What exactly IS that "original hardware feeling" to you?

[pook99]

@marurun: i definitely agree with you regarding mini console emulation. Whenever I think of emulation my mind defaults to PC emulation which is great, but I have definitely run into issues with clone consoles. I cannot beat mike tysons punch out on my switch or my rg350 but could easily beat it on my laptop and original hardware. Punch out is the ultimate test of lag, if you could beat that, then the set up you are playing on is just fine.

@mobiusclimber: I don't find orginal hardware helps the problem of trying to figure out what to play. I have nearly 350 wii games and I will frequently just go in my game room and stare at my games for god knows how long trying to figure out what to play next. This process is even longer when I don't know which system I want to play on, I will just wander around my game room opening and closing drawers until I find which game I want to play. In some ways digital is easier, every so often I will just go through my steam library and install a bunch of games (usually between 5-20 or so) and then when I want to play I only have those few games installed to choose from which expedites the problem a fair amount.

[bruhmoment]

Recently i have been playing some Xbox (Crimson Skies) and 360 (Modern Warfare 3) on my Xbox One. Having a blast replaying Crimson Skies (Play it immediately if you haven't yet). It got me thinking about all those people who swear by OG hardware. They always claim some sort of "feeling" and I don't understand it. What is that feeling, precisely?

In an attempt to understand it i played some SNES on two setups last night..

Setup one is a 1Chip SNES VIA S-Video on my 27inch Samsung flat CRT. Forget the model number.
Setup two is RetroArch on a 32 inch IPS monitor with CRT shaders. I used a Super Famicom Classic controller VIA a Raphnet USB adapter.

Other than setup two looking an order of magnitude more pleasing to my eyes.. The experience was exactly the same.

I like holding carts in my hands (I have a particular love for Game Boy carts). Seriously, sometimes i just hold them in my hands for a while thinking about how cool they are, lol. I like owning original consoles. I like original controllers, mostly (N64 ). But switching back and forth last night i failed to feel anything different between the two. I can say that If i was back in the 90s and was given these two options by a time traveler, i would choose setup two.

I am in my 40s and played these old games back then. Maybe setup one should have been a smaller curved CRT VIA RF, haha

Thoughts?

personally,i think playing on the original hardware is neat i guess

[fuctfuct]

I can't address every single point made but i'll do a few.. heh

@samsonlonghair: Agreed. Original controller is an absolute must for the real "feel." I will admit i am very prone to just using a DualShock 4 out of convenience a lot of the time, hehe.

@marurun: I can't/won't emulate on anything other than a good PC with a dedicated GPU for shaders. I've tried just about everything there is to try, and nothing compares. I haven't even opened any of my mini consoles, lol. CRT filters have come a long way and so has input lag. Retoarch is capable of less lag than a real console on a CRT now, if you have a fast display. Fast displays are easy these days. I prefer monitors, but quite a few TVs are under one frame, in game mode, now.

@mobiusclimber: I also don't find original hardware helps the problem of trying to figure out what to play. I have over 1000 physical games. More to the point, I don't just dump a full ROMset into a folder to browse. I keep full sets for every console known to man on my NAS. When i want to play a game i copy that ONE into my "play set." It usually stays there with all the other ROMs/ISOs i have played/beaten. So there isn't an endless list to scroll through. I also use RetroAchievements which i find keeps me focused on a game longer because well, i like achievements! hehe

[fuctfuct]

Probably not the best examples of what shaders can do in 2020. i didn't search very hard for vids. Lots of great examples on the Libretro forums
https://youtu.be/s4QOHe4bOZc
https://youtu.be/vSLM0uMDRsw

[Ziggy587]

The "feeling" to me is nostalgia. Handling the original hardware invokes nostalgia, and it's in addition to actually playing the game. Take your favorite childhood console. Say you were listening to random 1-2 second sound clips. Say one of those sounds was inserting a cart into your favorite console. Your brain would immediately identify that 1 second sound clip, and you'd have the feeling of pleasant memories.

I'm also a big fan of cover artwork, and even appreciate the small label on a cart. So while I'm gaming, I like to occasionally glance over at the cart in the console and admire the artwork on the (albeit small) cart label.

I like holding carts in my hands (I have a particular love for Game Boy carts). Seriously, sometimes i just hold them in my hands for a while thinking about how cool they are, lol. I like owning original consoles. I like original controllers, mostly (N64 ). But switching back and forth last night i failed to feel anything different between the two. I can say that If i was back in the 90s and was given these two options by a time traveler, i would choose setup two.

If you like using emulators, but you also like holding the carts, then you should check out the Retrode.

https://stoneagegamer.com/retrode-2-car ... -more.html

You can read the ROM, and read/write the save data from a cart (if it has it). You can set up an emulator to launch the ROM from the Retrode directory, meaning you can play your actual carts on emulators. It also has built in SNES and Genesis controller adapters, and there's other adapters (additional purchases) available to use other consoles on it like the N64, SMS, and GB/C/A. I got one mostly to backup save data, but I occasionally use it to move a save between a cart, emulator or flash cart.

[fuctfuct]

I've followed the Retrode since it was first released long ago. Never pulled the trigger on it. Always seemed like just a waste of money for my use case. It's a very cool idea though.

I think when my CRT dies I will just pack up every pre native HDMI console i own, :/ . Sure, there are ways to get retro stuff looking "good" on LCD, but when you do that they just end up looking like emulators without shaders (And without all of the other cool stuff they can do). Kinda like the GB/A scene. People are spending so much time and money just to make their consoles look like an emulator. I REALLY want an Analog Pocket though. Missed the pre order

[opa]

There's just something about being huddled close to a wood grain 2600, a stack of carts next to you, and the clicking of the joystick that can't be replicated through an emulator.

The cd-based consoles I'll emulate all day. The cd feels cold and distant; cheap. I don't get warm fuzzies from booting up Final Fantasy VII.

[BoneSnapDeez]

You haven't lived until you've actually flipped a Famicom Disk System game to Side B.

[fuctfuct]

Haha. Wait... i've actually never done that! :'(

[fastbilly1]

To me its mostly controllers and not skipping/dropping frames.

We have been at a point for over a decade were for up to 5th gen emulation is close enoguh to perfect. But now you can get up to 7th gen without too much difficulty for alot of titles and even some 8th gen (Switch).

But 3d emulation brings up something 2d doesnt have to deal with - When emulators can look alot better than the originals and still control the exactly same. Which sure we may have nostalgia for the graphic style, but most people are emulating with post processing and even AI upscaled assets.

Waverace (N64) AI upscaled textures:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFLQ9Qtt8c4

Skyward Sword (Wii) in 4k with Anti Aliasing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulmUuROhST4

Breath of the Wild (Wiiu) upscaled to 4k with raytracing and a reshader.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4UHrM0LzYo

Lets face it, scaling N64 games on a flatpanel tv is muddy, unless you have a good setup. A cheap pc and a blissbox does the samething, with QOL benefits like AA and Online multiplayer. Then again I am also the guy that entered a UT2k4 tournament with a DDR pad and a Wiimote so I am always up to "fixing nonexistant issues" with games. Like playing Metroid Prime Hunters (DS) upscaled with Mouse/Keyboard controls:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTyV-8uuZDQ

*None of the videos are mine, obviously all taken from youtube.