need help with emulators

[AlexKIDD]

My friend just burned me a cd of neo geo games that he got from www.emuasylum.com. I have never played any emulator in my life and i have no idea how to work it. All of the games show up when i put it in my computer but I dont know what to do from there. I click on a game and there are various files mostly ending in .rom and im not sure what to click on. By the way I have windows xp if that helps. Excuse my stupidity as I only play console games and know nothing about computers.

[Dones]

What emulator are you trying to run? Anyway I strongly suggest you visit this website:

 

http://www.mameworld.net/easyemu/

 

It has plenty of tutorials and guides on the most popular emus. A perfect place for beginners.

[figgler]

Excuse my stupidity as I only play console games and know nothing about computers.

 

That's not stupid at all. A fine choice IMO

[rockman_x_2002]

Unlike most console games, the Neo Geo was based around arcade architecture, as I'm sure you are aware. As such, the cartridges did not have just one ROM, but rather multiple ones. That's why you see the many ROMs listed. The game itself is a ROM set.

 

It should be that these ROM sets are either compressed in a zip file, or are in their own folder. When you do this, you should be able to run your emulator program and it will detect the ROM sets that you have, if the emulator uses a front end. If you have to run the emulator from the command line, then that's a little trickier. You'll have to figure out how the emulator notices the particular game you are trying to play and then give it a command similar to this:

 

<EmulatorName> <ROMSetName>

 

That should get you going. But one other thing to note about the Neo Geo emulators is that most of them require a BIOS file. And you will need to find that if your friend did not provide one on the CD-R

 

These are just a few basic things to check with before you start using an emulator for a system such as the Neo Geo. I don't know how familiar you are with emulation software, so that's why I took the long explanation. If you can shed some light on the specific emulator you are trying to use, that will help even more. I could give you even more detailed information about what you might need to do to get yourself up and running.

[JB]

Excuse my stupidity as I only play console games and know nothing about computers.

 

That's not stupid at all. A fine choice IMO

Platform bias is stupid. Regardless of which platform you're biased for/against.

There are some damn fine games on the PC.

 

Unlike most console games, the Neo Geo was based around arcade architecture, as I'm sure you are aware.  As such, the cartridges did not have just one ROM, but rather multiple ones.  That's why you see the many ROMs listed.  The game itself is a ROM set.

Most console games have multiple ROMs too. You just don't see it in the dumps due to diffrences in approach between the arcade and console parts of the community.

[Dones]

At the risk of sounding patronizing: depending on how well you know how to use a computer, you might want to check the following tutorials at easyemu:

 

* What is an emulator?

* Common Terms you see on emulator programs explained

* Windows basics

[AlexKIDD]

Thanks a lot guys. That easyemu site helped a lot and now I have it up and running. I'm playing some excellent games like alpha mission,magician lord and the first metal slug. Now I only have two questions: 1.Can I play these with a controller if I buy one for my computer? 2. Is there a way to play these on the dreamcast?

[figgler]

Excuse my stupidity as I only play console games and know nothing about computers.

 

That's not stupid at all. A fine choice IMO

Platform bias is stupid. Regardless of which platform you're biased for/against.

There are some damn fine games on the PC.

 

Really? Thanks! Platform preference and choice is far from stupid. Sorry that I agree with AlexKIDD.

Calling people stupid is just brilliant though. Good thing you've got that nailed down

[rockman_x_2002]

Thanks a lot guys. That easyemu site helped a lot and now I have it up and running. I'm playing some excellent games like alpha mission,magician lord and the first metal slug. Now I only have two questions: 1.Can I play these with a controller if I buy one for my computer? 2. Is there a way to play these on the dreamcast?

 

Don't know about the Dreamcast thing, but I would assume that a PC controller would work with your emulator. Most emulators do have support for joysticks. However, you will need to consult your particular emulator's documentation to verify that.

 

Magician Lord... excellent game. If you're into shooters you might want to invest some time in Last Resort. Used to play this in the arcade here in town when I would go there. Got my butt handed to me on several occasions too.

 

Good times. Good times.

[AlexKIDD]

The emulator I'm using is called Kawaks- They have a site at kawaks.retrogames.com If anyone has used this emulator before and can give me the name of a controller/joystick that works with it you'd really be helping me out.

[Dones]

Just go for what you think its the best controller. Kawaks has a very versatile input interface. As long as your pad is recognized by your computer, you wil be able to use in Kawaks. I suggest you get a USB pad or an USB consolse pad adapter. PS2-to-PC adapters are very popular. I recently bought this adapter from jandaman.com and it's pretty cool.