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The problem with game discs is that they rot. Some of them rot faster than others, but all of them shall eventually rot. The problem with hardware is that it
by ssl-3 18d ago
The problem with game discs is that they rot. Some of them rot faster than others, but all of them shall eventually rot.
The problem with hardware is that it is scarce, and ultimately dies.
The problem with emulators is that they emulate. We can work to make it the same, but it is never going to be the same.
Even if the math all maths just like they did (bugs and all), and it takes precisely as long, and it shows up precisely at the same time in the same places as it did on the original hardware...and even when things like input latency are nailed down to nanosecond accuracy and the clocks are all just dead-nuts on: The code may run the same way, but the system is still not the same.
Part of the reason it's not the same is we haven't even touched the analog components yet and all and all of the things they do, whether amazing or ugly. (And no, improving the analog bits through simplification is not necessarily the sane goal at all. Improvement and emulation are different targets.)
Emulation is useful. It's great, actually. Right now, a person can think about that old PS2 they used to have and get started with playing some of their favorite games yet this afternoon. That's awesome.
But preservation, as an effort to keep old hardware to keep working as time marches on? That's a wonderful thing in its own right. The better we understand the old hardware, the more-able we are to preserve it and keep it running.
Getting past the layers of deliberate fuckery helps us to better understand what goes on behind the curtain, and that has now been achieved.
- toomuchtodo 18d agoInternet Archive Emulation Upload Tutorial - https://archive.org/details/howtodoupload https://archive.org/details/howtodoupload
- charcircuit 18d ago>The problem with game discs is that they rot. Most discs do not rot. The panic around disc rot has not materialized in discs actually rotting outside some edge cases like faulty manufacturing.
- Lammy 18d agoNormally I would agree with this, but all of the discs I've ever have that did rot (LD, CD, and DVD) were ones pressed by SONY DADC lol
- pezezin 18d agoI understand your point, and I kind of agree, but does it really matter? When we enjoy old artifacts we don't have the same experience as someone who did it back in the day. Old paintings will shift colours, old buildings will decay and might become ruins, old books might need to be "translated" due to language shifts, and in any case we lack the proper cultural background to fully appreciate them. In a few decades everybody who played the PS2 upon release will be dead, and our descendants will not care if the emulation is 100% accurate or just 99% accurate.
- ssl-3 17d agoWe often keep old paintings in environmental conditions that slow their decay, and sometimes we also undertake efforts to restore them. We keep a good roof on the old structures that we care about, and we repair and restore them when that is beneficial and affordable. Not always, of course. To be very kind: Some paintings are just shit, and some structures are architecturally regrettable. And sometimes, the juice isn't worth the squeeze. But not all things are regrettable shit. Some things are found to be worth saving, and are therefore saved. You're free to disagree about that, and you certainly don't need anyone's permission to hold any position you wish on any matter at all. But others are also free to form their own thoughts and opinions and it is very clear that they don't always agree with your own. Apparently, there are people in the world who still care about the PS2. They are likely to continue to do this kind of work whether you find their efforts to be valuable or not.