The DCEmu Interview - Question 14 - How Excited Are You In Todays Homebrew Scene ?

[wraggster]

http://interviews.dcemu.co.uk/dcemu2008.gif

A feature i did a few years ago and one im going to repeat now is the DCEmu Interview, a unique idea in which questions are asked by me to the Whole DCEmu Community its a way to learn more about each others and find out what our interests are and much more

Todays Question is How Excited Are You In Todays Homebrew Scene ?

Give your Answer via Comments.

Remember to check out our DCEmu Interview Site (http://interviews.dcemu.co.uk/) to catch up on previous DCEmu Interview Questions

The DCEmu Interview - Question 1 - What Consoles Do You Own ? (http://interviews.dcemu.co.uk/the-dcemu-interview-question-1-what-consoles-do-you-own--82867.html)
The DCEmu Interview - Question 2 - Whats Your Favourite Console Of All Time (http://interviews.dcemu.co.uk/the-dcemu-interview-question-2-whats-your-favourite-console-of-all-time-83029.html)
The DCEmu Interview - Question 3 - Whats Your New Years Resolution ? (http://interviews.dcemu.co.uk/the-dcemu-interview-question-3-whats-your-new-years-resolution--83130.html)
The DCEmu Interview - Question 4 - What Got you Interested in Homebrew/Emulation ? (http://interviews.dcemu.co.uk/the-dcemu-interview-question-4-what-got-you-interested-in-homebrew-emulation--83212.html)
The DCEmu Interview - Question 5 - Whats the greatest Game Ever ? (http://interviews.dcemu.co.uk/the-dcemu-interview-question-5-whats-the-greatest-game-ever--83477.html)
The DCEmu Interview - Question 6 - Whats the Greatest Homebrew Console? (http://interviews.dcemu.co.uk/the-dcemu-interview-question-6-whats-the-greatest-homebrew-console--83559.html)
The DCEmu Interview - Question 7 - Whats the Greatest Homebrew Handheld? (http://interviews.dcemu.co.uk/the-dcemu-interview-question-7-whats-the-greatest-homebrew-handheld--83580.html)
The DCEmu Interview - Question 8 - Whos the Greatest Homebrew Hacker/Coder and Why ? (http://interviews.dcemu.co.uk/the-dcemu-interview-question-8-whos-the-greatest-homebrew-hacker-coder-and-why--85365.html)
The DCEmu Interview - Question 9 - Whats the Greatest Emulator Released? (http://interviews.dcemu.co.uk/the-dcemu-interview-question-9-whats-the-greatest-emulator-released--87819.html)
The DCEmu Interview - Question 10 - What Game(S) Would you like to see Remade ? (http://interviews.dcemu.co.uk/the-dcemu-interview-question-10-what-game-s-would-you-like-to-see-remade--89091.html)
The DCEmu Interview - Question 11 - Whats the Greatest Platform Game Released ? (http://interviews.dcemu.co.uk/the-dcemu-interview-question-11-whats-the-greatest-platform-game-released--90432.html)
The DCEmu Interview - Question 12 - Whats the Greatest FPS Game Released ? (http://interviews.dcemu.co.uk/the-dcemu-interview-question-11-whats-the-greatest-fps-game-released--93257.html)
The DCEmu Interview - Question 13 - Whats the Greatest Sports Game Released ? (http://interviews.dcemu.co.uk/the-dcemu-interview-question-13-whats-the-greatest-sports-game-released--96300.html)

[wraggster]

With so many interesting developments on so many scenes its the greatest time for any homebrew fans. for a true fan like me it has me buzzing .

Wii Homebrew seems to be the most exciting at the moment but every scene is progressing well.

[DarthPaul]

Well, personally, I get really excited when the coders announce their releases. But, to be honest, it's not as exciting as it was a few months ago. I'm talking about the PSP's homebrew scene of course. 'Cause it's the only homebrew enabled system that I have... Well, it's not as exciting as it was some months ago, because a lot of coders are retiring, a lot of people is bashing, a lot of projects unfinished... Nowadays, all you see that the people really welcome are updates. Updates of old/classic/famous applications, they don't give chance to new coders to show their work, and that's getting the scene a bit boring. Also, the projects I saw started from scratch at the beginning, like gpSP, Daedalus, the Custom Firmwares... they're all almost perfected now. And.. I don't know, a dream's not longer a dream when it becomes true. Like, we can't expect something "exciting" coming from them now. But, perhaps we could expect some new stuff coming in this year. Who knows? Now with the PSP Slim and it's expanded capabilties... Well.. that's just my opinion.

