N64 Emulator on Dreamcast

[quiggly6]

I have found this website http://gpf.dcemu.co.uk/dcnin64.shtml What I cant figure out is if this works and how to put it onto a cd to use on the dreamcast itself. If anyone has more information that would be wonderful.
R

[Darksaviour69]

thats our site ;) well our hosted site. it only plays one or 2 demos, slowly. It does not play any commerical games. but if you want to try it use this guide, http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=21628

step 3 is what u want

[jonnnyx]

thats our site ;) well our hosted site. it only plays one or 2 demos, slowly. It does not play any commerical games. but if you want to try it use this guide, http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=21628

step 3 is what u want
This is a really old post so maybe more has been done to improve dcnin64. Having a working emulator would be fantastic. Let me know if there has been any progress on this project. Thanks!

[Masta-G]

I guess it would be possible to eventually get super mario 64 (and other 64mbit roms) working.
It would require some very skilled sh4 coders with no life tough:P
I wonder if it would be possible to do high level emulation on the dreamcast...

[nate9999]

Is that N64 emulator currently being worked on? or any other N64 emu for DC? Also, has GBA emulation come to a stop? or is gpspDC still being worked on (it doesnt seem to have far to go if someone would finish it)?

[VampDude]

N64 runs horribly on DC, and slowly :(

[JKKDARK]

There's one available but it only runs some homebrew demos

[Christuserloeser]

I guess it would be possible to eventually get super mario 64 (and other 64mbit roms) working.
It would require some very skilled sh4 coders with no life tough:P

Yup, it's probably possible because:


Yes, we were looking into an adapter for the N64 cartridges -- mostly to avoid legal issues with disc images and piracy.

There were two basic concepts -- a serial-based one for games that could fit into RAM and a full G2 port adapter that sat between the DC and the modem (or BB).

The smaller carts wouldn't have been a problem, and it would have been an issue of whether or not the cost would support the ability to run the additional, larger ones.

Effectively, the smaller carts are "preloaded" at boot, and for a very small number of titles, we could patch the game code to allow 'intermission' type loading if the game was "close" to fitting but was a high profile title.

The cost to develop a full G2 device was high, but solved lots of other ancillary problems (mostly timing- and transfer- related).

The game would run through software emulation -- not a huge leap, considering the processors are VERY similar.

...it just wouldn't make any sense to petition our coders to waste time with a project like this.

Aside of that I could not think of a better platform to play N64 games on than the Wii. It's an official Nintendo platform and their emulation is about perfect + you can use the GameCube controllers :)

[nate9999]

And how about GBA emulation, will there be another release for gpspDC? If gpspDC would get finished, we wouldn't have to worry about non-full speed SNES anymore because most of the best games for SNES in my opinion were released for GBA anyway. I would crap my pants if I could play all the old Final Fantasies on my DC in full speed (not NES ones).

[Xiaopang]

...it just wouldn't make any sense to petition our coders to waste time with a project like this.


And the reason for that would be which one? As I see it, this emu would have the same right to be developed as any other emu. It would be possible to run many commercial games, so no reason why a coder shouldn't give it a try. It's not like asking to code a PS2-Emu for the DC




Aside of that I could not think of a better platform to play N64 games on than the Wii. It's an official Nintendo platform and their emulation is about perfect + you can use the GameCube controllers :)

I can think of a much better one: the PC. It's more flexible, powerful, you can use original controllers with an adaptor and on the contrary to the Wii, everyone has one. Furthermore it's *free*. Not to mention the perfect emulation for the N64 from the freeware-scene long before Nintendo decided to step into the commercial ring to fight for some dollars from the nostalgia market. And btw, what does the Wii being from Nintendo has to do with how much it is suitable for an emulator? Granted that the emu is decently coded you could run N64 games on any of the newer generation consoles.



And how about GBA emulation, will there be another release for gpspDC? If gpspDC would get finished, we wouldn't have to worry about non-full speed SNES anymore because most of the best games for SNES in my opinion were released for GBA anyway. I would crap my pants if I could play all the old Final Fantasies on my DC in full speed (not NES ones).

