If you’re interested in self-hosting, gaming and emulation then you might be interested in RomM’s new (and significant) update to how things work - version 4.2
I’ve long-since befriended the dev team behind RomM, after covering their last few releases, and interviewing the team previously too! This time I got to chat to some of the members (some new to the team) and get an inside line on what they’ve been making for the new version. If you’re interested in my article, I’ll link it at the end, but I’ll also quickly dot-point what’s new in RomM here for those who aren’t interested:
(it’s looking far prettier now, too!)
Console Mode:
The new console interface is designed for big screens and easy navigation with a controller or remote. It features a grid layout, large icons, and a simplified menu structure to enhance your gaming experience from the comfort of your couch. Launch it from the navigation bar or navigate directly to /console.
Out-of-the-box PSP and DOS Emulation:
PSP and DOS play is support out-of-the-box, no custom reverse proxy settings or browser launch arguments required! You’ll now see play buttons on supported games, though please note that performance is limited by the browser’s WASM engine, and performance will vary.
Incremental RetroAchievements Sync:
A new scheduled task has been added to sync RetroAchievements progress for all users on a recurring basis. Enable the task by setting ENABLE_SCHEDULED_RETROACHIEVEMENTS_PROGRESS_SYNC=true in your environment variables, and manually run the "Convert images to WebP task in the /administration page to start generating .webp files.
WebP Image Task:
Another scheduled task has been added to convert all uploaded images to the modern .webp format. WebP images are 5-10x smaller then JPG/PNG images with no loss of quality, leading to faster load times for cover art in galleries. Enable the task by setting ENABLE_SCHEDULED_CONVERT_IMAGES_TO_WEBP=true in your environment variables.
Sounds like something that wouldn’t be too hard to do, given that Plex (and others like it) exists. The difference is, Plex is streaming.
So with a good network, you can just send the game and do the emulation client side, and sync the save and other data back to the server. With a powerful enough host, you can handle the emulation on the host machine and just stream the video, with the client streaming the controls back, but this wouldn’t be good for a lot of games (too much latency). Same issue as GeForce NOW. Good if you’re near their CDN; otherwise, useless.
Look into Moonlight… or GeForce Now (and Google Stadia for the five minutes before Google realized it was a good product and killed it). Game streaming is more than solved. The issue is more just having “a powerful enough host” than anything else.
And, in hindsight, it really makes a lot of sense. The vast majority of the cost is video streaming and… youtube and twitch exist. Hell, the entire white collar world ran on video teleconferencing for a year. All that is left is sending what amounts to text back and forth since controller inputs aren’t actually that complex.
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Sounds like something that wouldn’t be too hard to do, given that Plex (and others like it) exists. The difference is, Plex is streaming.
So with a good network, you can just send the game and do the emulation client side, and sync the save and other data back to the server. With a powerful enough host, you can handle the emulation on the host machine and just stream the video, with the client streaming the controls back, but this wouldn’t be good for a lot of games (too much latency). Same issue as GeForce NOW. Good if you’re near their CDN; otherwise, useless.
Look into Moonlight… or GeForce Now (and Google Stadia for the five minutes before Google realized it was a good product and killed it). Game streaming is more than solved. The issue is more just having “a powerful enough host” than anything else.
And, in hindsight, it really makes a lot of sense. The vast majority of the cost is video streaming and… youtube and twitch exist. Hell, the entire white collar world ran on video teleconferencing for a year. All that is left is sending what amounts to text back and forth since controller inputs aren’t actually that complex.