Retro games and emulation - Discuss retro shit in case you're stuck in the past or a hipster

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The retrotink 4k got spatial redistribution masks and energy conserving scanlines


What does this mean? It means you no longer sacrifice brightness when trying to emulate a CRT, and there's no need to use HDR to compensate. It's fucking amazing now. All my retroshit now actually looks as good as I remember it. I dreamt of this year's ago and finally got my wish, where I can just boot up a PS2 game like Klonoa for my friends or kids and it looks so good that they don't even notice it's from over 2 decades ago

Now if only the thing didn't cost $700..
 
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I made a Banjo Kazooie mod that disables the Grunty Questions in the Furnace Fun Minigame. Landing on a Grunty square asks a different question.​
no_grunty_questions.jpg
I absolutely hate this part of the game. You have to run around every corner of the lair looking for Grunty's sister to get facts about Grunty. It's gross. The trivia is stuff like​
  • Grunty has the world record for biggest fart.
  • Grunty's favorite food is dog turd sandwiches.
  • Grunty wears a scarf made from roadkill.
Make sure to write all that down and do this every time because the questions are randomized each playthrough.​
Extract the zip and place "bk_no_grunty_questions.nrm" in Banjo Recompiled's mod folder​
Patches this function
Code:
enum ff_question_type_e func_8038DCD4(enum FF_TileType tile)
{
    switch (tile)
    {
        case FFTT_1_BANJO:    return FFQT_0_TEXT;
        case FFTT_2_PICTURE:  return FFQT_1_PICTURE;
        case FFTT_3_MUSIC:    return FFQT_2_SOUND;
        case FFTT_4_MINIGAME: return FFQT_4_MINIGAME;
        case FFTT_5_GRUNTY:   return FFQT_3_GRUNTY;
        default: // joker/skull squares
        {
            f32 rng = randf();

            if      (rng < 0.5)                return FFQT_0_TEXT;  // 50% chance
            else if (rng < 0.7)                return FFQT_1_PICTURE; // 20% chance of killing the run
            else if (rng < 0.8999999999999999) return FFQT_2_SOUND;   // 20% chance
            else                               return FFQT_3_GRUNTY;  // 10% chance
        }
    }
}
I would have liked to edit the minigame's tile layout data to completely replace the Grunty tiles but couldn't figure it out.​
 

Attachments

Stenzek going five minutes without having an autistic meltdown over Linux challenge (IMPOSSIBLE)
View attachment 8513453
https://github.com/stenzek/duckstation/commit/b20c2b281f7bb3bb2ac0f7cf2d12a3668f7351e9
I'm confused. He has an .AppImage version for Linux users, shouldn't that just automatically work?

Or is Linux doing something stupid with dependencies where Duckstation added something that needs a newer library that package managers don't have/support?
 
I'm confused. He has an .AppImage version for Linux users, shouldn't that just automatically work?

Or is Linux doing something stupid with dependencies where Duckstation added something that needs a newer library that package managers don't have/support?
Possibly. Stenzek always claims "death threats" but never posts receipts. He also does a lot in an attempt to defeat packaging. So it could just be he's mad that packagers were patching their way around it.
 
I've been fucking around with Lossless Scaling, the frame generation/upscale app on steam to get around games that are locked at 30 fps/emulated games that are nightmares to get to 60fps. It isn't perfect, but it's pretty awesome.
I'll have to try it again. I used a cracked version on some random AAA slop that barely ran on my computer and didnt notice any improvements but I didnt think to use it on emulators. I already beat MGS1 but maybe MGS2 would look nice with it

I'm confused. He has an .AppImage version for Linux users, shouldn't that just automatically work?

Or is Linux doing something stupid with dependencies where Duckstation added something that needs a newer library that package managers don't have/support?
I haven't been following the drama super closely since I don't use Linux for gaming, but basically last year the dev got fed up with people improperly including Duckstation to their package managers (in particular Arch Linux and NixOS) which would cause people to flood issue reports with problems that were caused by these package managers not including the right build flags or dependencies. Rather then deal with them or finding someone to handle it, he decided to drop support for it and forbid distribution all together.

AppImages work fine on any Linux distro iirc, but you can't do auto updates and some other minor issues.

