Difference between revisions of "PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16) emulators"

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==Emulators==
 
==Emulators==
 +
<div style="max-width:100%; overflow:auto;">
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
 
|-
 
|-
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! scope="col"|PCE-CD (TG-CD)
 
! scope="col"|PCE-CD (TG-CD)
 
! scope="col"|PCE2 (SG)
 
! scope="col"|PCE2 (SG)
! scope="col"|[[libretro|Libretro Core]]
+
! scope="col"|[[libretro]]
 
! scope="col"|[[Emulation Accuracy|Accuracy]]
 
! scope="col"|[[Emulation Accuracy|Accuracy]]
 
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
 
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
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|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
 
|[https://github.com/ares-emulator/ares/releases {{aresVer}}]
 
|[https://github.com/ares-emulator/ares/releases {{aresVer}}]
|{{~}}||{{✓}}||{{✗}}||? ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
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|{{~}}||{{✓}}||{{✗}}||?<ref group=N>[https://www.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/t5ppjf/ares_v127_has_been_released/ Supports the Pixel Accuracy setting for NEC - PC-Engine / TurboGrafx]</ref> ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[higan]]
 
|[[higan]]
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|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 
|[http://aamirm.hacking-cult.org/www/turbo.html 0.32]
 
|[http://aamirm.hacking-cult.org/www/turbo.html 0.32]
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||High ||? ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
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|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||High ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[MagicEngine]]
 
|[[MagicEngine]]
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|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 
|[http://www.ouma.jp/ootake/ {{OotakeVer}}]
 
|[http://www.ouma.jp/ootake/ {{OotakeVer}}]
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||Mid ||? ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
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|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||Mid ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
 
|-
 
|-
 
|pcejin <small>(Mednafen 0.8.x)</small>
 
|pcejin <small>(Mednafen 0.8.x)</small>
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|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 
|[http://takeda-toshiya.my.coocan.jp/common/index.html 8/12/2017]
 
|[http://takeda-toshiya.my.coocan.jp/common/index.html 8/12/2017]
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||? ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
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|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[FinalBurn Alpha]]
 
|[[FinalBurn Alpha]]
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|PCE.emu
 
|PCE.emu
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Android|Pyra}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Android|Pyra}}
|[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.PceEmu 1.5.54]<br/>[https://pyra-handheld.com/repo/apps/82 1.5.46.01 Pyra]
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|[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.PceEmu {{.emuVer}}]<br/>[https://pyra-handheld.com/repo/apps/82 1.5.46.02 Pyra]
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||Mid ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||Mid ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
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|}
 
|}
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</div>
 
<references group=N />
 
<references group=N />
  
 
===Comparisons===
 
===Comparisons===
;[[Mednafen]]:Much like its other original cores, it does very well, even having two profiles: PCE-Accurate and PCE-Fast. Despite being CLI-based, a fork of an older version that has a GUI has emerged called pcejin. [[RetroArch]] uses the PCE-Fast core for its beetle fork.
+
;[[Mednafen]]:Much like its other original cores, it does very well, even having two profiles: PCE-Accurate and PCE-Fast. Despite being CLI-based, a fork of an older version that has a GUI has emerged called pcejin. [[RetroArch]] uses the PCE-Accurate and PCE-Fast cores for its beetle fork.
 
;[[Ootake]]:It's okay for general purposes.
 
;[[Ootake]]:It's okay for general purposes.
 
;[[MAME]]:Has a <code>pce</code> driver <small>(and a child driver called <code>tg16</code>)</small>. In all revisions it emulates, MAME reports it as working and the graphics as okay, but the sound is imperfect.
 
;[[MAME]]:Has a <code>pce</code> driver <small>(and a child driver called <code>tg16</code>)</small>. In all revisions it emulates, MAME reports it as working and the graphics as okay, but the sound is imperfect.
 
;[[MagicEngine]]:Unfortunately trialware that costs €15 euro. There are better options available for free.
 
;[[MagicEngine]]:Unfortunately trialware that costs €15 euro. There are better options available for free.
;NitroGrafx: is a DS TurboGrafx emulator for Nintendo DS. It is included with TWiLight Menu++
+
;NitroGrafx: is a DS TurboGrafx emulator for Nintendo DS. It is included with [[TWiLight Menu++]].
 +
 
 +
==Emulation issues==
 +
===Color palette===
 +
The color palettes generated by the PC Engine for Composite and RGB actually differ due to it's own color tables being non-linear. This can result in colors ending up looking wrong or blended when the system is emulated or played in RGB. A composite palette was eventually made mathematically and with some extra tweaks from the PC Engine's RGB to YUV lookup table after it's HuC6270 video chip had been decapped. This palette is used by default in the PC Engine core for the [[MiSTer]]. <ref>https://www.retrorgb.com/pc-engine-palette-improvements-the-amazing-people-behind-the-technology.html</ref> It can be downloaded for use in other emulators and devices: https://github.com/Kitrinx/TG16_Palette
 +
 
 +
[[File:PCE_TG16_Composite_RGB_Palette.png|thumb|250px|An example of the color inaccuracy with the regular RGB color palette when compared to the Composite palette. Take note of the second blue gradient in the sky in both images.]]
  