Then what are you waiting for? Play the SNES games with DreamSnes on the DC. Most RPG's run at 100% with it. No need to use a GBA-emu to emulate a SNES-port

[Christuserloeser]

And the reason for that would be which one? As I see it, this emu would have the same right to be developed as any other emu. It would be possible to run many commercial games, so no reason why a coder shouldn't give it a try. It's not like asking to code a PS2-Emu for the DC

If I would hate to see a N64 emu, then I wouldn't have posted the information above. ;)

I just would prefer the few active coders we have left wouldn't be bothered by hords of people asking them to code a N64 emulator.



And btw, what does the Wii being from Nintendo has to do with how much it is suitable for an emulator?

It's just a nice idea to play N64 games on Wii. :)



And how about GBA emulation, will there be another release for gpspDC?

Donate a Dreamcast to Exophase and you'll get your full speed GBA emu:

http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=39707


I can at least try to help them with a dynarec. And I can probably help them get the snapshot un-screwed up ^_-

[...]

I'd possibly like to help more directly but unfortunately I don't have a Dreamcast. Anyone want to donate one to me? D:

[Xiaopang]

I just would prefer the few active coders we have left wouldn't be bothered by hords of people asking them to code a N64 emulator.

why? first of all they all can decide themselves what they want to code and second of all this not only shows how much people want something like that, but also motivates coders by showing them that their work would really get the appreciation it deserves





It's just a nice idea to play N64 games on Wii. :)


It certainly is, but with growing processing powers emulating a console of two generations ago is not something special. It's more than manageable and just a matter of time till someone dedicates his talents in this direction. For older consoles it is quite some challenge to make emulation of similarly powered machines possible and therefor should be supported whenever the result is capable of working near full speed

[Christuserloeser]

why? first of all they all can decide themselves what they want to code and second of all this not only shows how much people want something like that, but also motivates coders by showing them that their work would really get the appreciation it deserves

Wow, I absolutely wasn't aware of the possibility that they couldn't decide themselves of what they would like to work on.

- Seriously, why would it motivate anyone to have their Inbox spammed with billions of people asking for an N64 emu ?

Why do you think they need to hear that a lot of people would want such an emulator ? It's not like we're talking about some ultra rare system no one has ever heard of. We're talking about N64, a console that sold twice as much as GameCube and Xbox. Don't you think coders already are aware of the fact that releasing an emulator for a system like this would be welcome by about anyone inside and outside the scene ?

There isn't any option to port any of the existing N64 emulators to Dreamcast. It would require an emulator pretty much written from ground up - as was required with NesterDC, GenesisPlusDC, or Neo4All.


For older consoles it is quite some challenge to make emulation of similarly powered machines possible and therefor should be supported whenever the result is capable of working near full speed

I agree, but personally I would love to see the existing emulators perfected, and other systems emulated first - like PS1 and Saturn :)

[Xiaopang]

Wow, I absolutely wasn't aware of the possibility that they couldn't decide themselves of what they would like to work on.

wow...you sure acted like it...




- Seriously, why would it motivate anyone to have their Inbox spammed with billions of people asking for an N64 emu ?

who said anything about inbox spamming? in fact no one here even cried for a coder to develop an emu. it was just about whether this emu was possible and whether or not people are still actively developing their emus...




Why do you think they need to hear that a lot of people would want such an emulator ? It's not like we're talking about some ultra rare system no one has ever heard of. We're talking about N64, a console that sold twice as much as GameCube and Xbox. Don't you think coders already are aware of the fact that releasing an emulator for a system like this would be welcome by about anyone inside and outside the scene ?

gee...then i wonder why the dc has been around for 9 years and still no functional emulator for N64 exists...your logic dictates that coders are aware of the popularity of the system and that this is enough reason for them to develop one, according to my logic the most popular systems get emulated first...well, history proves us both wrong....at least history of dreamcast emulation




There isn't any option to port any of the existing N64 emulators to Dreamcast. It would require an emulator pretty much written from ground up - as was required with NesterDC, GenesisPlusDC, or Neo4All.

so? you already named a few perfect examples where this also wasn't the case and they turned out fine...at least NesterDC did. i didn't test the others yet




I agree, but personally I would love to see the existing emulators perfected, and other systems emulated first - like PS1 and Saturn :)

i'd also like to see existing emulators being perfected. nothing wrong with that, but who said that the same people who are currently working on their wip-emus are supposed to program that emu? may be someone else will come along, who isn't busy with 20 projects and who no one knows yet, just look at NesterDC and NesterDC SE for a perfect example

[Christuserloeser]

wow...you sure acted like it...

