Hi. I have recently spent some time trying to run SNES emulation on my Topaz and would like to share the results with you. I was using Topaz ESSentiaL v1.8.1 ROM (thanks to !aman!), meaning Windows 6.1.
First of all there is a number of definite/ultimate/absolute guides to running SNES emulation on WinMo phones on this forums and even on wiki. Unfortunately most of those threads date back to 2005 and refer to devices I have never really used. Obviously no information / testing for Topaz, short of any HTC devices was available.
I have tried two versions and multiple clones of PocketSnes. All of them require you to install additional libraries to be able to open roms. Even with that however I wasn't able to successfully run any rom. The closest one to working was SnesGo published here on xda-devs ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=518027 ), but even this would only successfully load rom, but than pause it every frame. When you click the screen to unpause the rom you can see it is actually running, but thats it.
I have also tried PocketNester and PocketNester Advanced. They managed to load some roms (albeit in some .nes format not the common .snc format). The display however was very small and flashing all the time. On game pause it would stretch to full screen. Admirably it was also able to emulate sound, though not to much use.
Finally, the only emulator that I managed to successfully run was MorphGear. I used the virtual pad created for Blackstone by Dredd67 ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=489147 - note that also the configuration he suggests for Touch HD worked well on my Topaz). It is a must, as the original MorphGear pad is too small to use. There is a nice split of 50% screen being used by vpad the other 50% by the emulated rom.
Note that also the pseudo multitouch functionality works on Topaz. It is hard to use (screen on Topaz is smaller and with higher res than Blackstone), but maybe it is possible to get used to it. Most of the time however you won't need to use it, as unlike Blackstone we have hardware keys to use. Unfortunately out of those I was only able to bind 'back' key. One hardware keys is however more than enough for the sort of roms I am interested in (say as a dash key you hold while moving). It also seemed to accept binding to green phone key, but it didn't work once the rom was loaded. Finally, even though hard to use, I was also able to bind volume up & down. Unfortunately - volume up is bound with the same code as 'back' key so all in all I was able to get two, distinguishable and working binds.
Important: Before trying to bind keys make sure to switch to default keyboard, not HTC one, or the bindings won't work
Sound doesn't seem to work, which is a pity, but doesn't prevent you from playing the roms. All other features, such as state save/load, display configuration, etc seem to work perfectly.
Now I am mostly interested in jrpg roms such as Final Fantasy series, and I have tested it mostly on similar titles. I was able to successfully run Legend of Zelda III, Lufia 2, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest and to my greatest Joy - Chrono Trigger.
The bad news is, that the classic Final Fantasy titles do not work. The roms load and play intro properly, but do not respond to any key presses, neither from vpad nor from hardware keys. Some other titles, like Seiken Densetsu 3 don't work at all.
Summarizing - the only emulation that works well on Topaz seems to be MorphGear. You don't get the sound and not all titles are playable, but there is a nice range of ones that do work perfectly. Hope this short blog-like post saves few hours of searching the net for some of you.
Hmm.. i am looking for a snes emulator on topaz too, but is it possible to get the multitouch working? What do i have to do for it? How can i install this things to play roms Much thanks...
I've got a few emulators running on the Diamond 2 but they are all a bit pointless without hard keys - the touchscreen is useless with the games.
Oke, so the multitouch function such as on the hd blackstone is not possible on the touch diamond 2? That was a super manner as it works too...
Let me know when there are other options to play gba games etc with a touchscreen
Purejet said:
Oke, so the multitouch function such as on the hd blackstone is not possible on the touch diamond 2? That was a super manner as it works too...
Let me know when there are other options to play gba games etc with a touchscreen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Blackstone does not have multitouch. You need a capacitive screen for multitouch to function, and so far only HTC's Android phones are using them... Windows Mobile currently only "officially" supports resistive touchscreens.
NotATreoFan said:
The Blackstone does not have multitouch. You need a capacitive screen for multitouch to function, and so far only HTC's Android phones are using them... Windows Mobile currently only "officially" supports resistive touchscreens.
