Do you remember the first emulators you ever used?

[mbd30]

I recall starting out with Gameboy and Colecovision emulation on my 486 DX2-50. ColEmDos was the closest you were getting to MAME a 486, with decently faithful ports of "Frogger", "Tapper", "Jungle Hunt", etc. And it was cool being able to play Nintendo games on my PC even with the Gameboy's monochrome graphics and emulation that wasn't the fastest unless you had a Pentium. I think that with frameskipping I was able to play SMS/Game Gear games on the 486 as well.

 

I briefly got into MSX emulation because I desperately wanted to play "Yie Ar Kung Fu", my favorite arcade game ever. Unfortunately the MSX version wasn't even close to the arcade. It was awesome finally being able to play it on MAME.

 

It seems crazy to me now that I was able to browse the internet and download emulators on such a meager computer... when you think of the stiff hardware requirements for running today's browsers such as Firefox. But then there wasn't much to do on the internet in the mid 1990's besides download modest sized files with the slow ass 14.4k modem, post on forums, view pictures that took forever to load, read text or chat.

Edited May 8, 2010 by mbd30

[jaybird3rd]

I started getting into emulation in early 1997, and I ran all of my first emulators on a DOS 486 (actually, it was one of those 133MHz 586 upgrade processors from Evergreen, which supposedly gave you the same speed as a Pentium 75). I think the first emulators I tried were: NESticle (NES), Genecyst (Genesis), XFormer and XL-It! (Atari 800), V9T9 (TI 99/4A), and Retrocade (Arcade). Some of the websites I remember visiting regularly for updates were Dave's Video Game Classics, JoseQ's Emu Views, and Zophar's Domain. It was especially exciting to see new versions of MAME coming out (I started following MAME around version 0.26), each one adding support for classic arcade games that were being emulated for the first time. I remember people staying up overnight to grab the latest builds of MAME as soon as they became available.

 

Emulation, to me, is one of the best things that ever happened to the PC, and I don't think I've built a single computer for myself since then that didn't have some kind of emulator installed on it. NESticle in particular is still an amazing emulator to me: it's long since been superseded by more accurate emulators, but the fact that it could achieve full-speed emulation--with sound and joystick support--on such meager hardware as a 66MHz 486 with a VESA Local Bus graphics card still impresses me.

[mbd30]

Emulation, to me, is one of the best things that ever happened to the PC, and I don't think I've built a single computer for myself since then that didn't have some kind of emulator installed on it.

 

Agreed. Due to budget constraints and general apathy towards PC gaming, I haven't had a computer able to handle current games since the 486. Thus most of my gaming on the PC has been emulators and I'm fine with that. I'm still in no hurry to get into modern PC games, even though I'd be able to run most of them by upgrading my E5200 Dual Core from integrated graphics to a decent 3D card.

Edited May 8, 2010 by mbd30

[Trebor]

C64S http://www.c64s.net/index.html

 

DASArcade http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcade_emulator

 

ColEmDOS http://archives.scovetta.com/pub/cavebbsfiles/CLASSIC/COLEMDOS.TXT

 

Are the three I recall playing first during the mid 90's.

[akator]

My first was "II in a Mac" sometime in the mid-to-late-80s. As the name implies, it ran Apple II software on a Mac.

 

Emulators are great. Even though I have collected a ton of original hardware, software, and games, I still appreciate emulation.

 

I started using MAME in the late 90s. There's nothing like being able to fire up an old arcade favorite. I would love to collect arcade machines, but there's no way my wife will let me -- the computers, consoles, and handhelds are where she draws the line. At least with MAME, it's possible to still enjoy many games in their original form

[Austin]

My first PC emulator was an early version of Stella for Windows '95. This was the mid '90s--at the time I was just a teen, my Dad had purchased a Pentium 166mhz machine in that past year or so, and in that time we gained access to the internet. I actually discovered the emulator in my quest to obtain a 2600 console again via the internet (something else that was a new concept for me at the time).

