Video: SSNES Multi-System Emulator Port for PS3 is Now Available

[PS3 News]

Today PlayStation 3 developers opium2k, Themaister and Squarepusher2 have made available a PS3 port of SSNES (manual reader shader), which is a multi-system emulator for Linux, Windows, Mac OS X and BSD with roots as a SNES emulator.

To quote: Due to be released within the next day or two is version 0.9.5 of SSNES as well as the initial release of the PS3 and 360 ports. SSNES is a multi-platform, multi-system emulator with ports being worked on for PC, OSX, PS3, 360 and a few more I believe.

As I said, it's a multi-system emulator. Don't let the name fool you, it's not just for SNES games! It currently supports games from systems such as NES, SNES, GB, GBC, GBA, SMS, GG, Genesis & FBA using selectable cores from various emulators to ensure the best compatibility, accuracy and performance for the end user.

To demonstrate the capabilities of SSNES and more specifically maister's manual reader shader I've been working on some implementations for the past couple months to show off just a taste of some of this shader's uses.

IMAGES:

Here are some screenshots showing some of the uses on roms for the systems that SSNES currently supports:

Pages of the manual are changed by the user with a key combination of (enter+Q or W) on PC and (Start+L1 or R1) on PS3.

The biggest limitation of the shader is your imagination. As demonstrated in the videos below, it can be used for things such as maps, guides, instruction manuals, cheats, passwords, etc. Additionally, the dimensions, positions and number of pages are completely customizable. For example, the Mortal Kombat 1 example is only 8 pages while the Chrono Cross one is 136!

VIDEOS:
Forgive the quality of the videos. My computer is pretty old

In Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past (SNES) I've used the shader as a map guide

Street Fighter 2 (SNES) as a moves list for each character

Bubble Bobble (NES) as a cheat sheet for all the passwords

Super Mario Bros 3 (NES) as an instruction manual

Bubble Bobble (Gameboy) Another example of displaying just a manual

Chrono Cross (SNES) Using the official Prima strategy guide

More videos:

• Golden Axe Warrior (SMS) with the original instruction manual: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSy9RGK_oZI
• Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening (Gameboy Color) with the original instruction manual: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr2BL5Ctddc
• Road Rash (Gamegear) with the original instruction manual: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSpY7HcLco0
• Streets of Rage 1 (Genesis) with the original instruction manual: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeXzEfo6ju0
• Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA) with the original instruction manual: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5yh37wy1jU
• Kirby's Dreamland 3 (SNES) with the original instruction manual: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahUzSLgzC0I
• Megaman X1 (SNES) with the original instruction manual: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Px_7TuFEyQ

DOWNLOADS:

Due to restrictions on the PS3 I've created two versions for each download. The PC versions are better quality and zipped. The PS3 versions are smaller and in .PKG files I haven't tested them on any other systems but you're welcome to try.

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Maps (SNES) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-a%20link%20to%20the%20past%20maps.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/zelda-reader.zip

Bubble Bobble Passwords (NES) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-bubble%20bobble%20passwords.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/bubble%20bobble%20pws-reader.zip

Chrono Chross Strategy Guide (SNES) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-chrono%20trigger%20guide.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/chrono-reader.zip

Mortal Kombat 1 Moves List (SNES) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-mortal%20kombat%20moveslist.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/MK1-reader.zip
Street Fighter 2 Turbo Moves List (SNES) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-street%20fighter%202%20moveslist.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/sf2-reader.zip
X-Men: Children of the Atom Moves List (FBA) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-xmen%20CotA%20moveslist.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/CotA-reader.zip

Bubble Bobble Manual (Gameboy) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-bubble%20bobble%20manual.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/bubble%20bobble-reader.zip
Final Fantasy 3 Manual (SNES) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-Final%20Fantasy%203%20manual.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/FF3-reader.zip
Golden Axe Warrior Manual (SMS) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-golden%20axe%20warrior%20manual.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/golden%20axe%20warrior-reader.zip
Harvest Moon Manual (SNES) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-harvest%20moon%20manual.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/harvestmoon-reader.zip
Kirby's Dreamland 3 Manual (SNES) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-kirbys%20dreamland%203%20manual.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/kirbyDL3-reader.zip
Kirby Superstar Manual (SNES) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-kirby%20superstar%20manual.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/kirbySS-reader.zip
Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Manual (Gameboy Color) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-links%20awakening%20manual.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/links%20awakening-reader.zip
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga Manual (Gameboy Advance) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-mario%20luigi%20superstar%20saga%20manual.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/superstar%20saga-reader.zip
Megaman 7 Manual (SNES) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-megaman%207%20manual.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/MM7-reader.zip
Megaman X1 Manual (SNES) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-megaman%20x1%20manual.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/MMx1-reader.zip
Megaman X2 Manual (SNES) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-megaman%20x2%20manual.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/MMx2-reader.zip
Megaman X3 Manual (SNES) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-megaman%20x3%20manual.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/MMx3-reader.zip
Mortal Kombat 2 Manual (SNES) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-mortal%20kombat%202%20manual.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/MK2-reader.zip
Mystical Ninja Manual (SNES) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-mystical%20ninja%20manual.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/mysticalninja-reader.zip
Out of this World Manual (SNES) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-out%20of%20this%20world%20manual.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/ootw-reader.zip
Road Rash Manual (Gamegear) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-road%20rash%20manual.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/road%20rash-reader.zip
Super Mario Bros 3 Manual (NES) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-mario%203%20manual.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/mario3-reader.zip
Super Mario RPG Manual (SNES) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-mario%20rpg%20handbook.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/marioRPG-reader.zip
Super Mario World Manual (SNES) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-mario%20world%20manual.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SMW-reader.zip
Streets of Rage 1 Manual (Genesis) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-streets%20of%20rage%20manual.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SoR-reader.zip
Super Gameboy Manual (SNES) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-super%20gameboy%20manual.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/superGB-reader.zip
WWF Raw Manual (SNES) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-wwf%20raw%20manual.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/WWFraw-reader.zip
X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse Manual (SNES) - http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/SS-xmen%20mutant%20apocalypse%20manual.pkg | http://ssnes-manual-reader.googlecode.com/files/Xmen-reader.zip

