Super ZSNES - Somehow, ZSNES returned...

[JonLeung]

zsKnight and Demo are back, and working on Super ZSNES, a rewritten-from-scratch GPU-powered emulator, a 17-year-later "sequel" to the original ZSNES, a popular Super NES emulator that I'm sure many if us here have memories of.

Here's Super ZSNES's website.

Some new features include being able to add high-res textures and even some 3D effects.  Also enhanced audio.  Thanks to a user-friendly enhancement editor, other users will be able to design their own mods.

Now, I'm sure several of us are purists and might not use enhancements, but there might be something here of use for mappers.

For example, as seen in the video, it's possible to play it widescreen, by seeing more of the playfield that's in the game's memory, normally off-screen.  I know other tools already exist to see beyond the normal play area, but the extra area might be handy for those who like to map directly from screenshots (by reducing the number of screenshots required and/or getting to hard-to-reach areas without needing location/walk-through-walls codes) or in conjunction with autostitching tools.

In any case, increasing interest in Super NES games can always help get more people intrigued about game mapping... (maybe we'll get the Super Star Wars trilogy and Shadowrun maps yet!)

[FlyingArmor]

Wow, that's awesome news!

I gave it a try, and while it's gonna be a while before all the bells and whistles get added, it's pretty solid already. It worked without any problems on my Linux Mint machine, so that's a big plus.

The enhancement engine looks very promising as well. It wouldn't be terribly useful for mapping as you said, but nonetheless really fun for normal play. It'll be awesome seeing the eventual enhanced versions of FF6 and EarthBound, for instance.

[Cyartog959]

It does look really nice for that SNES emulator to have an overhaul, and widescreen support does help with plenty, too.

I'm not well-versed in SNES games, because I was close to Sega Genesis a lot, but not moreso than Saturn and others then, but that's still good for those that have been with SNES quite more.

Of course, we do also have Genesis Plus GX that does widescreen, and it broadened the vision of regular, past games in wider sizes, helps people with a lot of situations, too, but that's not the point.

Those upgrades will surely ease up SNES mapping and ramp up game mapping more! I wonder how these kind of games may do on 480x272 resolution size alongside 424x240?

Maybe GBA emulators, or others, should have the same kind of upgrades, too. Sure, they're really neat, but there's still so much in need of improving, but that's for a later time.