WiiMednafen

Burnt Lasagna · 10/30/2011, 05:36 PM

Finally, someone has made a port of mednafen (an acronym for "My Emulator Doesn't Need A Frickin' Excellent Name.") for the Wii, courtesy of Raz0red.

Quote
WiiMednafen is a partial port of the Mednafen emulator.

Emulators supported:

GameBoy/GameBoy Color
GameBoy Advance
Game Gear
Lynx
Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Neo Geo Pocket
PC Engine (CD)/TurboGrafx 16 (CD)/SuperGrafx (Fast version)
PC-FX
Sega Master System
Virtual Boy
WonderSwan

It should be noted that the Virtual Boy emulation included with this emulator is much improved over WiirtualBoy. Most games now run at 100% speed without frame skipping. These improvements are due entirely to Ryphecha (Mednafen) who optimized the core emulation code in addition to eliminating idle loops on a per game basis.

As you can tell Mednafen is sort of a Swiss army knight emulator, capable of emulating a variety of different systems.
Most of the emulators included in WiiMednafen have already been done before on the Wii but were this emulator shines the most is the very solid TurboGrafx 16/CD section of the emulator, which has never been done quite right before on the Wii.

You can check out a video of the emulator running here.

I'm very excited to see how this develops over time, spatially the PC-FX section that runs very slow at the moment.

You can download WiiMednafen here.
http://wiibrew.org/wiki/WiiMednafen

So anyone here use their Wii for homebrew reasons? If not then this is defiantly a good enough reason to merit its use

OldRover · 10/30/2011, 06:15 PM

Mednafen is one of the finest PC Engine emulators there are. Only Ootake is as good.

Burnt Lasagna · 10/30/2011, 07:36 PM

QuoteMednafen is one of the finest PC Engine emulators there are. Only Ootake is as good.

No contest really.
All the TG16/CD games that I have tested have all worked perfectly or with very minor problems but I'm sure they have something to do with the port.

OldRover · 10/30/2011, 08:44 PM

I've never had a single problem either. I also rely on Mednafen for testing homebrew.

SignOfZeta · 10/30/2011, 10:39 PM

Last time I tried to use Mednafen I gave up because it required some 1970s-style command line bullshit. Do I still need a keyboard to use this?

Burnt Lasagna · 10/30/2011, 10:48 PM

Keep in mind I'm talking about the recent Wii port Mednafen and yeah the PC version is still a command line based program but there is a third party GUI that you can download, it's missing some features so you still have to use the command prompt if you want to go farther then hucard games.

nat · 10/31/2011, 01:00 AM

Quote from: SignOfZeta on 10/30/2011, 10:39 PMLast time I tried to use Mednafen I gave up because it required some 1970s-style command line bullshit. Do I still need a keyboard to use this?

I know you own a Mac as well, so I have a question. How were you actually able to download and install it? Does it even exist?

When I tried, I was told I had to install some useless "Darwin Ports" program in order to even download it, which is complete and total bullshit in itself, but that's not even the worst of it.

The site linked as "Darwin Ports" from mednafen's own webpage apparently doesn't even exist anymore, and when I did a little digging I learned the so-called "Darwin Ports" was actually a fake (for what purpose, I have no idea).

At this point, I laughed to myself ruefully at the absurdity of the situation and never looked back. Apparently having a simple link on the mednafen website to download the Mac executable is too difficult for them to handle.

OldRover · 10/31/2011, 01:33 AM

Fuck teh Mac.

geise · 10/31/2011, 09:32 AM

How is the sound emulation for the pc-engine hucard games? Wiiengine and the Hu-Go ports had shitty sound emulation on the Wii. Quite a bit of sound was missing from both of those emulators.

Burnt Lasagna · 10/31/2011, 09:43 AM

Quote from: geise on 10/31/2011, 09:32 AMHow is the sound emulation for the pc-engine hucard games? Wiiengine and the Hu-Go ports had shitty sound emulation on the Wii. Quite a bit of sound was missing from both of those emulators.

I've only tested one Hucard game and that's Magical Chase but from that and what other people have said the sound emulation is way better then Wiiengine or Hu-Go GX combined.
As I said earlier this is essentially perfect for Hucard/CD games.

geise · 10/31/2011, 10:15 AM

Nice! Thanks for sharing the info Burnt.

Arkhan Asylum · 10/31/2011, 02:05 PM

Command line is fine if you're doing work (Programming), but if you want games, GUIs are better.

Not many people want to manually edited a textfile for config, or refer to a manual and on-screen prompts to set up a controller..

