Posted: 6/15/2021 11:58 AM
Post subject: Super Game Boy Emulation
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eyesrise
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Joined: 6/15/2021
Posts: 3
Hello, I have some questions about SGB emulation. How accurate is it? And is it emulating SGB 1 or SGB 2? I played a couple of games and it seems perfect but I would like to get a confirmation before starting to TAS. Thank you.
Posted: 6/15/2021 3:38 PM
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CasualPokePlayer
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It somewhat depends based on what you use. SameBoy on BizHawk emulates an SGB1, while BSNES on BizHawk/lsnes(?) emulate an SGB2 (well, going off framerate anyways). SameBoy effectively uses "hacks" to do SGB specific emulation like borders/palettes/SPC sound and cannot utilize JUMP (well, that last part is irrelevant for nearly every game except Space Invaders or some ACE TAS utilizing it), however it ends up being the best in terms of the GB side for SGB TAS emulators. However, the SameBoy core is very very outdated so it ends up much worse than just using Gambatte with GB/C (which anyways, if console verification is on your mind, you should use Gambatte in GBA mode for the best chance on that). BSNES/lsnes don't utilize such "hacks" but while they technically have very accurate SNES emulation, they have very bad GB emulation (some parts are quite literally VBA tier). The "accuracy" of the SNES side really only affects all the bells and whistles the SGB has, while the GB emulation ends up being the main part affecting actual gameplay. Oh and I guess unrelated to accuracy, but on the SGB Left+Right and Up+Down inputs are filtered out by the BIOS, so if a game you want to TAS can heavily utilize such, you'll just want to go do it on the GB/C where they aren't filtered out.
Posted: 6/15/2021 4:04 PM
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ThunderAxe31
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Most GB and GBC games are better to be TASed in GBA mode (see Gambatte sync settings in BizHawk), as GBA mode gives the chance to play back the TAS on real console, thanks to the great emulation accuracy of Gambatte, which is also constantly getting improved.
my personal page - my YouTube channel - my GitHub - my Discord: thunderaxe31 <Masterjun> if you look at the "NES" in a weird angle, it actually clearly says "GBA"
Posted: 6/15/2021 4:43 PM
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eyesrise
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Joined: 6/15/2021
Posts: 3
Thank you for the responses. But, how do I enable GBA mode for GB/GBC games? Also, what is the difference between BSNES and BSNESv115+? Sorry if these questions have been answered before, but I'm new to the scene.
Posted: 6/15/2021 4:51 PM
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CasualPokePlayer
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eyesrise wrote:
Thank you for the responses. But, how do I enable GBA mode for GB/GBC games? Also, what is the difference between BSNES and BSNESv115+? Sorry if these questions have been answered before, but I'm new to the scene.
GBA mode is simply a console mode option for Gambatte (ie Auto/GB/GBC/GBA). In terms of SGB emulation, effectively no difference between BSNES and BSNESv115 (same GB core, and SNES emulation improvements don't really matter). Also BSNESv115 is experimental and not allowed for TASVideos submissions at the moment, so something to keep in mind if that is your goal.
Posted: 6/16/2021 2:05 PM
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ThunderAxe31
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eyesrise wrote:
But, how do I enable GBA mode for GB/GBC games?
  1. Open a GB or GBC game in BizHawk
  2. Config > Cores > GB > Gambatte
  3. Emulation > Reboot Core
  4. GB > Settings...
  5. Use Official Nintendo BootROM: True
  6. Console Mode: GBA
  7. The BIOS file is named agb_cgb_bios.bin, you need to find it on the internet and put it in the Firmware folder. We can't provide you with the download link, so if you have troubles finding it, you'll have to ask elsewhere, sorry.
my personal page - my YouTube channel - my GitHub - my Discord: thunderaxe31 <Masterjun> if you look at the "NES" in a weird angle, it actually clearly says "GBA"