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Click to collapse
A capacitive isn't multitouch by default right? Just a screen with higher sensitivity allowing for better interaction with the finger. Please prove me wrong, as I'm longing for the Leo, wich is rumoured to have capacitive screen, but nothing is mentioned about multitouch. And, the OS should support multitouch too, wich is a feature we are only going to see when windows mobile 7 arrives.... unless the guys from redmond have a surprise for us.
Topaz Keyboard Controller GSM v1.3.2 works with hardware keys.
Okay if you enable Polling Method in Global Settings in morphgear and then install Topaz Keyboard Controller GSM v1.3.2 (search for it on this site) then you can use your hardkeys to play your games. You just have to mount your hardkeys to Up, Down, Left, Right, Page Up, Page Down - These are buttons Morphgear can use. You don't have to mount the volume buttons - morphgear can control them from start.
It takes a little bit getting used to but i have mounted right to Back button and Left to Hang-Up button and A and B button to volume buttons. So you can play the games with hardkeys only... And btw thats if you play games in landscape.
Remember to add the keys with Direct Key Mapping in the keyboard controller and do not mount you buttons to any letters or else it won't work...
NotATreoFan said:
The Blackstone does not have multitouch. You need a capacitive screen for multitouch to function, and so far only HTC's Android phones are using them... Windows Mobile currently only "officially" supports resistive touchscreens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The blackstone doesn't have a capacitive screen... but with some trickery they got a "multitouch" kinda setup. Basically hidden buttons between the virtual dpad and the virtual buttons... so that when you touch Right + A... it would hit the hidden button in the middle that just output "right + A".
Capacitive screens are whole different beasts then resistive. Capacitive screens are more sensitive because they don't require pressure like resistive screens. It works by using your finger to charge electrons in the screen or something. The downside is that a typical stylus won't work on Capacitive screens. Capacitive screens also support multiple touch inputs on the screen at any given time, but I forget how many max inputs the iPhone senses at once (3 maybe or 4).
This isn't working on the Topaz because the screen is smaller, thus the hidden buttons are smaller, thus harder to hit. It would probably work properly if the hidden buttons were enlargedd a hair.
player911 said:
This isn't working on the Topaz because the screen is smaller, thus the hidden buttons are smaller, thus harder to hit. It would probably work properly if the hidden buttons were enlargedd a hair.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The hidden buttons are smaller, but they still work. Sure, you need to be precise with your fingers, but that was the case on Blackstone too. It didn't take me long to get used to it. Plus, when you just need certain combinations you can always bind keys to 'back' and 'volume down' hard keys. Note (again) however, that you must disable the HTC keyboard for that to work !!
As a side note - for some time I have switched away from TESS ROM to X-Treme ROM. Not only the menu started to display properly (there are some glitches when using TESS) but also the sound emulation started to work. The drop in FPS was slight but noticable. I am now using TESS again, but with WinMo 6.5. While the menu is still glitched as hell, the sound works too. Just make sure to:
1) Enable sound in global settings
2) Enable sound in SNES settings
3) Enable Emulation in SNES settings
4) Restart MorphGear
Related
Since some weeks, I'm thinking about of buying the Touch Pro and couldn't find the information in this forum I was looking for. My question concerns the usability scrolling through large screen content without a click wheel like my touch cruise. In a local store I played a while with the Touch Pro and it was strange to navigate through the screen content with the arrow buttons. Is anybody here, who has changed from click wheel to a device without that wheel and can say something about the usability?
The other thing was, that I often pressed the other buttons while navigating.
The last thing (just a minor issue, not worth to open a new thread for it): Is it possible customize the today screen to show more than one plugin inclusive the TF3D? The TF3D looks nice, but its full screen, something that I dont want. On my Touch Cruise, I have the Home Screen Plugin (that thing with big clock), PocketPlus and HomeScreenPlusPlus.
On Touch Pro the area arround the arrow buttons is used for zooming in a couple of applications.
You can change through registry this function to make it scroll, like your Touch Cruise.
However, scrolling a large document never seems hard for me. I just use gestures...
