Virtual Console

i have seen various emulators for video game consoles (NESticle, ZSNES, etc) which allow you to play nintendo games on your PC... and i have also seen an emulator so you can run ms-windows in a window on a mac, and vice-versa... also they have atari 2600 emulators, etc...
also, JAVA is run in a virtual machine (or at least used to be, i heard it is now compiled right before it is run, but it is still that same idea, only faster)...
it sounds like a neat idea, although for it to be useful in any way you would have to write the console program for a lot of different platforms, otherwise it would have no point.

--- krez (krezisback@aol.com)

hi! thankyou for your corresspondance!

The primary API for the v-console would be directx. There will obviously be problems with differing cpu speed, video cards etc that will affect the v-consoles performance. This virtual console wouldn''t have the standard of technology for all, but I still believe it to be a interesting idea and maybe a cool project to work on.

Best Regards

PLaZmA

i might be wrong, but i think DirectX only works on windows... in which case why would someone use the console when they could just use c/c++ or VB to program a DirectX game for windows? there is no need for a virtual platform that only runs in one platform, see what i mean?
im not trying to be an ass, i just see a flaw in your idea.
i still think it is a good idea, but without the directX part...

--- krez (krezisback@aol.com)

I wrote a Gameboy Emulator. Actually I only finished half of it and then started working on other things. I might finish it sometime next year tho.

http://www16.brinkster.com/twkr/

hmm... were you thinking about creating your own language/compiler to make these games? or maybe having the v-console interpret some sort of intermediate language?

--- krez (krezisback@aol.com)

I''m not sure, the reason I posted on here is to hear your pros and cons, suggestions etc, so gimme em lol

Best Regards

PLaZmA

One advantage that I see, is if such a console put a limitation on the programs it runs. In a way, emulating less then 100% of a "modern" computer. At first, this would sound bad, but the pro would be a much wider audience being able to run with the same performance without having to buy more up-to-date graphic card(s) and other hardware that I feel keeps the PC market at a big disadvantage. But this would mean that people with very powerful comps being at the same limitation, which is probably why it may not be an idea that would happen. You never know though, I feel if something like this had been made early on, the PC market may have been better quantity wise. I think this, because of the non-comp nerd friends I have, who rely on real consoles because they simply cannot afford a more powerful computer to run any of the new games well.

Just my thoughts

Edit: BTW, when I say it may have helped the PC market, I'm reffering to a product like this that is recognized by the Proffesional PC Game Developing industry, to the point you would see a very high noticable number of games on the shelves. Not just non-pro's making their games available via shareware, freeware, cardware, beerware, etc. Hehe, just wanted to clear that up before that would have been questioned

By the way, All your base are belong to us!

Edited by - SirSmoke on October 14, 2001 12:32:29 AM