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Hard Core Rikki

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Posts posted by Hard Core Rikki

  1. A certain 'Ubersheep' is bringing the concept of achievements to retro emulators and asking for testers. So far there's no love for arcade titles, only select Megadrive games are supported.

     

    Site @ http://www.retroachievements.org

    Supported games: http://www.retroachievements.org/gameList.php

    How to create achievements: http://www.retroachievements.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=22

  2. Sony's latest way of providing "backward compatibility" by forcing use of Gaikia's streaming service isnt one. I find it highly offensive when it gets called "backward compatibility" when it is not at all. Following that logic, Livestream, Geforce Grid and VNC provided "backward compatibility" with every console since a decade.

     

    Sony's biggest problem comes from recreating the OS every few years, unlike Android which maintains forward compatibility and encourages players to upgrade their mobiles without fearing to lose their apps and games for that generation (any game bought since Android 2.3 will work fine on 4.2 without needing 4.0 and 4.1 "emulated"). Hardware refreshes are only OK when the OS remains stable and your purchases and savegames bound to your account.

     

    Imagine the outrage and effect on the ecosystem is you had to rebuy your entire library of apps and games everytime you get a more recent smartphone. People would stop bothering buy new mobiles if they were locked into their current gen's.

    Kinda nonsensical Sony still isnt realizing that's how it has to fight iOS and Android.

  3. What makes you think it's going to support PS2 games?

    Sony needs the extra revenue from PSN digital sales (including PS1, PS2 titles), at least so players keep paying for Playstation+ gold subscriptions. PS3 would not be viable for obvious reasons, plus games would not be download-friendly.

     

    Mind you... when I say PS2 and PS3 backward compatibility, I mean the game discs themselves. I'm well aware that the next version of PSN for the PS4 will probably include games from the older systems to purchase again.

    Firmware upgrades will likely introduce the functionalty, to not harm the launch window titles. Cant say about discs but DVDs should still play fine, its CDs that I hear are scheduled for blocking (potentially ruling out PS1 discs).

    PS4 is still PC-based. One way or another, maybe PCSX2 could run on that (AMD sells the PS4 CPU/GPU separately though without Sony-specific bits).

     

    Oh yeah, and what's PS+?

    Sony's Xbox Live Gold programme.

    Its biggest differentiation is it includes free access to select games every month, which you can keep for as long as you stay subscribed (you can also buy them at a discount to keep them).

    This is a great deal for people who dont buy many games or live in countries where Sony doesnt sell physical copies of games (like Nigeria), and a good gift idea when coupled with a PS3 since its just the cost of one game, yet for a yearly 50$, you can play lots of titles.

  4. I'm sure I dont.

    It distracts away from the forum in the first place, and its role (putting you as an "orator" against an audience) is more easily fulfilled as threads (with 'peers').

     

    The problem with IP's blogging system is it does not easily cover the type of use it would be most popular with and there's no indication that will change before at least v4 (where blog-only sites will be possible, though still with the current limitations).

  5. PS4 will not have backwards compatibility for PS3 or PS2 games

    Officially or not, it definitely will for PS2 at least, just perhaps not at release.

     

    I lost all enthusiasm for Xbox720 on the other hand. Crazy stuff we're talking about here, when the PS4 will apparently be the far better option this time with its PS+ programme.

  6. The emulator included in the first batches of PS3s with hardware-based and software-based emulation of PS2 games just got unlocked and can now be used to run PS2 games on all PS3s running custom firmwares, including Slim ones.

     

    Removal of this feature despite the PS3 being fully capable of running PS2 games raises again the question of strategic removal of advertised features in order to sell them back (as "HD collections", like with the Silent Hill one, whose mediocre quality was put to shame by PCSX2 junctioned with a widescreen-enabling hack).

     

    Details

    http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=526722

     

    Current compatibility

    http://www.pshomebrew.net/wiki/PS2_Classics_Emulator_Compatibility_List

  7. BTW, slightly off topic, but any news on a Wii U emulator? I wouldn't be surprised if we see one sooner than we think.