I know, maybe I didn't explain it like I wanted to, but I'm sleepy right now. Haven't slept for a while... ^^;

[shorty_carnage]

Not very Excited, lets face it todays homebrew scene is dull!

[ojdon]

It's getting more and more dull. I mean, it's because more people are doing it, so a lot of useless programs/apps are being released and clogging up the news page... :\

Don't get me wrong, I know that they have put some effort into it, but most of them are just released for the sake of it... Even if it's been done before. For example ANOTHER vista portal, or another early spin-off Sonic game made in lua.

I mean if people took time with there projects and don't release it straight away then maybe it wouldn't be as dull.

[Dr Eggman]

I think it's good, however for the PSP some aren't being updated and finished, as DarthPaul said.

Although, i absolutely CAN'T wait for Wii Custom Firmware!!!

[crazyteknohed]

I haven't been excited since Xbox development started drying up a year or so ago. My main homebrew consoles are my Xbox, DS and Symbian S60 phone. As I said, Xbox development has all but dried up, and DS development seems very slow, although there are some very good emulators. As for the S60 phone, the old 2nd Edition S60 phones had far better support for emulators than the current crop of 3rd Edition S60 phones. This is such a shame as the 3rd Ed phones are so much more powerful.

The console I am looking to buy next is a GP2X. This seems like the homebrew machine to have at the moment, but the upcoming Pandora may well eclipse it.

[onetwentyeight]

I can't say I'm as excited as I was earlier, but with all of the emus stable and running well I for one am glad to see all the new apps released even if not all are useful to the majority of the homebrew audience.

When I became a Palm owner in the late 90s, having an enormous scene of software already available was excellent. Sure, not all of it was necessary, but I was able to choose what I felt would make me more productive and enjoy better recreation. This sense continued during my later transition to Windows mobile, but I looked on with tremendous excitement as the library for GP32 grew from nil to tremendous after I'd purchased one.

That's where we are now with the PSP. The simple hacking scene has come to a close with the release of every new custom firmware practically simultaneous with the official (kxploits seem like forever ago along with Wipeout proxy redirects), but the non-gaming library is beginning to see a resurgence along with game titles that would have been completely ignored during the SNES hype and in the wake of Daedalus releases.

[MicroNut]

On the whole I am happy with it.
Maybe its just been too good for awhile and now folks are taking it a little for granted.
Hey, where is StrmnNrmn (http://strmnnrmn.blogspot.com/)?

[stevo11185]

I'm excited about the ipod touch and phone homebrew scene. With the SDK coming out (as in already came out) im especially happy because it will mean more games ^^.

One of my favourites is being worked on by popcap is Zuma

[JKKDARK]

I'm excited about new and upcoming homebrew scenes like Iphone, N-Gage and Pandora :)

[____anders____]

i'm VERY excited, because the zelda Tp exploit update for wii :)

but i think the coders release less and less homebrew for nds every day though :(

but i really believe in the zelda exploit, awesome that they got the support for the built in sd slot :), so the wii homebrew scene will explode now, i hope..

[classicgmr]

I own 3 handheld homebrew-capable systems:

Nintendo DS - I haven't tried anything with it. It's a recent purchase so I haven't even looked into what I can do with it... no opinion on that either way.

Sony PSP - I'm not all that excited about it really. Beyond the MAJOR exception of ZX-81 emulators - which I LOVE - nothing has been done to really improve the apps that are already out and the new things that ARE being released seem to be the same things over and over again or just not worth the download. I apologize to all the coders out there but that's my opinion. *shrug*

GamePark GP2X - Now THIS is the handheld I am very excited about for homebrew and emulation.