I just pray he doesn't quit development altogether. Duckstation is such a neat emulator
 
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Stenzek going five minutes without having an autistic meltdown over Linux challenge (IMPOSSIBLE)
View attachment 8513453
https://github.com/stenzek/duckstation/commit/b20c2b281f7bb3bb2ac0f7cf2d12a3668f7351e9
He's upset by a new duckstation pkgbuild that was recently uploaded updated to the Arch User Repository.

Another pkgbuild, duckstaiton-git, previously had a back and forth with Stenzek blocking Linux builds.
duckstation-git.png
 
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He's upset by a new duckstation pkgbuild that was recently uploaded to the Arch User Repository.
I'm not familiar with Arch's package system. What does it do that he's so upset about? The duckstation-git one is exactly what I'm talking about. He can get mad all he wants, but downstream packagers will always just patch it out.
I just pray he doesn't quit development altogether. Duckstation is such a neat emulator
I've said it before, but the "beleaguered volunteer" is the worst kind of person in an open source/FOSS space. Because, unlike the wagie working 9-5, he has no excuse for a pissy attitude. He can leave whenever he wants. Duckstation isn't going to evaporate.

If there's demand for whatever features he's adding, a successor would take up the reins if he left, the same way downstream developers go out of their way to meet the demand for packages.
 
Stenzek going five minutes without having an autistic meltdown over Linux challenge (IMPOSSIBLE)
View attachment 8513453
https://github.com/stenzek/duckstation/commit/b20c2b281f7bb3bb2ac0f7cf2d12a3668f7351e9
"You do NOT have permission to distribute build scripts" -- You witless faggot. The fuck are you gonna do about it? If you don't want people to hack on your shit, you cannot release the source code.

Like, I get it. Duckstation does weird things with libraries and it's easy to fuck that up. But to enforce the retarded licensing terms, you have to be able to identify the person breaking them. Do you really think you're gonna rip the mask off of someone whose only crime is making your software easily used by people?
 
I'll have to try [Lossless Scaling] again. I used a cracked version on some random AAA slop that barely ran on my computer and didnt notice any improvements but I didnt think to use it on emulators.
Framegen doesn't fix bad, it only makes ok better.

Something that "barely works on your computer" is a worst-case scenario for framegen, one of the big reasons it's still too soon for widespread adoption: you need a base FPS high enough for framegen to be tolerable... but if your base FPS is high enough, why would you deal with framegen artefacts and input lag?

Emulators are a sort of semi-exception because the base framerate is constant. Sure you still have to eat the input lag penalty but at least the end result feels (visually) smooth and stable. Even then you should always favor proper FPS hacks and mods when available.

Speaking of which, and since the post you're responding to also mentions Xenia: you can simply disable v-sync on Xenia and it will almost universally work. Just last month I played Gears of War Judgment in splitscreen coop, in 1440p at around 80-90FPS.

Apparently the Xbox 360 handled v-sync and frame limits in a way that makes it possible as opposed to other consoles. You can force a 60FPS limit externally if you have a fixed-refresh display, but if you have VRR there's no reason to leave v-sync on whatsoever.
 
Speaking of which, and since the post you're responding to also mentions Xenia: you can simply disable v-sync on Xenia and it will almost universally work. Just last month I played Gears of War Judgment in splitscreen coop, in 1440p at around 80-90FPS.

Apparently the Xbox 360 handled v-sync and frame limits in a way that makes it possible as opposed to other consoles. You can force a 60FPS limit externally if you have a fixed-refresh display, but if you have VRR there's no reason to leave v-sync on whatsoever.
Interesting, that explains how so many 360 games run at higher framerates on later Xboxes.
 
Interesting, that explains how so many 360 games run at higher framerates on later Xboxes.
No, the reason for improved framerates for previous-generation games on Xbox One and Series is that you’re not actually playing the old version.

Xbox “backward compatibility” is actually recompiled binaries. You’re playing a very basic remaster of the game. That’s why you download a file the size of a full game when you put an old disc in, and it’s why you can’t just play any older game on a newer Xbox.

Calling it backward compatibility is actually bullshit.
 
Phoronix: D7VK 1.3 Brings Support For Direct3D 5 On Vulkan (archive)
For those wanting to enjoy classic Windows games on Linux, D7VK 1.3 is out today for providing Direct3D 5 / 6 / 7 APIs implemented atop the modern Vulkan API. The Direct3D 5 support in D7VK is working out well for games like Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now, Tomb Raider II, Mortal Kombat 4, NICE 2, Nightmare Creatures, Deathtrap Dungeon, Lands of Lore III, and others.
d7vk_13_1.webp
 
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