Burnt Lasagna · 10/31/2011, 02:32 PM

Quote from: guest on 10/31/2011, 02:05 PMNot many people want to manually edited a textfile for config, or refer to a manual and on-screen prompts to set up a controller..

I use Ootake on my PC for this very reason, even though mednafen is better in some ways.

SignOfZeta · 10/31/2011, 07:33 PM

Quote from: nat on 10/31/2011, 01:00 AMI know you own a Mac as well, so I have a question. How were you actually able to download and install it? Does it even exist?
.

I actually don't remember if I was trying and failing to get the Windows or OSX version running. I think I got it to actually run, I just didn't actually get it to play a game.

I know a lot of stuff gets ported to certain UNIX/Linux platforms and can then run in OSX if specific frameworks are installed. Usually though this is nearly as difficult as just porting it outright. That shit never works for people who can...like...remember what color the sky is, or describe the sexual organs of another person.

Leaving the command-line stupidity asside (some people like to pretend they were in the movie Hackers before they play Bonk, I can accept that) another thing that pisses me off about PCE emus is how HuCards and CDs are treated separately. This is just annoying bullshit. My Duo R plays everything but SHu Cards. It has a power button and a door switch. Why the fuck are PCE emulators so much more complicated than this? SNES9x is faultlessly idiot-proof and has been for a decade. Same for Genesis, Neo Geo, CPS. Even systems like PS1, N64, and Taito Type X are light years beyond PCE in usability. I don't get it.

Arkhan Asylum · 10/31/2011, 08:58 PM

Ootake is your friend.

Its as usable as Snes9x

OldRover · 10/31/2011, 09:22 PM

Quote from: SignOfZeta on 10/31/2011, 07:33 PMLeaving the command-line stupidity asside (some people like to pretend they were in the movie Hackers before they play Bonk, I can accept that) another thing that pisses me off about PCE emus is how HuCards and CDs are treated separately. This is just annoying bullshit. My Duo R plays everything but SHu Cards. It has a power button and a door switch. Why the fuck are PCE emulators so much more complicated than this? SNES9x is faultlessly idiot-proof and has been for a decade. Same for Genesis, Neo Geo, CPS. Even systems like PS1, N64, and Taito Type X are light years beyond PCE in usability. I don't get it.

OK so my response wasn't very nice. They're treated differently because THEY ARE DIFFERENT. It's that simple.

SignOfZeta · 10/31/2011, 10:12 PM

But to the user they are the same. You put the game in and hit "RUN". The only configuration a user should have to perform is mapping the controller.

There are only two logical reasons I can think of to explain why Mednafen is such a fuckin pain in the ass:

1) The developer is incapable of making their program behave as if it were designed for human beings.

Unless the programmer is seriously autistic this is almost inconcieveable. Making an emulator is serious business. Making a GUI is Intro to Programming 101. Unless you were home schooled by robots you know how to make a GUI.

2) The developer has some sort of agenda to alienate regular users.

People who cannot find the time or brain power to devote to learning an arcane set of instructions are deemed not worthy of using the program. This keeps "stupid assholes" like me from ever enjoying their work. It works really well. I failed the pre-screening without them even knowing what an asshole I am!

If there is any other explaination, I can't see it.

nat · 11/01/2011, 01:46 AM

The hoops you have to jump through just to download a copy of the Mac version would seem to support #2. To this day I still have never tried mednafen for the reasons I mentioned in my earlier post. To be honest, I'm not even sure a Mac version actually exists as I've certainly never seen it or talked to anyone who had.

Duo_R · 11/01/2011, 01:59 AM

How is the pc-fx emulation on this one?

OldRover · 11/01/2011, 02:28 AM

mednafen bonk2.pce

^^^ ooh, hard.

mednafen sapphire.cue

^^^ damn, how complicated.

NecroPhile · 11/01/2011, 09:58 AM

Quote from: SignOfZeta on 10/31/2011, 10:12 PMBut to the user they are the same. You put the game in and hit "RUN". The only configuration a user should have to perform is mapping the controller.

That's not the way Kega Fusion works either. Just like with Magic Engine, you select load cart or boot CD. The only thing more difficult is selecting a system card and needing a physical disc or mounted disc image; the former is necessary since different games need different syscards, and the latter was a conscious decision to support people with real games and not cater to freeloaders.

PS - It's not really the way a Duo works either; you choose load huey or boot cd when you insert the media.

