[Coco] Best emulator for Windows nowadays?

Sun Aug 27 20:06:46 EDT 2017

Good point Bill Pierce, yes VCC is a CoCo 3 emulator, but I've run plenty
of CoCo 1/2 games on it with little or no issue, just like a real CoCo 3 is
mostly CoCo 1/2 compatible, so is VCC.

Steve Strowbridge, aka
The Original Gamer Stevie Strow
ogStevieStrow at gmail.com

Website:  http://ogsteviestrow.com
Merchandise:  http://8bit256.com
All things CoCo:  http://imacoconut.com
CoCoTALK!  http://cocotalk.live

On Sun, Aug 27, 2017 at 12:15 PM, Bill Pierce via Coco <coco at maltedmedia.com
> wrote:

>
>  Steve, VCC does NOT do 1 &2 as stated "1. VCC - Windows Only - emulates
> CoCo 1/2/3". It will ONLY emulate a Coco3.
>
>
>
> Bill Pierce
> "Charlie stole the handle, and the train it won't stop going, no way to
> slow down!" - Ian Anderson - Jethro Tull
>
> My Music from the Tandy/Radio Shack Color Computer 2 & 3
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>
> E-Mail: ooogalapasooo at aol.com
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Steve Strowbridge <ogsteviestrow at gmail.com>
> To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts <coco at maltedmedia.com>
> Sent: Sun, Aug 27, 2017 12:19 am
> Subject: Re: [Coco] Best emulator for Windows nowadays?
>
> Currently, there are three ways to emulate the CoCo;1. VCC - Windows Only
> - emulates CoCo 1/2/32. MAME (MESS is now included as part of MAME) - cross
> platform, emulatesCoCo 1/2/3/Dragon/MC-10, et. al,3 XROAR - cross platform
> - emulates CoCo 1/2/DragonVCC is by far the simplest, and is a
> self-contained .EXE file that ispretty much plug and play, that last
> version of VCC is 2.something the 1.xseries is out dated.  VCC is simple to
> use, but has not actually beenupdated in roughly a year, and there are some
> known emulation compatibilityissues with is, as well as a few random
> Windows/PC issues on occasion withpermissions, video driver compatibility
> with Windows, 10, etc.XRoar is the 2nd easiest to use, the only "techie"
> thing you need to do isto drag ROM files into the directory for the system
> you wish to emulate,and in the Case of the CoCo, you'd need the BASIC,
> Extended BASIC, and DiskBASIC ROMS to run everything, similar with Dragon
> ROMS.The only "issues" I've found with XROAR are running cartridges, and
> somevery random compatibility issues with some CoCo games, and occasional
> sound"glitches" where data coming through the 6-bit DAC continue to
> produce"buzzing" noises, this is not 100% consistent with all programs, but
> it hasoccurred.  Xroar is actively updated by it's author, and member of
> thislist, Ciaran Anscomb, so questions/issues/bugs can be reported and
> areaddressed.  Xroar also has some of the best artifact color emulation
> atthis point.Last but not least, we have MAME/MESS, the current version is
> somewherearound .187 or .188 and if you're running anything older, you
> really shouldupdate.MAME, being the large beast that it is, is designed to
> emulate literallyevery arcade system on the planet, and MESS, being now
> part of the project,is designed to emulate every home computer and video
> game console on theplanet, and the project is handled by a team of
> (hundreds? dozens?) ofpeople around the world, and has a regular
> update/release cycle of(monthly?) versions.The good:  MAME is probably the
> single best across the board solid emulatorwith some of the highest level
> of emulation compatibility across the entireCoCo line from the CoCo
> 1/2/2b/3/3h, etc.  The artifact colors are prettydarn good, but Ciaran
> upped the ante with Xroar recently.  I've yet toexperience any of the
> DAC/Joystick/Sound issues, and, things like theSpeech and Sound Cartridge
> emulation have been added recently, which noother emulators currently
> support.The bad;  setup is less than plug and play, ROM files need to be
> draggedinto the ROM directory, user settings require some tweaking, and
> thebuilt-in UI is, to be fair, as well as an under statement, less
> thanelegant.  This UI can be augmented, on Windows, at least with a tool
> calledMESS UI that gives you a menu bar and some more direct access to
> mountfloppies, etc.Like many other projects and topics in the CoCo
> community, there isfragmentation in the adoption/support/awareness and
> fairness about "thetruths" of these products.  From my own experience I
> have spent a lot oftime using, researching and learning about all of them,
> and currently myfavorites are both MAME and XROAR, I lean a little more
> towards MAME at themoment for both the Speech and Sound Pack emulation, and
> the slightlycleaner sound, but I'll still run XROAR quite a bit for CoCo
> 1/2 stuff.I have links to the various emulators and ROMS on my web
> sitehttp://imacoconut.com and I have over 200 videos I've been doing on
> YouTubefor the past 2 years, all of which started on VCC, because I didn't
> evenhave a real CoCo when I started, and over time, I've transitioned away
> fromVCC, initially because of the very harsh way it emulated the
> artifactcolors, but also due to the fact that certain things didn't run
> well.On my YouTube channel, there are videos showing how to set up and use
> VCCand Xroar, and on some of our most recent CoCOTALK! shows, we've shown
> howto set up MAME, how to utilize the Speech and Sound Pack emulation, and
> howto use MESS UI to simplify MAME, and even how to use MAME for
> developmentpurposes to take advantage of it's debugger.Feel free to check
> out some of those videos athttp://youtube.com/ogsteviestrow and have some
> current facts and examplesto make an informed decision on which emulator
> would work best for you, andfeel free to hit me up with any additional
> questions.Steve Strowbridge, akaThe Original Gamer Stevie
> StrowogStevieStrow at gmail.comWebsite:  http://ogsteviestrow.comMerchandise:
> http://8bit256.comAll things CoCo:  http://imacoconut.comCoCoTALK!
> http://cocotalk.liveOn Thu, Aug 24, 2017 at 5:01 PM, Salvador Garcia via
> Coco <coco at maltedmedia.com> wrote:> The two "main", but definitely not
> the only emulators around, are VCC and> MAME. If I were to recommend
> anything, I would say get them both and be> happy :-).>> VCC is simpler to
> get running while MAME needs a little work to get it> going. On the flip
> side, MAME has been favorably criticized for its great> debugging
> capabilities.>> To start with I got VCC and have been happy with it. Once I
> needs more> debugging capabilities I will get MAME.>> Salvador>> On
> Thursday, August 24, 2017, 3:24:30 PM CDT, John Guin <>
> johnguin at hotmail.com> wrote:>> Say gang,>> I've lost track of emulators
> and now that I have my laptop working again,> would love to get one
> installed.>> The last I used MESS - two/three years ago?- it had earned its
> name,> IMHO.  But is that really all there is at this point?>> Or has there
> been a better update or new client that is worth using?>> Thanks all!>
> John>> --> Coco mailing list> Coco at maltedmedia.com>
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