Zombeaver

I love Jim Sterling, so I'll definitely give this a watch. lordmonkus said My big thing with emulation and debating its legality is the more often than not the very people who bitch and cry about it being illegal are the same people who buy repro carts and think those are perfectly fine when the vast majority of those are illegally using fan translations to profit from while the translators see nothing. But oh look we put a nice sticker on it and put it in a nice box, pay us 40-60 bucks for something we stole. The people who complain about emulator illegality are either the corporations or some jerk off who thinks their physical retro collection is gonna pay for their kids college in 20 years. It's like the comic book and sports card people back in the early 90s when everyone jumped on that bandwagon. These people out there now jumping into the retro collecting are just dumping all their money into something that is only going to lose value. Now having said all that if people are buying because they genuinely want to have and play these games that's great. But if they think they are making an "investment" they are making a huge mistake. I'm actually a big collector of retro games - it makes me happy and it's a genuinely fun pass time and I've met and become friends with a lot of cool people because of it. With that said, I'm also a huge advocate of emulation. I find it hilarious that people would find any disparity/conflict between these two statements. I frequent a subreddit called /r/gamecollecting and I was a little dumbstruck by how completely and insanely negative people are there about this perspective when I tried to explain it. If you mention emulation and the merits thereof, people will lose their shit over there. Here's what people need to understand - emulation is the only, and I do mean only, way to reliably preserve the art that all of us are so passionate about for future generations. All the physical media that we collectors are accumulating will eventually and inevitably fail, period. It may (and probably will) be after my lifetime, but it will happen. And when it does, then what? It's just gone forever because emulation is so bloody evil? Are you people insane? I'll make this comparison. The Mona Lisa was completed in 1506. The photographic process as we now know it was in its infancy in the early 1820s with the earliest surviving photograph dated 1826 or 1827. Let's say that in 1825 there was a tragic fire and the Mona Lisa was reduced to ash. Barring forgeries, without the photographic process, that piece of artwork would be lost forever. Would the world be better off if that were the case? I think few would argue that it would be. So why in the shit do people act as though emulation is high treason? I love video games. I love them as much as any other form of art; perhaps in different ways and for different reasons, but just as much. I love the history of them. I love seeing where they've come from and how that's affected what's come afterwards. I think that's a history that's worth preserving. Emulation is the way to do that. I think that, in their heart of hearts, most of the people that are so adamant about physical media wouldn't even disagree with that if they allowed themselves to think for two seconds. People need to grow up, think further than 15 minutes in front of their face, and chill the hell out. /drop mic EDIT: Watched the video. Not the same focus that I would have taken (obviously, based on the above), but he does make some valid points; and it's hilarious as always I think the issue of value is a very real one - it's certainly at the forefront of my mind whenever I'm debating picking up a retro title, especially if it's higher end. I think there's definitely some merit to what he's saying, and it's part of the reason I love GOG. I do think that if some of this stuff was at a more reasonable price point, people would go for it more; but I think a distinction should be made between digital and physical for that discussion - physical copies are a finite commodity, so it's reasonable that the prices of those would increase over time as the supply does nothing but diminish; all you can do in that regard is ask yourself "Is this worth it to me?" My guiding rule is that I won't pay more than the original retail of the game and that's never served me wrong. I've literally only broken that rule once, and that was for Suikoden 2 - I bought a disc-only copy about 10 years ago for $60 and just last year bought a case and manual for $40, which still puts it below fair market value but above original retail. That game is... special for me though so I'm willing to make an exception. It is worth the price point for me. For digital though? Yeah, more than say $5 for a 20 year old game is pretty outrageous as far as I'm concerned. It's not necessarily a statement on the quality of the game itself (though it could be, like he said in the video) but more of a "Why am I paying $30 for a digital version on a proprietary storefront for a 20 year old game again?"

Thanks @alec100_94! I actually missed your reply from earlier so I'm excited to test this out! I'll report back once I've done some testing.

Kristijan1001 said the comparison u did with adobe was just stupid Adobe has a line of software products that people can use, some of which are free (Adobe Reader, Photoshop Express, Flash Player, Air, Shockwave, etc.) and some of which require a premium to access (Photoshop, In Design, etc.). If you were to have access to Photoshop, a premium product in their line, without paying for it, it would be piracy. Launchbox has certain modules/features that people can use, some of which are free (base Launchbox without premium features) and some which require a premium to access (Big Box, and premium features). If you were to have access to Big Box, a premium feature, without paying for it, it would be piracy. Not only is it not a stupid comparison, it's about as close as you could get. Kristijan1001 said most of programs have drm and have support for like 3pcs(so u can't actually do that if its not drm free also im pritty sure even if it was possible the lincence would get terminated really quickly) Yep. Which is precisely why I differentiated between whether or not you can and whether or not you should for Launchbox. It is DRM free, which means there isn't anything systemically (to my knowledge) that would stop you from doing what you're suggesting. But you shouldn't. I'm sorry you didn't get the answer you were hoping for. Launchbox will still take care of your basic needs until you can save up to purchase a license yourself. The extra bells and whistles are neat, but not essential.

