Morten's Blog

Ever wanted to record your Super Mario skills on the Super Nintendo console, without the console? Don’t worry, most of todays computers are powerful enough to pretend being, or emulate, a console machine. Most likely so is your’s.  And you’re in luck, Super Nintendo is one of, if not the best, emulated console system there is. All you basically need is an emulator, the piece of software that magically turns your PC into a good ol’ console; and the ROM file of your favorite game. The game ROM’s are in most cases copyrighted, so i can’t nor won’t supply you with those. Make sure you own the game cartridge, or else you might find yourself in violation of copyright laws.

The things you will need:

• A Super Nintendo emulator for Windows called ZSnes, coded by zsKnight and _Demo_ *
  
• The ROM image from your favorite SNES game. Look around, they are not that hard to find.
• MEncoder by Gianluigi Tiesi

* At the time of writing, ZSnes has reached version 1.51

Copy your ROM image(s) to any folder. Preferably one that doesn’t require you to click trough too many folders to get to it.

Installing the software is pretty straightforward, just extract the two archives, each into their own folders. It might work having ZSnes and MEncoder in the same folder, but i haven’t tried it. Also, i think that’s a little messy. You are going to add the MEncoder location to window’s PATH environment variable instead, so remember the location where you extracted it. Follow the instructions below as the procedure differs a little depending on what version of Windows you are using.

Edit your Path environment variable

For Windows Vista you can go to the Control panel and click on the System icon, select Advanced System Settings in the left menu and then the “Environment variables” button. Then, in the list under “System Variables”, look for Path (might be lower- or uppercase). When you have found it, edit it and add the location of the folder where the MEncoder executable file is located. Remember to add the semicolon that is needed to separate the various folders listed in the Path string. Click OK, and your done.

(How to set the path in Windows 2000 / Windows XP)

When that’s all done, let’s start up ZSnes and configure it a little. The main things to check out is the Screen Resolution, Filters and Input

Choose your optimal screen preferences under “Video” in the Config menu. I have a widescreen and wanted ZSnes to fill the screen completely, so i made a custom screen setting it to 1360×768 with the DS F option (check the legend for description). Choose the Filter that you feel gives the best result. Configure your Input, and let’s load up a game already! Click GAME in the top menu, and select LOAD. Then browse to the folder where you copied or extracted the ROM file(s), select the game you want to play and click the LOAD button. If the game runs, great! if it doesn’t, seek help! (Read More..)

Nintendo Wii Console

I recently bought the classic game, Bubble Bobble, from Nintendo Wii’s Virtual Console shop. But when the game was downloaded, and i attempted to run it, i was greeted with a green crash-looking screen. I could hear the game’s sounds in the background, and response from the controller, but the screen was fubar. I was using a component cable, and with a composite cable the problem went away. But after spending 50 bucks on the component cable, and seeing the trashy colors from composite signal, i didn’t want to give up right away. I googled long before i found a solution that worked for me:

1. Click Wii Options in the Wii Menu
2. Click Wii Settings
3. Click Screen
4. Click Widescreen Settings
5. Select 4:3 format and Confirm
6. Click Tv Type
7. Select 50Hz and Confirm
8. Exit to Wii Menu
9. The Virtual Console game should now start
10. If not done already, connect your Nunchuck to your Wiimote
11. In the HOME Menu, select Operations Guide
12. Move the pointer away from any buttons on the screen, and press Z+A+1 (or 2) simultaneously
13. If you hear a ping sound, you should be set to go.
14. Exit to Wii Menu
15. Reverse changes made in step 1-7, choosing the correct settings
16. The game should now run fine

This fix might not work with all Virtual Console games. I don’t even know what it does, but it worked for my Bubble Bobble.

Movie by tr0d

I remember my first meeting with a personal computer. I think it was in 87-88 so i was about 7 or 8 years old, and the beauty was a C64. Man, did i love that computer. A few of my friends also got it, and we were all hooked.

But there was one friend. We visited him one day, and he had a strange thing called an Amiga 500. And it literally blew us away.

Of course, being kids, we didn’t want to be friends with him anymore, and started our own C64 “club”. Of course excluding our Amiga owning friend. But the sight and experience of the Amiga was stirring something inside us all. And pretty quickly, one after another, we defected over to this newfound source of power.

It took quite a while for me to get an A500, but one day my brother and i managed to buy a used one from a friend of my brother. Needles to say, and please bear in mind i was still a selfish kid, my younger brother didn’t get to enjoy it that much.

Commodore Amiga 1200

Then we all got wind that there was something new and wonderful, gleaming in our childish digital horizons. The Amiga 1200! This baby had it all! And suddenly the A500 didn’t fill our needs.

There was Protracker, 3D rendering, Demos, BBS’, CD-ROMs, accelerator cards, and seemingly endless possibilities! And, the almighty craving of a kid hooked on computer games, the AGA graphic. Bringing us graphics in games we had never dared to dream of before.

There was something magic about the A1200, something almost spiritual. It was so small, so powerful, and such a delight to use that it was impossible not to be mesmerized by it’s electronic beauty.

I remember the best time was when i set up my own BBS, using something called MaxBBS i think, on a single 14.4 modem. My parents didn’t approve much of me hogging the phone line at nights, to put it mildly. So i remember many a night having to strip wire with my teeth and twisting on some phone line plugs. And, with the stealth skills of a ninja, running the line from the basement to the kitchen where the phone line outlet was, so that people could dial in.

And, ah, the music! While others were listening and discussing the latest pop artists, we were collecting modules and listening to them with an almost religious attention. I mean, who would ever need more than four channels!? Come on!

And the endless debates in the school halls about the great Amiga VS PC controversy, i am sure you all remember those. The ugly dos/windows compared to the beauty and force of the Workbench!? Man, how we laughed at those poor schmoes.

But as time went by, we started to get a little worried. The PC was beginning to steamroll the Amiga in power. (at least the power of the hardware we could afford). And as years went by our laughter started to silence, and we all slowly defected over to the enemy’s side.

But there was something missing, the magic was not there. And the wonderful world that is found in and around the Amiga, never really let go in our hearts.

Sure, i can emulate an Amiga on my lightning fast PC, more powerful than any Amiga I’ve ever owned. But the great magical feeling; it’s just not there on the PC, and it can’t be emulated.

But as i said, the Amiga never really let go of our hearts, and we could never bring ourselves to throw away or sell the Amigas. So nowadays we sit down in front of it, and marvel at the fun it can still bring us. And the memories that it triggers.

Ah, those were the days!