Difference between revisions of "Mesen"

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Emulator
Emulates:	NES
Download:	Mesen website
License:	Free (GNU GPLv3)
Developer:	Sour

Latest revision as of 00:16, 24 March 2024

Mesen is a powerful and accurate NES/Famicom emulator that is super easy to set up and install.

Downloads

Download the emulator from the Mesen website
Download the Mesen Bezel pack (v1.5) from Mediafire

Setup Guide

Extract the contents of the compressed file to a folder for your Mesen emulator.

Note: There should only be an executable to extract. (i.e. Mesen.exe)

Open Mesen.exe to start the emulator and run the initial setup configuration wizard.

Select "Store the data in the same folder as the application"

Press the "CONFIRM" button to finish initial configuration.

Mesen Config Wizard with settings set as described in guide

Input Settings

When Mesen loads select "NES" from the "Settings" drop-down menu.
Once the "Settings" dialog box loads you should be guided to the "NES" section of the left task pane.
Select the "Input" tab from the "NES" section.

Access the "NES" section from the "Settings" drop-down via the menu bar.

Make sure "NES Controller" is selected for controller port 1 and click the adjacent "Setup" button to configure the bindings for player one.

Controller Port 1 configuration.

Next, select "NES Controller" for controller port 2 and click the adjacent "Setup" button to configure the bindings for player two.

Controller Port 2 configuration.

Finally, select "Zapper (Famicom)" from the drop-down list for the expansion devices and click the adjacent "Setup" button if you wish to re-configure your Sinden lightgun bindings.

Expansion device configuration.

Set each button to your preference (e.g. Bind "Keyboard Up" to "D-pad Up", "Left Mouse Button" to "Fire", etc.)
Once you have set all the buttons for the relevant controller/device press "OK"

You can leave "Automatically configure controllers when loading a game" checked if you'd prefer the emulator automatically allocate the controller/device types that are used in each controller port/expansion device slot.

If you'd prefer the controller/device types you choose to remain static and permanent then uncheck this box.

Automatically configure controllers when loading a game.

In the left task pane, select "Input" and check "Hide mouse pointer when using light guns."

Note: It's recommended to enable this feature as the mouse cursor on-screen can affect your judgement when aiming.

Enabling this is recommended.

Video Filters

You can apply different filter settings to make the original video output look sharper, more defined, or even close to an original CRT display.

Head on over to the "Video" section of the left task pane and select the "Picture" tab.

Tweak around with these settings until you're satisfied with the results.

More information on display settings can be found via the official documentation here.

Example of the "NTSC (Bisqwit) (NES-only)" filter.

Automatically Hide the Menu Bar & On-screen Messages

These next two settings are optional and are down to preference.

Click on "Preferences" in the left task pane and you should be on the "General" tab.

You can enable "Automatically hide menu bar" if you prefer the menu bar auto-hides when in windowed mode, otherwise, it is enabled by default in fullscreen mode.

Next, click on the "Advanced" tab

This feature can be enabled if you'd prefer not to see the emulator system message during gameplay.

Optional settings.

Run Games Fullscreen

When you load a game it will NOT load full screen, to bring it to full screen you have to press F11 To auto-load a game full screen automatically it is best to launch the emulator and game from the command line.

To this create a batch file that will do everything for you once you click it.

To create a batch file do the following:

Within the Mesen folder right click in a blank space to bring up the menu and then highlight "new" then select "text document" this will create a new text file you can name as you wish.

Load the new text document and then type the following command adjusting the drive/file path to suit:

start C:\*Insert Messen directory here*\Mesen.exe "C:\*Insert NES rom directory here*\*ROM NAME GOES HERE*.nes" -fullscreen

Go to "File" then "Save As", Give the file a name of your choosing but it MUST end with .bat

e.g. gamename.bat

Select Save and you should have a fully executable batch file that will boot the game you have chosen fullscreen

Sinden Border

Mesen emulator requires a 16:9 Sinden border, despite the games being 4:3 aspect ratio.

