/vr/ - Retro Games

Those games are just fine the way they are.
Don't fix something that's not broken.

>>1878103
Just a question bro. No need to immediately get defensive.

>>1878108
I'm merely stating that those games weren't designed for wide screens. Adapting it to a wide screen would change the game too much.

hd remasters usually only increase polygon resolution and keep all textures the same, maybe with some filters thrown onto them, generally only things like menus and HUD things are redrawn

for 2D games there is no way to "remaster" the graphics other than filtering / overlays. the entire game would need to be redrawn.

>>1878097
Because you end up with atrocities like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGjQeghO4jk

>>1878097
What about Sonic CD ?

BR?

>>1878119
I'm more curious about the tech behind it, not so much how it affects gameplay. Its not something that seems feasible anyways so there isn't really anything to worry about there.

For 2D Windows games it's possible. Just search for widescreen patches or hacks. Some will even work in arbitrary resolutions out of the box.
A few games also have engine remakes/ports for modern OS that support widescreen.
I believe the effort necessary to hack an emulator so that it displays proper widescreen is too much for a questionable advantage.

>>1878135
Wasn't that this whole new engine made by some guy?

>>1878097
Because there are fundamental differences between 3D and sprites. Only way to make 2D games HD is to redo the graphics completely.

This has been done before. Main example off the top of my head is earthworm jim HD

>>1878097
This is just opinion, but I think many games require you not see ahead or have too much on screen. Here are some examples that I can think of.

Vertical games - Games like Ice Climber, where the purpose if to go up instead of sideways, will not benefit from a wide screen, it will just add dead space. Not to mention the segments in side scrollers that do change to vertical segments.

Too many enemies - Take games like ghost and goblins. Many of the enemies are fixed and will attack so long as they are on screen. Having a wide screen would mean that you would be pelted by enemies that were meant to be seen in portions plus the fact that you will not be able to escape as easily from enemies you may have skipped over. It would also look silly to have these enemies just appear out of nowhere when approaching. I can only imagine that the red devil guy (and enemies that act similar to this) would be the most annoying encounters ever as they have so much area to move in as compared to before.

It's suppose to be unseen - Many games run on the idea that you are not suppose to see what is coming up next. Much like when you play a mario game and your on a tracked platform. Being able to see far ahead would kind of defeat the challenge and eliminate the need for quick thinking as you can just casually plan how you will tackle that problem. I can only imagine how much easier any self scrolling boss level in mario world would be when you see what is coming next, I can also imagine how much harder it would be when you have that many more canons shooting bullet bills at you from both directions.

Contained areas - Games where you are challenged in tackling an obstacle in a confined space would have no benefit in this sort of thing. Mega Man is a good example as you fight bosses in enclosed areas which add to the challenge. Having all that extra space would do nothing to add value to the game. And making the rooms larger would take away from the challenge.

>>1878209
Which is why old games need their formulas updated.

Widescreen hacks would require a complete rewrite because these games use screen position to control enemy spawning etc. HD graphics would be possible with a complicated emulator hack, replacing the PPU emulation and intercepting writes to VRAM and replacing then with the redrawn HD graphics.

>>1878209
* adding on due to character limit

Looks bad - Some of the most popular games out there are RPGs. Games like earthbound or FF have no benefit in being widescreen. I can't imagine what mario RPG or chrono trigger would look like in having a small character on screen in relation to the amount of area displayed on screen. Esthetically it would look bad.

Doesn't sell - Many of the HD remakes of old games simply don't sell that well. Earthworm Jim and Ducktales may have been fun to many, but I also know many who would rather just play the original as having an HD remake doesn't add any true value to the game. In my opinion at least, I for one can easily do without a final fight HD widescreen remake, or worse yet, Streets of Rage.......

>>1878176
There's a remake of Super Frog:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XfxKZMDKzQ

It looks and sounds like complete shit compared to the original:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1iDQtFUX2k

>>1878218

Do you honestly think that a company would want to put that much work into the old as appose to simply making something new and "original" that is more likely to sell.

It's about the bottom line for any company. Which makes sense. As much as a company might want to cater to the fan boys out there, they ultimately want to bring in new customers to increase profits in order to keep going.