Emulation -
* Recently Franxis released a brand new upgraded MAME for it which works great and introduces a TON of games to the system.
* ZX-81 - again - is a major contributer and I can't say enough how much I do like his emulators!
* Notaz has a Genesis emulator with Sega CD support running full speed and still being improved on. How cool is that?
* Exophase is working on a much improved TG-16(PC Engine) emulator - Temper - that is on the verge of supporting CD games.
* DOSBox is really starting to come into its own on the 2X as well but I haven't tried it as yet. :rolleyes:
* Almost every emulator on the 2X is superior to the PSP and - the big one here - there's MORE SUPPORT for them. Updates do come out and projects do get worked. I've donated to a few of them already just because of this. PSP projects? I doubt I ever would.

Ports - Ultima VII. Star Control II. Duke Nukem. Doom. Quake. Rise of the Triad. Transport Tycoon. Do I need to go on? :thumbup:

Homebrew - We all know that this had to be one of the most coder-friendly systems to ever hit the market and it shows. Sqdef Tower Defense is addictive. Ruckage's Blingo is great(though that could be considered a port of sorts)! The upcoming Tikka Dungeons - though commercial - looks HOT. Freedroid, Chess2X, Poker2X, Sudoku, Myriad, CDogs, Liquid War, Monaco... there's a lot of great games written for the 2X and I'm always looking for more as they are released. My homebrew section on my SD card(before I formatted the wrong card! :eek: ) had 48 homebrews on it. I'm still trying to find em all again.

So yeah... DS no comment. PSP no excitement. GP2X no contest. :)

[RV2006]

I'm sooo excited about wii homebrew,
and I really, really, really, REALLY!!! Wish that the genisis plus emulator is updated to support front SD loading, as that would keep me occupied, while other awesome homebrew is being made.
( I really, really, do!!)

[Mr. Shizzy]

Well, I'm always excited about homebrew.

It's undeniable, that the PSP scene has slowed, and maybe a few steps past its prime... BUT - I think there is always room for improvement. Those who continue to stick with the PSP scene still have a few big things to look forward to ;)

[sm1988]

I am greatful and impressed at what has been accomplished I would like to see some enhancements to the emulators that have been realeased.like maybe combining the source code of all the best emulators into one app and giving it a virtual console like gui. that would be cool! Maybe we could have a coder of the year award to get some of these guys motivated with some official recognition and some prizes.I would chip in.

[gunntims0103]

PSP's homebrew scene has almost everything i could ask for so im pretty content. Its the PSP's commercial scene im most disappointed in.

[hounddog]

umm theres nothing to be excited about to be honest the good emulators like gpsp, daedalus and snestyl and havent been updated in uhh months almost a year but the only thing that was exciting was that full speed neo geo pocket emulator thats just my opinion

[mike_jmg]

Not much, since most of the emulators I wanted have been released, but haven't been updated

Also, as MicroNut said: where is StrmnNrmn?

[mariocdl]

Im looking forward to see what comes up with the Wii homebrew. Especially a custom firmware of some sorts. Linux with a gui would be nice.

[masterchief929]

as far as the ds hombrew scene goes, its slowly going dead... :(

[____anders____]

yeah it's too bad the ds scene slowly draws to an end, maybe cus it doesn't really have that impressive hardware specs :( like the psp does, i think that's why the psp scene have a really long life.

[NoQuarter]

The PSP homebrew is all I actively deal with at the moment.Honestly there is so much stuff now it's a bit overwhelming :P

It might seem like a boring time for psp homebrew but that's when things come and surprise you.I'd love to see psp linux continue development as well as lua( some people knock it but scripting can definitely be useful for quick coding).DAX never fails to impress me,Art and ZX's programs are among my favorite.Patience definitely pays off.
Particularly exiting is the emerging wii scene,gonna have to get one now.
We actually have a couple of dreamcasts hanging around,I might check those out when I'm not so busy.

[Cast128dreams]

So many years have passed but Dreamcast scene has more to show.
Iam still excited,well not as i was,but everyday iam checking dreamcast.dcemu.co.uk for news.


Anders yess its a bit dissapointed.Dreamcast scene its not so stong as it was.But it has more to offer.Full playstation emulation,Full genesis emu and you never know Sega cd emulation.

As the years are passing by maybe the above emulations will be forever DREAMS.

