19 replies to this topic

[Bones Justice]

New guy here, what is the "emulator" that folks are posting about? Does it play regular cartridges? Can you comlynx with a regular Lynx?

[EricDeLee]

Handy is the emulator
HANDY Website

You can't ComLynx...although I wish they would figure that out and do an update. I know you can play against people online with NES emulators (I used to play Tecmo Bowl online against people years ago). It can be done, I just wish it could be done for the Lynx.

[Bones Justice]

Thanks for the reply. I checked the link and I guess I still don't get it. It's software for a computer? You can't put cartridges in it? What is the point then? A development tool, perhaps?

Anyways, I guess it's not something I'm interested in. I thought maybe there was a commercial product or something meant to be a modern-day replacement like other consoles have.

[ls650]

An emulator is a program that, well, emulates another system. If you run HANDY on your PC, you get a little window that opens up and simulates the LCD display of a Lynx. You then load and execute a ROM file with the emulator. It essentially 'fakes' being a Lynx.

Very useful for development - or simply to play a favorite Lynx game on your laptop while you're travelling away from home. There are emulators for many different older systems: 2600, Nintendo, Sega, etc.

[Bones Justice]

Okay, thanks. What do you use to connect the cartridge to your computer? I didn't see anything on the website that mentioned how to do that. Besides, I have a computer at home but it's ancient and never owned a laptop.

And I don't know, I think if I was at a computer, I'd usually rather play a computer game. I like my Lynx games but Checkered Flag is no match for any number of computer racing games, for example, even the old ones. The same goes for just about every game in any category.

The development part makes a lot of sense, though. Thanks again for the information!

[PFG 9000]

ls650, on Mon Jun 20, 2011 7:44 PM, said:

or simply to play a favorite Lynx game on your laptop while you're travelling away from home.

I LOLed. Lynx is a portable system...of course that's not the purpose.

Bones Justice, on Mon Jun 20, 2011 8:04 PM, said:

Okay, thanks. What do you use to connect the cartridge to your computer? I didn't see anything on the website that mentioned how to do that. Besides, I have a computer at home but it's ancient and never owned a laptop.

And I don't know, I think if I was at a computer, I'd usually rather play a computer game. I like my Lynx games but Checkered Flag is no match for any number of computer racing games, for example, even the old ones. The same goes for just about every game in any category.

The development part makes a lot of sense, though. Thanks again for the information!

It works like this. Lynx unit = emulator file. Lynx Gamecard = ROM file. In the same way that you place a Lynx Gamecard into your Lynx to play a game, you need to download a Lynx emulator and a Lynx ROM file for whichever game you want to play, then open the emulator program, and use that program to locate the ROM file on your computer.

If this is still confusing, a ROM file is essentially the data contained on a Lynx Gamecard, but uploaded to a computer in digital form. People have hooked their Lynx Gamecards up to their computers, transferred the data from the Gamecard to their hard drive, and shared that data online. Now you can download that data to your computer to play it in Handy, which is a program somebody wrote to simulate the Lynx's programming with your computer.

So Lynx emulation is a way to play a game you don't own. Or, if you want to go about things the legal way, it's a way to play a game on your computer when you own a sealed copy but don't want to open it up.

[Atari_afternoon]

I used emulation to get to know the Lynx games that even less than a year ago were totally unfamiliar to me. However, as noted, gameplay on a computer is much different than on original hardware.
It has to be more than the "aah, only emulation..." factor. Games that I at first thought suck :shame: play absolutely fantastic on the Lynx (Rampage, Ms. Pac-Man).
So, a good way to test what´s on the market to check out and to test the gameplay. A few minutes usually and you know "I´d like to get this."

Edited by Atari_afternoon, Tue Jun 21, 2011 1:59 AM.

[108 Stars]

Bones Justice, on Mon Jun 20, 2011 8:04 PM, said:

And I don't know, I think if I was at a computer, I'd usually rather play a computer game. I like my Lynx games but Checkered Flag is no match for any number of computer racing games, for example, even the old ones. The same goes for just about every game in any category.

In that case... why on earth do you care about the Lynx? When its games can´t compete even against outdated computer games, why bother with it? It´s just as easy and cheap nowadays to play those computer games rather than Lynx games. Get a second hand PSP and you can even play old computer games on the go!

There is no reason to bother with the Lynx if you don´t genuinely prefer its games from others.

[Bones Justice]

Oh...so this is about copying games. I guess I never thought about that because when I signed up for Atari Age, it said that this kind of discussion was prohibited. Anyways, no thanks, I'm not interested in copying games. It's one of the reasons I got away from computer gaming.

The argument that it's "just to try out games" is older than the Lynx itself. I suppose the next argument will be that the games are old or nobody cares anymore. Whatever, I'm not interested. In fact, if a moderator is reading this, they can lock or even delete this thread, as far as I'm concerned.

