[Coco] Best emulator for Windows nowadays?

[Bill Pierce]

 Steve, VCC does NOT do 1 &2 as stated "1. VCC - Windows Only - emulates CoCo 1/2/3". It will ONLY emulate a Coco3.

 

Bill Pierce
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-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Strowbridge <ogsteviestrow at gmail.com>
To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts <coco at maltedmedia.com>
Sent: Sun, Aug 27, 2017 12:19 am
Subject: Re: [Coco] Best emulator for Windows nowadays?

Currently, there are three ways to emulate the CoCo;1. VCC - Windows Only - emulates CoCo 1/2/32. MAME (MESS is now included as part of MAME) - cross platform, emulatesCoCo 1/2/3/Dragon/MC-10, et. al,3 XROAR - cross platform - emulates CoCo 1/2/DragonVCC is by far the simplest, and is a self-contained .EXE file that ispretty much plug and play, that last version of VCC is 2.something the 1.xseries is out dated.  VCC is simple to use, but has not actually beenupdated in roughly a year, and there are some known emulation compatibilityissues with is, as well as a few random Windows/PC issues on occasion withpermissions, video driver compatibility with Windows, 10, etc.XRoar is the 2nd easiest to use, the only "techie" thing you need to do isto drag ROM files into the directory for the system you wish to emulate,and in the Case of the CoCo, you'd need the BASIC, Extended BASIC, and DiskBASIC ROMS to run everything, similar with Dragon ROMS.The only "issues" I've found with XROAR are running cartridges, and somevery random compatibility issues with some CoCo games, and occasional sound"glitches" where data coming through the 6-bit DAC continue to produce"buzzing" noises, this is not 100% consistent with all programs, but it hasoccurred.  Xroar is actively updated by it's author, and member of thislist, Ciaran Anscomb, so questions/issues/bugs can be reported and areaddressed.  Xroar also has some of the best artifact color emulation atthis point.Last but not least, we have MAME/MESS, the current version is somewherearound .187 or .188 and if you're running anything older, you really shouldupdate.MAME, being the large beast that it is, is designed to emulate literallyevery arcade system on the planet, and MESS, being now part of the project,is designed to emulate every home computer and video game console on theplanet, and the project is handled by a team of (hundreds? dozens?) ofpeople around the world, and has a regular update/release cycle of(monthly?) versions.The good:  MAME is probably the single best across the board solid emulatorwith some of the highest level of emulation compatibility across the entireCoCo line from the CoCo 1/2/2b/3/3h, etc.  The artifact colors are prettydarn good, but Ciaran upped the ante with Xroar recently.  I've yet toexperience any of the DAC/Joystick/Sound issues, and, things like theSpeech and Sound Cartridge emulation have been added recently, which noother emulators currently support.The bad;  setup is less than plug and play, ROM files need to be draggedinto the ROM directory, user settings require some tweaking, and thebuilt-in UI is, to be fair, as well as an under statement, less thanelegant.  This UI can be augmented, on Windows, at least with a tool calledMESS UI that gives you a menu bar and some more direct access to mountfloppies, etc.Like many other projects and topics in the CoCo community, there isfragmentation in the adoption/support/awareness and fairness about "thetruths" of these products.  From my own experience I have spent a lot oftime using, researching and learning about all of them, and currently myfavorites are both MAME and XROAR, I lean a little more towards MAME at themoment for both the Speech and Sound Pack emulation, and the slightlycleaner sound, but I'll still run XROAR quite a bit for CoCo 1/2 stuff.I have links to the various emulators and ROMS on my web sitehttp://imacoconut.com and I have over 200 videos I've been doing on YouTubefor the past 2 years, all of which started on VCC, because I didn't evenhave a real CoCo when I started, and over time, I've transitioned away fromVCC, initially because of the very harsh way it emulated the artifactcolors, but also due to the fact that certain things didn't run well.On my YouTube channel, there are videos showing how to set up and use VCCand Xroar, and on some of our most recent CoCOTALK! shows, we've shown howto set up MAME, how to utilize the Speech and Sound Pack emulation, and howto use MESS UI to simplify MAME, and even how to use MAME for developmentpurposes to take advantage of it's debugger.Feel free to check out some of those videos athttp://youtube.com/ogsteviestrow and have some current facts and examplesto make an informed decision on which emulator would work best for you, andfeel free to hit me up with any additional questions.Steve Strowbridge, akaThe Original Gamer Stevie StrowogStevieStrow at gmail.comWebsite:  http://ogsteviestrow.comMerchandise:  http://8bit256.comAll things CoCo:  http://imacoconut.comCoCoTALK!  http://cocotalk.liveOn Thu, Aug 24, 2017 at 5:01 PM, Salvador Garcia via Coco <coco at maltedmedia.com> wrote:> The two "main", but definitely not the only emulators around, are VCC and> MAME. If I were to recommend anything, I would say get them both and be> happy :-).>> VCC is simpler to get running while MAME needs a little work to get it> going. On the flip side, MAME has been favorably criticized for its great> debugging capabilities.>> To start with I got VCC and have been happy with it. Once I needs more> debugging capabilities I will get MAME.>> Salvador>> On Thursday, August 24, 2017, 3:24:30 PM CDT, John Guin <> johnguin at hotmail.com> wrote:>> Say gang,>> I've lost track of emulators and now that I have my laptop working again,> would love to get one installed.>> The last I used MESS - two/three years ago?- it had earned its name,> IMHO.  But is that really all there is at this point?>> Or has there been a better update or new client that is worth using?>> Thanks all!> John>> --> Coco mailing list> Coco at maltedmedia.com> https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco>> --> Coco mailing list> Coco at maltedmedia.com> https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco>-- Coco mailing listCoco at maltedmedia.comhttps://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco