10 replies to this topic

[thegoldenband]

For obvious reasons, the emulation scene on OS X isn't quite as strong as on Windows, but we Mac users do pretty well. Which emulators are folks using these days? Which ones are ready for prime time, and which ones have major accuracy, speed, or compatibility issues? I'm mainly interested in emulators for classic (non-optical disc) systems, though others may creep in.

Here's my list. It's not meant to be comprehensive, but merely to reflect my own experience. I'm still using a PPC Mac, so I haven't used any Intel-only emulators (but on the upside, at least I can still use Classic-mode emulators). There's a more complete list at the MacScene site, and if you add to that the lists at the MESS website, you'll get a mostly-complete list of what's out there.

Atari 2600 - Stella is terrific, and keeps getting even better
Atari 800/5200 - Atari800MacX seems great
Atari 7800 - as far as I know, MESS is the only game in town (a port of ProSystem was privately started, but never finished); the graphics aren't 100% accurate, and I sometimes get audio glitches
Atari Lynx - I use Handy, and haven't had any problems
Atari Jaguar - there's apparently a program called Virtual Jaguar that hasn't been updated in some time; any others?

NES - Nestopia seems to have close to 100% accuracy and compatibility, and supports FDS games
SNES - I use SNES9X; BSNES is supposedly more accurate, but is extremely processor-intensive
Nintendo 64 - I've only used SixtyForce, which is playable but not perfect; other options, like Mupen64Plus, are Intel-only
Game Boy - KiGB is the current option, haven't used it
Virtual Boy - I've used ViBE a bit, but I don't have 3-D glasses
Game Boy Advance - I'm not deeply acquainted with this system, but have used Boycott Advance with no problems

Sega SG-1000 - CrabEmu is the only emulator I've tried that gets the SG-1000 palette right, and unlike SMS Plus, it supports "The Castle"
Sega Master System - CrabEmu and SMS Plus both seem to work well
Sega Game Gear - ditto
Sega Genesis - I use Generator; Genesis Plus is allegedly the newer and more accurate emulator, but I have a few ROMs that act very strangely with it
Sega CD/Sega 32X - There are Intel-only emulators called Gens GS (Leopard-only) and MacGens (Tiger-only); I haven't tried either one
Sega Saturn - Yabause is promising, but it's nowhere near full speed on my machine, and has many graphic glitches

Turbografx-16/PC Engine - I've had OK results with TGEmu; MagicEngine seems great, but does cost $$$
MSX/MSX2 - I've had mixed results with OpenMSX and fMSX
PC-8801 - MESS is the only option I know of; haven't tried it

Odyssey2 - O2Em seems to work well
Intellivision - though it's tricky to figure out at first, jzintv works very well
ColecoVision - I use Mugrat, which seems to work well now that the fire button glitch has been fixed
Coleco Adam - How's MESS for the Adam?
Fairchild Channel F - I don't know the original system well enough to evaluate the job that MESS does with it, but it's playable if a bit quirky; have the issues with the sound been fixed?

TI99/4A - In the past, I used V9T9 under OS 9, and now use MESS under OS X. Emulation seems reasonably accurate, but I've had a lot of trouble getting games to run consistently. Has anyone tried TI-99/Sim?
TRS-80 Model III/IV - I used to use a program called "TRS-80" under OS 8/9
Tandy Color Computer - I use MESS; some audio glitches on my system, but otherwise OK

I welcome corrections, additions, and supplemental thoughts! In particular, I'm not up on what's been happening in the Apple II and Commodore worlds, and there are other consoles I haven't tried in MESS -- the Astrocade, Vectrex, and Emerson Arcadia 2001 come to mind.

Edited by thegoldenband, Tue Aug 25, 2009 8:52 PM.

[carmel_andrews]

have you visited the w/s called zophars domain, i think there are emulators for non windoze/dozz platforms (like mac etc)

[thegoldenband]

I have indeed, and I used to go there all the time. Zophar's lists for the Mac are a little out of date, though.

