Homebrew app Emulator [RELEASE] UniPCemu

[superfury1]

UniPCemu is now (besides on the Vita, PC(Windows), Android and PSP) also available on the Switch!



It can be found on the itch.io page for the project.



It's essentially the SDL2 Vita version, adjusted for the Switch (the positions of the two main buttons swapped (confirmation(now A) and cancel(now B))).



Unfortunately, gbatemp won't allow me to link to the release directly because this is a new account I'm using (not enough posts yet).

Edit: The release for Nintendo Switch on itch.io.

The most recent updates (for all supported platforms) can always be found on the project page.

UniPCemu is a x86 PC emulator, currently emulating everything from a IBM XT with 4.77Mhz 8088, no extra hardware and MDA video card up to Pentium II(no FPU/MMX) with ET4000/W32 and various sound hardware and joystick option. Every pluggable hardware component can of course (except the CPU, base motherboard and video card) be turned on and off when the emulator isn't running from the settings menu or configuration file(SETTINGS.INI).

Input, which is PSP style with Cross/Circle swapped for A/B compatibility on the Switch, can be customized in Gaming mode with up to 5 different mappings that can be chosen when activating or re-activating Gaming mode. Other input options can be using the OSK with the touch screen or using the default PSP input style, which is a Danzeff-inspired compressed layout showing the 4 keys to press with the current analog stick direction when in Keyboard mode.
The Gaming mode itself is highly customizable, allowing for any PSP-mapped buttons (except minus/SELECT) to be mapped to different keyboard keys or mouse buttons. Each mapping can also map to either the emulated joystick (if enabled for said mapping) or normal mouse/keyboard inputs. When not using the joystick mode in Gaming mode, the analog stick can be optionally mapped to 4 extra keys instead of controlling mouse movement (if any is mapped at said settings). Exact specifics on all input-related settings and handling it can be found on the manual.

 

[BaamAlex]

This one here?

 

[superfury1]

@BaamAlex Indeed. That's this app.

I've also added a slight update that fixes things like the Switch package developer name and, for the Switch/PSP/PS Vita platforms a new option in the settings menu that displays the build version which was previously unavailable in those builds (due to compiler limitations).

 

[Henx]

Is there anything else besides ability to play DOS games? Maybe I'm missing something.

 

[superfury1]

It's basically the same as other normal x86 emulators (like Dosbox etc., but not using fake DOS, instead using real BIOSes like PCem etc.).

It also has improved input methods mainly optimized for gaming and normal usage on PSP-alike console systems (using a limited set of buttons etc. with a mouse and Danzeff-inspired keyboard mode). There's also a keyboard/mouse mapping directly to buttons and analog stick (Gaming mode) for improved gaming experience. It can handle up to 5 easily configurable mappings for all main keys and 4 analog stick directions(which when left unset control mouse movement like in mouse mode). Each of the supported gaming mode buttons and can be mapped to keyboard keys(or limited ctrl(+ or /)alt(+ or /)shift with either keyboard or mouse buttons).

It of course also supports an full keyboard OSK(except on PSP) using the touch screen as an alternative.
Each of the 5 gaming mode mappings can also be mapped directly to the emulated joystick on the emulated joystick port, supporting various different joysticks to be used (although only one at a time).

It also tries to emulate as accurately as possible. The CPU can run in either cycle-accurate mode (up to 80386 cycle timings used) or IPS clocking mode(allowing Dosbox-compatible instructions per second timings). Both at a granularity of 1kIPS or 1kHz.

The hardware is always running at cycle-accurate timings (that's not configurable). Various aspects of the emulation (installed CPU and various hardware chipsets and plugged in cards) can be controlled. Exact specs can be found on the manual(wiki) of the project.

 

[Purple_Shyguy]

Interested in performance. Any of the later games I tried on RetroArch ran like crap.

Fallout/Blood/Shadow Warrior.

 

[Litvinkov]

Can i play something like the first Sims on it or is it only DOS games?

 

[superfury1]

Can i play something like the first Sims on it or is it only DOS games?

Mostly DOS and early up to Windows 98 games (as long as they don't require 3D video cards (2D acceleration is supported on the ET4000/W32 card though) or hardware FPU, MMX (Pentium II without FPU/MMX instructions with emulation of FPU instructions is supported) etc.).

 

[M7L7NK7]

Are you able to use windows 95 or 98 .img files that already work in dosbox Switch?

