| |
1) Where can I download Icarus?
You can't. It hasn't been released yet.
2) What is the estimated release date?
No idea. It depends on what progress is made.
3) What are the system requirements for playing dc games on a pc with?
As with any emulator it'll vary from game to game. Currently with an interpreter
core Crazy Taxi is running at 4-5 frames per second in-game on my Pentium III
850mhz machine. Thus you'd need a 8ghz spec machine to run this full speed.
On the other hand a game such as Headhunter in training mode seems to be running
at a relatively smooth 15fps, implying only the need for a 3ghz machine.
In essence until a strong dynamic recompiler is written for the CPU then you
won't be playing these games at full speed, and even then you'll need 2ghz+.
4) Why don't you implement frameskip for more speed?
The biggest backlog in emulating the dreamcast is not currently in the
rendering. Yes, it may provide small speed improvements, but there are much
better ways to improve speed.
5) Can I be a beta tester?
No, not at the moment. We aren't looking for beta testers at this stage.
6) Will the emulator use a plugin system?
Yes, it'll be using an Icarus plugin spec for graphics, image handling,
controllers, and eventually audio.
7) Can I work on a plugin for the emulator?
Eventually yes, hopefully, but atm all plugins are being written internally.
8) How will I be able to run commercial dreamcast games since Sega uses their
own proprietary gd-rom format?
The best way is if you own a dreamcast and broadband adaptor then to stream
gdrom data to icarus by running Icarus server software on the dreamcast itself.
Alternatively you can dump data from your own gd-roms to an iso image and
execute that from a harddisk drive. (You will need a bba/lan or serial cable to
do this).
9) Does the emulator high-level emulate the dreamcast?
Only the gd-rom commands and display list processing (via plugin) are currently
HLE'd. Everything else is low-level emulated.
10) Does game x run?
If I dont have game x to test, then I won't know. I will hopefully be able to
upload some small compatibility lists, and if you want to donate ORIGINAL
gd-roms for testing with then feel free to (donate@boob.co.uk)! Please note that
MOST games do not run at this time.
11) Who are the authors of Icarus?
CyRUS - Core / various plugins
F|RES - OpenGL gfx plugin
Sonic - Direct3d gfx plugin
ZeZu - OpenGL gfx plugin, cdrom plugin
Ector - Dynarec plugin
|
|
