An in-game save and an emulator save state can both preserve progress, but they record different things. Treating them as interchangeable is one of the most common causes of lost or apparently missing progress after an update. Native save files A native save represents data that original game hardware would store in battery-backed RAM, flash […]
BIOS and firmware are system programs that initialize hardware, provide low-level services, or supply data expected by software. In emulation, some projects can reproduce those functions internally, while other systems or accuracy modes require a separately supplied firmware image. Why one emulator asks and another does not An emulator may use high-level emulation to replace […]
A ROM file is a digital representation of data read from read-only memory or another fixed game medium. In emulator conversations, the term usually means a cartridge image. It is not the emulator, not a save file, and not automatically legal merely because it is easy to copy. ROM image, emulator, and firmware are separate […]