How do u make a emulator?

bes · May 15th, 2004

I ask this because i'm really curious, wanna help out, and have 4 months of free time to spend.
I've done some programming, mainly c/c++. i'm still pretty much a certifiable newbie, but a very dedicated newbie

.
Yes, i know making emu is hard, but learning new things is always good for something
i'm not expecting anyone teach me everything. just give me some hints as to where to start would be enough
thx in advance

**Razor Blade** · May 15th, 2004

A ood place to start is with let's say an atari 2600 or nes emulator.

Find some documentation about it on the web (the older consoles are less complex and there is more documentation on them) Also having the attitude that your gonna make a PS2 one right off the bat is the wrong one.

*I'm sure your smarter than that

**_E_** · May 15th, 2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by bes

I ask this because i'm really curious, wanna help out, and have 4 months of free time to spend.
I've done some programming, mainly c/c++. i'm still pretty much a certifiable newbie, but a very dedicated newbie

.
Yes, i know making emu is hard, but learning new things is always good for something
i'm not expecting anyone teach me everything. just give me some hints as to where to start would be enough
thx in advance

You can start by looking into a good open source emulator. I advice you to complete C++ and windows programming ( preferably win32 API ) beforehand. Learning Direct X would also be helpful

edit : And no, dont start with an NES, start with something simpler, like chip8

Yours,
-Elly

-//zAe\\- · May 16th, 2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elly

You can start by looking into a good open source emulator. I advice you to complete C++ and windows programming ( preferably win32 API ) beforehand. Learning Direct X would also be helpful

edit : And no, dont start with an NES, start with something simpler, like chip8

Yours,
-Elly

And... what is the most simple game system to emulate?.... Just to get in the emulation in general...

mastertune007 · May 16th, 2004

Chip8, just as Elly stated.

**refraction** · May 16th, 2004

This should get you started

Chip8 Technical Docs

-//zAe\\- · May 16th, 2004

Well

, after i made a little research on the NET, i found out that chip8 is the most easy system to emulate (as for me

). Maybe it is quite obvious, but i had never studied the computer gaming history before. Anyway, you should not start to code PlayStation2 emulator, if you cannot code the chip8 one

...

**zenogais** · May 16th, 2004

Well, before you start programming anything, learn C/C++ first. Then as everyone above me has stated, write a Chip8 emu. Theres plenty of people here who have written one, so if you need help just ask.

bes · May 16th, 2004

thx for the input guys. I've found out a lot of info about this chip8, something i didn't know existed before (cuz it's pretty much obsolete before i was born

) this thing can't even begin to compare to something modern, heck, i can make much better games than it plays

. but it looks like a good start, since i've no previous emulation experiences
looks like i'm a long way from emuing ps2, but that's expected

thx again guys

-//zAe\\- · May 17th, 2004

Good luck in all you are doing!

**Kanodin** · May 17th, 2004

Chip 8 is a good start, then maybe an Atari or NES emulator to follow, remember it will be hard but if you keep at it you'll eventually get it

Sammyboy · May 18th, 2004

The thing I dont get is when people tell you to emulate a chip 8 then move onto a atari or nes... what about s chip... that must be fairly simple (I thought it was a more advance versio of chip 8 myself).

**moomoomoo** · May 18th, 2004

It's unlikely that coding the schip8 emu will gain you any further experience. Even if it did, the implementation of it wouldn't take long at all.

**refraction** · May 18th, 2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by moomoomoo

It's unlikely that coding the schip8 emu will gain you any further experience. Even if it did, the implementation of it wouldn't take long at all.

exactly, theres nothing really taxing about changing the display mode (doubling the amount of pixels) or scrolling down or across, as all that needs is the frame buffer shifting x places to the left or x places up.

infact, that is the easiest part of making the emu

Sammyboy · May 18th, 2004

OK... I dont really know about that much. That thing was dead before I was alive

**zenogais** · May 18th, 2004

You realize the Chip8 was never a real computer right?

Sammyboy · May 18th, 2004

Yeah... I knew that. Can I ask a question... how many colours were there because on the emu I downloaded it was all blue.

**zenogais** · May 18th, 2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sammyboy

Yeah... I knew that. Can I ask a question... how many colours were there because on the emu I downloaded it was all blue.

2 colors, black and white.

bes · May 18th, 2004

from the guide i found (see refraction's link posted above), says "All drawings are done in XOR mode." it sounds like only one color to me, though i can't understand all the technical terms nor did i read the guide very thoroughly :P

Sammyboy · May 18th, 2004

thanks for that

May 15th, 2004	#1 (permalink)
bes The Curious One Join Date: May 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 43	How do u make a emulator? I ask this because i'm really curious, wanna help out, and have 4 months of free time to spend. I've done some programming, mainly c/c++. i'm still pretty much a certifiable newbie, but a very dedicated newbie . Yes, i know making emu is hard, but learning new things is always good for something i'm not expecting anyone teach me everything. just give me some hints as to where to start would be enough thx in advance __________________ [ AMD X2 3800+ 2.0GHz @ 2.6GHz ][ OCZ 2GB RAM ][ 7600GT ] ~('-'~) (~'-')~

