Windows 8.1 Tablet Emulation

[Anonymous No.2416731]

So I have a TW700 and an iPega PG-9023 (word of warning, turns out the TW700 doesn't actually fit in the iPega perfectly), and I've really been enjoying it for games on Steam. Some things like Bejeweled, Puzzle Quest, Faerie Solitaire, and Quell are even more enjoyable than with a kb&m. And the ports of Metal Slug X, Metal Slug 3, Ikaruga, Sonic Adventure 2 (but not 1, that old port runs like garbage unfortunately), and Guilty Gear X2 #Reload, they all work flawlessly out of the box, albeit with x360ce for some of them.

NiGHTS just wouldn't work with the controller at all and I had to give up, unfortunately.


But the problem is, I mostly got it as an emulation machine, and that's not at all easy to set up. The world of Windows 8.1 emulators on Windows 8.1 tablets is a rather bleak one, so far as I can tell.

For SNES, I tried SNES9x, which works the best, but there's no easy way to access the menu without a keyboard and mouse. Double-tapping the screen doesn't toggle fullscreen, and if I use the windows button to escape, going back just takes me to SNES9x in fullscreen.

RetroArch is great in that it supports using a controller to do everything, but then I remembered why I gave up on it last time. It really is THAT complicated. My settings don't save and I'm not sure why. Then I have to hook up the keyboard and configure things again. I can't get SNES to run smoothly after dicking with the settings for an hour.

All I have working is PPSSPP and Fusion.

[Anonymous No.2416749]

>>2416731
Use retroarch

[Anonymous No.2416750]

>>2416731
So my controller, the iPega, it's designed to expand and hold a tablet. And like I said, I had no way of knowing this going in, but unfortunately it doesn't fit properly. I think it's because of the headphone jack. It still fits in reasonably securely. Also, the TW700 has very little space with Windows taking up almost all of it (and ALL of it if you just try to let it update everything, so disable automatic updates), so I wouldn't bother unless you plan to get a micro SD card and a keyboard and mouse, since configuring things with the screen alone can range from nightmarish to impossible. HDMI out is also a helpful feature uncommon in sub-$100 tablets.

Anyway, syncing my iPega is really obnoxious. I have to navigate to the bluetooth menu, press X+Home or A+Home on the controller, choose to pair it, and then when I'm done I have to unpair it from the menu or it won't ever pair up again. I tried pairing it, and then when it times out, I'll press X+Home and leave it alone to try to reconnect on it's own, and it never does.

The X mode is a gamepad, and the A mode is a keyboard, for games that don't need analog control that don't play nice with a pad, that also let you remap keyboard buttons.

Anyway, I had to completely restore my tablet after it stopped being able to connect in gamepad mode. I couldn't find a way to reset things to the way they used to be, so I had to do it the brute force way. I'd love to know some better way to manage my iPega in the future.

[Anonymous No.2416759]

>>2416749
Okay. I'd have to agree with you there, as it seems like the best option for a tablet menu-wise, but can it really be made to emulate SNES/PSX/GBA well with enough tinkering? Or is it too slow and accurate to run on such a low-end device? The cores download came with two SNES9x cores, SNES9x and SNES9x Next. I wasn't able to notice any difference, and I can't find much information on RetroArch cores. And the "losing my settings entirely every time I quit" thing is really getting to me. I can't even navigate the menu with the controller until I reload the settings from in RetroArch with a keyboard. RetroArch is hard, I'm really bad at it.

[Anonymous No.2416797]

>>2416731
Would you recommended the tablet for portable emulation?

I was thinking about picking one up, probably the 10.1" version.

[Anonymous No.2416948]

>>2416759
Most of the cores should run fine.
Read a guide or go on the wiki

[Anonymous No.2416980]

>>2416797
From a hardware standpoint, I probably would. It's powerful enough to run some modern 3D games with reduced settings. It can emulate PSP quite well, so I'm sure it could emulate a lot of things.

But my problem has been finding emulators I can use properly on a tablet without having to keep plugging in kb&m. Also, as I said, it doesn't fit the iPega properly, so it could fall out easier than other tablets. Also, it supports tablets up to 10 inches, so it's likely that a 10.1" tablet wouldn't fit.

