{"id":716069,"date":"2026-07-28T21:08:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T21:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/716069\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T21:08:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T21:08:14","slug":"you-might-as-well-play-on-a-raspberry-pi-the-world-of-mister-fpga-remains-divided-over-ai-slop-cores","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/716069\/","title":{"rendered":"“You Might As Well Play On A Raspberry Pi” – The World Of MiSTer FPGA Remains Divided Over “AI Slop” Cores"},"content":{"rendered":"

\""You<\/a> Image: Damien McFerran \/ Time Extension<\/p>\n

If you’ve been following the MiSTer FPGA<\/a> scene recently, you’ll no doubt be aware of the sharp rise in AI-assisted cores for the platform.<\/a><\/p>\n

We’re currently witnessing a flurry of new cores that are apparently based on MAME rather than the original arcade boards, which, in the past, have been carefully deconstructed to produce the super-accurate FPGA cores that have made MiSTer so popular.<\/p>\n

What’s happening at the moment is that developers are leveraging AI and existing MAME data to produce MiSTer cores, flooding the web with what could be termed “easy wins” that may contain multiple inaccuracies. Annoyingly, those who wish to avoid these cores are finding it hard to do so, as they’re being added to the ‘update_all’ script without thorough review or clear AI-generated labelling.<\/p>\n

While some would argue that more cores are better for the player as they offer more choice, FPGA developer Jotego \u2013 who is one of the leading lights in the world of MiSTer FPGA and has even worked on the upcoming Neo Geo AES+<\/a> \u2013 has penned a short-but-sweet rebuttal of the approach on social media:<\/p>\n

AI slop has three negative effects on the #MiSTerFPGA<\/a>
1. Turns the platform into a second class MAME, that tries to emulate what the emulator does.
2. Drives human talent away
3. Discourages research\u2014 jotego (@topapate) July 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Jotego’s process for creating an FPGA core involves either going hands-on with the original arcade hardware to create accurate schematics, which then allow him to produce a core that simulates the original board’s performance at the hardware level. This is incredibly time-consuming, which is why he and many other FPGA developers have Patreon<\/a> accounts so people can support their work.<\/p>\n

Jotego’s post has attracted a lot of support within the community:<\/p>\n

4. Zero help to preserve real hardware through research and schematics creation<\/p>\n

One of the things I love about Jotego\u2019s core work, he gives back to the hardware community by supplying research based schematics which is sometimes not available. This has helped repairs immensely. https:\/\/t.co\/LiUP73MFTg<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Gillaxian (@gillaxian) July 27, 2026<\/a>
\nEmulating MAME on FPGA is so stupid but those farming fame with AI slop can only aim this high. I hope this kind of behaviour is heavily discouraged from the MiSTer project!\ud83d\udc40 https:\/\/t.co\/Gz3MRjsrh1<\/a>\u2014 Jeff Chen (@jeffqchen) July 27, 2026<\/a>
\nAI cores pulled from MAME serve no purpose, outside of the one that they’re being distributed for: undermining actual FPGA development. The argument that “you can just ignore them” is hilariously disingenuous when the stated goal is to disrupt existing work. <\/p>\n

The #MiSTerFPGA<\/a>\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/qV8SiGFnK9<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u144eEO\u144e (@neonarcadegrant) July 28, 2026<\/a>
\nRetro videogame nerds: the incredible MiSTer FPGA has hit a bit of an existential crisis. For my money @topapate<\/a> is correct, the whole point of this project is to get as close to real hardware as possible. Otherwise you might as well just play on a Raspberry Pi or whatever. https:\/\/t.co\/5oZ9HD82VG<\/a>\u2014 Mike Channell (@MikeChannell) July 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

However, not everyone agrees AI-made cores are a bad thing \u2013 in fact, they see it as the next step in the evolution of FPGA gaming, where AI is used to speed up development and save time:<\/p>\n

Oh boo hoo. Some of us enjoy having an all in one box with universal inputs and outputs. <\/p>\n

Sorry it threatens your gatekeeping $20k a month Patreon, but damn bro get over it. https:\/\/t.co\/kQyGNfTwUI<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 kando\ud83d\ude80#SNESRUMBLE, #SMKDX, #STARFOXEX, #FAMIDASH (@kandowontu) July 27, 2026<\/a>
\nWell, that\u2019s the whole point of an open-source platform: people are free to do whatever they want with it. Your vision, on the other hand, is precisely why closed-source platforms exist. You have to choose one or the other. https:\/\/t.co\/3LAyhb4DUe<\/a>\u2014 RTA (@rtomasal) July 28, 2026<\/a>
\nOh i love it personally yeah its more mame cores. but there are still 100% FPGA HW emulation core out there and being made. i wouldn’t mind to play Killer Instinct trough the ARM chip because it doesnt run on FPGA.\u2014 JoeBlack2k (@JoeBlack2k) July 27, 2026<\/a>
\nYou guys are fighting the steam engine during the industrial revolution. You already lost. AI is here and is transforming the world in real time. Get on board or get left behind.\u2014 Dustin Carpenter (@dustincarpenter) July 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Where do you stand on this issue? Are AI-generated FPGA cores a bad thing if they give us access to more games, or do they poison the well of FPGA development, forcing those who do super-accurate work out of the community? Vote in the poll below and share your thoughts with a comment.<\/p>\n

What’s your opinion on AI-assisted FPGA cores? (299 votes)
\nI love them, more games means more entertainment for me10%I loathe them, they’re totally against what FPGA gaming is about69%I haven’t fully made up my mind either way yet11%I don’t care either way, and I’m not sure I ever will10%<\/p>\n

\"Damien<\/p>\n

Damien has been writing professionally about tech and video games since 2007 and oversees all of Hookshot Media’s sites from an editorial perspective. He’s also the editor of Time Extension<\/a>, the network’s newest site, which \u2013 paradoxically \u2013 is all about gaming’s past glories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Image: Damien McFerran \/ Time Extension If you’ve been following the MiSTer FPGA scene recently, you’ll no doubt…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":716070,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[554,733,4308,2509,21724,237056,224934,86,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-716069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-fpga","tag-genai","tag-jotego","tag-mister-fpga","tag-technology","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=716069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/716070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=716069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=716069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=716069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}