Burnt Lasagna · 11/01/2011, 10:20 AM

Mac users have to compile there own version of Mednafen using MacPorts.
http://www.macports.org/
You can get the latest source of Mednafen on there official website.
http://mednafen.sourceforge.net/releases/

SignOfZeta · 11/01/2011, 11:03 AM

Quote from: Burnt Lasagna on 11/01/2011, 10:20 AMMac users have to compile there own version of Mednafen using MacPorts.
http://www.macports.org/
You can get the latest source of Mednafen on there official website.
http://mednafen.sourceforge.net/releases/

Yes...but WHHHYYYY!?!

Burnt Lasagna · 11/01/2011, 11:15 AM

QuoteYes...but WHHHYYYY!?!

Mednafen is just weird like that, deal with it.
If you don't want to bother with Mednafen then use Ootake in Wine.

NecroPhile · 11/01/2011, 11:35 AM

Quote from: SignOfZeta on 11/01/2011, 11:03 AMYes...but WHHHYYYY!?!

I suspect it's because she'd rather spend her time improving accuracy, fixing bugs, and adding new system support than doing something that most people won't care about.

OldRover · 11/01/2011, 02:43 PM

Building from source is no big deal. it's pretty damn easy.

Arkhan Asylum · 11/01/2011, 04:10 PM

Quote from: The Old Rover on 11/01/2011, 02:43 PMBuilding from source is no big deal. it's pretty damn easy.

To someone who is a programmer, its easy.

To someone who's not, doing command line compiling of sourcecode is scary enough.

and then when it doesn't go as claimed in the readme, they're assaulted with a ton of errors.

We've all been there:

you type MAKE INSTALL and it goes
LOL 4928ERRORS, GO DIE.

etc. etc.

It's standard lolopensource procedure. Someone should just build the Mac version and distribute it to the 3-6 people who will use the Mac version.

I get what Zeta is saying. I prefer going *click click click!* and seeing results. To the end user, a game is a game. They go in the system, and it does the work for you. It would be really lame if you had to do something special to make your Sega CD or Duo boot CD as opposed to Cart/Card.

and Rover, you left out the part in Mednafen where you have to setup the bios/point to system cards, and all of that crap. It'd be easier for someone who's not really into text based configuration, if they could just pick the bios file or the sys card image from a familiar gui.

Ootake does that like a champ. The menu couldn't get any simpler really.

Kega Lazarus, or whatever its called now, does that too! So does WGens. Just pick the Sega CD bios, and then pick either "Load cartridge game" or "Load CD game" from the dropdown.

Mednafen involves making sure you put it in a good spot, and then telling the thing where it sits at, either by using the interactive crap on screen (which requires looking up the instructions online), or you can manually diddle around with the config file and find the parameter you want. This sucks, since the file is effin' huge.

So, I get where Zeta is coming from.

Why doesn't mednafen have a gui? Probably because it's cross platform. That is my guess at least.

I'd make a GUI for it but I have 2 reasons why I don't.

1) I hate making GUIs, it annoys me. I hate trying to lay out buttons and crap like I like them.
2) Because of 1, my GUIs are often about as user friendly as a NASA Space shuttle.
3) I have other crap to do that's more important, like all the game-stuff I am working on... (and school).

Someone else with alot free time might be able to help though.

OldRover · 11/01/2011, 05:02 PM

Oh noes, a config file. The world is ending.

I've considered making a frontend for Mednafen, but there's PCejin which is basically Mednafen + GUI for the Windows users. However, it's also as dumb as a box of rocks.

SignOfZeta · 11/01/2011, 08:15 PM

Most people who download Mednafen eventually give up and and trash the files before they get it to work. This is just a fact. If that's the kind of software she wants to develop then...I hope it's fulfilling.

Most people who make something usually have some hope that people will actually be able to use it rather that just throw it away. If I make a web page and people can't read it, I'll try to fix it, rather then go tell the people they need to download some fringe browser they've never heard of. When I make music I don't encode it in APE format, etc.

geise · 11/01/2011, 08:20 PM

Don't know what the problem is. There's a GUI with the Wii version of Mednafin. Works great! Thanks to the original poster!

nat · 11/01/2011, 09:31 PM

Quote from: Burnt Lasagna on 11/01/2011, 10:20 AMMac users have to compile there own version of Mednafen using MacPorts.
http://www.macports.org/
You can get the latest source of Mednafen on there official website.
http://mednafen.sourceforge.net/releases/

I'm sorry, but that's..... laughable. Apparently the mednafen/Mac situation is even worse than I realized. Not only do you have to track down Darwin Ports/MacPorts (a non "fake" version), you have to worry about installing a compiler and a bunch of resources you'll never, ever use otherwise. It's like a goddamn scavenger hunt, and then you still have the task of trying to compile the thing.

