Help Setting Up Emulation on Windows 7

[PIC Master Race]

So I have my new PC working, and now I would like to be able to set up emulation for PS1, PS2, Wii, Xbox, Dreamcast, anything else good people can tell me about. But I don't want to mess up anything. Can anyone tell me the best way to do it for Windows 7? Also I hope this is okay in the PC Gaming forum, since it's about emulating games on a PC, but please let me know if I should post it in Off Topic or somewhere else instead. I am just as new to these forums as I am to PC hah.

 

[SPBHM]

So I have my new PC working, and now I would like to be able to set up emulation for PS1, PS2, Wii, Xbox, Dreamcast, anything else good people can tell me about. But I don't want to mess up anything. Can anyone tell me the best way to do it for Windows 7? Also I hope this is okay in the PC Gaming forum, since it's about emulating games on a PC, but please let me know if I should post it in Off Topic or somewhere else instead. I am just as new to these forums as I am to PC hah.

most emulators don't work well and require a lot of time testing and PS2/Wii requires a really fast overclocked CPU for some games (and they still have problems)

I recommend buying the consoles if you just want to play the games, but for emulation, download Dolphin for Wii, PCSX2 for PS2, NullDC for Dreamcast (Xbox emulators cannot be used to play games yet), for PS1 the most popular is epsxe, but I prefer using retroarch with mednafen

keep in mind you also need to find the firmware image for most of the consoles (which is basically illegal), some also can't read the real CD/DVD so you need an image of the game disc,

 

[sweenish]

I suppose saying "most" emulators don't work well is technically correct.

However, any system emulator considered best in class will likely work just fine. Some may take some extra work to set up, though. I know that Dolphin for the Wii requires a bluetooth sensor bar, their site has a list of verified third party bars that have been tested and confirmed working.

I'll throw in Higan or Snes9x for SNES emulation. Snes9x is the friendlier choice. It's been a long time since I've used an emulator. Kega fusion, if it's still a thing was great for the Genesis. I can never keep track of which NES or N64 emulator was the best. I used to use VBA-M for GBA, but I know something better has come along.

I've only dabbled with RetroArch on Android, and it's a minor nightmare trying to set up correctly. But they do use "cores" from many of the top emulators of each system if you want to centralize everything.

 

[Revolution 11]

I don't have much experience with Higan or Kega Fusion but I can tell you that Dolphin (Gamecube/Wii) and Snes9x (SNES) are very user-friendly and pretty polished.

Dolphin in particular is in its golden age of development and has drastically improved over the last 18 months. But you will need fast hardware that can run the emulator at 100% speed if you want a seamless experience since the audio is now linked to the FPS.

Project64 (N64) has gone through some controversial development recently and is currently on version 2.2 which I have not used. But I do know that version 1.6 worked well enough and most popular games worked fine on that version.

ScummVM (for old LucasArts adventure games) is also a mature and well-developed emulator that has a easy user interface and supports multiple game engines.

 

[Pinecallado]

Retroarch is kind of the best "emulator" for PS1 and under emulation. Even though the interface can be a little difficult, it's so convenient to have controls already configured for whatever emulator you're using and you can use these cool filters.

I've only dabbled with RetroArch on Android, and it's a minor nightmare trying to set up correctly. But they do use "cores" from many of the top emulators of each system if you want to centralize everything.

I know the android version of retroarch can kind of be a nightmare to use. If anyone wants to use android retroarch first make sure to use the "rgui" or "glui" menu driver in "settings >driver>menu driver" because xmb is harder to use on smaller screens.

Next go to settings>menu and turn "touch support" on. Then go to settings>display overlay and turn "hide overlay in menu" on.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Most people don't know, but you can legally have one digital backup copy of any media you own. Using that backup to play on emulators is fine so long as you actually have a physical copy. Most people justify it as using the digital copy to keep the physical copy in good condition or not to wear out the batteries on cartridges.

That being said, I don't believe emulation for the PS2 era and beyond (with the exception of the Dolphin) is worth the trouble since some games take a lot of workarounds to get working. PSX era and below everything works great and I even bought a first gen PSP for the sole reason of getting emulators on there so I can play my old PS1 games without putting further wear and tear on my discs.

 

[aigomorla]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_console_emulator

Under United States law, obtaining a dumped copy of the original machine's BIOS is legal under the ruling Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc., 964 F.2d 965 (9th Cir. 1992) as fair use as long as the user obtained a legally purchased copy of the machine. To mitigate this however, several emulators for platforms such as Game Boy Advance are capable of running without a BIOS file, using high-level emulation to simulate BIOS subroutines at a slight cost in emulation accuracy

So we will go on the premises that you guys all own a copy of the console you guys are trying to emulate so i don't need to shut this thread down.