[Nerf Herder73]

You can also try http://www.macscene.net/

[thegoldenband]

Nerf Herder73, on Wed Aug 26, 2009 3:03 PM, said:

You can also try http://www.macscene.net/

Already linked in the OP! Thanks, though. It's a good site, and the forums are fairly helpful.

[Nerf Herder73]

thegoldenband, on Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:10 PM, said:

Already linked in the OP! Thanks, though. It's a good site, and the forums are fairly helpful.

Whoops! Sorry.

[thegoldenband]

Timster's thread that was recently bumped reminded me of this one. Actually I was about to post a similar list to his thread, but at the last minute I remembered that I had one of my own!

Anyway, I'm still using a PPC Mac, and would love input from PPC Mac users if there are any emulators I've missed (maybe this thread could be retitled "Recommended emulators for Mac OS X PPC"?). I can't edit the OP, but this is what I would add/change:

Atari ST - I haven't had much luck with NoSTalgia

Genesis - none of the available options are that great; there are some serious issues with Genesis Plus!

MSX/MSX2 - the more I use it, the more I like OpenMSX
PlayStation - nothing's that great, but FlareStorm is playable for some games
Neo Geo MVS - MAME works surprisingly well

Apple II - Virtual II
TRS-80 Model I/III/IV - I was quite impressed by sdltrs
Commodore 64 -
Amiga - Are there any viable emulators for Amiga on OS X PPC? Haven't had much luck

Am I overlooking anything on PPC OS X?

Edited by thegoldenband, Sun Sep 4, 2011 9:42 PM.

[Metal Jesus]

I think it's worth mentioning BOXER for all your classic DOS gaming needs. It's fantastic! All you need to do is drag over the CD ROM or ISO and it configures it all for you.

[goldenegg]

For Intel Mac users, Kega Fusion is pretty much the best emulator for all Sega consoles prior to the Saturn. It's also available for Windows and Linux.

thegoldenband, on Sun Sep 4, 2011 9:41 PM, said:

Commodore 64 -

Either Power64 or Vice. Both are great, but I've recently had to move to Vice since Power64 is a PPC app and Lion no longer has Rosetta.

[thegoldenband]

Metal Jesus, on Mon Sep 5, 2011 11:18 AM, said:

I think it's worth mentioning BOXER for all your classic DOS gaming needs. It's fantastic! All you need to do is drag over the CD ROM or ISO and it configures it all for you.

I assumed this was Intel-only, but it turns out it's not! Great catch. I have DOSBox installed on my PowerBook, and an early version of Virtual PC on my old beige G3.

goldenegg, on Mon Sep 5, 2011 3:46 PM, said:

For Intel Mac users, Kega Fusion is pretty much the best emulator for all Sega consoles prior to the Saturn. It's also available for Windows and Linux.

I've heard great things about it, yeah. Genesis Plus is kind of a disaster, or at least the most recent version I've tried is -- the music plays at half-speed in Thunder Force II, you're mysteriously invincible in Shadow of the Beast, etc. I'm not sure when PPC development stopped -- maybe a more recent version addressed some of these issues.

I do like CrabEmu for SMS and SG-1000, though there are still some bugs and quirks to be ironed out (many of which have been fixed since the last release).

goldenegg, on Mon Sep 5, 2011 3:46 PM, said:

thegoldenband, on Sun Sep 4, 2011 9:41 PM, said:

Commodore 64 -

Either Power64 or Vice. Both are great, but I've recently had to move to Vice since Power64 is a PPC app and Lion no longer has Rosetta.

Great, I'll have to check Power64 out.

Edited by thegoldenband, Mon Sep 5, 2011 5:00 PM.

[disjaukifa]

PSCX - Reload <-- I've used this one on my Mac and it was fantastic, works really well and they seem to be updating it constantly.