boytacean 0.11.5
A Game Boy emulator that is written in Rust
License: Apache License, Version 2.0
Keywords: gameboy emulator rust

# [Boytacean](https://boytacean.joao.me)

A Game Boy emulator that is written in Rust 🦀.

<a href="https://boytacean.joao.me" target="_blank"><img src="https://github.com/joamag/boytacean/raw/master/res/videos/002-mario.low.gif" width="360" /></a>

**This emulator has been written for educational purposes and shouldn't be taken too seriously.** But yeahh it plays most Game Boy games, which is cool... 🕹️

## Features

* Game Boy (DMG) and Game Boy Color (CGB) emulation
* Simple navigable source-code
* Web, [SDL](https://www.libsdl.org) and [Libretro](https://www.libretro.com) front-ends
* Audio, with a pretty accurate APU
* Serial Data Transfer ([Link Cable](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_Link_Cable)) support
* [Game Boy Printer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_Boy_Printer) emulation
* Support for multiple MBCs: MBC1, MBC2, MBC3, and MBC5
* Save state support using the [BESS Specification](https://github.com/LIJI32/SameBoy/blob/master/BESS.md) for cross-compatibility with other emulators
* Cheat support using [Game Genie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_Genie) and [GameShark](https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/GameShark) codes
* Variable CPU clock speed
* Accurate PPU - passes [dmg-acid2](https://github.com/mattcurrie/dmg-acid2) and [cgb-acid2](https://github.com/mattcurrie/cgb-acid2) tests

For the Web front-end...

* Mobile first experience
* Transparent RAM saving using [Web Storage API](https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/API/Window/localStorage)
* GamePad support using [Web Gamepad API](https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/API/Gamepad_API)
* Unobstructive and effective on-screen GamePad
* Rumble emulation and haptic feedback
* Cool bespoke display palettes built by [TheWolfBunny64](https://www.deviantart.com/thewolfbunny).
* Fullscreen browser mode
* Debug mode - VRAM and registers

What's still missing...

* Low-level cycle accurate system emulation
* [Game Boy Camera](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_Boy_Camera) emulation
* NetPlay gaming support

## Deployments

| Provider   | Stable  | URL                                                              |
| ---------- | ------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Cloudflare | `True`  | [boytacean.joao.me](https://boytacean.joao.me)                   |
| Cloudflare | `True`  | [boytacean.pages.dev](https://boytacean.pages.dev)               |
| Cloudflare | `True`  | [prod.boytacean.pages.dev](https://prod.boytacean.pages.dev)     |
| Cloudflare | `True`  | [stable.boytacean.pages.dev](https://stable.boytacean.pages.dev) |
| Cloudflare | `False` | [master.boytacean.pages.dev](https://master.boytacean.pages.dev) |

## Build

### Library

```bash
cargo build
```

### Python Library

```bash
pip install .
```

or

```bash
python setup.py install
```

### WASM for Node.js

```bash
cargo install wasm-pack
wasm-pack build --release --target=nodejs -- --features wasm
```

### WASM for Web

```bash
cargo install wasm-pack
wasm-pack build --release --target=web --out-dir=frontends/web/lib -- --features wasm
cd frontends/web
npm install && npm run build
cd dist && python3 -m http.server
```

### Utilities

#### BOSC Decompressor

The BOSC decompressor is a simple utility that decompresses BOSC files to BOS format.

```bash
cargo run --release --bin bosc-decompress -- <input_file> <output_file>
```

## Web front-end

The Web front-end makes use of [EmuKit](https://github.com/joamag/emukit) which is a UI toolkit that provides the required infrastructure for the creation
of interfaces for emulation in a Web context.

### Configuration

You can use some GET parameters to control the initial behavior of the emulator.

| Parameter    | Type    | Description                                                                                    |
| ------------ | ------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `rom_url`    | String  | The URL from which the initial ROM is going to be loaded, should support CORS.                 |
| `url`        | String  | The same as `rom_url`.                                                                         |
| `fullscreen` | Boolean | If the emulator should start in fullscreen mode.                                               |
| `fs`         | Boolean | The same as `fullscreen`.                                                                      |
| `debug`      | Boolean | If the "debugger" should start visible and information shown in `verbose` mode.                |
| `verbose`    | Boolean | If information should be shown in verbose mode.                                                |
| `keyboard`   | Boolean | If the on-screen keyboard should start visible.                                                |
| `palette`    | String  | The name of the palette to be set at startup( eg: `christmas`, `hogwards`, `mariobros`, etc.). |

## Palettes

The palettes offered in the web version were provided by [TheWolfBunny64](https://www.deviantart.com/thewolfbunny).

## Inspiration

To get some information about the resources that inspired me through the emulation creation journey check [Inspiration](doc/inspiration.md).

## Contributing

Love Gameboy emulation? Want to contribute to Boytacean? That's awesome! Your contributions are what make the open-source community such an amazing place to learn, inspire, and create.

To get started, please take a look at our [Contributing Guidelines](CONTRIBUTING.md). Whether you're fixing bugs, adding new features, or helping with documentation, every contribution is valuable and greatly appreciated!

Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. Join us in making Boytacean the best Gameboy emulator out there!

## License

Boytacean is currently licensed under the [Apache License, Version 2.0](http://www.apache.org/licenses/).

## Build Automation

[![Build Status](https://github.com/joamag/boytacean/workflows/Main%20Workflow/badge.svg)](https://github.com/joamag/boytacean/actions)
[![crates Status](https://img.shields.io/crates/v/boytacean)](https://crates.io/crates/boytacean)
[![npm Status](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/boytacean.svg)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/boytacean)
[![PyPi Status](https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/boytacean.svg)](https://pypi.python.org/pypi/boytacean)
[![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-Apache%202.0-blue.svg)](https://www.apache.org/licenses/)