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