jEnesisDS 0.5 - Genesis/Megadrive Emulator for the Nintendo DS

[wraggster]

Lordus (http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index.php/topic,4571.0.html) has posted an entry in the Neoflash Coding Contest:

http://imgbolt.com/public/16219/jenesisds1.png


Project description:

"jEnesisDS" is a Sega MegaDrive/Genesis Emulator for the Nintendo DS.
It started as a port of my Java Genesis/32X emulator jEnesis. By now, the code has been
completely rewritten and many parts (CPU core, parts of GPU) are written in ARM assembler.

You have to play a bit with the settings to make some games boot or work better.
Some games work faster with "Idle Loop Detection", others without (Castlevania, Gunstar Heroes),
and some games just boot if it is disabled.
The same goes for H-INT emulation. If a game doesnt boot just try changing those options.

Very few games will just boot, if checksum autofixing is disabled (Dynamite Heady, Thunder Force IV).

New in this version:

********
v0.5 *
********
- Implemented save-states (touch slot icons to load/save)
- Extended SRAM compatibility. Story of Thor and Phantasy Star IV should work now.

- Extended "force update" of HW renderer. Fixes Sonic3 intro, Sonic Bonus stage and probably others.
- Fixed sprites showing garbage if more than 64 sprites were displayed. (Comix Zone, Outrun, Sonic, well most games i guess).
- Partial rewrite of sprite handling in the HW renderer. Less slowdowns when a lot of sprites are displayed.
- Implemented better VSync. Fixes temporary speedups after slowdowns.
- Implemented vertical scaling option into HW renderer (horizontal is NOT possible, dont ask!).
Aspect ratio will be incorrect, but makes games more enjoyable (at least in my opinion).
- Implemented screen positioning in HW renderer (touch screen to pause, then use [D-Pad] to scroll.
Push [A] for faster scrolling)

- Rewrote DS interrupt system for HW renderer. Probably less slowdowns, surely safer.

- Added "Fake Z80" option. The faking code can mess up some games (Ghouls n' Ghosts, Aladdin, Cool Spot 2, and others), so it can be turned off now. Interestingly enough, if it is turned off, real Z80 emulation will be executed, BUT just under certain circumstances, to keep games working and not to slow things down. As with other options, some games might depend on a certain setting to boot (Gaiares just boots when this option is set to "off").

How to use:

jEnesisDS uses DLDI for accessing your cards filesystem, so you have to patch the file with the appropriate DLDI patch.

There is no way to edit the key settings yet, so here is the layout:

PAD1:
A="Y"
B="B"
C="A"
X="X"
Y="L"
Z="R"
START="START"
L,R,D,U= directional keys

"SELECT": Enter File Browser (Also accessible by the cartridge icon)

Touch the Joypad icon to enter Setting.
Touch save-slot icons to load/save states (2 slots available)
Touch screen to pause. While in pause mode, use the D-Pad to for
screen positioning in the HW renderer version.

Hope you like it

Download and Give Feedback/Compatability Reports Via Comments

[DanTheManMS]

Glad to see an update to this emulator. Seems to work very well from the limited time I spent testing it.

[koiulpoi]

Woot, works great! Now, all it needs is sound and this emulator is golden!

[Sir_Voe]

Good stuff. I'm not holding my breath for sound, but a speed increase for the SW build is the next thing on my wish list.

[mikeb]

great just needs sounds and what sir voe said

[slaanesh]

I'm curious to know if this emulator is using both Nintendo DS CPUs?

[paul3100]

it is good to see an update and in time i can see sound being implemented , the snes has sound and was technically superior to the genesis/megadrive

paul

[totocorp]

Thank you Lordus ! I run to test it :D

[Eyedunno]

it is good to see an update and in time i can see sound being implemented , the snes has sound and was technically superior to the genesis/megadrive

paul
Technically superior? Well, yes, except for the main CPU, which was quite a bit faster on the Genesis/Megadrive. That was part of the buzz around the Sonic series.

A Geo Metro is "technically superior" to a 1968 Camaro, but let's see you try and race the two.

[Lordus]

I am currently working on the sound and it looks promising so far...

It is not really true, that the SNES was technically superior, as Eyedunno said. Genesis' main cpu is more powerful and also the sound hardware needs a lot more power to be emulated than the SNES sound hardware.It is absolutely irrelevant in this sense, that SNES games sound better.

This version only uses the Arm9 cpu, except for the basic stuff, like touchscreen and such. (My current development version uses both though, and the next release will hopefully, too).

As for the software renderer, i dont think much can be done. It is already completely written in assembler and uses a pretty fast method as well.
Software rendering just needs a LOT of cpu power.
And of course you want full speed software rendering + sound, right? :P


Forgot to mention in the readme, that you can also set country preferences now. So if a game is multiregion, it wont use the first region specified in the header anymore, but the one you select.


