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OS X Targeted 'OpenEmu' to Deliver Native Mac Interface to Console Emulators

Command Line Compile

critter13 said:
Same here, looks like it is having trouble locating a header file, any suggestions?
Click to expand...

if you didn't use GitMac to download the source code and preferred to do everything via command line, there are a couple extra things you need to do (this is just one way to do it).

1.) Get ALL Source Code (incl. submodules)
git clone --recursive https://github.com/OpenEmu/OpenEmu.git OpenEmu

OR

git clone https://github.com/OpenEmu/OpenEmu.git OpenEmu
git submodule update --init

2.) Follow from Step 4 on their instructions
https://github.com/OpenEmu/OpenEmu/wiki/Compiling-From-Source-Guide
 
If you want to be more "legal" too, get a Retrode! It's an awesome little device that acts like a "USB Loader" (read: Wii USB Loader game dumping) for classic games.

By default, it only accepts SNES and Genesis games; but, the creator of Retrode has also developed plugins for other systems, including a GBx adapter.
 
Ok, lets clear up some things about this project.

In no particular order...

1. This is open source software. You don't pay for it, we don't ask for anything in return, not even a donation.

2. We absolutely are not selling any ROMS through this application.

3. This will not appear on the Mac App Store.

4. OpenEmu utilizes a bevy of fantastic open source emulators (read our GitHub!). Our trick is to unify them into one application that seeks to remove the geekiness of this area of video gaming. Drop a legally owned ROM into the application, it organizes, adds box art, cleans up the game name and with a single click... off you go and play. We want to be the interface HUB for all open source emulation projects. We have many more emulators and supported systems to come.

5. We have gamepad support working right out of the box (excluding XBOX controllers which will need a 3rd party driver to use). Almost all the popular HID compliant controllers will work. (If we missed one, tell us!) Simply connect it, and OpenEmu does the rest (it auto-assigns buttons). Do we recommend a controller?... sure, possibly the WiiU Pro controller.

6. Skeumorphism. Thats right, we do it. Hopefully tastefully. The main application is extremely simple and understated. (though purposely black so that your games stand out and look great). The controller preference screen (as shown by MacRumors screenshots) are were we go to town. Its actually interactive. Click the buttons on the images and it interacts. Its done that way to aid the understanding of the hardware you are playing, as well as a general visual & interactive aid to re-assignment of gamepad or keyboard inputs. Trust me, we didnt go to the Scott Forstall school of visual design but nor did we get the google iron out.

7. When is it out? Setting dates in open source hobby software is suicide! Sorry... compile it or ask a friend who has used it. Then take a guess how close you think it is. :p

8. Is this illegal? No, emulators aren't illegal (at best a mild shade of grey). We don't distribute any BIOS stuff or ROMs. We provide the tool, its up to you what you want to do with it. We will provide and promote legal gameplay solutions (see below).

9. We plan to offer a original homebrew ROM pack upon release should you not have any old games at hand but want to see what this emulation thing is all about.

10. What about Retrode? Ah yes Retrode (some of the OpenEmu team have helped on that project)... in the meantime, let me just put this here and say that this will be the most legal way to play and backup your games soon:

Retrode.jpg


Want to know more? Then hit us up on Twitter (@OpenEmu) or browse our GitHub page.

Thanks
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
So anyone seen this in beta scaled up to modern resolutions? Does it look good enough? Or does those with the beta just play it native in a small window (though 256x254 would seem much too small for my own tastes- nostalgia or not).
Click to expand...

If it works anything like other currently-available emulators, it will look jaggy when scaled up under default settings, but there are a tonne of upscaling filters that will make it look much better than the originals.

Here's a good close-up illustration of what can be done. I'm having a surprising amount of difficulty finding a good video of the same effects on an NES, but you can play around with it yourself today with something like Nestopia.
 
Their system requirements.. need to run , sic... Lion or ML... No Snow Leopard.. While yes, I have ML.. I like the robust rock solidness of Snow Leopard.

E.Lizardo said:
If you do a BIT of searching you might tumble upon a TORRENT of them.

----------



Who the hell said anything about that???
Click to expand...
 
Casiotone said:
Yeah I'm sure Apple will block all legacy applications just to keep the platform free of those "evil" emulators... /sarcasm
Click to expand...

