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Emulation - Blog Posts
Only 13 percent of video games are readily playable and accessible. No other form of media is as endangered as video games. There is no legal path to preserve or archive video games. You can go to libraries and archives for books years out of print. You can rent a movie or download a pdf. There is no legal equivalent for video games. Games companies do not double as archival organisations and they never will. They have never been about preserving. They are about selling. Which is not inherently evil compared to anyone else but they along with the law are directly preventing archivers and preservationists from doing their job and allowing this entire medium to be experienced in the future.
if youre a loser to pay for games then at least dont crusade on others for choosing not to do so
the company you defend doesnt care about you
Internet Archive finds #001: Hacking the Xbox, An introduction to Reverse Engineering by Andrew "Bunnie" Huang. (full read)
"In the beginning, a hacker was someone who worked passionately for the sake of curiosity and exploration. There were hardware hackers who took it upon themselves to remove the covers from computers to optimize their design (early computers were built out of discrete components, so they could be modified in meaningful ways with simple tools), and there were software hackers who labored to make the most compact and elegant code, since computational resources were scarce and slow. There were hackers who explored the ins and outs of the phone system, and those who explored the roofs and tunnels of buildings of university campuses. Quite often, early hackers engaged in all of these activities. Hackers would share their findings or results (hacks) with each other freely, as their rewards were not financial, but came from satisfying their intellectual curiosity and from the enthusiasm of their peers." - Andrew "bunnie" Huang.
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Interesting thought from a friend:
Jail breaking. Reverse engineering. Without these we wouldn’t have emulation which is kinda saving a lot of peoples childhoods seeing as actual physical copies are skyrocketing in the retro gaming market. People are afraid physical media is going to completely phase out because everything’s going digital. So people are taking advantage of the market in some arguably bullshit ways. Ya know business. -Xora March 2024
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DISPOSE OF PUFFY BATTERIES ASAP!
They CAN explode!
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hacking your 3DS/2DS
https://3ds.hacks.guide/
troubleshooting 3DS software/CFW
https://gbatemp.net/forums/nintendo-3ds.199/
https://discord.gg/MWxPgEp
https://3ds.hacks.guide/troubleshooting
getting games
https://hshop.erista.me/
https://vimm.net/
physical 3DS issues
https://www.ifixit.com/Device/Nintendo_Handheld_Console
3DS Tumblr Community
FAQ post
Submissions + Asks are open! Send me photos of your DS/3DS If you wanna!
decorated 3ds's are tagged under '3DS inspo'
Also, bigotry of any kind is not accepted here. terfs/radfems/gender crit will be blocked + reported. Free Palastine + ACAB
GET PRETENDO NETWORK !!!
obtaining roms:
edge emulation (missing some consoles; CD-based games come in compressed formats such as CHD; very fast DL speed)
myrient (pretty much everything, no strings attached; fast DL speed)
cdromance (mostly has games for CD-based consoles; games come in uncompressed iso or bin/cue; has a lot of pre-patched rom hacks; medium-fast DL speed)
planetemu (largely in french; has a lot of obscure titles other sites lack; very fast DL speed)
alvro collection spreadsheet (pretty much everything, including many newer consoles; slightly inconvenient to navigate; download site has timer and limits to 1 download every 30 mins, can be worked around with vpn; inconsistent medium-to-very-fast DL speed)
script that lets you download from emuparadise post-shutdown (pretty much everything; inconsistent medium-to-very-fast DL speed; can occasionally be uncooperative)
ROMs Megathread/Archive (everything, really; slow DL speed; usually a last resort if you can't find something anywhere else)
i don't currently recommend Vimm's Lair due to very slow speeds, download limits, and offering nothing that isn't on other sites (unless you need prepatched xiso format Xbox roms)
console-focused sites:
HShop (all 3DS. very complete, easy to navigate. has qr codes for direct download from 3ds; yes, the qr codes are safe; fast dl speed)
MarioCube (focused on GameCube/Wii and has everything you'll ever need for those platforms; requires joining a google group for standard roms but it takes like 2 clicks; very fast dl speed)
NoPayStation (practically every PS3/PSP/Vita game and update, downloaded directly from sony's servers; fast dl speed)
sites offering switch and other modern games get shut down very frequently so i won't be linking them in order to keep this post from getting outdated, but you can find them if you snoop around reddit (the switchpirates sub in particular) a little
romsets:
Cylum's Romsets (my personal favorite - not fully complete sets but heavily curated, so no going through a million revisions of the same game)
for 1fichier directories, you can use a tool like 1fichier-dl to download in bulk. i'd recommend doing this on the alvro collections if you want more complete sets.
softmodding and loading roms on some popular consoles:
Switch
Wii
3DS, Vita, Wii U
PS2
PSP
recommended emulators and emulation guides:
Emulation General Wiki
netplay:
wanna play with your friends online?
fightcade covers nes, genesis, pc engine, dreamcast, and snes along with a variety of arcade boards from capcom, snk, sega, and konami. playstation is incoming. all platforms on it have rollback netcode.
mednafen covers psx, saturn, pc engine cd and sega cd, and i find its snes performance better personally. delay-based netcode with server structure. here's a pre-packed version with a gui included and here's a netplay guide i largely wrote myself.
other than that, dolphin is naturally used for gamecube/wii, and project64 with the AQZ netplay plugin is used for N64.
games are great. go play some games.