Also:
i got a lot of emails about the previous version, that this and that game doesnt work.
Almost all of those games DID work, just that of course nobody reads the readme. So please try all different settings first, before deciding, that a game doesnt work.
Games over 3MB wont load at all, due to limited ram size. This is on my todo list.

[puslar_t]

Cheers for your brilliant work! :D Can't wait for sound :)

[stevo11185]

what if i use a slot 2 with ram would it help?

[gordillo]

is there any way to make the screen smaller to fit the whole game?

[Xcliber]

Isn't 1 of the cpu's on the DS strictly for audio anyway????

Wouldn't it be as if multithreading? 2 CPU's performing 2 completely seperate tasks... Emulating Graphics and Emulating Sound

[Sir_Voe]

is there any way to make the screen smaller to fit the whole game?

You could use the SW build included w/ v0.4a. Just be aware that a bit of speed is sacrificed for more accurate emulation.

[voteforpedro36]

Any chance of a compatibility list?

Great work too, the save states are awesome.

[fingolfin666]

This is impressive work! Keep going :)

[F2bnp]

OMG...
Thank you that's all I have to say.This is a great release and woah BLAST PROCESSING DAMMIT :P

[campbell00]

Anyone able to get virtua fighter 2 working? Why dont some games not even load?

[totocorp]

Hi everybody !

I've tested the new version of jEnesisDS and it rocks ! :thumbup:

Vertical scrolling : perfect :D
Save state : perfect :D

However, I've noticed that the management of the sprites seems less effective than in the 0.4a version.

With the rom "Wonderboy 5" for example (:rolleyes: ), the title "PRESS START BUTTON" do not flicker any more with starting. Even thing for the arrow in front of "NEW GAME".

Once in the play, the head of Shion disappears when he jumps or gives a sword blow. The head reappears when Shion is moving.

I've also noticed that a cloud was incomplete.

Last thing : when loading a save state, the top menu is incomplete.

By hoping that these observations will be useful. :cool:

Thank you still, Lordus. :thumbup: Your work is really fantastic.

[Shtroodle]

Thanks Lordus! Great news.

I'm really excited about the comment you made concerning the sound emulation. I'd gladly sacrifice some other features in favor of a working sound emulation - at least in some basic form. Playing the Genesis w/o sound just doesn't seem right :(

We all appreciate the hard work you're putting into this. Thanks again and keep up the good work.

[Lordus]

Isn't 1 of the cpu's on the DS strictly for audio anyway????

Wouldn't it be as if multithreading? 2 CPU's performing 2 completely seperate tasks... Emulating Graphics and Emulating Sound

It isnt strictly for audio and writing code for 2 cpus is not really the easiest thing. Official DS software is not allowed to use the 2nd cpu for anything at all, except for things provided by the official SDK.
I will however try to use it and it will run faster than running everything on 1 cpu, but its not 2 completely seperate threads either, as things have to be synched.



is there any way to make the screen smaller to fit the whole game?


Anyone able to get virtua fighter 2 working? Why dont some games not even load?


Did you read my last post and the release notes?
The screen is already vertically scaled to fit. There is NO WAY to horizontally scale it in hardware rendering, except you want it to be extremely slow.
Games over 3MB wont load.



However, I've noticed that the management of the sprites seems less effective than in the 0.4a version.

Last thing : when loading a save state, the top menu is incomplete.

By hoping that these observations will be useful. :cool:


On the contrary. The managment of sprites is much more effective and thats exactly the reason for those glitches... sometimes its too effective. This can be fixed by one line of code, but also makes it slower.
So i opted for speed, because it doesnt really affect many games, nor playability.
I am of course still working on it and hoping to get speed and accuracy closer together. Unfortunately a day has just 24 hours...

I didnt test savestates extensively, and chances are, that they might not always work 100%. Sometimes it could be, that a state of the HW renderer is not restored. You can try to swap the "Force update" option twice, which should completely restore the HW renderer (if that was the problem).

[kompleet]

Thank you for this emulaor, I was waiting for a good genesis emulator ( genesis/megadrive was my first console ) and this rocks !
Can't wait for the sound, ( playing street of rage 2 without sound is impossible ) .

By the way, It's sad that Landstalker freeze after main menu.

[Lordus]

By the way, It's sad that Landstalker freeze after main menu.

Yeah its really sad... that it freezes, when idle loop detection is enabled... so try disabling it ;)

[kompleet]

Yeah its really sad... that it freezes, when idle loop detection is enabled... so try disabling it ;)



ohhh sorry !!! I did not tested this !!!!

:thumbup:

:p

[havoc_012]

Another great release, Lordus.

[bigleak2]

omg me and my friend found a way to play wirelss with you emu lordus see were playing nba hangtime and we click two player it work we were on the same team beating another team it was so cool oh yeah buy the way we use datels games n music with dso and it dldi patches everything and every emu and aplication i tried on it works so it like the r4 without roms support

[mikeb]

my favorite emulator out right now

[Eyedunno]

So do you think sound will eventually be doable then, Lordus? I can't decide whether or not there was a trace of optimism in your post. What's the ARM7 being used for in the dev version?

