General Arcade and Retro Chat - Insert Coin -

Retr0gamer

N64 emulation always looks off to me. It handled a lot of things like texture filtering and fog in such a unique way that it just seems off in emulation, it's a bit too clean.

I really feel visually the N64 has aged a whole lot worse than the PS1 outside of a few games like Mario 64, Starfox 64 and Sin and Punishment. There's just something really muddy and ugly compared to the PS1. I'll take the clean colourful look of Megaman Legends, affine texture warping and all, over Rare's output.

Inviere

o1s1n wrote: »

At what point does it cease to be an N64 game and becomes a PC port?

Would love to check that out actually, does Retroarch require much of a PC to get that kind of stuff going?

I suppose when it comes to emulation, the better the spec of the hardware, the better the experience has the potential to be. Definitely worth downloading Retroarch, ideally paired up with Launchbox, and having a faff about with it. There's a learning curve, but it's not huge, and there's tons of videos out there for tutorials etc. Definitely worth the time invested. I'd say if Retroarch, Launchbox, and a bit of processing grunt could be packaged up in a neat little box, it'd wipe the floor with other emulation machines.

Retr0gamer wrote: »

N64 emulation always looks off to me. It handled a lot of things like texture filtering and fog in such a unique way that it just seems off in emulation, it's a bit too clean.

The comparison is night and day I have to say. The native N64 resolution of 320x240 is practically a crime against humanity!

Stock (look at the yellow tops of the rotating N!:



Resolution bumped:



Stock (that aliasing!):



Resolution bumped:

I really feel visually the N64 has aged a whole lot worse than the PS1 outside of a few games like Mario 64, Starfox 64 and Sin and Punishment. There's just something really muddy and ugly compared to the PS1. I'll take the clean colourful look of Megaman Legends, affine texture warping and all, over Rare's output.

The PS1 and N64 in their stock incarnations, are visually horrific...compounded all the more with modern display tech. N64 emulation is taking huge strides lately, and while PS1 lags behind a little, emulation can make them look infinitely better, and thus for me, that bit more playable/enjoyable.

Inviere

Launchbox puts the majority of your systems under one roof, works perfectly with Retroarch too, support for all the big standalone emu's is there too...it's like an all in one system.



There's "Big Box" mode too, which I don't avail of yet, which looks even nicer.

readyletsgo

Inviere wrote: »

o1s1n wrote: »

At what point does it cease to be an N64 game and becomes a PC port?

Would love to check that out actually, does Retroarch require much of a PC to get that kind of stuff going?

I suppose when it comes to emulation, the better the spec of the hardware, the better the experience has the potential to be. Definitely worth downloading Retroarch, ideally paired up with Launchbox, and having a faff about with it. There's a learning curve, but it's not huge, and there's tons of videos out there for tutorials etc. Definitely worth the time invested. I'd say if Retroarch, Launchbox, and a bit of processing grunt could be packaged up in a neat little box, it'd wipe the floor with other emulation machines.

Retr0gamer wrote: »

N64 emulation always looks off to me. It handled a lot of things like texture filtering and fog in such a unique way that it just seems off in emulation, it's a bit too clean.

The comparison is night and day I have to say. The native N64 resolution of 320x240 is practically a crime against humanity!

Stock (look at the yellow tops of the rotating N!:



Resolution bumped:



Stock (that aliasing!):



Resolution bumped:

I really feel visually the N64 has aged a whole lot worse than the PS1 outside of a few games like Mario 64, Starfox 64 and Sin and Punishment. There's just something really muddy and ugly compared to the PS1. I'll take the clean colourful look of Megaman Legends, affine texture warping and all, over Rare's output.

The PS1 and N64 in their stock incarnations, are visually horrific...compounded all the more with modern display tech. N64 emulation is taking huge strides lately, and while PS1 lags behind a little, emulation can make them look infinitely better, and thus for me, that bit more playable/enjoyable.

I tried to set up retroarch a year ago on my beefed up pc and I found it kinda confusing to set up. Maybe I'll give it another go.

