Emulation On the perception of GBA emulation.

[FAST6191]

Back in the GBA era there were GBA flash carts. However owing to a leak of the SDK and related materials ahead of time the GBA was emulated basically day one (though you needed a machine with a tiny bit of grunt to do it back then) and practically perfect throughout its life.

Back then playing on an emulator was a thing you could quite happily do and many did, indeed as flash carts cost a fortune it was very common indeed.
The DS dropped and took a while to start getting emulated well to say nothing of the dual screens and touch screen along with the games that went with it not taking to emulation with standard PC peripherals quite as well. Flash carts also exploded during this time, probably various reasons for this though past the first neoflash with them all being incredibly cheap and braindead simple to use probably did not hurt.

Today I think I have noticed people pulling back from emulation of the GBA in favour of trying to get it sorted it on real hardware.

First is this a thing or am I just reading something into nothing? Secondly my reasoning would be roughly in line with what I have said thus far, however might there be another reason?

 

[Armadillo]

Today I think I have noticed people pulling back from emulation of the GBA in favour of trying to get it sorted it on real hardware.

First is this a thing or am I just reading something into nothing? Secondly my reasoning would be roughly in line with what I have said thus far, however might there be another reason?

I don't think more are going in favour of original hardware, just that the devices to do so are uncommon now, so more people ask where to get them, so you notice it more. Where as in the past, easy to get, no need to ask. Go on flashcard site, buy card, go by unnoticed.

I play on original hardware, but held on to both my EZFA256 & G6L (both have rtc ), so have few posts around the issue (playing on original hardware) as I'm already sorted , so have no need to ask.

So I think it's just hardware not available/limited=more people ask=notice them more.

 

[Kouen Hasuki]

I think its a bit of both given backwards compatibility starting to be a thing of the past as well as a supply and demand thing.

 

[elgarta]

There may be a bit of resurgence in interest for playing on hardware, but I think that alot of that is related to the development of other console flash carts making people realize that roms can in fact be played on original hardware instead of strictly being PC based, something I didn't know of until the DS Flash-carts started popping up. Also, the rarity of good flash carts for the GBA these days has some people realizing that their options are running out, and they want to be part of it before the idea dies of altogether.

Alot of people still play on PC emulators though, and there are even a bunch who play them on Android emulators. I personally play them on my Wii and on my Revo k101 for the TV functionality (recording on Elgato), but I also cannot stand being stuck at a PC while I play games. I like my console games on consoles, and PC games on PC.

 

[pasc]

Back in the GBA era there were GBA flash carts. However owing to a leak of the SDK and related materials ahead of time the GBA was emulated basically day one (though you needed a machine with a tiny bit of grunt to do it back then) and practically perfect throughout its life.

Back then playing on an emulator was a thing you could quite happily do and many did, indeed as flash carts cost a fortune it was very common indeed.
The DS dropped and took a while to start getting emulated well to say nothing of the dual screens and touch screen along with the games that went with it not taking to emulation with standard PC peripherals quite as well. Flash carts also exploded during this time, probably various reasons for this though past the first neoflash with them all being incredibly cheap and braindead simple to use probably did not hurt.

Today I think I have noticed people pulling back from emulation of the GBA in favour of trying to get it sorted it on real hardware.

First is this a thing or am I just reading something into nothing? Secondly my reasoning would be roughly in line with what I have said thus far, however might there be another reason?

I can attest to that.

It just got more flair.

 

[Darkipod]

Honestly? I just like collecting worthless junk.

 

[Nismax]

I was running a 333mhz PII back then so the games never ran smooth enough. That was a pretty decent computer in 2001/2 (still have it BTW). But it wasn't up to the task, so I had nothing to prevent me from buying a flash cart. Never really wanted to use emulators even after I built a new capable PC in 2004. I gladly handed over $120 for my 128 Turbo. Which seems ridiculous when I think back on it. I still have it, got 4 games written to it and shoved into the GB Player I bought for $4 shipped on ebay. Fun to boot up every now and then though, with a burnt GC disc of course

 

[Prans]

I love the original GBA design and I associate gaming on this console with a cool feeling.

My crave to get this console back in my life surged drastically recently. That's why I recently ordered an EZ Flash IV, so that I can play more of my games in one cartridge instead of carrying them all around.

Also, as good as emulation gets, nothing beats playing on the actual console. And, to me, this applies to any console. So +1 more reason to get back to the GBA hardware! (and it's more affordable nowadays)

 

[FAST6191]

Also, as good as emulation gets, nothing beats playing on the actual console. And, to me, this applies to any console. So +1 more reason to get back to the GBA hardware! (and it's more affordable nowadays)

We seem to be heading back up in price now the GBA officially counts as retro or something.

