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​
• Control-remapping via a submenu in settings​

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:

• Light Pen support
• Two player support

To add your own ROMs, place them within a folder named "vec" at the root of either SD or USB. The file extension must be .vec (case insensitive).

Please let me know if you encounter any issues or have any requests for new features!
I would recommend checking out the official Vectrex instruction manuals on Archive.org for control reference.
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.

 

[cmyksoda]

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.

Yeah, I know what you mean about the buttons and it's a valid complaint. I've thought about bundling the game manuals bc right now the only source for what buttons you're meant to be pressing is the in-game overlays which can be hard to read and interpret.

I'll investigate the GameCube controller responsiveness and work on the Wii U Pro Controller as well, as the D-Pad should definately work. I'll try to have a patch out tonight.

As for loading the games onto SD, the information is on the WiiBrew page but I'll post it here and in the OP.

"If one wants to use their own ROMs, they must be placed within a folder named vec at the root of either SD or USB. The file extension must be .vec (case insensitive)."

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 5:39 PM

Version 0.8 is out now!
Download here!
​

Major New Features

• Button mapping is fully implemented across all controllers*​
• Full D-Pad support across controllers with both a stick and D-Pad.​

Fixes

• Fixed a major bug wherein Star Hawk did not react to GameCube controller input whatsoever. (Thank you niuus for pointing this out and suggesting the D-Pad addition!!)​
• Fixed a bug in which the [GC] option would not appear properly if an accessory was plugged into the Wii Remote.​

Please let me know if there are any issues you notice!
*I am looking for feedback on Classic Controller and Wii U controller implementation

 

[niuus]

Version 0.8 is out now!
Download here!
​

Major New Features

• Button mapping is fully implemented across all controllers*​
• Full D-Pad support across controllers with both a stick and D-Pad.​

Fixes

• Fixed a major bug wherein Star Hawk did not react to GameCube controller input whatsoever. (Thank you niuus for pointing this out and suggesting the D-Pad addition!!)​
• Fixed a bug in which the [GC] option would not appear properly if an accessory was plugged into the Wii Remote.​

Please let me know if there are any issues you notice!
*I am looking for feedback on Classic Controller and Wii U controller implementation

Hi! The good news: Wii U Pro Controller is working fully! I even remapped buttons, and on the Gamecube controller too. Everything is working.

Tested games:
Official

• Armor Attack
• Bedlam
• Star Hawk
• Star Ship
• Web Wars

Prototypes

• Dark Tower
• Pitcher's Duel
• Tour de France

NA

• Mine Storm

I noticed that in Dark Tower and Tour de France the virtual overlay is a bit outside the display. Is that intended? Maybe not super vital as it is a bit hard to read, but I imagine that would give problems to CRT users because of the overscan. I guess a toggle for those who don't care could be useful in case it shrinks the viewing area.

The bad news: nothing!

Untested: Classic Controller, I don't have batteries.

QoL suggestions:

- 4:3 (like it would look on a square display or with the proper Wii setitng) or 16:9 aspect ratio setting, so it doesn't look much stretched on wide configs.
- In case you're interested, given the nature of the Vectrex display, I think a Tate mode option (or just plain rotation 90º or 180º) would suit it well, as it would result in bigger, clearer graphics for those with 16:9 displays.

 

[cmyksoda]

Hi! The good news: Wii U Pro Controller is working fully! I even remapped buttons, and on the Gamecube controller too. Everything is working.

Tested games:
Official

• Armor Attack
• Bedlam
• Star Hawk
• Star Ship
• Web Wars

Prototypes

• Dark Tower
• Pitcher's Duel
• Tour de France

NA

• Mine Storm

I noticed that in Dark Tower and Tour de France the virtual overlay is a bit outside the display. Is that intended? Maybe not super vital as it is a bit hard to read, but I imagine that would give problems to CRT users because of the overscan. I guess a toggle for those who don't care could be useful in case it shrinks the viewing area.

The bad news: nothing!

Untested: Classic Controller, I don't have batteries.

QoL suggestions:

- 4:3 (like it would look on a square display or with the proper Wii setitng) or 16:9 aspect ratio setting, so it doesn't look much stretched on wide configs.
- In case you're interested, given the nature of the Vectrex display, I think a Tate mode option (or just plain rotation 90º or 180º) would suit it well, as it would result in bigger, clearer graphics for those with 16:9 displays.

I'm glad the controls are working much better for you!
I'll check out Dark Tower and Tour de France, as that definitely isn't intended behavior. I test on my CRT so I'll see how it looks, deliberately overcorrecting the screen size in the settings to account for users with more severe overscan issues.

On the aspect ratio stuff:
16:9 stretch is already accounted for in software by default during gameplay, it's just the main menu that's affected. I could implement a toggle for this next release.
The Tate mode idea is genuinely sick and something that I haven't considered at all. I will definitely be adding this. Settings is getting crowded so expect this and the Screen Size option to be nested in a "Display Settings" submenu or something. Thank you so much for all the feedback!

4:3 gameplay​	16:9 gameplay​

Edit: I checked out the two overlays you mentioned, and I think that it's just that the borders on these two are thinner than the rest, not that they're cut off.

Dark Tower (Overlay only)​	Tour de France (Overlay only)​

 

[niuus]

I'm glad the controls are working much better for you!
I'll check out Dark Tower and Tour de France, as that definitely isn't intended behavior. I test on my CRT so I'll see how it looks, deliberately overcorrecting the screen size in the settings to account for users with more severe overscan issues.

On the aspect ratio stuff:
16:9 stretch is already accounted for in software by default during gameplay, it's just the main menu that's affected. I could implement a toggle for this next release.
The Tate mode idea is genuinely sick and something that I haven't considered at all. I will definitely be adding this. Settings is getting crowded so expect this and the Screen Size option to be nested in a "Display Settings" submenu or something. Thank you so much for all the feedback!

[TABLE=full]
[TR]
[td]

4:3 gameplay​

[/td]
[td]

16:9 gameplay​

[/td]
[/TR]
[TR]
[td]View attachment 585093[/td][td]View attachment 585092[/td]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Edit: I checked out the two overlays you mentioned, and I think that it's just that the borders on these two are thinner than the rest, not that they're cut off.

[TABLE=full]
[TR]
[td]

Dark Tower (Overlay only)​

[/td]
[td]

Tour de France (Overlay only)​

[/td]
[/TR]
[TR]
[td]View attachment 585094[/td][td]View attachment 585095[/td]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

It's so cool to help a fellow Wii enthusiast. Glad I could test and give you useful feedback.

About the settings window, maybe you could do something like tabbed sections? So you could group similar stuff. You could use a little letter or graphic in the corners of the upper section to indicate that the user can switch between them with L and R.

 

[cmyksoda]

It's so cool to help a fellow Wii enthusiast. Glad I could test and give you useful feedback.

About the settings window, maybe you could do something like tabbed sections? So you could group similar stuff. You could use a little letter or graphic in the corners of the upper section to indicate that the user can switch between them with L and R.

This is a good idea! I'll test out different options and see what sticks best