Homebrew blargSnes -- SNES emulator for the 3DS (WIP)

[the_randomizer]

Compatibility is far more important than sound accuracy. I've seen countless examples of gamers using emulators without sound, but have yet to see one playing a game that doesn't load.

No, but there's no reason why the audio emulation is still shit after all these years, until Snes9x on the PSP uses Blargg's S-SMP emulator core, I'm avoiding it like the plague. BlargSnes has superior S-SMP emulation.

 

[LumInvader]

No, but there's no reason why the audio emulation is still shit after all these years, until Snes9x on the PSP uses Blargg's S-SMP emulator core, I'm avoiding it like the plague.

No reason? Actually, there's a very good reason why it hasn't improved -- Snes9xtyl's core development stopped 6 years ago -- 2 years before the 3DS was even released. If nobody is working on it, how can it improve?

Like most emulators of that era, it was a straight port of an older Snes9x build because newer builds ran too slow. As you know, it had audio accuracy issues with certain games, but I haven't noticed any pops, crackles, background noise, or the muffled audio that comes with running audio at an extremely low freq.

It's audio is clearly inferior to blargSNES, but it's still halfway decent. Labeling it shit is just another example of the exaggerated criticism I was talking about earlier.

 

[VinsCool]

No reason? Actually, there's a very good reason why it hasn't improved -- Snes9xtyl's core development stopped 6 years ago -- 2 years before the 3DS was even released. If nobody is working on it, how can it improve?

Like most emulators of that era, it was a straight port of an older Snes9x build because newer builds ran too slow. As you know, it had audio accuracy issues with certain games, but I haven't noticed any pops, crackles, background noise, or the muffled audio that comes with running audio at an extremely low freq.

It's audio is clearly inferior to blargSNES, but it's still halfway decent. Labeling it shit is just another example of the exaggerated criticism I was talking about earlier.

I'm sorry, but glitched sound effects in smw IS shit considering the game should be 100% emulated.
Also, there was a continuation of this emulator by 17250 and improved it a lot. Only sound inaccuracy (shit quality in many games) remain.

 

[DiscostewSM]

What does 'missing-tile syndrome' mean? I'm a n00bz

It's just the name I giving the problem when graphical pieces under hardware rendering disappear for a frame or so (usually happens on the right side). Vertex data misalignment is the cause, which can truncate the last few tiles for given layers/sections.

 

[the_randomizer]

It's just the name I giving the problem when graphical pieces under hardware rendering disappear for a frame or so (usually happens on the right side). Vertex data misalignment is the cause, which can truncate the last few tiles for given layers/sections.

And that you found a workaround?

 

[SLiV3R]

It's just the name I giving the problem when graphical pieces under hardware rendering disappear for a frame or so (usually happens on the right side). Vertex data misalignment is the cause, which can truncate the last few tiles for given layers/sections.

Cool! I have seen those graphical glitches now and then. It's nothing that has annoyed me that much. But it's always great with emulation progress. All small details together are the final experience of the emulation

 

[LumInvader]

I'm sorry, but glitched sound effects in smw IS shit considering the game should be 100% emulated.
Also, there was a continuation of this emulator by 17250 and improved it a lot. Only sound inaccuracy (shit quality in many games) remain.

So sound inaccuracy in one game makes the sound in all the rest shit? By that token, does that make blargSNES shit because it fails to play some of the games that play full speed on Snes9xtylmecm? Of course not!

While some sound effects may be off or pitchy (like the rain in ALTTP), many games are accurate. Many that aren't accurate aren't always noticeable unless the user either has familiarity with the actual cart or does a side by side comparison with the actual console. This is much different than an emulator that has audio that's scratchy, running at a low freq, or out of sync, because those are issues that everyone can notice. Again, the audio output was typical of SNES ports of that time where the emphasis was on speed over accuracy.

And exactly what was improved a lot in the mod releases? IIRC, 17250's update changelogs consist of mostly GUI bugfixes/cheat enhancements. From my own testing, compatibility/sound/speed in r26 is practically the same as the build from 2009. If there was "a lot" of improvement I believe I would've noticed it.

 

[blinkzane]

Why did you quote a completely unrelated post?

oh sorry that was me being lazy and just clicking on "reply". I was reading the post and thought about it for some reason and so I went with it.

 

[Kikirini]

Do you think this fix will affect the Fire Emblem games? They have some funky graphical issues.

 

[DiscostewSM]

Do you think this fix will affect the Fire Emblem games? They have some funky graphical issues.

If it's similar to graphical issues in King of Dragons, then no. That's something different.

 

[davhuit]

So sound inaccuracy in one game makes the sound in all the rest shit? By that token, does that make blargSNES shit because it fails to play some of the games that play full speed on Snes9xtylmecm? Of course not!

While some sound effects may be off or pitchy (like the rain in ALTTP), many games are accurate. Many that aren't accurate aren't always noticeable unless the user either has familiarity with the actual cart or does a side by side comparison with the actual console. This is much different than an emulator that has audio that's scratchy, running at a low freq, or out of sync, because those are issues that everyone can notice. Again, the audio output was typical of SNES ports of that time where the emphasis was on speed over accuracy.

