Original Xbox Emulation, better than I could ever imagined!

[jay_red]

Some time back when I was first building my MAME cabinet, I asked about possibly using an Xbox over a dedicated PC, in hopes of it being more streamlined and have better video output options for a standard TV. I was talked out of it and went with an older pc that could handle MAME with ease. It was a huge pain in the ass setting up MAME and the front end, but once it was done, it worked fine. I was not a fan of using the PC over s-video (my graphics card has a native s-video port) but when playing a game it looked ok.

It was like this for about a year, then I took the cabinet back in the garage to re-do it, paint, wood work etc... I got it back in the house, and started having issues with the computer for some reason. It runs really loud now, and kept blowing the breaker when the computer and monitor were on. Frustrated by this, I looked to the xbox I soft modded some time ago, but never really took advantage of.

I found a really nice front end called "Vision 3", it is billed as "The Hyperspin for Xbox" and after a hefty 18gb download and a grueling 8 hour FTP session to the xbox, it is amazing! Easy to navigate menus with video clips that play instantly with no lag or stutter. Games are divided up into simple sections (Arcade Classics, Console Classics, Fight Club, Shoot em' Up etc...) and while it does not have the same amount of games as my PC (which was FAR too many) it has a ton, and they are all the best. No obscure Jackie Chan fighting game, no pointless Majong games, just the stuff you expect on a MAME cabinet, and I am more than happy with that.

The fact that I can use s-video and have it super clear is a huge plus, and since my TV supports component, I have that option as well. As for controls, I pad hacked some ps1 controllers to my control panel, and am using psx to xbox converters. The whole setup is so much simpler than before, and from what I have played, the emulation is perfect. I even played some of the console games to check them out, and I cant believe how well it runs mario 64! I am now going to be on the hunt for a 2nd xbox and clone the drive from this one to have a dedicated emulator box for when I just want a quick game. It has surpassed my expectations, and really blown me away with how well it handles the games.

[EllertMichael]

IIRC, I suggested a modded Xbox with CoinOps back then.
The same developer of Visions also does CoinOps.

Right now I've actually got my modded oXbox with CoinOps5 hooked up to my TATE'd Egret II through RGB SCART with the viletim pcb. It's pretty fantastic. Rotated menus, full screen video previews, and the ability to create a "Favorites" list so I can sift through just the vertical games I want. The emulation is also pretty up to date as it runs the CAVE PGM games (DOJ, Ketsui, galuda) and Bee Storm.

[jay_red]

I was going to do coinops, but I could not find a link for the 50gb download and seeing how long 18 took to ftp,i am glad I didn't! I am very happy, only had a minor issue setting controls when in didn't know how to get to the menu. The quality of emulation is really amazing considering the power of the xbox.

[GSZX1337]

Damn, I thought that this thread was going to be for a kickass oXbox emulator.

[Fragems]

I might have to try this. Pawnshop was doing a tent sale today and they had a few original Xbox, PS2, and GC bundles for $15.

[jay_red]

I might have to try this. Pawnshop was doing a tent sale today and they had a few original Xbox, PS2, and GC bundles for $15.

I actually picked up a 2nd console from goodwill for $10 (console only) so I could mod it and have one for my game room, since the first one is in my MAME cabinet now. Seriously, Vision 3 blows me away with its smoothness, having video previews for every game and ease of use. The emulation so far has been spot on, and everything plays as expected.

[fastbilly1]

Damn, I thought that this thread was going to be for a kickass oXbox emulator.

Same, sadly that is not the case. CXBX is not making headway, and Xeon is just as bad.

[anonymous1980]

SNES emulation is pretty good. A lot of games play perfectly fine.

As for the Neo Geo, there's an excellent package at isozone, not sure if i'm allowed to link it here. The guy that created this package pain-stakingly tweaked the emulator to resemble the real deal by constantly comparing his real Neo Geo machine with the Xbox Emulator. The result is that the Neo Geo emulator is practically flawless.

As for PS1/N64 .. i wouldn't say that the emulation is good, from my experience. A lot of games lag quite a bit in certain situations, and most aren't full speed. Mario 64 doesn't have a problem at first, but at some later levels, the lag is bad. I've spent days tweaking, but at the end gave up because it's just not good. The PC emulators are faaar better, and can run on a toaster.

I think the OG Xbox is a great machine for MAME & 16bit consoles, but it's pretty bad for 5th gen. systems.

[Violent By Design]

Damn, I thought that this thread was going to be for a kickass oXbox emulator.

Indeed

[samsonlonghair]

I walked into my friend Kevin's retro video game store today. He showed me that his Original XBOX can play Sega CD games straight off the disk, and they load faster than on the original hardware.

It's one thing if an emulation box works; it's another thing if the emulation box works better than the original.