As for the other question you have, when and if you buy TP search for Second Today. It adds a second Today, free of TF3D, where you can enable any plugin you want.
Thanks for the info, they should help me in making a decision. The only problem is the justification for buying a new ppc. My "old" touch cruise is just a half year old. *g*
Is there a rom (or mabey it's just a phone skin or theme) that is just 100% touchscreen - so I will not miss my buttons?
Here's why...
This last weekend all the buttons on my 8925 stopped working - just the power and camera buttons work (no keyboard either)
Everything else on the phone fuctions, phone, gps, internet, just the darn buttons.
Since I couldn't answer the phone without pressing the green button, I had to find something fast - I flashed Josh's 6.5 21222(?) - works good, but it's a little bleeding edge for me.
So I don't have to spend 3 days flashing 20 roms - please let me know if you've come across any that would help.
Thanksk a million!
Will
Try garmins rom ("-g-") + SPB mobile shell + spb pocket plus
Try
a wm 6,5 rom that one from pdaviet
As usual, keep flashing until you find the right one!
Opal Dialer
With the opal dialer, you can have a slider to answer or reject calls. I've had a lot of luck with all of the 6.5's so far, and it's very finger friendly as well as finger functional. But you should be able to install the opal dialer to any rom.
Sorry about your buttons and keyboard though, the keyboard is my favorite part, I hate typing with an onscreen. If, by the way, you find a keyboard that works really well with fingers, please please let me know. Transcriber works, but it's not a keyboard.
At any rate, good luck!
Thanks!
drumboy03 -
As to onscreen keyboards. I use - and really like Resco Keyboard. It is THUMB Friendly and easy to use ( I think it is like an iphones keyboard - but who says they can't have a good idea once in a while).
I think WM 6.5 seems to be the most finger friendly so far. I tried one of the HyperDragon III roms (12/25/08) and it works ok because it has...
Big start menu & Touchflo for easy navigation
I installed an iphone dialpad
I installed slide to unlock, slide to play, slide to view Dang - does it sound like I went for an iphone? - not intentional, but they do seen to have the better fingerfriedly interface.
I use Kinoma player - very finger friendly - for most media and core player (with diamond theme - big buttons) for the orb and news streams (it plays better than WM for me)
On a side note, I was getting 5-8 second gps locks from cold start with that setup! Better than my official GPS's.
Tonight or tomorrow I'll will try the opal dialer on a 6.5 rom - especially with the new internet exporer.
I do second this notion, a touch screen only rom would be nice.
I have seen many roms integrate touchFlo/Manilla, but I havent seen many integrate Winterface (iphone like interface), Point UI, or others.
I very much like TouchFlo, but variety would be good too.
Update - solace rom works!
Two days ago I loaded the Solace v. 3.x rom. It is set up for primarily touch screen use - big icons, big notificiations etc. Works great. Only issue is with the default phone skin - if I have to dial a new number I have to save it to contacts first. But I like other features of the skin so I'll live with that. I rarely call anyone new anyway so it really isn't an issue.
Thanks for your help!
One more update...
Turns out my buttons were not really broken- ae button plus allowed me to remap the buttons - right back to their old state - funny but it worked! Now I can run 'regular roms' again! Something must really be wrong with my tilt to have that problem!
And now that my outside buttons are mapped right, the keyboard works too! WOW - I was looking at replacing the tilt, instead it's only a $7 fix!
i'm new to the touch pro
i'm curious what kind of things people are doing with the g-sensor
i bought my phone unlocked with a warrior rom on it (ppcgeeks i think)
though i didn't really look into the g-sensor mod that was running on it
have reflashed since
eigerzoom said:
i'm new to the touch pro
i'm curious what kind of things people are doing with the g-sensor
i bought my phone unlocked with a warrior rom on it (ppcgeeks i think)
though i didn't really look into the g-sensor mod that was running on it
have reflashed since
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mostly just games and Shake UI which I find kind of lame.
hey,
i'm using it for a couple things. games are one: nfs undercover witht eh gsensor enabled, tons of fun!