Personally, I was always a SNES guy (the Genesis color palette always seemed a bit gloomy to me), but Phantasy Star IV on the DS would be pretty sweet...

[Lordus]

So do you think sound will eventually be doable then, Lordus? I can't decide whether or not there was a trace of optimism in your post. What's the ARM7 being used for in the dev version?

Personally, I was always a SNES guy (the Genesis color palette always seemed a bit gloomy to me), but Phantasy Star IV on the DS would be pretty sweet...


Sorry if it didnt come through ;) There was a bit of optimism in my post...

The Arm7 will be/is being used for FM and PSG emulation. Games that do sound on the 68000 and dont use the Z80 do have sound already (at least its recognizable). There is almost no negative effect on speed (maybe 2-3 FPS), but i have to sort out some things, because it doesnt sound acceptable yet.

I will try to optimize the FM core also, but still it will bring the Arm7 to its limits, and the Z80 wont fit there anyway. So implementing the Z80 on the Arm9 without loosing too much speed will be the really interesting part.

Fortunately there are some really nice games that dont need the Z80 for sound, so those will be ok (Sonic, Streets of Rage, Gunstar Heroes).

[jedimaster12]

all i need is sound and im good.

[KaliKot]

Loving it so far. Really good progress.

But I need yuyu hakusho (the bleach ds forefather) to work :(

best 16bit fighting game ever!

[totocorp]

Originally Posted by Lordus
On the contrary. The managment of sprites is much more effective and thats exactly the reason for those glitches... sometimes its too effective. This can be fixed by one line of code, but also makes it slower.
So i opted for speed, because it doesnt really affect many games, nor playability.
I am of course still working on it and hoping to get speed and accuracy closer together. Unfortunately a day has just 24 hours...


Till then to get speed and accuracy closer together, would be possible to allow an option to choose between the two (speed or accuracy) ? :o



Originally Posted by Lordus
I didnt test savestates extensively, and chances are, that they might not always work 100%. Sometimes it could be, that a state of the HW renderer is not restored. You can try to swap the "Force update" option twice, which should completely restore the HW renderer (if that was the problem).


The save state option rocks ! It was just an observation. The glitch is only esthetic and doesn't affect the playability. :)

[skoop]

i have test the savestates from 3 different games and they seem alright. the screen is bigger bigger but it seem fate out some of the part, but still can see.
However i can't play the mamono hunter yohko and the alian stom they got black screen after i press star or the hardware problem(i'm using R4).

But thanks for those work, i'm waiting for the with sound version

[bigleak2]

0.4 was ok but 0.5 is the best ever i mean now i can see stuff i couldnt see on the emu when i had o.4 so thank you Lordus

[JushinLiger]

This is excellent. I look forward to seeing another release soon :D

[bigleak2]

This is excellent. I look forward to seeing another release soon :D

me 2 i hope it has sond:thumbup:

[Lordus]

But I need yuyu hakusho (the bleach ds forefather) to work :(


should work with H-Int emulation set to "on".

[totocorp]

Please, excuse me for my false news in a preceding post concerning the results of the Neoflash Summer Compo. In the following, the truth is restored. In the future, I'll try to think before posting ... :o

Neoflash Summer Compo 2007 : the 14 entries for NDS APPLICATIONS category :

- DSHobro 0.3, by Costello
- PurityDS, by rema
- SpsychoD, by Schyzophrenic
- jEnesisDS 0.5, by Lordus :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:
- DSketch, by samel
- Dschedule, by samel
- Sleeper Killer, by mastertop101
- ndsMandel, by yJay
- DSOrganize 2.9 NeoFlash, by DragonMinded
- Treasures of Gaia, by stravingo
- DSMasterplus, by alekmaul
- NDStation 1.2.1, by chuckstudios
- DiagnoSe, by spinal
- Sketch Up GBA, by aviraldg

You can vote them at there : http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index.php/board,95.0.html

[Vote for jEnesisDS is a way of thanking Lordus for its fabulous work :D]

[henchturk]

Any way to fit everything on the screen?

It can get annoying having to move it around all the time. Other than that GREAT app.

[Sir_Voe]

I'm really psyched to read that you have sound semi-working in games like Sonic and Gunstar Heroes:eek: . The day you release that build will be an amazing day for DS emulation.

[Lordus]

Any way to fit everything on the screen?

It can get annoying having to move it around all the time. Other than that GREAT app.

I dont know how many times i answered that now ;)
Unfortunately there is no way (with the hardware renderer) to scale the screen horizontally. I dontknow what you are playing, but i really didnt have to scroll around all that much in the games i played.



I'm really psyched to read that you have sound semi-working in games like Sonic and Gunstar Heroes:eek: . The day you release that build will be an amazing day for DS emulation.

