General Old Game Hardware Thread

[Thad]

Analogue Pocket's v2.0 firmware is the update that means I don't need my Game Boy EverDrives anymore. (Unless I want to do some multiplayer, I guess; I've got a GBA link cable around here somewhere.)

I was still using them because in v1.x the screen filters only worked with cartridges, not OpenFPGA cores. 2.x lets you use the filters with the cores, though as of right now most of them require manually editing JSON config files.

See, Analogue has advised developers that they need to test compatibility with the filters and enable them in future releases, but there's a configuration file for each core that specifies which filters it's compatible with and you can edit it to enable them manually. And for the most part it works; I haven't gotten any of the original monochrome Game Boy filters to work, but everything else I've tried has.

So now I can use third-party OpenFPGA cores and run games right off the Pocket's internal microSD card; no need to use the EverDrives anymore. In fact, this way is better, since it means GBA save states (the EverDrive GB has a version that allows save states but the EverDrive GBA doesn't), and should hopefully mean I won't lose any more saves because I forgot to load up another ROM so they'd copy from the battery into persistent storage (that's how I lost my Oracle of Seasons save and I'm still kinda bummed about that one).

I feel like maybe I should put a game in that slot that can't be reproduced through an FPGA alone. How's Kirby's Tilt 'n' Tumble? And given that the Japanese version is a lot cheaper on eBay than the US version, do I need to be able to read the text to play it?

[Thad]

Virtual Boy Emulation Finally Arrives on 3DS

I only have a 2DS but this is the kind of thing that tempts me to get one of the 3D models on eBay or something.

Wario Land just doesn't play the same without the depth.

[Niku]

hot damn, that makes me wanna figure out how to CFW my 3DS finally

[Thad]

I think it probably would have been easier before they shut down the eshop, but I'm sure there are still ways.

[Brantly B.]

I followed instructions at https://3ds.hacks.guide/ to run homebrew on my (second, refurbished and unregistered) unit. Not on the latest firmware version but it looks like you still don't need anything fancier than an SD card and the screwdriver from an eyeglass repair kit.

[Brantly B.]

Citra team is pulling support and repos are being taken down, in case you don't have the hardware for the above/wanted to stream anything you own on 3DS ever.

Might want to make a backup or... something. It's kinda already too late for official channels.

(Yuzu's also being discontinued but like... that's fair.)

[Thad]

At a glance it looks like Citra's gone from AUR (since those builds just pulled from Github anyway) but still available from the Snap and Flatpak hubs. That means it's *probably* still available in the Steam Deck software center but I haven't actually checked yet. It looks like the Retroarch core is still available too, though my (possibly not up-to-date) experience with that was that it was missing some important functionality that the standalone app had.

(And of course Citra was GPL so I wouldn't be surprised to see somebody or somebodies else pick up the project, though I'd expect them to be anonymous, operating outside the WIPO countries, or both, and I wouldn't expect it to show back up on Github.)

I don't have much to say about Yuzu (which is still available in the Arch "extra" repo). I *do* think it's pretty funny how relevant Sharkey's first >8)> comic is if you just update the Zelda game in the punchline.

[Upthorn]

Today's news regarding Citra and Yuzu has left a really sour taste in my mouth

[Thad]

Found it

[Thad]

Yeah, I checked and Citra's still in the Steam Deck Software Center.

EmuDeck still has a menu item to update Yuzu but it fails.

[Thad]

The N64 core's made it into mainline MiSTer. I haven't messed with it much yet but it seemed to work on a few different games I threw at it. The Super Mario 64 Last Impact romhack locked it up but I'm not sure if that one runs on real hardware either.

AIUI there's some show-stopping bug that's preventing any further progress on the core (something to do with cartridge access speed, I think) but compatibility seems to be pretty good, at least. Probably good enough that I won't be buying an N64 EverDrive.

[Thad]

Super Mario 64 Land locks it up too.

Real ROMs (and minor ROMhacks like the D-pad controls for Yoshi's Story) seem to be working okay. I haven't played a real N64 in a very long time so I probably wouldn't notice minor differences, but Mario Kart seemed fine. I noticed one moment where the attract mode of Goldeneye stuttered, but it's possible it always did that. I can't say as I'd really get a feel for how Goldeneye is supposed to play without three other people here.

[Thad]

Meanwhile, Nintendo finally shut down online services for the Wii U and 3DS today, so you may want to check out Pretendo.

[Thad]

Still can't get the Saturn core to work. Other folks are having better luck with the newer RAM module, but the core's still under development so I'm in "try again later and stick with emulation in the meantime" mode for now.

[Thad]

Kinda curious about the Evercade. My initial impression after reading the Kyle Orland's review, Evercade’s retro portable made me fall out of love with game cartridges, was that I was nonplussed, but I recently listened to a Retronauts episode where they talked about what they've been up to -- in particular, their remake of the first two (pre-3D) Duke Nukem games -- and I'm starting to think you know what, this weird little thing probably is up my alley, even if it sounds like the build quality is kind of cheap and janky.

The Evercade comes in two flavors, a handheld and a console. The console allows multiplayer; the handheld doesn't.

Also, they're in the middle of a hardware refresh; the previous model of both handheld and console are discontinued. It looks like there's no significant change to the new model of the console (unless you have a monitor you can rotate 90 degrees to play games in portrait mode). The new model of the handheld drops $50 from the price but no longer includes HDMI output or preinstalled Capcom games.

Stone Age Gamer still has the old model in stock at its original price. I briefly considered that maybe I should grab one while I still can, but on reflection, why would I pay $150 for the old handheld when for $200 I could just get the new handheld and the new console? I've got other devices I can play those pack-in games on with more fidelity anyway; what am I losing out on, the ability to play 1942 vertically?