Posted on July 22, 2021
Retro is fun
Just a quick post as an ode to how uh… fun… retro can be sometimes. I’m somewhat cursed I think that in just about every time I work on a retro project I end up running into road blocks. Case in point.
What was supposed to be just a simple upgrade of a computer and then some easy captures turned into a multi day project. To give the basic overview here is the timeline of events:
- Upgraded CPU, set jumpers
- Computer won’t boot
- Lot’s of fiddling with jumper settings, re-seating computer finally starts up
- Attempt to install game using ISO file
- Iso file is having problems and won’t copy correctly (shows negative byte size)
- Zip up ISO file and transfer it to computer
- Attempt to unzip computer goes haywire, corrupted messages and shut down
- Hard drive fully corrupted
- Attempt to recover hard drive with no luck, non bootable and partition unrecognizable
- Find new hard drive, preload it in modern machine
- Windows installation errors out, unable to read setup files
- Blow away partitions manually, reload OS from CD
- Install the incorrect drivers for the sound card leading to blue screens
- Fight for hours trying to uninstall the drivers until I realize I had read the model number on the sound card wrong. DOH
- Computer finally is booting with proper drivers, install game
- Install latest update for game. Game will no longer boot
- Fight with updates for hours upon hours
- Reinstall game from different sources, errors everywhere
- Put a new DVD drive in computer, uninstalled game and literally cleaned the registry manually
- Install game and it boots without updates but textures are BLUE
- Find an older update which doesn’t crash the game
- Game still is running after update. With blue textures. ARGH
- Find a compatibility setting that fixes the blue texture problem
- Profit/cry
So that’s just insane and it took days of tinkering. A simple retro project that went off the rails but I finally got there in the end but just about everything this machine could have done to be a pain… it did.
I love retro stuff.
Posted on July 19, 2021
Steam Deck
If you follow modern gaming or hardware news it’s been hard to avoid seeing the coverage on the suddenly launched Steam Deck from Valve (not to be confused with the StReam Deck from Elgato…). Touted as a fully mobile PC in a form factor that definitely reminds you of the Nintendo Switch it’s a bold move on their part.
Featuring a custom processor from AMD it can best be compared to an Xbox Series S except cut down further to fit the portable format. It’s an intriguing device that promises to let you play most of your Steam library on the go. Within reason of course considering the power of the device. Still videos are clearly shown of titles such as Jedi Fallen Order, Doom Eternal and Control playing on it. Those are some heavy hitter games and if it can handle those it should be able to run many other things as well.
Personally I see the strength of the device in what tinkering it’ll allow. Valve has been quite open saying you can load whatever store or OS on there that you want. By default it runs SteamOS which is basically a Linux version designed to be optimized for Steam gaming. However you can also exit to the Linux desktop to tinker further. The amount of software and emulators this thing will be able to run on day 1 is what has me almost more excited than just playing Steam games.
That said the idea of a portable PC that could be used to play older games or above all indie games on is very appealing. I did put a reservation down for the 256 GB model so we’ll see if I still feel like splurging the $529 it will go for on launch. An interesting device and time will tell if Valve does indeed have a hit on their hands.
Posted on July 16, 2021
Livestream 7/15/2021 – Unreal II
There was a lot of talk about XP gaming machines on discord so that made me want to stream something for that OS. That fell on Unreal II which was played on a circa 2006 level machine. Now Unreal II came out in 2003 so that gave us a lot of headroom to crank up our settings without any hiccups. I’ve long been a proponent of playing games on an “overpowered” Windows XP machine.
What I mean with that statement is that it’s fairly easy to get hold of say a Core 2 Duo machine, put a decent PCI-express video card in and presto you have a machine that can rock anything from the early 2000s with ease. The barrier of entry for this sort of retro experience is much lower than say an early 90s or late 80s retro machine. Driver support for XP is very good and it’s generally very stable. There is a reason Microsoft supported XP for as long as they did and many people didn’t want to move on from it because it worked so well.
As for Unreal II itself it sadly doesn’t exactly live up to the high expectations coming off Unreal. The first game was trend setting in many ways and defined a lot of things we expect or take for granted now in first person shooters as far as environment storytelling and atmosphere. Unreal II is a very straight forward sci-fi shooter both good and bad. It’s a fun ride if you don’t think too much but considering it being a supposed sequel to one of the greatest shooters of all time it’s a bit of a let down. The things that tie it to the Unreal world are sadly pretty forgettable. Still it’s not a bad experience by any means just doesn’t stand out in the very crowded FPS field of the early 2000s. Anyway the stream itself was a blast honestly so feel free to check out the replay below.
Posted on July 13, 2021
MiSTer on a CRT
One of the main benefits I see to the MiSTer is the flexibility it offers. While it’s a generally awesome retro gaming platform the ease it allows connecting to a plethora of different displays is just awesome.
Using a “hat” on top of the board called the analog I/O board it connects quite easily to any CRT TV that has component inputs meaning red, green and blue inputs. A lot of late model CRT TVs had this so it’s not too hard to find one depending on your location. This is a JVC 27D203 (27 inch curved set).
The ability to connect to so many different displays is a real killer feature in my eyes and something I’m covering in an upcoming video. For now enjoy some CRT goodness glory shots!
Posted on July 12, 2021
Game Sells for $1.5 million
Yes you read that headline right. Just recently a game sold at Heritage Auctions for a cool $1.5 million. That is beyond nuts and I can’t in any fathomable way see that sort of price for a game being worth it in any shape or form. Just recently a record was broken for a sealed and mint copy of Zelda selling for $870.000 which in itself was astounding to say the least.
However here we now have what is definitely a very nice copy of Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64 clocking in at that mentioned $1.5 million. I’ve been thinking about this a bit and what might make someone willing to pay that amount and for that there may need to be a bit of back story.
Speculation where money changes hands just for the fact an item is valuable is on the rise in video gaming circles. I’m not deeply versed in these industries and the money that gets thrown around but as I understand this has long been a thing with things such as rare sneakers or vinyl records. Supply and demand fuels a craze by people willing to invest to make a lot more money back. Look at pristine examples of 60s muscle cars for something that may feel a bit more appropriate to trade in. Expensive sure but at least you can in theory use a classic car or somewhat enjoy it. Not so much with something like a collectors item such as this Mario 64. It’ll never leave that case, it’ll never get opened and it’ll never get played. Now obviously there are a thousand different ways to play Mario 64 all which don’t require over a million bucks but it’s still something to behold.
I think the biggest thing with this is what it does to the used game market. Hey if that game sold for that much surely this game is worth at least this! It drags the entire game collecting hobby up with it. I think this is the true end to hobbyist collecting for cheap. Sure you might stumble onto a yard sale or something and get lucky sure but any online marketplace will slowly but surely pull all the prices up.
It’s a sad situation and frankly just ridiculous. Not to be a total downer but it shows that anything that gets popular enough inevitably brings the money with it. Another feather in the cap for solutions such as flash carts and the MiSTer!
