Where can I download Metal Slug 4 and KOF 2002!!
Raz is an XORhoarder!!
These are just some of the things you would have heard visiting CPS2 and NeoGeo message boards "back in the day." Thank goodness those days are over. Each system has some very fine games for it; it's just that these two systems were both very popular in the arcades, and consequentially had attracted alot of "newbies" to emulation, most of whom hadn't gotten messageboard etiquette down yet.
I prefer to use MAME to play these games, but Elsemi has put other toys in Nebula that you can play with.
One of the things a lot of people like to play with in Nebula is TRANSPARENCIES. Look at the two screenshots below. The first is regular emulation, the second is with transparencies turned on.
Notice how on the second image you can kind of see through the fireball and the lifebars. Nebula uses transparency tables that can alter the sprites to give the effect. It's not necessarily arcade accurate, but it's fun and something different.
Another good thing is that it uses DAT files as drivers for each game, so that if there's ever a new CPS2 XOR release, you'll just need a new .dat file and you're ready to play.
What's an XOR?? To put it simply, all CPS2 games are encrypted. A few years ago, a guy named Razoola decided that he was going to try and break the encryption. He didn't find the actual algorithm (yet), but he found a way to decrypt the games. The XOR files are tables that tell the game how to decrypt, and each game needs its own file.
For more info on encryption and XOR's, go to CPS2Shock.
The main reason I keep Nebula around is it is also a wonderful NeoGeo CD emulator, so that I can play Ironclad and Crossed Swords 2, which were exclusively released for NGCD. In addition, the CD versions of Metal Slug 1 and 2 have lots of great artwork, and the soundtrack on Pulstar is much better than the cart version.
Serving emulation needs since January 30, 2002
