Difference between revisions of "Sega Dreamcast emulators"

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{{Infobox console
 
{{Infobox console
 
|title = Sega Dreamcast
 
|title = Sega Dreamcast
|logo = Dreamcast-and-controller.jpg
+
|logo = DreamcastConsole.png
|developer = [[:Category:Sega consoles|Sega]]
+
|developer = [[:Sega]]
|type = Home video game console
+
|type = [[:Category:Consoles|Home video game console]]
|generation = Sixth generation
+
|generation = [[:Category:Sixth-generation video game consoles|Sixth generation]]
 
|release = 1998
 
|release = 1998
 
|discontinued = 2001
 
|discontinued = 2001
Line 10: Line 10:
 
|emulated = {{✓}}
 
|emulated = {{✓}}
 
}}
 
}}
The '''[[wikipedia:Sega Dreamcast|Dreamcast]]''' is a sixth-generation console released by [[wikipedia:Sega|Sega]] in November 1998 in Japan and later in 1999 in other territories. '''[https://segaretro.org/Sega_NAOMI Naomi]''', an arcade system board similar to the Dreamcast, is supported by some Dreamcast emulators. '''[https://segaretro.org/Atomiswave Atomiswave]''' is an arcade system board that is based on Naomi.
+
The '''[[wikipedia:Sega Dreamcast|Dreamcast]]''' is a sixth-generation console released by [[wikipedia:Sega|Sega]] on November 27, 1998 in Japan and later on September 9, 1999 in NA. It retailed for {{Inflation|USD|199.99|1999}}. It had a Hitachi SH-4 RISC CPU at 200 MHz with 16 MB of RAM and 8 MB of VRAM. It had a PowerVR2 GPU at 100 MHz, which theoretically was capable of pushing 3 million polygons/second on-screen. There is a 2 MB audio RAM, which complemented a powerful 67 MHz Yamaha AICA sound processor, with a 32-bit ARM7 RISC CPU core. The audio chip could generate 64 voices with PCM or ADPCM codec and provided ten times the performance of the [[Sega Saturn emulators|Saturn's]] sound system.. Sega also released the '''[[Sega NAOMI and variants|Naomi]]''', an arcade system board with similar components to the Dreamcast. Sammy's '''[https://segaretro.org/Atomiswave Atomiswave]''' arcade board was also based on the Dreamcast and Naomi.
  
Microsoft collaborated with Sega for DreamCast development (which would continue later with the Xbox). The Sega Dreamcast is known for running an optimised version of '''Windows CE''' (with DirectX) as an operating system. However, Sega chose to go down a different route than what was originally planned - bundling simple operating systems within the discs themselves. Running games through Windows CE was still an option for developers, but most games used Sega's proprietary software instead out of convenience. This aspect isn't implemented in all emulators.
+
Sega collaborated with Microsoft on the Dreamcast's development, and this partnership would continue later with the [[Xbox emulators|Xbox]]. What came out of this was the possibility for games to be developed for an optimized version of '''Windows CE''' (with DirectX) on each disc. However, Windows CE wasn't mandatory to use and most developers opted for Sega's development tools instead out of convenience. Even in major emulators, this aspect isn't implemented (or implemented well).
  
 
==Emulators==
 
==Emulators==
Line 18: Line 18:
 
|-
 
|-
 
! scope="col"|Name
 
! scope="col"|Name
! scope="col"|Operating System(s)
+
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
 
! scope="col"|Latest Version
 
! scope="col"|Latest Version
 +
! scope="col"|Open-Source
 
! scope="col"|Naomi
 
! scope="col"|Naomi
 
! scope="col"|Atomiswave
 
! scope="col"|Atomiswave
Line 26: Line 27:
 
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
 
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
 
|-
 
|-
!colspan="8"|PC
+
!colspan="10"|PC / x86
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[DEmul]]
 
|[[DEmul]]
|Windows
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 
|[http://forum.emu-russia.net/viewtopic.php?p=26178&sid=9d186ca9c444883bceeed6f185ed3fa9#p26178 0.7 Build 180428]
 
|[http://forum.emu-russia.net/viewtopic.php?p=26178&sid=9d186ca9c444883bceeed6f185ed3fa9#p26178 0.7 Build 180428]
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{}} ||{{✓}}
+
|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|-
|Reicast OIT
+
|[[redream]]
|Windows, Linux
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
|[https://github.com/libretro/reicast-emulator Git]
+
|[https://redream.io/download {{RedreamVer}}]
|{{}} ||{{}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
+
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|-
|Reicast regular
+
|[[Flycast|Flycast]]
|Multi-platform
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|Android}}
|[https://github.com/libretro/reicast-emulator Git]
+
|[https://github.com/flyinghead/flycast Git]
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
+
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 +
|-
 +
|[[Flycast#Libretro_core|Flycast (libretro)]]
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
 +
|[https://github.com/libretro/flycast Git]
 +
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[reicast]]
 