The software is a problem. I'm not getting good performance out of RetroArch, I can't access menus in most other emulators, it's not as smooth as on Android where the entire OS can be controlled out of the box with a controller and all software menus are designed for touch.

Windows is messy. Really messy. Leave it alone unless you're technically inclined and very patient. If you only care about emulation, you might do better with Android, but with a Windows 8.1 tablet, you have a real computer, shaped like a tablet, running real Windows.

I can play Freedom Planet, Divekick, Shovel Knight, some of the most powerful tablets can apparently even do Dolphin very well!

My advice for Windows tablets? 16GB internal memory is as spartan as it gets, get at least 32GB if you can afford to. 1GB of ram actually goes an amazingly long way on Windows 8.1. Keyboard and mouse is EXTREMELY helpful for config. If there's no full USB port you can use an otg (on the go) adapter to turn the micro usb port into standard usb port(s). I've never gotten the charging port on otg cables to work on any Windows or Android device, so don't get too excited. If you're used to Android or iOS, treat it like a computer, not a tablet. You can't transfer files via usb, use it as a tether, and it may not charge through your computer's usb port. Windows app selection sucks immensely. BuzzTime and Candy Crush fans will be very disappointed. KotOR on Android supports touch. KotOR on Steam doesn't. :(

[Anonymous No.2417037]

>>2416980
Thanks, OP!

[Anonymous No.2417043]

Okay I know OP didn't specifically ask about this but I just discovered it and am fairly stoked about it.

Part of why I got a Windows tablet was to play legacy Windows games on it but lo and behold the touch mapping is horrible for mouse control games. This was something I just gave up on when I got my tablet 2+ years ago but just like yesterday I discovered that some dude has created an SDL.DLL file that is compatible with ScummVM and DOSbox. You have to double-tap to click which sucks but it makes so many retro PC games that were otherwise unplayable very playable.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqzKe7APHKI

[Anonymous No.2417087]

My Windows 8.1 tablet works well for playing THPS2 but playing SNES emulators has been...iffy.

Also Sonic Adventure 2 has the same issue that it does on my Ultrabook (City Escape has the tram hanging over your head for the entire level due to a bug in the Intel GMA platform).

[Anonymous No.2417206]

I had the Linx 10 for a while but I never really tried much in the way of emulation.

Really like the Linx 8 and seems to pretty much have the same spec as some of the tabs mentioned here. Might be worth a go? Does it seriously run PSP games alright?

[Anonymous No.2417236]

>>2416797

Dell Venue 8 Pro user here and in my opinion 10 inches is too damn big and heavy for portable gaming and 7-8 inches is already somewhat cumbersome as it is.

I also own the iPega PG-9023 which also adds a bit of girth to the set up meaning more portability issues if you plan on taking it outside the house. Then again, I mapped the right stick and shoulder buttons for mouse functionality with Xpadder for those programs that really need it so one less accessory to carry.

Also, no idea why OP thinks emulators are that big of an issue with Windows tablets since I've been able to run the popular ones just fine with no problems.

[Anonymous No.2417315]

Would one of those cheap chinese tablets be good for emulation like the x98 or Onda V973?

[Anonymous No.2418986]

Interesting thread.

l have an 8" android tablet which I use for SNES, mega drive, PSP, DS and playstation emulation.

l have been considering getting a Windows 8 tablet to replace it, so l can play things like HOM&M on the train. But from reading this thread, it seems like a keyboard and mouse would be needed to play the old PC games, which kind of rules out playing when commuting.

Are there any decent emulation apps in the Windows 8 app store?

[Anonymous No.2419471]

>>2418986
No. Like I said earlier, the app store selection sucks immensely. There are three popular emulators that I could find. The SNES emulator, Snes8x, only supports touch screen, there was no way to bind my ipega at all. I couldn't find anything for PlayStation. PPSSPP, Fusion, Snes9x, and RetroArch are nice, even if they don't all work with the interface as nice as they could, but they aren't in the app store at all.