[SSaxdude]

The PSP scene has slowed down a ton. Everything we dreamed of back in 2005-2006 is possible on the PSP. Playstation emulation, unbricking, the ability to downgrade any firmware, Sega CD emulation, to name a few. Commercial games for the PSP aren't as good as they were.

The Dreamcast scene has been quiet for a while. However, the new Genesis emulator Gens4All has me excited. Even without homebrew, the commercial games for Dreamcast keep me playing the DC.

I've never paid much attention to the DS scene, so I can't really say how it's doing. I don't own a Wii or a iTouch/iPhone, so I'm not interested in those, although they seem to be doing well.

The biggest flaw I see in the scene is that there aren't any huge advances for Xbox 360/PS3 homebrew. I can't blame the devs, I'm sure MS/Sony have done much more to combat hacking now than last generation. But if there was homebrew on these two consoles, there would be some sweet emulators and applications.

[Aryn]

As far as excitement goes, I can only give a mixed response.


Short Answer:

The homebrew scene does expand the functionality of game systems but it could use some fresh content in emulation and game ports to liven it up a bit.


Long Answer:

I do find the ports of classic games to be fun and still play some of them, but the most prominent games that are ported are doom, quake, heretic...games that we played to death already before they were ported to the console systems they were played on, and then played to death on those systems before being ported to more current systems. Seriously, this is getting boring, and I would be willing to donate money to anybody who ports a different 3D PC game to console systems.

However, the homebrew scene is a bit exciting if you like mini games, since there are tons of them available for each game system (except for the recently hacked systems) nowadays. Sure, most of them are not entertaining for more than a few seconds, but I have found dozens of them available for each game system that manage to be entertaining enough to keep me playing them over and over again, and keep checking web sites in hopes of hearing news about the next new mini game that becomes available.

If you are interested in emulators that allow you to play games from older console systems, then I suppose that the scene is exciting as long as you are after games from the 16 bit era. As for higher end game system emulators, well, you are pretty much out of luck (at least in the portable gaming scene). There is a SEGA CD emulator on the GP2X but not much else, and I have not heard news about an N64 emulator or an emulator for another post 16 bit era system for ages. And the ones that were under development still can not play 3D games at a proper frame rate yet.

In the category of applications, the Nintendo DS and PSP seem to excel in this category. For the PSP, you have a wide range of applications ranging from instant messenger programs that use a PDA keyboard (unless you are using the PSP Slim, of course) to conversion software for PS1 games to use them on the PSP, to internet radio clients. In fact, most of the PSP's non-gaming features were carried out through homebrew programs before the ideas were copied and added to firmware updates. As for the Nintendo DS, there are a good number of programs that allow you to use most features on a modern PDA on your DS. The only problem there is the DS has a somewhat low compatibility rate with wireless routers and hotspots. At any rate these applications help to unlock a bit of the true potential in game systems.

[the_eternal_dark]

Bring on Pandora. I will then be happy.

[psp411]

i was more excited in the psp homebrew scene during the 05-06 year... hat was when i was spending countless hours up tryna get the latest releases of the best things... my personal favourite(that i could remember) was the 2.5/2.6 downgrader.... i remember staying up till 2:30 just to get it and waiting till the next day just to execute it.... tha good old days :D :cool:
... too bad the scene isnt as fast paced and as exciting as it is now... guess its starting to show some age=\

[Shadowblind]

I was pretty bored until Wii homebrew came along. Now I can't wait to see whats coming :)

[robman84]

To coin a phrase, "I'm super excited" about DS homebrew (the only scene I am into). Having been into homebrew since about 1980 I can honestly say things are just getting better all the time. Some things currently floating my boat are:

* Pocket physics: The DS was just MADE for this, and the new version is fantastic

* The myriad WIFI Midi apps coming out. Whilst stability needs some work, the creativity afforded by the touch screen is cool. We're now even starting to see people make use of the pressure sensitivity of the touchscreen for Midi stuff.

* Colors. The pressure-sensitive drawing app.

In fact, most of the homebrew I love on the DS makes good solid use of the touch-screen.