That's great the developer provides the source code and all, but 90% of the people interested in using mednafen are not programmers or developers themselves. We don't have the interest/time/patience to fuck around with this sort of thing.

Arkhan is right-- this might be a big no brainer for someone who deals with compilers on a daily basis, but for the rest of us, it's a gigantic pain in the ass and, in almost all cases, an insurmountable roadblock. This is coming from someone who used to do some C++ programming and has dealt with a compiler or two in his time.

I know, I know, you get what you pay for and beggars can't be choosers and all that but it just doesn't make sense to me. Does the Wii version come precompiled or are Wii users expected to compile their own copy?

OldRover · 11/01/2011, 09:47 PM

I blame two things:

1. Whoever designed the Mac system was a retard and didn't include gcc. All intelligent Unix-based systems include gcc. It's just how shit is done.
2. Stupid and/or lazy userbase that has been coddled by aforementioned retard who insists that they don't even need more than one mouse button. Two buttons is hard, man.

OldRover · 11/01/2011, 10:30 PM

By the way... I mean no offense to anyone on this forum. Every system has its fair share of stupidity in its userbase. I'm not pointing at anyone in particular here, just at the overall attitude presented by the vast swarms of clueless rookies who change their desktop wallpaper and think that they're suddenly computer experts.

SignOfZeta · 11/01/2011, 10:55 PM

You need new Mac jokes. They've shipped with multi-button mice for...I think about 7 years now. Of course most Macs sold are notebooks with multi-touch trackpads, which is kind of like a 10,000 button mouse (see: Gestures).

They also have color displays as standard now, in case you hadn't heard about that either.

I have no fucking idea what a "GCC" is. I know a lot of smart people and chances are that none of them do either. Despite this I have downloaded litterally hundreds of Mac programs, only one or two needed to be compiled. All sorts of freeware, open source, multiplatform, etc stuff, from tiny one man shows to huge global projects, Tinygrab, Handbrake, VLC, Firefox, Open Office, MAME, SNES9x, TGEmu, you name it. All of them just shipped as .apps files that just...ran. These developers wanted their shit to actually get used.

OldRover · 11/01/2011, 11:56 PM

gcc is the standard compiler collection for all of Unix. And I actually don't give a damn about your mouse, nor do I need "new Mac jokes". Mac users just need to be less ignorant.

SignOfZeta · 11/02/2011, 12:37 AM

Are you actually under the impression that if the Windows version of Mednafen needed to be compiled for each individual user than there would be a greater percentage of those users that could actually pull it off? If so, you are seriously delusional.

I know how to completely strip and rebuild a car down to its primary components. I even built and programed the ECU that runs my Solo car/daily driver. I spend all day at work minutely tuning massive tables to minimize diesel exhaust emissions, running tests and measurements of prototype parts, populating fuel and timing maps. Many of my friends are similarly capable.

Do I expect the person who eventually buys the cars I help develop to understand any of that shit? Of course not. Its my job, and my hobby, not theirs. They need to be carpenters and doctors and teachers and astronauts and whatever. I don't know how the fuck they do whatever it is they do.

You and your buddies are hella L337 uber programmers and power users. I'm just a user. %99.9999 of the world are just users. I don't know ding dong dick about this shit and there isn't room in my brain or time in my day to learn it. It has nothing to do with being lazy, stupid, or spoiled.

I'm not a dumb-ass for not knowing how to get Mednafen to run any more than you are a dumbass for not knowing how to adjust the timing on a Mazda 323 GTR. You do however kind of sound like a dumbass when you criticize Macs for having less buttons than they actually do. Always know your enemy, especially in stupid fights you pick for no reason.

ALL THAT ASIDE:

I actually don't fault so much the fact that it needs to be compiled. I understand there are technical reasons for that even if I don't really understand what those reasons are. It not having a GUI though is just the programmer being needlessly recalcitrant. There is no excuse for that. I refuse to believe that every spare second of Mednafen development is spent on accuracy, optimization, and compatibility. I know enough to understand that progress in those areas doesn't have a direct relationship to time. That is, you can't necessarily spend x amount of time and get x amount of improvement. Moving ahead in those departments requires strategy, epiphany, collaboration, etc. A GUI could be written in less than an hour when nothing else is going on. It doesn't have one because the developer doesn't want it to have one, and I have no doubt that the pompous condescending gits that are its biggest fans feel entirely validated by being a member of a puny niche that can actually pull it off.

Duo_R · 11/02/2011, 01:30 AM

Does it emulate PCFX good?

