Emulation Guide #5 - Sega Model 2 using the Model 2 Emulator
The Model 2 was designed as the direct successor to the Model 1, and it was an exponential shift in 3Dpolygon graphics. For the layman that means it looked bloody brilliant and was the host system for some of the best known and best grossing arcade games of the 1990s.
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Even if you don't recognise the name Sega Model 2 you will know Daytona USA, Sega Rally Championship, Virtua Fighter 2 and House of the Dead - so you'll want to know how you can play them again....
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We're using the appropriately named Model 2 Emulator, which is relatively straightforward to operate. For a number of these older arcade machine emulators you will need to ensure you have legacy Direct X and Visual C ++ packs installed on your system. Specifically you will need the Direct X pack from 2010 - but I recommend downloading and installing all the previous packs for ease.
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The Direct X pack can be found here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=8109
Visual C ++ packs can be found here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/2977003/the-latest-supported-visual-c-downloads
As number of these games were ported in some form to the Sega Saturn and then revised/revamped for machines like Dreamcast and PS2. But these original versions to my mind are the best and greatest iteration, and as it is relatively simple to emulate them I would recommend having a go at emulating the Arcade versions.
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You will obviously need some games, and there is a link below to Internet Archive which has the majority of the Roms for the Model 2 stored in their extensive archive. Fortunately there is no need for a BIOS with this emulator. As ever a few points to note:
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Most of us have multi core CPUs, so do use the multicou.exe file to start the emulator
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You'll need to tell the emulator where your ROMs are located, you do this via the emulator.ini file, simply copy and paste the file path to your ROMS to the line highlighted in the video - remembering to remove the ";" from the start of the line to ensure the emulator reads the path
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When loading ROMS ensure you click on the correct game for your ROM, otherwise the emulator will tell you there are "missing files"...
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You need to map controllers/buttons separately for each game, which is done from the "Game" drop down Menu. Most games will accept Keyboard, Dpad or Analog input, ensure you use the Z axis for the accelerator and brake for driving games, ticking the "invert" box for accelerator.
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The "Video" drop down allows you to select the resolution and set the emulator to boot a game automatically in to full screen.
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As you will see in the video once emulated these games still operate as if they were in a commercial arcade cabinet. Pressing F2 will take you in to the test menu (F1 cycles through options, F2 again selects) where you can access difficulty levels, set the machine to free play and reconfigure controls like light gun setting etc.
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As ever with emulation nothing is perfect, but this is pretty damn good and as close as you can get without the original arcade cabinet in front of you.​
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Hope you enjoy the video and give this a try. Until the next one - Go Well!
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Archive.org links:
Roms:
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