As for emulation vs hardware well the filters, better audio, better controls and far more hackable nature of things sees emulation probably being superior once the business of running the games relatively bug free gets sorted (which is usually does). However that might be a different discussion and one that various people on the site have had before.

 

[Prans]

We seem to be heading back up in price now the GBA officially counts as retro or something.

As for emulation vs hardware well the filters, better audio, better controls and far more hackable nature of things sees emulation probably being superior once the business of running the games relatively bug free gets sorted (which is usually does). However that might be a different discussion and one that various people on the site have had before.

True but as for emulation vs hardware, I think it's subjective. For example, for me, playing on the actual console, despite its flaws and not as performing as a good emulator, is part of enjoying the console and is a different feeling. I simply cannot, for example, appreciate a GBA game on a PC emulator, playing on the keyboard instead of the dedicated buttons, although a PC has better back-lighting. However, I had to resort to emulation numerous times in the past (even today) for different consoles since it is impossible for me to get my hands on one (mainly cost issues and availability) or just to know what the console and its games were all about.

 

[Kouen Hasuki]

this does go for a great many things as even a friend asked me why do I bother with a Sega Nomad when I could emulate Genesis games already on the likes of my PSP.

Maybe it comes down to personal preference, or maybe the ones who pick true hardware are more picky

 

[garbanzox]

For console gaming I definitely prefer real hardware plus either a flash cart for older systems or a softmod+hdd for newer systems. I like using the original controllers, especially the more unusual ones (SNES Mouse!), to enjoy games as they were originally intended to be enjoyed.

For GBA and other handhelds, I also prefer original hardware, but I really like collecting the carts. Actually I would collect carts for all systems, but I don't have the money or the space. Handheld games are a nice compromise. Carts can be acquired fairly cheaply, and you can keep hundreds of them in a shoebox

This might change when the Everdrive GB/GBC cart comes out. And if Krikzz ever does a GBA cart I'll be all over that too. But for now, I am enjoying my favorite games on original hardware. Well that's not strictly true as I have backlight/fontlight mods on my older handhelds, but that's to be expected

 

[Jayro]

I have an EZ-Flash IV (fat) for my SP, and I have the latest Goomba Color release from 2009, but the savestates are broken and disabled... Has anyone released a new version with the savestates fixed? Or has anything similar to Goomba Color been released since Goomba Color support "died"? (I know about Goomba Palleted, not what I'm looking for)

 

[DanTheManMS]

I have an EZ-Flash IV (fat) for my SP, and I have the latest Goomba Color release from 2009, but the savestates are broken and disabled... Has anyone released a new version with the savestates fixed? Or has anything similar to Goomba Color been released since Goomba Color support "died"? (I know about Goomba Palleted, not what I'm looking for)

Goomba Color has unfortunately never supported savestates due to RAM constraints. Dwedit tried hard but wasn't able to make it work out. Still, regular in-game saves work fine, so that's good.

Savestates for GB games are limited to the black-and-white Goomba releases and Kuwanger's custom Goomba Paletted release (as you said you already know about).

 

[Jayro]

Well damn... Playing without savestates is a drag, but only for the games without SRAM saves, like Super Mario Land 1.

I also learned how to use Bimbo to make splash screens for my Goomba and SMSAdvance rom packs:

 

[Black-Ice]

My psp is just a playstation branded gba

 

[DanTheManMS]

Please do keep in mind that for the longest time, GBC emulation on the GBA was thought to be impossible. A 16 MHz GBA emulating an 8-MHz GBC at full speed? The popular opinion was "yeah that's never gonna happen."

Dwedit however knew enough about ARM assembly language, and optimized enough algorithms by hand, that it became possible. Truly astounding if you ask me.

 

[Darkipod]

Does Dwedit still hang around here? Because like you said, that is simply astonishing.

 

[TheRealMorganTubeHD]

Well damn... Playing without savestates is a drag, but only for the games without SRAM saves, like Super Mario Land 1.

I also learned how to use Bimbo to make splash screens for my Goomba and SMSAdvance rom packs:

where can I find this "Bimbo" Software? I want to make splash screens, too!

 

[Jayro]

where can I find this "Bimbo" Software? I want to make splash screens, too!

You can get it here: https://www.gbadev.org/tools.php?showinfo=167

You export your picture as Graphics type 3, and as a .bin file. Then when importing it into GOOMBA Color, just set the explorer option from .raw to *.* and select your .bin file. Then when you compile your GBA ROM, the splash screen will be the first thing you see for about 2 or 3 seconds, followed by your list of ROMs.

Oh and epic necrobump, by the way.