Game console emulators have typically concerned themselves with either speed and compatibility, or accuracy. Regardless of what they prioritize, user interfaces are not their strong suit, and most of them haven’t evolved beyond a basic settings panel and a file picker that wouldn’t look out of place in Windows 95. That doesn’t mean there aren’t exceptions, particularly for Mac users: last year we took a look at Boxer, which combines classic MS-DOS game emulation with a spiffy and easy-to-use UI. This year, gamers got an early Christmas present in the form of the long-awaited 1.0 release of OpenEmu.
OpenEmu won’t be new to emulation enthusiasts—the OS X-only software has been in development for several years, and gamers have been welcome to download and compile its work-in-progress source code for quite some time. This week’s release marks the first time that a ready-for-prime-time binary version has been available for download, so we’re taking it for a spin using some homebrew games (available free of cost from the OpenEmu site) and a few game backups, which you can grab from your own cartridges with a gadget like the Retrode.
Meet OpenEmu
OpenEmu is a game console emulator, but it's perhaps more accurately described as a frontend for a whole bunch of different emulators. When you install and run the application, you'll also need to download the 'cores' of a number of different open-source emulation projects in order to actually play games.
The 1.0 release of OpenEmu offers up 13 cores that support a total of 12 systems (there are several duplicates, which should ensure that emulation enthusiasts can get a good experience no matter what they're currently using). The following systems are supported out of the box as of this release and are almost universally Nintendo or Sega systems (with a couple of exceptions): NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Virtual Boy, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, Sega Game Gear, Sega's 32X, the TurboGrafx-16, and the NeoGeo Pocket Color.
OpenEmu's modular nature means that more cores can easily be added as development continues—the project's wishlist indicates that support for several of Atari's consoles, MAME, and newer consoles like the Nintendo 64 and original PlayStation are all on the docket. The tendency of emulation projects to be free and open source works in OpenEmu's favor here. If your favorite classic console isn't supported yet, chances are it will be eventually, as long as there's a mature, open-source OS X emulator around already.
Setup and UI
OpenEmu requires OS X 10.7 or higher, which means it should run on any Intel Mac but the very earliest 32-bit models. As newer emulators are added, you may need to worry a little more about your CPU and GPU specs, but the age of the currently supported consoles means that you won't need to sweat the system requirements most of the time.
AdvertisementAfter going through the brief first-time setup process and downloading the cores you want, the first thing you'll want to do is get some games installed. The wizard will offer to scan your system for ROMs, but we'll be adding some manually just to see how it works.
OpenEmu is pretty iTunes-like in operation—just drag your ROM files to the window and drop them, and, with the default settings enabled, the app will create copies of them in your game library folder (at ~/Library/Application Support/OpenEmu/Game Library/roms by default), organize them by system, and automatically download box art for the game (if OpenEmu can't find your box art, you can add your own manually later if you'd like). Most of these defaults can be changed if, for example, you've already got your games organized the way you like them or if you don't care about box art.
By default, your games will be organized by system, but new 'playlists' of ROMs can be added under the Collections section that can combine games from different systems.
So what can you do with the PS4 controller on your Mac? OpenEmu, the best emulator out there OpenEmu For Mac Is Earth's Best Piece of Emulation Software OpenEmu For Mac Is Earth's Best Piece of Emulation Software Organize your favorite retro games in style – then play them. OpenEmu is a long-awaited Mac exclusive that combines emulation for a. Many games are much more fun with a controller, or at least offer a more familiar gaming experience. Oh, and if you happen to use an iPhone or iPad for gaming instead, you can also use game controllers for those devices too, including Xbox One, PS4, Switch, third party controllers, and others too. Added missing GameCube system icon and controller Retina graphics. Fixed analog-related input regression introduced in OpenEmu 2.2 where one may be unable to map certain controls or directions may get stuck or not respond in-game. Fixed PS4 DualShock 4 delayed inputs and high CPU usage on macOS 10.15 Catalina.
After pulling some games in and organizing them to your liking, you'll want to configure a gamepad (the emulators will all work with a keyboard, but console games are all best suited to console controllers). Any USB/bluetooth gamepad should work with OpenEmu once you've mapped the buttons, including controllers for modern consoles like the Wii U, Xbox 360, PS3, and PS4. OpenEmu includes a built-in 'Add a Wiimote' function that makes pairing a Wii Remote to your Mac just as easy as pairing it to your Wii. We'll be using a Wii Remote with the Classic Controller Pro attached.
