Do we have way more computer power than we need?

[MildredHubble]

Two of my Macs are still using "spinning rust" For most stuff there isn't a huge amount of difference in terms of speed, usually if you open something you don't use often it gets a bit laggy compared to MacOS on an SSD. Windows is another story though. It starts ok but after a few weeks everything gets so sloooooooooow.

I think MacOS is just about acceptable running on a hard disk, but I am looking at SSD options for my 27" iMac. I can get 1TB Crucial SSD for about £60, but I think I could maybe get one a little cheaper if I keep on looking.

On the Mac when you launch an app it's icon bounces in the dock until it opens. On my SSD MacBook the icon has launched before the icon returns to the ground. On my other Macs it bounces 2-3 times. But we are talking a few seconds so it's no hardship. But you kinda noticed it after you've been spoilt by an SSD!

 

[Judge]

I can't imagine having to go back to using a mechanical hard drive now. On my legacy computer running Windows XP even it had removable hard drives. But geez...talk about hot, bulky and noisy.

Nope, nope, nope. Give me SSDs....

 

[FilterFreq]

I frequently feel like my setups are under-powered, no matter how beefy they are (although I'm always operating on the lo-spec end of the spectrum). Trying to render basic animations or deal with particle systems makes my fan start whirring like a helicopter taking off, and the same goes for even attempting modern gaming.

But of course, operating systems seem to keep getting bloatier as time goes on, so keeping up with the rest of the world is quite expensive. I'm hoping one day I'll hit that particular 'old age' where I'm just happy with the way things are because I'm not doing things quite as resource-intense as most.

In fact, I think the AI revolution will eventually lead to an interesting point where people like me will just be happy with a small fraction of the capability most can't live without, because I'd rather just do smaller computing tasks than use the high-powered AI constructs that are inevitably coming our way.

With that said, writing some code on an old system? They're almost perfect for it, provided you're aware of the constraints and prepared to PEEK and POKE your way around corners . With the passing of time and community resources galore, you can really find your way around old systems in the modern age better than you even could back then, IMO.

I actually found a great book on 6502 ASM, written in 2018. That alone blows my mind!

 

[Misery]

With the passing of time and community resources galore, you can really find your way around old systems in the modern age better than you even could back then, IMO.

It's amazing really, how many resources there are now and how things have improved even for dealing with old stuff.

Like, way back when, I used to make levels for Doom 1 and 2, and I mean the original versions... before FPS games really used mice at all. Back then, it was horribly complicated to do any of that. I had this book, this 1200 page book with this goofy blue demon guy on the cover, that was JUST about how to make Doom levels. That's all it was about. 1200 pages. And yes, I read the whole thing. Actually doing the level making involved these increasingly arcane programs with editors that must look like utter nonsense by today's standards.

There were a whole bunch of them, the one I was most familiar with (and the one the book focused on) was this:

It's downright primitive now. It was so easy to make errors, you couldnt look at any sort of actual render of the level while in the editor, this line view was the only view... you had to compile the thing (with a separate program) and then load it all the way into Doom and then run to the spot you wanted to check, just to look at anything. Like making sure a given texture is in the right place, or testing that a line trigger was set right, or making sure that the "hall of mirrors" mistake wasnt present. It took absolutely forever to make anything.

But now? I watch people using modern editors for those games, and the difference is night and day. You can see everything as you edit, all the textures and such, putting things in is so much simpler, all the blasted lines and sectors are so much easier to manage, you can dive right into the thing in full 3D when you want a closer look... no need to load Doom... and just it's come so amazingly far. It takes so much less time to make anything and the barrier for entry is drastically lower.

Also amazing to see how there are still people with a passion for any of this older tech. There's a game being sold on Steam... I cant remember the name of it... but it was made for a really old computer system (like, REALLY old, early 80s kind of old), and the Steam version is exactly that but running in an emulator. But the game is a modern creation, but fully done in assembly language. Nobody NEEDED to do that... they could have made it in some modern game engine. Those have gotten so easy to use... even I could go and make something in freaking Unreal Engine. But the guy who made that? Nope, back to assembly on a stone age computer. Just amazing.

 

[jsilver256]

 

[FilterFreq]

Those have gotten so easy to use... even I could go and make something in freaking Unreal Engine. But the guy who made that? Nope, back to assembly on a stone age computer. Just amazing.

