** Review 2 pages / 1060 words **

Gemulator 96 Notes by Richard Karsmakers...

** GEM96_D.GIF here **

Computer emulation seems to become ever more popular. With so many 
people owning PC systems new emulators seem to be springing up 
everywhere. All the following products are capable of running 
Atari ST/STe software: MagiC PC, Janus, PacifiST, STimul and 
TOS2Win - and there are doubtless others! I have no experience 
using most of these products but am lead to believe Gemulator 96 
is the leader of the pack.

Gemulator was originally released several years ago by Branch 
Always Software (now called Emulators, Inc.) and is programmed by 
Darek "Quick ST" Mihocka. The latest release is a software Atari 
emulator which can be used with either TOS or MagiC operating 
systems. TOS can be loaded from an image file on disk, like MagiC, 
or from real TOS ROMs plugged into an optional 8-bit ISA hardware 
card.

** boxout **
Classic emulation for free!
If you've blown all your cash on a PC system and have no money 
left over you can still indulge in Atari emulation using the 
earlier DOS based version, Gemulator Classic v3.6, which is now 
available as freeware!
** end boxout **

With Gemulator 96 installed, you'll find yourself at the reigns of 
a formidable Atari system. Even with modest amounts of memory (8Mb 
is the recommended minimum) you can emulate a 14Mb ST/STe system 
in both monochrome or colour modes. Installing VGAWIN.PRG, an 
optional utility program, in the Auto folder it's possible to 
increase the resolution to the maximum your PC system can handle - 
I usually work in monochrome at 800x600 resolution.

** GEMUL8R.GIF here **
** Caption **
At 800x600 resolution there's plenty of room to place all your 
programs on the desktop. The Properties dialog sets all the 
emulation options.
** end caption **

Just like a "real" Atari you can create an Auto folder on one of 
your PC hard drive partitions, add desktop accessories and 
customise your setup as desired. Additional hard disk, CD-ROM, 
printer, modem or other device drivers are not needed, if windows 
can see the device Gemulator should to. There's something magical 
about running programs from an Atari CD on a PC. The 32Mb 
partition limit also doesn't apply and floppy support even 
includes support for maxi-formatted (but not hyper-formatted) DD 
and HD Atari disks - bear this in mind when porting stuff from 
your Atari to the PC (or use a null-modem cable). Gemulator can be 
configured to "switch off" emulation features you don't need and 
this improves the overall emulation speed which has to be a good 
thing.

Compatibility

Probably the most important aspect of any emulator package is its 
compatibility - how many titles from the emulated computer 
actually work? With a PC not having any of the custom Atari 
graphics or sound chips or even the Motorola 68000 CPU all these 
tasks have to be handled by the emulation software - no mean feat!
Logically, games with copy protection or specific timing 
requirements fail hopelessly and ST titles which don't work on the 
Falcon definitely won't work under Gemulator 96. Programs which 
hit the hardware directly are also likely to fail. In general you 
can assume any "legally" programmed GEM applications - titles 
conceived with Atari's programming guidelines in mind, will work 
properly - including my own Ultimate Virus Killer (UVK), disk 
magazine ST News (from Volume 7 Issue 2 with the sound switched 
off in the SETUP file), Hiscore Terminal Utility (HTU) and Final 
Grandson of Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged to my considerable 
smug self-satisfaction!

Gemulator 96 is also fast enough on a Pentium 60 - it feels about 
the same speed as a standard ST except during floppy disk 
accesses, when the mouse moves jerkily, if at all. Darek claims 
Gemulator 96 is the fastest Atari emulator on the market - I'll 
take him at his word and leave it to someone with access to all 
the emulators to enter that minefield!

Problems
There are a few distinct oddities using Gemulator I really can't 
explain. The end of a file (as determined by the GFA Basic EOF(#x) 
command) is never found, and the GFA Basic compiler refuses to 
compile programs unless you do some extra work. A file FILE.GFA 
can be selected but the compiler module, for some inexplicable 
reason, looks for FILE.GFA.GFA. The solution I arrived at involved 
having two identical files called FILE and FILE.GFA. XBoot, as far 
as reading and writing pre-defined sets in Windows disk mode, also 
doesn't work which was disappointing. Maybe these programs are 
breaking the rules but they do work on most other oddball Atari 
systems.

Conclusion
For those who have lost faith in the real thing in a world where 
PC systems are forced onto people Gemulator is a good solution. It 
won't turn your PC into a Falcon and unfortunately you can kiss 
good-bye to playing most of those classic games but as you English 
say "You can't have your cake and eat it" (although the etymology 
of this proverb has always eluded me).
The main reason I eventually moved entirely over to Gemulator for 
my Atari computing was to avoid switching back and forth between 
two systems - I didn't want to have two monitors sitting on my 
desk and preferred to keep all my files in one location.

Now what's this I've been reading about a new emulator called 
PacifiST which can allegedly run most ST games - I'm keeping my 
eyes peeled!

** Product boxout **
** suggest leaving this out as my 2nd opinion page **
** is complete and more detailed **
Gemulator 96
Publisher: Emulators, Inc.
Email: emulators@msn.com
URL: http://www.emulators.com
UK distribution: FaST Club, PO Box 101, Nottingham, NG2 7NN
Tel: +44 (0)115 945 5250
Fax: +44 (0)115 914 0545
Email: stclub@cix.co.uk
URL: http://www.cix.co.uk/~sta/
Cost: Gemulator 96 software: £49.95. Gemulator 96, ROM reader card 
and TOS 2.06 ROMs: £149.95, prices include P&P.
** end boxout **

** Boxout 1 **
** On Reader disk logo here **
Emulator Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
In collaboration with Robert Goodwin, Richard Karsmakers has 
recently set up a FAQ list for anyone using Gemulator 96 or 
Gemulator Classic. In addition to hints and tips, it also includes 
a list of compatible and incompatible titles, which is getting 
bigger and more accurate continuously. Point your web browser at:

http://members.iglou.com/rsg0910/gemul8r.faq

Alternatively you can subscribe to the Gemulator FAQ mailing list 
by requesting a "GEMulator FAQ sub" by email to:

cronos@worldaccess.nl
** end boxout **