To look back in time in order to increase future revenue just doesn't make sense most of the time. Believe me when I say that Nintendo, and the like, truly don't care for those types that would collect retro as they know that they are a lost cause when it comes to the new, for the most part.

Pumping out basic emulated retro games tends to appease the majority when they are shopping for a new download in the nintendo store. To attempt to appease to the minority is simply too much for any company to attempt on a constant basis.

>>1878239
Have you ever played Ultima with nuvie, Exult or Pentagram? nuvie is a huge boon because the view window in U6 was extremely small so you easily lost orientation in the vast world.
Exult HD has some issues due to scripts depending on whether an actor is on screen but it's still nice to have a better view.
Usually I don't run them at maximum resolution. Half or third of it is enough to balance things out.

>>1878276
For comparison

>>1878119
>Adapting it to a wide screen would change the game too much.
Maybe in your opinion, but I can imagine plenty of people would be happy by the change. It would also introduce the game to new people. That should be encouraged.

>>1878276
I think I may actually get around to finishing 6 with this. My first was 7/underworld and could never adapt to that small view. Thanks!

>>1878276
I totally get what your saying, but that is a case of an obvious improvement as that was a problem from the onset. Improvements do improve after all.

But when looking at games where this issue is not present, then there would be no point in making it widescreen. Again something like Final Fantasy has no issue like this, so making it wide screen would add no true value beyond being able to simply see more map, which may take away from the challenge in that you are not placed in a position where you waste walking (random encounters) in order to explore an area.

>>1878312
Have new people never seen or used a CRT? Are new people allergic to aspect ratios other than 16:9? Will their head explode if they experience media in 4:3?

Do people who are interested in old literature complain about archaic language? Or do they appreciate it for what it is.

>>1878218
What? Why? The "formulas" have nothing to do with it. The screens were 4:3, so stages were designed Y pixels high and X pixels wide visibility in mind. That's why many game's won't work in 16:9. It's level design, not design philosophy.

>>1878610
You don't have to expand the map. The additional space could be used to display more information so you don't have to spend as much time navigating through menus.
It depends on the specific game so there's no point in trying to find a single solution suited for everything.

>>1878628

Agreed, doing something like that could be VERY useful. But in the end it comes down to whether the time and resources required to make that happen makes it worth it. Whether it be initiated by the actual company or by fans wanting to work to improve the games they love, it's all about benefits v cost.

>>1878628
In the same time, I'm watching Deathstalker 2 and enjoying it, so my arguments could be seen as invalid by default.

>>1878209
>It's suppose to be unseen - Many games run on the idea that you are not suppose to see what is coming up next. Much like when you play a mario game and your on a tracked platform. Being able to see far ahead would kind of defeat the challenge and eliminate the need for quick thinking as you can just casually plan how you will tackle that problem. I can only imagine how much easier any self scrolling boss level in mario world would be when you see what is coming next, I can also imagine how much harder it would be when you have that many more canons shooting bullet bills at you from both directions.
This makes widescreen much more appealing than anything else, being able to see whats ahead of you isn't a negative just because you can see an obstacle coming isn't going to make it any less difficult and hell we've always had a pause button to take a moment to reflect on whats going to happen

>>1878659

I disagree. Your approach seems to take away from challenges. It's like if you went on jeopardy and were asked the last question and have 30 seconds to answer it. Asking to pause the timer so you can think about it more is considered cheating. Allowing the player to see more than what was intended seems like a way of bubble wrapping the already bubble wrapped children of today.

>>1878672
Problem with your statement is pausing is available in the original game it's not like it was added.
Really whats the difference if you're able to see it sooner oppose to later and still able to pause, stop and think over your situation? Do you think the pause option was a way to 'bubble wrap' players of the past?

>>1878257
>Do you honestly think that a company would want to put that much work into the old as appose to simply making something new and "original"
Have you seen any new movies lately?

>>1878680
No, the pause option was made to allow someone to pause, get up and do something that must be done, and then return to the game.