|[[reicast]]
|Windows, Linux
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}
|[http://builds.reicast.com/ Dev builds]
+
|[http://builds.reicast.com/ Dev Builds]
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{}}
+
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[nullDC]]
 
|[[nullDC]]
|Windows
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 
|[http://www.emucr.com/2013/03/nulldc-svn-r150.html 1.0.4 r150]
 
|[http://www.emucr.com/2013/03/nulldc-svn-r150.html 1.0.4 r150]
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{}}
+
|{{✓}} ||{{~}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{~}}
 
|-
 
|-
|[[redream]]
+
|[[Makaron]]
|Windows, Linux, macOS
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
|[https://redream.io/download {{RedreamVer}}]
+
|[https://www.zophar.net/dreamcast/makaron.html T12/5]
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{}} ||{{}} ||{{}}
+
|{{}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{~}} ||{{}} ||{{}}
 
|-
 
|-
|Makaron
+
|[http://washemu.org/ WashingtonDC]
|Windows
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Linux}}
|T12/5
+
|[https://github.com/washingtondc-emu/washingtondc Git]
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
+
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{}} ||{{✗}}
|-
 
|Chankast
 
|Windows
 
|[http://chanka.emulatronia.com/FrameSetDC_Down.htm 0.25]
 
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{}} ||{{✗}}
 
 
|-
 
|-
|Lxdream
+
|[http://www.lxdream.org Lxdream]
|Linux, macOS
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Linux|macOS}}
 
|[http://www.lxdream.org/download.php 0.9.1]
 
|[http://www.lxdream.org/download.php 0.9.1]
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
+
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
 
|-
 
|-
|WashingtonDC
+
|[https://segaretro.org/Chankast Chankast]
|Linux
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
|[https://github.com/washingtondc-emu/washingtondc Git]
+
|[http://chanka.emulatronia.com/FrameSetDC_Down.htm 0.25]
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{}} ||{{✗}}
+
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[MAME]]
 
|[[MAME]]
|Multi-platform
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
 
|[http://www.mamedev.org/release.html {{MAMEVer}}]
 
|[http://www.mamedev.org/release.html {{MAMEVer}}]
|{{✓}} ||{{}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
+
|{{✓}} ||{{~}} ||{{~}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
 
|-
 
|-
!colspan="8"|Mobile
+
!colspan="10"|Mobile / ARM
 
|-
 
|-
|Reicast regular
+
|[[redream]]
|Android, mobile
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Android|LinuxARM}}
|[https://github.com/libretro/reicast-emulator Git]
+
|[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.recompiled.redream 1.1.81 (Android)]<br />[https://redream.io/download Dev (Raspberry Pi)]
|{{✓}} ||{{}} ||{{}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
+
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 +
|-
 +
|[[reicast#Libretro_core|Flycast (libretro)]]
 +
|align=left|{{Icon|Android|iOS|Linux|Pandora}}
 +
|[https://flyinghead.github.io/flycast-builds Ci Builds]
 +
|{{✓}} ||{{~}} ||{{~}} ||{{}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[reicast]]
 
|[[reicast]]
|Android
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
|[http://builds.reicast.com/ Dev builds]
+
|[http://builds.reicast.com/ Dev Builds]
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{}}
+
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}
|-
 
 
|}
 
|}
  
 
===Comparisons===
 
===Comparisons===
;[[DEmul]]:Has the highest compatibility and accuracy, but is Windows-only. It supports Windows CE games, but in general they run worse than standard Dreamcast titles. It's also more resource-intensive than other emulators.
+
;[[DEmul]]:Has the highest compatibility and accuracy, but is Windows-only and closed-source. It supports Windows CE games, but in general, they run worse than standard Dreamcast titles. It's also more resource-intensive than other emulators.
;[[NullDC]]:Can run a lot of games at great speed in mid-end PCs. It's no longer developed in favor of its fork&hellip;
+
;[[redream]]:Runs on Windows, MacOS, Linux and Android. Compatible with [https://redream.io/compatibility 85+% of the Dreamcast library] (no Windows CE support), has a good user interface, is easy to set up and can run without a BIOS. Runs on [https://youtu.be/rywLHa1i9yk?t=529 low-end machines] provided that they support OpenGL 3.1. There's a payware premium version which provides high-definition rendering.
:;[[reicast]]:Made by the same team. Runs on Android, Windows, and Linux.
+
 
