From the workbench
Old computers, software archives, restorations, and repairs.
Old hardware and software, one discovery at a time.
The machine The experiment What workedA list of GameCube and PlayStation 2 games that play fine without an analog stick, for arcade cabinets, handhelds with only a d-pad, or anyone who just likes digital controls.
Console field guide · Note 10 ↗The manufacturer-then-system folder layout I use for game backups, the file extensions each system uses, the systems in my own collection, the ones I'd add next, and the cases where a later release beats the original.
Keeping a media library tidy · Note 6 ↗I spent some time on the idea of selling legal, licensed retro game systems to bars, offices and streamers. The tech is the easy part. Here's why the licensing sank it, and the smaller ideas that looked more realistic.
The emulation bench · Note 8 ↗The file naming standard I use for my game backups, with a four-letter genre code at the front so a folder sorts itself by type, plus the full code list, region and note codes, and examples.
Keeping a media library tidy · Note 4 ↗My lists of PlayStation games that suit an arcade cabinet or a fight stick, generation by generation, from Tekken 3 and Einhander to Garou and Ikaruga-era shooters, plus the emulator and setup notes for each.
Console field guide · Note 9 ↗A realistic look at modifying arcade game ROMs, from changing text in a hex editor to rewriting game logic in assembly, with the tools, the friendliest hardware to learn on and a sensible first project.
The emulation bench · Note 7 ↗My list for loading a Windows 98 machine with the software, games, sounds and screensavers of 1998 to 2001, plus the DOS-era diagnostic kit I'd keep beside it.
The retro workbench · Note 13 ↗Microvision, Lynx, Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket Color, WonderSwan and N-Gage. The handhelds that took on the Game Boy and lost, what each got right, and a timeline of how handhelds got from LCD segments to PC chips.
Console field guide · Note 8 ↗How to back up the games you own before the media gives out, check the dumps against No-Intro and Redump, store the files and the boxes properly, and keep the old consoles running.
The emulation bench · Note 6 ↗The PSP and PS Vita model by model, what each revision changed, the memory card problem and its fix, the store closures that make backups matter, and where the PlayStation Portal fits.
Console field guide · Note 7 ↗My phased plan for turning a 1GHz PowerPC G4 eMac into a solid classic Mac, from maxing the RAM to swapping the old IDE drive for something faster.
The retro workbench · Note 8 ↗Notes from an arcade cabinet build in progress, on why the monitor is 4:3, and why a PC running CoinOPS won out over a plug-and-play Pandora-style board.
The retro workbench · Note 3 ↗