another use is with galarm (the free version) - i have it set to make me do mazes when i wake up!!!
ring mute on face down - does exactly that, mutes the ringer when you flip it - easy reg tweaks, cabs might be floating around somewhere too
speakerphone on face down wihle in call - program called incall phone tweak or something of that sort
opera browser - rotates when i cahgnes my screen - easy reg tweak if it doesnt already do that (im on opera 9.7b, but 9.5 shoudl do that too)
i think that's all for now, can't think of much else. you can also install things such as diamond gsensor2, sensor sdk, changescreen, gyrator 2, etc as they are all programs that automatically rotate your screen/display when you rotate teh phone.
enjoy
Hello.
I use a HTC HD2 with ScummVM 1.0.0rc1 for WindowsCE.
I have noted that ScummVM doesnt use the full screen even if i toggle away the ScummVM Menu-Bar. Even then remains a black empty-space under the game-screen with the size of the ScummVM Menu-Bar.
I've tried to zoom with the Zoomer but unfortunately there appears the "zoombox" which remains on the screen and covers part of the gamescreen until you zoom completely out.
Does maybe anyone know a solution to zoom in ScummVM without that Zoombox, or is there a way to make disappear that box after a few seconds?
Thanks in advance.
Cartman316 said:
Hello.
I use a HTC HD2 with ScummVM 1.0.0rc1 for WindowsCE.
I have noted that ScummVM doesnt use the full screen even if i toggle away the ScummVM Menu-Bar. Even then remains a black empty-space under the game-screen with the size of the ScummVM Menu-Bar.
I've tried to zoom with the Zoomer but unfortunately there appears the "zoombox" which remains on the screen and covers part of the gamescreen until you zoom completely out.
Does maybe anyone know a solution to zoom in ScummVM without that Zoombox, or is there a way to make disappear that box after a few seconds?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
scummvm does not work on full screen because all scummvm games are vga resolution, you could try a wvga fix but that will just stretch the image
(in options i belive u chosed full screen and 2x and restarted the app )
snowblindd said:
scummvm does not work on full screen because all scummvm games are vga resolution, you could try a wvga fix but that will just stretch the image
(in options i belive u chosed full screen and 2x and restarted the app )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats the solution for fullscreen! Many Thanks!!!!!!!!!
Maybe in future an update for the Zoomer will be released that eliminates the zoombox. Then Scumm VM will be perfectly playable on the HD2.
Was just looking for this myself and it seems by choosing 2x and full screen mode once the you press volume down button the keyboard/menu dissapears and it maximizes the screen... Just played Full throttle for the first time in 15 years.. amazing.. really brilliant
Is there any at all?
The closest thing I've been able to find so far is Final Burn 0.014 (Google for it if you want to check it out) but it's pretty much unusable as all it does is run the rom files, there are no on-screen controls and it doesn't seem to support landscape
Would love to see either Mame or Final Burn on the HD2!
come on anyone knows of any good ones? share with us info on it !
It's been very long since WinCE based MAME were compiled.
I am not sure why, maybe because MAME is very actively developed and machines get more complex.
I've now got PocketCultMAME running on my HD2 (Google pcmame04a.zip) and it will happily play games in landscape mode, they run great! (tested Final Fight)
Only problem is the on-screen controls don't work nor does mapping any of the keys (windows button inserts a coin though!) and once you start running a game you have to disconnect the battery to exit the program!
If I knew what I was doing I'd gladly put in the hours to try and make it work, anyone fancy giving me a crash course?!?
To my uneducated mind on these matters it seems fairly realistic that PCMAME could be ported in the same way MorphGear was? Or is there just no love for the old arcade classics any more?
why disconnect batter and not soft reset?
also the "home" button should take you to manila and then you can kill mame task
in any case all MAME ports have years to be updated
NLS said:
why disconnect batter and not soft reset?
also the "home" button should take you to manila and then you can kill mame task
in any case all MAME ports have years to be updated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
None of the hard keys worked once a ROM was running, they only make the screen flicker so I was forced to resort to a battery pull
still better keep the battery on and use soft reset
PocketCultMame
PocketCultMame works fine in HD2 (although it's VGA - not WVGA, so there may be bars showing top or bottom). No problems with portrait or landscape. Most of the games I tried seem to work. Haven't tried FinalBurn Alpha or MameCE, but they should work ok.
