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ROM Hacking Discussion / Thoughts on graphics replacement mods?
« on: April 28, 2018, 02:03:38 pm »
Like HD SNES, Mesen, texture hacks for Dolphin, etc?
Personally I'm not all that sure about that. On the one hand, I'm impressed with some of the results, and I do like how hacks are now taking advantage of the modern technology available now. In that sense, it's a neat concept.
At the same time however, part of me feels it goes against what ROM hacks should be.
I mean, one of the reasons people mod these games is to see what can be done on antiquidated hardware, and to get used to technical limitations. That's one of the reasons the most impressive technical works (like Extra Mario Bros, Mario Adventure Series and Super Mario Bros 3Mix) are so great to see, because they're evidence of how far someone can push the original engine to new heights. It's why MSU-1 impresses many people even now, because CD quality music on a SNES was seen as impossible before this chip was created.
And while there are certainly communities where the games don't work on real hardware yet (see, many Super Mario 64 hacks), even those are usually more about bugs that need fixing with the editors, not a deliberate attempt to go beyond the real hardware.
But hey, I guess it depends whether you feel hacks should be built for the original hardware and its limits or to showcase things that could be done with said games if said limits didn't exist.
What do you think?
Personally I'm not all that sure about that. On the one hand, I'm impressed with some of the results, and I do like how hacks are now taking advantage of the modern technology available now. In that sense, it's a neat concept.
At the same time however, part of me feels it goes against what ROM hacks should be.
I mean, one of the reasons people mod these games is to see what can be done on antiquidated hardware, and to get used to technical limitations. That's one of the reasons the most impressive technical works (like Extra Mario Bros, Mario Adventure Series and Super Mario Bros 3Mix) are so great to see, because they're evidence of how far someone can push the original engine to new heights. It's why MSU-1 impresses many people even now, because CD quality music on a SNES was seen as impossible before this chip was created.
And while there are certainly communities where the games don't work on real hardware yet (see, many Super Mario 64 hacks), even those are usually more about bugs that need fixing with the editors, not a deliberate attempt to go beyond the real hardware.
But hey, I guess it depends whether you feel hacks should be built for the original hardware and its limits or to showcase things that could be done with said games if said limits didn't exist.
What do you think?
