15 September 2005: DSEmu 0.4.7 is out with bug fixes, X/Y key support, GBA support, FIFO registers and computational accelerators.

30 August 2005: There is a problem with thumb emulation. On IRC GPFerror noted that one of his demos showed a black screen when compiled with '-mthumb' but worked with '-mthumb-interwork'. If your program black screens on DSEmu you might like to try this change. I'm currently working on the problem and hope to have it fixed before the 0.4.8 release.

New features in 0.4.7 are:

 

- Support for the X and Y keys have been added. This can be configured

  using the Options/Configuration menu option. The code for this was

  contributed by Normmatt.

- Many fixes to key handling. Anything but A and B keys were very

  buggy in previous builds. My 'keys' demo from my tutorials now works

  correctly and Space Invaders is now playable.

- Support for GBA games was re-added. It was removed when I first took

  up support of DSEmu until I understood the code better. It is now

  back in and will be maintained.

- The FIFO registers have been implemented. This is an important

  feature for DSLinux and a step towards support for the commercial

  downloadable demos.

- Various bug fixes in graphics code.

- The compuational accelerator registers have been implemented. Again,

  a steps towards support for the commerical downloadable

  demos. Contributed by Julien Hamaide.

- Workaround for 'console scramble'. There has been an issue since

  DevkitPro R14 which causes text output using the console output

  routines to be scrambled. I implemented a workaround in 0.4.6 but it

  didn't work for homebrew programs built with previous versions. I've

  been unable to fix the problem so far, so I added a 'Unscramble

  console text' option in the Options/Configuration menu option. If

  you run a game and the text appears scrambled, check or uncheck

  this, and it should correct the problem when you press 'Ok'. I hope

  to fix this in 0.4.8.

»» Official Site

»» Testing Thread

Xe is a multi system emulator for Linux that emulates many console and handheld video game systems of the past. Xe is an original emulator written from scratch by one person. It is not a port or collection of other emulators.

 

It currently supports the following systems:

SG-1000

Famicom / NES

Mark III / Master System

PC Engine & PC Engine CD-ROM2 / Turbo Grafx 16 & Turbo Grafx CD

Super Grafx

Mega Drive & Mega CD / Genesis & Sega CD

Super Famicom / SNES

Neo Geo

Neo Geo CD

Game Boy & Game Boy Color

Game Gear

Neo Geo Pocket & Neo Geo Pocket Color

Wonder Swan & Wonder Swan Color

Xe updates:

[Xe] CD TOC reading now using SCSI Command.

[Xe] Added Vertical Overscan support.

[Xe] Expand 4x3 minimum window / screen aspects.

[Mega Drive] Fixed YM2612 CH3 extra frequency.

[Neo Geo / Neo CD] Fixed YM2610 CH2 extra frequency.

[PC Engine] Implemented VCE dot clock emulation.

[super Grafx] Super Grafx support.

»» Official Site

GTA: Liberty City Stories Impressions

 

So you've heard about the PSP instalment of the Grand Theft Auto Series. We've seen it first-hand - so come inside for full details, screens and video.

 

Everyone knows that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is the biggest selling game of recent times. Now, Sony's PSP handheld is getting an exclusive title from the GTA series all to itself. Kikizo was recently treated to a first-hand look at the new game, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.

 

 

This entry into the series sees players returning to Liberty City - the clues are there - which will be familiar to anyone who played the first 3D incarnation of GTA, for the most part at least. You see, as with every GTA game, this one has a particular time-frame; the story takes place three years before the events portrayed in GTAIII - before the silent-but-violent Claude set about his quest for revenge - as players take control of Toni Cipriani.

 

Toni was (chronologically, 'will be') a character in Claude's glory days, a 'made' member of the Leone mafia family - and this game charts his rise through the ranks. It starts out with his return to Liberty City following a four-year exile, after carrying out a particularly risky execution for Don Salvatore.

 

 

Liberty City Stories has now been in development for around the two-year mark, currently set for release sometime in October, and Rockstar Leeds has the development honours. Rightly so, after its previous track record with portable conversions of Midnight Club 3 for PSP and Max Payne for GBA. This time they've been working in conjunction with Rockstar North, and the original minds behind the series at Rockstar New York, so this is as 'GTA' as it can be. Indeed, as Rockstar put it to us, this conversion is not just a watered down version for handhelds, but is considered by the company to be the "next chapter in the series". After seeing it in action, it's easy to see the amount of effort that's gone into the game, with a product that is stunningly comparable to the various PS2 GTA titles.

 

In fact, that is doing the game an injustice, as it takes some of the best bits of all three PS2 games, and crams them all onto a UMD. It looks so great our eyes could melt - better than with the PSP conversion of Midnight Club 3, this resembles the PS2 games to a tee, with their familiar, likeable roughness and chunky vehicles. GTAIII has obviously contributed the actual playground of destruction we'll all be navigating, though not just a carbon copy of the one already explored. The main areas of Liberty City (Portland, Staunton Island and Shoreside Vale) will be just as recognisable as from our last visit, but have some tweaks: different short cuts, alleys, buildings, and some interiors have been thrown in for good measure too.

[...]

Trailer(WMV)

Namco's decided to completely port Xenosaga 1 + 2 from their PlayStation 2 incarnations onto the handheld.

 

Before you panic, realize Namco understood from the start Nintendo DS couldn't handle all the 3D used in the series originally. As a result, the latest issue of Famitsu Weekly reveals Xenosaga 1 + 2 are completely 2D, and though Namco will reportedly be including as much of the famous lengthy FMV cutscenes from the original games, much of the story will obviously be told in recreated 2D cutscenes.

 

The battle system for the overall series will be primarly based upon Xenosaga 1's, though there are sure to be additions and tweaks made that Namco hasn't made clear yet.

 

We're not exactly sure why Namco's decided to undertake such an ambitious port over the typical spin-off, but it's likely to prepare people for the closure of the series with the also revealed Xenosaga 3.

Even though Namco and Monolith originally intended to have the the Xenosaga storyline spread out over far more than three games, plans have changed; the latest issue of Famitsu Weekly reveals Xenosaga 3 will be the final installment in the RPG series.

 

Of course, there's nothing stopping Monolith from coming up with a reason to revive the Xenosaga series next-generation, but current storyline appears to be coming to an end. Set approximately one year after the events of the last game, Xenosaga 3 features much of the same cast (that we know of so far, at least) and is subtitled Thus Spoke Zaratharus.

 

As there wasn't much fanfare for the last Xenosaga release, it shouldn't come as much surprise much of the game is undergoing retooling, starting with the battle system. Character battles will include tech again this time around, mech battles are supposedly more diverse in terms of attack variety and you'll apparently be able to hold conversions with people while in the midst of battle.

 

Look for an official unveiling with high-resolution screen shots, an overly lengthy, cutscene heavy trailer alongside the game's debut at the Tokyo Game Show later this week.

>>Scans from Game-Age.

>>XS DS | XS3

Update the scan. Updated scan from 4chan.