mirror of
https://github.com/Abdess/retroarch_system.git
synced 2026-11-01 07:33:45 -06:00
61 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown
61 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown
---
|
|
level: reference
|
|
order: 70
|
|
group: Data
|
|
terms: measurement, proof, tested, core probe, real conditions, method
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
# How emulators are tested
|
|
|
|
We run an emulator only when a question needs a real answer. That is an
|
|
issue, a fix we send to a project, or a check before a release.
|
|
|
|
A page that relies on a run says so in a **Proof** line. Every run is on the
|
|
[Measurements](../measurements.md) page.
|
|
|
|
## What a test does
|
|
|
|
- A script runs the emulator with no window and no sound.
|
|
- It starts a game and runs it for a set time, at least twice.
|
|
- It compares the screens with ones we checked by eye.
|
|
- It reads the emulator's log to see which BIOS it ran.
|
|
|
|
## What a result says
|
|
|
|
| Result | Meaning |
|
|
|--------|---------|
|
|
| works | the game reached a screen it shows when it works |
|
|
| works on its built-in BIOS | it worked, but the emulator refused the file and ran its own BIOS |
|
|
| BIOS error | the emulator said a BIOS is missing or wrong |
|
|
| crash | the emulator stopped |
|
|
| hang | the screen stayed blank, or the run never ended |
|
|
| unknown | none of these could be shown |
|
|
| no verdict | an older test that only compared screens |
|
|
|
|
## What a result does not prove
|
|
|
|
- It shows the first minutes of one game, not the whole game.
|
|
- It sees the files the emulator opened on this path, not every path.
|
|
- Some emulators run their own BIOS when yours is refused. The game still works.
|
|
- The app you play in may change settings the test left as they were.
|
|
|
|
## How a file is proven
|
|
|
|
The game runs with no BIOS and with the BIOS alone. Then it runs with a wrong
|
|
file under the BIOS name: zeros, half the file, or another region's BIOS.
|
|
|
|
- **Required**: no BIOS fails, the BIOS alone works.
|
|
- **Built-in stand-in**: no BIOS still works.
|
|
- **Checked**: a wrong file is refused.
|
|
|
|
## Where results are kept
|
|
|
|
Each result is a full record in the
|
|
[`measurements/`](https://github.com/Abdess/retrobios/tree/main/measurements)
|
|
folder of this project. It names its method, the computer and the exact build
|
|
of the emulator. A record is never changed once added.
|
|
|
|
The results so far ran on these computers:
|
|
|
|
<!-- measurements-hosts -->
|