    I dont think one should be expected this soon. For all purposes, the WiiU processor is mostly a more powerful multicore Wii one with larger caches. Nintendo has always been conservative with its hardware, which greatly helped production of emus increasingly earlier (like for Wii emulation, perfected during the useful life of the console).

     

    Consoles whose games can require firmware upgrades are a moving target compared to previous-gen, fixed-firmware ones.

    IMO, emulation for the next gen will be marked by increasing reliance on virtualization rather than emulation. Makes sense when one thinks about it (its easier to maintain virtualized target hardware than go lowlevel - like how Virtualbox emulates only about 3-4 network cards, but any computer can run VB fine with the only hit being variable performance).

  8. Tried it, was inches away from ragequitting computing.

     

    I like the extra security and snappiness, but the Metro interface makes navigation really difficult, especially multitasking.

    'Start' apps mitigate the Metro issues and booting to the desktop, but priorities were clearly messed up when they forced that UI onto users of non-touch devices. Just adding an app store to Win7 for classic apps would've been a great change.

  9. Input methods are a mess. The giant tablet controller sends a wrong message and contributes to a pricing unnecessarily higher than necessary.

     

    Unless they heavily push backward compatibility with Wii games and tie game ownership to accounts rather than consoles, their existing audience just has no incentive to pick a WiiU instead of a Wii with a huge library.

    I mean, anyone looking for hardcore games likely plays them on PC or their Xbox/PS3, so having such titles as exclusives wouldnt help much.

  10. Time for gun control in America?

    Damn yeah. Trading should at the very least be regulated so the state keeps up-to-date records about weapon ownership.

    Some states like manillasomething dont even require permits for M16 machineguns fer chrissake, and anyone from nutjobs to ex-convicts can order those from the closest armory without any alarms rang anywhere.

  11. So you're saying Emulation is at it's peak.

    More that the newer consoles grow prohibitively complex to emulate, in development time and hardware ressource consumption/system cost. No contest, next to jailbreaking/chipping. With newer machines from arcades to consoles increasingly relying on PC-based hardware, there would be more translation and protection neutralizing than actual emulation.

    So all it means is just creativity shifts away from nextgen towards previous-gen consoles (innovative frontends, javascript-based emus, accuracy, and so on).

    Regarding mobile discussion, it's a natural interest to add so as to increase the variety of local discussion (homebrew/emulation guides, regular mobile use and discussion).

     

     

    Regarding activity in emulation communities, they're meant to cater to newbies, readers, unsophisticated users rather than oldtimers savvy enough to help themselves and in need of no handholding anymore to emulate their games. That core of senior users will always be necessary to keep around if just generic activity, but a consistent flow of emulation enthusiasts is what keeps momentum rolling. Not to mention 'timeless content' (like guides, compatibility lists, rankings, etc -flagship blogs commonly rely on that for articles whose content does not grow stale over time) beats ephemereal content (which for example release news fall into no matter how timely, despite the necessity of a release coverage service).

  12. Emulation has never been as mainstream as today, but homebrew/jailbreaking/mobile actuality is nowadays increasingly more prevalent (with a far larger audience too), compared to PC-based emulation. Emulation sites can too cover actuality affecting emulation gaming (see dcemu or the previous maxconsole for over-the-top examples). The later niche features higher payouts and possibilities for sponsorship.

     

    A lax approach towards dubious linkage is not a magical solution, though overzeal could be dropped with little consequence. Effort is necessary to identify and deal with underperforming aspects and keep up with trends, and it seems like everyone's burnt out (desillusioned?). Thats an aspect that would benefit from being addressed first, as it tends to negatively affect momentum and contributor motivation even after you get initiatives rolling.

  13. x10hosting is all you can need. Completely free hosting there has an activity requirement, but a few pennies lift it.

    http://x10hosting.co...ting-comparison

     

    You could also go for a hosted solution like forumotion and use a .com domain name instead of an ugly subdomain on their domain.

     

    some of the stuff will be controversial

    ...perhaps you'd be better served by hosting yourself or offshore then, unless you're fine with the risk of suspension and deletion by your host.

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