As for controls, I use Cobalt Controller and a Playstation 3 Sixaxis bluetooth controller (picked one up secondhand for £5). That combination works like a dream (also works great with FpseCE playstation emulator, as well as Morphgear GBA emulator etc...). More than makes up for the lack of D-pad on the HD2.
slowcat2 said:
PocketCultMame works fine in HD2 (although it's VGA - not WVGA, so there may be bars showing top or bottom). No problems with portrait or landscape. Most of the games I tried seem to work. Haven't tried FinalBurn Alpha or MameCE, but they should work ok.
As for controls, I use Cobalt Controller and a Playstation 3 Sixaxis bluetooth controller (picked one up secondhand for £5). That combination works like a dream (also works great with FpseCE playstation emulator, as well as Morphgear GBA emulator etc...). More than makes up for the lack of D-pad on the HD2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DualShock3 using Cobalt has problem with action keys. The arrows 're working fine. Has anyone any experience with mapping? Thanks.
Swype solved my problem, thx anyway
MStruhar said:
DualShock3 using Cobalt has problem with action keys. The arrows 're working fine. Has anyone any experience with mapping? Thanks.
Swype solved my problem, thx anyway
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how did swype solve the problem?
thnx so much for vry useful nd juicy info.bt i cnt configure ma ps controller with pocketcultmame.can u pls kindly reply me soo quick how u have done?
Hexjibber said:
I've now got PocketCultMAME running on my HD2 (Google pcmame04a.zip) and it will happily play games in landscape mode, they run great! (tested Final Fight)
Only problem is the on-screen controls don't work nor does mapping any of the keys (windows button inserts a coin though!) and once you start running a game you have to disconnect the battery to exit the program!
If I knew what I was doing I'd gladly put in the hours to try and make it work, anyone fancy giving me a crash course?!?
To my uneducated mind on these matters it seems fairly realistic that PCMAME could be ported in the same way MorphGear was? Or is there just no love for the old arcade classics any more?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use the LMT v0.8 multitouch controller. Look here to begin your quest: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=629263 .
I'm gonna get this all figured out over the next few days. Also, that controller I linked to is a FULL GESTURE SUPPORT app for the HD2, which means a 'double finger gesture' would be able to close mame instead of pulling battery. Those gestures work on top of gapi games that steal the screen too -- thats a huge bonus! Once I get all this sorted out I will try and post any types of apps or shortcuts or whatnot that will get it working well. That app up I linked to is awesome!
I KNOW IT WILL WORK, and if it turns out that 'key codes' or '.ini files' are needed to make it work I will post those soon and some instructions too. I've been wanting this for awhile now myself.
Working Controls For MAME on HD2 -- PocketCultMame works great now
pablo71 said:
Use the LMT v0.8 multitouch controller. Look here to begin your quest: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=629263 .I KNOW IT WILL WORK, and if it turns out that 'key codes' or '.ini files' are needed to make it work I will post those soon and some instructions too. I've been wanting this for awhile now myself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HOORAY! LMT v0.8 works 'right out of the box' with no tweaks needed. Just go to the screen to configure the key, then open the onscreen controller, then chose each mame button and when it says 'press a key' just press the corresponding button on the onscreen controller.
TIP: you will want to assign an LMT gesture to KILL the foreground app to prevent battery pulling to close PocketCultMAME. Then, use say "fdcsoft advanced task manager" to make sure that pcmame.exe is terminated. I use LMT to assign a gesture to a tiny mortscript that merely makes sure pcmame.exe is dead. The mortscript just reads:
while(procexists("pcmame.exe"))
kill("pcmame.exe")
exit
(yeah, it's not a 'clean' solution but I'm a mame lover)