'OpenEmu' for OS X Now Supports Nintendo 64, PlayStation 1 and More

[BornAgainMac]

I wish Sega Star Trek arcade was available under emulation. That was my favorite game of the 80's in the arcade. Home systems didn't give it justice. They solved the poor graphics by using wireframe models and the sounds were digitized instead of the simulated sounds you hear.

 

[thermodynamic]

I love this emulator, and I'm glad they are now available to the public (they were in experimental state for a while, and it required a bit of fiddling to get it to work). A bit annoyed by the fact that it's only for 10.11 and up, but no big deal that is (most computers that can't run El Capitan can't emulate most of those consoles well enough anyway).

But offering the old version on their website could be a good idea though.

Most Intel-based computers made in 2007 could emulate the CPU used to play Pac-Man (1980) effectively... higher-end 16-bit systems might be more sluggish, but considering UAE (a popular Amiga emulator that also works great on most slowpoke, menial Android devices) has been very playable since the mid-2000s and whose hardware is far more complex than any kiddie home console... But I've not played all the newer consoles with an emulator. But I do think computers made between 2009 and 2015 (prior to El Capitan's existence) could easily run the newer consoles.

But everyone says Macs are designed to run at hotter temperatures too (despite being the same Intel hardware whose techie pundits keep saying that CPUs should run at cooler temperatures if one wants a longer product lifespan...)

 

[McGiord]

where or how you get the games/ROMs?

 

[satchmo]

Remind again why we want to play 70s and 80s video games again. Don't you remember the 70s and 80s? You're not missing anything, believe me. I've looked into it. There's a gas shortage and A Flock of Seagulls. That's about it.

Probably folks like me who want to remain in an Alphaville "Forever Young' state of mind.

 

[Renzatic]

A bit annoyed by the fact that it's only for 10.11 and up, but no big deal that is (most computers that can't run El Capitan can't emulate most of those consoles well enough anyway).

Naw. I was playing Playstation and N64 emulators perfectly back on my old Pentium III 700. It's when you start getting into the PS2, Gamecube, and the like that the need for a fast computer comes into play.

And now we have terrorism and Justin Bieber. Your point?

Give it 20 years. We'll remember '10s fondly.

 

[Headrush69]

Only downside is you have to purchase it, but I feel it is worth the asking price

And use Wine or VT to run it.

Quote from Amiga For Ever authors:

we recommend the use of one of the following newer ports and add-ons for Mac OS X:

• FS-UAE, maintained by Frode Solheim

I wish Sega Star Trek arcade was available under emulation. That was my favorite game of the 80's in the arcade. Home systems didn't give it justice. They solved the poor graphics by using wireframe models and the sounds were digitized instead of the simulated sounds you hear.

Runs perfectly with OpenEmu Experimental build.

 

[DoofenshmirtzEI]

Remind again why we want to play 70s and 80s video games again. Don't you remember the 70s and 80s? You're not missing anything, believe me. I've looked into it. There's a gas shortage and A Flock of Seagulls. That's about it.

Paradroid.

Needs some C64 luv.

 

[2457282]

Remind again why we want to play 70s and 80s video games again. Don't you remember the 70s and 80s? You're not missing anything, believe me. I've looked into it. There's a gas shortage and A Flock of Seagulls. That's about it.

Hippies, Disco, New Wave, Hot pants, Bell bottoms, Flower Power. Back to the Future, Jaws... I could go on. I lived through this, and don't think I would do it again, but believe me there was a lot happening back then -- the fall of a wall in Germany, maybe...

 

[buthidae]

Remind again why we want to play 70s and 80s video games again. Don't you remember the 70s and 80s? You're not missing anything, believe me. I've looked into it. There's a gas shortage and A Flock of Seagulls. That's about it.

Reading this thread gave me cancer of the irony gland. I hope you're all happy.

 

[Gav2k]

Retro gaming on my 2015 rmb! What a way to spend Boxing Day!

 

[keatth]

I wish the later was true for me. What I spent hours on as a child, seems like a futile waste of time now and I feel like a hollow basic experience. Man these things were awesome with an uneducated childs mind though.

It's great for nostalgia purposes

 

[B4U]

ok

Thank you!

 

[Agent OrangeZ]

Nintendo 64 is definitely not the 80s and people buy 3ds and play remakes of Zelda, and if you're a gamer who hasn't played Zelda OOT (widely considered to be the greatest game of all time), than you're not a gamer at all.

OoT is not even the greatest Zelda of all time. That goes to LttP.

Greatest game of all time is the original Metal Gear Solid on PSX.

 

[Renzatic]

OoT is not even the greatest Zelda of all time. That goes to LttP.

