DCEmu Featured News Articles

THQ may be the company publicly pushing the recently announced uDraw tablet controller for the Wii, but a presentation of the new technology at Gamescom this week emphasized just how important Nintendo's support was to the device's creation.

"When we came to [Nintendo] in the beginning with the idea for uDraw, they said 'that's brilliant, let's figure out how to do this,'" THQ director Luis Gigliotti said during a presentation. "It's been an incredible partnership. ... I've been working in game development for 17-plus years and I can honestly say this is one of the smoothest collaborations with a first party I've ever had, just because everybody got it on day one."

Gigliotti specifically pointed out that Nintendo's hardware design expertise was key to transforming the monstrous uDraw prototype (nicknamed "Frankenstein" by the THQ team), into the light, sleek unit shown off at the show. "[The prototype] was a like bunch of lasers and mirrors and loose parts, it was wood and it had brass on it," he recalled. "I said, 'There's no way we can get this to something like this [the current hardware] without it costing a fortune.' Nintendo said, 'Don't worry about it. You guys are software developers, we are the kings of hardware. We will figure this out.' And they did, for one reason -- the idea was solid. Everybody knew it was a good idea, so we figured out the rest."

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/08/21/ni...ion/#continued ...

As annoying as continuous Blu-ray player updates are, usually having the latest one is the best way to play more movies. Unfortunately the opposite was the case for Samsung (again) with the v2.09 update posted recently for its 2009 BD-Px600 line of players. Forum posters on CNET and AVSForum report the upgrade blocked them from playing Universal and Warner Bros. movies, which conveniently lock up after displaying the title image. Samsung's rolled back to an an older firmware version (v2.07) on its support site that should fix things for now, but with some users still having problems downgrading, all they can do is wait for the next update, whenever that arrives. Some help line reps have said the new version should arrive "in a couple of weeks," but it's not like you really wanted to watch Clash of the Titans or Book of Eli right now anyway, right?

http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/22/s...l-movies-afte/ ...

corenting posted an entry into the Neoflash Coding Contest:

Heres the details:

Nickname: corenting
Projet name: Plus Ou Moins DS
From: France
Division: GAME
Platform: Nintendo DS
Original enter: YES
Support Motion: NO
In last NEO Compo this project have won in the top 10: NO

Project description:

It's a classic game adapted on the DS (plus or minus in english, plus ou moins in french)
The DS will think to a number between 40 and 70.
You will have to find it.
Choose a number (always between 40 and 70 of course) and press A.
The DS will say to you Plus if the number is higher than the one you choose.
The DS will say to you Minus if the number is lower than the one you choose.
The game continues like that until you find the good number.

How to use:

Download it here : http://www.corenting.fr/dl/plusoumoins.zip
Source code : http://code.google.com/p/corenting-a...nk/PlusOuMoins

I updated to 1.5a.
Removed buggy A button control, you have to use the OK button on the touchscreen.

http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index....ic,6248.0.html ...

EvilTroopa posted an entry into the Neoflash Coding Contest:

Heres the details:

Nickname : EvilTroopa
Project name : NanoMechas
From : France
Division : Retro GAME
Platform : Wii
Original enter: YES
Support Motion: NO
In last NEO Compo this project have won in the top 10: NO

Project description:
This project was inspired by many games I loved when I was a kid : Life Force, Gauntlet, Probotector, and many others.
I hope you will enjoy to play it as much as I had to make it !

Playable up to 4 players !! (Wiimote & Nunchuk needed)

Gameplay :
Your goal is to access the end of the level. Once you reach the boss level, it will end by killing it (duh).
Along the way, you will be blocked by colored celldoors : you will need to take a hormone of the same color to disolve it.
Alien infections will generate alien viruses that will attack you. Kill them without mercy.
CAUTION ! In the second level, there will be one single volatile hormone. You will have limited time to go to the celldoor before it goes off.
If you weren't able to take it to the celldoor, you'll have to go back to take it again.

Background :
In year 20XX, aliens came to Earth to invade us humans.
Instead of showing massive artillery, they sent viruses to infect and kill all populations.
A few people could hide themselves in caves to prepare for counterstrike. Scientists created NanoMechas to fight infections from within the contamined people.
Once there NanoArmy will be ready, they'll kill the alien people from the inside.

