Dolphin, the GameCube and Wii emulator - Forums

For what it's worth after all the plane trips I've had these year I now realize how extremely useful tablets are for traveling. Laptops are not practical to use with the tiny tray tables, seats, and leg room in coach. But other than that tablets are virtually useless in my opinion.

Shonumi Wrote:Also, don't worry about old consoles disappearing. This is just idle speculation, but imagine if everyday users could apply 3D printing techniques to custom circuitry (I'm sure something like this exists on the industrial/commercial level, but think consumer level for a minute). Smart enough kids get themselves all of the necessary schematics (a lot of the circuitry for the Game Boy, for example, is readily available online as images) and figure out what it takes to build their own GB or NES, or whatever, then the project goes viral online and such. Like I said, it's idle talk, but that's why we have a future, to fill our heads with fanciful ideas and such. Failing that, just go over to James Rolf's house (The Nerd from AVGN); I'm sure he's got every system known to man. He seems to know how to keep them in working order too.

The circuit boards are easy. The hard part is all those chips that are no longer manufactured. You can't make those with a 3D printer. You need all kinds of crazy equipment to do the photolithography, doping, etc. and it has to be done in a super clean completely dust free environment. There is no other way to make these chips than to fabricate them properly.

NaturalViolence Wrote:The hard part is all those chips that are no longer manufactured.

The thing is, you probably don't even need the original chips, just something that's widely available and "close enough" to get the job done. Essentially emulation via hardware rather than software, a la the numerous clones out there that can natively play NES, SNES, and Genesis carts (google them, they're everywhere). The closer the clone system actually mimics the original console, the less worried noah would probably be (he likes accuracy, I take it) which is why I brought up circuit printing at all when it comes to future clone systems. Right now there are plenty of clone systems that only have issues with a few games and will most likely serve as long as noah needs to play his games.

We'll see. I have a feeling he wants them more for the authenticity. Otherwise he should just get an emulator box. One way or another you either need to deal with the cost and availability of custom chips or the inaccuracy of emulation. And for more obscure consoles it's hard to find either solution, especially custom hardware since it's not profitable to make a clone unless it was a popular console with enough people to want to buy it.

NaturalViolence Wrote:I have a feeling he wants them more for the authenticity.

Then unfortunately he'll have to deal with 1) serious upkeep and maintenance of the original system to delay eventual hardware failure 2) use the most accurate emulators when said hardware fails or 3) use the most accurate clones when said hardware fails. "Authenticity" means different things to different people, depending on how the envision an authentic experience to be. For me, if the overall experience is reminiscent of a game, that's good enough. If nothing else but the original system and hardware is going to satisfy noah, then the short answer is he's going to be disappointed, since you can only repair and replace so much when it comes to old consoles before they die. If his standards are anything less, he should relax. But the fact is that one day (sooner or later) the last working NES isn't going to work anymore.

(11-30-2013, 06:31 PM)NaturalViolence Wrote: [ -> ]And for more obscure consoles it's hard to find either solution, especially custom hardware since it's not profitable to make a clone unless it was a popular console with enough people to want to buy it.

Underestimating the age of kickstarter projects and crowd-sourcing. A couple thousand dedicated fans or enthusiasts could launch something like that. Granted, only a very limited number of people would actually get units if the project succeeds, but it's definitely more feasible now than it ever was in the past. With these types of efforts, it's not even necessarily about profit, just about getting a very niche, small base to get together. Who knows, perhaps an organization will come along that wants to make sure games get the same preservation books, movies, and music do and start funding better clones and accurate emulators.