 

Naturally, that led into everything else like NESticle, Genecyst, the early version of Magic Engine, an early version of MAME, and then the MSX, SMS and Game Boy emulators by that Marat what's-his-name guy. I do also recall sites like Dave's Video Game Classics (I actually completely forgot about it until this thread), and I actually still use Zophar's Domain to this day.

 

I'm not sure how it worked for everyone else here, but coincidentally, emulation is what really got me into collecting. It allowed me to discover all these games I probably never would have heard about (or at least not for a very long time). Countless games I would try via emulator, then hunt down on cartridge. Boy, that led into a crazy habit (or hobby)..

Edited May 9, 2010 by Austin

[akator]

I'm not sure how it worked for everyone else here, but coincidentally, emulation is what really got me into collecting. It allowed me to discover all these games I probably never would have heard about (or at least not for a very long time). Countless games I would try via emulator, then hunt down on cartridge. Boy, that led into a crazy habit (or hobby)..

 

Ditto!

[mbd30]

My first PC emulator was an early version of Stella for Windows '95. This was the mid '90s--at the time I was just a teen, my Dad had purchased a Pentium 166mhz machine in that past year or so, and in that time we gained access to the internet. I actually discovered the emulator in my quest to obtain a 2600 console again via the internet (something else that was a new concept for me at the time).

 

Naturally, that led into everything else like NESticle, Genecyst, the early version of Magic Engine, an early version of MAME, and then the MSX, SMS and Game Boy emulators by that Marat what's-his-name guy. I do also recall sites like Dave's Video Game Classics (I actually completely forgot about it until this thread), and I actually still use Zophar's Domain to this day.

 

I'm not sure how it worked for everyone else here, but coincidentally, emulation is what really got me into collecting. It allowed me to discover all these games I probably never would have heard about (or at least not for a very long time). Countless games I would try via emulator, then hunt down on cartridge. Boy, that led into a crazy habit (or hobby)..

 

I also remember Dave (aka "conjurer") from chatting with him on EFnet on IRC back around 1996. I mainly remember his negative reaction when I said that I liked the Super Nintendo, because of course the NES was the last decent console. SNES wasn't quite considered classic yet. BTW, "Dave's Video Game Classics" is still archived here... http://www.users.uswest.net/~userid946/Dave%27s%20Video%20Game%20Classics.htm

 

 

Did anyone here pay to register VSMC back then? It was good for the time, I suppose. Even NES emulation was still in its infancy.

[+LS650]

I think the first emu I messed with was an early release of A26.

[+SpiceWare]

Don't recall the name, but it was a Pac-Man emulator pre-MAME that could run a couple different games that used the same hardware as Pac-Man.

[LS_Dracon]

Nesticle, in 1998.

Genecist, Kgen, Snes9x and A26 are the others from that time (1998/1999) I remember to play.

I was amazed to able to extract the original sprites and tried to create my own.

 

Sites like Zophar, Emux, Mame.dk

Edited May 9, 2010 by LS_Dracon

[Trooper]

The first emulator I tried was a ZX81 emu on the Atari ST, must have been some time around 91-92 something. Then I found C64S in 94-95 but the great revelation and the one that got me deep into emulation was PacifiST, I loved being able to play all(well some anyway) of my old favourites from the Atari ST

[NE146]

Oh yeah for sure man. I used to constantly troll the internet looking for ways to play arcade games even before there were any emulators available. For a time, the thing to get were remakes such as the ones by Jrok & Champ games. Then eventually & slowly emulators started to make an entrance. My favorite page was Dave's Videogame Classics (good ol' conjurer). I actually have a saved version of his page from back in the day.. but I used to visit his page a lot earlier even. Daves Videogame Classics (archived)

 

Once emulators started up.. it was a whole new ballgame. I remember getting excited about a 2600 emulator even though I couldn't even get it to work I think it was "Dos2600" or something like that. In those days we'd even go through the problem of messing around with that old Activision "Atari 2600 Action Pack" to make it play non-Activision Roms. Now that was fun too

 

I remember Mame before it was called Mame. I think it played individual games such as Pengo and whatnot. Before Mame exploded there were a bunch of good arcade emulators. It's been so long now I forget the names. I think Sparcade was one. There were a lot of others. Eventually over time though, Mame just pretty much dominated.