How to use :
Controls :
Pointer : Aim and Turn your mecha (important to slash your sword on the right direction)
A : Slash your sword
B : Fire your lasergun
Nunchuk Stick : Move

Tips :
- Keep the B button pressed as long as you see ennemies on the screen and shoot them.
- If ennemies come close enough to be hurt by your sword, then use it !
- Your best weapon is the sword, it can hurt multiple ennemies and also block bullets.
- If you're attacked by a bunch of crazy aliens, just slash their face off.
- The infections make aliens pop regularly, destroy them to avoid being overwhelmed by ennemies.
- The boss is strong, beware of his dash, it will hurt you... a lot !
- The boss will taker a lot of damage when its weak spot is unprotected.

Dowlond link : http://www.eviltroopa.com/wii/NanoMechas_0.7.rar (~20Mo)

Changelog :
==v0.6 and 0.7==
- removed lifebars on infections
- corrected bug : with several players, all the pointers were the same colour
- corrected view centering when player dies
- dying animation added on infections
- updated dying animations on ennemies and mechas
- player can move on respawn and is invincible for a short period
- added longer invincibility when hurt
- ennemies no longer see through walls
- added timed hormones
- refactoring : no longer crashes for random reasons (almost ^^)
- bosses nerfed a little
- recentered user interface
- lifebars on the right go the right way now
- new more visible hormones icons (and visible timer added)


Thanks to Cid2Mizard for that videos :
V0.5 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1yKCZ9lZeU
V0.7 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA6rpsg5a2w


Made by EvilTroopa and Olyfno
http://www.eviltroopa.com
http://www.olyfno.com

http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index....ic,6314.0.html ...

morukutsu posted an entry into the Neoflash Coding Contest:

Heres the details:

Hello, I submit a new project :

Nickname: Morukutsu
Projet name: Chewing Boy (Demo)
From: France
Division: Retro GAME
Platform: NDS
Original enter: YES
Support Motion: NO
In last NEO Compo this project have won in the top 10: NO

Project description: "Chewing Boy" have to find the stars and a maximum of gems in each level. But to accomplish that, you can only jump ! Use your 3 three transformations to get to the end.



Video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO9llfJbHZ8

How to use: (Arrows for right handed and buttons for left handed)
Move the stylus then release to jump.
With the arrows, you can use your transformations :

Basic Ball (Blue) : Jump

Stick Ball (Pink) : Stick to the walls or ground, except the blue ones

Verlet Ball (Green) : Use your Ninja rope to reach new areas (L or R to release, Up or Down to extend your rope)

Fire Ball (Red) : Use it to kill the ennemies


http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index....ic,6312.0.html ...

ChillyWilly posted an entry into the Neoflash Coding Contest:

Heres the details:



Nickname: Chilly Willy
Project name: Simple Music Player
From: USA
Division: Retro APP
Platform: N64
Original enter: YES
In last NEO Compo this project have won in the top 10: NO

Project description: Plays Ogg-Vorbis, MP3, and MIDI files from the rom or from SD card.

How to use: Copy the v64 file to an SD card and load from the menu (v1.6+). It runs as Myth-aware homebrew, simultaneously accessing the rom and SD card. SMP shows the contents of the rom on startup. Press START to switch to the SD card. Directories are shown in brackets. Press A to enter a directory. When in a directory with media files, press A to start playing from a specific file; when it's done, the rest of the files in sequence will be played. Press B to play all the files in random order. While a song is playing, press A to pause/resume, and B to stop.

Notes: There are still some bugs to work out. I was rather rushed for time, so it's not up to my usual standards. Ogg-Vorbis seem fine, but MP3 files may hang on embedded tags... I'm still working on the code to skip tags automatically (why the heck doesn't libmad do that automatically? ). The MIDI player seems to have a dangling pointer problem, so it often hangs when it moves from one MIDI file to the next. The project is partly an example of how to do Myth-aware homebrew on the N64, and comes with all the source, including all the libraries used. One could easily use the ogg playing code in a game or other project. The MP3 player is also fine for game since folks usually strip the tags from MP3s for games to save space. SMP comes with two MP3s in the rom, along with two ogg files, and a bunch of Doom MIDI files. This is a pretty big download - 27 MB 7zipped. It's a 16MB N64 rom with all the code and resources, so it's big. Sorry.

http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index....ic,6311.0.html ...

The coon posted an entry into the Neoflash Coding Contest:

Heres the details:



Nickname: The coon
Project name: Online Jukebox DS
From: USA
Division: Retro APP
Platform: NDS
Original enter: YES
Support Motion: NO
In last NEO Compo this project have won in the top 10: NO

Project description:
This is a shoutcast player for the ds. It features a visualizer, preset stations, and ability to search and play additional stations along with favorites. Currently I arbritrarily limited the bitrate of any streams to 64 kbps because the wifi lib is too slow for my purposes or my net is really lame, but if anyoen wants me to lift it, give me a holler. also the presets are all mp3 because i was too lazy to search for aac or ogg streams.

