Are we "de-fuzzing" our memories?

[80s_Atari_Guy]

I like emulation, but emulation of more modern machines like PCSX2 - PS2, or rpcs3 - for PS3. Dolphin for Wii and Gamecube. And Cemu, for Wii-U emulation running at 4k with some superb custom shaders.

 

What I don't like is, say, Winvice running a C64 emulator and playing Bruce Lee on a 55" LED Samsung TV, on my Gaming PC. I use either a Xbox One pad, or a Blu-tooth Sony DS4. Sure, it's convenient, quick to setup, and plays ok. But there is just something that doesn't "Feel" right. I have a empty feeling, like I'm playing a Windows conversion of Bruce Lee, rather than on a C64. I feel no connection to emulation of older systems, even with CRT shaders and even CRT overlays. I get bored real quick and often go back to PC gaming.

 

Right next to this setup is this mess.

 

Thats MY mess, and I love it. I could now quite easily fire up the C64C, load in Bruce Lee from my SD2IEC and play that for a couple of hours on the monitor it was meant for, the 1701 (or a 1702). The wonderful glow from one of my favourite monitors just cannot be recreated from my Samsung LED. At night, that area just glows from that wonderful little CRT. And it feels right, it feels like this how it should be played. The lovely micro-switch clicks from my Quickjoy SV-131, all get the endorphins going, and I'm in my element.

I also don't get the connection between how you load a game, to how you play it. I mean, I could load Bruce Lee from a tape, but the SD2IEC + Epyx Fast Load Cart means I'm playing the game in seconds. The end result is the same, the Bruce Lee game running on real hardware.

The mocking of modern hardware addons for retro machines, I find bizarre. I mean, in that pic you can see a uncased TZXDuino. It does exactly what a real tape deck does, the end results are exactly the same - even the loading is slow. But the convenience of having a few thousand tape images, in such a tiny device, while still using real hardware, outweighs using real tapes - having to find them, rewind them, hope they load...etc..

Also, many graphic artists from the 70s and 80s, used CRT artifacts to their advantage. Modern HD TVs, can't show these, along with scanlines, shadow masks, etc.. software shaders can help but they never quite look the same.

Modern HD TVs can also highlight all these retro system's technical limitations, things that CRTs can better hide.

I appreciate if you love modern TV tech, and want to move on. Emulation is perfect for those who don't want the often hassle of maintaining these old CRTs, or retro systems. Many old systems have batteries in that will need replacing. Caps need replacing, connectors cleaned, carts cleaned, disks - hopefully not had rot set in, or mould. It's easier to take a USB stick full of emulators, to friends for retro gaming sessions.

One thing I will add. When I pop round a old school mate's house with emulators, none of his kids (aged 8-10 years) are interested. When I take a old CRT, and retro system, no matter how cumbersome, they all get excited and want to join in. They're all Nintendo Switch mad, yet take round a NES and my 1701 CRT, and I can't get the buggers off - my mate had to send them to bed.

[yanbu]

I have been loving playing 2600 games on an old Sony Trinitron lately. I'm hugely into emulation too, I've spent countless months setting up and configuring dozens of systems for my BigBox setup and love it. But for 2600 games, at least lately, I'm all about playing a real system on an old TV. I don't have a remote for my TV and have been too lazy to program it in a universal remote to mess with contrast or colors etc. Just love the color bleed and fuzzed edges. Maze games have this cool shadow effect too.

 

Yeah also going to a local barcade that has original Asteroids and a few other 70's vector games, that screen effect and feeling when playing is hard to compare to the emulated version. That whole real glowy thing. Can't beat that IMO.

 

But again, I'm huge on emulation and can't possibly own originals of all this stuff in my lifetime ever, and still enjoy playing emulated games. But I can at least enjoy the 2600 like it felt when I was a kid since I have the stuff, and still feels pretty good.

 

 

[yanbu]

My current game room, C64 and Amiga 500 on the desk there, 2600 on the right wall, NES / N64 with Everdrive / Modded PS3 / Emulation PC on the left my the flat screen. I still love playing my 64 and Amiga games on the real machines (which is why I added this to the thread about de-fuzzing, I truly enjoy the original experience still). I do have JiffyDos on my 64 and drive to help with loading, and the HC508 expansion on the A500.

Edited June 3, 2018 by yanbu

[jhd]

 

I used to make color overlays for my B&W television. Simple. Put Saran plastic wrap over the CRT face and color in the game areas with a marker.

 

This actually existed as a commercial product in the mid-to-late 1950s; there would be various, horizontal coloured stripes across the CRT. Perhaps a little bit before your time

[bigfriendly]

My current game room, C64 and Amiga 500 on the desk there, 2600 on the right wall, NES / N64 with Everdrive / Modded PS3 / Emulation PC on the left my the flat screen. I still love playing my 64 and Amiga games on the real machines (which is why I added this to the thread about de-fuzzing, I truly enjoy the original experience still). I do have JiffyDos on my 64 and drive to help with loading, and the HC508 expansion on the A500.

This looks very nice:) I'm always curious when I see these cool vintage setups about the dust factor. All of those exposed 2600 carts on the shelf look really nice but is it a pain in the ass to keep the dust from getting all over this stuff? TV's, computers and gaming consoles have always been dust magnets anyway.

[yanbu]

This looks very nice:) I'm always curious when I see these cool vintage setups about the dust factor. All of those exposed 2600 carts on the shelf look really nice but is it a pain in the ass to keep the dust from getting all over this stuff? TV's, computers and gaming consoles have always been dust magnets anyway.

 

Thanks! Yeah the dust part kind of sucks, I do have covers for the 64 and Amiga computers themselves (but never put them on?), and my loose floppies are in a case. I should put something over my 2600, I've seen some people made custom covers for the 2600 that I'd love to get I usually only dust when I have friends over and notice it's reeeeaaly dusty

Edited June 3, 2018 by yanbu