Well, what direction do you think it's going? And what arguments do you think they use for App Store on iOS? It's naive to think that they are not going this route.

Like I said, everything is prepared. They just need to disable that little option in the settings, and it's done. And if they chose to say anything in the matter, they will say that 'most of our users are downloading apps from the Mac App Store. We recommend other app makers to get a developer ID and preferably put their app directly on the App Store'.

Sure, it might cause a *****torm, but I bet they are soooo tempted to go ahead with it for OS X 10.9.
 
Such a great program

I have been using OE for about 6 months now and am extremely impressed. With all the changes in OS X these days I found that my older emulators would not work or would be wonky at best.

The developers are extremely responsive and are fast to implement suggestions and squash bugs. To those complaining about the skeumorphism etc, you're more than welcome to use another emulator. I personally think this is one of the instances where it actually works and properly draws you in with nostalgia.

At the end of the day it's a great product made by people who are passionate about gaming. If you're upset because it doesn't support snow leopard, then feel free to make your own emulator. This isn't apple forcing this down your throat, it's a free program that performs beautifully.
 
Ha! MAME is by far the best emulator for arcade games as well as MESS and MESS emulates all the developer's video game systems, including intellivision, odyssey 2, even Channel F(1970s)... MAME is good for the coin arcade games.. and MESS also runs NES, SNES, N64, etc..

I am currently playing 1943 for NES and Mike Tyson's Punchout.. Sorry, but MESS was here first and at least its working on all platforms.. Intel and PPC though I use my Intel more.


At the end of the day it's a great product made by people who are passionate about gaming. If you're upset because it doesn't support snow leopard, then feel free to make your own emulator. This isn't apple forcing this down your throat, it's a free program that performs beautifully.[/QUOTE]

MESS also is free, but it is more than just a video game system emulator.. it also emulates all the older 80's computer systems as well, something OpenEMU does not...
 
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jhsfosho said:
This looks awesome! Are there adaptors/drivers for using actual console controllers instead of the keyboard?
Click to expand...

If you have a PS3 the controller can be connected to your Mac via Bluetooth. That's how I play my current emulators.
 
chirpie said:
Give me my sharp jagged pixels on as large a display as possible. I love it! Any attempt to "smooth" them will be met with as much animosity as I can muster for 3:45 on a Tuesday! Garrrrrhhhhh!
Click to expand...

I would love some knd of adjustable (10-25% transparancy usually does it for me) scanlines. I fondly remember pixels as much as i remember CRT displays. Hope it is supported in the emu.

BTW being a long time arcade, console and in some cases emulation fan this is, as someone stated, epic.

I have only two questions. Where will the box-art come from?
And where is the "Donate"-button for this project?
 
This is great. I got so sick of figuring out xcode and stuff for emulators that I just gave up completely.
 
The only important question is... Will I be able to trade Pokemon from one ROM to another!
 
Castelvania

I absolutely adore this game. I fondly remember playing "Castelvania" with all my friends back in the golden 1990's.
 
Mucx said:
Ok, lets clear up some things about this project.

In no particular order...

1. This is open source software. You don't pay for it, we don't ask for anything in return, not even a donation.

2. We absolutely are not selling any ROMS through this application.

3. This will not appear on the Mac App Store.

4. OpenEmu utilizes a bevy of fantastic open source emulators (read our GitHub!). Our trick is to unify them into one application that seeks to remove the geekiness of this area of video gaming. Drop a legally owned ROM into the application, it organizes, adds box art, cleans up the game name and with a single click... off you go and play. We want to be the interface HUB for all open source emulation projects. We have many more emulators and supported systems to come.

5. We have gamepad support working right out of the box (excluding XBOX controllers which will need a 3rd party driver to use). Almost all the popular HID compliant controllers will work. (If we missed one, tell us!) Simply connect it, and OpenEmu does the rest (it auto-assigns buttons). Do we recommend a controller?... sure, possibly the WiiU Pro controller.

6. Skeumorphism. Thats right, we do it. Hopefully tastefully. The main application is extremely simple and understated. (though purposely black so that your games stand out and look great). The controller preference screen (as shown by MacRumors screenshots) are were we go to town. Its actually interactive. Click the buttons on the images and it interacts. Its done that way to aid the understanding of the hardware you are playing, as well as a general visual & interactive aid to re-assignment of gamepad or keyboard inputs. Trust me, we didnt go to the Scott Forstall school of visual design but nor did we get the google iron out.

