xqemu VS Wiki_MiSTer

These projects are called compatibility layers, or "translation layers" sometimes. I think XQEmu (OG XBox on PC) works the same.

Yes:

https://xemu.app/

https://xqemu.com/

Are both original Xbox emulators built off of QEMU. I've only used Xemu, but performance was pretty good for the games I tried on it (it doesn't have a way to upscale rendering yet though).

It's indeed a bit like a kexec.

On system initialization, kernel routines are copied into RAM by the bootloader[1]. Executables run in ring 0, and have a jump table to call kernel routines in their own address space (IIRC) [2].

As such, loading any executable counts as a soft reboot.

Also, there is a functioning open source emulator, Xqemu [3] (and its sibling/fork focused on speed and compatibility more than accuracy, xemu [4])

I recommend reading "17 mistakes Microsoft made in the Xbox security system", which is very informative [5].

[1]: https://xboxdevwiki.net/Boot_Process

[2]: https://xboxdevwiki.net/Kernel

[3]: https://xqemu.com/

[4]: https://xemu.app/

[5]: https://xboxdevwiki.net/17_Mistakes_Microsoft_Made_in_the_Xb...

There is one emulator currently that does do that, the "XQEMU" emulator for the original Xbox https://xqemu.com/

It's in its infant stages at the moment according to the "Emulation General" wiki and focuses heavily on "accuracy" over performance

Other emulators such as CXBX-Reloaded have made larger strides, currently emulating roughly 10% of the software library

It's also worth stating, while the Xbox seems like an "easy" target, being based on an ia-32 (Pentium III) PC with an Nvidia GeForce chip (somewhere between a Geforce 2 and 3 at the time) it is an absolutely monstrous beast with minimal documentation about its hardware and numerous "gotchas"

It also has a very small library of 'exclusive' content which detracts from gaining many developers

I think it's a bit rich to describe this as the 'future of video game preservation'.

The MiSTer project https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Wiki_MiSTer/wiki more rightfully deserves that title. It's got a huge range of systems (across consoles, arcade and micro computers) and it's all GPL licenced. The base board is a Terasic DE10 Nano which is proprietary but all other hardware required is open source.

The MiSTeX project aims to make MiSTer portable across different FPGA platforms https://github.com/MiSTeX-devel so a DE10 Nano won't be mandatory enabling a new ecosystem of open hardware and commercial for profit solutions.

I take no issue with people wanting to make money in this space. I take great issue with trying to gatekeep system preservation behind a mostly closed system you stamp an 'open' moniker on.

Go to the source https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Wiki_MiSTer/wiki that should have all the information you need and also https://misterfpga.org/ and https://discord.gg/4xKVg4XVYn

Cute, but I don't see the point relative to miSTer.

The MiSTer project[0] is a wonderful introduction to a practical use case for FPGAs. It uses verilog to describe how the DE10-Nano chip should be set up to resemble various classic computers, arcade machines, and video game consoles. With a single device you can have an Apple II+, Super Street Fighter II Turbo, and a SNES. Currently it supports up to the PlayStation for console cores, which is probably the upper bounds for the DE10-Nano.

The entire project feels perfectly in line with hacker mentality and is exciting to watch grow. There's nothing like playing Super Metroid with an original SNES controller on a CRT at the end of the day.

[0] https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Wiki_MiSTer/wiki

I'd advice anyone interested to look at miSTer instead. That is open hardware proper and has a very mature ecosystem of cores, including Amiga.

Consider the miSTer as an open source hardware (in FPGA) alternative (minimig FPGA core).

Have you followed the steps here https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Wiki_MiSTer/wiki/Samba funily enoough google pointed me here.

Here https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Wiki_MiSTer/wiki and https://misterfpga.org/ I assume you know about these links?

You can find a lot of old computers and game consoles implemented in FPGA here:

- https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Wiki_MiSTer/wiki/Cores