The only bummer I guess is that the emulation-side of things has definitely seemed to slow down. A few (ZXDS, ScummVM, Lameboy) are being updated, but quite a few lovely ones seem to have been abandoned a bit too soon. The PSP definitely has the significant edge here.

[masterchief_117]

well as far as the ds homebrew scene goes its been getting pretty dull but even still when something new comes out i get excited and then i cant wait to try it out :)

[Eviltaco64]

I think the Wii scene and the upcoming Pandora will breath some new life into the homebrew scene.
And the PSPs homebrew scene is getting better in some areas and decreasing in others.

[____anders____]

i can't wait to see what will happen with the wii homebrew scene when the homebrew channel comes out, they have now proven to us in the video that it is possible to make our own channel and i would like to see a linux channel :)

i can't wait to see if i can install cedega on it, if it works than we can all play windows games on our wiis:), but only if the wii would let us read the discs...

[alexzander]

there isn't much to be exited about at the moment.

[MHentai]

not much... everything I want to play it's already emulated, and I thank everyone who made this possible.

[Eric]

I am happy today to see more systems gather up in the homebrew world of course there is some sad news aswell. What i am happy with is more consoles are joining the world of homebrew. Sadly though Xbox and PS3 cannot be modded. Good thing about the PS3 though is legally you can play homebrew games through the Linux OS which as available to use without the PS3 being modded.

Sadly for the Xbox 360 it can be modded but for what i see is that homebrew doesnt exist and what the mod is used for is piracy and playing back up games. Wii is awesome cause it some what reminds me of the Dreamcast days with these somewhat hacks to play games on the system.

Using your PC to make the games play and such. Sadly though cause of firmware updates there maybe a possibility homebrew could die on the Wii but where theres a way theres a will and theres always a new hack. As for the handheld world theres to much homebrewing going on with the PSP,NDS and of course open sourced handhelds.

The most important again is the commercial handhelds with homebrew. While PSP is at the top cause it can do just about anything the DS does and close to what the old Xbox does by half the percentage. But this handheld is getting homebrew releases just about everyday. Nintendo DS is another popular system only this system is not as popular as the PSP.

Why cause its not as powerful but the cool thing about it is that some homebrews or if not most take advantage of the touch screen in which the PSP doesnt so thats a plus. But most games are downgraded and somethings are no so playable like they are on the PSP.

The sad news is 2 consoles that were my personal fav are dieing out or have died. Im talking about the Dreamcast and XBOX 1. Dreamcast is still alive but the community seems to be falling. Now i dont want to upset the world and blame you DCemu but i will anyways lol. Now not to of course say there i something wrong with that cause all people need to move on to newer and better things as DCemu has.

But the quick move over to news for just about any console that can do homebrew quickly knocked the Dreamcast lower and most coders were moving to better consoles. I seen as soon as the PSP was being advertised on DCemu as the most powerful for homebrew it came king for coding for and came king for hobbists and DCemu users to play with.

Dreamcast to me is amazing cause from what i hear its fun to code for and there is strategy to making things playable on the system and sometimes there is amazement in the scene like when the Neo Geo CD emulator was released. Xbox of course was another amazing thing that has died out cause of the newer systems coming and i cant really say thats DCemu's fault at all cause Xbox was more popular on another site then it was DCemu sorry to say but its true.

But i think when Xbox 360 came along people moved along why would be need to play Xbox when 360 is far better whocares about homebrew and thats not me saying the words but thats the words of people who played Xbox.

So again coders moved on and players moved on to far better consoles but sadly Xbox is far better for homebrew but its to easy to code for cause its basically like PC.

I do have to give a high five to DCemu cause when you think about the average gamer then you know what they want and that makes money.

[leekate019]

Thanks for the suggestion, I wish it had worked.

simulation credit auto (http://simulationcreditauto.net/)

[psyfirefly]

Not at all. Very disappointed in fact.

The NDS homebrew scene seems to be all but dead, there are some new games being made that are not very good. But im assuming that is because they are just beginners and should only be a matter of time before they get good.

I still have hope though. Maybe there is work underway on some secret projects which will be big. Nothing has matched the scope of the Lemmings DS project yet.

I have tried attempting homebrew myself but I just cannot grasp it.