[edited 3/25/23]
obtaining roms:
edge emulation (missing some consoles; CD-based games come in compressed formats such as CHD; very fast DL speed)
myrient (pretty much everything, no strings attached; fast DL speed)
cdromance (mostly has games for CD-based consoles; games come in uncompressed iso or bin/cue; has a lot of pre-patched rom hacks; medium-fast DL speed)
planetemu (largely in french; has a lot of obscure titles other sites lack; very fast DL speed)
alvro collection spreadsheet (pretty much everything, including many newer consoles; slightly inconvenient to navigate; download site has timer and limits to 1 download every 30 mins, can be worked around with vpn; inconsistent medium-to-very-fast DL speed)
script that lets you download from emuparadise post-shutdown (pretty much everything; inconsistent medium-to-very-fast DL speed; can occasionally be uncooperative)
ROMs Megathread/Archive (everything, really; slow DL speed; usually a last resort if you can't find something anywhere else)
i don't currently recommend Vimm's Lair due to very slow speeds, download limits, and offering nothing that isn't on other sites (unless you need prepatched xiso format Xbox roms)
console-focused sites:
HShop (all 3DS. very complete, easy to navigate. has qr codes for direct download from 3ds; yes, the qr codes are safe; fast dl speed)
MarioCube (focused on GameCube/Wii and has everything you'll ever need for those platforms; requires joining a google group for standard roms but it takes like 2 clicks; very fast dl speed)
NoPayStation (practically every PS3/PSP/Vita game and update, downloaded directly from sony's servers; fast dl speed)
sites offering switch and other modern games get shut down very frequently so i won't be linking them in order to keep this post from getting outdated, but you can find them if you snoop around reddit (the switchpirates sub in particular) a little
romsets:
Cylum's Romsets (my personal favorite - not fully complete sets but heavily curated, so no going through a million revisions of the same game)
for 1fichier directories, you can use a tool like 1fichier-dl to download in bulk. i'd recommend doing this on the alvro collections if you want more complete sets.
softmodding and loading roms on some popular consoles:
Switch
Wii
3DS, Vita, Wii U
PS2
PSP
recommended emulators and emulation guides:
Emulation General Wiki
netplay:
wanna play with your friends online?
fightcade covers nes, genesis, pc engine, dreamcast, and snes along with a variety of arcade boards from capcom, snk, sega, and konami. playstation is incoming. all platforms on it have rollback netcode.
mednafen covers psx, saturn, pc engine cd and sega cd, and i find its snes performance better personally. delay-based netcode with server structure. here's a pre-packed version with a gui included and here's a netplay guide i largely wrote myself.
other than that, dolphin is naturally used for gamecube/wii, and project64 with the AQZ netplay plugin is used for N64.
games are great. go play some games.
[edited 3/25/23]
Fin Fin on QEMU (Current Version - v2.1)
Fin Fin on QEMU is a project designed to create an easy to use way for anyone to play Fin Fin without the need for any complicated setup on modern operating systems. It is fully compatible with Windows 10 and 11, but can also work on any version after XP.
The version of the game used is a custom made translation that includes all 6 worlds in English. It has working microphone input, sound recording, and all associated features such as screenshots and the encyclopedia work as well.
Rather than using virtualization, this works through emulating an entire Windows 98 machine. To play it there's no need to install any hypervisors or set up a virtual machine, as everything is already set up, and ready to go.
The download link can be found here! (Hosted on MEGA)
Installation
The whole thing is portable, meaning nothing is actually "installed" and all the data is wherever you place the folder. This also means that if moved to another PC, all user data will still be present.
To run, all you need to do is extract the folder in the .zip to a location of your choosing, and then run one of the launchers.
Included are two launcher versions for the different QEMU display options, one that uses GTK and one that uses SDL. The only difference between the .bat script and the .exe versions is that a command window will be shown when using the .bat script.
Both have pros and cons, so I've included both to let the user decide which one they want to use.
SDL has broken window scaling and no mouse integration, but has a correctly stretched fullscreen. GTK has a stretched fullscreen mode, but has working mouse integration and window scaling. Basically if you want the game in fullscreen use SDL, otherwise use GTK. For a bit more info about these, checkout the 'Files' section under the 'Keep Reading'
Important Info
Before launching the main game, be sure to create a profile using 'New Contact', as the game will not run until doing so. When exiting the game use the shutdown option in Windows 98. Exiting through closing the window forcefully can possibly cause data loss/corruption. When using SDL, mouse and keyboard input will be captured. To release this, press 'Ctrl + Alt + G'. When using GTK, the menubar can be hidden or shown by pressing 'Ctrl + Alt + M'. To make the window fullscreen, press 'Ctrl + Alt + F'.