:;Reicast regular and Reicast OIT:[[libretro]] forks similar to [[Mednafen]]'s PCE-fast and PCE-accuracy cores that backport changes from [https://github.com/flyinghead/reicast-emulator flyinghead's fork] of reicast. regular aims to be compliant with OpenGL 2 and OpenGL ES 2 so that it can continue to run on mobile devices and mid-tier PCs. A graphics feature of the Dreamcast, Order-Independent Transparency, can only be properly emulated using recent versions of OpenGL 4, meaning it is limited to Windows and Linux.<ref>Daniel De Matteis. [https://www.libretro.com/index.php/introducing-reicast-oit-libretro-core-updated-reicast-regular-core/ Introducing Reicast OIT libretro core + updated Reicast regular core] on libretro.com. June 12, 2018.</ref> In the same month of these cores' huge graphics renderer addition, they added support for the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTaRNNYTcYI Naomi]/[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CcQAFEem38 Atomiswave] hardware.
+
;[[nullDC]]:Can run a lot of games at great speed on mid-end PC but is no longer developed.
;[[redream]]:Has a good interface, is simple to setup, and can run without a BIOS (though it's better to use one anyway).
+
:;[[reicast]]:Eventually nullDC's author forked his own project into reicast, with the main objective to widen platform availability to smartphones and tablets. While wider availability is generally a good thing, this resulted in cutting accuracy corners from the nullDC codebase to achieve the speed goals necessary to run on these platforms. Advancements in mobile hardware should have led to the removal of such "hacks"; however lack of developer resources and interest led to long delays in Reicast development, and the codebase remained virtually untouched for years before the RetroArch team began working with it as part of a "Reicast core", later named Flycast.
;Makaron:One of the only two Dreamcast emulators that can properly play Windows CE games.
+
:;[[reicast#Libretro_core|Flycast]]:Fork of reicast avaliable as an standalone emulator and as an [[libretro]] core. libretro collaborators, primarily [https://github.com/flyinghead/reicast-emulator flyinghead], dramatically improved Reicast in areas such as graphics, input, system clock, and Dreamcast VMU. Atomiswave and NAOMI SH-4-based arcade systems have also been added to great fanfare<ref name="flycastnaomi">https://github.com/libretro/flycast/issues/136</ref>, along with support for MAME's popular CHD format. Even full MMU support, which is needed to run WinCE-based games such as "Armada", "Half-Life" and "SEGA Rally Championship 2", has recently been tackled through an experimental branch (anyone following Dreamcast emulation over the years understands what a tough nut this is to crack). Aside from some audio stuttering issues in games such as "Looney Toons Space Race" and "Resident Evil: Code Veronica", this is a highly compatible and accurate emulator.
 +
 
 +
;[[Makaron]]:One of the only two closed-source Dreamcast emulators that can properly play Windows CE games.
  
 
==Emulation issues==
 
==Emulation issues==
Dreamcast emulation is not very good. For the emulators that are either mature or maturing, a very large percentage of games work well, but many games still have problems and glitches.
+
For the emulators that are either mature or maturing, a very large percentage of games work well, but some games still have problems and glitches.
 +
 
 +
Windows CE games emulation is still poor and slow.
  
Fortunately, the first viable open-source Dreamcast emulator that has a near complete graphics renderer began appearing in June 2018 in two newly split cores inside the libretro multi-system emulator. But the more accurate core works on PC's only. Its graphics renderer can be found in a fork of the separate Reicast emulator which it backported the code from.
+
==VMU emulators==
 +
While some Dreamcast emulators can leverage the screen of the VMU while the game is running, none of them allow you to play the minigames developed for it.
  
===VMU Emulation===
+
ElysianVMU is a complete Dreamcast VMU emulator:
<!-- Update this entry if you have anything else on it -->
+
[http://evmu.elysianshadows.com/ ElysianVMU]
While current Dreamcast emulators can display the VMU display when the game is running, none of them can be used to play the minigames which were made to run on the VMU. To play those minigames you'll need to use another emulator. There is no complete list of VMU emulators and the ones which can be found are poorly documented and/or closed source.
 
  
 
==Downloads==
 
==Downloads==
 
* [[Emulator_Files#Dreamcast|BIOS]]
 
* [[Emulator_Files#Dreamcast|BIOS]]
 
==VMU emulation==
 
Emulating the Dreamcast VMU is possible via use of this emulator:
 
[https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rai7db85bqq5iz0/AAAbnQfEJpTFaHkQ8K6nP6kVa?dl=0 Dropbox link]
 
 
[http://forums.elysianshadows.com/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=9171 Link to forum thread about it]
 
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
Line 132: Line 135:
 
[[Category:Sega consoles]]
 
[[Category:Sega consoles]]
 
[[Category:Sega Dreamcast emulators]]
 
[[Category:Sega Dreamcast emulators]]
 +
[[Category:Sixth-generation video game consoles]]