 

I think the emulation scene started to both explode and go downhill (at least for me) when the NES & newer systems started to get emulated. Because once that happened, pretty much the entire internet got interested and we had a large noise signal

[Video]

It was in the mid 90's for me, and I don't remember the name, but it was an old OLD as 2600 emulator. Funny thing is, how perfect 2600 is now, and in the day, a small handfull of games were playable, but most would stutter and jump badly, and something like Pitfall II forget it, it simply wasn't playable.

 

Since the late 90's, all my PC gaming has been pretty much emulation. It's funny, now days, I want to play lemmings on my PC< I don't bother with the incomplete incompatible PCversion of lemmings. I instead reach for the SNES, Genesis, or Lynx versions. PC's suck for pc gaming, but emulators use only the core processor and they kick for that.

 

This day, I wouldn't dream of a PC without emulation, but I probably wouldn't bother with a PC game outside of something maybe 5+ years old, or like one of those cheapie games for $5 at walmart

[Trebor]

Oh yeah for sure man. I used to constantly troll the internet looking for ways to play arcade games even before there were any emulators available. For a time, the thing to get were remakes such as the ones by Jrok & Champ games. Then eventually & slowly emulators started to make an entrance. My favorite page was Dave's Videogame Classics (good ol' conjurer). I actually have a saved version of his page from back in the day.. but I used to visit his page a lot earlier even. Daves Videogame Classics (archived)

 

Dave's Videogame Classics was *the* page back in the day for me. Before the whole Playstation BIOS fiasco, it was the best. However, I remember what Dave's website was prior to that and recall when it changed over. First, it was Dave's C64 game page. It was located here: http://www.csun.edu/~hbbuse08/c64.html

 

That was actually one of the first emulation rom/disk image sites I ever came across. It soon expanded to included PC ports of classic Arcade games and then evolved into Dave's Videogame Classics during the 'golden age' of emulation.

 

Great memories for me.

 

EDIT...This is cool...Love it...It doesn't go back far enough before his other/main emulation days site, but to give you an idea of what the site was like before he added the emulation sections and evolved into the 'Video Game Classics' site that many recognize. During '94-early '95 it was only C64 games.

 

http://web.archive.org/web/19970715134911/http://www.csun.edu/~hbbuse08/c64.html

 

Ahhh....thanks for the memories!

Edited May 10, 2010 by Trebor

[NightSprinter]

Man, great thread here. I definitely remembered when I got started. MAME, ColEm/AdamEm, POKEY, Virtual SuperSystem, all of the Bloodlust Software emulators, Magic Engine, Z26, CCS64 (spent quite a few days in high school firing up VSS and CCS64 to play games before catching the bus). I even remembered sharing some words with Brad Levicoff (founder of Zophar's Domain), and giving him my sincerest condolences when his favorite teacher passed away. Even before I was able to decently play Bubble Bobble and Golden Axe in MAME, I played the versions I had on the PC (thinking it's "emulation" because they were all I had). I even remember my frantic, yet futile, search for a rom of Pac-Mania for the NES.

 

Those were some interesting days.

[Keatah]

 

I think the emulation scene started to both explode and go downhill (at least for me) when the NES & newer systems started to get emulated. Because once that happened, pretty much the entire internet got interested and we had a large noise signal

 

Really?? Emulation going down hill?? Yes perhaps there is a lot of garbage out there, but just sort through it and get the gems, Certainly 2600 emulation has never been better, for example. If by downhill you mean, like xbox and playstaion 2 and other later-gen consoles, then yes. Much of the emus out there for those are so bad they should not have ever been written. Ever. The current pc platform, is capable, but the coding skill doesn't seem to be up-to-snuff. We have multi-core cpu's and power gpu's. Software programmers of today haven't even come close to the utilizing a multi-core as well as they can a single core. make sense?

 

Anyways I got "started" in emulation with the likes of Microsoft Arcade, DASArcade, XL-IT, Mike Cuddy's Gyruss audio emulator, Jeff Vavasour's Digital Eclipse offerings, Activision's ActionPACKS, PCAE, Z26, Sparcade.

