Gaming on the Droid

[El Blacksheep]

So we have apps like Nesoid, Snesoid, Gensoid and Gameboid which give us great emulation of some classic systems, but the controls don't exactly make every game as playable as they should be. For example, due to the limitations of the keyboard, you wont ever be able to charge a shot, dash and jump in Mega Man X, making the game somewhat unplayable despite the fact that Snesoid emulates it very well.

So, what games have you guys found that aren't hindered by the keyboard's shortcomings?

What I've found:
- All lightgun games for NES (especially the classic Duck Hunt)
- Turn based RPGs (tested Final Fantasy 5, I'd assume 4 and 6 work just as well)

EDIT: Just tried Yggdra Union for GBA, and it plays very well too.

 

[speedracr13]

I've been playing RBI Baseball and Tecmo Super Bowl. Both seem to be working without any issues. Pretty fun way to kill some time

 

[Deleted User]

Advanced Wars plays very well for the GBA

 

[esmith818]

I tried SNESoid over the weekend and thought the player controls were too hard for the keyboard to pull off well (too many button combos). I returned it and purchased NESoid instead and have been happy. As out of date as they are, I still like Zelda and Dragon Warrior. Galaga looks and plays well as does Donkey Kong, Tetris, and Pipe Dream. Even Super Mario Bros. 3 worke decent.

I have my A-B buttons remapped to A-S. Has anyone come up with a better keyboard layout?

 

[El Blacksheep]

i started using gameboid with no physical keyboard at all, with success:

- touchscreen dpad + start + select
- search button = A
- back button = B

for games that dont require L and R, it works pretty well.

 

[Miga]

I have my A-B buttons remapped to A-S. Has anyone come up with a better keyboard layout?

Nes

Up= W
Down= S
Left = A
Right= D

Right Caps= A
Return= B

v= Select
N= Start

Snes

Up= W
Down= S
Left = A
Right= D

Right Caps= A
Return= X
Right Alt= B
.= Y

Q= Left Shoulder
Del= Right Shoulder

U= Quick Save
T= Quick Load.

Let me know what you think. I can play any of the platform on SNES and NES very well with this.

 

[gwlaw99]

Well it is certainly much easier than on screen controlls which are totally useless.

 

[Sean0987]

this might be a dumb question, but where are you guys getting the ROMs for these?

 

[GorillaTheHutt]

this is the config i use that i like, mostly because it gives you a really big "d-pad." might still tinker with the ABXYLR buttons:

up-left, up, up-right: W, E, R
left, right: S, F
down-left, down, down-right: Z, X, C

select: SEARCH (this is important, because i often hit the SEARCH button accidentally while trying to hit X, so i need to disable it somehow. if anyone knows a better way to disable than mapping to select please let me know)
start: ENTER

A, B, X, Y: L, K, O, I
L, R: P, DEL

With this setup i can play Legend of Zelda link to the past very well. the diagonals are crucial for this game.

EDIT: please post improvements if you think you have one...

 

[esmith818]

this might be a dumb question, but where are you guys getting the ROMs for these?

I google "<game system> ROMs" and then dig around until I find something useful. This is one of the few cases when you can skip the first 3-4 pages of results since they never seem to have actual files. I typically find what I'm looking for on the "little guy's" homemade website. Any links someone posts here will just be removed by the mods since typically, downloading ROMs is a shady action at best.

 

[Miga]

this might be a dumb question, but where are you guys getting the ROMs for these?

I found all my on torrentz. I just downloaded the entire set for each system. I have all the Nes, SNES, and Sega sets. I dont play many GBA games so i got the few i like. But torrents is the way to go if you want to get the entire set. Remember you have to own the roms to keep them. If not you have to delete them within 24 hours

 

[Sean0987]

Ah I see. Well, if you fellas have any links to ehh.. said material... my email is audiophile0987@aol.com

I will do some surfing when I get home. Thanks dudes

 

[djmeslie]

Like Miga..i downloaded all of mine from torrents..that way i have all the games for me n my friends whenevr...just keep them on my external HD and transfer w/e ones i want whenever lol

 

[Amaroth]

I don't get how android allows these emulators to be sold in the market. I mean they should be free because isn't it illegal for people to be making money selling video game console emulators?? I still have not bought any of them even since I had the G1 because I don't feel like people should be profiting from something that is free on other devices and computers... am I wrong to think this? It just never felt right to me. I know the deveolpers of the emulators do some work to make them run so well on our phones but should they be allowed to sell it?

