higan (emulator)

higan

higan v101 running on Windows 8.1
Developer(s) byuu et al.
Initial release October 14, 2004 (2004-10-14)
Stable release
104 / August 12, 2017 (2017-08-12)
Repository gitlab.com/higan/higan
Development status Active
Written in C++14, C99
Operating system Windows, Linux, macOS, FreeBSD
Platform Independent: IA-32, x86-64, ARM32/64, MIPS, etc.
Size
Type Video game console emulator
License GNU GPLv3
Website byuu.org/emulation/higan

higan is an emulator for multiple video game consoles, including the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Originally called bsnes,[1] It attempts to emulate the original hardware accurately as possible through low-level, cycle-accurate emulation and for the associated historical preservation efforts of the SNES platform.[2][3]

Supported systems besides the SNES include the Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy (Color), Game Boy Advance, Sega Master System and WonderSwan (Color). The newest and younger additions since version 103 are the Game Gear, Genesis (Mega Drive), TurboGrafx-16 and SuperGrafx cores.[4]

Overview

Development of higan began by a pseudonymous programmer known as byuu on October 14, 2004 as bsnes, and the first version was released in May 2005 for Microsoft Windows. Since then, it has been ported to Linux, OS X and FreeBSD. Initially developed under a custom license, later releases were licensed under various versions of the GNU General Public License, although the main developer does sell GPL exceptions on a case-by-case basis to companies and individuals who want to base products on higan without the GPL's requirements, which helps fund further development of Higan.[5]

The higan project has contributed significantly to the field of Super Nintendo emulation, with a number of firsts in its emulation, and in reverse-engineering developments such as the organization of funds, hardware, and expertise for decapping the SNES's enhancement chips.[3]

higan is able to run every commercial SNES title ever released.[6] It is the first emulator to have featured SPC7110 emulation, cycle-accurate SPC 700 emulation, cycle-accurate Super FX emulation, Super Game Boy emulation[7], and a dot-based instead of scanline-based renderer for Game Boy Advance. It is the first multi-emulator of this breadth to achieve cycle-based emulation for every single component of every system.

Forked versions of bsnes have provided emulation support for Nintendo DS, XBAND, Super Famicom Box, Satellaview BS-X software, and tool-assisted speedruns.[8]

Reception

In 2008, British Internet magazine WebUser recommended bsnes for "some fun old-school gaming".[9] In 2009, Japanese game magazine GameLabo recommended bsnes for "those seeking a realistic playing experience".[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "new name - higan". Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  2. ↑ Byuu (August 9, 2011). "Accuracy takes power: one man’s 3GHz quest to build a perfect SNES emulator". Ars Technica. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Fenlon, Wesley. "16-bit Time Capsule: SNES Emulator Makes a Case for Software Preservation". Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  4. ↑ https://board.byuu.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1656
  5. ↑ https://byuu.org/emulation/higan/licensing
  6. ↑ Bannister, Richard (February 2006). "Emulation Nation: Interview - Richard Bannister". Retro Gamer (Interview) (21). Interview with Craig Grannell. p. 97.
  7. ↑ "The State of Emulation, Part III". byuu's homepage. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  8. ↑ "tasvideos.org Preferred Emulators". tasvideos.org. Retrieved May 13, 2012. Isnes
  9. ↑ "Downloaded". WebUser (191): 39. 2008.
  10. ↑ "SFC". GameLabo (September): ?. 2009.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.