OpenEmu's controller configuration interface is both snazzy-looking and functional, and it gives you a nice, high-resolution visual representation of the controller you're configuring. As you map your buttons, OpenEmu highlights each button on the controller to make it easier to match your button configuration to the one on the original controller. The wood texture (and OpenEmu's liberal use of glassy, reflective effects) is a little cheesy, though to be fair to the developers, these sorts of things matched most other OS X and iOS apps up until the Great Skeumorphic Purge of 2013.
You've got your cores. You've imported your ROMs. You've configured a controller or two. Let's actually sit down and play some games now.
Playing the games
Modern emulators come with all kinds of display and audio options, but OpenEmu cuts this down to just a few display filters for simplicity's sake. The default presents the game's original graphics pretty much unaltered, and the rest of the filters are designed to either smooth over pixelated graphics' rough edges or give the clean and clear graphics some of the rough visual artifacts they would have had on an older CRT TV or monitor.
AdvertisementOnce you open a game up, the filters can be adjusted on-the-fly using the small overlay that appears when you move your mouse. You can save and load states, pause and reset emulation, adjust your volume, and kick your game into full-screen mode from this overlay as well (OpenEmu uses OS X's native Full Screen Mode, a feature first introduced in 10.7). One universal setting for your graphics filter is mostly a good thing, but it would be nice to be able to set the default filter on a per-console basis—if you like smoother graphics for SNES and Genesis games but blockier, more pixelated graphics for NES and Game Boy games, for example.
OpenEmu's actual game emulation is fairly unremarkable. The SNES, Genesis, and homebrew games we tried all looked and played as they should, complete with the odd graphical artifacts and sprite flickering they would have on the original consoles. Things ran smoothly on my 2012 iMac, though some older Macs may suffer from some slowdown depending on your console, the core you're using (bsnes can be notoriously punishing on a CPU), or the graphical filters you've enabled. There are a couple of nice touches—by default, your game will pause automatically if the focus switches to another window, and games you've closed will offer to resume from where you left off, much like a DVD or Blu-ray Disc you watched half of will offer to resume when you re-insert it. They're nice little common-sense touches that drive home OpenEmu's attention to detail.
At this point, OpenEmu's biggest weak point (aside from relatively limited out-of-the-box console support) is that it's actually not great at getting these games up where they belong—on your television. Its interface feels right at home in OS X, and it's much more consistent and attractive than any of the individual emulators that OpenEmu aggregates. But there's no equivalent to Steam's Big Picture mode here, no controller-driven, 10-foot interface (or even an OpenEmu-specific pause menu) that can be used without ready access to a keyboard and mouse. This is especially annoying if you want to play on your television but only have a laptop—if you'd like to change settings or switch games, you'll need to get up to poke at your computer. Broadcasting the image to your television via AirPlay and an AppleTV is theoretically possible, but input lag will probably be intolerable for most titles.You can take a screenshot with command-T, but there aren't any other screen recording tools you can use to record and upload videos or to replay them in the emulator later. Speedrunners may also object to the lack of built-in input recording and rewinding options.
OpenEmu brings all (or, at least, many) of your homebrew and backup ROMs together under one roof and makes organizing them and paging through them better-looking and easier than any other console emulator. There's something about a nicely sorted game library, complete with box art, that feels better than a soulless list of files, at least for gamers who take their video game shelves seriously. There's some low-hanging fruit to harvest, but, especially if the developers can make the software more TV-friendly as they add support for additional consoles, this looks like an emulator with a bright future ahead.
Listing image by Andrew Cunningham
Openemu Ps4 Controller Software
What is OpenEmu?
OpenEmu is an open-source emulator especially for the Mac OS, released in 2013 by your OpenEmu Team. This multi-video game system provides an interface for hardware emulation on many consoles such as the Nintendo Entertainment System, Genesis, Game Boy and more. Its architecture allows other developers to add new kernels to the core system without reporting specific APIs for Mac OS. OpenEmu displays boxes for each game and automatically sorts them on one platform. This allows you to create playlists of your favorite games by category on various platforms, and to unite the controller circuits for each of the systems that are copied – all with an easy to understand and attractive interface. Best of all, OpenEmu handles the main emulation engine behind each platform.
Best Features of OpenEmu
OpenEmu has a backend that uses multiple video game machines while supporting the familiar Mac OS UI. OpenEmu is also available for the latest version of the Mac OS. Let’s see some OpenEmu features:
• High-quality OpenGL scaling, multi-streaming playback, and other optimization.
