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iAmTheTot ,

Steam Deck is the best emulation machine out there right now for me.

MeatsOfRage , (edited )

I’ve been thinking about getting the new pixel fold or the Samsung z flip fold. When you open them to tablet mode they’re a big square screen. When you clip on a controller it looks like a sick retro gaming handheld because of the screen ratio.

youtu.be/giPJ8bjCxN4?si=Mv8-68Dh8_ID9Ct0

Exusia , (edited )
@Exusia@lemmy.world avatar

You linked a Fold not a Flip. The difference is nearly $1000.

That said the Fold is a solid choice but if you’re only going to play games, save a couple bucks and don’t get a 6. The improvements have been so incremental you might be able to make due with a 4 or 5.

hobbsc ,
@hobbsc@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

Do emulators like lemuroid take up the whole screen on the inside of the fold?

I was debating on a tablet or the pixel fold and I saw a video where it showed that the inside screen was basically two screens and man apps just displayed in the middle with black borders on either side.

Exusia , (edited )
@Exusia@lemmy.world avatar

That’s gonna come down to aspect ratio. The inner screen is 4:3 so it might come down to the game? This Gameboy color game doesn’t fill the screen but this emulator seems to be more for 3ds. I have the Fold4 for perspective.

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/5beb9034-5404-4210-bcf2-c8b819c5f907.jpeg

hobbsc ,
@hobbsc@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

Thanks so much for the screenshot!

Blue_Morpho ,

That’s a $2000 gaming setup! ($1900 for z fold, $100 for gamesir controller.)

I think I’ll just get a Powkiddy RGB30 with a square screen for $80.

MeatsOfRage ,

I mean, it’s a phone + tablet first. The gaming is a nice bonus. Plus you really don’t need the fold 6 when the 5 will do just fine.

Blue_Morpho ,

Fold 5 is still like $1000 refurbished. Again compared to $80 Powkiddy. Plus a few hours of gaming doesn’t take away from your phone battery life.

StopJoiningWars ,
@StopJoiningWars@discuss.online avatar

Why do you enjoy denigrating people’s choices? You’re not the only one capable of rationality. It might make total sense from their perspective and financial situation.

Blue_Morpho ,

Suggesting a much cheaper alternative that has some benefits isn’t degrading anyone.

StopJoiningWars ,
@StopJoiningWars@discuss.online avatar

I didn’t say degrading, that wouldn’t even work grammatically. I said denigrating, “to criticise unfairly, disparage”.

Learn something. And stop putting other people’s ideas down.

Blue_Morpho ,

“disparage”

Suggesting an alternative isn’t disparaging anyone.

Suggesting alternatives isn’t putting people’s ideas down.

StopJoiningWars ,
@StopJoiningWars@discuss.online avatar

If you’d stopped at telling others what you’re doing. But no, you must feel righteous in criticising their choices of device, why they use it, and how much they spend on them.

People don’t owe you explanations for any of that.

MeatsOfRage ,

We’ve literally just recreated the meme here in the comments.

“It’d be pretty cool to have a flip phone to double as a big emulation handhel…”

Tuba on face

“A PEWKITTY IS $80 AND YOU GET TO CARRY MULTIPLE DEVICES AND A MUCH SMALLER SCREEN AND…”

smeg ,

I’m glad clip-on controllers exist now, I remember reading about them when using my Xperia Play a decade ago!

iheartneopets ,

I have a surface duo 2 right now, and had the Motorola razor (rip the iconic chin design they ditched with the new models) before that. Emulating the ds on a flip phone is goated

denshirenji ,
@denshirenji@lemmy.world avatar

This is similar to what I do. I have an old pixel 3xl and a Sunshine server running on my gaming PC. Moonlight is installed on the Pixel and I stream my games to it from the PC. I have a WireGuard VPN setup for when I am outside the house. It works very well!

Edit: Inside the house, I have a Rasbery Pi 5 with Libreelec installed which has a Moonlight addon as well for when I want to play on my big screen TV.

Trainguyrom ,

I worked for a phone manufacturer that makes foldable for a while. I really got the strong feeling that those foldable displays make them extremely sensitive to any drops or abuse that a traditional chocolate bar would easily survive. And I’ve heard similar feedback from early adopters as well

anivia ,

Too clunky. Modded Nintendo Switch is more portable and has better battery life

iAmTheTot ,

Will respectfully disagree. My steam deck can do way more than a Switch!

