Classic PC demoscene productions now run natively in your browser
Classic PC demoscene productions running natively in the browser
A new project recompiles classic PC demoscene productions from the early 1990s to WebAssembly, letting them run natively in the browser. The process records every executed instruction on an x86 emulator, translates it to C with exact cycle timing, and compiles it alongside hardware models for the timer, VGA card, and Sound Blaster. Demos like Unreal, Second Reality, and Crystal Dream II run exactly as they did on original hardware.
The demos' own loaders, music players and effects all run as they did in 1992 and 1993; only the hardware is modelled.
- velo_aprx
I understand that it might be nice to be able to play old demos in your browser, and its fine, but...
Please keep AI away from the demoscene.
Ive been active in the demoscene for almost 30 years, its a big part of my life, and i am truly worried people using AI to build tools and code demos will destroy it by removing the very reason why its interesting. I want to be impressed by real peoples knowledge, skill and creativity. Not your ability to prompt.
Mostly, i hate the AI remaster option. It was never intended to look or sound like that.
- Retr0id
> The demo is run on an x86 emulator that records every block of code the CPU actually executes, over the whole demo.
> That recording is translated into C - the original instructions, one for one, with the exact cycle timing of the emulated machine.
What's the advantage of this approach vs cycle-accurate emulation? (I'd guess it can go faster, due to compiler optimization?)
> The result is checked against the emulator event for event: every interrupt, port access and frame at the same moment of emulated time.
It's funny how LLMs leak their test procedure docs into user-facing output.
- Martin_Silenus
The days I gave up with demoscene. When PC killed Atari ST and Amiga scene (sorry to put you after amiguys, but life was always easier for you ;) ), all the magic of fixed hardware without tons of Mhz and RAM, when we were running after that cathode ray which wouldn't wait, exploiting hardware bugs to break those damn borders above, below and sideways, spending hours turning my head upside-down to read unreadable scrolltexts, looking at psychedelic plasma effects with bazillions colors...
Then I betrayed you all: I bought my first ugly machine because of Doom. I was so ashamed...
Now, only 4KB demos can at least impress me a bit.
Feeling old.
- gregkb
this is mind boggling! although during the 90s might have started to shift to use C in damascene production, but when I was most active (90-94) we were hand rolling a lot of code in assembly. memory "management" was pretty basic at best, code and data occasionally separated. maybe for demos it was less of thing, but for smaller intros, writing into the code during runtime was maybe not everyday process, but definitely not unheard. some of the graphic modes were barely documented if at all, so get this up and running with this accuracy is pretty remarkable. just some of the code from back then, might not pass a PR review nowadays
- petterroea
Checking the site out, I can't help but think its a huge contrast between the modern vibecoded slop with little added value(we already have webassembly DOS emulators!) and the ground-breaking productions made with blood, sweat, and tears 30 years ago. This is to demoscene what gentrification is to neighborhoods.
- momocowcow
No credits for Trade War 2002 though. See ascii art
- futurecat
a couple of days ago I posted this: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49982323
State of the Art was ported to the browser as well.
- vrganj
This kind of made me sad.
The demoscene was all about human ingenuity getting the most out of the machine. It was about showing off how good your crew was at making things from nothing but their minds.
Now, it too, has been swallowed by the AI that is destroying this entire mode of being, the joy and creativity of writing code, of solving seemingly-impossible puzzles with ones mind.
My favorite creative and intellectual outlet is dying off and its killer is wearing its corpse as a costume.