DOS76 said Corpse Killer and Double Switch both of which run like dog shit in SSF. That's weird, I don't recall having any issues with these in SSF. I'll double check tonight. DOS76 said It plays Croc which for SSF you need like a beta 10 or 11 version in order to not get the black screen with sound. Is there any particular reason not to just play the PSX version? DOS76 said It handles AMOK which SSF won't (This one works in RA) play. It's funny, I actually just picked up a big box PC copy of this a couple days ago. I haven't tried the Saturn version.

How is it out of context? You're asking if you can have access to a product/level of service that you're required to pay for without paying for it. What other context is there? To have X you must pay Y. Did you pay Y for X? No? Then it's piracy. Pretty straightforward. If your friend has a Playstation game and he lends you the disc, and you take it home, and play it on your Playstation, and then a couple days later you give it back to him - that's not piracy, that's basically the same thing as renting it. If your friend has a Playstation game and he lends you the disc, and you rip that disc to your computer, and then give him back the disc and continue to play the rip... that is piracy. What you're asking for is the latter, not the former. Unless of course you're planning on deleting the license a couple days later I guess, which you gave no indication of. Again, when you buy a license, you are buying a license to use on your computer(s). Not for you and whoever else you decide to give your license to. The fact that it's DRM free means that you can do that on as many of your computers as you choose; it also means that if you choose to give your license to someone else, there's nothing systemically stopping you from doing so... but you shouldn't because that is the same thing as piracy, whether you realize/want to admit it or not. @SentaiBrad feel free to jump in here and correct me if I'm wrong on the spirit or logistics of any of this.

SentaiBrad said You can drag and drop the exe, import it as MS-DOS (doesn't require you to specify an emulator, but that also works), then edit the game to take away the need for it to use MS-DOS. Jason is aware that importing shortcuts or drag and dropping windows games to specifically import them is a complete work around and he has expressed intrest in fixing that so you can more easily import PC game exe's or shortcuts without workarounds. One other thing I would add to this is that there are instances where some Steam games actually won't run if launched by their standalone exe's because of Steam DRM. Not all of them, of course, but some (often newer titles). The way to get around this is to go to your start menu -> steam -> find the shortcut to the game and right-click and go to properties. The way steam game shortcuts are setup in the start menu is to a url, that will look something like "steam://rungameid/#####". All you have to do is copy that url into the "application path" in your Launchbox entry and you'll be good to go. This is functionally identical to just pressing the "play game" button in Steam.

DOS76 said SSF has test builds on EmuCR I just can't get Daemon tools to work on the latest preview build of Windows o_O Dear god... I'd freak out if I didn't have access to DT. I probably use it more than my physical disc drives. Like I said, I'm all for moving away from SSF if there's actually a viable alternative. How many games did you test? Any notable issues (other than Die Hard Trilogy and Darius Gaiden)?

Jason Carr said Thanks all. I agree from a technical perspective, but users have come to know about "fanart" from Kodi, etc., so they know that it should be used as a background, and it has other meaning behind it. I'm afraid that "artwork" would be too generic. In that case, why not just call them "Backgrounds"? I mean, I like that less than "Art" or "Artwork" but I had the same thought about the term "fanart" being rather dubious a few days ago - I've been going through and auditing my DOS entries which tend to be lacking in this department, so my only real option is to use a screenshot from the game (which isn't great, but still better than a boring gray background). When I hear "fanart" I'm thinking something cobbled together and posted on DeviantArt haha. As much as you do or don't like that kind of thing, chances are most of what's currently being categorized under that moniker in the DB doesn't fit that description. This is basically all just semantics and is comparatively low in terms of importance... but it is a bit odd

SSF actually got an update not that long ago as well, weirdly enough - v0.12 beta r4. The settings have gotten even more bloated than they (already) were, but it seems to work pretty well with some tweaking. I haven't revisited Yabause in a while (probably about a year) because it was just so trash the last time I tried it. SSF is a convoluted, unwieldy monster but it's always provided the best results in my experience. If the newest incarnation of Yabause is actually on the same level as SSF in terms of compatibility/accuracy, I'm all for it; I would just be amazed if that were the case. My real hope for the future of Saturn emulation is in Mednafen, just because it has such a proven track record. I have the feeling it's still a ways off though