MarauderIIC ,

What’s your favorite emulated game on Steam Deck?

iAmTheTot ,

I’ve found myself playing a fair bit of my 3DS, Wii, and WiiU libraries, and revisiting some PS2 games. I also have been using it to play my PS5 in bed via remote play!

Rhynoplaz ,

I never liked ROMs on my computer, but I have a modded SNES Mini that feels legit enough for me.

DumbAceDragon ,
@DumbAceDragon@sh.itjust.works avatar

It’s usually the reverse in my experience. I love playing on original hardware when I have access, but some people get really anal when you emulate.

cambionn ,
@cambionn@feddit.nl avatar

Agree. There’s just something special about doing it the original way. Booting up that old console just like in the past, no matter if I had it back then or not.

That being said, I don’t get the hate on emulation either. To each their own.

_sideffect ,

Get a mister.

It IS the original hardware; its an FPGA

fuckwit_mcbumcrumble ,

It perfectly emulates the CPU, but it’s not the same as touching the actual hardware. For better or worse.

frezik ,

We can’t even say it perfectly emulates the CPU. It may pass all tests we know about, but even 1980s CPUs were complicated enough to have odd niche behavior.

It’s some great hardware, but I think a lot of people have been hoodwinked into thinking FPGA = perfect. Often some of the same people who turn their nose up at software emulation for equally bad reasons.

Sabin10 ,

Not always, the mister would need more elements to do an actual 1:1 for many newer consoles and the cores are often reverse engineered best guesses and not replicating the original asic design.

On the other hand, original hardware goes through revisions and the silicon can change (snes 1chip vs 2chip for example) while still be perfectly compatible so it really depends ho much of a stickler you are.

TORFdot0 ,

It’s also about as cheap to just buy the original consoles than a kitted out mister.

Although if you figure in AV switches, upscalers and everdrive carts, the price for convenience does swing back into the misters favor

LunarLoony ,
@LunarLoony@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

The Neo-Geo would like a word

DarkMetatron ,

I barely touch my original hardware at all since I have my MiSTer it is just so good.

Geometrinen_Gepardi ,

What’s the benefit of it versus emulation?

DarkMetatron ,

It is FPGA based, due to this it can be configured on hardware level to exactly replicate the original hardware of the retro system. This and that it runs directly and not through some emulation layer and modern OS and stuff means that it gets as close as original as it can be, with zero lag and delay.

michaelmrose ,

Do you perceive noticable lag when emulating on a modern PC?

DarkMetatron ,

Not only perceive, it is often multiple frames from multiple lag sources (input lag of the USB controller or even worse Bluetooth, display lag from the monitor, rendering lag from the emulator, framebuffer lag). Playing fast paced games with frame perfect movement (Megaman on the NES for example) is so much harder on a emulator with all the lag, even on very recent hardware.

abfarid ,
@abfarid@startrek.website avatar

It’s still emulation. Yes, it’s emulating hardware, as close as possible and often indistinguishably close, but it’s still emulation.

For example, my EDGB X7 runs fine on any real Game Boy I have, but can’t switch games on an Analogue Pocket.
Another weird issue that I had was that if I launched my Pokemon Crystal save on Pocket it would, for some reason, permanently change my character from a boy into a girl (without saving the game!). This wasn’t happening on my Game Boys (I restored the save a couple of times to test it).

DarkMetatron ,

It is not emulation, it is hardware replication. And yes it is not always perfect. As with any replicated or cloned hardware it is just as good as the available information and the skill of the manufacturer.

abfarid ,
@abfarid@startrek.website avatar

Sure, however you choose to call it, it’s not “original hardware”.

DarkMetatron ,

True and I would never call it original hardware. But it is so much closer to original hardware then emulation ever could be.

SRo ,

I mean, you are buying analogue products, so what do you know anyway.

abfarid ,
@abfarid@startrek.website avatar

You’re clearly just trying to pick a fight, but care to point out what I said wrong?

SRo ,

Fariiiid doesn’t know shiiiiit.

proton_lynx ,

Now this is the real solid advice

RightHandOfIkaros ,

By its very nature, an FPGA is not original hardware.

