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higan (emulator)

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higan
Developer(s)Near et al.
Initial releaseOctober 14, 2004; 20 years ago (2004-10-14)
Stable release
115 / August 15, 2020; 4 years ago (2020-08-15)[1]
Repository
Written inC++14, C99
Operating systemWindows, Linux, macOS, FreeBSD
PlatformIndependent: IA-32, x86-64, ARM32/64, MIPS, etc.
TypeVideo game console emulator
License2020: GPL-3.0-or-later[2]
2017: GPL-3.0-only[3]
Website

Derivatives:

Higan is a free and open source emulator for multiple video game consoles, including the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Originally called bsnes[4] (which was later reused for a new emulator by the same developer), the emulator is notable for attempting to emulate the original hardware as accurately as possible through low-level, cycle-accurate emulation and for the associated historical preservation efforts of the Super NES platform.[5][6]

higan products family

Higan has been forked and renamed over the years, and consists of three sub-projects.[7]

The current sub-projects are:

Overview

Development of the emulator began with the name bsnes on October 14, 2004. The first version was released in May 2005 for Microsoft Windows. The early versions would require high-power hardware to run games in a consistent manner and therefore garnered controversy.[8] Since then, it has been ported to Linux, macOS, and FreeBSD. Initially developed under a custom license, later releases were licensed under various versions of the GNU General Public License. On August 9, 2012, the project was renamed to higan, to better reflect its new nature as a multi-system emulator.

The higan project has contributed significantly to the field of Super NES emulation, with a number of original achievements in its emulation, and in reverse engineering developments such as the organization of funds, hardware, and expertise for decapping the Super NES's enhancement chips.[6]

Higan is able to run every commercial Super NES title ever released.[9] It is the first emulator to have featured SPC7110 emulation, cycle-accurate SPC 700 emulation, cycle-accurate Super FX emulation, Super Game Boy emulation,[10] and a dot-based instead of scanline-based renderer for the Game Boy Advance. It is the first multi-emulator of this breadth to achieve cycle-based emulation for every single component of every system.

Forked versions of bsnes have provided emulation support for Nintendo DS, XBAND, Super Famicom Box, Satellaview BS-X software, and tool-assisted speedruns.[11]

Author

Higan was developed by American software engineer David Kirk Ginder (February 21, 1983 – June 27, 2021), known as Near and formerly as byuu.[12] Near started out in the emulation scene as an amateur programmer, translating Japanese video-game ROM images at the age of 14, and one year later developed a tool for displaying resized text font in games. After that, a patching assembler called "xkas" would follow, which streamlined the ROM-translation process. The development of bsnes was triggered by bugs during translation of Super Famicom game Der Langrisser that would only appear on the original hardware but not on 2004-era Super NES emulators; as such, the aim of bsnes was for accurate emulation.[8]

Near contributed to the translation of the Nintendo RPG Mother 3[8] and to the improvement of the emulator Snes9x. They also engaged extensively in creating faithful copies of Super NES games for preservation.[13]

In 2019, Near retreated from the emulation scene, after "a series of escalating privacy intrusions and targeted Internet harassment" affected their mental health.[8]

In February 2021, Near released a new translation for the Super Famicom game Bahamut Lagoon, a passion project that they had attempted multiple times since 1998. This is also the game where Near's former pseudonym of byuu comes from.[8]

On June 27, 2021, Near posted a suicide note on Twitter, claiming that they had faced extensive harassment from the website Kiwi Farms. Héctor Martín Cantero later announced he had confirmed Near's death with the police. One month later, their death was confirmed by their employer to USA Today.[12] Near was 38 years old and identified as non-binary.[13][14][15][12]

Reception

In 2008, British Internet magazine Webuser recommended bsnes for "some fun old-school gaming".[16] In 2009, Japanese game magazine GameLabo recommended it for "those seeking a realistic playing experience".[17]

In 2017, components of higan's source code were used to emulate the vintage text-to-speech computer used by physicist Stephen Hawking, after the original hardware began showing signs of wear. Hawking would continue using this emulator to converse with others until his death in 2018.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ Higan release on GitHub
  2. ^ "Convert higan into a group project and relicense it to GPLv3 or later". GitHub. March 22, 2020.
  3. ^ "Update version and license". GitHub. October 25, 2017.
  4. ^ "About – bsnes". Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  5. ^ Near (August 9, 2011). "Accuracy takes power: one man's 3GHz quest to build a perfect SNES emulator". Ars Technica. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  6. ^ a b Fenlon, Wesley. "16-bit Time Capsule: SNES Emulator Makes a Case for Software Preservation". Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  7. ^ "About — ares". ares.dev. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d e Patrick Klepek (March 8, 2021). "A 23-Year Perfectionist Journey to Localize the Obscure 'Bahamut Lagoon'". Vice. Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ^ Bannister, Richard (February 2006). "Emulation Nation: Interview – Richard Bannister". Retro Gamer (Interview). No. 21. Interviewed by Craig Grannell. p. 97.
  10. ^ "The State of Emulation, Part III". near.sh. Retrieved February 3, 2021.[permanent dead link‍]
  11. ^ "tasvideos.org Preferred Emulators". tasvideos.org. Retrieved May 13, 2012. Isnes
  12. ^ a b c Dastagir, Alia (July 23, 2021). "'The internet is not a game. ... This stuff really hurts.' Respected developer who was bullied online dies by suicide". USA Today. Gannett. Archived from the original on July 23, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Damien McFerran (June 28, 2021). "Tributes Pour In For Near, The Developer Behind One Of The World's Best SNES Emulators". Nintendo Life. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  14. ^ "The Brilliant SNES Emulator Author Known As Near Has Died". Kotaku. June 27, 2021. Archived from the original on August 24, 2022. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  15. ^ Patrick Klepek (June 29, 2021). "What I Learned From Near, an Emulation Legend and Real Person". Waypoint. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  16. ^ "Downloaded". Webuser (191): 39. 2008.
  17. ^ "SFC". GameLabo (September): ?. 2009.
  18. ^ Jason Fagone (March 18, 2018). "The quest to save Stephen Hawking's voice". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
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