3dSen PC 2.0 overhauls the voxel NES emulator, with a new render mode, Run Ahead and native Apple Silicon
Geod Studio calls it its biggest overhaul yet: a new interface, smoother sculpted voxels, lower input delay and a better native build for Steam Deck.
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3dSen PC 2.0 came out on 30 October, and Geod Studio calls it the NES emulator's biggest overhaul yet. If you have not met it, 3dSen leaves a game's logic alone and changes how it is drawn, turning sprites and backgrounds into 3D voxel models. Support is hand-tuned for each game, and the store page lists more than 100.
Retina mode and new visuals
The headline feature is a new render mode called Retina. Instead of building every pixel as a block, it sculpts smooth, rounded surfaces that cut through the voxels. It is off until you switch it on under Settings, Display, Render Mode.
There is also an enhanced visual style with adjustable reflections, shading, pixel shadows, voxel grooves and world curvature. Those effects also start switched off, and you can watch each change in a live preview of the paused game. Anyone who prefers the old look can keep the Classic style. Anti-aliasing now offers off, 2x or 4x, with 2x as the default, and the thin cracks, dark dots and dark lines between 3D tiles have been fixed.
Lower input delay
Run Ahead arrives in this version and is on by default, which is the change most players will feel without touching a menu. Soft Reset restarts a game as if you had pressed Reset on the console, and the studio notes that some games keep scores or other data after one. Reopening the app now offers Continue or Discard, so you can pick up the previous game.
The interface itself is new, with list and grid views, cover art, search, filters and favourites. All of it works from a gamepad, with an on-screen keyboard for search. The old menu is gone, and the default controller layout has changed to Y and B for Select and Start, with LB and RB for rewind and fast forward. Saved layouts carry over, so anyone who wants the new one has to press Reset to defaults in the controls settings.
New builds for three platforms
The Windows version has moved from 32-bit to 64-bit, and the macOS version now runs natively on Apple Silicon as well as Intel. Steam Deck owners get the most specific advice. The studio says the native Linux build runs a lot better and is now recommended over the Windows version through Proton. To use it, open the game's properties, go to Compatibility, force a specific tool and choose Steam Linux Runtime.
3dSen PC is on Steam for Windows, macOS and Linux. It does not include ROMs, so you need your own, and the store page points anyone who wants both PC and VR modes to the separate 3dSen VR.
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Image: Image: Geod Studio