INSTRUCTIONS:

PC

• Unzip a reader to the directory of your choosing.
• Open ssnes-phoenix.exe and navigate to Settings>Video
• Next to Shader/Filter Settings click Open
• Next to Cg pixel shader click browse
• Navigate to where you unzipped the shader folder and select name_of_shader.cgp
• Back in the main SSNES Window click the large Start SSNES button
• -ENTER+Q / ENTER+W are used to change pages

PS3

• Place the PKG file on external media such as a flash drive
• Install the PKG on your PS3 from the Install Package Files menu
• Run SSNES and select the rom you want to play
• Open the Menu by pressing L3+R3
• Press Select to access the settings
• Highlight Shader Preset (CGP) and press X
• Navigate to: /dev_hdd0/game/SSNES10000/USRDIR/cores/presets/name_of_shader/
• Select manual_reader.cgp (it will take 5-30 seconds to load)
• Press L3+R3 again to exit the menu and resume playing your game
• -START+L1 / START+R1 are used to change pages

To create your own there are sites available such as Replacementdocs (replacementdocs.com/download.php) and emuparadise (emuparadise.me/magazine-comic-guide-scans/guides) where you can find strategy guides and official manuals. Not to mention the vast database of guides and cheats available at GameFAQs (gamefaqs.com). Feel free to use any of the files I've posted as a base. I can be reached here on Tortuga-Cove (tortuga-cove.com) or on Twitter @opium2k (twitter.com/opium2k) for any questions, problems, etc.

And of course, don't forget to check out the official forum for SSNES: http://forum.themaister.net/
As well as the github page: https://github.com/Themaister/SSNES

P.S. Thanks to Maister and Squarepusher for all the help.




More PlayStation 3 News...

[HeyManHRU]

Kind of a cool feature to have with an emulator, but tbh there is no need for it unless you want a quick guide reference which is only useful if you haven't played the game before.

[NTA]

Sweet. Interested in getting arcade roms to work. I always seem to download missing parts

[djluiluv]

awesome.. maybe by the time my kids are my current age their will be an N64 emu for them to enjoy on their ps6!!! lmao... here's me hoping (more like not holding my breath ha!)

[opium2k]

Kind of a cool feature to have with an emulator, but tbh there is no need for it unless you want a quick guide reference which is only useful if you haven't played the game before.

Quite right. It is basically just eye candy in the form of optional DLC (much like backup manager themes) in the hopes that others might be able to come up with more imaginative uses for it.

These things such as game genie codes, level passwords, dungeon guides, etc are geared towards more of a niche audience. Personally, the moves lists for games like street fighter 2 are the only ones I'm likely to use myself but I didn't want to create readers of just that type in case it caused people to believe that's all the shader could be used for.

Just to clarify, the PS3 port has not been released yet. Squarepusher is still finalizing optimizations before it's release. My post was mainly geared towards the PC version with the inclusion of the PS3 stuff in anticipation of when it will be released. When the PS3 version has been released and posted somewhere I'll reply with a link and any pertinent information.

Side note: From what I'm told, the initial version of the 360 port will not fully support shaders.

[Kenzya]

This is awesome.

I haven't tried this emulator yet but it would be nice if the manual or whatever was able to be flipped with the second controller. In case you're playing with someone and they just feel like reading

[NTA]

Lol that's actually not a bad idea Kenzya

[SuperSaiyen]

I also like the idea of another person being able to control the shader, to look up stuff while your playing. I think it needs an option to zoom in an area, or pause and then fullscreen however, as some of those maps/text can be pretty small. Nice work.

[Bonky]

Is there no way to play an emulator on a ps3 without jailbreaking it ??

I play most of the time online that's why i have not jailbroken it. I hope that there is coming a solution to that, i liked playing old arcade games on my ps3. It really sucks that they removed OS.

[Ozz465]

You will wait for ever , not happening anytime soon.