Retrocomputing Stack Exchange
Retrocomputing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [emulation]

Processes and software for emulating retro hardware (e.g. MAME, QEMU). NOT EVERY EMULATION QUESTION IS ON-TOPIC; SEE TAG WIKI.

Emulation is the process of imitating software or hardware (usually hardware) with a program in order to run other (usually older) programs that require the emulated software or hardware to function.

Related terms are: simulation and virtualization. ‘Simulation’ usually implies faithful, low-level replication of the target system up to its other physical characteristics, aiming for bug-for-bug compatibility; in contrast, ‘virtualization’ usually only guarantees behaviour officially supported in the API contract and may provide some integration with the host system, within the confines of a sandbox. However, such distinctions are not reflected in this tag.

Not every emulation question is on-topic. Questions concerning the mere use and configuration of an emulator against a host platform are better asked elsewhere. Implementation of emulators is generally accepted as on-topic; fine-tuning and recommendations are more controversial. See Is emulation on topic? for a meta discussion on the subject.

Sample questions:

  • Which Commodore 64 emulator offers better compatibility for ⟨game⟩?
  • What platforms are supported by MAME?
  • How does a ⟨machine⟩ emulator handle 50Hz (PAL) games on a 60Hz (VGA) display?
178 questions
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What makes accurate emulation of old systems a difficult task?

Thanks to a lot of passionate and skilled people, we can emulate pretty much any retro platform today. For most people they perform well enough, but in fact, a substantial amount of these emulators are hardly accurate when compared to the original…
Eric Cartman
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Is there still no "digital version of PCBs and ICs" software that all future emulators can use?

It strikes me that, in theory, it would be possible to skip the classic approach of emulation and instead literally build a NES, SNES, Nintendo 64 or any console with digital "components", which are wired together just like the original machines, on…
Jaramy C.
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22
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2 answers

How do old computer emulators work?

I'm wondering how old computer emulators work. I can think of two possible approaches: "hardware" approach - like a set of components that exactly act as low-level hardware elements. I mean a bus with its busy signals, CPU and fetch–decode–execute…
Adam
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What are the laws concerning emulation in the US?

Emulators have always been a gray area. Googling the laws on emulation reveals all sorts of different answers, often with people saying that it's ok because "it's old stuff anyways." Are there laws in place (in the US) that prohibit emulation of…
Jared
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2 answers

How to obtain CPU and other hardware specs for emulator development

In order to write emulators for older systems, one has to know the "inner workings" of the original hardware and understand what makes it "tick". I've noticed that with some systems, proprietary documentation can be found online (leaked), but if one…
Retro Gamer
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8
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1 answer

Symbian emulator to run Ngage games

I don't really know if this is the correct place to ask this, if not let me know where I should. I would like to know if it would be possible to run Ngage games on an existing Symbian emulator. There is no emulator for Ngage games, however, some…
Outis
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3
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1 answer

Trying to open IBM FILING ASSISTANT in DOSBOX, or other?

How does one get a program like a word doc onto MS DOS to begin with? I have a set of files that are backups, only one with .exe that is from an ancient word processor and would eventually like to use it to read into ancient documents. Starting…
Ron
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2 answers

Is there such thing as para-emulation?

Is there such thing as a para-emulation? Like para-virtualization but for emulation? If so, where could I find a website that describes it?
Billy
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Is QEMU Used Commercially?

I have played around with the QEMU emulator, as it can emulate OS's that VirtualBox cannot, especially older systems that cannot run on x86 or x64. With QEMU being quite slow because it has to translate to different CPU architectures, is it ever…
Retro Gamer
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Is there something like "libretro-thumbnails" but with high-resolution, good scans of classic video game box art?

https://github.com/libretro-thumbnails/libretro-thumbnails This contains cover art for "most" games. Sadly, they are very low-res, often have bad contrast/color, and are frequently ugly/wrong/non-English versions. I'm looking for high-resolution,…
A. Mckeag
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Can I run a network game (Empire Deluxe) that uses NETBIOS?

I use D-Fend to run the video game Empire Deluxe in full screen mode (1366x768) on a Dell Vostro Core i3 laptop running Windows 10. It works fine. I want to run the game on a second identical laptop and have 2 players play the game over the local…
Robert Miller
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