Carlos Rodrigues 🪣

By day, I'm a systems and software engineer. By night, I'm curious about the history of computers. Lisbon, Portugal. 🇵🇹🇪🇺

Lately I've been exploring 16-bit and later 8-bit gaming — something that passed me by as I was never much of a gamer back then. Expect regular posts on these subjects.

#retrogaming #retrocomputing #computing #history

Website: https://www.carlos-rodrigues.com
GitHub: https://github.com/carlosefr

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Last Notes

2024-07-09 01:30:32

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Finally, for completeness, here's what "crt-easymode" looks like at its defaults, with games meant to be played on a TV.
Of course, no TV was ever this good. But at least the sharpness is muted and the soft scanlines are there.
4/4 🧵
PS: All the games shown in this thread are from 1993. Notice how the Amiga and Mega Drive ones looked so much better...
#retrogaming #emulation #crt #amiga #megadrive
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/753/447/347/703/100/original/de4cb653a7393ac8.png
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2024-07-09 00:07:02

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I don't have any CRT monitors handy, so I used this capture from an LGR video as a reference – and it really shows how inaccurate my final result is, but there are a few challenges here...
The main one is that most (if not all) CRT shaders are meant to simulate TVs or arcade monitors. But PC monitors where always much sharper, much dimmer, and had much finer pitched shadow masks.
Also, VGA 320x200 draws each pixel across two scanlines (double-strike), and no shader seems to allow this.
2/? 🧵
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/753/099/645/315/910/original/0be7a87a550b082a.png

2024-07-07 02:38:49

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This excerpt from an LGR video from 4 years ago shows Jazz Jackrabbit tricking the CRT into changing aspect ratio when starting levels:
✂️ https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxIpOb2sanGeuJBP6UNa5CtCt2LbUykJSd
2/2 🧵
#retrogaming #pc #msdos #crt
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/742/488/625/146/363/original/feb3cccd84c7532c.png

2024-07-07 02:28:27

Jazz Jackrabbit (MS-DOS, 1994) impressed me back in 1995 when I first played the shareware version. The speed, the music, but especially how smooth it ran. 🧈
🕹️ https://archive.org/details/msdos_Jazz_Jackrabbit_1994 (not as smooth in the browser, alas)
Fun fact: 320x200 is supposed to be 4:3, but these screenshots aren't 4:3, and look correct. What gives?
Turns out the game uses 320x199 instead, triggering CRTs to squash the image vertically for an effective aspect ratio of 16:10. 😲
1/2 🧵
#retrogaming #pc #msdos #graphics
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/742/216/165/841/259/original/2cfff75450cfcf2e.png
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2024-07-04 20:29:36

Found this in a drawer at my parent's apartment. Any guess as to which 1994/95 game (MS-DOS version) these copy protection codes are for? 🤡 🇬🇧
In the original these codes are in the back of the manual. The manual for the MS-DOS version doesn't seem to have been preserved online anywhere.
Edit: Technically the DOS version says 1995, while the Mega Drive version says 1994. Sources vary on which was the actual release date.
#retrogaming #quiz #copyprotection
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/729/606/463/248/922/original/da7c46620f7f24fb.png

2024-07-02 13:51:35

Went to a wedding 350 Km away in the north of Portugal this weekend, and the way there turned into a retro road trip... 🚗
The first stop was to pick up a Model 1 Mega Drive (VA6.5 PAL, 1992) and some games. 🕹️
It's in good condition, aside from the yellowed trim and a few scratches. I don't mind the yellowing, and the scratches can be disguised if I decide against the "patina" look.
Now I'm already starting to fall into the accessories rabbit hole...
1/? 🧵
#retrogaming #megadrive #hardware
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/716/643/821/411/624/original/627e3b87535da9ac.jpg

2024-07-01 11:37:15

Portugal reached peak Dragon Ball Z in 1997, when entire schools stopped to watch the daily episode, uniting disparate tribes around the cafeteria's TV.
We craved for tie-in games, but the only one being passed around was "Dragon Ball Z: Buyū Retsuden" (1994) for the Mega Drive – and it was in japanese, which gave me an excuse to learn the basics. 🇯🇵
One thing that bugged me (still does) is how un-DBZ the music sounds. The game is otherwise OK. 🎵
#retrogaming #megadrive #dragonball #portugal
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/710/487/526/950/531/original/03ee8683bd09be7e.png
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2024-06-28 15:56:37

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Well... on closer look there are other differences, like Zangief's skin tones and Ryu's name under the power bar.

2024-06-28 15:52:06

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It's still the same game. The only difference I notice is the blue on Zangief.

