Hack62.Emulate Classic Computers on the Dreamcast


Hack 62. Emulate Classic Computers on the Dreamcast

Get some serious use out of that Dreamcast keyboard you bought on sale .

Much has been said about the quality of the Dreamcastit's a fantastic game system, no doubt. When I was still playing Quake 2 on my PlayStation, Dreamcast players were fragging each other to bits in Quake 3. But that's not why I love my Dreamcastfact is, it's one of the best choices for a dedicated emulation console. It plugs into my TV, is relatively small and quiet, and runs more emulators than I have time to play with.

5.11.1. Burning Dreamcast CDs

Burning Dreamcast CDs is very easy on Windows, but not too hairy on other platforms. If you're a Mac OS X user , check out the tutorial at http://www.dcemulation.com/mactools.htm. If you're on Linux, you will find help at http://www.dcemu.co.uk/linuxburn.shtml.

I used Selfboot on Windows to create a disk image. This program can create either a Nero (DAO or TAO) or DiscJuggler (CDI) CD image. You can download SelfBoot from either of these sites:

http://www.dcevolution.net/DCHelp/index.php?id=apps
http://www.dcemulation.com/neededtools.htm

When you run the SelfBoot download, it will install itself on your computer. Open the folder where it was installed, and then run SelfBoot.exe . You'll need to pick a top-level directory containing your emulator files, and then choose which type of image to create.

Once you have the image, you can use Alcohol 120% (http://www.alcohol-software.com/) or DiscJuggler (http://www.padus.com/) to burn a CDI, or Nero Burning ROM (http://www.nero.com) to burn a DAO or TAO file. "Retro-Hack the Dreamcast" [Hack #50] also has information on burning Dreamcast CDs.

You can't simply convert the Nero or DiscJuggler image to ISO and burn it, since there are some extra bits at the beginning of the disc image that the ISO does not preserve.


5.11.2. Atari 8-Bit Computers

The Atari 800 was my favorite, and it was one of the first systems I played under emulation. Like perhaps many others, there are a few floppy disks out in the world, perhaps rotting (or not) in a landfill somewhere, with the BASIC games I wrote on them. And no doubt, plenty of the games I played are sitting there as well.

The Atari 800 emulator available for the Dreamcast, is a port of the Atari800 emulator [Hack #59] . You can find information on Atari800DC at any of the popular Dreamcast emulation sites [Hack #50] , or at the author's (Christian Groessler) web site, http://www.groessler.org/a800dc/index.html.

When you download the binary version of the emulator, you'll end up with a .tar.gz file that you can extract with the tar utility, WinZip (http://www.winzip.com/ ), or a number of other utilities. This file will extract to a directory named something like atari800dc-0.75-bin , although the actual version number in the directory name may vary.

The first thing you need to do is check the README.dc file for basic instructions. This will explain what you need to do to configure the emulator. The fundamental steps you need to take are these:

  1. Obtain and extract the Atari ROM files into the atari800dc-0.75-bin directory. When you are done, ATARIBAS.ROM, ATARIOSB.ROM , and ATARIXL.ROM should be sitting in the same directory as the IP. BIN and atari800.scrambled files. You can obtain these ROMS from the PC Xformer Classic emulator, which is available at http://atari800. sourceforge .net/download.html and http://www.emulators.com/xformer.htm. You don't need anything else from the Xformer Zip file, but you might want to hang onto the disk images that come with it ( *.xfd, *.atr ), since they are fun to play with.

  2. Copy all your disk images into the disks subdirectory under atari800dc-0.75-bin . Copy all your cartridges into the roms subdirectory. If neither the roms nor the disks subdirectories exist, you can create them.

  3. Rename atari800.scrambled to 1ST_READ.BIN . This is the emulator itself; the Dreamcast expects the program name to be 1ST_READ.BIN .

Now you're ready to burn a Dreamcast CD from the contents of the atari800dc-0.75-bin (the top-level files, such as IP.BIN and 1ST_READ.BIN , must be in the root of this CD). See "Burning Dreamcast CDs" earlier in this hack for more information.

Now that you've burned your CD, it's time to see whether you've made a coaster or an Atari. Put the CD into your Dreamcast and boot it up. If all goes well, you should see a splash screen, followed by the Atari self-test screen.