• 3D real-time effects and image processing
• Filter graphics to improve the appearance
• Full-screen support
• The ability to play multiple ROMs simultaneously
• Ability to scan installed hard disk ROMs
• Automatic downloads of game and tracking information
• Library of all features that support multiple views, collections (categories), and game ratings
• Automatic organization of optional ROM files in the library folder
• Full cost-effectiveness of state support, including automatic storage status
• Improved gamepad support
Downloading of ROMs
OpenEmu can play games, but you have to download them separately. OpenEmu supports games for Atari, Game Boy, NES, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 64, Genesis, Sony PlayStation, Sony PSP, Super Nintendo and many more. After you find the ROM, open the App Store and download The ‘Unarchiver’, a free program that allows you to open ROM packages.
You can add games to OpenEmu by dragging ROM to the main interface window. OpenEmu is looking for an art box. However, if you can’t find it, use Google Image Search to find your own. Download it to your desktop and drag the image to ROM with colorful lines. New image replaces it. OpenEmu includes a number of personalized games, each of which looks and feels like the classic console version. Open the main program menu and select the Homebrew tab to see a list of available games. Classic Kong Complete, Pac-Man, Super Bat Puncher, and many others feel a part of your old school collection.
Preparation of controllers
Playing the great games with a typical Mac keyboard is boring, you can switch to the high-end controllers. OpenEmu shows that it is compatible with USB or Bluetooth controllers that are compatible with HID. OpenEmu automatically maps controls for PlayStation Dualshock 3 and 4, Nintendo Switch Pro controllers, and many other legacy systems. The Xbox One controller is compatible with downloadable drivers. If you have a compatible controller, configure it by clicking OpenEmu> Settings> Control. From there, you will see a tree wallpaper with a system selection drop-down menu. When you select a system, the image console control is displayed with the appropriate memory controller on the left. Then connect the USB controller or connect via Bluetooth, and on the Gamepad menu, click the Input menu to select the USB controller. Now click on each field and set the action to the appropriate button on your controller. This will ensure that your controller is properly connected to game control, regardless of which game you are playing.
Recommended controls
If you don’t have a compatible main controller, there are many USB compatible models that you can get at a low price. Some recommended controllers are Classic NES USB Controller, classic Buffalo USB Gamepad, Logitech Gamepad F310, and X-Arcade Tankstick + Trackball
How to Play Retro Games using Emulators
Once you downloaded all favorite games on your computer, install the front end, which can move many emulators. With Mac, OpenEmu is a fantastic option, supports many different systems and has a great user interface. If you own a Mac and like retro games like Galaga, Berzerk, Centipede, Contra, Dig Dug, Donkey Kong or Frogger, you might find that there are very few video game emulators specifically made for Apple Macs. Currently, you can only play this retro game through your openEmu on your Mac. It’s not an emulator, but a software package that creates a simplified environment for stores, a vintage-themed design interface that reminds Apple iTunes. Usually, the front end requires an emulator to play ROM from the downloaded game.
But here with OpenEmu is different, which comes with a built-in market, where you can download emulators specifically for the various game ROMs that you want to play on your Mac as if you were at the Apple iTunes Store. From there you have to download a different ROM for the game itself.
Let’s see how to play retro games using OpenEmu.
1. Download the OpenEmu frontend.
2. Open the DMG file after the download is complete
3. Drag your OpenEmu to the Mac application folder
4. Open the App Store and download Unarchiver for free, which allows you to open the ROM package
This is basically thing; Where you get the ROM is entirely up to you. After you download the ROM, the procedure for playing ROM with OpenEmu is quite clear:
1. Drag each ROM to the main window on the right side of the OpenEmu interface
2. OpenEmu looks for the Art Network panel, but you can find it manually using Google Images
3. Drag the image and move it to the colorful rod image above the ROM
4. Select the console on the left side of OpenEmu.
5. Select the game you want to play
6. Double-click the element field
7. The game is loaded as if it were running on the original console
Your ROM must be played with small problems, even though your game looks like a very high-quality 1080p monitor that our computer might have. To return to the same look and feel as on a CRT monitor, you need to put the OpenEmu scan line as follows:
1. Open File
2. Select “Preferences”
3. Select “Library”
4. Select “Filter”
Openemu Ps4 Controller Not Working
How To Use Controller On Openemu
5. Select the “Scanned Lines”
Why are you waiting? Let’s play your classic retro games on openEmu (http://openemu.org).