MagicEngine

[bakabaka]

Using WineX version 3.2.1-1 from the rpm, running under Mandrake Linux 9.1 for x86 processors, I'm able to use Magic Engine with both CD and chip games. For the first time since I started trying, it finally works with my game controllers as well. No messing around. Everything synchronizes perfectly, frame rates are 100%, and both in-game and CD sounds work as expected. Since Magic Engine CD games stopped working on my Windows box once I "upgraded" it to Windows XP, and my "Kiky-joy" PSX gamepad adapters don't have XP drivers, I couldn't be happier with the timing.

Tested CD games were Sapphire and Dracula X. Tested chip games include SF2, Bonk's Big Adventure, Toilet Kids (whew!) and Blazing Lazers. For those who want to run Magic Engine under Linux/x86, I'd advise getting a subscription with Transgaming and d/l'ing the 3.2.1 version.

For those who are interested, I had to place the Magic Engine directory under the WineX virtual C drive, "~/.transgaming/c_drive/me/". Placing it in my home directory didn't work, since I wasn't able to save preferences or run chip games properly. A quick shellscript lets me run it from anywhere, mostly for my desktop icon, without losing ME's working directory:

---8< Cut Here 8<----------------------------------

#!/bin/bash
# pce.sh - execute Magic Engine under WineX 3
cd ~/.transgaming/c_drive/me
winex3 pce.exe $*

---8< Cut Here 8<----------------------------------

As for configuration, my pertinent hardware's an Asus A7V266E, Athlon XP 2000+, with 1 512MB PC2100 RAM. The video card's a GeForce 4 Ti 4200, and I'm using NVidia's 4496-pkg2 revision drivers. The CD-ROM's a Sony 40x12x48x CD-RW drive, and the sound card's an SB Live. The USB PSX controllers are attached to an extra PCI USB controller, based on an Opti chipset. The onboard VIA ones didn't seem to like these devices in Windows or Linux. All sound cables are of course attached properly

[Keranu]

Thanks! I use to have Gentoo Linux installed on another machine I had laying around, but the only emulator for it was Yame and I wanted to use Magic Engine. Currently, I don't have another computer to put Linux on it and I can't make a partition on this computer because it wouldn't run well. But when I do get around to Linux again, I'll make sure to try this.
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LaZer Dorks

[bakabaka]