I don't know why I even try to discuss this with you, so let's stop here.

I think we both can agree on the fact that
it would be possible to eventually get super mario 64 (and other 64mbit roms) working.
It would require some very skilled sh4 coders with no life tough:P

[nate9999]

I posted right before all of that inquiring about gpspDC, I did read the above message about donating the dreamcast, however Xiaopang claimed that DreamSNES can already run most RPGs at full speed anyway. I assume he knew I was talking about the Final Fantasies because I mentioned them in my post. They have run very poorly for me on DreamSNES in the past and I haven't wished to try with no sound because that feels too incomplete to me (which is why i was just asking about gpspDC). Is there some other method I maybe haven't tried that would get Final Fantasy 2 (4) and 3 (6) running full speed with sound?


And an N64 emu will come some day when someone feels like it, otherwise I appreciate anything new that is released just as much as if it was an N64 emu because it all takes hard work from somebody and i just appreciate that after all that work, they provide their products to us all for free.


By the way, seeing "ps1" above reminded me, what is current progress on psx4all for DC?

[Xiaopang]

I assume he knew I was talking about the Final Fantasies because I mentioned them in my post.

thats right.




They have run very poorly for me on DreamSNES in the past and I haven't wished to try with no sound because that feels too incomplete to me (which is why i was just asking about gpspDC). Is there some other method I maybe haven't tried that would get Final Fantasy 2 (4) and 3 (6) running full speed with sound?

yeah, playing without sound sucks and i wouldn't recommend it for an rpg. i tested the following rpgs with the latest dreamsnes:

lufia 2, lagoon, zelda - a link to the past, secret of mana, the lord of the rings, mystic quest legend. all of these games ran at 100% with mono sound.

illusion of time and terranigma ran slightly slower at 90-100%

the only rpgs that really crap out are breath of fire 2 and secret of evermore, which both run constantly at only 75%, but are still very playable.

several posts here show that results on one machine are not necessarily a bench for the performance on others. there are a lot of factors to consider:

- use pal games when possible
- set the emulator to 50hz
- set the emulator to mono
- if the game's options allow it, set the sound there to mono, too
- always use a game renaming tool, like the goodtools. there are tons of versions out there for every game. you never know whether you're playing a hack, an overdump, a bugged beta or the original
- if possible turn off transparencies. all rpgs i know use them, but not always are they clearly visible, so turning them off might tip the performance just to 100% on some games. for games like secret of evermore and breath of fire 2 the gains are so unrecognizable (only about 3%), that it makes no sense to play the game graphically butchered, even though those effects are not so obvious (at least in bof2)

[nate9999]

Interesting, I have tried most of that stuff, however, using PAL roms i have not. I hear this can make the hugest difference. How well to the tools work that convert US roms to PAL. I have heard many different evaluations, some saying it works great, and some saying it doesn't at all, it just renames the files. I have roms straight from my FF2 and 3 cartridges, so i know they are good US roms, i just don't want to go hunt down a PAL copy of these because Final Fantasy tends to be quite expensive for the older stuff. Which leads me to one more question, I tend to stay clear of downloading anything that is going to get the ESA on my back, but, would it be considered legal if i broke down and downloaded a copy of the PAL versions, since i own the US ones? Feel free to not answer that last one if it is inappropriate. Thanks for the help.

[Elven6]

This would be awesome, even if it was only for 1 game like Perfect Dark or Golden Eye, mabye someone should sponser a torunamet with a awesome prize like a 360 or all 5 or 6 Sega consoles!

[nate9999]

I just realized, gpspDC loads roms bigger than the DCs ram. What makes it possible with gpspDC for GBA that doesnt work with n64?

[Elven6]

I just realized, gpspDC loads roms bigger than the DCs ram. What makes it possible with gpspDC for GBA that doesnt work with n64?

Their is a new tech that allows you to load parts of the file onto the RAM. I think Atari made it. (The coder not the company).

[nate9999]

Would that method work for n64 roms?

[Elven6]

Yes but its hard, and its not flawless either,