Inviere

readyletsgo wrote: »

I tried to set up retroarch a year ago on my beefed up pc and I found it kinda confusing to set up. Maybe I'll give it another go.

It's really well worth it. By far the best emulation experience I've seen to date. I don't use it on its own though, I have Launchbox configured to work with it, so it's just a matter of selecting a system, clicking a game, & voila.

o1s1n

N64, PS1 and any pre PS2 gen consoles generating 3D really need a CRT for anti ailising if they're going to be played stock. I'd go one further and say a 20 inch or smaller CRT at that.

If you're going onto a bigger screen then yeah, flaws really start to show. I can't imagine playing PS1 games on a big modern LCD, I think my eyes would bleed.

Nerdkiller1991

It's that time of year again.

Shapey Fiend

Plugging any old consoles into LCD's always looks horrific.

Retroarch is indeed a bit of a mare to get used to and they keep changing things which makes matters even more confusing. I haven't a clue how to get the CRT filters turned on for my Pi. Need to plug a keyboard and bring up the menu in game I think? Used just be in the main menu.

Andrew76

@Inviere - that's a massive improvement in those images. Looks like Epona is galloping up a series of steps rather than across a field in that first one!

Having said that - I'm happy with my little Pi3 box and 8bitdo Snes/arcade stick controllers for my emulation fix. I never bother with anything post 16bit. That was relatively straight forward to setup thanks to your guide but I'm long past arsing around with emulators and front-ends these days, feck that.

Nice advent calendar here if you have kids who enjoy tinkering
http://www.debenhams.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10052_10001_106010100499_-1
24 electronic components behind the windows you can make stuff with

CiDeRmAn

Inviere wrote: »

Launchbox puts the majority of your systems under one roof, works perfectly with Retroarch too, support for all the big standalone emu's is there too...it's like an all in one system.



There's "Big Box" mode too, which I don't avail of yet, which looks even nicer.

That wouldn't be... emulation that you're posting there... is it?

Inviere

Shapey Fiend wrote: »

Retroarch is indeed a bit of a mare to get used to and they keep changing things which makes matters even more confusing. I haven't a clue how to get the CRT filters turned on for my Pi. Need to plug a keyboard and bring up the menu in game I think? Used just be in the main menu.

It really isn't difficult at all to set up and get up & running. That said, I'm using the Windows version, the version that runs on the Pi is way more finnicky I think. Plus, you're really restricted with the Pi, as it can't handle the more advanced shaders/filters that the windows version offers.

Andrew76 wrote: »

I'm long past arsing around with emulators and front-ends these days, feck that.

I found it quite fun to get all set up and running the way I want it. Now I don't ever have to worry about rgb cables, crt's, scalers, and all that shite anymore...everything just, well, works, and looks great this way Yes, I've completed my transformation to the dark side it seems!

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

That wouldn't be... emulation that you're posting there... is it?

Perish the thought!

Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy

Might interest people on people

Hirokazu 'Hip' Tanaka's first album is everything an EarthBound, Kid Icarus, or Metroid fan could want: http://www.thegaygamer.com/2017/11/hirokazu-hip-tanaka-releases-first-album-django.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESVEIlyN_pk

Digital Solitude

Cake of Tremendous Power wrote: »

Nice advent calendar here if you have kids who enjoy tinkering
http://www.debenhams.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10052_10001_106010100499_-1
24 electronic components behind the windows you can make stuff with

Yes...kids...

Adding this to my Santa list

o1s1n

Inviere wrote: »

I found it quite fun to get all set up and running the way I want it. Now I don't ever have to worry about rgb cables, crt's, scalers, and all that shite anymore...everything just, well, works, and looks great this way Yes, I've completed my transformation to the dark side it seems!



Perish the thought!

I find it interesting to see how different people get fun out of this hobby. For me, the technology is part of it. I really enjoy messing about with all of those bits and pieces and just getting stuff set up and working. Especially messing around with non consumer tech and the weird things it can do.

Yesterday I spent an hour moving my monitors around, getting everything wired up in the best way possible and did a bit of picture calibration on a CRT. Probably spend about 10 minutes gaming after that

Nerdkiller1991

WESKERRRRRR!