And exactly what was improved a lot in the mod releases? IIRC, 17250's update changelogs consist of mostly GUI bugfixes/cheat enhancements. From my own testing, compatibility/sound/speed in r26 is practically the same as the build from 2009. If there was "a lot" of improvement I believe I would've noticed it.

I would also prefer a lesser quality sound but with better game compatibility, but if we can have both, I have nothing against that

But no sound at all is a bit extreme for me, personally...

 

[Kikirini]

If it's similar to graphical issues in King of Dragons, then no. That's something different.

Damn. Well, hopefully it'll be fixed in the future.

 

[SLiV3R]

It's just the name I giving the problem when graphical pieces under hardware rendering disappear for a frame or so (usually happens on the right side). Vertex data misalignment is the cause, which can truncate the last few tiles for given layers/sections.

If someone wants to see a game in action with this 'glitch' I recommend you one of my top ten snes games: Pop'n Twinbee. The second stage have some of those 'glitches'. I didn't think about it earlier because that stage is VERY heavy to emulate. I was just so happy there were no slowdowns at that stage earlier so I went blind for those imperfections

 

[VinsCool]

So sound inaccuracy in one game makes the sound in all the rest shit? By that token, does that make blargSNES shit because it fails to play some of the games that play full speed on Snes9xtylmecm? Of course not!

While some sound effects may be off or pitchy (like the rain in ALTTP), many games are accurate. Many that aren't accurate aren't always noticeable unless the user either has familiarity with the actual cart or does a side by side comparison with the actual console. This is much different than an emulator that has audio that's scratchy, running at a low freq, or out of sync, because those are issues that everyone can notice. Again, the audio output was typical of SNES ports of that time where the emphasis was on speed over accuracy.

And exactly what was improved a lot in the mod releases? IIRC, 17250's update changelogs consist of mostly GUI bugfixes/cheat enhancements. From my own testing, compatibility/sound/speed in r26 is practically the same as the build from 2009. If there was "a lot" of improvement I believe I would've noticed it.

Sound inaccruacies are very noticeable. No gaussian interpolation, phone speaker quality output, sometime weird brr samples sound. Even on pC, sound was much better, sorry. I may not know much about snes emulation, but that was the main thing that annoyed me. Crappy sound quality to my ears. While in some cases music is fine, most sound effects are glitchy. Even noise emulation fails. It's very obvious in square games.

As for snes9xtylmecm mod, auto framskipping and various optimisations made overall experience better. Less lag, more fuild output.
Also, don't get me wrong. I didn't spit on this emulator. I just said that, to my point of view (in which many people agrees) sound emulation is bad.

 

[dubbz82]

Valid point -- had it been made 8 years ago.

iPhone controller attachments are a dime a dozen now. Here's one for under $10 that attaches to a PS3 dualshock:

So your solution is to carry around a ps3 controller AND an adapter? hate to break it to you, but not very viable. Sorry. Kind of defeats the purpose of having something "portable" don't you think?

 

[LumInvader]

So your solution is to carry around a ps3 controller AND an adapter? hate to break it to you, but not very viable. Sorry. Kind of defeats the purpose of having something "portable" don't you think?

That's twice now that you've framed an argument around an absent-minded assumption.

1) You first posited that iPhones don't have controllers, which was proven false.
2) Now you're positing that iPhone controllers aren't portable because the single example I shared included a separate control pad.

I am not Google and my name isn't Siri. I'm not here to perform all of your internet searches just because you choose to be uninformed and lazy. My initial response satisfied your first question. Then you attempted to go around my response by claiming that iPhone controllers aren't portable enough. Wow, you changed your argument -- how clever of you!

But if you had even bothered reading my response you'd realize that I clearly suggested it wasn't the only controller add-on. There are many. Some are more portable than others. A good deal of us "portable" gamers actually spend most of our time playing at home. The PS3 add-on attachment is perfect for someone like me. Then there are those that only require side attachments, which are more portable, but won't fit completely in your pocket due to the width. If you need one that fits in your pocket, those exist too. Razer even makes one.

Sound inaccruacies are very noticeable. No gaussian interpolation, phone speaker quality output, sometime weird brr samples sound. Even on pC, sound was much better, sorry. I may not know much about snes emulation, but that was the main thing that annoyed me. Crappy sound quality to my ears. While in some cases music is fine, most sound effects are glitchy. Even noise emulation fails. It's very obvious in square games.

As for snes9xtylmecm mod, auto framskipping and various optimisations made overall experience better. Less lag, more fuild output.
Also, don't get me wrong. I didn't spit on this emulator. I just said that, to my point of view (in which many people agrees) sound emulation is bad.

Yep, gui enhancements. As I stated earlier, snes9xtylmecm's core remains mostly untouched since 2009 and possibly earlier.

It's music is mostly fine. The sound effects are a bit pitchy and in some cases off. It's certainly not the best example of SNES audio emulation, but my point all along is that it's still very playable.