Basically by participating in this thread, you guys agree that you own the console in which you are emulating, otherwise i ask you do not post here, as it will be a talk about piracy which is against TOS.

 

[Smoblikat]

most emulators don't work well and require a lot of time testing and PS2/Wii requires a really fast overclocked CPU for some games (and they still have problems)

I recommend buying the consoles if you just want to play the games, but for emulation, download Dolphin for Wii, PCSX2 for PS2, NullDC for Dreamcast (Xbox emulators cannot be used to play games yet), for PS1 the most popular is epsxe, but I prefer using retroarch with mednafen

keep in mind you also need to find the firmware image for most of the consoles (which is basically illegal), some also can't read the real CD/DVD so you need an image of the game disc,

Wrong, wrong, and wrong.

PCSX
PCSX2
Project64

Thats for PS1, PS2, and N64. The only emulator that straight up doesnt work is the original xbox emulators, you really will need to buy a console for that...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_console_emulator



So we will go on the premises that you guys all own a copy of the console you guys are trying to emulate so i don't need to shut this thread down.

Basically by participating in this thread, you guys agree that you own the console in which you are emulating, otherwise i ask you do not post here, as it will be a talk about piracy which is against TOS.

Yes, 100% I own every console I emulate. I dont like the idea of plugging them in and turning them on because if a power spike happens, there goes my old piece of hardware that hasnt been produced for over 15 years.

 

[JujuFish]

Most people don't know, but you can legally have one digital backup copy of any media you own.

It's only legal if you make the backup and you didn't circumvent DRM to do so. Stupid limitations, yes, but if we're talking about legality, there you have it. This is for the United States, BTW.

 

[Ichinisan]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_console_emulator



So we will go on the premises that you guys all own a copy of the console you guys are trying to emulate so i don't need to shut this thread down.

Basically by participating in this thread, you guys agree that you own the console in which you are emulating, otherwise i ask you do not post here, as it will be a talk about piracy which is against TOS.

Almost all the emulators I deal with are for systems that do not have a BIOS of any kind. That said, I actually do have the hardware to create my own ROM backups from original cartridges.

 

[Ichinisan]

Wrong, wrong, and wrong.

PCSX
PCSX2
Project64

Thats for PS1, PS2, and N64. The only emulator that straight up doesnt work is the original xbox emulators, you really will need to buy a console for that...



Yes, 100% I own every console I emulate. I dont like the idea of plugging them in and turning them on because if a power spike happens, there goes my old piece of hardware that hasnt been produced for over 15 years.

LOL, those are perfect examples of when emulator developers got lazy and depended on plugin developers. Every time I dabble in Project64, I’m immediately put-off by the inaccuracies. All the plugin guides have broken links. It’s a damn nightmare. The least they could do is maintain a usable set of bundled plugins or a download pack on the emulator’s homepage.

 

[Smoblikat]

LOL, those are perfect examples of when emulator developers got lazy and depended on plugin developers. Every time I dabble in Project64, I’m immediately put-off by the inaccuracies. All the plugin guides have broken links. It’s a damn nightmare. The least they could do is maintain a usable set of bundled plugins or a download pack on the emulator’s homepage.

What plugins do you need that arent bundled with it already? JabosDirectinput is the only one I can think of, and if you download an older version of P64, you can extract it from there and use it with the latest release. Every other default plugin has worked fine for me for many years.

 

[Ichinisan]

What plugins do you need that arent bundled with it already? JabosDirectinput is the only one I can think of, and if you download an older version of P64, you can extract it from there and use it with the latest release. Every other default plugin has worked fine for me for many years.

You are apparently not as particular as I am about emulation accuracy.

 

[Smoblikat]

You are apparently not as particular as I am about emulation accuracy.

I guess not. What exactly are you referring to? Vigilante 8 on PJ64 is fairly riddled with bugs, but very tolerable to me. I guess I dont put as much weight in the flawless operation of an old game running in an environment it was never intended for 15 - 20 years after its release. I expect current titles to run perfectly, everything else is just a bonus to me. Just this past weekend we played 4 player Mario Kart 64 at a party, maybe its because we played it as a drinking game, but it ran flawlessly. As do almost all other games, at least in regards to PJ64. The playstation emulators get a bit weird from time to time.

