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| That and this wonderful tongue-in-cheek advice:
> Writing your own PlayStation game in C is actually very simple: all it requires is to make no mistakes whatsoever. |
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| I installed OpenEmu and evreything but I couldn't find supported games for PS1 :-( I downloaded a few 7z files, but when I tried to drag them to app they failed. I gave up |
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| it was this whole exercise that convinced me to pick up a book on mips "see mips run" which was a first self-study deepdive into microprocessor architecture.
fun times! |
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| I’m not sure the N64 would be easier. The graphics hardware in the N64 is complicated.
In some ways the console is really modern (perspective-correct texture interpolation, z-buffering, subpixel positioning). On paper, it seems a lot like a more modern system. But the hardware complexity is a beast. and the design is permeated with bottlenecks. Half of the graphics pipeline is taken up by the RSP, which is a fully programmable vector processor--sounds cool, but in practice it is unapproachable. 4 KiB of texture memory (and if you use a palette, half of it is the palette). RAM bandwidth is barely fast enough to handle 3D scenes. https://www.copetti.org/writings/consoles/nintendo-64/ The folks working on LibDragon have done a lot of work to make homebrew a better experience, but you’ll note that support for 3D graphics is still only in a preview branch. |
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| At least some of these efforts were supposedly related to Sony's attempts at getting various Playstation models classified as computers instead of video game consoles for import tariff or tax reasons.
While the tariff classification plot never seems to have worked out, Sony did also around the same time apparently succeed in creating a perception of the PS2 as being so dangerously fast as to needing export controls as a munition(!): https://www.zdnet.com/article/google-pixel-9-pro-xl-vs-samsu... With the PS3, both attempts eventually succeeded, but in a way that backfired at Sony gloriously: The US Navy actually did end up using the PS3 as a supercomputer! https://phys.org/news/2010-12-air-playstation-3s-supercomput... The only problem: They were selling the console as a loss leader, making money only via games and game licenses. Once somebody had finally taken them up on their "it's a computer, not just a game console!", they were very quick to remove the "Other OS" boot capability in a firmware retroactively. |
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| It has to do with the laser being worn out. This method slows the CD motor down, helping the burned game be read. People have done it by pressing firmly on the lid, which puts pressure on the top of the spindle, causing motor strain. Some people put the whole unit on its side. Other methods include adding two CDs to the spindle, obviously with the data one on the bottom, to add the strain.
There is also a 3D-printed weight disk people use at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4838168 . |
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| Well, if you don't put too much emphasis on the "hand" part of "handheld", Steam Deck is basically a PC running Linux and you can program it in any language you want.
As a bonus you can gain some muscle by carrying it around. Alternatively, some of Anbernic's and other similar manufacturers of "retro handhelds"'s machines run plain Linux (usually derived from OpenDingux for MIPS-based devices, but most newer stuff are ported to ARM) with a simple launcher. I have one of the older MIPS-based devices running OpenDingux (GCW Zero from ~2013)[0] and you can use SDL and C/C++ (or Free Pascal in my case). Anbernic RG350 is basically a remake of it (same hardware, just better screen) and there are some variations at a software level (running the same or a similar MIPS CPU). Other devices are based on ARM (IIRC the devices ending in 1 - like RG351/RG351M/RG351P/etc - use ARM with an OS derived from OpenDingux). Note that some use Android, though they also use a different naming scheme (and they mention it). Sadly Android-based devices are the most common and since they are largely used for emulators, the manufacturers rarely post full tech specs but there are dedicated communities and YouTube channels from where you can find what exactly OS they run and with what architecture. But all that said, Steam Deck might be the simplest choice (though not the lightest, both in terms of weight and price). [0] https://img.itch.zone/aW1hZ2UvNjM4NTE4LzQ3MDk2MTguanBn/origi... |
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| Idk if it’s the best recommendation in the space but there are consoles like the Miyoo Mini (and many more) that are capable of running anything from Atari to PSX in the palm of your hand. |
I appreciate the quote at the bottom of the article:
> Those of us who love computers need to have something slightly wrong with us, an irrationality to our rationality, a way to deny all the evidence of our eyes and ears that the hostile box of silicon is dead and unyielding. And fashion by cunning machinery the illusion that it lives.