In the same time, pausing is not the same as seeing what's ahead. Many games would have you make guess or leaps of faith and only through trial and error would you be able to figure out the safe route. Pausing in those instances would not do the same as being able to take in the obstacle before you make your guess/leap of faith.

Many instances in Mario would force you to choose which platform on a track to use, pick the wrong one and you're gonna have a bad time.

>>1878687
Did you not read my taste in movies. I'm hardly one to qualify as to what is good when it comes to movies.

>>1878646

I don;t see what the big stink is. I'd buy and play them in 16:9

>>1878672
How about instead of showing more area ahead of you the game shows more area behind you?

>>1878703
So widescreen would help you see past poor game design?
Theres no reason for leaps of faith or trail and error in games because it just wastes time and lives and doesn't test your skill but your patience.
The more we go down this line I find it hard to see why widescreen is in any way negative, it helps you see obstacles ahead of you but doesn't take away from the challenge of said obstacle considering you really do have all the time in the world to access the situation while and removes time wasting mechanics that I'm glad is in our past.
I can't honestly see any reason why widescreen would hinder any game as long as you take into consideration the initial source.

>>1878708
Yeah, but this thread isn't about if you would play them, it's about why they are not made to begin with.

>>1878718
That could work but seems a little pointless. Plus my earlier argument detailed that many enemies in games will stop attacking when off screen, so having more enemies from behind attack while still dealing with what's ahead of you may be a little much. In the same time, that sort of challenge could be incentive to play it more. Depends on the player really, but I can't imagine any company running on that idea as a reason to widescreen a retro game.

On another note, deathstalker 2 sure does have a bunch of nice 80's bewbs in it.

>>1878726
I would have to say that this is steeped in subjective preferences. Although some may like to widescreen things, others may feel that it is fine in the format it was originally delivered in. At the end of the day, the question is whether the maker of the wide screen formatting of a retro game would want to go through that trouble. Would it be worth it to them, or a waste of time. It seems that the lack of wide screen retro games available to us indicate that creators believe it to be a waste of time.

>>1878748
Well it's obviously about time and money, if you go and have to remake a game you have to take this stuff into consideration but if you do a junky sequel than you can do your own thing
I'm sure if more people pushed for remakes we'd see more of them

>>1878731
>not made to begin with
I guess not enough indie devs are making their own ports and getting bought out

>>1878097
>Hora

>>1878759
Totally agree, if the markets demanded remakes then remakes are what would be had. But /vr/ is by no means a powerful market. You would need to rally the entire user base to mass organize a simultaneous physical and electronic letter send out just to get some very minor attention.

Heck, how long have people been pushing Nintendo to release earthbound/mother on various systems and in certain languages, just to have them laugh in snooty derision despite the fact that it would most likely sell.

>>1878764
For Sonic games it really helps seeing what's ahead of you. Besides they are 320x224 so they're wider than 4:3 natively already

>>1878771
This is an awesome example of something that worked. I've had my sega for ever now, I never bothered to even dent Sonic, but the remake that I got from xbla was fun enough for me to clear it.

Although I wonder if the xbla one was easier? I never returned to the genesis sonic as I was just annoyed when playing it.

>>1878129
That looks pretty good, what's the problem?

>>1878776
The last gen remake might have been easier in that you could see further ahead but that's about it. The special stages were also harder. Sonic 1&2 widescreen re releases are still iOS only

Changing around the aspect ratio for something that was designed specifically around a different one is really fucking dumb and I wish people would stop requesting crap like this.

>>1878097
They would have to be redrawn. Way too much effort.

>>1878895
This. I don't get the appeal or fifth gen and later 'hd' versions either. Legitimately, the only resolution I even want to play Nintendo 64 or Playstation games in are in their native resolutions it obscures the ugly as fuck shit on the screen.

>>1878769
That means "Time" in Spanish.

>>1878209
Next time you're in an autoscroll level in SMW, hold R and be fucking shocked

>>1878097

Depends by what you mean with HD

for older 2D sprite based games that can mean incorporating entirely new 3D-based functions/art/rendering, or just redrawing all the sprite art in a new style, or just fixing up the older sprite art to match HD preferences and display rates

and thats not even getting into other stuff like revamping the audio engine, or music, or adding in game mechanics