My favorite things about the MiSTer FPGA

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Captain FPGA
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My favorite things about the MiSTer FPGA

Unread post by Captain FPGA »

1. The community

Everyone here is so nice and helpful! They're extremely patient with beginners and are willing to guide you through painstaking processes. Not saying this happens all the time but generally I've had enthused interactions with the community.

That goes for both members and creators alike.

2. It just works.

When I get an instruction for something I normally deem hard most of the time I find a Google answer for it or someone might post the solution in the forum. When I try it, it just works! No nonsense, no fuss.

3. Update all!

The concept of this tool is a masterwork. Instead of hunting down shit individually finally there's a tool that can do it for you! Saving weeks/months of leg work! Sometimes I have more fun watching update all download shit than I do playing cores!

4. FPGA

Simply because I like duplicates consoles that mimic the originals down to a tee.

5. That cat

He just kinda sits there eyes glazed over. If Garfield had a kid his name would be Mister with that blank look on his face. ;)
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Re: My favorite things about the MiSTer FPGA

Unread post by KremlingKuthroat19 »

I second everything you mentioned. Love MiSTerKun being the mascot btw. Would be cool is MiSTerkun got his own game some day. Maybe someone could create an endless runner core from the ground up for fun just for MiSTerkun and could be a MiSTer exclusive lol. It could play like the dinosaur Chrome game xD. I'd like that to be the only closed-source MiSTer core, because making 1 MiSTer-exclusive core and game would add to the charm of MiSTer.

Another thing I love about MiSTer, and it's what turns me off the most about software emulation, is that the update process is seamless. You mentioned update_all, which is amazing, but also the fact that there's only 1 core for everything is a godsend. The sheer amount of core variants in something like RetroArch is horrible. There's like 30 bsnes variations and various NES cores, and each of those variations leave something to be desired. Also, as much as I appreciate and respect how much MAME has done for the preservation aspect of gaming, I can't stand using MAME. Running an udpate_all script is so much better than downloading a new version of MAME every damn month!

Lastly, I'm a huge proponent of the concept of dedicated hardware. I don't want to repurpose a computer as an emulation machine. I love that the MiSTer is designed to simulate, not emulate hardware. MiSTer's purpose to me is to play retro games. My computer is there for work. I can't let my work world collide with my gaming world lol. As George Costanza said, "Worlds will collide!"
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Re: My favorite things about the MiSTer FPGA

Unread post by AtomicShroom »

My favorite things:

1. No input/audio lag. This is big for me. I hated every single time I installed Retroarch or emulators on a jailbroken console like the Wii. It never felt right. I could feel the input lag and it drove me nuts.

2. Accuracy. Duh. Man do Genesis and SNES games sound good. Using the SNES Classic just after the MiSTer made me realize just how slightly inaccurate its sound emulation is.

3. Fast UI. Though I'm thorn on this. I love the fast minimalistic approach, but I also wish it was a tad tiny bit more fleshed out and/or better laid out to be more user-friendly. For example on the SNES Classic, settings are tucked away in a tiny icon you have to select, completely out of the way of selecting games, which is the main thing you'll be doing 99% of the time.

4. Update all. Godsent.

5. The insane flexibility of the filter customization. I got games to look *exactly* how I like them to look. Just the right scanline value, just the right interpolation value, just the right gamma value. They look so amazingly great and scroll perfectly smoothly. (Well except for the single frameskip/drop every 10 seconds. I wish all cores had a 60hz setting.)

6. The drive of core authors to investigate and fix even the tiniest of inaccuracies.
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Re: My favorite things about the MiSTer FPGA

Unread post by charmless »

I agree with everything already stated.

For me it's mainly ease of use and the awesome range of systems that are now available to us.

I was for a long time way down the rabbit hole of trying to get the perfect image and sound out of old consoles and computers. Sometimes I had fun searching for the perfect cable, great looking CRTs or the best option for upscaling.

But mostly it just created stress and it really started to get to me. I basically stopped enjoying playing games and my collection was just some kind of nostalgic decor.

MiSTer changed all that. I got rid of all the clutter. Now I play games again and I feel a lot better.

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Re: My favorite things about the MiSTer FPGA

Unread post by Captain FPGA »

KremlingKuthroat19 wrote: Tue Mar 22, 2022 2:24 pm I second everything you mentioned. Love MiSTerKun being the mascot btw. Would be cool is MiSTerkun got his own game some day. Maybe someone could create an endless runner core from the ground up for fun just for MiSTerkun and could be a MiSTer exclusive lol. It could play like the dinosaur Chrome game xD. I'd like that to be the only closed-source MiSTer core, because making 1 MiSTer-exclusive core and game would add to the charm of MiSTer.

