Daedalus R12 debugging: StrmnNrmn teaches Homebrew Emulation 101

While N64 emulator for PSP”>Daedalus, an N64 emulator.”>StrmnNrmn‘s updated us with a quick post about the dynarec issue for Super Smash Bros. yesterday, he’s fulfilled his promise of a longer, more detailed entry on the said issue. That’s what we’ve got today: another update on his much-awaited Daedalus R12 N64 emulator for the PSP.

It’s even complete with all the homebrew emulation development hoopla that can drive the novices to either 1) rip their hair clean off their scalps, or 2) create better homebrew and be encouraged by StrmnNrmn’s efforts. With that’s said, let’s take this slow and steady.

Maybe you’re asking what the hell is up with dynarec issues anyway? Just so you know, StrmnNrmn is going through hell and high water to fix this thing, so you better thank him.

He admits that, in the six years that he’s been programming professionally, dynarec debugging is one of the hardest issues to deal with. “It’s very much like working blindfolded.” For one, you don’t know what code will turn up every time. And worse, identifying the exact bottleneck out of 500 million lines of code can be a headache the size of Jupiter.

Homebrew hero that he is, StrmnNrmn’s been able to deal with issues like this before, and he’s been able to develop his own solutions to track down these bugs. That’s how he was able to wheedle out the SSB dynarec issue. The trick here is to reproduce the same bug in the PC-build of the emulator – that’s his technique.

Going hand in hand with this is a fragment simulator he’s coughed up. This tool helps him pinpoint the bugs that the dynarec code generates. Basically he uses a framework that allows him to compare what is being executed to what is being simulated. Make ends meet by comparing the two, and your blindfold gets more transparent.

Now we don’t know if you understood all that. I for one can’t honestly claim that I understood every single detail of his post. But I do have a grasp of the gist. Want to continue your Homebrew Emulation 101 lesson? Click the Read link below to head on over to StrmnNrmn’s lecture.

While N64 emulator for PSP”>Daedalus, an N64 emulator.”>StrmnNrmn‘s updated us with a quick post about the dynarec issue for Super Smash Bros. yesterday, he’s fulfilled his promise of a longer, more detailed entry on the said issue. That’s what we’ve got today: another update on his much-awaited Daedalus R12 N64 emulator for the PSP.

It’s even complete with all the homebrew emulation development hoopla that can drive the novices to either 1) rip their hair clean off their scalps, or 2) create better homebrew and be encouraged by StrmnNrmn’s efforts. With that’s said, let’s take this slow and steady.

Maybe you’re asking what the hell is up with dynarec issues anyway? Just so you know, StrmnNrmn is going through hell and high water to fix this thing, so you better thank him.

He admits that, in the six years that he’s been programming professionally, dynarec debugging is one of the hardest issues to deal with. “It’s very much like working blindfolded.” For one, you don’t know what code will turn up every time. And worse, identifying the exact bottleneck out of 500 million lines of code can be a headache the size of Jupiter.

Homebrew hero that he is, StrmnNrmn’s been able to deal with issues like this before, and he’s been able to develop his own solutions to track down these bugs. That’s how he was able to wheedle out the SSB dynarec issue. The trick here is to reproduce the same bug in the PC-build of the emulator – that’s his technique.

Going hand in hand with this is a fragment simulator he’s coughed up. This tool helps him pinpoint the bugs that the dynarec code generates. Basically he uses a framework that allows him to compare what is being executed to what is being simulated. Make ends meet by comparing the two, and your blindfold gets more transparent.

Now we don’t know if you understood all that. I for one can’t honestly claim that I understood every single detail of his post. But I do have a grasp of the gist. Want to continue your Homebrew Emulation 101 lesson? Click the Read link below to head on over to StrmnNrmn’s lecture.