Launch Script

Example Batch File text:

start C:\NES\Mesen.exe "C:\NES\ROMS\*ROM NAME GOES HERE*.nes" -fullscreen

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 == Downloads ==
-* Download from the [http://www.mesen.ca/ Mesen website]
+* Download the emulator from the [http://www.mesen.ca/ Mesen] website
 * Download the Mesen Bezel pack (v1.5) from [https://www.mediafire.com/file/e19oe4hvero1pdt/Mesen_Sinden_Bezel_Pack_V1.5.rar/file Mediafire]
 ==Setup Guide ==
-Extract the Mesen zip file to your hard drive.
+* Extract the contents of the compressed file to a folder for your Mesen emulator.
-Open mesen.exe to start the emulator and run the initial setup config wizard
+<small>Note: There should only be an executable to extract. (i.e. Mesen.exe)</small>
-Select "Store the data in the same folder as the application"
+* Open Mesen.exe to start the emulator and run the initial setup configuration wizard.
-Press the "CONFIRM" button to finish installation
+* Select "Store the data in the same folder as the application"
+* Press the "CONFIRM" button to finish initial configuration.
 [[File:MesenConfigWizard.png|alt=Mesen Config Wizard with settings set as described in guide|none|thumb]]
-If prompted to update please note 0.9.9 is a beta release and as stated in the release notes any save states, settings etc. may not work with future versions. It is recommended to stick with 0.9.8 for now by clicking "Cancel"
+=== Input Settings ===
-=== Input Options ===
-With Mesen open select "Options"
-Select "Input"
+* When Mesen loads select "NES" from the "Settings" drop-down menu.
-[[File:MesenInput.png|alt=Mesen Input menu highlighted expanded from Options|none|thumb]]
+* Once the "Settings" dialog box loads you should be guided to the "NES" section of the left task pane.
-Set the following options:
+* Select the "Input" tab from the "NES" section.
-* Set the console type is set to "Famicom"
+[[File:Mesen-01-Settings-NES-Input.gif|none|thumb|800x800px|Access the "NES" section from the "Settings" drop-down via the menu bar.]]
+<br>
+* Make sure "NES Controller" is selected for controller port 1 and click the adjacent "Setup" button to configure the bindings for player one.
-* Set Player 1 & Player 2 in the dropdowns to "Standard Controller"
+[[File:Mesen-02-Settings-NES-Input-Controllers-Port1-Setup.gif|none|thumb|800x800px|Controller Port 1 configuration.]]
+<br>
+* Next, select "NES Controller" for controller port 2 and click the adjacent "Setup" button to configure the bindings for player two.
-* Set "Expansion Port" to "Zapper"
+[[File:Mesen-03-Settings-NES-Input-Controllers-Port2-Setup.gif|none|thumb|800x800px|Controller Port 2 configuration.]]
+<br>
+* Finally, select "Zapper (Famicom)" from the drop-down list for the expansion devices and click the adjacent "Setup" button if you wish to re-configure your Sinden lightgun bindings.
-Click the "Setup" button next to Player 1
+[[File:Mesen-04-Settings-NES-Input-Controllers-ExpansionDevice-Setup.gif|none|thumb|800x800px|Expansion device configuration.]]
-[[File:MesenInputSettings.png|alt=Mesen Input Settings with settings as described and Player 1 Config button highlighted |none|thumb]]
+<br>
-Set each button to your preference e.g. DPAD Up = Keyboard up etc.
+* Set each button to your preference (e.g. Bind "Keyboard Up" to "D-pad Up", "Left Mouse Button" to "Fire", etc.)
+* Once you have set all the buttons for the relevant controller/device press "OK"
-Once you have set all the buttons press "OK"
-[[File:MesenInputStandardController.png|alt=Mesen Input Standard Controller window|none|thumb]]
-Back on the input selection screen select the "Advanced" tab, you will see a tick box to hide the mouse cursor/crosshair. With the Sinden Lightgun it recommended to turn off crosshairs where possible
