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Bleem's shipping-the exe that is

Twitch writes "Looks like the guys over at Bleem finally managed to get their Playstation emulator for the PC out, in spite of repeated attempts by Sony to prevent it. Check it out at their website. " From what I understand, they are going to begin shipping within the next week. Excellent. I've been informed that it started shipping a few weeks ago-but some people aren't so happy with it. Click below to read more. What's come out now is the actual exe. Hemos,
Bleem started to ship over 2-3 weeks ago. The actual exe was just released on the 15th. You buy the CD from them, which just has DirectX 6.1 on it and some sort of key. You then download the exe from them, and it checks for your CD key. Some sort of way of preventing piracy I guess. It annoys the hell out of me because you need to put the CD Key CDROM in your cdrom drive every time you want to play Bleem!. Not to mention that it does not work with my Sony DVD IDE drive. I had to borrow a friend's CDROM just to play the damn thing. It's got a lot of bugs.. I'd wait to order it if I were you. It's also got some reported problems with Voodoo cards.

Crypt242

56 comments

  1. Looks good, but only runs on Window~1 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Still gonna download it anyways.
    :)

  2. Any word on a linux port? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I hope they will port it :) Although it uses DirectX maybe they can look at SDL for portin reasons? Anywho if they don't port it I hope it works in Wine :) BTW...anyone try it in Wine yet? NaTaS Civ:Call to Power for Linux news page

    1. Re:Any word on a linux port? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I already have a PSX....I just think it would be cool :)
      NaTaS

    2. Re:Any word on a linux port? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      since it was written in asm i doubt it will be ported anytime soon.

    3. Re:Any word on a linux port? by Inhume · · Score: 1

      Running a platform emulator through an OS emulator? Isn't that a whole lot of hassle? Why not just shell out for a real PSX? It's not exactly a big-ticket item...

    4. Re:Any word on a linux port? by Inhume · · Score: 1

      Hehe, you've got me there. I just don't see the point, myself, other than from a technical geekboy POV. Console games just play so much better lying on your ass on the couch, with a nice big 25" TV and a good stereo :-) Hunched over my monitor on a crappy deskchair? That's ok, but I do it 40hrs/wk at work already, plus all my goofing off at home. I need a reprieve ;-)

  3. Works on Voodoo2 w/Q3:A drivers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it's pretty slow vs. my TNT in a lot of games though, especially texture-heavy ones like NHL '99.

  4. quality? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    so, is connectix VGS going to be as good as Bleem in terms of quality? or better, or what?

    --anonymous coward mac user
    who cannot remember his password

    1. Re:quality? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The VGS shipped months ago, and was ready to be bought at the MacWorld Expo the day that Connectix announced it. So far I've noticed zero bugs and it's worked with every game I've tried. No insane CD Key bunk either.

      My advice: Don't waste your time on Bleem.

    2. Re:quality? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gimme a break!

      Bleem! is $20 less, requires only a Pentium 166 (not a G3), 3D accelerated, AND LEGAL!

      VGS, if you'll recall, was outlawed as of 4-21-99 .

      and macs suck. 8P

  5. Re:Window~1?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe it was meant to mean `Windows NT or 95' - I'm sorry: Windows\ NT\ or\ 95 (tis a filename..right..)

  6. Re:Window~1?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Windows NT or 95" works fine as a filename in linux

  7. Re:Missing the point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The last time I purchased bugy software was when I got Win95.

    I don't beleive in paying for anything until the bugs are addressed. So I will wait for a few months then think long and hard aboit buying a copy. Im sure my solution will be the same as useual, why load a emulator on my machine to play games that cost more than native games for the same machine. Single player with no network support even. How much fun can that be?

    Anyway, the idea that you can't buy software that is relativly bug free is a old hold over thaught from the Microsoft hay days of past. You can most certainly buy software that lacks any in your face bugs.

    Strider Centaur
    -bah humbug, passwords?

  8. Hack in no time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    VIE did something similar with their Subspace game. You could download newer updates of the game, and only play while the Subspace CD remained in the CD-rom drive. However, a hack was written for it immediately, where you ran the hack as a front end to the exe and caught any attempts to access the cdrom. So unless the encryption is good, expect the hack anytime soon.

  9. Re:Window~1?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    wow those were relevant comments ;)

  10. Rather ironic how.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sony claimed this emulator would mean people would pirate their games, and now people want to pirate the emulator. Talk about biteing the hand that feeds you....

    1. Re:Rather ironic how.. by Mandrias · · Score: 1

      Maybe I'm a fool or just a lover of the law.

      But I paid for bleem! and I have paid for all my playstation games.

      +

      And I don't own a PSX console. I only emulate.

      =

      Sony has a new paying customer.


      Emulation could be such a goldmine if only it wasn't scorned.