May 15th, 2004	#2 (permalink)
Razor Blade Locked and Loaded Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: I AM CANADIAN! Posts: 12,030	A ood place to start is with let's say an atari 2600 or nes emulator. Find some documentation about it on the web (the older consoles are less complex and there is more documentation on them) Also having the attitude that your gonna make a PS2 one right off the bat is the wrong one. *I'm sure your smarter than that __________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0 GHz ● NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS ● 2GB DDR2 RAM Hitachi 120GB HD ● Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive ● Windows Vista Home Premium ● Dell 2007WFP LCD ● Dell XPS M1330 Laptop ● 1TB Western Digital MyBook External HD ● Logitech Z10 Speakers ● PLAYSTATION 3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

May 16th, 2004	#6 (permalink)
refraction PCSX2 Coder $refraction's Avatar$ Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Plymouth, UK Posts: 9,819	This should get you started Chip8 Technical Docs __________________ http://www.generalemu.net/ Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3.4Ghz (425x8), Leadtek GTX 280 1Gb, 1.8Tb HDs, 2Gb Corsair DDR2-800 @ DDR2-1020 5-5-5-18 Dual Channel Dont PM me for help, use the forums, thats what its for!
$refraction is offline$

May 16th, 2004	#7 (permalink)
-//zAe\\- The Silence Is Broken $-//zAe\\-'s Avatar$ Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Ukraine Posts: 68	Well , after i made a little research on the NET, i found out that chip8 is the most easy system to emulate (as for me ). Maybe it is quite obvious, but i had never studied the computer gaming history before. Anyway, you should not start to code PlayStation2 emulator, if you cannot code the chip8 one ...
$-//zAe\\- is offline$

May 16th, 2004	#8 (permalink)
zenogais Emu author Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Victorville(Near Los Angeles or LA for those who are on the DL) Posts: 839	Well, before you start programming anything, learn C/C++ first. Then as everyone above me has stated, write a Chip8 emu. Theres plenty of people here who have written one, so if you need help just ask. __________________ ----------------- Emu Tinkerer and C++ Programmer

May 16th, 2004	#5 (permalink)
mastertune007 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Korea Town Posts: 32	Chip8, just as Elly stated.

May 16th, 2004	#9 (permalink)
bes The Curious One Join Date: May 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 43	thx for the input guys. I've found out a lot of info about this chip8, something i didn't know existed before (cuz it's pretty much obsolete before i was born ) this thing can't even begin to compare to something modern, heck, i can make much better games than it plays . but it looks like a good start, since i've no previous emulation experiences looks like i'm a long way from emuing ps2, but that's expected thx again guys __________________ [ AMD X2 3800+ 2.0GHz @ 2.6GHz ][ OCZ 2GB RAM ][ 7600GT ] ~('-'~) (~'-')~

May 17th, 2004	#10 (permalink)
-//zAe\\- The Silence Is Broken $-//zAe\\-'s Avatar$ Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Ukraine Posts: 68	Good luck in all you are doing!
$-//zAe\\- is offline$

May 17th, 2004	#11 (permalink)
Kanodin Emu author Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Dunno Posts: 666	Chip 8 is a good start, then maybe an Atari or NES emulator to follow, remember it will be hard but if you keep at it you'll eventually get it

May 18th, 2004	#12 (permalink)
Sammyboy Registered User Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 29	The thing I dont get is when people tell you to emulate a chip 8 then move onto a atari or nes... what about s chip... that must be fairly simple (I thought it was a more advance versio of chip 8 myself). __________________ I use to wonder if there was a god and now I know there is.. me!

May 18th, 2004	#13 (permalink)
moomoomoo Administrator Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: UK Posts: 844	It's unlikely that coding the schip8 emu will gain you any further experience. Even if it did, the implementation of it wouldn't take long at all.

May 18th, 2004	#15 (permalink)
Sammyboy Registered User Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 29	OK... I dont really know about that much. That thing was dead before I was alive __________________ I use to wonder if there was a god and now I know there is.. me!

May 18th, 2004	#16 (permalink)
zenogais Emu author Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Victorville(Near Los Angeles or LA for those who are on the DL) Posts: 839	You realize the Chip8 was never a real computer right? __________________ ----------------- Emu Tinkerer and C++ Programmer

May 18th, 2004	#17 (permalink)
Sammyboy Registered User Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 29	Yeah... I knew that. Can I ask a question... how many colours were there because on the emu I downloaded it was all blue. __________________ I use to wonder if there was a god and now I know there is.. me!

May 18th, 2004	#19 (permalink)
bes The Curious One Join Date: May 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 43	from the guide i found (see refraction's link posted above), says "All drawings are done in XOR mode." it sounds like only one color to me, though i can't understand all the technical terms nor did i read the guide very thoroughly :P __________________ [ AMD X2 3800+ 2.0GHz @ 2.6GHz ][ OCZ 2GB RAM ][ 7600GT ] ~('-'~) (~'-')~

May 18th, 2004	#20 (permalink)
Sammyboy Registered User Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 29	thanks for that __________________ I use to wonder if there was a god and now I know there is.. me!

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