You compared it's audio to a phone speaker, yet I still play my GBA (just took it apart today to remove dust), which has audio I would liken to a walkie talkie someone salvaged from a garbage dump. The audio complainers are likely wondering why in the world would I waste my time fixing up a console with poor audio?

If we're console fans as opposed to elitist 3DS fanboys, we understand the GBA library is still worth revisiting, even with it's distorted audio. We understand that SNES9xtyl still has it's place if the only alternative is an incomplete blargSNES. Even if SB never improves it's compatibility, I would never label his efforts "shit". It's unbelievable how disrespectful some of us freeloaders are, which is what prompted me to speak out in the first place.

 

[VinsCool]

Yep, gui enhancements. As I stated earlier, snes9xtylmecm's core remains mostly untouched since 2009 and possibly earlier.

It's music is mostly fine. The sound effects are a bit pitchy and in some cases off. It's certainly not the best example of SNES audio emulation, but my point all along is that it's still very playable.

You compared it's audio to a phone speaker, yet I still play my GBA (just took it apart today to remove dust), which has audio I would liken to a walkie talkie someone salvaged from a garbage dump. The audio complainers are likely wondering why in the world would I waste my time fixing up a console with poor audio?

If we're console fans as opposed to elitist 3DS fanboys, we understand the GBA library is still worth revisiting, even with it's distorted audio. We understand that SNES9xtyl still has it's place if the only alternative is an incomplete blargSNES. Even if SB never improves it's compatibility, I would never label his efforts "shit". It's unbelievable how disrespectful some of us freeloaders are, which is what prompted me to speak out in the first place.

Ok, I think you misuderstood me, I didn't want to piss you off. I never said the snes emulation on PSP is shit. I said that the emulator PORTED over it is mostly shit. What annoyed me is the INFERIOR it had compared to the PC versions (1.39 and 1.43). Sound quality coming out of a PSP is EXCELLENT. It was the inaccurate audio emulation, mixed with the "distorted metallic phone speaker quality" sound output the emulator had that made it's audio BAD.
Otherwise, this emulator works very well for me, and I'm very grateful of all the work it had on it. The sound emulation is not the actual representation of an actual SNES, and it's inacurracy was what made me coming into it here, since sound from blargSnes is very good.
Here was my point about the post I did: I said "shit" because it sounds like it. Not because the actual work is. That wasn't what I meant, sorry if I sounded like it.
I get back to what I said: If snes9xtyl had the sound core of blargSnes, that would have been my wet dream. Yes I said it was shit, because that's how my ears feels it.

Oh and by the way, even though GBA has a low sound quality, this isn't going to annoy me much, since it was made that way

 

[LumInvader]

Ok, I think you misuderstood me, I didn't want to piss you off. I never said the snes emulation on PSP is shit. I said that the emulator PORTED over it is mostly shit. What annoyed me is the INFERIOR it had compared to the PC versions (1.39 and 1.43). Sound quality coming out of a PSP is EXCELLENT. It was the inaccurate audio emulation, mixed with the "distorted metallic phone speaker quality" sound output the emulator had that made it's audio BAD.
Otherwise, this emulator works very well for me, and I'm very grateful of all the work it had on it. The sound emulation is not the actual representation of an actual SNES, and it's inacurracy was what made me coming into it here, since sound from blargSnes is very good.
Here was my point about the post I did: I said "shit" because it sounds like it. Not because the actual work is. That wasn't what I meant, sorry if I sounded like it.
I get back to what I said: If snes9xtyl had the sound core of blargSnes, that would have been my wet dream. Yes I said it was shit, because that's how my ears feels it.

Oh and by the way, even though GBA has a low sound quality, this isn't going to annoy me much, since it was made that way

I admit that I can be a real passionate geek sometimes, but I wasn't mad at you VC. I was just making a general statement toward all the "shit" comments, not yours specifically. It's just the general disrespect that gets me.

Having spent a good deal of time with both Snes9xtyl and my GBA, I generally find the GBA audio more grating. Granted, it was made that way as you said, but I'm so used to it that Snes9xtyl doesn't bother me that much. The tiny 1:1 resolution size (squinting) and random scroll tearing (distraction) are much bigger issues for me.

 

[the_randomizer]

I admit that I can be a real passionate geek sometimes, but I wasn't mad at you VC. I was just making a general statement toward all the "shit" comments, not yours specifically. It's just the general disrespect that gets me.

Having spent a good deal of time with both Snes9xtyl and my GBA, I generally find the GBA audio more grating. Granted, it was made that way as you said, but I'm so used to it that Snes9xtyl doesn't bother me that much. The tiny 1:1 resolution size (squinting) and random scroll tearing (distraction) are much bigger issues for me.

Ah geez, well, I certainly didn't help your mood any about my scathing remarks regarding Snes9x.....

 

[Shadowtrance]

Dude give it a rest already!

I'm sure [user]StapleButter[/user] doesn't want his thread clogged up with all this shit... take it elsewhere.