      --
      Use the Z-modem protocol between Information Superhighway routers to compress the plaintext. ~LordOfYourPants
  11. Re:Bleem is a fake! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, it's just not as good as it was advertised as being.

  12. Re:Sony CEO Kutaragi hints at Linux Playstation po by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Could this be related to the fact that Kutaragi's boss is pushing him to make Playstation2 a viable competitor to Windoze?

  13. Re:It's not a fake silly :) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why is it stuff runs faster in GLide? and D3d stuff looks slower? perhaps Bleem if they had a clue woudl have used glide + d3d

    why not try www.psemu.com

  14. Re:Bleah on Bleem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I rather wait on that crack... if the program is good I will buy it if not... they can bite me.

  15. CD Key? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What is to prevent you from using a CD ROM burner from copying the stupid key? Isn't a CD ROM burner aroun ~200 US today (I really don't know)? How much is a Sony Playstation?

    1. Re:CD Key? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      does anyone have 'virtual cd'?
      i think it can duplicate it

    2. Re:CD Key? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yep your right.

      a site posted the exact layout of the bleem! cd a while back and went through various reasons why ot would be uncopyable. In my opinion it'll still get cracked in no time unless the bleem team have done some tip top protection.

    3. Re:CD Key? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Bleem "machines" are all written in pure assembler(or so they say).
      I'd say this will be one hard nut to crack.
      Besides, try the demo.. if you really need bleem, 30 bucks really isn't much money..

    4. Re:CD Key? by whitemr2 · · Score: 1

      I'm certainly no CD-ROM expert, but upon closer inspection, the bleem key is not a standard CD. There are around 10 circles (concentric) visible on the CD surface (much like the gap between tracks on those antique vinyl records ;-), my guess is that a CDR will be unable to duplicate this.

  16. Re:Sony CEO Kutaragi hints at Linux Playstation po by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Kutaragi is nothing less than CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The only boss he has is Norio Ohga, CEO of Sony Corp at head office in Japan.

  17. Re:Bleah on Bleem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Where can we get a crack for that CD KEY thing, let me know please at abolo@hotmail.com

  18. Re:Bleah on Bleem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Where can we get a crack for that CD KEY thing, let me know please at machedeyais@hotmail.com

  19. Any one used VCD? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Has any one ever used VCD? It's a cd drive emulator that copies images of cds into a single compressed file and mounts it in a fake cd drive in windows. Could you not just use this to copy the bleem cd? Then you wouldn't need to insert the cd all the time.

  20. Raising the bar for Playstation market entrants by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the publisher is the one to buy the dev kits, ... so the cost isn't really a huge issue.

    Sony's $20000 per seat license fee is more than enough to stop some small publishers entering the Playstation software market. The Playstation developers kit is almost identical hardware to the Playstation retail unit. The technical difference is library source code and a compiler, yet the cost difference is $20000.

    Since the retail Playstation sells profitably, i.e. without it being a loss leader, Sony could recover its investment from these sales and without adding a $19800 margin to the input cost of the dev kits. Sony is raising the bar for Playstation market entrants, and foregoing a chance to sell a much wider range of software titles.

    1. Re:Raising the bar for Playstation market entrants by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


      Ask small publishing companies how they run their businesses successfully.

    2. Re:Raising the bar for Playstation market entrants by forii · · Score: 1

      if a publisher can't afford a few $20000 dev kits for it's developer, then how is it going to be able to afford marketing, manufacturing,and distributing the game as well?

  21. Missing the point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    You guys are all REALLY missing the point here. It's not 'turning a $2000 pc into a $200 console' if you don't exactly own the console in the first place, now is it?

    While the key system DOES seem to be a strange idea-- I fully expect to see pirated versions out within a week-- I don't see how that has anything to do with compatibility problems.

    As for preannouncing, they HAD a product when they announced it. Setbacks DO happen in the industry, and it sure looks like Sony wants to stop these *any* way they can.

    As for bugs, when was the last time you bought *any* software that was bug-free?

    Give them time, things will settle down and become stable with a few fix releases.

  22. Sony $20000 fee per PSX developer = poor value? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1


    According to this article in Wired:

    Sony will begin shipping the development workstation in September, said Phil Harrison, Sony's vice president of research and development. The machine, to be priced under US$20,000, will be based on the same chipset as the PlayStation II, including the 128-bit 'Emotion Engine' and graphic chips.

    1. Re:Sony $20000 fee per PSX developer = poor value? by forii · · Score: 1

      The original development kit for the PSX1 was about $14,000, plus the cost of the PC that you had to put it in, which was probably another few thousand, so $20000 doesn't sound too outrageous. Also, remember, that usually the publisher is the one to buy the dev kits, and then they give them to the developers, so the cost isn't really a huge issue.