Your next step is to enter the emulator menu, select a disk or cartridge, and reset the Atari. Figure 5-16 shows the familiar Atari logo running off of an old demo disk that can be found in the PC Xformer Classic distribution.

Figure 5-16. Atari!

Although the Atari800DC emulator boasts support for keyboards, I was unable to get it to work with my PC keyboard that was plugged into a Mad-Catz keyboard adapter. You will probably have better luck with a real Dreamcast keyboard. But even if you don't have a keyboard, you can get pretty far with the Atari800DC emulatorit's only slightly more painful than typing on a cell phone. You won't want to play Ultima IV this way, but it's fantastic for navigating through menus . Table 5-1 shows the Dreamcast controller and keyboard settings for Atari800DC.

Table 5-1. Atari800DC keyboard and controller settings

Controller button

Dreamcast keyboard button

Atari key

A

n/a

In game: joystick fire button; In emulator menu: select option

B

F4

Start

X

F2

Option

Y

F3

Select

L

F1

Bring up the emulator menu. Use this menu to load disks, cartridges, resert the Atari, and control various settings.

R (if you're in emulation)

n/a

Brings up the virtual keyboard. Use the joypad to navigate. Use A to send a key to the emulator.

R (If you're in the emulator menu or the virtual keyboard)

Esc

Leave menu

Start

 

Warm reset

Start+X

F5

Cold reset

Joypad

 

Joystick

n/a

F12

Reboot the Dreamcast

n/a

End

Help

n/a

Pause

Break

n/a

S3

Atari key


5.11.3. Apple ][

The Apple ][ was one of the systems I wished I had when I was growing up. I remember seeing Wizardry I (Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord) and realizing that if I had an Apple, I'd never need to leave the house. Apple][ Soul Captor is the only Apple ][ emulator for the Dreamcast at the time of this writing, and fortunately, it's the only one you need.

You can download Soul Captor from a number of locations, including:

http://www.dcemulation.com/dcemu-apple2.htm
http://consolevision.com/dreamcast/emus/apple2/

Since the scrambled binary ( 1ST_READ.BIN ) is already included in the binary download ( a2sc-bin-1.zip at the time of this writing), you don't have to copy over a binary as you did with the Atari emulator from the previous section. Still, there's plenty to do:

  1. Create a directory (such as C:\Apple2 ) and extract the Apple ][ Soul Captor binary distribution into this directory.

  2. Add any additional disks to the disks subdirectory.

  3. Update the disks.xml file to contain a list of all the disks in the disks subdirectory. You can either edit this in a text editor or run the mkdisksxml. sh shell script. Windows users will need a minimal Cygwin (http://www.cygwin.com) environment to run this script (to get to a directory on your disk drive under the Cygwin shell, use cd /cygdrive /DRIVE_LETTER/ path , as in cd /cygdrive/c/Apple2 ).

Now you're ready to burn a Dreamcast CD from the contents of the directory you created. Make sure you select the one containing the top-level files, such as IP.BIN and 1ST_READ.BIN . See "Burning Dreamcast CDs" earlier in this hack for more information.

Insert the CD you just burned into your Dreamcast, boot it up, and get ready to enjoy your Apple ][ experience. The main menu will let you start emulation, reset the emulator, load a disk, and load or save state to a memory card. Use the Dreamcast joypad to navigate the menu; press A to select and press B to leave the menu (after you load a disk by pressing A, you'll need to press B to leave the menu). Press Start to return to the main menu from within the emulator. Although Apple ][ Soul Captor doesn't have a virtual keyboard, you can usually press B or A on the controller to start a game, and the joypad works as a joystick once you're in a game.

5.11.4. Other Systems

There are a number of other emulators for the Dreamcast, in various states of development. Check out the sites listed in "Retro-Hack the Dreamcast" [Hack #50] to find emulators for the Amiga, Atari ST, Sinclair Spectrum, and more.

Brian Jepson



Retro Gaming Hacks
Retro Gaming Hacks: Tips & Tools for Playing the Classics
ISBN: 0596009178
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 150
Authors: Chris Kohler

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