SSF (emulator)

SSF is a Sega Saturn emulator for Windows systems using DirectX 9.0c or higher. The current version claims near-complete implementation of the Saturn hardware, and can also emulate the Saturn-based Sega Titan Video arcade hardware. As with most emulators, CDs or disc images are not included and must be provided by the user.

The Saturn's BIOS file is not included with SSF. Though most games can run without it, the BIOS is recommended for better compatibility, and needed for tasks such as management of the Saturn's internal memory, or setting the system clock (without Christmas Nights).

SSF does not have any in-built support for loading disk images; in order for games to be run they must either be mounted by a 3rd-party program (such as Alcohol 120% or Daemon Tools) or by use of genuine Saturn discs placed in the host computer's optical drive.

Overview

SSF does not come with a software installer, instead consisting of a single ZIP file that contains a folder with the emulator and all required files, along with folders for backups, screenshots and save states. Recently upgraded to version 0.12 Beta R2.

The emulator can run in full screen, with or without scanlines. The display resolution, full screen or otherwise, is fixed at 640x480 (twice the Saturn's usual 320x240, although it is rendered with double-sized pixels so the resolution is technically the same). Games using 352x240 resolution are likewise enlarged to 704x480. In fullscreen mode, the emulator uses the available resolution mode closest to the emulated one; thus, widescreen games running in fullscreen may display improperly without the use of custom resolutions. Other than toggling Vsync on or off and an option to use DirectDraw, no video options exist, as SSF emulates games entirely through software rendering.

A DirectX 9-compatible graphics card and a minimum of 256 MB of RAM are required for the emulator to run. A Pentium 4 at 3 GHz or higher, an AMD Athlon rated at 3000+ or higher, any Core2, or any AMD Phenom are required for games to run at proper speed. If the processor is not fast enough, the emulator will, depending on settings in the options, either do a frame skip for full speed (resulting in choppy animation), or will render all the frames (resulting in slow-motion gameplay). SSF can emulate the hardware parts of the Saturn using numerous threads, thus taking advantage of multi-core CPUs.

Emulation status

System requirements

External links

• Official SSF homepage (Japanese)
• SSF Tribute - Screenshots, Compatibility list & FAQ
• SSF Tribute Neo, Translations, Screenshots, Compatibility list & Archive
• Compatibility List
• Racketboy review