7. When is it out? Setting dates in open source hobby software is suicide! Sorry... compile it or ask a friend who has used it. Then take a guess how close you think it is. :p

8. Is this illegal? No, emulators aren't illegal (at best a mild shade of grey). We don't distribute any BIOS stuff or ROMs. We provide the tool, its up to you what you want to do with it. We will provide and promote legal gameplay solutions (see below).

9. We plan to offer a original homebrew ROM pack upon release should you not have any old games at hand but want to see what this emulation thing is all about.

10. What about Retrode? Ah yes Retrode (some of the OpenEmu team have helped on that project)... in the meantime, let me just put this here and say that this will be the most legal way to play and backup your games soon:


Want to know more? Then hit us up on Twitter (@OpenEmu) or browse our GitHub page.

Thanks
Click to expand...

All the system requirements state Lion or higher. Your screenshot is from Snow Leopard. Is there any chance of a 10.6.8 conversion after version 1.0 launches? I would imagine not due to newer api's in Lion but ,well, one can only hope :)
 
Dude, you are better off with MESS.. MESS plays all video game systems.. I couldn't find Intellivision, Odyssey2 on there and those are the main ones I grew up with... I have FCUE emulator for NES and it plays all the NES games and much better than this openEMU could ever play them..

The developer is too little too late.. as MESS and others have already great emulators.. I am actually playing on big screen Metroid for NES... sounds are great, high quality and I actually am using a real NES controller..

The heck with the developer if he won't support Snow.. who cares.. Fceu and MESS rock!!!

gumblecosby said:
All the system requirements state Lion or higher. Your screenshot is from Snow Leopard. Is there any chance of a 10.6.8 conversion after version 1.0 launches? I would imagine not due to newer api's in Lion but ,well, one can only hope :)
Click to expand...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
PowerPCMacMan said:
Their system requirements.. need to run , sic... Lion or ML... No Snow Leopard.. While yes, I have ML.. I like the robust rock solidness of Snow Leopard.
Click to expand...

Look again at what I wrote.I was referring to the ROM part of your post.The BOLD part.

----------
PowerPCMacMan said:
Ha! MAME is by far the best emulator for arcade games as well as MESS and MESS emulates all the developer's video game systems, including intellivision, odyssey 2, even Channel F(1970s)... MAME is good for the coin arcade games.. and MESS also runs NES, SNES, N64, etc..

I am currently playing 1943 for NES and Mike Tyson's Punchout.. Sorry, but MESS was here first and at least its working on all platforms.. Intel and PPC though I use my Intel more.


At the end of the day it's a great product made by people who are passionate about gaming. If you're upset because it doesn't support snow leopard, then feel free to make your own emulator. This isn't apple forcing this down your throat, it's a free program that performs beautifully.
Click to expand...

MESS also is free, but it is more than just a video game system emulator.. it also emulates all the older 80's computer systems as well, something OpenEMU does not...[/QUOTE]

Read MUCX's post above.
 
Actually one of the cores that is used in OpenEmu is FCEU (our default core actually) so we can draw a nice line through that. It doesn't play it better or worse, it is FCEU. :D

On the scanlines thing, you can side-load a ton of effects like CRT stuff etc. Probably have more info about that on release day. (and ship with some additional effects).

The MESS argument is interesting. I understand you like it. It is great seeing someone so passionate about an open source project. All I can say is that the systems you mention OpenEmu doesnt have now, we either already have working in our repository (we just wont ship with them day one but roll them out over time) or they are being worked on in some capacity.

On the Lion / M Lion issue. Time stands still for no man. Its also a hobby project that a handful of guys put their personal time into. Although it was very backwards compatible at one point - we had to change direction to keep people sane and vested in working on the project. (A lot changed API wise under the surface when Apple pushed out Lion)
 
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Semester said:
Skeumorphism!!!
Click to expand...

An illustration of a real controller on a wood background doesn't really qualify as Skeumorphism, does it? Personally I would prefer a simple dark grey background, but it looks nice as is.
The rest of the emu looks nice and clean. Very well done — and way better than any other emulator frontend I've ever seen.
Can't wait for this.

And oh, does anyone know if the emu interface can be controlled without a mouse/trackpad? It would be cool to stay with the controller.
 
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