Homebrew app Emulator VectrexWii - Back in Active Development!

[cmyksoda]

​

Hi everyone! After 13 years of dormancy, I've taken over where Aruskano left off and have been working on VectrexWii! There are a lot of new and exciting features since the project was last updated, with my proudest accomplishment being that sound finally works!

Other prominent features include:

• Built-in game library, with 20 official Vectrex releases, 3 prototypes, 7 mods, and 51 demos sourced from the Vectrex homebrew community.​
• Bundled overlays for all official games, prototypes, and mods.​
• Settings menu QOL improvements:​
  • Settings are available to adjust on the title screen prior to selecting a game​
  • Screen size adjustment is available to account for overscan on older displays​
  • Opacity slider for the glow effect is now available​
• Nunchuk and Classic Controller support​

Several additional smaller features have been added that you can read about on the releases page on my GitHub.

Bug fixes since v0.3:

• Memory-leak crash — no longer crashes after loading a number of ROMs (the old "more ROMs = fewer loads before crashing" bug)
• Emulation timing — no longer runs too fast / bursty, including the "full speed for a few seconds after unpausing" glitch
• Dolphin emulation speed — at full speed now instead of at slideshow pace (this might have only been a bug after I implemented sound; nevertheless, it's fixed now)

Current known bugs:

• Bedlam crashes after a game over
• There is a currently ambiguous (to me at least) bug in Polar Rescue

Planned features:

• Button mapping
• Light Pen support
• Two player support

Please let me know if you encounter any issues or have any requests for new features!
Check out the WiiBrew page for more info!
​

Spoiler: On licensing/copyright regarding the bundled ROMs:

This is not piracy.

The original Vectrex games, manuals, and overlays are the intellectual property of Jay Smith and Smith Engineering. They are not in the public domain.
However, this project operates strictly under the official policy Jay Smith, Vectrex's creator, established in the mid-1990s. That policy permits non-commercial, non-profit reproduction and distribution of Vectrex software and documentation that Smith Engineering originally published and fully owns the rights to, helping preserve the system for enthusiasts.
This policy also extends to all derivative works, including the mods bundled with this software. As for the demos, these have been released as public domain/freeware, per community standard. All mod and demo authors are credited in the credits menu.

 

[niuus]

View attachment 583973
​

Hi everyone! After 13 years of dormancy, I've taken over where Aruskano left off and have been working on VectrexWii! There are a lot of new and exciting features since the project was last updated, with my proudest accomplishment being that sound finally works!

Other prominent features include:

• Built-in game library, with 20 official Vectrex releases, 3 prototypes, 7 mods, and 51 demos sourced from the Vectrex homebrew community.​
• Bundled overlays for all official games, prototypes, and mods.​
• Settings menu QOL improvements:​
  • Settings are available to adjust on the title screen prior to selecting a game​
  • Screen size adjustment is available to account for overscan on older displays​
  • Opacity slider for the glow effect is now available​

Several additional smaller features have been added that you can read about on the releases page on my GitHub.

Bug fixes since v0.3:

• Memory-leak crash — no longer crashes after loading a number of ROMs (the old "more ROMs = fewer loads before crashing" bug)
• Emulation timing — no longer runs too fast / bursty, including the "full speed for a few seconds after unpausing" glitch
• Dolphin emulation speed — at full speed now instead of at slideshow pace (this might have only been a bug after I implemented sound; nevertheless, it's fixed now)

Current known bugs:

• Bedlam crashes after a game over
• There is a currently ambiguous (to me at least) bug in Polar Rescue

Planned features:

• Button mapping, Nunchuk, and classic controller support
• Light Pen support
• Two player support

Please let me know if you encounter any issues or have any requests for new features!
Check out the WiiBrew page for more info!
​

Spoiler: On licensing/copyright regarding the bundled ROMs:

This is not piracy.

The original Vectrex games, manuals, and overlays are the intellectual property of Jay Smith and Smith Engineering. They are not in the public domain.
However, this project operates strictly under the official policy Jay Smith, Vectrex's creator, established in the mid-1990s. That policy permits non-commercial, non-profit reproduction and distribution of Vectrex software and documentation that Smith Engineering originally published and fully owns the rights to, helping preserve the system for enthusiasts.
This policy also extends to all derivative works, including the mods bundled with this software. As for the demos, these have been released as public domain/freeware, per community standard. All mod and demo authors are credited in the credits menu.

This sounds awesome. I've never ever before tried Vectrex games, this is definitely the best opportunity to do so. Long live the Wii scene. I'll be trying this when it reaches Wii Classic Controller support, so it also gains Wii U Pro Controller support.

 

[cmyksoda]

This sounds awesome. I've never ever before tried Vectrex games, this is definitely the best opportunity to do so. Long live the Wii scene. I'll be trying this when it reaches Wii Classic Controller support, so it also gains Wii U Pro Controller support.

Thanks! Shouldn't be too long, Classic Controller/Nunchuk will inherit a lot of the code from the Gamecube controller support (I presume), button mapping might be the trickier addition.

 

[cmyksoda]

Version 0.7 is out now!
Download here!
​

Major New Features

• Classic Controller Support​
• Nunchuk Support​
• Widescreen is fixed (not stretched)​

Minor Fixes

• "Mine Storm" title case/spelling corrected

I don't have a Classic Controller or a hacked vWii so I would like someone to please let me know if the Classic Controller patch works well!
I tested in Dolphin, and it seems fine, theoretically the same as the GameCube controller, but the feedback would be appreciated.

Hope you all like it :3

 

[niuus]

Version 0.7 is out now!
Download here!
​

Major New Features

• Classic Controller Support​
• Nunchuk Support​
• Widescreen is fixed (not stretched)​

Minor Fixes

• "Mine Storm" title case/spelling corrected

I don't have a Classic Controller or a hacked vWii so I would like someone to please let me know if the Classic Controller patch works well!
I tested in Dolphin, and it seems fine, theoretically the same as the GameCube controller, but the feedback would be appreciated.

Hope you all like it :3

So! Tested this for a bit, with a game called Star Hawk. Since there is no documentation about buttons or anything whether on the menu or gameplay, I went in fully blind. After guessing how to change games and stuff, the Gamecube controller didn't respond at all in gameplay, but inside emulator menus, it works, except the Left Analog stick. Thankfully, before exiting, I also tried Star Ship, this one was responsive to the controller and allowed me to finally play.

With the Wii U Pro Controller, only the Left Analog Stick works (menus / gameplay), D-pad is a no go, buttons seem to work too, though again I'm not sure about what I am supposed to be pressing.

Don't know how to load roms on SD or USB.