 
[[Category:Consoles]]
 
[[Category:Consoles]]

Revision as of 15:08, 22 September 2022

PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16)
PC-Engine-Console-Set.png
SuperGrafx-Console-Set.jpg
Above: The PC Engine.
Below: The SuperGrafx.
Developer NEC Home Electronics, Hudson Soft
Type Home video game console
Generation Fourth generation
Release date 1987
Discontinued 1994
Successor SuperGrafx, PC-FX
Emulated

The PC Engine (PCE) was an 8-bit system released jointly by NEC and Hudson Soft in Japan on October 30, 1987 and in the US on August 29, 1989. It was retailed for $399.99. It had a Hudson Soft HuC6280 8-bit CPU at 7.16 MHz and 1.79 MHz with 8KB of RAM and 64KB of VRAM. The CPU was teamed up with a 16-bit graphics processor and 16-bit video color encoder chip, both built by Hudson Soft. When it came time to seek other potential markets, the two companies eventually caved to a limited American release in 1989 under a completely different model and name: the TurboGrafx-16. The European versions varied throughout the countries, being the western version in Spain and United Kingdom and Japanese models in Benelux regions.

The joint venture, formed in North America as TTI, made an add-on called the PC Engine CD (PCE-CD) / TurboGrafx-CD (TG-CD) that loaded games from discs instead, much like the Sega CD but better supported. The PC Engine Duo / Turbo-Duo combined the add-on into the unit with more RAM as yet another failed attempt to relaunch the failing console in the West.

When it first launched in North America, the TurboGrafx-16 was largely seen as a failure blamed on poor marketing by the manufacturers. The PC Engine, on the other hand, was a whole different story, beating out the Famicom when it first came out long enough to compete against its rival's own successor and gave little focus for the Mega Drive who was instead posing more of a threat to Nintendo in North America.

NEC planned to enhance the system further, announcing the "PC Engine 2" that would later become the PC Engine SuperGrafx. However, it was rushed to a 1989 market in Japan lacking much of its promised features with only seven titles exclusively made for it, ending up a commercial failure to be binned and discontinued not long after. The PC Engine GT / Turbo-Express was a very rare handheld model of the original hardware, in the same vein as the Sega Nomad (a portable Sega Genesis / Mega Drive). It did include some exclusive features like the TurboLink multiplayer feature (used in games such as the flight sim called Falcon and Bomberman 93) but wasn't widely supported.

Emulators

Name Platform(s) Latest Version PCE-CD (TG-CD) PCE2 (SG) libretro Accuracy FLOSS Active Recommended
PC / x86
Mednafen (PCE-Accurate) Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD 1.32.0-UNSTABLE High
MAME Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD 0.264 High
Mednafen (PCE-Fast) Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD 1.32.0-UNSTABLE Mid
BizHawk Windows 2.9.1 High
ares Windows Linux macOS v136 ~ ?[N 1]
higan Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD v110 ~ ? ~
Turbo Engine Windows 0.32 High
MagicEngine Windows macOS 1.1.3 Mid
Ootake Windows 3.04 Mid
pcejin (Mednafen 0.8.x) Windows git Mid
DarcNES Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD 9b0401/9b0313 ~ Low
Neco Windows 0.11 Low ?
ePCEngine Windows 8/12/2017 ?
FinalBurn Alpha Windows 0.2.97.43 ?
Hu-Go! Windows Linux 2.12 ? ?
Mobile / ARM
Mednafen (PCE-Fast) Android iOS Linux Pandora 1.32.0-UNSTABLE Mid
PCE.emu Android Dragonbox Pyra 1.5.77
1.5.46.02 Pyra
Mid
Console
Virtual Console Wii Wii U N/A High
Mednafen (PCE-Fast)[N 2] PSP PlayStation 3
Wii Nintendo 3DS Wii U Switch
1.32.0-UNSTABLE Mid
HuGo! GX Unofficial Wii GameCube 2.12.1 Mid
PCECast Dreamcast 06/01/07 ? Mid
HuE PSP 0.70 ~ Mid
NitroGrafx Nintendo DS 0.7 ? ~
  1. Supports the Pixel Accuracy setting for NEC - PC-Engine / TurboGrafx
  2. Only available on consoles as a libretro core (e.g. RetroArch).

Comparisons

Mednafen
Much like its other original cores, it does very well, even having two profiles: PCE-Accurate and PCE-Fast. Despite being CLI-based, a fork of an older version that has a GUI has emerged called pcejin. RetroArch uses the PCE-Accurate and PCE-Fast cores for its beetle fork.
Ootake
It's okay for general purposes.
MAME
Has a pce driver (and a child driver called tg16). In all revisions it emulates, MAME reports it as working and the graphics as okay, but the sound is imperfect.
MagicEngine
Unfortunately trialware that costs €15 euro. There are better options available for free.
NitroGrafx
is a DS TurboGrafx emulator for Nintendo DS. It is included with TWiLight Menu++.

Emulation issues

Color palette

The color palettes generated by the PC Engine for Composite and RGB actually differ due to it's own color tables being non-linear. This can result in colors ending up looking wrong or blended when the system is emulated or played in RGB. A composite palette was eventually made mathematically and with some extra tweaks from the PC Engine's RGB to YUV lookup table after it's HuC6270 video chip had been decapped. This palette is used by default in the PC Engine core for the MiSTer. [1] It can be downloaded for use in other emulators and devices: https://github.com/Kitrinx/TG16_Palette

An example of the color inaccuracy with the regular RGB color palette when compared to the Composite palette. Take note of the second blue gradient in the sky in both images.