 

[Costello]

Unfortunately, gbatemp won't allow me to link to the release directly because this is a new account I'm using (not enough posts yet).

hello,
just for your information this is a spam countermeasure as I'm sure you imagine.
considering what you're bringing to the site I've promoted your account now so you can enjoy the site in full
welcome to GBAtemp! I hope you enjoy your stay

 

[superfury1]

hello,
just for your information this is a spam countermeasure as I'm sure you imagine.
considering what you're bringing to the site I've promoted your account now so you can enjoy the site in full
welcome to GBAtemp! I hope you enjoy your stay

It still won't allow me to add links. I'm trying to link to the itch.io page for the news at the line "Edit: The release for Nintendo Switch on itch.io." , but I keep getting the following message:

Oops! We ran into some problems.
Your content can not be submitted. This is likely because your content is spam-like or contains inappropriate elements. Please change your content or try again later. If you still have problems, please contact an administrator.

 

[M7L7NK7]

Are you able to use windows 95 or 98 .img files that already work in dosbox Switch?

Is this a thing or do you need to start from scratch

 

[superfury1]

Is this a thing or do you need to start from scratch

You can use Dosbox/Bochs-formatted disk images (using 16 heads and 63 sectors/track, which is Bochs bximage compatible) by adding a text file with the full filename with ".bochs.txt" appended to it. So for example "test.img" would become "test.img.bochs.txt". Otherwise, UniPCemu would try to use it's own optimized CHS(optimized for getting the most size out of a disk image) instead, which might make it unbootable or corrupt it by writing at incorrect locations in CHS mode.
Beware that I noticed that recent Dosbox versions don't properly autodetect that anymore and might use weird CHS formats that are incompatible. To verify, mount it in Dosbox first and observe it's autodetected geometry and compare it to what UniPCemu gives when you select the disk image. Dosbox has the geometry ordered backwards compared to UniPCemu. So where UniPCemu reports "C,H,S" in it's disk information, Dosbox instead reports "512,S,H,C" as it's size parameter or autodetection.

 

[Costello]

It still won't allow me to add links. I'm trying to link to the itch.io page for the news at the line "Edit: The release for Nintendo Switch on itch.io." , but I keep getting the following message:

Oops! We ran into some problems.
Your content can not be submitted. This is likely because your content is spam-like or contains inappropriate elements. Please change your content or try again later. If you still have problems, please contact an administrator.

I'm sorry, I had set the wrong setting to your account.
The link posting permission unlocks after 5 messages. You have now 6 so you should be good

 

[M7L7NK7]

Do you mean a blank text file or does it need info in it

 

[superfury1]

Do you mean a blank text file or does it need info in it

It's contents doesn't matter. UniPCemu just checks if the file exists. The same for <filename>.unipcemu.txt, which is used for the older optimization formula which has since been replaced after issues were found (some issues with the older formula).

Said method isn't used with sfdimg disk images, which have the used format embedded in it's headers. Those can be created using Bochs(default) or Optimized(Square) formats. Image converting using the menus keeps the format detected from the text file and headers (it will create the text file automatically when creating the static image, if needed).

 

[lordelan]

UniPCemu is now (besides on the Vita, PC(Windows), Android and PSP) also available on the Switch!



It can be found on the itch.io page for the project.



It's essentially the SDL2 Vita version, adjusted for the Switch (the positions of the two main buttons swapped (confirmation(now A) and cancel(now B))).



Unfortunately, gbatemp won't allow me to link to the release directly because this is a new account I'm using (not enough posts yet).

Edit: The release for Nintendo Switch on itch.io.

The most recent updates (for all supported platforms) can always be found on the project page.

Very nice but it would be cool, if your thread would start with a short description that the app even does. I had to follow the link in the second post to find out.

 

[M7L7NK7]

I just get a black screen, im sure its because I'm doing something wrong. Without an easy guide this looks like it's going to be hard to set up

 

[superfury1]

Hmmm

I just get a black screen, im sure its because I'm doing something wrong. Without an easy guide this looks like it's going to be hard to set up

Hmmm... It could be the weird SDL2 issue that's been popping up at 2.0.16. The issue there is that the fix I made for it somehow causes the input timing in the menus go way too fast...

 

[M7L7NK7]

It's probably me, I don't even know if my img is compatible or if im loading it right