Maybe i shouldnt have said anything about it at all ;)
Just can get a bit annoying to get asked about it all the time. I really dont want to get hopes/expectations up too much. I do have the sound working somewhat and its bearable, but just not fast enough yet. Also the Z80 isnt anywhere in the equation yet. Emulating the Z80 on top of everything on the Arm9, and still keeping up enough speed will be not easy, if at all possible.

[bigleak2]

we hope you can get the sound added to the emu we believe in you Lordus

[totocorp]

Only 3 days to vote for the compo. :p

[totocorp]

The last day to vote for the compo ... :cool:

[nexasblade]

how do i get mortal kombaT 2 working

and just to check mk 3 doesnt work cause it sover 3 mb rite?

[mikeb]

wonder when a new update comes i keep checking for a update for this =/

[Sir_Voe]

Last I heard, Lordus no longer has a DS, so development is on hold. Wonder if he ever got a replacement one:confused: .

[stevo11185]

oh.. meh i guess ill have to wait longer...i hope he did get a new one..

[Lordus]

Last I heard, Lordus no longer has a DS, so development is on hold. Wonder if he ever got a replacement one:confused: .

Well, i still dont have one, but development is not on hold either. Its just a bit slower, because especially the part i am working on now would need tests on real hardware sometimes.

Anyway, i made some nice progress regarding sound and i think the next release is not so far away, but i still want to get a DS before i release it.
The sound is still limited to games, that dont need the Z80, but i managed to get all 6 FM channels, PSG and DAC emulated at a reasonable quality on the Arm7.
It wont be perfect, as i had to simplify the FM core a lot to make it fast enough, but it should be ok for the most part.

I attached something for you to see the current process though. It plays a .gym file, which is just a log of register settings, a game would make to the sound chips. So theoretically it would sound the same, when its implemented into jEnesisDS...

[Sir_Voe]

Well, i still dont have one, but development is not on hold either. Its just a bit slower, because especially the part i am working on now would need tests on real hardware sometimes.

I see, sorry to misinform :o .
great to hear you're still at it and making progress:thumbup: .

[weaselboy246]

lol I was wondering why you wanted that Gym player tested on IRC that day. still on my DS.

[crookedmouth]

Thank you for the news Lordus, sounds promising. :)

[souLLy]

Which country are you based in Lordus?
Excellent work btw :)

[Lordus]

Which country are you based in Lordus?
Excellent work btw :)

Thanks. Im German ;)

[souLLy]

If it'll help the project and you can find the cash to cover postage I've got a DS phat you can have if i can find it (I'm sure it's around I just haven't used it since i got a lite). You'll have to get a new power supply as it's got a UK one.
It's already FlashMe'd too.

[Lordus]

If it'll help the project and you can find the cash to cover postage I've got a DS phat you can have if i can find it (I'm sure it's around I just haven't used it since i got a lite). You'll have to get a new power supply as it's got a UK one.
It's already FlashMe'd too.

Thanks a lot for your offer. If you would really want to do that, it would be an incredible help for me and this project. Covering the postage wouldnt be a problem and i happen to have a DS Lite ower supply at home, if that is compatible.

[Sir_Voe]

I happen to have a DS Lite power supply at home, if that is compatible.
The original DS and the Lite have different sized plugs that connect to the DS, so it wouldn't work. The GBA SP uses the same type of plug though, so if you have one of those it might work.

[ThaMossop]

I just got into DS homebrew and I must say the speed at which Sonic 2 runs on this is amazing.. I can't wait for sound to be added.. I know that we all appreciate the work done on this Lordus so thank you..

[sukhi-2006]

I've noticied lock on games such as sonic & Knuckles 2,Sonic & Knuckles 3 don't work please lordus make them work in the next release also get the sound working without the sound megadrive emulator will be no fun.

[crookedmouth]

I don't think we should get pushy. I believe Lordus knows that there is no sound (sarc) and wants it to have sound as much as/ more than anyone else.
Even if he doesn't get sound working, it is a great accomplishment , He mentioned adding sound will be like having a SMS emulator running along side jenesisDS. A PSP and GP2X can run Genesis/MD games with sound. Me I'll stick with my trusty DS.

[ruffles]

Does anyone have a compatibility list or can you tell if the splatterhouses work?

[jonlad1]

Hey Lordus, have you a date in mind to release an update for the damn best Genesis emu?

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

[Landau_TST]

If everyone researches it -> it IS true that the Genesis CPU was faster, however, it is fact that the Genesis sound chip was inferior to that of the SNES. I've played several games released for both consoles and if you do sound tests yourself you'll see the Genesis sounds always sound worse. Not that they're BAD, just inferior to SNES's audio.

[Lordus]

Hey Lordus, have you a date in mind to release an update for the damn best Genesis emu?

Thanks, but no date. As said before, i first have to get a new DS and as things look at the moment, that wont be before the end of the year.