How to use:
If there was trouble initializing nitrofs, please run online jukebox ds from the included hbmenu as otherwise the presets wont be available.
It opens up with a help so you should be good to go.

http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index....ic,6313.0.html ...

SimplexProductions posted an entry into the Neoflash Coding Contest:

Heres the details:



Nickname: Simplex Productions
Project name: Avia : Tropic Edition
From: China / USA / Canada (Team)
Division: Retro APP
Platform: Nintendo DS
Original entry: YES
Support Motion: YES
In last NEO Compo this project have won in the top 10: NO

Project description:
Avia is a free birdwatcher's guide, equipped with high quality bird calls, detailed images and information for every bird enthusiast alike. It's perfect for trips, or any situation where you can't get ahold of any resources for your exploration.

Going to or residing within a tropical country? Just love to absorb information about wildlife, including the biodiversity of birds outside of your natural habitat? Then Avia is perfect for you!



How to use:
1. Download Avia : Tropic edition from here.
2. Move Avia.nds / Avia.ds.gba onto your flashcard by mounting it onto the MicroSD chip using an adapter.
3. Load up your Nintendo DS with the flashcard in it and run Avia.nds.
4. Enjoy!

Controls
The touch screen is the main tool for this application. Other controls include:

- Left / Right : Navigates through the Bird Guide
- A : Plays the sound of the bird's call
- Select : Prompts the Help / Controls menu
- Start : Returns to Main Menu
- Motion : Tilting left will navigate the bird guide to the left, tilting right will navigate the bird guide to the right.

There is also an extra feature - Quiz Mode! Test your knowledge of bird biodiversity by guessing the name of birds by their appearance and bird calls!


Credits

Our Team:

Producer
Richard "zhangzi89" Zhang

Programmer
Daniel "B12CORE" Li

Sound Editor
Andrew Johnson

Graphic Design
Jason "diSTurBedDeSIGNs" West



Sound Effects
Nature Sounds

Information
Wikipedia

Thanks to:
Neoflash
devkitPro
PALib

Special thanks to the Beta Testers:
Alexander Patterson
Anthony Patterson
Edward Steadsman
Michel Torres
Ronald Scrawner
Song Tian
Wan Shao Li

We hope you enjoy our neat little application, we worked very hard on it.

Long live the homebrew!

http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index....ic,6310.0.html ...

mic_ posted an entry into the Neoflash Coding Contest:

Heres the details:

Nickname: mic
Project name: Hunter
From: Sweden
Division: Retro APP
Platform: PC-E
Original enter: YES
Support Motion: NO(?)
In last NEO Compo this project have won in the top 10: NO

Project description:

It plays NSFs on the TurboGrafx / PC-Engine. NSF is the format used for ripping soundtracks from NES / Famicom games.


How to use:

Creating the player ROM
-----------------------
Start rombuilder.exe. Drag the NSF files to the top listbox, then press "Build". A ROM
named hunter.pce will be generated in the same directory as the rombuilder.

Only up to 15 NSFs will be added to the ROM.

Each NSF must be <= 32 kB in size.

Some NSFs will not play correctly (or at all) even if they were added successfully by the
rombuilder. This might be because they rely on some feature not supported by my player.
Some examples of NSFs that will not play correctly are Metroid, Rygar, Star Force and Rush'n Attack.

DMC is not supported, and will simply not be heard. No extra sound hardware is supported either
(such as FDS, MMC5 or N106).



Using the player
----------------
Run the generated hunter.pce file in an emulator (like mednafen), or on your TurboGrafx / PC-E.

[Up/Down] navigates through the NSF list.

[Left/Right] navigates through the sub-songs of the currently playing NSF.

[II] starts playback of the highlighted NSF/song.

[ I] restarts playback of the currently playing NSF/song.

[Select] toggles volume overdrive mode. When active, it boosts the volume of the square wave and noise
channels, which can be useful for soundtracks that have low volumes (like Ninja Gaiden, Metal Gear,
Silver Surfer, etc).

[Run] toggles the playback speed. If the NSF's original speed is NTSC it will switch to PAL, and vice
versa.



Made another update (the link in the original post has been changed to point to the latest archive). The latest source code is also available for download. The link to the code is in the second post.

I've fixed a bug in the handling of the noise channel's length counter. The drums in Super Mario Bros and Super Mario Bros 3 should now sound a lot better.

I've also modified the rombuilder to pad the output .PCE file to a multiple of 256 kB. That should solve any random freezes that could result from an odd ROM size causing the wrong bank to be switched in.

http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index....ic,6268.0.html ...