An FPGA is hardware that is designed to be very similar to original hardware, but it does not actually use original hardware components, and because of this it can actually have bugs or inaccuracies that were never present in original hardware.

aidan ,

An FPGA is hardware that is designed to be very similar to original hardware,

Well to be even more precise, its designed to be able to replicate most hardware of anything. Not designed for a specific device

xyzzy ,

Mister people are equally obnoxious about this

art ,
@art@lemmy.world avatar

Where’s the lie?

can ,

No one said there was one

RootBeerGuy ,
@RootBeerGuy@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

That RPIs first of all do not cost only 30 dollars anymore. And the ones you might find that are so cheap will not be able to actually run stuff from maybe N64 upwards. The more lower end they are the less will it work well.

Omgboom ,

N100’s are where it’s at, definitely more expensive than $30. But so much more power for the money.

PriorityMotif ,
@PriorityMotif@lemmy.world avatar

You can also buy ryzen 3000 based mini or sff PCs for less than $100.

Tuxman ,

Honestly, I will emulate almost all consoles EXCEPT N64…. This little weird Frankenstein console barely holds by a thread so most emulators can’t recreate its flaws and quirks correctly (which, funnily enough, are needed to run games smoothly)

PS2 emulators on the other hand, are FREAKING awesome!!! :D Live upscaled Battlefront 2 is GREAT!!

can , (edited )

Still waiting for an N64 emulator that renders Bomberman 64 menu properly

Bread ,

What about an FPGA for running the original game cartridges? Such as the Analogue 3D when that eventually releases. Quirks and all included as it becomes the N64. It even supports Bluetooth controllers too and 4k or CRTs.

Tuxman ,

If it works well, I’m all for it! 😁

(In the past years I’ve seen too many hyped projects just crash on release, so I’ll be observing the progress but I won’t be praising something that’s not even out yet)

Bread ,

This is true, but Analogue has a great reputation already in this space from their other products so I am hopeful.

galloFino ,

Where is the raspberry pi at 30$??? it is more than that nowadays

The_Picard_Maneuver OP ,
@The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world avatar

They’re inflated right now, depending on where you buy them. I got one for MSRP (around 30 bucks) last year at my local electronics store, but I had to give them my info to deter scalping.

Telodzrum ,

“Right now” for Pi inflation has been since like 2016. This is just their price now.

The_Picard_Maneuver OP ,
@The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world avatar

Well that sucks. I’ve heard the competitors are pretty good now though.

Telodzrum ,

Yeah, there’s a lot of competition in SBC these days. People seem to like the OrangePi lineup and some others.

Trainguyrom ,

Or for anything where a miniPC would do the same job, there’s tons of miniPCs running 7th gen and older processors available for peanuts since Microsoft arbitrarily declared them to be incompatible with Windows 11, and Windows 10 goes EOL in just 13 months.

HP prodesks for example are down to $100ish on eBay

curbstickle ,

An official raspberry pi isn’t worth gettin imo. Especially after their artificial availability issues during the pandemic.

Plenty of alternatives out there, which is what I’d recommend. OrangePi is much more reasonable price wise.

And if you don’t need arm, a used thin client will do the same job, cost a lot less, and have more compatibility.

Aceticon ,

It’s got to the point were for the price of a Pi 5 plus necessary kit, youcan just get a Mini PC with an Intel N100 (maybe the only decent thing Intel has done in the last couple of years) which has a lot more power and expandability though it consumes 15W instead of 7W and would probably be a better choice for running emulators.

mesamunefire ,

I’m hoping risc-v can join soon at reasonable speeds.

c0smokram3r ,
@c0smokram3r@midwest.social avatar

Exactly what I was wondering!!!

TrousersMcPants ,

Yeah I basically got this exact advice and was surprised to realize they cost much more than that anymore.

Slayan ,

www.canakit.com/raspberry-pi-3-model-b.html

Here ya go! You don’t need the last edition pi to use retro arch, enjoy.

turkalino ,
@turkalino@lemmy.yachts avatar

Yeah I’m a huge Raspberry Pi fan but not only is it practically impossible to find a pi at that price, pi’s also can’t reliably emulate games past the 32 bit era

Diabolo96 ,

I’d understand if it was about the controllers since the games were made to work specifically with them, but choosing to pay several hundred dollars instead of juste using something that cost less than a 100 and got far better UI and features is something i’ll Never understand. Tho, It would make sense if you had that console as a child and getting the real one make you feel nostalgic.

aeronmelon ,

There’s something relaxing about swapping carts on a SNES.

TheTeej107 ,

And booting up an OS, running the emulator, and selecting a save state just ruins the experience of playing a retro console.