If everyone researches it -> it IS true that the Genesis CPU was faster, however, it is fact that the Genesis sound chip was inferior to that of the SNES. I've played several games released for both consoles and if you do sound tests yourself you'll see the Genesis sounds always sound worse. Not that they're BAD, just inferior to SNES's audio.

Unfortunately, as i said before, the subjective quality of the sound has nothing to do with the processing power needed to emulate it. The Genesis has an additional Z80 CPU for sound drivers + the Yamaha FM chip, which on its own already needs more power than the SNES SPC700. They just work on completely different principles.
For the Genesis chip you have to do realtime fm synthesis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_modulation_synthesis
The SNES can do no such thing. It also depends on personal preferences. Personally i like the distinct sound of FM synthesis on the Genesis more than the SNES sound. That is, if the creators knew what they were doing.
The Batman and Robin soundtrack is great for example: http://www.sigmaecho.com/batman/batman.html

But that game was technically impressive for the Genesis anyway
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkAHVzZ2ks8"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkAHVzZ2ks8

[mr game porter]

sound and it would be awsome, man io just can't wait to play micheal jackssons moonwalker :D

[sukhi-2006]

When will the next release come out?
The genesis emulator without sound isn't good at all i don't play with this emulator anymore its not worth it instead i play snes emulator which has sound i'm afraid all my credits go to the person who made the snes emulator is an charm the genesis emulator is hopeless, lordus if you want to match this emulator with snes one you will have to put sound in it to be greateast emulator at the moment it isn't.

[Sir_Voe]

The genesis emulator without sound isn't good at all i don't play with this emulator anymore its not worth it instead i play snes emulator which has sound i'm afraid all my credits go to the person who made the snes emulator is an charm the genesis emulator is hopeless, lordus if you want to match this emulator with snes one you will have to put sound in it to be greateast emulator at the moment it isn't.

If you want sound so bad, then donate so he can continue. Otherwise, STFU and be greatful he's taken it this far.

[MasterMan]

When will the next release come out?
The genesis emulator without sound isn't good at all i don't play with this emulator anymore its not worth it instead i play snes emulator which has sound i'm afraid all my credits go to the person who made the snes emulator is an charm the genesis emulator is hopeless, lordus if you want to match this emulator with snes one you will have to put sound in it to be greateast emulator at the moment it isn't.
Excuse me, your nick has a typo. It should be suck, not suhki.

BTW, Lordus, this YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SouJCmAtaOI... it's fake?

[Lordus]

BTW, Lordus, this YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SouJCmAtaOI)... it's fake?

No it's not fake. The version was from start of August though, so even older than the 0.5 release. It had just 2 FM channels @ 11KHz running and the implementation of Arm9-Arm7 communication and buffering was very buggy.
So by now it sounds a lot better with all 6 FM channels working and a samplerate of at least 16KHz.

At the moment i continued working on the Java version though and put the DS version on hold, until i get a DS.

[MasterMan]

Thanks for the heads up and for giving us something to wait for.
Now i'm realy realy ashamed for have no ways of donating for you new DS.

[bigleak2]

can i get the link to the emulator they are using with sound i dont care if its buggy and glitvhy i just want it

[sukhi-2006]

I don't think there is genesis emulator for ds with sound, so the video on you tube has sound this is cool now this getting really exciting looks like we are going to get sound in genesis emulator after all so lordus when will you get a ds.

[Junixx]

so lordus when will you get a ds.


Thanks, but no date. As said before, i first have to get a new DS and as things look at the moment, that wont be before the end of the year.


Read man, READ ;)

[MasterMan]

I hope Lordus is not the kind of people who quits its major projects because of people as the two before Junixx's post.
I know coders who would just give a huge STFU! and throw the sources open for anyone continue, and i don't remember anyone ever continuing someone's works (ok, maybe once or twice).

[Lordus]

Now i'm realy realy ashamed for have no ways of donating for you new DS.

Dont be. In fact i feel a little ashamed, that i asked for it at all. Normally it shouldnt be a problem for me to get one, but at the moment i just cant.


can i get the link to the emulator they are using with sound i dont care if its buggy and glitvhy i just want it

There is no link and i wont release something, i dont feel satisfied with. The video was uploaded on youtube by the one person testing it for me, and i didnt even know about it for a while.


I hope Lordus is not the kind of people who quits its major projects because of people as the two before Junixx's post.
I know coders who would just give a huge STFU! and throw the sources open for anyone continue, and i don't remember anyone ever continuing someone's works (ok, maybe once or twice).

Dont worry, I am doing this for myself and not for any appreciation. But i know that many people do in fact appreciate it, and i am thankful that most of the feedback is positive. So i will continue sharing my work ;)

[bigleak2]

lordus we would be happy with you even releasing a update thats how thirsty we are for your emu with sound:thumbup:(your the best lordus)

[sukhi-2006]

We really need the emu with sound i can't wait any longer may i gonna wait for it even longer still good work bring the update soon.

