Sega saturn emulator

[ORTA]

I don't know if this topic is legal here in gamesx but I'd like to know if emulators for sega saturn can function well on a PC and are there any good class saturn emus in the market?  

[NFG]

Saturn emulation is still a wasteland.  Those that work don't work well and sure as hell don't work FAST.  Which sucks, there's a lot of great Saturn games I'd like to play without getting off my PC chair.

[kendrick]

Saturn emulation is also a complicated business, due to the dual Hitachi processors and all the custom chips. The Saturn and the Jaguar have in common some very low-level access to the hardware, meaning that a clever developer can make the Saturn chips do whatever he wants (like using the sound chip to help with the 3D rotation math in Shining Force III.) Programming libraries were better understood and more standardized for the competing consoles, which made emulation easier.

But to your original question? The best Saturn emulator is one that isn't available to the general public. Segasoft ported Virtua Fighter, Virtual On, Panzer Dragoon and a handful of other titles to the PC using an in-house emulator that's surprisingly robust and streamlined. They were able to get Saturn functions and graphical effects on relatively low-spec PC machines, but depended on a graphics standard that's long since been abandoned. There was even a custom VGA card wtih accelerated graphics and a pair of Saturn controller ports released for these games.

In case you haven't already been there, Zophar's Domain has local downloads for just about every PC-based Saturn emulator that's ever been made. Sadly, many of them have been discontinued and most of the developer home pages have long been abandoned. Here's a link:

http://www.zophar.net/saturn.html

-KKC, who hates Western Union. Hate, hate, hate, hate.

[Paper]

The people over at SegaExtreme seem very excited over the SSF emu.

SSF

If I had a modern PC I would try it out.

[Guest]

another question, do you think sega will make an emulator for the pc? I think they must because I also have a bunch of original saturn games that I'd like to play again. I can't rely on the console anymore because it gets very obsolete and sometimes it can't read the cds anymore I can't afford to buy saturn console again and again if it malfunctions :huh:  

[NFG]

It is not in Sega's interest to help you play old games, instead of buying new ones.  That's why all the online Dreamcast stuff stopped working.

[kendrick]

I disagree with Lawrence on this point, at least based on experience. Sega is one of the few game developers that doesn't seem to be afraid of emulation. The so-called 'Smash Pack' emulator packages have been released for PC, Dreamcast, PDA devices and cell phones, allowing people to enjoy Game Gear and Genesis games on platforms where homebrew emulation generally rules the roost. In fact, for the PC and PDA versions the Smash Pack was actually a licensed version of a homebrew developer's work. Granted, these are 8-bit and 16-bit games based on well-understood and off-the-shelf processors that are easy to emulate, and the game ROM images are generally encrypted so you're compelled to make micropayments if you want to add to your library.

You can compare Sega's stance on emulation with that of Capcom, who actually licensed a version of MAME and released some of their Street Fighter CPS1 titles to the PC crowd with a big honking six-button joystick peripheral. Also contrast with Nintendo and Sony, who actively quash emulation attempts with lawsuits and buyouts (and then release old games one at a time as "new" Gameboy or Next-Gen titles.)

Sorry, I'm rambling just a bit. Point is, I believe Sega has always been interested in helping gamers play old games, since they figured out how to make money on it. They certainly aren't in a position to spend millions to keep you from running homebrew emulators, since their competitors have done exactly that and have zero success to show for it. On the other hand, you'll probably have to pay some money for the privilege, especially if the service-provider model of video games takes off like Microsoft wants.

Just to round the corner and bring us back on topic? Whether a console is obsolete or not has little to do with its working condition. If you like, you should read earlier posts all over the NFG forums to see if any of the Saturn repair tips help you out. If you've got problems that haven't been previously covered, feel free to start a new topic.

-KKC, who could probably sit and write a book in one sitting. But I'm neither Jack Kerouac nor Hunter Thompson, and I don't enjoy the sound of my own voice THAT much...

[NFG]

Actually kendrick you're kind of reinforcing my point.  Sega wants you to buy new games, so they create half-assed emulators that facilitate this.  The Smash Pack emulator, which had poor sound, only worked well for the games that came with it and a handful of others.  It took dedicated efforts to make it more general-purpose, and the same goes for the Japanese-only release of their 'pay to download games' Saturn emulator.

That they bundle a purpose-built emulator for use with re-released or bundled content (which you pay for) is a completely different stance than creating an emulator that will allow you to play your old games.

[kendrick]

Okay, I see what you're saying. By 'play your old games' you're talking about using media that you already physically have in your home, rather than the more abstract experience of playing a game you've played before. Every game company would prefer that you continue to buy new product.

This is part of the reason why used game shops make me a little sad... You feel like gaming should be more personal and less disposable. On the other hand, game developers do very little to make their product have any kind of reuse or replay value, so it's a chicken-and-egg argument to say who's at fault for that particular blemish on the gaming culture.

-KKC, who was just ordered not to clean up the living room. Obsessive perfectionism in the girlfriend is also a labor saving feature for me. :)