help roms
- Thread starter diggy
- Start date
Download roms isn't illegal, there are many freeware/public domain roms:
http://www.zophar.net/roms.phtml
If you don't know or don't have access for backing up your cartridges you can buy playstation or saturn CDs and play at emulators of these systems
There are illegal roms and illegal emulators, is wrong to say "roms are ilegal" or "emulators are legal", there are so many things to consider
A good doc to read is this one:
http://www.overclocked.org/emufaq/EmuFAQ_index.htm
http://www.zophar.net/roms.phtml
If you don't know or don't have access for backing up your cartridges you can buy playstation or saturn CDs and play at emulators of these systems
There are illegal roms and illegal emulators, is wrong to say "roms are ilegal" or "emulators are legal", there are so many things to consider
A good doc to read is this one:
http://www.overclocked.org/emufaq/EmuFAQ_index.htm
Last edited:
Not all emulators are legal
Two easy examples that i can remember:
All tose emulators for x-box that uses microsoft proprietary SDK are illegal.
A MAME compilation that can play recent games like kof2k3 is illegal.
Read the DOC at the url i've posted and you will understand better
Two easy examples that i can remember:
All tose emulators for x-box that uses microsoft proprietary SDK are illegal.
A MAME compilation that can play recent games like kof2k3 is illegal.
Read the DOC at the url i've posted and you will understand better
PsyMan
Just Another Wacko ;)
An emulator that can play recent games is not illegal. The authors of MAME just do not approve it that is why a MAME compilation that can play recent games is illegal.
An emulator is not illegal as long as it does not have integrated some specific parts of the emulated system (like the bios or microsoft's SDK). But lately things are getting a little complexed (like GBA emus on other portable systems being illegal).
An emulator is not illegal as long as it does not have integrated some specific parts of the emulated system (like the bios or microsoft's SDK). But lately things are getting a little complexed (like GBA emus on other portable systems being illegal).
Last edited:
Is not about aprove or disaprove, if you go against any license(like MAME's) the emulator is illegal, if you stole an open source project code to use in a closed one your project will be illegal(if the license of the open source one is against that of course)
If you put recent roms in MAME and distribute binaries it will be illegal
Read MAME's license: http://www.mame.net/readme.html
VII. Derivative Works
---------------------
Derivative works are allowed, provided their source code is freely
available. However, these works are discouraged. MAME is a continuously-
-evolving project. It is in your best interests to submit your contributions
to the MAME development team, so they may be integrated into the main
distribution.
There are some specific modifications to the source code which go against
the spirit of the project. They are NOT considered a derivative work, and
distribution of executables containing them is strictly forbidden. Such
modifications include, but are not limited to:
- enabling games that are disabled
- changing the ROM verification commands so that they report missing games
- removing the startup information screens
If you make a derivative work, you are not allowed to call it MAME. You must
use a different name to make clear that it is a MAME derivative, not an
official distribution from the MAME team. Simply calling it MAME followed or
preceded by a punctuation mark (e.g. MAME+) is not sufficient. The name must
be clearly distinct (e.g. REMAME). The version number must also match the
number of the official MAME version from which you derived your version.
If you say your emulator is GPL and it doesn't i think(not sure) it will be illegal too
Of course if you use an illegal emulator i believe in most countries you will not be the outlaw one, who will be is the emulator author, but if you have illegal roms in almost countries you will be an outlaw
If you put recent roms in MAME and distribute binaries it will be illegal
Read MAME's license: http://www.mame.net/readme.html
VII. Derivative Works
---------------------
Derivative works are allowed, provided their source code is freely
available. However, these works are discouraged. MAME is a continuously-
-evolving project. It is in your best interests to submit your contributions
to the MAME development team, so they may be integrated into the main
distribution.
There are some specific modifications to the source code which go against
the spirit of the project. They are NOT considered a derivative work, and
distribution of executables containing them is strictly forbidden. Such
modifications include, but are not limited to:
- enabling games that are disabled
- changing the ROM verification commands so that they report missing games
- removing the startup information screens
If you make a derivative work, you are not allowed to call it MAME. You must
use a different name to make clear that it is a MAME derivative, not an
official distribution from the MAME team. Simply calling it MAME followed or
preceded by a punctuation mark (e.g. MAME+) is not sufficient. The name must
be clearly distinct (e.g. REMAME). The version number must also match the
number of the official MAME version from which you derived your version.
If you say your emulator is GPL and it doesn't i think(not sure) it will be illegal too
Of course if you use an illegal emulator i believe in most countries you will not be the outlaw one, who will be is the emulator author, but if you have illegal roms in almost countries you will be an outlaw
PsyMan
Just Another Wacko ;)
In fact it is about disaproval, because if the authors wanted they whould make MAME support newer games by themselfs. The original authors of any open source project generete a licence in order to put some reasonable restrictions to anyone who wants to change in any way their project.
Doomulation
?????????????????????????
...And, if you break the license, it's illegal. So it's both you might say.
PsyMan
Just Another Wacko ;)
Villela said:
It seems that you misunderstood what I have said.
By saying "a totaly new emulator" I mean an emulator which doesn't use an already existing source code. "If a "totaly new emulator" runs illegal copies that doesn't run at the original console it will be illegal"?? Who says that?? If this emulator uses a bios image and if it is able to run backup copies it is NOT illegal (as long as it does not have the bios integrated), on the other hand whoever uses this emulator is illegal if he doesn't own the original software and hardware.
P.S: To be honest, whoever uses this emulator is NOT illegal if he doesn't have the original hardware as long as he owns the chip where the bios of this hardware is saved or if the emulator does not use a bios
Doomulation
?????????????????????????
No... I don't think so. When you buy it, you agree to a license that says you may use it to play things on a console. However, I don't think it will be included to use the, for example, bios, for anything else. Then it's illegal.
Note that an emulator cannot be illegal (even if running games that were never inteded to run on a console) UNLESS, a) it's using illegal stuff to do this or b) the games copyright says they can't be run on a console (of course, there's to concider that an emulator is not actual hardware, so the license might not apply here).
Note that an emulator cannot be illegal (even if running games that were never inteded to run on a console) UNLESS, a) it's using illegal stuff to do this or b) the games copyright says they can't be run on a console (of course, there's to concider that an emulator is not actual hardware, so the license might not apply here).
Doomulation
?????????????????????????
That's illegal. But we aren't completly legal, are we?
That's why we don't give links to bios.
That's why we don't give links to bios.
PsyMan, if you do anything that will make illegal copies run that doens't run at the original console it will be piracy, no matter if it is a new console, an emulator, a bios, it is piracy
And of course *i think* there isn't specific laws saying that if your emulator runs only with a original bios it is illegal, but *i believe* in most places it will be illegal if it runs #only# with the original bios
And why someone will make an emulator wich can run newer games at full speed? It doesn't make sense, you will be breaking(at the money sense, my english is bad) the company that have made the tecnology
And a totaly new emulator wich doesn't uses any other code is strange to say, there are many non-console emulators, disasms wich is wrong to place source at a closed source emulator, and of course there is code wich you can copy with no problem at a closed source emulator
And of course *i think* there isn't specific laws saying that if your emulator runs only with a original bios it is illegal, but *i believe* in most places it will be illegal if it runs #only# with the original bios
And why someone will make an emulator wich can run newer games at full speed? It doesn't make sense, you will be breaking(at the money sense, my english is bad) the company that have made the tecnology
And a totaly new emulator wich doesn't uses any other code is strange to say, there are many non-console emulators, disasms wich is wrong to place source at a closed source emulator, and of course there is code wich you can copy with no problem at a closed source emulator