Revision as of 02:24, 7 July 2020

Sega Dreamcast
DreamcastConsole.png
Developer Sega
Type Home video game console
Generation Sixth generation
Release date 1998
Discontinued 2001
Predecessor Sega Saturn
Emulated

The Dreamcast is a sixth-generation console released by Sega on November 27, 1998 in Japan and later on September 9, 1999 in NA. It retailed for $199.99. It had a Hitachi SH-4 RISC CPU at 200 MHz with 16 MB of RAM and 8 MB of VRAM. It had a PowerVR2 GPU at 100 MHz, which theoretically was capable of pushing 3 million polygons/second on-screen. There is a 2 MB audio RAM, which complemented a powerful 67 MHz Yamaha AICA sound processor, with a 32-bit ARM7 RISC CPU core. The audio chip could generate 64 voices with PCM or ADPCM codec and provided ten times the performance of the Saturn's sound system.. Sega also released the Naomi, an arcade system board with similar components to the Dreamcast. Sammy's Atomiswave arcade board was also based on the Dreamcast and Naomi.

Sega collaborated with Microsoft on the Dreamcast's development, and this partnership would continue later with the Xbox. What came out of this was the possibility for games to be developed for an optimized version of Windows CE (with DirectX) on each disc. However, Windows CE wasn't mandatory to use and most developers opted for Sega's development tools instead out of convenience. Even in major emulators, this aspect isn't implemented (or implemented well).

Emulators

Name Platform(s) Latest Version Open-Source Naomi Atomiswave Windows CE Active Recommended
PC / x86
DEmul Windows 0.7 Build 180428
redream Windows Linux macOS 1.5.0 (Windows, macOS, Linux, Raspberry Pi)
1.2.07 (Android)
Flycast Windows Linux macOS Android Git
Flycast (libretro) Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD Git
reicast Windows Linux Dev Builds ~
nullDC Windows 1.0.4 r150 ~ ~
Makaron Windows T12/5 ~
WashingtonDC Linux Git
Lxdream Linux macOS 0.9.1
Chankast Windows 0.25
MAME Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD 0.264 ~ ~
Mobile / ARM
redream Android Linux ARM 1.1.81 (Android)
Dev (Raspberry Pi)
Flycast (libretro) Android iOS Linux Pandora Ci Builds ~ ~
reicast Android Dev Builds ~

Comparisons

DEmul
Has the highest compatibility and accuracy, but is Windows-only and closed-source. It supports Windows CE games, but in general, they run worse than standard Dreamcast titles. It's also more resource-intensive than other emulators.
redream
Runs on Windows, MacOS, Linux and Android. Compatible with 85+% of the Dreamcast library (no Windows CE support), has a good user interface, is easy to set up and can run without a BIOS. Runs on low-end machines provided that they support OpenGL 3.1. There's a payware premium version which provides high-definition rendering.
nullDC
Can run a lot of games at great speed on mid-end PC but is no longer developed.
reicast
Eventually nullDC's author forked his own project into reicast, with the main objective to widen platform availability to smartphones and tablets. While wider availability is generally a good thing, this resulted in cutting accuracy corners from the nullDC codebase to achieve the speed goals necessary to run on these platforms. Advancements in mobile hardware should have led to the removal of such "hacks"; however lack of developer resources and interest led to long delays in Reicast development, and the codebase remained virtually untouched for years before the RetroArch team began working with it as part of a "Reicast core", later named Flycast.
Flycast
Fork of reicast avaliable as an standalone emulator and as an libretro core. libretro collaborators, primarily flyinghead, dramatically improved Reicast in areas such as graphics, input, system clock, and Dreamcast VMU. Atomiswave and NAOMI SH-4-based arcade systems have also been added to great fanfare[1], along with support for MAME's popular CHD format. Even full MMU support, which is needed to run WinCE-based games such as "Armada", "Half-Life" and "SEGA Rally Championship 2", has recently been tackled through an experimental branch (anyone following Dreamcast emulation over the years understands what a tough nut this is to crack). Aside from some audio stuttering issues in games such as "Looney Toons Space Race" and "Resident Evil: Code Veronica", this is a highly compatible and accurate emulator.
Makaron
One of the only two closed-source Dreamcast emulators that can properly play Windows CE games.

Emulation issues

For the emulators that are either mature or maturing, a very large percentage of games work well, but some games still have problems and glitches.

Windows CE games emulation is still poor and slow.

VMU emulators

While some Dreamcast emulators can leverage the screen of the VMU while the game is running, none of them allow you to play the minigames developed for it.

ElysianVMU is a complete Dreamcast VMU emulator: ElysianVMU

Downloads

References


Dreamcast logo.png
Consoles: SG-1000Master SystemGenesis / Mega DriveCD32XPicoSaturnDreamcast
Handhelds: Game GearVMU / VMS
Arcade: System seriesModel 1Model 2Model 3NAOMI