The_Picard_Maneuver OP ,
@The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world avatar

Sadly my SNES tends to reset games when jostled, so it’s gotten a little less relaxing for me.

Empricorn ,

Emulators won’t do that to you.

Kecessa ,

Why would you swap carts when all you need is Super Mario World?

thomasloven ,

LTTP slip your mind?

Kecessa ,

Yeah but… SMW?

Empricorn ,

Uh… Secret of Mana? Super Metroid? Fucking Chrono Trigger!?

saltesc ,

It’s why I’ve used a GameCube controller on the Wii, WiiU, and Switch—coincidentally I adore the Switch Pro controller on PC. And yet, a friend of mine thinks I’m crazy and still rocks the N64 controller.

Some things just fuse into you and you get more dopamine from the “thing” than the thing playing on it.

avidamoeba ,
@avidamoeba@lemmy.ca avatar

This is a CD vs FLAC discussion.

SkunkWorkz ,

Not really, some emulators forgo accuracy for speed, since some emulators are unplayably slow when you turn on the 100% accuracy. Speedrunning some games that rely on glitches/exploits have to be done on original hardware or an FPGA solution that’s 100% accurate. Otherwise some glitches just won’t work since a software emulator lays out the memory differently, doesn’t do the instructions in the exact same order or is just too fast. So emulators are lossy.

sirico ,
@sirico@feddit.uk avatar

As someone who owns most of the consoles, has Pvm etc don’t play the scalpers game just emulate. Thankfully the bubble has burst on a lot of markets, and we’re seeing more reasonable prices, but the OG hardware can only last so long. If anything grab a controller for each system you love, even saying that, 8bitdo have really stepped up, and I would say surpassed a lot of the old first party ones.

The_Picard_Maneuver OP ,
@The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world avatar

8bitdo is amazing

Belgdore ,

It helps that emulators have caught up in the last ten years. When I started collecting consoles there wasn’t a good emulator for the Saturn and even emulating the snes on a mobile device with similar power to a pi was inaccurate at times.

I have less and less reason to want to use original hardware other than nostalgia.

Eccitaze ,
@Eccitaze@yiffit.net avatar

The used game market is still insane, I’m seeing $20-30 for even shit-tier, obscure, normally worthless nes games. If you bought the console while it was new it’s still worth keeping, but absolutely just get a flash cart instead of subjecting yourself to the price gouging retro market.

directive0 ,
@directive0@lemmy.world avatar

I love old consoles… but old media (carts, cds/dvds) not so much. Flashcarts have been a revelation for me. I’m happy to help out the collectors out there by lowering the demand for original cartridges for my NES or gameboys.

And honestly its a much purer and more fun experience than an everything emulator where you spend most of your time setting it up and then deciding which game of all the games ever created you feel like playing right now. But I do also enjoy setting up emulator devices be they handheld or set top, and playing on them. I’m not a snob, it’s all good stuff and its a great time no matter what your choice, tbh.

TrickDacy , (edited )
@TrickDacy@lemmy.world avatar

Does anyone “prefer” emulation?

edit: I should added the caveat “if it’s feasible” because yeah it often isn’t. We don’t all have a lot of space, time, and money to deal with multiple old systems.

edit2: okokok there are plenty of reasons to prefer emulation. I was just thinking of controller/feel of the games almost always was best on the original.

4am ,

When it’s the only way is probably the only good answer to this; whether because you don’t have hardware or can’t set it up properly for whatever reason etc

rowdyrockets ,

I do - but I don’t necessarily think it’s “better”.

scoobford ,

Yes. Original hardware is a pain in the ass.

I want to play on my nice PC or steam deck, with save states, whatever gamepad I prefer, and an unlimited library.

hobbsc ,
@hobbsc@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

I do because I just don’t want all that stuff around. Save states are also a blessing for folks like me with endless skill issues.

Die4Ever , (edited )
@Die4Ever@programming.dev avatar

Sure. You can fix frame rate drops, play with any controller you want, easier to play with mods, save states, speedup when replaying a game, easier to record video or stream. If you’re playing a 3d game you can run in higher resolution with better anti aliasing and anisotropic filtering. For a 2d game sometimes one of the upscaling filters will look good. You can use CRT filter if you want and you don’t have a CRT TV. You could do it on Steam Deck and cloud sync your saves with your PC, and even your phone (especially for turn based games)

bitwolf ,

There’s even fun achievements via retro achievements!