  23. Actually... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    You've got the order backwards, the .exe was just posted on the website, nothing else, it is designed to work with the CD Key that was sent out to the people who ordered it (the thing that was 'sent out a few weeks ago), and encryted password, a waste of a cd, is burned onto the special Bleem! disc. The full .exe checks for the CD before it'll fully load (can anyone say crack?). Anyway, with the lame CD key technology they can have new versions bugfixes and whatever without having top send out new CDs, just thought you shoud know...

  24. Sony CEO Kutaragi hints at Linux Playstation port by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    Ken Kutaragi, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and former manager of Sony's Playstation research and development, is known to be interested in Linux and the possibility of encouraging other parts of Sony to adopt their new CPU e.g. for embedded systems products. However, a recent interview with Kutaragi by NikkeiBP showed his initial goal is limited to using Linux only as a development environment to create software for the Playstation. Look up Sony!

    Real-Time Linux + PSX CPU would be a great environment for embedded systems. Sony should realise the opportunities and start marketing in the next year or two before the price/performance advantage is lost. Sony could get Linux ported to the PSX with absolutely minimal investment assuming they gave adequate technical documentation to the open source community. Perhaps somebody in Sony (Japan) will read this and take up the suggestion.

    Signed, 9cd1ecb08da5d9f864a14310d4607185

  25. Sony doesn't get it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    Sony looses money on every PlayStation sold, and only makes it up through game sales. Instead of fighting the guys who write emulators, couldn't Sony develop it's own emulator, sell a $30 CD-ROM drive capable of reading their black CDs (that's how much double speed drives went for, last I checked), preferably with some sort of copy protection, and then have all the benefits of people buying PlayStation games, without the financial looses of people buying PlayStations?

    - pmitros (possibly with dated information)

    1. Re:Sony doesn't get it. by Ageless · · Score: 1

      I agree with you here, but just wanted to point out that pretty much any CDROM drive will read the black CDs. In fact, I have not come across a CDROM drive yet that won't read them. Also, it's a standard format (ISO9660 I would assume) because you can actually look at the contents of the disc.

    2. Re:Sony doesn't get it. by phrenq · · Score: 1

      If Sony followed this plan, they'd be alienating a large chunk of their market - people who don't own a PC.

      Plus, the saleable life of any console is much longer than that of a PC, and over time, the cost to produce one goes down.

  26. 3dfx Cards by Fiznarp · · Score: 1

    Word on the IRC channels is that it still has some problems running on 3dfx cards. I recieved my CD Key in the mail two weeks ago, and can't wait to get home and try it. Has anyone else that already has it had problems getting it to run?

    1. Re:3dfx Cards by Mandrias · · Score: 1

      The software mode works pretty good for me seeing that I've got a PII 450 but the D3D mode with my Voodoo II doesn't have textures unless I enable managed textures and once I do that the emulation becomes so slow that it annoys me to much to play. But overall I'm happy that bleem! was finally released. I've been waiting for a long time to use this silly bit of code and now I have it and I'm smiling :) I'm not worried about the compat. issues that are running amok. I'm sure they will be worked out with time. Randy, their coder, seems like he knows what he's doing. Alright I'm gonna go play Megaman X4 some more now.

      --
      Use the Z-modem protocol between Information Superhighway routers to compress the plaintext. ~LordOfYourPants
  27. Re:Lame... by Fiznarp · · Score: 1

    If you already have a PC, $25 for bleem is alot cheaper than a $200 console... Looks much nicer on a voodoo card and SVGA monitor than on a nasty TV set.

  28. Bleah on Bleem by Matt+Blevins · · Score: 1

    At this point, I'd trust them as far as I could throw them. It wasn't Sony that kept delaying them--it was their own incompetence. Implementing a ridiculous key-CD copy protection system? In 1999? That's what made them miss their first ship date--when they put in the key disc code, everything else stopped working. Ha.

    I feel sorry for them getting hassled at E3 by Sony reps, but in all other respects they deserve all the abuse they get.

    Lord, I hate preannouncements with the emu scene. If they had just shut up until they had a product, and perhaps forgotten about the keydiscs, maybe they wouldn't be such a joke.

    1. Re:Bleah on Bleem by Ted+Cabeen · · Score: 1

      True Enough, ID did have a Key system, and it was cracked within a few weeks. Allowed someone to install every ID game up to quake on their machine for free.

    2. Re:Bleah on Bleem by Jason+Scott · · Score: 0
      Darkle, you know nothing. Bleem is now available at the bleem site. I just downloaded my copy and with the key CD I have I'll be deep into Gran Turismo by the evening.

      As for Key CDs being out, maybe you should go talk to ID Software, since they had that too.

      And fix www.fedora.org, will you? It's embarassing.

  29. Window~1?? by linuxci · · Score: 0

    What's all this Window~1 stuff about. In case you didn't realise windows is less than 8 characters so doesn't get cut down like that window~1 is actually longer than windows!

