point? Imran Nazar is building a Game Boy emulator out of JavaScript to show how far the language has come, particularly with the fancy new stuff HTML5's <canvas> tag allows for, and to see if it would be possible to fully emulate a Game Boy from the CPU up. Sure, HTML5 has already proven useful for straight games, but an entire architecture? Turns out, it's pretty possible, and Imran has an excellent multi-part tutorial for how he's doing it. Right now there's a nearly playable version of Tetris, and pretty soon we'll all be playing Zelda in our web browsers and that time when we tried to build an HTML table from scratch to show a few of our favorite animated GIFs on our GeoCities page will only be a distant memory...
iDOS emulator hits the App Store, gets pulled in record time
You know what they say. You snooze, you miss out on a DOS emulator in the Apple App Store. That rare and unimaginable occurrence happened earlier today, when the so-called iDOS emulator was briefly available for both the iPhone and iPad before it was unsurprisingly pulled from the store a short time ago. That wasn't before it was seen spotted running Windows 3.0 and even some classic Sierra adventure games, though -- head on past the break for the evidence.
DOS emulator for iOS released, runs Windows 3.0
This seems like the kind of thing that Apple wouldn't want on the App Store (and indeed, it may soon disappear when they figure it out), but then again, after the relaxing of the rules, maybe they're OK with this one. Touch Arcade has discovered iDOS on the App Store -- it's a DOSbox-based disk operating system emulator that runs on iOS. And it apparently does everything that DOS does, including, as you can see in the picture, running Windows 3.0 complete with the Solitaire game. The app is a 99 cent universal app for iPhone and iPad, and unfortunately, it's not user friendly at all -- if you don't remember your old DOS commands, the app's not set up to make things easy for you. The app also includes what the description calls "freeware/abandonware" like Ms. Pac Man PC, and DigDug, but you can upload other games and files through iTunes. Honestly, this is awesome, but it seems a little too open for Apple's tastes. I can't see how it would ever hurt the iOS device (you're running everything from within the app, and Apple could simply assume that you own any copies of software that you install on there), but this is one app that may have snuck through the gates. At any rate, iDOS is now available on the App Store -- if it disappears later on, we'll let you know. Update: We're getting reports that it's been pulled, not unexpectedly so. We'll have to see if the devs want to fight to try and keep it up. It's certainly possible to release an emulator app on the App Store, but Apple's touchy about the subject, to say the least.
MotionApps' Classic emulator for webOS doesn't -- and can't -- work with 2.0
If you've still got some critical Palm OS apps after all these years... well, maybe it's time to try to find a way to move on. But in the meantime, you might be a little distraught to learn that MotionApps' Classic emulator is completely borked in webOS 2.0. Turns out there's a rather unrecoverable reason for that: Palm has apparently elected to remove the Classic ROM from webOS 2.0's binaries, which MotionApps claims is a violation of the agreement the two companies had in place. As a last-ditch effort to get things rolling again, MotionApps has turned over Classic's source to Palm, but it's not looking good; in light of that, they've stopped selling the app effective immediately, though they're saying they'll continue to support customer on webOS 1.x (which, for the moment, is still pretty much everybody). After this, looks like the only way to get your Palm OS on will be to hit up Access for some Garnet action -- so the question is, just how hardcore of a legacy user are you?
PS3 gets early SNES and Dreamcast emulation
Brings a tear to your eye, doesn't it? Sure, jailbreaks and homebrew titles are all well and good, but you know a console has really arrived when it starts emulating the classics. The ever-versatile Snes9x has been given a quick and dirty port to the newly jailbroken PS3, and while it's missing fancy features like "save states" and "UI," it's certainly looks to be doing the most basic task of playing games just fine. Meanwhile, the creator of famed Dreamcast emulator NullDC has a very rough version it up and running on the PS3 as well. We naturally have a long way to go, but this looks like a promising beginning.
Found Footage: Windows 95, 3.1 running on jailbroken iPad
If you can get past the sight of Windows 3.11 (gack...) and Windows 95 (hurl!) running on an iPad, then hit the play button in the YouTube embed above and be prepared to be visually and audibly assaulted (by no less than Metallica). YouTube user MSComputerVideos provides a complete tutorial on how to make your iPad look like a relic from the 1990s by using a jailbroken iPad and the open-source Bochs emulator (frequently used for such efforts). A rip of the 'Kill 'Em All' t-shirt to tipster MS.
