OpenEmu, an open source retro and arcade game emulator for OS X, has been updated to version 2.0.1 with support for 16 additional gaming systems, including Nintendo 64, Sony PlayStation 1 and PSP. Download the OpenEmu and play a wide range of games on your computer or phone. We have different versions available, but it's to download the latest one. The installation process is straightforward and there is nothing to worry about. Getting OpenEmu. OpenEmu comes in two flavors. Press Pack and an OpenEmu Experimental Press Pack. The only difference as far as I can tell is that the Press Pack is lacking support for the M.A.M.E., which is arcade machine emulation software.

1. Openemu.org
2. Openemu 2.0.9.1

1. OpenEmu is a free (you can donate if you like their software) and open source graphical front end for many software emulators (which in turn are also open source). OpenEmu makes it exceedingly easy to get you up and running your favorite older generation titles from a multitude of systems such as Atari, Nintendo, Sega and even arcade systems.
2. OpenEmu is one of the most enduring and renowned console emulators. It began as a project to bring classic console games onto modern computers via emulation, a process in which the host machine.

I've been having the time of my life playing retro Nintendo64, NES, SNES, and Game Gear games since I discovered OpenEmu. I bought a few USB Nintendo 64 controllers and I'm like a kid again, even sharing that joy with my two young children. Using ROMs from cartridge-based games is easy but CD-based consoles, like the Sony Playstation, are a bit harder; OpenEmu provides a warning about extra dependencies needed to each system. I was curious as to how to difficult it would be to get a CD-based game going so I gave it a shot, and it was much easier than expected. Let's have a look at how I did it!

Step 1: Get a Game with CUE File

My first step was downloading a game. Any game ISO or BIN must come with a CUE or CCD file:

A cue sheet is a plain text file with a .cue extension containing metadata used to describe the layout of a CD, normally accompanied by one or more data files dumped from the original disc.

Most game download sites will bundle a CUE file with the ISO or BIN as this is a standard dependency for most emulators. Drag both the BIN file and CUE file into OpenEmu and the game will be properly imported. You cannot yet play the game, however; you're missing the BIOS files.

Step 2: Get the Playstation BIOS Files

Opening a game without the required extra dependencies will prompt OpenEmu to tell you what to go get. OpenEmu requires the BIOS files for Sony Playstation to be available. You can download the Playstation BIOS files from the OpenEmu website. Do not try placing the BIOS files anywhere in your system core -- instead simply drag the three BIOS files into OpenEmu and the app will do the rest.

Step 3: Play!

A CUE file, a BIN, and the BIOS files are all you need to get Playstation games working within OpenEmu! I presume the process is mostly the same for Sega CD and other CD-based consoles. Happy gaming!

OpenEmu is an open-source multi-system game emulator designed for macOS. 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 macOS 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 arcade systems using MAME.

History[edit]

Beginnings[edit]

OpenEmu was first released on Wednesday, July 4th, 2007 as OpenNestopia, a Cocoa-port written by Josh Weinberg for then Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger of the NES/Famicom emulator Nestopia (written by Martin Freij).^[2] Weinberg and his friend, Ben Devacel, began searching for more developers to port other emulators to macOS, which led to the name change to OpenEmu in 2009, to better describe the multi-system emulator.^[3]

1.0[edit]

OpenEmu 1.0 released on Monday, December 23, 2013 with 12 'cores' emulating Nintendo, Sega, NEC, and SNK's home, tabletop, and [[HanOpenEmu 1.0 needed Mac OS X Lion (10.7.x) to run. A Wednesday, October 15, 2014 (296 days later) midstream update to the OpenEmu library (1.0.4) would introduce Stella, a core emulating the 2600, a 2nd generation cosole from Atari.