Almost nothing is in the app store. I'm amazed. I thought Windows 8.1 apps have been a thing for a few years now. They don't even have Candy Crush, which is why my mom ended up returning hers. They also don't have buzztime, which sucks because everyone else in my group can use their tablets except me, I have to use one of the buzztime player machines they have at the bar.

[Anonymous No.2419512]

>>2419471
Check back after windows 10. They're releasing a bunch of tools for developers to port stuff easily from android and ios. and specifically candy crush is coming preinstalled with windows

[Anonymous No.2419534]

I recently got an HP Stream 7. Fucking $80. It's awesome.

[Anonymous No.2419536]

Don't know how you guys can stand this app store garbage.

Even Android, which is supposed to be open source, was locked down by Google's design to discourage software distribution outside of Google Play (formerly Android Market).

Unfortunately it's still unrealistic for a non-Google Linux distro to compete with Android as an alternative mobile OS.

[Anonymous No.2419567]

Why check the app store for emulators? Just treat this as an actual Windows computer and download and install the programs like you normally would on a pc or laptop.

[Anonymous No.2419568]

I'm too drunk to taste this chicken.

[Anonymous No.2419614]

>>2419536
You do realise there's alternative markets and android software resources, right?

[Anonymous No.2419667]

>>2419534
OP here. I returned mine because the headphone jack had a ton of static, and I discovered the TW700, which has a full usb port and HDMI out. Unfortunately, it doesn't fit the ipega as well as the HP Stream 7 (Which didn't fit all that well, either. I guess Windows tablets are generally just fatter than Android tablets), and both would require bluetooth headphones to use while fixed into the ipega.

I paid $86 for mine, but you can get it for much less than the HP Stream 7 if you live in a state with a Microcenter store. The lack of internal memory sucks, though. 16GB sounds like a lot, but you have less than 5GB after a fresh install, and Windows updates will eventually eat every last kilobyte if you let them.

All in all, the HP Stream 7 is better in some ways, but I like my static-free headphone audio and HDMI out. The full USB isn't amazing, since you should have an OTG cable anyway, but it is nice. Also, I couldn't get the HP Stream 7 to charge from USB, while with the TW700, I can. Albeit, rather slowly. It's worth just plugging these things into the wall unless it's really not an option at the time.

[Anonymous No.2419737]

>>2417315

I'm also interested in how well chinese Windows tablets perform since this is apparently about the cheapest win8 tablets we can find to use for emulation.

[Anonymous No.2419752]

>>2417043
That's pretty fucking cool.

[Anonymous No.2419787]

>>2419737
As well as a dual core 1.3 Ghz PC would, sans some performance due to Win 8 being a hog.
The "1.5-1.8 Ghz" advertised is bullshit.
1.8 Ghz is it's burst speed, which it can maintain for several seconds before winding down to 1.5 Ghz.

Baytrail z3735, used in most chineese devices can only go 1.5 Ghz for a limited time thoguh, because of overheating (10-20 minutes depending on device), and when it overheats it downclocks itslef down to measely 500Mhz until rebooted.

z3740 does not overheat so fast, but also elevates the tablet above $100 price

Also due to it being Intel HD card, don't expect any sort of decent 3D acceleration support for older games - even Unreal Gold, which ran flawlessly on P3-600Mhz constantly stuttered on Baytrail. Some games (like Sacred) would glitch terribly, not rendering parts of what they should.

The only reason to get it would be to play older PC titles without too much 3D (Heroes of Might and Magic, Orignal M&M, Diablo 1-2, Baldurs Gate etc.), and some of the simpler modern indies that do not require hardware acceleration.

For the purposes of console emulation - Android platforms with the same price tag beat it in every single aspect.

[Anonymous No.2420450]

>>2416731
I have an LG11T540, it has an Atom Z3740 so far the only emulator that doesnt really work well are PS1 emulators, they run, but only a few games will be playable, tried some N64 games too and they all run pretty decently
NEO GEO chugs a bit, Metal Slug X on MAME runs find till the game floods the screen with sprites

I strongly recommend it if you want a 10in windows 8.1 emulation tablet, as it has a hybrid design, meaning it has a full physical keyboard in it plus 2 USB ports and one full size HDMI out, so you are not stuck with only the touch screen whenever the emulator cant understand touch inputs