[DanTheManMS]

We really need the emu with sound i can't wait any longer may i gonna wait for it even longer still good work bring the update soon.

Forgive me Lordus if I attempt to put words in your mouth here.

Give it a rest. Lordus doesn't even have a DS at the moment, so it's not exactly easy for him to test any work he may do, right? He's already given you a Genesis emulator that's faster than PicoDriveDS and plays most games at 60 fps, with various options available to increase compatibility. Be thankful for what you already have rather than complaining about one feature that's missing.

Programming isn't easy, and implementing the chips that handle audio isn't as easy as pressing the "lol maek it have teh soundzorz" button.

Rather than complaining about the lack of sound, you could donate to him to help him get actual hardware for testing. Failing that, you could simply be patient and wait for him to finish on his own time.

[bigleak2]

i gave up on you lordus im sorry im using the genesis emu on my psp that has sounds im about to sell my ds and buy me some psp games and ps3 games

[Lordus]

DanTheManMS: thanks.


i gave up on you lordus im sorry im using the genesis emu on my psp that has sounds im about to sell my ds and buy me some psp games and ps3 games

Thanks for letting us know ;)

[PsychoSk8r]

Ahahaha, "bigleak2" has no clue how long coding takes, and how much work it is.
I work with megadrive ASM code myself, and there is a hell of a lot of code for the megadrive to run.
Writing an emulator is going to be Even more work than what i do, and it's going to take a while between each update.
Also, if you've noticed, Lordus currently has WORKING sound, he's just getting it up to scratch rather than making a crappy release. A lot of the people here don't understand the work that goes into things like this =P [/RANT]

[Flygon]

I find this emulator simply suburb and they only problems I can find is that Road Rash II is badly rendered and that F117 Night Storm is badly rendered and runs really slowly.

Though Night Storm is also 3D so I'm not surprised.

[linksdeity]

Excellent emulator.

I just want to thank Lordus for putting together this grade A Genesis emu. As someone who's just started teaching themselves C++, i can hardly imagine what it takes to make something this excellent on not just a PC but for a DS, kudos.

I'll be looking forward to any later releases eagerly.:thumbup:

[benhayden_666]

I love this emu. Can't wait for the version with sound 2 b released! Keep up the good work. :thumbup:

[kyleevans]

just wondering when do you think the new updated version of this emu will be released but with sound this time thanks

[Lordus]

just wondering when do you think the new updated version of this emu will be released but with sound this time thanks

When i think it is ready..

Seriously, even if a number of games already has sound, its a LOT of work still to do, to make it work for every game. I hoped to release a new version till the end of the year, but i cant promise that at the moment.

I just got a new DS recently, because of a very generous donation, so there was a lot of time lost i couldnt work on it as i would have liked to.

Also want to say thanks again to everyone who donated. I decided to send a sound enabled beta to those who did, so check your mails ;)

[Echo1]

I didn't think sound was going to be an option. I know you mentioned a few months back that you had some success with sound but I just assumed it'd be too much for the little DS.

If you can implement it in a future release, then that'll be great. I have patience. Keep up the good work on it. :)

[Sir_Voe]

Great to hear you got a replacement DS. Really looking forward to the next release.

[mr game porter]

i have an idéa. why not try to port a genesis emulator for the pc to a ds? thats what the guys that made snemulds did. just a tip, im not saying that your emu is bad, no no not at all. but the fact that there is no sound is...well...irritating, well well i hope you finish the emu soon so that we all can play (and hear:D) the sweet games for genesis.

[Lordus]

i have an idéa. why not try to port a genesis emulator for the pc to a ds? thats what the guys that made snemulds did. just a tip, im not saying that your emu is bad, no no not at all. but the fact that there is no sound is...well...irritating, well well i hope you finish the emu soon so that we all can play (and hear:D) the sweet games for genesis.

Sigh..

Interesting how perspectives can differ. For you, having no sound is irritating, for me, your post is..
There is just too much to say about it, but i try to make it short.

First, what makes you think, a ported emulator from PC would have any advantages? Do you think just because it has sound on the PC, it will automagically have sound on the DS?
Sound and graphics are usually the 2 things that need to be rewritten when porting something to a different platform.
And of course, a software/emulator specifically designed for a platform will run better than one that is simply ported.

Also, jEnesisDS started as a port of my own Java emulator, which has sound and countless features, the DS version doesn't have. By now, almost nothing of the original code is left, because the only way to make it run as fast as it does, is to adapt every piece of it to take advantage of the DS hardware.

I am sure the same is true for SNemulDS and not much in it will remind of the PC version. It uses another ARM assembler cpu core, and gladius' pocketspc sound core. If it would still use the code from the PC version it would probably be a slideshow.