+You can leave "Automatically configure controllers when loading a game" checked if you'd prefer the emulator automatically allocate the controller/device types that are used in each controller port/expansion device slot.
-Select "OK"
+If you'd prefer the controller/device types you choose to remain static and permanent then uncheck this box.
-[[File:MesenInputSettingsAdvanced.png|alt=Mesen Advanced Input Settings with settings set as described in guide|none|thumb]]
+[[File:Mesen-05-Settings-NES-Input-AutomaticConfig.gif|none|thumb|800x800px|Automatically configure controllers when loading a game.]]
+<br>
+* In the left task pane, select "Input" and check "Hide mouse pointer when using light guns."
+<small>Note: It's recommended to enable this feature as the mouse cursor on-screen can affect your judgement when aiming.</small>
+[[File:Mesen-06-Settings-Input-HideCursor.gif|none|thumb|800x800px|Enabling this is recommended.]]
 === Video Filters ===
-You can apply different Filter options to the screen to make it look more like a CRT
+You can apply different filter settings to make the original video output look sharper, more defined, or even close to an original CRT display.
-Open "Options" in the main Mesen menu
-Select "Video"
+* Head on over to the "Video" section of the left task pane and select the "Picture" tab.
-Navigate to the "Picture" tab
+Tweak around with these settings until you're satisfied with the results.
-Select your preferred filter
+More information on display settings can be found via the official documentation [https://www.mesen.ca/docs/configuration/video.html#picture here].
-[[File:MesenVideoPicture.png|alt=Mesen Video window with Picture tab, filter dropdown is expanded with available filter effect options|none|thumb]]
+[[File:Mesen-07-Settings-Video-FilterSettings.gif|none|thumb|800x800px|Example of the "NTSC (Bisqwit) (NES-only)" filter.]]
-=== Autohide the Menu Bar & On-screen Display ===
+=== Automatically Hide the Menu Bar & On-screen Messages ===
-Next we want to auto hide the menu bar when we are playing.
+These next two settings are optional and are down to preference.
-[[File:MesenHideMenuBar.png|alt=Mesen Preferences window with 'automatically hide menu bar' ticked and highlighted|none|thumb]]
-Go to "Options" then "Preferences"
-Tick "Automatically hide menu bar"
+* Click on "Preferences" in the left task pane and you should be on the "General" tab.
-Also under the "Advanced" tab you may wish to disable the on screen display (OSD) and the game selection screen.
+You can enable "Automatically hide menu bar" if you prefer the menu bar auto-hides when in windowed mode, otherwise, it is enabled by default in fullscreen mode.
-Once you have finished press "OK".
+* Next, click on the "Advanced" tab
+This feature can be enabled if you'd prefer not to see the emulator system message during gameplay.
+[[File:Mesen-08-Settings-Preferences.gif|none|thumb|800x800px|Optional settings.]]
 === Run Games Fullscreen ===
-When you load a game they will NOT load full screen, to bring it to full screen you have to press F11
+When you load a game it will NOT load full screen, to bring it to full screen you have to press F11
-To auto load a game full screen automatically it is best to launch the emulator and game from the command line.
+To auto-load a game full screen automatically it is best to launch the emulator and game from the command line.
 To this create a batch file that will do everything for you once you click it.
@@ Line 92: / Line 98: @@
 e.g. gamename.bat
-Select Save and you should have a fully executable batch file that will boot the game you have chosen full screen
+Select Save and you should have a fully executable batch file that will boot the game you have chosen fullscreen
+=== Sinden Border ===
+Mesen emulator requires a 16:9 Sinden border, despite the games being 4:3 aspect ratio.
 ==Launch Script==