Another thing I love about MiSTer, and it's what turns me off the most about software emulation, is that the update process is seamless. You mentioned update_all, which is amazing, but also the fact that there's only 1 core for everything is a godsend. The sheer amount of core variants in something like RetroArch is horrible. There's like 30 bsnes variations and various NES cores, and each of those variations leave something to be desired. Also, as much as I appreciate and respect how much MAME has done for the preservation aspect of gaming, I can't stand using MAME. Running an udpate_all script is so much better than downloading a new version of MAME every damn month!

Lastly, I'm a huge proponent of the concept of dedicated hardware. I don't want to repurpose a computer as an emulation machine. I love that the MiSTer is designed to simulate, not emulate hardware. MiSTer's purpose to me is to play retro games. My computer is there for work. I can't let my work world collide with my gaming world lol. As George Costanza said, "Worlds will collide!"
Hunting down mame roms made easy by update all. This is a tool I never thought I needed until it was available. The best part was it wasn't even necessary because the user can hunt down roms on their own, it just makes it so damn efficient. Then you wonder how many months it could take to get the correct roms with their parent sets. Update all will do it in 10-12 minutes. :)

MisterKun does deserve a game. Make it happen Mister community!
AtomicShroom wrote: Tue Mar 22, 2022 3:06 pm My favorite things:

1. No input/audio lag. This is big for me. I hated every single time I installed Retroarch or emulators on a jailbroken console like the Wii. It never felt right. I could feel the input lag and it drove me nuts.

2. Accuracy. Duh. Man do Genesis and SNES games sound good. Using the SNES Classic just after the MiSTer made me realize just how slightly inaccurate its sound emulation is.

3. Fast UI. Though I'm thorn on this. I love the fast minimalistic approach, but I also wish it was a tad tiny bit more fleshed out and/or better laid out to be more user-friendly. For example on the SNES Classic, settings are tucked away in a tiny icon you have to select, completely out of the way of selecting games, which is the main thing you'll be doing 99% of the time.
I concur on the accuracy feels like the Mister was designed to be hosted in tournaments. Like fighting games and FPS tourneys. Given it's minimal to no input lag!

I feel like there should be a favorites section to go straight to your roms. That's a possible thing this project can improve upon. :D
charmless wrote: Tue Mar 22, 2022 4:46 pm I agree with everything already stated.

For me it's mainly ease of use and the awesome range of systems that are now available to us.

I was for a long time way down the rabbit hole of trying to get the perfect image and sound out of old consoles and computers. Sometimes I had fun searching for the perfect cable, great looking CRTs or the best option for upscaling.

But mostly it just created stress and it really started to get to me. I basically stopped enjoying playing games and my collection was just some kind of nostalgic decor.

MiSTer changed all that. I got rid of all the clutter. Now I play games again and I feel a lot better.
Such a tiny device that has so much power!
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Re: My favorite things about the MiSTer FPGA

Unread post by barfood »

A lot of good takes in this thread!

There are many things I like about the MiSTer, but I think that what I like best is
- It allows me to play games the way they were intended by their creators without having to pay money to a scalper
- It levels the playing field for anyone trying to get high scores on arcade games. I'm having more fun than ever sharing high scores with other players online.
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Re: My favorite things about the MiSTer FPGA

Unread post by aberu »

1. The community is awesome.

So many talented people who, despite their differences, come together to contribute to this project. The drive to help each other among the developers too is amazing. I've learned so much from them. When I first got a MiSTer I had never programmed, and here I am learning how to port a core that uses dual port ram and is written in vhdl a couple years later. The community is a large part of what makes MiSTer so great.

2. The platform/framework is one of my favorite things about the MiSTer.

Sorgelig's work on the framework is immensely important to the project as a whole. Without that framework, we wouldn't have as many developers spending as much time, and we wouldn't have as many people playing on the MiSTer. Since developers like making things that people use, the more players, the more likely it is to have devs on your platform plugging away. So without Sorgelig's tireless efforts (and so many others as well like wickerwaka, Kitrinx, Robert, Zakk, Jimmystones, alanswx, soltan/ghogan42 the list goes on and on...) then this platform wouldn't be as excellent as it is.

3. The hardware.

I'm gonna say it, the hardware is great. It's got that quirky hobby project vibe to it that I really appreciate. It feels "cool" to have it and know what it all does. Hard to describe.

4. The video and audio output.

The smooth scrolling, crisp audio, and responsive output in general is just excellent.
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