Apple IIe Emulator Released For the Wii 86
fortapocalypse writes "Yohanes Nugroho just released WiiApple, an Apple IIe Emulator for Wii. While the sound doesn't work, some games are playable (he shows a screenshot of Epyx Winter Games as well the execution of a program he wrote in BASIC). He's also released the source code. Using WiiApple requires the Homebrew Channel, which we have discussed in the past."
Linapple (Score:4, Informative)
The Linapple port of AppleWin that this thing is based on is great. For the longest time there was no good option for the AppleII on linux. xapple2 only ran in 8 bits, blech. kegs was ok, but I could never get it to run Ultima II. AppleWin ran in wine, but it didn't like to be full screened. Mess worked ok, but there was a bug when swapping disks. When Linapple came around it was really nice. It was not perfect, iirc it won't take a disk image as an argument, you have to boot it through the GUI. But that's a small quibble.
In the end I just got a real IIgs. That's always the best way to go. BTW, have you seen the prices on DSDD media these days? One 25 pack of 5.25" media cost me just about as much as my IIgs did. But that's ok Wasteland is awesome!
Re:The Apple //e had crappy sound anyways... (Score:3, Informative)
Some games supported the add in Mockingboard which provided more sophisticated synthesis. Ultima III, IV, and V all supported the Mockingboard. The Linapple emulator does support the mockingboard, so it should be possible on this Wii port, if they can get the sound working at all.
Re:I wonder if... (Score:4, Informative)
I don't think so. I exchanged a few messages with hin in the past, and asked if he had tried any of the AppleII emulators, or had contributed his unique expertise to any of them. He said he thought they were neat, but didn't have the time to spend on looking at them or contributing. Too bad!
Re:Linapple (Score:5, Informative)
About $1 a disk. Which isn't that bad. Not as good as they were back in the day, but probably not too far off after adjusting for inflation.
The best place I've found for floppies is (the oddly obvious) http://www.floppydisk.com/ [floppydisk.com]. The disks come well packed and are of high quality. I have not had a single disk fail. Not sure if that's cheaper than your current source, but it might be worth looking into. :-)
Re:This just in... (Score:3, Informative)
Looks like the article has just been demoted to "Games". Seriously though, this is just the most recent in a long line of emulator ports to the Wii. The chaps banging Linux onto the Wii are doing a lot more interesting work.
Re:Linapple (Score:3, Informative)
Depending on how many disks you are buying, you might want to consider purchasing a Semi-Virtual Diskette [rothfus.com].
Re:The Apple //e had crappy sound anyways... (Score:3, Informative)
I'm no fan of Apple (I prefer Commodore when it comes to the 8-bit era), but a stock Apple II can do more than just beeps and clicks - it can do full digital audio using pulse width modulation. I'm not sure of the effective resolution (more than 1 bit, for sure, probably closer to 6-8 bits), but I've heard at least a couple of examples of this, including a multi-voice music player, and it actually didn't sound half bad for an otherwise rudimentary output.
Re:Woohoo, Robot War here I come (Score:3, Informative)
Well, the good news is, the Woz already found a way for you: http://atariwiki.strotmann.de/xwiki/bin/view/Code/6502Relocator [strotmann.de]
Re:Woohoo, Robot War here I come (Score:2, Informative)
ftp.apple.asimov.net
*RUNS*
-uso.
Amazing results with limited hardware... (Score:1, Informative)
I would call your understanding of the audio circuitry as incomplete...
Yes, there is a single flip-flop control for the Apple II speaker output, which you can toggle once with a LDA $C030 command, or toggle twice with a STA $C030 command, and control these "clicks" by careful timing between commands. Sounds very digital... click to high state or click to low state.
However, there is an analog component to the circuit as well, and this makes all the difference. If you include the characteristics of the DC blocking capacitor, the inductance of the speaker coil, and the actual cone motion, you can obtain amplitude control over the output waveform by carefully selecting the timing between close spaced "clicks".
Over the years, clever developers created amazing sounds with the Apple II, using this very limited 1-bit hardware. This is the best example I know of where the hardware was used in ways not intended as part of the original design to achieve amazing results. I'm sure the final sounds people acheived on the Apple II far exceeded the expectations of The Woz when he designed that sound circuit.