Omega_Jimes ,

If I had unlimited space and could set up one of those retro game rooms, I’d love to use my old systems. However, it’s way easier and practical for me to keep my collection in boxes/shelves and have a little pc hooked up to the TV that’s actually made to output hdmi.

tiredofsametab ,

I'm in my 40s and basically have two jobs on top of housework. If I do play a retro game, I want things like save states since I'm probably playing more for a nostalgia kick than anything else and want to be able to put it down and pick it up (as well as not have to re-do things in games with save points few and far between).

masinko ,

I actually do. Upscaling, fast forwarding, modding, cheats, save states are all nice QoLs. A lot of emulators for these retro consoles are pretty platform independent too, so I can run them from anything from a PC, a handheld device, phone, other gaming consoles or smart fridge with my choice of peripherals.

frezik ,

To get the top quality output I like out of a NES, I have to mod it for RGB/SCART by removing its PPU. Getting it out without damaging it is tricky, because it’s soldered to a large ground plane that is very good at soaking away the heat in your soldering iron.

To get the NES to stop the damn blinking light, I have to use a new cartridge slot that grips extremely strong and is a PITA to get the cartridge back out again. Or use the top loader with worse audio. (Ninten-Drawer seems to be better than the Blinking Light Win here, but reviews note it’s still pretty tight.)

To get decent loading times out of a Playstation 1, I have to mod it for an SD card (PSIO). This involves shaving away some very thin traces and soldering to them.

To get decent image quality out of an N64, I need a game specific GameShark code, a game patch with an EverDrive, or a mod. That mod doesn’t have a DIY version, and must be sent to an approved modder.

To get games to work reliably and with high quality images and good loading times on any of these with emulation, I have to download a thing.

I don’t think these are merely a matter of space/time/money. It takes quite a bit of knowledge and skill to achieve the mods, and you might end up with broken consoles in the attempt. I have enough soldering skill to do the PSIO mod. I haven’t managed to get a PPU out of a NES without damage, though I think I know some tricks now that could make it work.

glitchdx ,

youtu.be/ywWwUuWRgsM?si=Hv4-fVm5hNGF9MUZ

take a look at this and then tell me with a straight face that I should be playing Ocarina of Time on an n64.

Die4Ever ,
@Die4Ever@programming.dev avatar

Recompilations and reverse engineered games are actually not emulation, they’re ports. But yeah they’re amazing and almost always the best way to play a game when available. See !source_ports and !opensourcegames

glitchdx ,

While everything you said is correct, think about the perspective of someone who doesn’t care how it works, only that it does. In this context, ports and recompilation live in the same space as emulation. You and I understand the difference, but we’re nerds. I’m playing the game I bought years (possibly decades) ago, on my pc instead of on a console, with various enhancements depending on what software I’m using and a controller that doesn’t hurt my hands. It’s emulation.

Also, the video I linked probably wasn’t the best choice to make my point, I chose it anyway because it blew my damn mind with how far the community has brought emulation-adjacent gaming.

mrvictory1 ,

I do. I have Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock on PS3. Console has 300ms latency which is a dealbreaker while RPCS3 on laptop or even just Clone Hero has much lower latency. If you have multiple consoles, emulation can bring all your consoles into one. I also have H.A.W.X 2 which drops frames on PS3, maybe emulated could run better. I want to freely approach frigates from low altitude without factoring in FPS drop when I blow them up :)

Alk ,

You can also use any controller you want with emulation. You can even replicate a crt filter or even get a real crt and emulate onto that to replicate the good ol days. I’d say a crt helps more than original hardware. Even with original hardware, pixels are too sharp and clean on modern screens. Old games benefited from smoothing and blurring the lines, which helped create a more realistic image.

OmnislashIsACloudApp ,

I setup and love retropie, but I will say that I was surprised at how many emulation issues I had even on some PS1 games. mostly it was framerate or processing issues, tried same emulator on my laptop with no problem.

raspberry pi is very affordable but it was surprising to me that the hardware specs were a limiter given how much of an increase they were over the ps1

The_Picard_Maneuver OP ,
@The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world avatar

I was thinking about using mine for this. Maybe I’ll limit myself to 2d retro games then.

OmnislashIsACloudApp ,

still works and is fun, I think if duck station would have been finished for pi it would have been better probably.

true that 2d had no problems for me though, on pi400

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