    Micros~1 perhaps but window~1 is just taking it too far.
    --

    1. Re:Window~1?? by 13th+seer · · Score: 1

      also valid in win-dos

  30. Re:Lame... by Rick_T · · Score: 2

    | If you already have a PC, $25 for bleem is alot
    | cheaper than a $200 console... Looks much nicer
    | on a voodoo card and SVGA monitor than on a
    | nasty TV set.

    1) It's a $130 console - NEW. Cheaper if you look hard enough.

    2) It takes more than a $130 investment in PC hardware to get the thing to run good on your average PC. Sure, if you've already sunk the money it's probably not too expensive, but otherwise ...

    3) A PSX is less hassle. Plain and simple. Pop in "Colony Wars: Vengeance", plug in the Dual Analog Flightstick, and I'm there. Now where was that DLL or .so again? :)

    4) It's too early. Sure, if PSXen were hard to come by, I could see the point - like MAME for old arcade games that are damned near impossible to find these days. Or UAE - since Amigas aren't exactly easy to come by. But a PSX?

    5) I have a nice TV set, hooked to a nice stereo system. The PSX looks pretty damned good hooked up to the TV with s-video. And the sound - oh my! Contrast with the PC which, while it has a good trinitron monitor, it's only 17". And I only have a 75WPC stereo system hooked to the computer. (A real stereo, not "multimedia speakers", but still - no competition for the living room).

    6) (And the most important reason this thing is lame) - No Linux port. :)

    ... give it a while and it'll show up in mame. ;)

    --
    -- Rick
  31. It's not a fake silly :) by Mandrias · · Score: 1

    It doesn't run horribly for me in software mode. (and even that runs better than the demo did for me.)

    So D3D has some problems right now....oh well, I'm just happy I finally have a build of the .exe

    The D3D issues will work themselves out quickly with a few bug fixes. Don't worry, be happy.

    --
    Use the Z-modem protocol between Information Superhighway routers to compress the plaintext. ~LordOfYourPants
  32. I'll tell you why I do it. by Mandrias · · Score: 1

    My monitor is 19 inches and I have a very nice sound system on my computer...not to mention it's in my bedroom next to where all my friends hang out when I'm home from college. I don't have enough room to put a large TV in here on top of everything else (all geeky) that's in here. So it makes perfect sense for me to emulate the PSX...not to mention it's just cool in a techy sort of way.

    Oh yeah...and about the comment a few posts up in the thread

    Wine is not an emulator :P

    Just my $.02

    --
    Use the Z-modem protocol between Information Superhighway routers to compress the plaintext. ~LordOfYourPants
    1. Re:I'll tell you why I do it. by n8 · · Score: 1

      W ine
      I s
      N ot an
      E mulator

      I'd have to agree w/ you about playing console games on the couch. But, alas WINE is not an emulator, check the doc's on their page.

    2. Re:I'll tell you why I do it. by Inhume · · Score: 1

      Yeah yeah yeah, that's nice. I have a 20" IBM P201 monitor (Trinitron, 19.1" viewable, .25 AG, yadyadayada), a Voodoo2, a P2-450, and Aureal Vortex sound, it's a perfectly great gaming machine.... for Quake 3 or Myth 2.

      The fact remains, however, that the essence of console gaming and computer gaming remain miles apart. I would never dream of futzing around for hours trying to get a 4 or 8 player game like Wave Race 64 or NHL 98 working on my computer, then have to find space in my office for my friends to sit. Why bother? I can just go plop down on the NICE BIG COUCH in the living room and play, and they can sit wherever they like. Furthermore, I don't have to go out and buy a bunch of new USB joysticks, that MAY or MAY NOT work properly with the package.

      Consoles are consoles, computers are computers, and never the twain shall meet. I like each for what it does, and it's cool you like the idea of playing PSX games on your PC, but count me out. It ruins the whole experience. And yes, I've tried it... R4 and Bushido Blade 2 running on a fast G3 with VGS... it kinda stunk. I also tried Soviet Strike and FF7 on the Bleem demo, and it was pretty sad... SS wouldn't load, FF7 looked like garbage, all wildly pixelated.

      Wine isn't an emulator? How amusing then that the FAQ (you can find it anywhere) for it should state in no uncertain terms, "WINdows Emulator"... Furthermore, why is the WINE newsgroup comp.emulators.ms-windows.wine? Please enlighten me. :-P

  33. Re:Lame... by Inhume · · Score: 1

    $200? Try $129 new, WITH a Dual Shock controller. You could find one used for under $70 if you looked. I fail to see any compelling reason to buy this product, and the CD key protection scheme is a total farce.

  34. Bleem is a fake! by havaloc · · Score: 1

    After waiting for a long time, finally got bleem, and it runs horrible. The Direct3D mode is a joke, it runs better in software mode. (like the demo). What a waste.