Would really like to know what makes a person (or group of people) invest the time and energy to do this? Is there a group of hobbyist gamers who work on titles they love? Is it about digital conservation?
- https://github.com/ajxs/yamaha_dx7_rom_disassembly
- https://github.com/ajxs/yamaha_dx9_rom_disassembly
It started because I was just curious about how these devices actually worked. In the end I learned a lot of really invaluable skills that really broadened my horizons as an engineer. I got a chance to talk to a handful of incredibly smart people too. The actual work can be a lot of fun. It's like piecing together a really large and technical jigsaw puzzle. In my case, it also led to me being able to release a fun firmware mod: https://github.com/ajxs/yamaha_dx97
In case anyone is curious about how I worked, I wrote a bit of a tutorial article: https://ajxs.me/blog/Introduction_to_Reverse-Engineering_Vin...
It can be a bit analogous to archaeology too. Even though in my case the DX7 is only 42 years old, that was an aeon ago in computing terms. You gain a bit of insight into how different engineers used to design and build things. Even though development for the N64 is fairly recent, from memory the console had some interesting constraints that made development tricky.
The ones that come to mind are the tiny 4KB texture cache, high memory latency (thanks Rambus), and inefficient RCP microcode. The N64 could have been so much more with a few architectural tweaks but developers liked the Playstation much better on account of its simplicity despite it being technically inferior in most respects.
That statement is surprising, as being a kid I remember the PlayStation as obviously graphically superior. I’m not doubting you but what explains the difference between technical and user perception?
I've no doubt (as a thoroughly amateur video game historian) that with a few small tweaks Nintendo would have ate Sony's lunch that generation. In that alternate universe Sega would have had better developer support for the Saturn and done crazy stuff with their super-wacky architecture too but I digress...
It also sounds crazy that games like tekken 3 could run on 3mb RAM total, when just the current music track feels like it could take that much space.
I too have a beloved video game from my childhood: Mega Man Battle Network 2. That game changed my life. I learned English and became a programmer because of it. I have two physical copies of it in my collection, one of them factory sealed.
Sometimes I open the game in IDA and try to reverse engineer bits and pieces of it. I just want to understand the game. I don't have the time, the dedication or even the low level programming knowledge that these badass folks in the ROM hacking community have, but I still try it.
Doing it long enough requires learning compiler history and theory, understanding business and engineering pressures of making the game, and occasionally reveals why parts of the game work the way they do.
I stream working on SotN and am happy to answer any questions in chat if you’re interested in learning more - https://m.twitch.tv/madeupofwires/home
It's an interesting challenge, you can improve it or make it do X,Y,Z, you can add speedrunning or competition gaming features, solving puzzles gives a sense of accomplishment, a certain small group gives you social clout, etc.
The Readme is too technical and misses a writeup on the soul of the project: Section 1, title. Section 2, already talking about Ubuntu and dependencies. Where is section "Why?" :-) ?