2024-06-27 19:32:06

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In Europe, most people would never have heard of NEC's PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16. But it was big in Japan.
And even though it used a 6502 CPU, it was a very capable system. Much closer to the capabilities of the "16-bit" SNES/Mega Drive than the "8-bit" NES/Master System.
I recommend reading Rodrigo Copetti's overview of the PC Engine for the technical details:
https://www.copetti.org/writings/consoles/pc-engine/ 👌
But we only need to look at a few games to be convinced. 🤩
4/4 🧵
#retrocomputing #retrogaming #pcengine
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2024-06-27 17:50:41

As a kid, I didn't understand what exactly 8-bit vs. 16-bit vs. 32-bit meant, but I got the message that more bits were better.
As an adult, I understand those labels were arbitrary at best, if not misleading.
Today we kind of settled on address size – e.g. we take x86_64 to be 64-bit because it uses 64-bit addresses (even though its physical address width is less than that).
In the past, it might have been register size, data bus width, address bus width, ... 🤷‍♂️
1/4 🧵
#retrocomputing #cpu

2024-06-22 21:04:00

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If you read "going around the school yard" as "pirated floppies", you're not wrong. I still have the photocopied code wheel. 🏴‍☠️
Software piracy is a messy topic, but one that cannot be left aside when looking at personal computing history.
Let's skip for-profit piracy. There was plenty of that, but not in the school yard. Plus, hardly anyone would find it morally defensible regardless of context.
Instead, let's talk about casual piracy...
2/4 🧵
#retrogaming #monkeyisland #software #piracy
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/661/661/127/778/387/original/c3318e37253ee560.png
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2024-06-21 20:50:30

Time for some jousting before dinner. 🍗
When I first tried "Joust" (Williams, 1982), I didn't think I'd like it, but was pleasantly surprised.
The premise is a bit strange: you're a knight riding an ostrich, flying around inside a cavern, bumping into other knights. The one highest upon impact wins. 💥
https://archive.org/details/arcade_joust
The left/right arrow keys and Ctrl (flap) are all you need. But first, F2 to go past "factory settings restored", 5 for coins, and 1 to start.
#retrogaming #arcade
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2024-06-13 18:57:11

Prince of Persia (1989) by @npub1elp…5fw6 is probably the first game that comes to mind when mentioning rotoscoping in a game.
But Another World (1991) by Éric Chahi also made heavy use of that technique (creating graphics assets by drawing over frames of video).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEjq_arY6Pw 📹
1/2 🧵
#retrogaming #graphics #history

2024-06-07 23:27:04

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Here's an idea for a thesis and/or art project if any data-inclined art student is reading this...
Collect the palettes from all games across a set of 16-bit era platforms (using emulation or longplay videos), weight them according to metrics that affect perception (e.g. the game's popularity, score, first vs. deeper levels), account for the development team's country, the region of first release, etc.
What trends emerge, in what context?
#art #retrogaming #datascience

2024-06-07 22:42:07

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It also isn't so much about dark itself, but the overall combination of colors and how predominant pure hues aren't.
I don't see quite the same trend on contemporary systems. Sometimes even the opposite (e.g. the PC Engine).
Also, not all games are equally impactful (in other ways besides visuals), and that affects how trends are perceived.

2024-06-07 22:21:19

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Yes, it does look roughly the same across platforms. But it would have looked different than the final game (but still the same on all platforms) if they had kept the SNES as the priority platform.
Clearly the choice to change the visual style of the game wasn't technical. Maybe they perceived the Mega Drive audience to be different. Or maybe someone just took the chance to make changes. Who knows. We also don't know how it looked before.

2024-06-07 12:51:25

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I'm usually OK with dithering in small patches, but I'm also bothered by it in some games where it's very visible, like Super Skidmarks.
Pitfall was indeed multiplatform, but wikipedia has this to say:
"Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure initially featured a different visual style and was being developed for the Super NES before transitioning to the Genesis with a new visual approach."

