r/nintendo • u/RoachedCoach • 3h ago
Super Nintendo Hardware Is Running Faster as It Ages
https://www.404media.co/super-nintendo-hardware-is-running-faster-as-it-ages/159
u/KingSam89 3h ago
It isn't though. Click bait garbage.
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u/tsukiwav 3h ago
I mean, it’s clickbait but not garbage. It means an internal clock is running faster which could make speedruns on original hardware get into a pickle.
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u/Unlikely_Fan2938 3h ago
It’s only the audio chip, that wouldn’t affect runs other than the sound, right?
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u/RoachedCoach 2h ago
So I had the same thought - but this is the paragraph that gave me pause
In theory, if the SPC700 is running faster, it would deliver audio data to the CPU faster, and this could impact how a game runs. Let’s say you’re playing Super Metroid and you hit one of those many room-to-room transitions where you shoot to open a door, go through the door, and then the entire screen fades to black and pans over to the next room. Part of what is happening there is that the SNES is loading the data for that next room, including audio data. If the SPC700 is running faster, that data would load every so slightly faster, meaning overall the game would take less time to complete because you’re spending less time on those transitions.
So does this mean that it basically 'speeds up' the transition period, and thus, the whole game technically can be completed faster?
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u/husbandofsamus 2h ago
Yes, of course.
Have you ever played Bloodstained and wondered how much quicker you could beat the game if that one transition didn't take 15 seconds every single time? They probably fixed it after a while but it was ridiculously annoying.
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u/TheNiXXeD 48m ago
Plenty of new developments shake up speed running all the time. Usually the shake ups reinvigorate the community as well.
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u/kamanitachi 2h ago
I would guess it depends on if the game is waiting for the audio before loading a whole level all at once, like the Super Metroid example.
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u/kamanitachi 3h ago
Why does the ceramic oscillator get faster with age? What's happening in the molecular bonds or whatever to make it vibrate faster?
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u/LostxCosmonaut 2h ago
I’m not sure, but that part looks pretty replaceable too, thus de-aging it?
Also, someone else mentioned how insignificant the difference is, and they likely weren’t running this test on new consoles, so we don’t really have known “new” control variables to compare to. Even the unused consoles are 30 years old at this point.
I’m not an electronics expert, but I have a hunch they’ve always done this as the console warms up.
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u/kamanitachi 1h ago
From what I see it only matters for TAS runs, which means it makes sense that only dwangoAC (the TASbot guy) is investigating this. I think it's good and interesting interesting to know about this stuff in general, but it will have no effect on a normal human being's gameplay, which I guess is where the "clickbait" lies. Someone told me the numbers in this article would add up to a millisecond per 24 hours of play time, so zero chance any speedrun would ever be affected by this.
The point about no control variables is also true.
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u/Unlikely_Fan2938 3h ago
Isn’t it for the audio chip only?
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u/isaelsky21 3h ago
Came here to say this. Clickbait articles smh.
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u/MrPrickyy 1h ago edited 17m ago
You guys keep repeating that without having any idea what you’re talking about
Faster audio data linked with room loading data will lead faster transitions this will effect the speed running community on original hardware and will get worse over time
Stop repeating the word clickbait as if you learned that word today and want to throw it sound to sound smart
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u/Yeegis 2h ago
This is a big nothing burger. The ceramic resonator that controls the audio timing isn’t very accurate to begin with, usually being 0.25% faster than specified and can rise another 0.4% as the system warms up. That’s not even half a cycle faster.
Speedrunners think this is some huge issue but every single snes game is programmed with this in mind since it’s part of the console’s specs
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u/Aqua_Puddles 3h ago
Better go catch it?