 

I remember when I was a strapping bratty kid in grade school in the 70's how I wanted to play my atari games and intellivision and coleco games all on a small portable box. I even contacted software guys at hp and texas instruments and atari and told them what I wanted. I even specified I wanted a chart where I could push a button and that game would instantly run. I wanted this whole thing built into the closet and out of sight. I most certainly got laughed at quite considerably as asking the impossible. Intriguing, yes, doable, not a chance.

 

Search some of my older posts on AA about how I am using emulation to preserve classic gaming for all-time!

Edited May 13, 2010 by Keatah

[Keatah]

Emulation, to me, is one of the best things that ever happened to the PC, and I don't think I've built a single computer for myself since then that didn't have some kind of emulator installed on it.

 

Agreed. Due to budget constraints and general apathy towards PC gaming, I haven't had a computer able to handle current games since the 486. Thus most of my gaming on the PC has been emulators and I'm fine with that. I'm still in no hurry to get into modern PC games, even though I'd be able to run most of them by upgrading my E5200 Dual Core from integrated graphics to a decent 3D card.

 

 

The pinnacle of pc gaming for me was DOOM and QUAKE 1,2,3 and various simulators, like orbiter, x-plane, flight sim. The main problem with pc gaming is that you (seem to) need a new graphics card every year. I used to upgrade my pc every year, cpu, mobo, ram, graphics board, and sometimes sound. I thoroughly got sick of that after the GeForce4 and pentium 3 days. Way too much upgrading for a few select titles. And you have to go through that every 6 months if you want to stay at the 'top'.. So forget that.. You do NOT NEED the latest and greatest to have fun! Just look at the 2600 or intellivision.

 

Once in a while we get a new laptop with external monitor, simple, sweet, elegant, if stuff doesn't run well on that, well then, I just don't bother with it (software I mean)..

Edited May 13, 2010 by Keatah

[Rybags]

First - 3270 terminal emulators on early PCs, but then again they don't exactly have a lot to emulate.

 

First proper emulator was an A8 emulator on the ST. No idea what it's called but I remember it running probably barely a third as fast as an actual A8.

 

Next one I used would have been the one I wrote - a 1050 emulator on the ST. Never developed it far, the aim was going to be to add the turbo modes but I didn't have any documentation and would have had to reverse-engineer it via a DOS to do it.

[Austin]

 

I think the emulation scene started to both explode and go downhill (at least for me) when the NES & newer systems started to get emulated. Because once that happened, pretty much the entire internet got interested and we had a large noise signal

 

Really?? Emulation going down hill?? Yes perhaps there is a lot of garbage out there, but just sort through it and get the gems, Certainly 2600 emulation has never been better, for example.

 

I think he meant "downhill" as in it caught the eye of the mainstream internet public. Asides from all the shady ROM sites popping up, the increased activity led corporate companies to take notice and, later, take action against emulation in general. IIRC, a lot of really good emulation sites were shut down when this happened.

 

In reality, yes, emulation continued to get better and better, so it didn't go "downhill" in that sense. Hell, now we see near-perfect emulation of old consoles running on newer consoles. Who would have ever thought?

Edited May 13, 2010 by Austin

[Goochman]

Don't recall the name, but it was a Pac-Man emulator pre-MAME that could run a couple different games that used the same hardware as Pac-Man.

 

Spicercade

 

XFormer was the first emu I tried - along with a 2600 one.

 

Spicercade got me hooked - real Pac Man!

[+SpiceWare]

I think I'd remember something called Spicercade

[ClassicGMR]

I think my first emulator was a Super Nintendo one. I don't know which offhand.

 

We had just gotten into BBS hopping and found some boards that had the games on them. You know the ones... they all had the "ThIs Is So CoOl TyPiNg ThIs WaY" scripts hacked into the rom.

[Keatah]

I think I'd remember something called Spicercade

 

 

It was known as Sparcade..!

[madmax2069]

Yep the dos version of ZSNES on a old P1 200mhz MMX PC.