DARK SUN ISSUE NUMBER 1 Hi and welcome to the first issue of Dark Sun a new e-mag. Dark Sun is devoted to covering news relating to consoles and emulation, none of that warez kiddie stuff here. In the first issue you will find an interview with Lord Esnes, news about the Final Fantasy 2 translation and some little console scene tidbits as well as a list of NES ROM sites. The first issue may not have many articles, but they are interesting (I hope) WiLD_ Contents -Interview with Lord Esnes by XscrawlX -Final Fantasy 2 updates -Console scene news -NES ROM sites -credits AN INTERVIEW WITH LORD ESNES BY XSCRAWLX Dark Sun: Hello Lord Esnes esnes: Hello DS: I am interviewing you about your SNES emulator for dos, ESNES. This interview will be for WILD_'s new e-zine esnes: hmmm, hehehe DS: (If you have trouble saying or understanding something, just ask : )) esnes: k DS: Alright DS: First I would like to congratulate you on your excellent progress. ESNES is really proving itself as THE snes emulator to get. esnes: thanks esnes: but there is some very good emulators out DS: Explain how things started with esnes, what inspired you to do it, how you learned, etc. esnes: snes97 has a lot of Future, it is THE snes emulator to get, very soon DS: Yes it does. esnes: hehe, please give a question, I can't do a redaction in english ;-) DS: Ok. What inspired you to make esnes? esnes: it was september, I started to download some snes emulators, but it weren't working. When I was a boy, I loved the snes, and I wanted play the games of the snes in a PC. DS: So you decided to make yourown? esnes: yes, I decided, but when I started I said myself : it can't work, it is very difficult, even I left esnes after of the version 0.01b, but I went back ;-) DS: That's cool. So was it hard to learn C WHILE making esnes?? esnes: a bit, but I have enjoyed doing esnes, yet I need learn better C, but at least now I can understand the pointers ;-) DS: Rumors about esnes 1.0 have been spreading. When do you plan to release this? esnes: I never know when I go to realease the next version, it could be out tomorrow or the next week or the next year, I don't know ;-) DS: What do you plan to have in esnes by say next year? esnes: hmmm, esnes is my university project, I want present it in june, after god 'll say DS: So will esnes continue to be free?? VSMC97 is great but the cost detracts from the value esnes: I was thinking about it, if someday esnes runs the 95 % of the games ( sound included ), it could be shareware ( but real shareware same as pkunzip ), i 'll give the complete version, and if someone want pay me, ok, anf if someone wantn 't pay me, ok DS: So if it does become shareware... DS: What would make the shareware different?? Atimer?? esnes: no, I 'll give the complete version esnes: then if someone think that he need pay for use esnes, then ok DS: oh DS: so more of a donation? esnes: yes DS: ok DS: So will esnes ever contain a Debugger? esnes: I don't know, yet DS: Ok. Everyone would really like a debugger, makes it much easier to translate games. esnes: but do a good debugger is a hard work DS: Yes it is. DS: So what have you learned about emulation since the project?? esnes: I don't know, some about the snes DS: Ahh.. DS: Well it's great that someone realizes that the emulation scene is not one to have a price put on it esnes: hmmmm DS: Well. Thank you for your time. *You heard it from Dark Sun first! **Interview by: XScrawLX Lord Esnes's homepage is located at http://lareal.gsyc.inf.uc3m.es/~calb/esnes/esnes.html The latest version of ESNES can be found there (0.10a). ESNES is one of the best SNES emulators around. It is fast and free :-) It also runs a large number of SNES ROMS. FINAL FANTASY 2 JAPANESE TRANSLATION The Final Fantasy 2 translation is going very well. Demi has come up with a great looking font and Demi and Som2 are both hard at work. Currently 15% of the story has been translated and about 95% of the shops are done. Look for progress updates and new screen shots when they become available at http://www.parodius.com/~wild/ff2.htm. CONSOLE SCENE NEWS -N64 price is dropped to $149 -NES copiers available for ~$150 from Carl Industries. They include a full NES, and english menus. Many more features. Call 1-800-Carl-Ind to order yours today. Only 5 left so act fast. -Sega has begun development on their next-generation home system code named "Black Belt" It will be available in 1999 in the US. -The Final Fantasy 3 Japanese NES ROM has been released. It was found by EFX on a Final Fantasy tribute page. Rumor has it that Som2 and Demi will be starting work on translating FF3 soon! -QNES has made some major progress and look for it soon NES ROM SITES ftp://duncan.nac.net/pub/emulators/nes/ ftp://ftp.thu.edu.tw/Games/Emulator/Nes/ http://home.rica.net/eddy/square/index.htm http://www.dragonfire.net/~jetowa/nes.html http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/8021/nes.htm http://www.communique.net/~marthur/nes.htm http://www.algonet.se/~alexand/ http://www.algonet.se/~stanken/ http://www.golden.net/~coanda/nes http://ns.degeer.norrkoping.se/~rudyw5e/emus.htm CREDITS Editor:WiLD_ Writers:WiLD_,XscrawlX Well thats all for the first issue. I hope to have more people contribute articles for the next issue which will be out Monday March 31, 1997. Look for an indepth look at QNES next issue as well as reviews of all the SNES emulators and more console news. See you next issue :-) WiLD_