You take that back.

 

[GFLPraxis]

Remind again why we want to play 70s and 80s video games again. Don't you remember the 70s and 80s? You're not missing anything, believe me. I've looked into it. There's a gas shortage and A Flock of Seagulls. That's about it.

Not 70s and 80s, but definitely 90s. The 90s were to many a golden age of game design. Games hit the point where developers had the freedom to get creative, yet the audience was limited enough that they only had to appeal to seasoned players.

So games like Megaman X, Super Mario World, and Ocarina of Time still hold up very, very well today.

The game industry as a whole today feels the need to either make games easier (you don't want a casual player giving up because it's too hard), dumbed down/simplified (don't want casual players to get confused), or over-explained with myriads of explanations and tutorials. Whereas in that era, good designers focused on building levels in a way that gradually introduced tougher and tougher concepts, without needing to over explain it or make easy ways out.


It doesn't mean all modern games fail to live up to that standard, but there are a lot of 90's games that are just glowing examples of great game design. It's rarer and rarer to find games like that today.

 

[GFLPraxis]

OoT is not even the greatest Zelda of all time. That goes to LttP.

Greatest game of all time is the original Metal Gear Solid on PSX.

LttP vs OoT is a common debate with no clear answer. I lean OoT, though I have a nostalgic soft spot for Link's Awakening.

That said, I'd be hard pressed for best game of all time between OoT, Metroid Prime, Super Smash Bros Melee, and Donkey Kong Country 2.

DKC2 and Metroid Prime have absolutely incredible single player design and you constantly feel like the world's designer is a person you are trying to outsmart when searching for hidden secrets. They hide secrets with a certain style and mentality you start to pick up on, yet still challenges you.

SSBM is in my mind without question the deepest and best multiplayer game ever created. Single player is pretty meh though.

 

[Mackan]

Apple would ban this app if they could.

 

[Washac]

QMC2 it designed to be really flexible, but I've never liked it and it crashed more than any other application I have.

Once you add screenshots and turn on the use game names instead of rom names in secret prefs of OpenEmu, I find it works well for a lot of MAME games.

Its not perfect yet, but best GUI option if your game is supported.


For computer emulation, you're going to want a more configurable front-end that can handle all the complexities that come with computer emulation and has full keyboard support.
FS-UAE is great for that for Amiga emulation.

What do you have those MAME games running under in OpenEmu ?

It looks as though it says Arcade in the picture, I do not see that emulation option.

 

[Renzatic]

The game industry as a whole today feels the need to either make games easier (you don't want a casual player giving up because it's too hard), dumbed down/simplified (don't want casual players to get confused), or over-explained with myriads of explanations and tutorials. Whereas in that era, good designers focused on building levels in a way that gradually introduced tougher and tougher concepts, without needing to over explain it or make easy ways out.

I once read a rant in the 90's about a guy who claimed about the same thing about games then. It was a vitriolic diatribe about how stupid everything was, and how things were SO much better in the 70's and 80's, before it all became about graphics and cutscenes.

Honestly, I think it's a generational thing. You enjoy the things you played more as a kid because they were brand new to you, and you were more impressionable. Plus there's the fact that we tend to put far too much emphasis on the good things that came out back when, while all but forgetting the vast amount of bad that came out alongside it.

So no, I don't think games are any worse today than they were back when. I just think we're more critical and curmudgeonly.

 

[groovyd]

Awesome! Didn't even know this thing existed, now i'm hooked. Thanks!

 

[mrgraff]

Can anyone recommend a good joystick to use with this ? Wired, or preferable bluetooth.

Cheers

Bluetooth: My PlayStation 4 Dualshock controller works great with this. For a wired option, I was using an old SNES controller attached via a USB adapter.

 

[Headrush69]

What do you have those MAME games running under in OpenEmu ?

It looks as though it says Arcade in the picture, I do not see that emulation option.

Sorry about that Washrc, that is the Experimental build

 

[MacAddict1978]

So what you're saying is if you don't like something everyone doesn't like it either?

He's either a millennial who doesn't know anything than entitlement, senior citizen nearing age that missed the tech boon of the 80's (yet manages to post or forums), or santa never put anything good under his tree and he should be forgiven for the depravity of missing out on the best piece of pop culture ever. And the gas shortage was the 70's, pre-atari.

If you don't understand what this means: up, up, down, down, left, right, left, b, a, start
Then I feel sadness for all that you missed.

 

[DisraeliGears]

Hey, any good place to DL Roms? I'm new to emulating . Thanks!

 

[garirry]

Hey, any good place to DL Roms? I'm new to emulating . Thanks!

There's a website called Emuparadise, it's the safest and with the least BS.