I need your clothes, your boots, and your motorcycle
6 hours ago
- #PowerPC
- #AI-assisted programming
- #emulation debugging
- The progress on Power Macintosh emulation in MAME was slow due to complex debugging involving three code languages and unfamiliarity with newer components like the Code Fragment Manager.
- Using Claude Code for debugging, the AI employed custom Lua scripts and modified logging in MAME to find and fix issues in emulation, such as a glitch in the 6522 VIA emulation affecting Cuda communication.
- Multiple bugs were identified in MAME's PowerPC and PCI-era Mac hardware support, improving the boot process for devices like the Pippin and Power Macintosh 7200.
- A PowerPC DRC anti-pattern was corrected, enhancing emulation correctness, and fixes for atomic load/store instructions resolved SCSI Manager issues, improving booting for newer System versions.
- FPU status flag fixes allowed the Graphing Calculator to run partially, with further updates resolving alignment exceptions for full functionality.
- AI proved useful for reverse-engineering firmware binaries, providing insights into memory maps and subroutines, especially with tools like MAME's unidasm disassembler.
- Supervision by an experienced programmer was crucial to guide the AI and prevent it from straying into improbable theoretical issues, ensuring effective debugging.
- All bug fixes were manually implemented by the programmer to maintain code quality and adherence to MAME's standards, with AI-generated code requiring review and editing.