Sounds
Included are two "sound effect packs" for the in game sounds that play based on the number keys from 1-5.
By default, the game will use the sound effects from the 5 Worlds version, but you can swap out to the 6 worlds one by renaming the "sound (alternate)" folder in the D: drive to just "sound", and renaming the original sound folder to something else.
I hope you all have fun with your new best friend Fin Fin!
Fin Fin is a wonderful little enigma from the past, and my attempt to make it easily accessible even in the present is something I hope you will all enjoy.
If you encounter any issues in Fin Fin on QEMU, please contact me about it.
To view the changelog, credits, and some more info about this project check below the 'Keep reading'.
Changelog
Some information is cut for brevity, the full version can be found inside of Fin Fin on QEMU and the MEGA folder.
v2.1
Removed WHPX launching options Removed FinFinWHPX.bat and FinFinWHPX.exe Removed startup crash fix as it was only needed for WHPX Modified folder settings in Windows 98 to open folders in the same window Rearranged Fin Fin on QEMU folder layout for cleaner appearance Added 'OK' button back to Microphone Setup that was mistakenly removed Updated shortcuts for Microphone Setup and Sound Recorder Fixed problem with 'Encyclopedia' launching script that caused screenshots to not show up in the photobook Added 'Transfer' Folder which allows for transferring files between the host and emulated machine Added options for launching with either GTK or SDL display Altered updater to improve ease of use and used NirCmd to improve process as a whole (Updater.bat & updater.iso)
v2.0 (Major Update - 6 Worlds Edition)
Modified original Taiwanese 6 Worlds version to add English Translation Added 'Microphone Sensitivity' shortcut to the desktop and start menu Added in 5 Worlds version Encyclopedia (finfinEncyc.exe & encyc30.GIZ) Added sound effects from 5 Worlds version (D:\sound) Added Mouse Integration Added Nircmd to replace launch batch scripts (C:\WINDOWS\nircmd.exe) Added Windowed Mode shortcut to start menu Altered launching scripts (FinFin.bat, FinFin.exe, FinFinWHPX.bat, FinFinWHPX.exe, FinFin Update.bat) Removed large amount of unecessary setup files from finfin.qcw Removed 'Task Scheduler' from taskbar Added Credits and Changelog shortcut to start menu Added dll to fix issue with running on Windows 7
v1.3
Added animated Fin Fin cursor
v1.2
Added guided updater (FinFin Update.bat & updater.IMA) Adjusted wallpaper Renamed startup shortcut ("_setup.bat" to "Crash Fix" at C:\WINDOWS\Start Menu\Programs\Startup) Adjusted Volume Control Settings
v1.1
Added new wallpaper (C:\background.jpg) Added new startup sound (C:\boot.wav)
v1.0 (First Public Release)
Changed from qemu-3dfx to base Removed unnecessary files in Windows Added missing shortcuts on Desktop
v0.5 (Playtester version)
Moved all Fin Fin data to finfin.qcw Created batch scripts for Disc.id Added shortcuts to launch programs Removed unnecessary programs from Windows Removed unnecessary files in Windows
Credits
Resources
The finfin Homepage (finfin.de) - By EMGE The finfin Archive (finfin-archiv.de) - By Xvemon, Nadine S., and EMGE Fin Fin 6 Worlds "Beta" (finfin-archive.de) - By Harald G.
Playtesters
mchi22 that-one-scratch-on-your-arm
Software
QEMU 7.1.0. (qemu.org) - By QEMU team: Peter Maydell, et al. NirCmd (nirsoft.net) - By Nir Sofer Resource Hacker (angusj.com) - By Angus Johnson
Updating Versions
Included is a guided updater that will help you transfer your save, screenshots, and sound recordings to the latest version.
Place the new version in a temporary location without replacing the original. Then, just run "Updater.bat" and follow the instructions.
System Time
Time in the emulated machine is synced to the host PC.
If you would like to time travel in Fin Fin, you can change the time in the emulated PC but it will go back to normal after a restart. If you would like to permanently change the time, you can use the built in date-changer present in the 'New Contact' program, but this will cause the loss of the current profile.
QEMU
Though it should be quite obvious by now, this project works through the use of QEMU, an open source emulator. Specifically, its emulating a full Windows 98 SE machine, and then the game is run on that.
The emulated machine has 256mb of RAM, an AC97 Soundcard, and a Pentium III CPU.
Files
The only files this project really has aside from QEMU are FinFin GTK.bat/.exe and FinFin SDL.bat/.exe
The reason I list the .exe and .bat files together is that they do exactly the same thing. The executables aren't really 'true executables', but are instead just batch scripts that have been converted into .exe files. When they run, they essentially create a temporary batch script that deletes itself. The only real benefit of this is that its a bit more straightforward for launching and creating shortcuts, and that there is no distracting command window while playing.
Within the 'Data' folder is where the bulk of the project is. Inside are two virtual hard drives, w98.qcw being the main Windows 98 drive, and finfin.qcw being where all the Fin Fin game data is.