Oh my god! I definitely want to find this just so I can see it in action! I know it's not always a guaranteed metric for enjoyability or immersion, but I always feel like games with real passion like that shine brighter than some of the ones that are built within the higher-level constructs that don't require nearly the same amount of discipline.

I know not everything needs to be unmercifully difficult, and a lot of stuff wouldn't even exist without the barrier for entry being lowered, but it's almost like when people are willing to go that far, you know they're not just tooling around and creating shovelware. Honestly I think this is why I enjoy retro gaming so much; there's just so much character and beauty in the flaws and restraints that it's really hard to ignore. Even some of the games that kind of flopped at the time are still way more playable than the stuff you can find on the switch store, and I think at least being skilled, dedicated and creating things with love is really what makes that difference.

Like, way back when, I used to make levels for Doom 1 and 2, and I mean the original versions... before FPS games really used mice at all. Back then, it was horribly complicated to do any of that. I had this book, this 1200 page book with this goofy blue demon guy on the cover, that was JUST about how to make Doom levels. That's all it was about. 1200 pages. And yes, I read the whole thing. Actually doing the level making involved these increasingly arcane programs with editors that must look like utter nonsense by today's standards.

Wow, that is seriously so much cooler than doing it nowadays, IMO! Also, knowing that you have that level of dedication, I bet your levels / mods were pretty awesome! Do you still have any around?

 

[FilterFreq]

I always love seeing what Doom runs on. The 'Doom on a toaster' always cracks me up

 

[Misery]

Oh my god! I definitely want to find this just so I can see it in action!

I found it:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1539750/Realms_of_Antiquity_The_Shattered_Crown/

I know it's not always a guaranteed metric for enjoyability or immersion, but I always feel like games with real passion like that shine brighter than some of the ones that are built within the higher-level constructs that don't require nearly the same amount of discipline.

Yes, I'd agree with this. I tend to stick to indie games mostly, and that's exactly why. A better environment for the developers, letting that passion be possible. There's a million horror stories of abused AAA devs, but indie devs tend to be the opposite. Even I have experience, contracted work with an indie studio, and it was like the direct opposite of what the AAA dev experience is said to be. Everyone was super nice and they worked WITH me instead of trying to shove me into some box. I was able to get creative and do things my way, and make major decisions and changes. It was lovely. And a fulfillment of a childhood dream, really.

Not to mention just creativity. You wanna see a game that looks REALLY out of place these days? Look at this:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/659540/Warsim_The_Realm_of_Aslona/
Notice the review score for it. 97% positive reviews, that's *really* high. Talk about a passion project. Bloody excellent game, really.

I freaking love stuff like that.

Honestly I think this is why I enjoy retro gaming so much; there's just so much character and beauty in the flaws and restraints that it's really hard to ignore.

Oh yeah, I'm really into retro games too. Yay for emulators... I have "The Archive", AKA, every game made before 2006, which was my cutoff date for some reason. Including arcade games (with the exception of laser-disc stuff). Much of this machine's 1TB drive is dedicated JUST to the archive. Full Launchbox setup, too. Took freaking forever. But it's so worth it for all of that. I'm always finding new and interesting things in there. And sometimes, I find that even games that are supposedly really bad, can turn out to be lots of fun. 2600 and NES stuff is always my favorite. I play those a lot.

I could ramble on about all of this stuff for ages, really.

Wow, that is seriously so much cooler than doing it nowadays, IMO! Also, knowing that you have that level of dedication, I bet your levels / mods were pretty awesome! Do you still have any around?

I dont have those around, no. The machines that held those are long dead.

I've got other stuff I've made though. Remember LittleBigPlanet? I did this, years ago:

Took weeks to put that together. The problem with stuff I make though (whatever kind of stuff it might be) is that, well, it aint exactly elegant. Other people can make things that are efficient, carefully done, streamlined. Stuff I make is like duct-taping a car together. It's messy and half the time it seems like it should not work. The thing in the video, the "brain" behind it is this incomprehensible 4-screen tangle of wires and switches and stuff.

Geez, that video is 15 years old now. I didnt even have recording equipment, I just pointed a camera at the screen to do that.

I always love seeing what Doom runs on. The 'Doom on a toaster' always cracks me up

My favorite is "Doom running on a pregnancy test". Or the one where it's running on potatoes.