Zero Points: RetroAchievements for MiSTer, Mixtape, and Early Thoughts on the Steam Controller
As you are reading this, I am in the midst of putting Forza Horizon 6 through its paces. It’s given me a lot of time to think (yet again) about the state of The Car Game, but I can’t really get into any of that without breaking the review embargo for Forza itself, so I’ll spare you all that for now.
After a very long time of being told that it’s unlikely, if not impossible, someone finally got RetroAchievements to work on the MiSTer. This is very much still a work-in-progress, though, and it isn’t part of the main branch that most people run on their MiSTers by default. Either way, a developer named Fabio Toledo has put together a set of changes that allow the ARM processor to monitor the emulated console’s memory, which is more or less the crux of how RetroAchievements do their thing. So far a handful of consoles are supported, but only the NES core has been buttoned-up in a way that makes it worthy for unlocking “hardcore” achievements. Hardcore mode requires emulators to disable things like save states and other features that might be used to cheat.
I’m not sure if the maintainers of the main branch are interested in adding RA support, but since it’s still being actively developed it seems like the developer hasn’t really attempted to merge his changes in yet anyway. Let’s hope some more consoles support hardcore achievements soon, I wouldn’t mind switching over to the MiSTer the next time a console’s entire library needs to get ranked. And, uh, the time for that is coming quite soon, huh?
Mixtape
If you’re curious about Mixtape, the game, which came out last week, I think this review on No Escape ended up confirming my suspicions of it almost completely. The game opens with the lead character monologuing about the idea of mixtapes and the importance of music. These are things I, too, believe, but having it spouted to you as if no one’s ever thought of these things before, let alone built entire stories around the concept, was a bit much for me. I bailed early.
Ultimately, though, the thing that really pushed me away was the game’s dedication to that deliberately frame-y stop-motion look. That’s two games, that I can think of, that have tried this and in both cases it made me want to scream. There’s a third on the horizon—Wu-Tang: Rise of the Deceiver—that looks like it’s going to try to work that stop-motion look into the actual combat, which seems like the exact wrong thing to do? Anyway, I’ve heard Bad Things, but it’s been over a year since I’ve heard much at all about it, so maybe they’ll pull it off.
Mixtape ends up being extra frustrating because it snaps out of the stop-motion look for cutscenes and looks totally fine. Playable, even! Then she hops back on her skateboard and whooooops, the game moves like shit all over again. I probably would have groaned my way through what seems like a limp homage to the John Hughes classics, but not with that framerate stuff. I’m good.
After years of very much Finishing Games For Work, it’s been nice to be able to bounce on a game here and there, though I still feel a pull to go back and play Mixtape, if only so that my points about it would be a bit more sound, or taken somewhat more seriously. Of course, I feel the same way about Saros, too, and I’d much rather play that than Mixtape, so hey, who knows.
Some Thoughts On The Steam Controller
The Steam Controller is a great, but extremely situational device. Try to remember that it was originally made to ship alongside the Steam Machine, a PC that hooks up to your TV. Valve is trying to solve the same problem they were forced to contend with on the Steam Deck—what sort of device can they make to raise the percentage of games that will be compatible and playable on a PC that doesn’t have a mouse or a keyboard?
If you have a mouse and keyboard sitting right in front of you while you’re gaming, you should probably just continue to reach for those when necessary and your existing gamepad for everything else. After all, most game developers are developing with those sorts of inputs in mind, as opposed to the Steam Controller’s trackpads, on-screen keyboards, and chorded inputs.
The Steam Controller, then, is mostly designed for Steam’s Big Picture mode, where it can fully navigate every part of the interface with ease. Outside of that mode, the controller emulates parts of a mouse and keyboard. The arrow keys show up on the D-pad, the right analog trigger becomes your left mouse click, and both the right analog stick and the right trackpad give you mouse control. If you can manage to trick other software into accepting these inputs, you might be able to use the controller outside of Steam, but do not count on it. In situations where you desperately want to use the Steam Controller on non-Steam software, you’ll need to add that software to Steam using the standard “add a non-Steam game to my library” process. If you’ve tinkered with a Steam Deck, again, this will all be old-hat to you by now.
Speaking of the Deck, I think most of what I’d say about the controls on the Steam Deck apply here, too. The analog triggers feel a little hollow compared to first-party console gamepads. I like the relatively tight tension on the analog sticks, which are tighter than an Xbox Series X controller but looser than the DualSense Edge. The buttons and D-pad are acceptable. You also get the trackpads, which feel great due to the haptics, which give you some sense of movement on the otherwise-static pads. The rear buttons are well-positioned, though I never know what I should use them for in any given game. Overall, the controller is slightly small for my hands, but it’s lightweight, the weight feels distributed evenly, and it’s nice in the hand.
Again, I do think it’s tricky to recommend the controller to people who are sitting at a desk when they play PC games unless you totally hate your current gamepad and don’t want to spend $200 on my current favorite, the DualSense Edge. The trackpads on Valve’s controller are cool and Steam Input is mature and robust, allowing you to find community contributed layouts for most any modern game that would need one. But it still feels like a substitute for a proper mouse and keyboard, not a proper replacement. If you are trying to play games on your TV, this is a fantastic way to do that. If you like the idea of tinkering with control schemes and honing the perfect layout, this is a really great device.
In Other News
In other news I’m fighting off a cold. It sucks. I was hoping to get something together tonight and rank those two “adult” NES games we have left on the list, but it’s just a no-go. Going to get to bed a bit early and hope for the best. Usually these kid colds just bounce off me, I don’t know.