 

[cmdrdredd]

There is a WiiU emulator out there called cemu that is getting better and better. Complicated to set up but it runs Zelda: Breath of the Wild better than the switch can(4k resolution graphics pack and better framerate). Some people call cemu a Zelda emulator because that's really the game that gets the most focus and most updates have fixes for that title alone. However it should work with other titles too.

 

[Ichinisan]

I guess not. What exactly are you referring to? Vigilante 8 on PJ64 is fairly riddled with bugs, but very tolerable to me. I guess I dont put as much weight in the flawless operation of an old game running in an environment it was never intended for 15 - 20 years after its release. I expect current titles to run perfectly, everything else is just a bonus to me. Just this past weekend we played 4 player Mario Kart 64 at a party, maybe its because we played it as a drinking game, but it ran flawlessly. As do almost all other games, at least in regards to PJ64. The playstation emulators get a bit weird from time to time.

Mario Kart 64 is a good example. Some unlicenced N64 controllers and pretty much all emulators allow over-steering. In the game, there are many more random spin-outs that can be attributed to this. Even Nintendo’s own Virtual Console emulators do this.

Shortly after UltraHLE and N64 emulation came onto the scene, I used the N64 Adaptoid with its direct-access API. Unfortunately they never updated the drivers with 64-bit support.

 

[Smoblikat]

Mario Kart 64 is a good example. Some unlicenced N64 controllers and pretty much all emulators allow over-steering. In the game, there are many more random spin-outs that can be attributed to this. Even Nintendo’s own Virtual Console emulators do this.

Shortly after UltraHLE and N64 emulation came onto the scene, I used the N64 Adaptoid with its direct-access API. Unfortunately they never updated the drivers with 64-bit support.

Very interesting. I exclusively use Xbox 360 controllers, both microsoft and 3rd party. I never knew this was an issue, nobody that plays with me (this includes very novice people who never played it on the OG N64) have had spin out issues. Have you considered using X360 controllers. Jabosdirectinput has a very nice config menu and allows tor properly saving and loading configs for different games.

 

[Ichinisan]

Very interesting. I exclusively use Xbox 360 controllers, both microsoft and 3rd party. I never knew this was an issue, nobody that plays with me (this includes very novice people who never played it on the OG N64) have had spin out issues. Have you considered using X360 controllers. Jabosdirectinput has a very nice config menu and allows tor properly saving and loading configs for different games.

I have lots of 360 controllers, but none of them really feel right. The d-pad is especially terrible when I play a 2D game like Pokémon Puzzle League (Like Tetris Attack / Panel de Pon). The spin-out issue in Mario Kart 64 is hard to point out to people who aren’t extremely familiar with the game because it can be triggered by coconuts/bats and things that bump you, causing the slipping sound that you can cancel if you hear it in time (same as it does when you hit a banana the right way). It just happens a bit more frequently when a controller/emulator allows over steering. I don’t think it happens at all in battle mode.

 

[Smoblikat]

I have lots of 360 controllers, but none of them really feel right. The d-pad is especially terrible when I play a 2D game like Pokémon Puzzle League (Like Tetris Attack / Panel de Pon). The spin-out issue in Mario Kart 64 is hard to point out to people without aren’t extremely familiar with the game because it can be triggered by coconuts/bats and things that bump you, causing the slipping sound that you can cancel if you hear it in time (same as it does when you hit a banana the right way). It just happens a bit more frequently when a controller/emulator allows over steering. I don’t think it happens at all in battle mode.

Ill have to pay attention for this now. I do remember even on the N64, if you have even the slightest bit of lift off the ground, the bats on banshee boardwalk and the coconuts on DK jungle will cause you to spin out, and I think that if the coconuts push you back onto the track, but then come back for another hit quickly, it will spin you out too. I am able to save myself from banana peels fairly frequently if you let off the gas and play with the steering a bit.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

So I have my new PC working, and now I would like to be able to set up emulation for PS1, PS2, Wii, Xbox, Dreamcast, anything else good people can tell me about. But I don't want to mess up anything. Can anyone tell me the best way to do it for Windows 7? Also I hope this is okay in the PC Gaming forum, since it's about emulating games on a PC, but please let me know if I should post it in Off Topic or somewhere else instead. I am just as new to these forums as I am to PC hah.

The Simply Austin youtube channel has great guides on setting up emulators. His videos are a little long and rambling, but you'll get everything working with them.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

Ugh, I just replied to a year and a half old post