Anyway, if you're not satisfied, there is already a ported PC Genesis emu for the DS, so just use that:
http://nintendo-ds.dcemu.co.uk/genesisplusnds.shtml

[Presca1]

Well, I love the fact frankly that you're doing all this work without an active NDS - God bless you for that. I'm sort of new to the community in here - I'm from Canada, but it's exciting to see the things folks are doing, it's a lot of hard work - so cut him some slack guys. You don't like it - then do it yourself, I say.

Thanks so much for all the hard work, Lordus - keep going with it! I look forward to watching for updates.

I bought my brother an R4 for Christmas, just loading it up and sending him a little text file on the memory chip with the best links for NDS on the net - including this forum :D

Merry Christmas everyone!
Presca :)

*Girls like emu too*!

[Spidery_Yoda]

I think the emulator is absolutely amazing.

When i first got jEnesis i was expecting a slideshow like i get on Picodrive. The first time i loaded up Sonic & Knucles i was astounded by not only the framerate, but at how amazing the game looked on the DS screen.

All these people that are complaining about the lack of sound have obviously never tried coding something like that before. They expect it to just happen, and make it sound like you're deliberately not including it. Well those people are fools.

I eagerly await the next release if there is one, and if not, then i already have a brilliant Mega Drive emulator.

I wish there was a way to load up ROMs over 3Mb though (or rather, Sonic 3 & Knuckes ;)), but i know the DS just can't handle files that large and there's nothing that can be done about it (except using a slot 2 card, which i dont have).

Thanks for the brilliant emulator.

[Flygon]

I wish there was a way to load up ROMs over 3Mb though (or rather, Sonic 3 & Knuckes ;)), but i know the DS just can't handle files that large and there's nothing that can be done about it (except using a slot 2 card, which i dont have).
If I recall correctly it is possible, it is done on emulators like that Snes Emulator mentioned previously as long as it is not zipped.

Of course I'd have to guess it would be hard to implement as the ROM would not be on the RAM but I just stating my 2 cents.

I do find this emulator spectacular by the way, the only things that I does lack (Apart from the obvious sound issue but thats understandable) is proper support for games like Road Rash and F-117 Night Storm. (They both have severe graphical errors).

[Weed-4-me]

awsome emulator!
good work and i cant wait for the sound :P

[Eyedunno]

Holy crap. I just saw your email (Hotmail thought it was spam), and I've spent the last hour and a half or so playing various games. I must admit, I sent the first donation without ever having tried jEnesisDS. I just did it because I thought it was worthwhile. Boy was it.

The beta is amazing. Sure, plenty of games still don't have sound, but the games that do have blown me away. I wanted to play Phantasy Star IV with sound, and wow, now I can! In fact, of the four games I've tried, PSIV has the clearest sound.

Here are my results so far:
Sonic 1 - Sound is not perfect, but it's good enough that people who aren't so picky will find it adequate.
Decap Attack - Sound is somewhat distorted, but again, it's playable.
Phantasy Star IV - Wow. Just awesome. I've only played through the first boss so far, but everything was just about perfect.
Zero Wing - No sound. Good emulation otherwise though.
Edit: Lost Vikings - Doesn't seem to even start. :( Oh well, I have the GBA version.

Anyway, I sent another small donation your way, just because of how excellent this already is. I can't wait until you redo the sound core. :)

Edit: Oh, I would like to make one small suggestion. I'd like to skip the config screen and go right to file select. Also, being able to set a starting roms folder would be nice. How about either a cfg file or the ability to save options within the emulator?

[Lordus]

Holy crap. I just saw your email (Hotmail thought it was spam), and I've spent the last hour and a half or so playing various games. I must admit, I sent the first donation without ever having tried jEnesisDS. I just did it because I thought it was worthwhile. Boy was it.

The beta is amazing. Sure, plenty of games still don't have sound, but the games that do have blown me away. I wanted to play Phantasy Star IV with sound, and wow, now I can! In fact, of the four games I've tried, PSIV has the clearest sound.

Here are my results so far:
Sonic 1 - Sound is not perfect, but it's good enough that people who aren't so picky will find it adequate.
Decap Attack - Sound is somewhat distorted, but again, it's playable.
Phantasy Star IV - Wow. Just awesome. I've only played through the first boss so far, but everything was just about perfect.
Zero Wing - No sound. Good emulation otherwise though.
Edit: Lost Vikings - Doesn't seem to even start. :( Oh well, I have the GBA version.

Anyway, I sent another small donation your way, just because of how excellent this already is. I can't wait until you redo the sound core. :)

Edit: Oh, I would like to make one small suggestion. I'd like to skip the config screen and go right to file select. Also, being able to set a starting roms folder would be nice. How about either a cfg file or the ability to save options within the emulator?


First, thanks for your donations, i really appreciate it.
Hm, mistaken for spam, maybe that's why i didn't get any feedback on the beta yet ;)
Anyway, i am glad you like it. It will be a lot of work to improve the sound and even more, to make it work for other games, too. But i am at it.

