9 votes

MISTER FPGA: The Future of Retro Game Emulation and Preservation?

5 comments

  1. [3]
    Comment deleted by author
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    1. [2]
      phantomPhreak
      Link Parent
      Funny haha, or funny sad? It seems like the reasoning for using FPGAs is for cycle accurate emulation and preservation. If they can write how the consoles worked in software, then there would be...

      Funny haha, or funny sad? It seems like the reasoning for using FPGAs is for cycle accurate emulation and preservation. If they can write how the consoles worked in software, then there would be zero difference between a software simulation and the real deal, thus ending up with perfect gameplay and preserving the system itself as software.

      I have been using emulators for decades now, but the retro gaming community is really hyping this solution. Are they missing something? Off base with their ideas? Or is it funny that niche group would happen to stumble on this?

      1. [2]
        Comment deleted by author
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        1. Akir
          Link Parent
          FPGAs are getting more and more common, actually. You can get your hands on a very basic dev board for about $50 or so, and there are quite a few articles about them on Hackaday.

          FPGAs are getting more and more common, actually. You can get your hands on a very basic dev board for about $50 or so, and there are quite a few articles about them on Hackaday.

          2 votes
  2. [3]
    Slayback
    Link
    I built one over the holidays and it’s one of the coolest things ever. In seconds I can go from a nearly 100% Amiga experience to a Genesis, to a C64, then to an Atari 2600. Why not just use...

    I built one over the holidays and it’s one of the coolest things ever. In seconds I can go from a nearly 100% Amiga experience to a Genesis, to a C64, then to an Atari 2600. Why not just use emulators? The short answer is accuracy and lag. It feels like the original with HDMI output.

    I’d you’re into retro tech this should be on your radar. I say this as someone with a large console and computer collection. The convenience is amazing, and if you’re really into the scene you know the crazy setups needed to get a pure lag free image on an HDTV. This does all of that, plus a whole lot more!

    2 votes
    1. [2]
      phantomPhreak
      Link Parent
      I have been considering buying one of these for awhile now. I have tweaked my RetroArch to deal with lag, but it's not quite perfect. Are there CRT shaders yet? I'm one of those weirdos that needs...

      I have been considering buying one of these for awhile now. I have tweaked my RetroArch to deal with lag, but it's not quite perfect. Are there CRT shaders yet? I'm one of those weirdos that needs some sort of scanline look.

      I'm think this would be a perfect addition to my Bliss-box 4-Play, especially when firmware 3.0 comes out!

      1. Slayback
        Link Parent
        There are shaders and I think the code was borrowed from the open source scan converter (OSSC) project. And it works great with my BlissBox as well! Playing TG16 on it with real controllers is a trip!

        There are shaders and I think the code was borrowed from the open source scan converter (OSSC) project.

        And it works great with my BlissBox as well! Playing TG16 on it with real controllers is a trip!