2.0[edit]

Introduced on Wednesday, Dec 23, 2015, (exactly two years after 1.0) OpenEmu 2.0 was released. OpenEmu 2.0 began requiring a minimum of OS X El Capitan 10.11, dropping support for Mac OS X Lion (10.7.x) through OS X Yosemite (10.10.x). OpenEmu 2.0 introduced 16 new cores along with hundreds of bug fixes and lesser features. The new cores added several 2nd generation cores, support for optical media-based-image games, additionally emulating systems from Sony, Mattel, Bandai, Magnavox, Milton-Bradley, and Coleco. Another midsteam update, 2.0.6.1, released Tuesday, Dec 19, 2017 (727 days after 2.0) added support for Mednafen's Sega Saturn branch, with a suggested quad-core i7 CPU to emulate.

2.1 and 2.2[edit]

OpenEmu 2.1 (Friday, October 15, 2019, 675 days after version 2.0.6.1; 'coincidentally,' exactly 5 years after the 1.0.4 Stella update) was significant, not for any new cores, but for supporting Metal, Apple's visual API successor to OpenGL and OpenCl, giving OpenEmu significant gains in both performance and battery life.

OpenEmu 2.2 (Friday December 27, 2019, 63 days later) added support for a downstream, Metal-forked version of Dolphin's GameCubebranch, building on 2.1's foundation. This brings OpenEmu's number of supported cores to 31.

Limitations[edit]

32X Hybrid Games[edit]

As confirmed by the OpenEmu developers on their official subreddit, Sega 32X-CD hybrid games (versions of games that could use a 32X cartridge and Sega CD at once, such as Night Trap, Corpse Killer, and Fahrenheit) are not supported. Users are prompted with a 'This game requires the Sega 32X attachment' error if attempted.^[4]

GameCube Limitations[edit]

At present, GameCube emulation doesn't support Save States (due to continual updates breaking compatibility with saved states); users are encouraged to use in-game saves.

OpenEmu GameCube emulation also does not support the 22 multi-disc GameCube titles at present (despite the main Dolphin branch doing so).

Features[edit]

OpenEmu features a backend that uses multiple game engines while maintaining the familiar, native macOS frontend UI. It also uses modern macOS 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 Metal (formerly 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
• Ability to use custom cover art
• Can play ROM hacks for multiple systems.
• 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 for USB controllers and accessibility to Bluetooth (including DualShock 3 controllers, DualShock 4 controllers, Xbox 360 controllers and Xbox One controllers)
• Custom cores for custom systems (For systems like Wii)

Compatibility[edit]

* Default core plugin.^[7]

** Version 2.1 and lower must have custom system core.

Reception[edit]

Openemu.org

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.^{[8][9][10][11]} In particular, it was praised by the gaming community for '[bringing] the idea of an emulator for a mainstream, general audience to reality'.^[12]

As of August 16, 2018, OpenEmu has been downloaded over 10,000,000 times since its version 1.0 release, making it one of the most popular multi-system emulators on macOS.^[13]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^https://github.com/OpenEmu/OpenEmu/releases
2. ^'OpenNestopia'.
3. ^'The Archive - An Emulator for the Rest of Us—How OpenEmu Changes Everything'.
4. ^https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenEmu/comments/3zwu0t/32x_cd_support/
5. ^'MacScene Listing'.
6. ^'Create Digital Motion'.
7. ^'OpenEmu Wiki - Home'. GitHub. Retrieved 16 August 2018.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
8. ^Thorin Klosowski (2013-12-24). 'OpenEmu Emulates Nearly Every Classic Console on Mac'. Life Hacker. Retrieved 2014-04-10.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
9. ^Alex Heath (2013-12-26). 'OpenEmu Is The Ultimate Old School Game Emulator For OS X'. Cult of Mac. Retrieved 2014-04-10.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
10. ^Andrew Cunningham (2013-12-28). 'ArsTechnica OpenEmu Hands On'. Ars Technica.
11. ^Sean Hollister (2013-12-28). 'Play classic video games in style with OpenEmu for Mac'. The Verge.
12. ^'OpenEmu feature on The Archive'.
13. ^'Github OpenEmu Release Download Stats'.

External links[edit]

• Official website
• OpenEmu on GitHub

Openemu 2.0.9.1