CHIP-8OR

A simple CHIP-8 emulator/interpreter written in C++. This emulator allows you to play classic CHIP-8 games on modern hardware.

Video demo

How to Run

Basic Usage

1. Place the emulator executable and ROM files in the same directory
2. Run the emulator using one of the following methods:

Method 1: Default Settings

chip8 filename.ch8 This runs the specified ROM with default scale and cycles per frame.

Method 2: Custom Scale

chip8 <scale> filename.ch8 This runs the specified ROM with a custom scale factor and default cycles per frame.

Method 3: Custom Scale and Tickrate

chip8 <scale> <cycles/frame> filename.ch8 This runs the specified ROM with custom scale factor and custom cycles per frame.

Parameters

• scale: Display scaling factor (integer, recommended values: 5-20)
• cycles_per_frame: Number of CHIP-8 instructions executed per frame (integer, recommended values: 5-15)
  • Higher values make games run faster
  • Lower values make games run slower
  • Effective instruction rate = cycles_per_frame × 60 Hz
• filename.ch8: Path to the CHIP-8 ROM file

Controls

The CHIP-8 system uses a 16-key hexadecimal keypad. These keys are mapped to your keyboard as follows:

CHIP8 Key	Keyboard Key
1	1
2	2
3	3
C	4
4	Q
5	W
6	E
D	R
7	A
8	S
9	D
E	F
A	Z
0	X
B	C
F	V

Special Keys

• ESC: Exit the emulator
• J: Reset the current ROM
• Space: Pause/Resume emulation

How to Build

To build this project, follow these steps:

1. Make sure you have the following files in the project folder:

   • raylib.h
   • libraylib.a

   These files are required from a working raylib build.

2. Run the Python build script:

   build.py

   this will build the executable file