Subj : Re: Retro Games
To   : Nightfox
From : boraxman
Date : Tue Oct 18 2022 13:53:19

 Ni>  MM> Retro gaming is an expensive hobby. Much worse than other hobbies. I 
 Ni>  MM> to set a budget and figure out what I actually want. 
 Ni> 
 Ni>  MM> I want to collect Game Cube, Nintendo DS/3DS and some PS1/PS2 games. 
 Ni>  MM> is largely an abomination. 
 Ni> 
 Ni> Yes, if you want to collect the actual physical systems and media, it
 Ni> could get expensive..  Sometimes I've contemplated collecting some retro
 Ni> consoles and games, but I'm not sure I want to put so much money into
 Ni> it.  Last year I bought a Nintendo 64 and a Super Nintendo and some
 Ni> games, but I realized I tend to use emulation a lot more often than
 Ni> playing the physical systems, so I sold them.
 Ni> 
 Ni> I do like retro gaming, and I've tended to go the route of emulation. 
 Ni> There are so many ways to emulate retro game consoles these days..  I've
 Ni> been using emulators on my PC for years, but now you can also mod some
 Ni> consoles (such as a Nintendo Wii or an X-Box) to run emulators and retro
 Ni> games; there are also retro handheld game systems you can use to run
 Ni> emulators on; I've also seen emulators for smartphones.  There's also
 Ni> the more recent wave of the official 'Mini' emulator consoles - It
 Ni> started with Nintendo and their NES Classic Mini and SNES Classic Mini,
 Ni> and now Sega has made something similar for their Genesis, NEC has made
 Ni> a similar one for their TurboGrafX-16, and Sony has made a mini
 Ni> Playstation emulator console.  There are ways to mod them to add more
 Ni> ROMS, too (and emulators for other systems).
 Ni> 
 Ni> There are also some various Raspberry Pi mods to put together a retro
 Ni> game emulator console.
 Ni> 
 Ni> Nightfox

I go for emulation as well.  I do have a real C64 with disk and tape drive, and a CRT TV, so I can experience the "authentic" thing, but the emulator is what I tend to use, when and if I want to try the C64, which isn't that often.

The CRT emultion in vice is very good, and it simply makes things easier.  I've got a couple of USB gamepads, though joysticks would be better.

For DOS, I have some older machines going back to 486, though my original PC and 286 don't work.  DosBox is again, good enough.

The problem with the retro-fad is this hardware won't last. It's old, and sadly, will die with replacement chips hard to get.  You're only one hardware fault away from your machine not working.  Disks and tapes WILL degrade.  I've had old 5 1/4 inch floppies shed magentic material onto the drive heads of my 1.2M drives, which needed a pull apart and clean.  Power supplies die.

If you can't do complex repairs, then its not a good investment.

For running software, emulation all the way.  I only really want the old hardware for two reasons.

1: To use floppy disks, both 3 1/2 inch and 5 1/4 inch and 
2: To see things on an original CRT, both VGA and a monochrome CGA one I have.  Those visuals aren't easily replicated on an LCD screen.
and and maybe 
3: Authentic PC squeaker.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
 * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)

.