FakeNES 0.5.4 released.

Posted Tuesday, March 28th, 2006 @ 12:53 PM CST by randilyn

 

Changes:

* CODE: Switched to zlib/libpng license.

* GUI: Cleaned up input configuration dialog a bit.

* INPUT: Added ability to calibrate joystick devices.

* VIDEO: Added Blargg's 'nes_ntsc' as a selectable blitter (palettes are not supported).

* VIDEO: Removed support for image offset/zooming (as these features were never used anyway).

* VIDEO: Renamed 'light_adjustment' to 'brightness' and changed it's absolute range from 63 to 100.

>> Get it HERE.

According to Romhacking.net and vSNES's Official Site, vSNES, the up and comming Snes tool has been updated:

v2.85

- SRC: added support for IPS files

- SRC: fixed a bug in the main window's display of shifted values (eg. CGAddB)

- GUI: fixed code and GUI to scale better according to the current DPI setting

- GUI: fixed some issues with HexViewer's rendering

- GUI: added checkbox to control updating of the main lists

- GUI: added button for using DirectColor on regular and Mode7 BGs

- GUI: removed black outline on blurred screens by copying the adjacent pixels

- GUI: adjusted updating the 8-bit and 16-bit images so that switching appears seamless

- GUI: set checking of ZST headers to enabled by default

- GUI: separated memo component for cartridge extensions into its own groupbox

In case you're not familiar with vSNES:

vSNES represents a SNES console, like an emulator. It simply consists of some memory that holds the status of the hardware. Unlike an emulator, it lacks the ability to execute the code in the RAM or ROM chips, allowing the components to interact. So what good is it?

Well, emulators like Genecyst or MEKA let you view the hardware at work, for example the color palette or the video RAM. ZSNES lacks such features, but the savestates contain all the info. A savestate is like a SNES frozen in time.

 

vSNES comes with several tools:

 

1-The preview window shows you the picture that is included in the ZSNES savestate file.

2-The MemViewer allows you to view the content of VRAM, WRAM and the cartridge using the colors selected in the PalViewer.

3-The SceneViewer shows you the current screen of the SNES and the parts it consists of (i.e. regular backgrounds, sprites, Mode7 backgrounds, HDMA and offset-per-tile info).

4-The HexEditor shows the content of the larger RAM or ROM arrays as bytes and as text, and allows you to edit them.

5-The list editor allows you to edit the values in the main list.

6-The SPCViewer shows the header, the ID666 tag and the extended ID666 tags of a SPC file. It also loads the data into vSNES, so you can view the variables in the main window's APU list and the arrays in the HexViewer.

7-The CartViewer has a second page that shows the content of the internal ROM header, just as it is stored in the ROM. It also allows selecting the correct ROM type if the automatic detection fails; this might be required to get correct HDMA table info.

HomePage with downloads and Screenshots

Note that there are two major SNES9x builds: the official one and the one from nesvideos. Movies created with one build might be incompatible with the other one.

While Soccer is not a popular sport in the usa, it's pretty much THE sport all over the world, which is why the return of Sensible Soccer should be welcomed. CVG reports:

Pro Evo, FIFA, Football Manager, Championship Manager. All soccer legends in their own right, but way back in the annals of playable footy history Sensible Soccer was the original - and some would still say the best - football game to ever grace a virtual pitch.

Well footy fans who remember those glory days, or indeed new fans looking for a fresh incarnation of sheer soccer heaven, Sensi Soccer is making a welcome comeback this June on PC, PS2 and Xbox with a host of new cups and competitions, including full World and European Cup tournaments,

 

Set to feature over 350 International and European club teams and over 5500 players, Sensi certainly seems comprehensive enough to keep up with the rest of the modern footy pack. And since the game was always best played with or against your mates, confirmed four-player multiplayer and two-player co-op modes mean it should have as much to offer as ever.

 

 

It was always Sensi's sheer speed, playability and maestro-like class that kept it slightly ahead of old rival Kick Off and that's the trait we'll be looking for this summer when it makes its debut. Since it's being headed up by original creator and all around soccer legend Jon Hare, we're also expecting Sensi to offer the first serious challenge to established leader of the pack Pro Evo for our footballing affections.

Enjoy these new screens and we'll be bringing you a full match report from our own hands-on with Sensi, very soon.

According to CVG Nintendo is planning to reveal all at the upcomming E3.

Nintendo's head of PR talks E3, that Revolutionary controller and Virtual Console downloads

 

16:10 Nintendo has gone on the offensive again today and has been speaking in an exclusive interview with Next-Gen.biz about the Revolution's innovative controller (or wand or nunchuck, whatever you want to call it), claiming it's both extremely easy to use and likening it in the intuitive stakes to DS's touchscreen interface.

Beth Llewelyn, who is Nintendo's senior director of public relations, has assured anyone who reckons the controller looks too complex holds that opinion simply because they haven't played around with it. "The single controller is extremely intuitive,"

 

Llewelyn said, "You pick it up and maybe you press a button and maybe you just move it around and things happen on screen. That is very non-intimidating".

 

 

"I don't play games that often," continued Llewelyn, "but I love DS because I love the easy interface so this is very familiar to me. I think the nunchuck seems a little strange to many people but once you get it in your hand it feels completely natural," Llewelyn added.

Pheweee, well that's a huge weight of our minds because we were beginning to wonder, what with the controller being nicknamed the nunchuck and all, whether we'd have to undergo intensive ninja training before we could play a Revolution game. Llewelyn went on to say that, while as far as she's aware the controller has yet to tested on or by the public, response from the home crowd - i.e. Nintendo - and third parties who have dabbled has been "very positive".

 

"I think we'll get some positive feedback at E3. The reaction we've got so far has all been very good. That's just with demos so when we show actual games it should be very rewarding," Llewelyn continued, calling this year's E3 "the big coming out party for Revolution."

 

"The big thing is to get everyone to experience it. It's about the nature of the gameplay, the controller and the movement. People need to experience it for real and E3 will allow them to do that."

 

Llewelyn also responded to questions about Virtual Console and the recent news that Sega's pledged support, saying it's an "exciting way to build up the library. We certainly have a great library of legacy games and it adds excitement to add Sega's in as well."

 

Judging by Llewelyn's comments, it's highly possible that Nintendo will get other publishers and developers on board too. Apparently, "There are discussions going on all the time behind closed doors," in connection with the download service and she didn't rule out going back as far at the Commodore 64 for content.

 

It was announced at GDC recently, of course, that part of Nintendo's battle plan for Virtual Console is to support and make available new games too. "Mr. Iwata touched on that, talking about offering developers the tools to create new games. The idea is that there is an opportunity there for new games. Discussions have also been going on with publishers", Llewelyn stated about the Xbox Live Arcade-style aspect of Virtual Console.

 

She concluded: "We've shown that we are willing to disrupt the norm and go out on a limb and be successful with games like Brain Training and that shows third parties what can be done. Developers don't always have to go with massive budgets and two-year development schedules."

 

Similar opinion on supporting 'smaller' new games on Virtual Console has been voiced by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata in an interview in CNN's Game Over column.

 

"If we can come up with an addictive, but simple title - such as Tetris 15 years ago - my attention should be focused on containing costs," Iwata commented. "So, I would make it available through the Virtual Console. I think the opportunity for ourselves will be much larger than software that costs $50-$60." Interesting stuff, although he did add that "Of course, there are a number of people waiting for a 'masterpiece' title. For those games, we'll utilized traditional distribution channels."