OpenEmu
 | |
| Original author(s) | Josh Weinberg |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | OpenEmu Team |
| Stable release |
2.0.4
|
| Written in | Objective-C |
| Operating system | OS X |
| Size | 61.8 MB |
| Available in | English |
| Type | Video Game Emulator |
| License | BSD |
| Website |
openemu |
OpenEmu is an open source multi-system game emulator designed for OS X. It provides a plugin interface to emulate numerous consoles' hardware, such as the Nintendo Entertainment System, Genesis, Game Boy, and many more. The architecture allows for other developers to add new cores to the base system without the need to account for specific OS X APIs.
Version 1.0 was released on December 23, 2013, after a lengthy beta testing period.[1] Numerous incremental updates have been released since then, with plans to incorporate support for more consoles in future releases. Some of these in-development cores are available to download in an optional "experimental" cores build (released alongside the regular, "standard" version), containing support for such consoles as the Sega Saturn.
History
OpenEmu first started in 2007 as OpenNestopia, a port of the NES/Famicom emulator Nestopia done by Josh Weinberg.[2] Weinberg and his friend, Ben Devacel, began searching for more developers to port other emulators to OS X, which led to the name change to OpenEmu, to better describe the multi-system emulator.[3]
As of version 2.0 OpenEmu requires OS X 10.11 and higher as minimum requirement to run. This has been the biggest release since 1.0 that included 16 new emulators along with hundreds of bug fixes and features.
As confirmed by the developers of OpenEmu on their official Reddit thread, Sega 32X-CD hybrid games (versions of games that could use a 32X cartridge and Sega CD at once, such as Night Trap) are not supported. Users are prompted with a "This game requires the Sega 32X attachment" error if attempted.[4]
Features
OpenEmu features a backend that uses multiple game engines while maintaining the familiar, native OS X frontend UI. It also uses modern OS X technologies such as Cocoa and Quartz.[5] A unique feature of OpenEmu is its ROM library, which allows one to import ROM files and view them in a gallery type setting, similar to iTunes. Game info and cover art can be automatically added from OpenEmu's databases.
OpenEmu includes the following features:
- High-quality OpenGL scaling, multithreaded playback, and other optimizations[6]
- Real-time 3D effects and image processing
- Graphic filters to enhance display
- Full-screen support
- Ability to play multiple ROMs at once
- Ability to scan attached disks for ROMs
- Automatic downloading of game info and cover art
- A fully featured library, supporting multiple views, collections (categories), and game ratings
- Optional automatic organization of ROM files within the library folder
- Full save state support, including automatic save states
- Enhanced gamepad support
Supported systems
| System | Core | Included since |
|---|---|---|
| Atari 2600 | Stella | 1.0.4 |
| Atari 5200 | Atari800 | 2.0 |
| Atari 7800 | ProSystem | 2.0 |
| Atari Lynx | Mednafen | 2.0 |
| ColecoVision | CrabEmu | 2.0 |
| Famicom Disk System | Nestopia | 2.0 |
| Game Boy / Color | Gambatte | 1.0 |
| Game Boy Advance | VisualBoyAdvance
mGBA* |
1.0 |
| Game Gear | CrabEmu
TwoMbit* |
1.0 |
| Intellivision | Bliss | 2.0 |
| Neo Geo Pocket / Color | Neopop | 1.0 |
| Nintendo 64 | Mupen64Plus | 2.0 |
| Nintendo Entertainment System | FCEUX | 1.0 |
| Nintendo DS | DeSmuME | 1.0 |
| Odyssey² | O2EM | 2.0 |
| PC-FX | Mednafen | 2.0 |
| 32X | Picodrive | 1.0 |
| Mega CD/Sega CD | Genesis Plus GX | 2.0 |
| Mega Drive/Genesis | Genesis Plus GX | 1.0 |
| Master System | CrabEmu
TwoMbit* |
1.0 |
| SG-1000 | CrabEmu | 2.0 |
| PlayStation Portable | PPSSPP | 2.0 |
| PlayStation | Mednafen | 2.0 |
| Super NES | Higan | 1.0 |
| TurboGrafx-16 / SuperGrafx | Mednafen | 1.0 |
| TurboGrafx-CD | Mednafen | 2.0 |
| Vectrex | VecXGL | 2.0 |
| Virtual Boy | Mednafen | 1.0 |
| WonderSwan | Mednafen | 2.0 |
* Default core plugin.
Reception
Upon its 1.0 release, OpenEmu was positively received, and subject to much online press coverage, praising the software's UI, features, and ease of use.[7][8][9][10] In particular, it was praised by the gaming community for "[bringing] the idea of an emulator for a mainstream, general audience to reality".[11]
As of May 5, 2014, OpenEmu has been downloaded over 5,000,000 times since its version 1.0 release, making it one of the most popular multi-system emulators on OS X.[12]
See also
References
- ↑ https://github.com/OpenEmu/OpenEmu/releases
- ↑ "OpenNestopia".
- ↑ "The Archive - An Emulator for the Rest of Us—How OpenEmu Changes Everything".
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenEmu/comments/3zwu0t/32x_cd_support/
- ↑ "MacScene Listing".
- ↑ "Create Digital Motion".
- ↑ Thorin Klosowski (2013-12-24). "OpenEmu Emulates Nearly Every Classic Console on Mac". Life Hacker. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
- ↑ Alex Heath (2013-12-26). "OpenEmu Is The Ultimate Old School Game Emulator For OS X". Cult of Mac. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
- ↑ Andrew Cunningham (2013-12-28). "ArsTechnica OpenEmu Hands On". Ars Technica.
- ↑ Sean Hollister (2013-12-28). "Play classic video games in style with OpenEmu for Mac". The Verge.
- ↑ "OpenEmu feature on The Archive".
- ↑ "Github OpenEmu Release Download Stats".