OldRover · 11/02/2011, 01:42 AM

SoZ dude, I'm trolling. Can't you tell?

I've had the GUI conversation with Ryphecha before. As for the source code bit... I have no idea why it's not compiled ahead of time.

Duo_R: Mednafen's PC-FX emulation is as good as it gets. There are no other emulators that can touch it. Then again, there are barely any PC-FX emulators to begin with.

Mednafen · 11/02/2011, 06:46 AM

I'll add a GUI if SignOfZeta builds me a flying car. I mean, it should be simple, you just bolt on wings, so it shouldn't take more than an hour, right?

geise · 11/02/2011, 08:40 AM

Again, Mednafen works fucking great! You just load it on your SD card and play it. That's all you do if you have your Wii enabled for Homebrew. It works like any other emulator. Load game, play game, enjoy game. The youtube link shows the wiimednafen interface right from the get go. This has nothing to do with the Win/Mac versions. There's no command line to worry about cause it's on a Wii, and not a PC. Just try it and have fun. The emulation for PC-Engine is great! The youtube video shows the PC-FX emulation. It looks really good, however I do think I saw a bit of frameskip going on. It could also just be the youtube clip. I'll have to test Zeroigar later after work.

Burnt Lasagna · 11/02/2011, 09:41 AM

Seriously, I made this thread for the Wii port.

The Wii port is so easy a monkey could use it, there's no compiling, no command prompt, nothing! As geise said, you just put the game on your SD card and play and it's even on your TV, just like the original TG16 and, like all Wii emulators, it has support for the classic controller (Which is fantastic).

If you own a Wii then hack it and play this port, it's dirt simple.

Quote from: geise on 11/02/2011, 08:40 AMThe youtube video shows the PC-FX emulation. It looks really good, however I do think I saw a bit of frameskip going on. It could also just be the youtube clip. I'll have to test Zeroigar later after work.

PC-FX emulation works kind of slow on at the moment but Raz0red plans to improve it in later releases.

SignOfZeta · 11/02/2011, 01:28 PM

Quote from: Mednafen on 11/02/2011, 06:46 AMI'll add a GUI if SignOfZeta builds me a flying car. I mean, it should be simple, you just bolt on wings, so it shouldn't take more than an hour, right?

You actually consider a GUI, which virtually every program but yours has, to be analogous to a flying car, which more or less doesn't exist?

Jesus, now I see what I'm up against here.

NecroPhile · 11/02/2011, 01:38 PM

There are GUI front ends for Mednafen and there are other emulators if this one isn't to your tastes, so what's the big deal?

OldRover · 11/02/2011, 01:44 PM

Not for the Mac though... there's hardly anything for the Mac because most coders can't stand that trash.

geise · 11/02/2011, 01:57 PM

I think everyone that owns a Wii needs to try Mednafen cause it fucking rocks! Plus it's balls easy to get running.

SignOfZeta · 11/02/2011, 05:14 PM

Quote from: OldRover on 11/02/2011, 01:44 PMNot for the Mac though... there's hardly anything for the Mac because most coders can't stand that trash.

Since my Mac has has both OSX and Windows 7 on it I have access to all emus for both platforms. I'd just rather not have to reboot.

Arkhan Asylum · 11/02/2011, 06:17 PM

Rover, Macs come with GCC, lol.

At least, mine did.

and yeah the topic isn't GUIs for Windows (which exist, but I don't bother with since I myself don't need it. I'm ok with the commandlining.). It's for Mac users. Mac users are always fucked over. Though really, anything done with GTK should be doable on a Mac, seeing as a Mac is Unix and all.

I know WinVice had a GTK interface on Mac.

I sure as hell hope the Mednafen for Wii has a GUI, otherwise how would you even use it lol.

Burnt Lasagna · 11/02/2011, 06:22 PM

Quote from: guest on 11/02/2011, 06:17 PMI sure as hell hope the Mednafen for Wii has a GUI, otherwise how would you even use it lol.

Dude, its been stated several times that it does, watch the video I linked to in the topic post.

Arkhan Asylum · 11/02/2011, 06:36 PM

Quote from: Burnt Lasagna on 11/02/2011, 06:22 PM
Quote from: Psycho Arkhan on 11/02/2011, 06:17 PMI sure as hell hope the Mednafen for Wii has a GUI, otherwise how would you even use it lol.
Dude, its been stated several times that it does, watch the video I linked to in the topic post.

I know, lol. that was me basically saying "yeah it had better"

SignOfZeta · 11/02/2011, 06:57 PM

It would be pretty awesome typing out commands with the Wiimote.