Language…
14 users online: anonimzwx, Astrakitu, Batata Douce,  BeeKaay, Foxy_9000_, Fozymandias, Housemeister, Ice Man, MorrieTheMagpie, OrangeRock57, ppp9q, schema_tuna, sinseiga, Tsquare07 - Guests: 247 - Bots: 309
Users: 64,795 (2,376 active)
Latest user: mathew

Playing older hacks on newer emulators

Completed

So you've run into a hack or two that look really nice in the hacks section but they have a big red `fixme` tag and they don't seem to run correctly. Maybe you got the hack from somewhere else and the music goes all janky and crashes.

I'll explain ways to fix those for both Snes9x v1.60 and Bsnes v115.

Broken Music
For the majority of this tutorial I'll be using the hack Super Mario: Buried Treasure as an example.



From the above video you can see the issue, the music is broken and once the level is completed the game crashes.

Now here are the fixes in both Snes9x and bsnes.
Snes9Xbsnes
Click Emulation on the menu bar then Hacks...
Click Settings on the menu bar then Compatibility...
(there are more options in the settings list they were just removed for simplicity)
You'll get a warning but just hit OK.
bsnes doesn't have a warning so just proceed to the next step.
Check the box for `Separate Echo Buffer From RAM` and press OK.
Check the box for 'Echo Shadow RAM' and then you can close the menu.
The emulator needs to reload the hack so it's best to enable this hack before starting a playthrough
Some settings won't apply until the rom is reloaded so just close bsnes and reopen the hack.


Once that is set up you'll notice that the music is now fixed, or at least will play without the emulator crashing.




VRAM is blocked
You might have noticed while playing hacks on bsnes some sprites and other graphics don't load correctly and are just a garbled mess along with the sprites just not working at all. This is due to bsnes having a higher accuracy than Snes9x.



There's a very simple fix. [this is only for bsnes]
In the same Compatibility menu from above check the box for `No VRAM blocking`.


Reload your hack and now all is well.



Flickering OAM
This last one isn't that important to fix and doesn't cause any issues besides a graphical flicking usually found at the top or bottom of the screen.



In the video above if you watch the top of the screen you'll see a flickering black bar and this is due to the OAM not being able to keep up with the CPU. Older emulators either ran faster than they should have OR they ignored when graphics were suppose to be written on the screen so this flickering wasn't apparent.

Now here are the fixes in both Snes9x and bsnes.
Snes9Xbsnes
In the Hacks menu change the `CPU Overclock` to `Low` then click ok.
In Settings menu click Enhancements... and change the `CPU` from 100% to 125% then close the menu


You'll notice if you watch the top of the screen now the flickering is gone.



Warning - By Overclocking the CPU anything in a hack or other SNES game that is CPU based will have it's timing off. Running on a lower Overclock will make any desync less noticeable but use this option at your own risk

Hacks that need a 32bit emulator
For this example I will be using A Haunted Christmas.
If you boot this hack up in the versions of Snes9x and bsnes that are hosted on the site, you'll notice you are met with a black screen, the classic coin sound, and nothing else.



This is due to an old patch that was applied that for an unknown reason does not reliably work on 64bit emulators. The only simple fix for this is to use the win32 build of Snes9x which can be found here just scroll until you find the `snes9x-1.60-win32` version [newest version as of writing this tutorial].





~If you know of anymore compatibility issues and there fixes let me know and I'll add then to the list.
I'm not extremely familiar with compatibility issues myself, but I'll try my best to help with this anyway. For the time being, here are a couple of proofreading things for ya'.


Originally posted by Broken Music
Now here's the fixes in both Snes9x and bsnes.

*here are

Originally posted by Broken Music
You'll get a waring but just hit OK.

*warning

Originally posted by Broken Music
bsnes doesn't have a warning so just procced to the next step.

*proceed

Originally posted by VRAM is blocked
You might have noticed while playing hacks on bsnes some sprites, and other graphics, don't load correctly and are just a garbled mess along with the sprites just not working at all.

*some sprites and other graphics

Originally posted by VRAM is blocked
Reload you hack and now all is well.

*your hack

Originally posted by Flickering OAM
Older emulators either ran faster then they should of OR they ignored when graphics where suppose to be written on the screen so this flickering was apparent in old emulators.

*than
*should have
*were
...and maybe get rid of the second mention of old emulators in that sentence.

Originally posted by Flickering OAM
Now here's the fixes in both Snes9x and bsnes.

*here are

Originally posted by 32bit Emulator
If you boot this hack up in the versions of Snes9x and bsnes that are hosted on the site you'll notice you are met with a black screen the classic coin sound and nothing else.

*site,
*a black screen, the classic coin sound, and nothing else.


There may be more than those, but I'm a little groggy atm and can't tell haha. Regardless, I think the structure of this tutorial is making sense so far and I like your plentiful use of both pictures and videos throughout to demonstrate issues and then fixes. If I notice anything wrong with the guide later on I'll add an addendum to this post, but I currently have nothing else to say.
Thread has been updated with the above fixes.
feedback in no particular order, i'm just scanning down the post and adding stuff to my post as i see stuff.



Originally posted by boy ninja
So you've run into a hack or two that looks really nice in the hacks section

Maybe me, but I'd personally add s to the words I bolded above. Minor; trivial; that's just how I'd prefer to read it IMO. No obligation.

Originally posted by man ninja
(there's more options in the settings list they were just removed for simplicity)

*there are is apparently correct. I always say IRL there's but options is plural so :shrugio:

Originally posted by male ninja
This is due to bsnes having a higher accuracy then Snes9x.

A higher accuracy of...? Maybe just reword so it's like a "a higher emulation accuracy" or "emulates ROMs more accurately as a console would than Snes9x"?



Not much to add, but this is looking pretty solid and easy to follow. Good job!
I changed the following:

Originally posted by From
So you've run into a hack or two that look really nice in the hack section

Originally posted by to
So you've run into a hack or two that look really nice in the hacks section

Kept it as look because it sounds better to me but look and looks are used interchangeable but changed hack to hacks because it is the "Hacks" section not the hack section.

Originally posted by From
there's more options in the settings list they were just removed for simplicity

Originally posted by to
there are more options in the settings list they were just removed for simplicity


Originally posted by from
This is due to bsnes having a higher accuracy then Snes9x.

Originally posted by to
This is due to bsnes having a higher accuracy than Snes9x.

It should of been than to begin with since than is introducing the second element in a comparison.
If there's no more feedback then this can be marked as completed and closed for now but I will leave it open for another day to see if there's anything else people would like to add.
What about ZMZ emulator, that has SNES9X accurate emulator?
My released ROM hack: Yoshi Saves Summer Vacation
Originally posted by Fermín Acosta Jr.
What about ZMZ emulator, that has SNES9X accurate emulator?


ZMZ can use a Snes9x or a bsnes core but it lacks the options to fix some of these issues with the newer cores. Your option at that point would be trying to use an older core and that's not worth covering.

This is similar with Bizhawk that while it uses a Snes9x or bsnes core there's no options for compatibility even with newer cores.
Can I translate this tutorial to Chinese?
Originally posted by monkey03297
Can I translate this tutorial to Chinese?

Yes feel free to translate it.
I found several new issues:
-Any hacks using older versions of SA-1, like VLDC8 for example, will be unplayable on newer versions of emulators that demand higher accuracy, like BSNES. The hack is still playable in SNES9x.
-On hacks like Hunter & SCORPION's Bet Saga - SCORPION's Ravage, the hack won't be playable, even with compatibility settings.

Completed