I don't have to justify playing Lynx games to anyone. I own it.

[PFG 9000]

Bones Justice, on Tue Jun 21, 2011 7:26 PM, said:

Oh...so this is about copying games. I guess I never thought about that because when I signed up for Atari Age, it said that this kind of discussion was prohibited. Anyways, no thanks, I'm not interested in copying games. It's one of the reasons I got away from computer gaming.

The argument that it's "just to try out games" is older than the Lynx itself. I suppose the next argument will be that the games are old or nobody cares anymore. Whatever, I'm not interested. In fact, if a moderator is reading this, they can lock or even delete this thread, as far as I'm concerned.

I don't have to justify playing Lynx games to anyone. I own it.

Why are you so touchy? You asked a question, and we answered it. Nobody said you shouldn't be talking about this.

[Bones Justice]

I'm not touchy. I'm just not interested in copying games.

[Atari_afternoon]

You can´t copy games anyway like you could with computer games so this misunderstanding of yours is pointless anyway. It´s like discussing or demanding "Why does the Lynx have no touchscreen?"

Edited by Atari_afternoon, Wed Jun 22, 2011 3:22 AM.

[Bones Justice]

What misunderstanding? Someone copied the game cartridges to convert them to computer files. That's copying games. Someone downloading the game files is creating a copy of a copy. That's copying games.

I want no part of either.

[Atari_afternoon]

That copy wouldn´t work on the Lynx though. Physical game cartridge copies are not existing. So you do not have to be afraid you could buy a fake game because there aren´t any. Not because of the high morale of first generation Lynx gamers but because of the limited market for them.
Anyway, opinions are divided what Handy is there for. PFG9000 explained its use, I said what I think about it and you disagree. That´s fine. I have no intention to have this develop into any sort of argument.

Edited by Atari_afternoon, Wed Jun 22, 2011 5:16 AM.

[Ninjabba]

The emulator isn't just about copying or playing the games from the existing library. Some people (like myself) who like to program their own games can distribute the ROMs by offering some download link on here. Then people can enjoy them by running them on an emulator like Handy.

Its of importance emulators exist for the homebrew community to be able to develop or distribute. I don't want to imagine how developing would be if I constantly had to load the ROM on some flashcard to run it on the Lynx. And there would be no fun if nobody can play them.

As for legal issues.. thats a discussion I won't touch. All I can say is that Atari should be grateful for people still being interested in their old systems. Emulation or hardware. There's not much (if any..) from them these days that can be compared with their glorious past, so I would think its in everybody's interest to keep that alive whatever means necessary.

[108 Stars]

Bones Justice, on Tue Jun 21, 2011 7:26 PM, said:

I don't have to justify playing Lynx games to anyone. I own it.

You don´t have to justify anything, but when you say that Lynx games can´t compete with even old computer games, then I don´t understand why you are playing on Lynx. Nowadays you can easily play the more advanced games for cheap, there is no reason to bother with the Lynx if you don´t genuinely think the Lynx-games can keep up. Just makes no sense...

About your issue with copying...uhm... you do know that this very website offers the games for download, do you?

[Bones Justice]

Anyone using the emulator for development, I applaud you.

As for the other, what I said was that if you are using a computer, there are better games available. Are you really trying to say that you think Checkered Flag on the Lynx is better than Microprose Formula One Gran Prix on the PC? Really? Even my old PC from the 1990's runs F1GP quite well.

But if you are not at a computer (which I'm not) then a portable game system makes sense. I own a Lynx and at the time I bought it, it was the best. Why should I have to justify playing it? I don't own a laptop or a PSP; why should I buy one to play Lynx games when I already own a Lynx? Also, as the original reply noted, you can't comlynx anyways with the emulator which is the one thing Checkered Flag still does better than my other portable (Sega Nomad). Games like Virtua Racing or Road Rash on the Nomad are far superior to Checkered Flag *except* that you can play the latter with three friends.

I don't care where you can download copied games. It's just another justification anyways (see my previous post on that subject). As I've said several times already, I'm not interested.

[108 Stars]

Bones Justice, on Wed Jun 22, 2011 4:32 PM, said:

I don't own a laptop or a PSP; why should I buy one to play Lynx games when I already own a Lynx?

You should buy it because you cam get it and its games cheap nowadays and you will be able to play games that you actually really LIKE on it; not Lynx games, which are inferior for you anyway, but nice modern day racing games. Portable gaming does not have to be inferior for you anymore.

Just spend a few Dollars to be able to play something you really enjoy instead of playing Lynx which is inferior to you.

[Bones Justice]

I never said I didn't like Lynx games. I don't need to spend money. I already own the games. Rather, you should spend your money on games rather than trying to get them for free.

This thread is obviously off-topic now. You can carry on all you want for all I care but I'm done with it. I don't copy games.

[108 Stars]