If a game doesn't start, try changing "fake z80", "HInt-emulation" or "Idle loop detection" options.
This particular game should work, if you turn fake z80 on.
This will not be necessary anymore, once i have a proper Z80 core implemented.

About the options, i was thinking of that before the last release, but i didn't like the idea to place a .cfg file in the root of the card, as there is no elegant way to determine the directory of a file.
Also, many games require different options, so a single saved configuration might not help that much.
I hope you understand, that those things are not that high on my priority list, but i will try to figure out something shortly before i am ready for the next release.

[AndrewLeon]

Forgive me Lordus if I attempt to put words in your mouth here.

Give it a rest. Lordus doesn't even have a DS at the moment, so it's not exactly easy for him to test any work he may do, right? He's already given you a Genesis emulator that's faster than PicoDriveDS and plays most games at 60 fps, with various options available to increase compatibility. Be thankful for what you already have rather than complaining about one feature that's missing.

Programming isn't easy, and implementing the chips that handle audio isn't as easy as pressing the "lol maek it have teh soundzorz" button.

Rather than complaining about the lack of sound, you could donate to him to help him get actual hardware for testing. Failing that, you could simply be patient and wait for him to finish on his own time.
Owned..

+1 bonus points for the
"lol maek it have teh soundzorz".
Comment

[Eyedunno]

About the options, i was thinking of that before the last release, but i didn't like the idea to place a .cfg file in the root of the card, as there is no elegant way to determine the directory of a file.
Well, SNEmulDS supports it through a cfg file. Not sure how though. :)

Oh, and turning Fake Z80 on worked, but is there no "mode" button? I can't play past the second level of Lost Vikings without it. :(

[Lordus]

Well, SNEmulDS supports it through a cfg file. Not sure how though. :)

Oh, and turning Fake Z80 on worked, but is there no "mode" button? I can't play past the second level of Lost Vikings without it. :(

Yes, that's what i meant. It puts the cfg file in the root of your flashcard, doesn't it? I guess that is not so bad, i will probably do that for the next release.

I was not aware that a game actually requires the mode button. I guess i will place it somewhere on the touch screen.

[Eyedunno]

Yes, that's what i meant. It puts the cfg file in the root of your flashcard, doesn't it? I guess that is not so bad, i will probably do that for the next release.

I was not aware that a game actually requires the mode button. I guess i will place it somewhere on the touch screen.
Yeah, me neither. Until I did a (very difficult, since most of the info on the web is for the SNES and GBA versions) web search for how to select items, I figured the mode button was strictly a controller function and not something that sends input to the Genesis. And yeah, a touchscreen-based button should be just fine.

[jessman]

Hey. I've just recently stumbled across this emulator and I just wanted to say...thanks...for everything. Every game I've tested on your emulator runs full speed, and my only wish is to someday play Shining Force with sound on my DS. I'm guessing that only a few elite people get to test the updated version of this emulator, but I want to tell you that I've never been as happy as I am today that I sold my PSP and kept my DS. Thanks for giving me hope, and maybe someday we'll all be able to enjoy what you're doing for the scene. jEnesis rocks!

[zzt]

Playing sonic 3 on my ds rocks, wish sega would make some sort of compilation for the ds like they did for psp. I wish there was some way to support this project, but I am broke and have no technical knowledge what so ever, so all I can do is cheer the creator of this program on. Thanks.

[lostthewar]

lordus, thanks.

The games are unhindered, graphically pristine, The UI doesn't suffer from 1337 coder syndrome when it looks like a unix shell. It's a bonafide, from-the-ground-up powerhouse.

[Eviltaco64]

How well does this emulator run?
It would be amazing to see fullspeed Genesis emulation on DS (they already have some SNES Games [Street Fighter II'] running at fullspeed)

[Spidery_Yoda]

How well does this emulator run?
It would be amazing to see fullspeed Genesis emulation on DS (they already have some SNES Games [Street Fighter II'] running at fullspeed)

It runs all the games i've played at 60fps.

[Eviltaco64]

It runs all the games i've played at 60fps.

With sound?

[Mattz]

Just came across this emulator while googling with my flatmate for DS related funs and I'm very impressed with the smoothness of it's running. Blows Pico out of the water at Sonic 3 (which is largely all I care about atm) and I'm super excited to hear that sound is also in the works.
Keep up the awesome work!

[Spidery_Yoda]

With sound?

Not yet, but if you read the previous page you'll see that it's on the way. He has a version working with sound, it's just not completed yet.

[cyberdude123123123]

asdasd

[guitar.dude.simon]

hey!
this emulator is awesome!
but....how do you get the sounds working on it? im all new to this kinda stuff and have spent the past 3 hours luking for an emulator like this and its amazin thanx :)

stiffler

[crookedmouth]

There is a new version with sound.About 12 threads down.

but here is a link.
http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=106665