Getting Started

Note: For very quick introduction to the program, read the quick start guide.

System Requirements

bee is currently available for Windows (32/64 bit), Mac OS X (Power/Intel) and Linux x86/x64. OpenGL support is desirable, but not required. A screen resolution of at least 640x480 (32 bit) is required, but 1024x768 or more is recommended. The program needs the SDL (Simple DirectMedia Layer) library to run; the Windows version comes with the SDL.dll file and is ready to run, Mac OS X and Linux users need to install this library if they have not already done so. Note: If you want the emulation to run at full original speed (sure you want that), you need a fast CPU. Multiple cores won't help.

Installation

Windows: Unpack the files to a directory of your choice (e.g. program files\bee) and run the executable (bee.exe).

Mac OS X: The zip archive contains an application package. Copy it to your Applications directory. To run bee, double-click on the package.

Linux: Unpack the files to a directory of your choice and run the executable (bee). The program needs write permissions in its directory.

When replacing an existing (older) version of bee, you may want to keep your old configuration files (the .txt files in your bee directory). They will continue to work with the new version. One way of upgrading to newer version is to simply replace the old executable (bee.exe or bee) and data file (bee.dat).

Some considerations before we begin...

bee, like most emulators, runs ROM images, i.e. files containing the software that was originally provided on cartridges or cards for use with the video game systems. Such software is protected by copyright, and you are not allowed to use it unless the copyright holder has granted you this right (e.g. when you bought the software). Failure to respect copyrights is a criminal offence in most countries.
bee does not contain or come with any software whose distribution would be illegal, and no such software is (or ever will be) available in this website. All users of bee are advised to act responsably and respect intellectual property.

Some video game systems were equipped with a system ROM, i.e. a small built-in program, comparable to a primitive operating system (check the systems section to find out which). To make bee emulate such a system, you need an image of this system ROM (often referred to as a BIOS image). Such system ROMs are also protected by copyright, and most of them are not free to use. There are, however, free BIOS replacements for a few systems.