Higan Compatibility

[tony971]

Higan doesn't load "[game].rom" files. Instead, it loads a folder with a bunch of different files stripped out of ROMs. These folders will be named "[game].sfc." To load Higan libraries, LaunchBox needs the ability to associate folders as game files. If you want to use some trickery, knowing that the folders all have the pseudo-file extension ".sfc," that should hold constant for all Higan game folders. Since the folders are all named after their respective games, the folder tiles (minus ".sfc") could be used for the scraper. If you want more info on this, I'd take a look here: http://byuu.org/emulation/higan/game-paks

[SentaiBrad]

Higan isn't needed though, RetroArch covers Super Nintendo more aptly then higan does. Not to mention between Zsnes, Bsnes (which is Higan) and Snes9X it's not like there isn't sufficient coverage for the platform. The bsnes Balanced core in RetroArch perfectly emulates everything except for 1 game which requires the Accuracy core. If higan was the only decent emulator out there I would agree that this could be useful, but the time it will take away from other things is honestly not worth it. Not to mention it would be harder to make the roms match the Higan libraries as there is no standard for naming.

[tony971]

If you read through the attached link to the original post, you can see that the file system used by Higan has made it the ONLY (and yes I do mean only) emulator with perfect compatibility. Other ones, especially the bsnes core of retroarch (based off of an older version of Higan) come very close. But those who want the most accurate experience are going to choose Higan... They just are.

[tony971]

And aside from SNES, Higan is also a hell of a GBA emulator. It blows VBA-M out of the water with accuracy, only slightly behind mGBA. The advantage it has over mGBA is color emulation. If byuu keeps his perfectionism going, it's really going to be a go-to for accurate Nintendo emulation in general.

[CliveBarker]

tony971 said Higan doesn't load "[game].rom" files. Instead, it loads a folder with a bunch of different files stripped out of ROMs. These folders will be named "[game].sfc." To load Higan libraries, LaunchBox needs the ability to associate folders as game files. If you want to use some trickery, knowing that the folders all have the pseudo-file extension ".sfc," that should hold constant for all Higan game folders. Since the folders are all named after their respective games, the folder tiles (minus ".sfc") could be used for the scraper. If you want more info on this, I'd take a look here: http://byuu.org/emulation/higan/game-paks

Feel free to propose it as an enhancement here https://bitbucket.org/jasondavidcarr/launchbox/issues/new in order for users to vote it. I use FCEUX and Higan for my NES games, Higan is pretty good and just yesterday had a huge update.

[Jason Carr]

Thank you Clive. @tony971, yes, if you would, please add it to Bitbucket so we can track it. :)

[tony971]

Higan's newest version (0.97) now supports loading .sfc and .zip files directly without needing to reformat them into game folders. This allows users to use a standard game library and use LaunchBox without configuration. The only thing that they need to do is set --fullscreen as a default parameter. And if users want to use a standard game library, their BIOS roms will have to be in the same location as their games.

[DOS76]

Nice if Higans is as good as everyone says I may be switching over. Ok I got it running in full screen but if I can't get it to stretch to fill the whole screen that is a deal breaker for me. i know there are many purist out there that want it to be pixel accurate but I think the black space on the sides look terrible. If anyone knows how to get it to stretch I'd appreciate the help. Also does it load NES and Game Boy ROMs now to or do you need to have the old style folders? I don't know why I'm asking that of course I am going to go try it on my own.

[DOS76]

Ok I'm starting to like the notion that Higans could be to Nintendo what Fusion is to Sega. Does it handle Famicom Disk System games?

[tony971]

DOS76 said Ok I'm starting to like the notion that Higans could be to Nintendo what Fusion is to Sega. Does it handle Famicom Disk System games?

It does, but even the developer admits that Nestopia UE or puNES do a better job. Right now it's the best SNES emulator and *nearly* the best GBA emulator.

[DOS76]

Can it stretch full screen

[tony971]

Yea there's the command line --fullscreen or you can configure your own toggle fullscreen button (even to a controller).

[DOS76]

I have it full screen but it has vertical black space on each side I'm trying to eliminate that I have Aspect Correction turned off but it ins't changing anything in full screen. That is kind of a deal breaker for me.

[tony971]

Yea its major claim to fame is that there are no known issues with any commercial ROM. Messing with the aspect ratio seems against its interest.

[DOS76]

I'm using SNES9x-sx2 and I've found that it fixes issues with the few games I had issues with in SNES9x. I don't really play SNES all that much anyway so its not the biggest deal I would have liked to use it because of the accuracy but I can't take looking at that blank black space on my TV screen.

[SentaiBrad]

The Gameboy support is still really bad right now apparently. I don't have anything against Higan except for the file format requirements that it seems to be changing. That was my biggest gripe with it and if it is gone I'm gonna want to play around with it. However RetroArch is still amazing. Bsnes and Higan are the same thing, It's just that he dropped the Bsnes name and continued forward with Higan. Bsnes Balanced still has damn near perfect emulation record with all games too. So Higan is a choice if you prefer the bells and whistles.

[DOS76]

Can you stretch to full screen with the RA core or will there be black space

[SentaiBrad]

I'm honestly not sure, I play all my games in windowed mode. These games aren't designed to be in 16:9, they're designed at 4:3 and 4:5. I can check though, this is usually a stretching option in settings.

[DOS76]

Yeah I know they are designed for smaller screens but really I personally prefer to play in full screen I'm not really bothered with how they look stretched.

[SentaiBrad]

https://i.imgur.com/kplOM5G.png Change the line I have highlighted to which ever ratio you want. I do suggest changing this after a core is loaded for custom config's because it might need to be slightly different for most consoles.