nullDC status report (Dreamcast Emulator for Windows)

[wraggster]

Bobbi (http://www.ngemu.com/index.php?action=post&id=2084) posted this news:


Some of you might still remember this announcement from early this year talking about a new dreamcast emulator called nullDC. Now, half a year later, we're happy to bring you a status update on this emulator today with some screenshots showing the great progress which has been made.

But let's start with some real facts directly from the authors this time: The authors are ZeZu, known from the never released Icarus project, and drk||Raziel. The emu, unlike mentioned in some other news posts, will not be open source. It uses plugins for emulating video / sound / input and gdrom functionality, so other authors will be able to contribute to the project easily.

During the development, the authors decided to set compatibility above speed. This resulted in a nice compatibility, but requires better hardware to emulate the games at full speed (an Athlon64 3000+ with a GeForce 6600 produces great results). As you can see on the screenshots, games such as Dead or Alive 2LE and Toy Commander are already playable and compatibility becomes better every day.

Watch this space for further informations on this emulator. A release date hasn't been set but shouldn't be too far away any more; don't ask for a specific date please.

Screens Via Comments

[Zion]

WOW, I cant wait for this :D

Easier than setting up my dreamcast :p

[SiZiOUS]

Very sweet news. nullDC seems to be very powerful now. Congrats to ZeZu and Raziel. ;)

[JKKDARK]

Yeah, amazing news :D

[Christuserloeser]

Easier than setting up my dreamcast :p

Heh, I highly doubt it, but this still is good news :)

[SSaxdude]

Sweet, I hope this has near 100% compatibility.

[Runefox]

Despite the fact that it's very almost necessary to download hacked CD images of the DC games (since GD-ROM's cannot (reliably) be read under any circumstances by a standard CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive), the concept of (even near) fullspeed Dreamcast emulation with a high compatibility rate sounds like a supremely neat thing to look forward to.

[quzar]

Despite the fact that it's very almost necessary to download hacked CD images of the DC games (since GD-ROM's cannot (reliably) be read under any circumstances by a standard CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive), the concept of (even near) fullspeed Dreamcast emulation with a high compatibility rate sounds like a supremely neat thing to look forward to.

You can make full GD-Rom images by using a DC with a BBA or coders cable.

[ßüboni¢ $oñic]

i font understand how a freakin' modem can give u a game... just dont. will this null have online play?

[Cid Highwind]

You can make full GD-Rom images by using a DC with a BBA or coders cable.
Tell that to the hordes of kids who want to emulate DC while they don't even know what a VMU is :P

Great news for the emulation scene nonetheless :D

[DCDayDreamer]

You can make full GD-Rom images by using a DC with a BBA or coders cable.

Probably a stupid question, but is that what the 'GD-Rom functionality plugin' is for?.

[Nemo2006X]

Wow , is for X86 machines ?:confused:
But "not" open-source , that sux..:(

[RetroGoth]

I need to buy a new pc for this...blah I have a dc lol still great news that someone is still working on a dc emulator

[Runefox]

I personally don't have a coder's cable (which is supposed to be entirely slow), nor am I able to get within sight of a BBA, so I guess I'm SOL as far as emulating the DC on my PC goes (especially with regard to ripping the BIOS). Considering it sounds much further along than most other DC emus, it'd be useful for my homebrew discs, though, since I'd be able to see what causes what kind of error, fix this, touch up that, etc.

[fackue]

i will send u bios via MSN :)
Try to keep the illegal talk to a minimum please, thanks.

[ßüboni¢ $oñic]

why dont u add a post delete function... how archaic..

[Darksaviour69]

you can delete via edit ;)

[kohan69]

Nice to see some progress, hope it can read images instead of using an aspi plugin-in! :p

[BrooksyX]

yeah this is good news, it looks like its been a couple of months since an update. Hopefully there will be one soon.

[Mark30001]

Keep up the great work ZeZu & Raziel! :)

[tuta]

how good is it and is it out I cant get a dc I dun see anywhere sellin it in my country here but I managed to get a DOA2LE just to play with chankast(runin at 20-30 fps for me)is it any better than Chankast?

[JKKDARK]

how good is it and is it out I cant get a dc I dun see anywhere sellin it in my country here but I managed to get a DOA2LE just to play with chankast(runin at 20-30 fps for me)is it any better than Chankast?

well, you will not see the first nullDC version better than Chankast :rolleyes:

[quzar]

well, you will not see the first nullDC version better than Chankast :rolleyes:

what? The nullDC is already better. Faster I'm not sure, but the author has access to the chankast sources, so I can't imagine it being slower =\.

[BrooksyX]

I just wish we could get an update or general idea when a binary release may be available. Especially since my dreamcast is starting to have trouble reading discs.

[basbot11]

are there some new news about this project?? because my dc is dead, and i cant wait to play all the games that i havent play on dc on my pc.

[isamu]

Wow no updates yet? :sad: :bummedout:

[Zion]

Well, i was given the emulator (now a beta tester for the project i think :D) by darkraziel and i have to say it is stunning.

Great sound, Gfx and great fps :D

Belive me it will be worth the wait guys :p

[isamu]

Well, i was given the emulator (now a beta tester for the project i think :D) by darkraziel and i have to say it is stunning.

Great sound, Gfx and great fps :D

Belive me it will be worth the wait guys :p


Wow that is fantastic news! The only game I'm really interested in playing is Daytona USA 2001. Can you shed some light on how well it runs at present? I am bummed that it is still broken and unplayable in Chankast.

Now if we can only get a good, stable Gamecube emulator that plays F-ZeroGX properly, then I'd go bananas!! :drool:

[FunKing]

Does nullDC offers any debugging facilities (disassembled code, breakpoints, terminal/window with serial output/input, etc.)?