 

[Mysterio2525]

i got my roms at coolrom.com

 

[dakoop]

Theoldcomputer.com

 

[JM33]

AFAIK emulators are not illegal, but the distribution of ROMs is. Google it and I'm sure you will find more info.

As far as control I have found 2 good setups that work for me.

1. Per my request the dev added the option to flip screen upside down(Nesoid and Snesoid). This gives you the dpad on the left when phone is upside down like a regular controller. For Nesoid I use Alt=A, Search=B

2. Before the flip screen was added I was using:

Up=W
Down=A
Left =Q
Right=S

You have to get used to your thumb being at a 45 deg angle, but when you get the hang of it, it feels like an actual Dpad.

Hope this helps!

 

[El Blacksheep]

Nes

Up= W
Down= S
Left = A
Right= D

Right Caps= A
Return= B

v= Select
N= Start

Snes

Up= W
Down= S
Left = A
Right= D

Right Caps= A
Return= X
Right Alt= B
.= Y

Q= Left Shoulder
Del= Right Shoulder

U= Quick Save
T= Quick Load.

Let me know what you think. I can play any of the platform on SNES and NES very well with this.

classic WASD... just doesn't work well for me.

this is the config i use that i like, mostly because it gives you a really big "d-pad." might still tinker with the ABXYLR buttons:

up-left, up, up-right: W, E, R
left, right: S, F
down-left, down, down-right: Z, X, C

select: SEARCH (this is important, because i often hit the SEARCH button accidentally while trying to hit X, so i need to disable it somehow. if anyone knows a better way to disable than mapping to select please let me know)
start: ENTER

A, B, X, Y: L, K, O, I
L, R: P, DEL

With this setup i can play Legend of Zelda link to the past very well. the diagonals are crucial for this game.

EDIT: please post improvements if you think you have one...

I like the idea of the big dpad, since there are definitely some games where having diagonals is a must. gotta give that one a try.

As far as control I have found 2 good setups that work for me.

1. Per my request the dev added the option to flip screen upside down(Nesoid and Snesoid). This gives you the dpad on the left when phone is upside down like a regular controller. For Nesoid I use Alt=A, Search=B

2. Before the flip screen was added I was using:

Up=W
Down=A
Left =Q
Right=S

You have to get used to your thumb being at a 45 deg angle, but when you get the hang of it, it feels like an actual Dpad.

Hope this helps!

I tried flip screen and to my dismay, i hated it. I think its the whole "controls above the screen" thing. however, I'm starting to get used to WQAS.... It made Mega Man and Sonic games playable.

Also, I found for NES having O = B and L = A worked best for me. I can hold O and press L (run and jump) whereas it's really difficult to hold L and press ?

I may have to do some similar vertical-modding of my SNES key layouts to make charge-dash-shooting in Mega Man X more feasible

 

[Deleted User]

GBA

Up - E
Down - D
Left - S
Right - F

A- Del
B - Enter
L - P
R - ?

Start - Dpad Right
Select - Dpad Left

Works good enough for me, no complaints here

 

[Miga]

I don't get how android allows these emulators to be sold in the market. I mean they should be free because isn't it illegal for people to be making money selling video game console emulators?? I still have not bought any of them even since I had the G1 because I don't feel like people should be profiting from something that is free on other devices and computers... am I wrong to think this? It just never felt right to me. I know the deveolpers of the emulators do some work to make them run so well on our phones but should they be allowed to sell it?

Making the emulators is not illegal. Its only owning the roms if you dont own the original game. As far as selling the emulators that is a grey line. I mean the people who release the apps do write the code. I think it would be smarter for the dev to make a donation app. Maybe give you no saves on the free one but include the save feature for a donation. That would be alright. All he really needs to do is add donation to the name ^_^

 

[low]

mmgtony started this thread the other day:

http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid/29761-bluetooth-game-controller-your-droid.html

If there's enough interest, he mentioned he might create a driver for the zeemote or the bgp100 game controller. Either one would be better for gaming than the keyboard...