The RAGE wrote:

We just had a visit from Peter Jessop, who voiced Albert Wesker in the amazing Gamecube version of Resident Evil.
Have a few extra copies in the shop if you want to re-live the terror!

DinoRex

Complete global saturation!

Nerdkiller1991

Guess who just ordered Contra 4 from The RAGE...

CiDeRmAn

Nerdkiller1991 wrote: »

Guess who just ordered Contra 4 from The RAGE...

Retr0?
Brownfinger?
Touch Fuzzy?
Who!
Who?
Don't keep an idiot in suspense!

CiDeRmAn

Somewhat retro,
But I find it crazy that the Casio knock off Penney's are selling for €15 is more expensive than the actual Casio it's imitating, in Argos for €11.99
https://m.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/2533393/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CJewellery+and+watches%7C14416987/c_2/3%7Ccat_15701267%7CMen's+watches%7C14417316.htm

Nerdkiller1991

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Retr0?
Brownfinger?
Touch Fuzzy?
Who!
Who?
Don't keep an idiot in suspense!

You.

You made a drunk order.

CiDeRmAn

Nerdkiller1991 wrote: »

You.

You made a drunk order.

I had to check, but no, not me!

I have it on the Snes but I don't have the reflexes anymore

Retr0gamer

Thought Contra 4 was a DS game?

No love went into the marketing of that game. No EU release and the box art is horribly low res, you would mistake it for a bad Chinese clone.

Thankfully Wayforward put the love into that game.

o1s1n

One of the many DS games I obtained digitally back in the day :eek:

If memory serves me correctly, the difficulty was a bit higher than your average Contra game.

Retr0gamer

o1s1n wrote: »

One of the many DS games I obtained digitally back in the day :eek:

If memory serves me correctly, the difficulty was a bit higher than your average Contra game.

Spoken like someone that hasn't played Hard Corp or Shattered Soldier to completion

Honestly find the contra games quite easy except those two (and the awesome Contra Rebirth on Wii).

Nerdkiller1991

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Spoken like someone that hasn't played Hard Corp or Shattered Soldier to completion

Honestly find the contra games quite easy except those two (and the awesome Contra Rebirth on Wii).

I bet ya the Contra 3 you beat was the Game Boy one with its password save, no?

Retr0gamer

Nerdkiller1991 wrote: »

I bet ya the Contra 3 you beat was the Game Boy one with its password save, no?

Nope. SNES one. It's only a little tougher than the NES games (in hard mode) which I beat in an evening of solid play. Didn't find Contra 3 all that tough really. On Normal it's a breeze but you miss out on the true boss.

o1s1n

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Spoken like someone that hasn't played Hard Corp or Shattered Soldier to completion

Honestly find the contra games quite easy except those two (and the awesome Contra Rebirth on Wii).

totally forgot about those bastards! Was thinking of the NES games.

I'm fairly decent at Hard Corps, but haven't quite managed to finish it yet. Shattered Solder I have there but have only played a handful of times. Would love to get properly stuck into it sometime.

Retr0gamer

o1s1n wrote: »

totally forgot about those bastards! Was thinking of the NES games.

I'm fairly decent at Hard Corps, but haven't quite managed to finish it yet. Shattered Solder I have there but have only played a handful of times. Would love to get properly stuck into it sometime.

Shattered Soldier is a right ballocks. You have to A or S rank average to open access the last few stages, and maintain that average through them to open them up progressively. That means destroying every boss part instead of going for the quick kill which means you have to survive a heap of new boss cycles and I think you can only afford 1 or 2 deaths. Took a few weeks or dedicated play to crack it.

The best advice I can give is that the flamethrower charge shot is incredibly over powered and should be used a lot.

CiDeRmAn

Please support your local Secret Santa!

So Christmas is a coming, and even if you aren't going to be lucky enough to make it to the annual night of Beer in my house, I'd hope you'd be game enough to take part in the Secret Santa 2017 edition!
Check out the official thread here and see what the rulez are.
It's always a good laugh.