I named the result "OpenEmu Lite", and it has been quietly available for download on my personal website since early fall.
Mame emulator mac yosemite code#
So last summer, I took OpenEmu's source code and ripped out all of the library functionality, creating a document-based app in accordance with Apple's design guidelines. If OpenEmu was modeled after iTunes, I wanted something akin to QuickTime. More importantly, however, OpenEmu is designed to not just play games but to manage a game library, and Finder already does that for me. For starters, OpenEmu's automatic core downloading system is broken on old versions of OS X, which made the app tricky to set up in the first place. It's an awesome app, but it wasn't what I wanted. There is one emulator project designed from the ground up for OS X, called OpenEmu. I wanted something that felt built for OS X. The 10.9-compatible versions of SNES9x and BSNES/Higan also have issues with controller support on Mac, and seem to crash frequently. The Mac emulator ports on Richard Bannister's website require a separate, paid app for basic features like using controllers and entering fullscreen, and while I don't mind paying for good software, using a separate app is ugly. The Mac version of RetroArch uses a confusing console-centric interface, does not support opening games from Finder, and has longstanding issues with controller support that make local multiplayer impractical. Most emulators consider Mac compatibility an afterthought, and it shows. For as long as I've been a Mac user, there's one class of app I've never been able to find-a set of really good emulators for classic 2D game consoles like the NES and SNES.