2024-06-06 17:58:56

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Even though one of the more recognizable games on the Mega Drive — "Sonic the Hedgehog" (1991) — is very colorful, that's not how I imagine the average game on the system.
In my mind, Mega Drive games tend towards earth tones and less contrast. I wonder why?
Maybe it's a bias of mine, and others exposed to different games back in the day have a different perception.
Nevertheless, these four examples illustrate what I mean...
2/2 🧵
#retrogaming #color #sega #megadrive #genesis
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2024-06-06 17:46:35

C64 games have a common look to them, color-wise. This results from its limited palette, and systems with different palettes get their own distinctive look as well.
The Mega Drive has a 512-color palette, 61 of which can be displayed at once. These can be tripled with shadow/highlight, and even further with additional trickery.
https://segaretro.org/Sega_Mega_Drive/Palettes_and_CRAM
With this number of colors, games should no longer have a natural common look, right?
1/2 🧵
#retrogaming #color #sega #megadrive #genesis
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/570/436/974/363/740/original/c4078714385a9bdc.png

2024-06-01 23:28:10

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Interesting enough, Lucasfilm Games didn't have a license to do Star Wars games until the very early 90's.
This is often cited as a good thing by former employees. If they could have done Star Wars games, things like Loom, Maniac Mansion, or Zak McKracken might never had happened.
Even later adventure games might not have happened, as it was the success of their earlier titles that made them the genre's finest creators.
2/2 🧵
#retrogaming #lucasarts #starwars

2024-06-01 23:21:17

Lucasfilm Games (later LucasArts) is best know for their point-and-click adventures of the late to mid 90's, and Star Wars games.
Here's two of their games in neither of those categories for the SNES. Both well worth playing:
• Zombies Ate My Neighbors (1993)
• Metal Warriors (1995)
The first features the type of humor we associate with LucasArts adventures, while the second could very well be japanese. Both were developed by roughly the same team.
1/2 🧵
#retrogaming #snes #lucasarts
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2024-05-28 14:26:30

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In the case of "Gauntlet" (1985) there seems to be little disagreement that it is a classic. It has a 7.5/10 score on Moby Games and it's a source of inspiration for many later games.
But... I find it boring, and oddly unsettling. Perhaps it's the lack of music, or the creepy synthesized speech announcements (that pause the game), or something else that I can't quite put my finger on, but I don't like it. 😕
Maybe I'm missing something and need some enlightenment?
2/2 🧵
#retrogaming #arcade
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/518/640/201/256/586/original/82caf1fef06b3e1a.png

2024-05-28 14:03:28

How do you define a bad game?
Rise of the Robots (1994) is generally regarded as a bad game. Its claim to fame is how overhyped it was, and how hard it failed to meet expectations. 💩
Xenon 2 (1989) has a 7.34/10 score on Lemon Amiga. That's a good score, yet many consider it a bad game beyond its graphics and music. 🤷‍♂️
I'm on the fence about it. Mainly because of how sluggish it is – perhaps I'm missing the point and the ship is supposed to be moving underwater?
1/2 🧵
#retrogaming #amiga
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2024-05-25 12:53:58

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Sensible Software's "Cannon Fodder" (1993) was meant to have subtle anti-war vibes, but instead it sparked controversy even before its launch. 🥀
Got 10 minutes? Watch this very nice recount by Stuart Brown (Ahoy):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPnOVK1766E 📽️
I couldn't find a browser-playable Amiga version of Cannon Fodder, and the DOS version just doesn't sound the same. So, if you've never seen it, here's an arbitrarily picked gameplay video instead:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XUqK4l3VAU 🎮
#retrogaming #amiga #history
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2024-05-18 02:53:17

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As a side-note, VGA's 320x200 was actually 320x400 on screen.
Each line of pixels was drawn as two CRT scanlines – called double-scan. You can say it made the picture look "chunkier" with scanlines less prominent.
Not to be confused with double-strike, which was using the same (even or odd) scanline in consecutive half-frames (fields) on a CRT meant for interlaced video. This allowed for full 60/50Hz frame rates, at the cost of making scanlines more prominent.
3/3 🧵
#retrocomputing #vga #crt

2024-05-18 02:14:46

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For Ghouls'n Ghosts we can check service mode. The pattern there doesn't look like squares at all in 4:3.
In this age of flat screens, we're used to aspect ratios being a definite thing and pixels being squares on a grid, but things were fuzzier in the CRT world. 🥁
And one person may have adjusted the picture based on the test pattern, while another by eyeballing the game, or not at all. With this, what does a faithful experience even mean under emulation?
2/3 🧵
#retrogaming #emulation #crt
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/459/114/723/851/895/original/ae647abca09fb356.png

2024-05-18 01:50:01

These three pictures assume square pixels, which is wrong. Instead, they should have 4:3 aspect ratios, right? 📺
Day of The Tentacle, yes. 320x200 on the PC is expected to be 4:3, and it's pixels are not square.
The other two are debatable. Their arcade cabinets had 4:3 CRTs, but neither look right in 4:3. Street Fighter looks better close to 3:2, and Ghouls'n Ghosts looks better around 16:10. In both cases, their pixels aren't square either.
1/3 🧵
#retrogaming #emulation #crt #arcade #pc
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