Can you? Technically, yeah. There's nothing stopping you, to my knowledge. Should you? ...no? Why would you think otherwise? When you buy a license, you are buying a license for use on as many of your computers as you wish - not you and your buddies (or vice versa). I mean, you do realize you're basically asking if it's okay to pirate a product on the forums of that product right? "Hey Adobe, I found a licensed version of Photoshop on The Pirate Bay. Somebody bought the license for it at some point I'm sure; I didn't, but someone did. Can I go ahead and use it? Is that cool with you?" Just save a bit and bite the bullet, it's worth it. Launchbox is still at your disposal, for free, until then. If you appreciate the benefits that Launchbox is providing you, chances are high that you'll appreciate those granted by a premium license as well. And if turns out you don't, or you have some problem that the community here isn't able to help you resolve, I believe Jason has always been good about granting refunds when necessary. I'm really not trying to be jerk, so don't take it that way, but come on man

Thanks a ton @Jason! I can totally notice the difference on the clear logos. I think that even the 150% scale scanline versions of the logos I made are just a touch small to achieve the effect I'm going for, but 250% looks pretty decent with the new resolution; and as an added benefit the normal versions look better too! Thanks again!

Well, I had intended to get more of these done today but I ended up binge watching the entire first season of Stranger Things on Netflix... Ordinarily I don't use fanart for these but I came across this one by Ivan Flores while looking for Metroid Prime images and said "Yep, that's the one." I tip my proverbial hat to him. Normal: Scanline: Scanline (150% Scale):

Well, I already used Snatcher for the Sega CD console banner that I made so I went with another excellent title which is also an adventure game and is also cyberpunk - Rise of the Dragon. I do love me some cyberpunk. Normal: Scanline: Scanline (150% Scale):

Excuse me. Do you know any places where sailors like to hang out around here? Normal: Scanline: Scanline (150% Scale):

Pants-err...dragon? Huh? I made two color variants for this one and I honestly can't decide which one I like more... Normal: Normal (Alternate): Scanline: Scanline (Alternate): Scanline (150% Scale): Scanline (150% Scale) (Alternate):

Hybrid Heaven may not be the most amazing game ever... but you can suplex lizard monsters so it gets my vote. Boston crab-boston crab-boston crab... A lot of artistic license was necessary considering this was the highest quality image I could find... it actually turned out better than I expected though haha. Normal: Scanline: Scanline (150% Scale):

lordmonkus said Dude for DOS it has to be Doom :) There's always room for alternate versions of these! My plan is to get through everything that I need for my collection and then start doing requests and alternate versions of the ones I've already done. Quake was actually one of my first choices but I couldn't find anything that would really work I'm finishing up N64 now.

What the hell is a rocket lawn-chair? Normal: Scanline: Scanline (150% Scale):

Apparently I'm in a survival horror mood... Alone in the Dark is often credited for being the first incarnation of what is known today as survival horror but truthfully it can be traced back even earlier to the 1989 title Project Firestart. Isolation, limited ammunition (that went with a weak weapon; for legitimately logical story reasons), graphic violence, backstory that's conveyed through journals... it's all there. It was way ahead of its time (and three years ahead of Alone in the Dark no less). Normal: Scanline: Scanline (150% Scale): EDIT: And here's an alternate set with a different text glow. I think I prefer this one actually. Normal: Scanline: Scanline (150% Scale):

Alone in the Dark wasn't my first choice but I had trouble finding acceptable images for the others I was looking for. I think it turned out pretty well in the end though. Normal: Scanline: Scanline (150% Scale):

Chances are nobody will end up using this other than me, but here it is. I have a custom platform setup for post-DOS PC games from the mid 90's to early 00's called "Classic PC" because for some reason I have issues grouping Thief, Gothic II, and The Longest Journey with say Crysis. Normal: Scanline: Scanline (150% Scale):

Awesome! Thanks @Jason! I could see that potentially making a difference. Thanks for putting up with my neuroses haha.

"Dammit, you're not the only hero!" Normal: Scanline: Scanline (150% Scale):

Jason Carr said It's probably not image quality so much as the method used in reduction. That's certainly a possibility, yes. I've tested running it through a number of different resampling algorithms and they all came out fine though - Lanczos, B-Spline, Mitchell, Bell, Triangle, and Hermite all look fine when resampled to 32%. I'm going to try actually saving resampled (small) images and seeing how they look in Big Box, that way I can take as much workload off of it as I can. EDIT: Yep, I definitely think there's something a bit off with the image quality in Big Box. Same image order as before, but this time the top image is at 100% size (resampled beforehand). The bottom is how that same image appears in Big Box EDIT 2: I guess the next step would be to determine the exact resolution that it's changing it to in Big Box so that it's not resampling it all all. 32% of my original size is close but it's not pixel-perfect; Big Box is actually outputting something a little smaller than that. EDIT 3: The image as seen in Big Box appears to be exactly 400 pixels wide. I resampled my image down to 400 pixels wide and tried again. It doesn't appear to have made a difference. I'm really trying here

A bit of creepiness for the PS2: Normal: Scanline: Scanline (150% Scale):