Files
thejayman77 ec82764bef Initial commit: retroDE_ps2 — first-of-its-kind PS2 GS FPGA core (DE25-Nano / Agilex 5)
RTL (GS rasterizer, EE core stub, platform bridge, LPDDR4B path), sim regression
(272 TBs), docs, and tooling. Copyrighted PS2 content (BIOS, game code, GS dumps,
and all dump-derived textures/traces) is excluded via .gitignore and stays local.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-06-29 20:10:50 -04:00

1.3 KiB

Decision 0001: Project Posture

Status: Locked

Context

The project needed to choose between:

  • native full-system on current hardware,
  • staged subset on current hardware,
  • hybrid architecture,
  • future-hardware target.

This decision sets the planning posture for all early contracts and milestones.

Options considered

  1. Native full-system on current hardware.
  2. Staged subset on current hardware.
  3. Hybrid architecture with significant host-side execution.
  4. Future-hardware target.

Decision

Adopt staged subset on current hardware.

This means:

  • the project targets the current retroDE platform,
  • the architectural path remains that of a real PS2 core,
  • coverage will be incomplete for an extended period,
  • early phases prioritize observable bring-up over broad software compatibility.

The intended interpretation is:

real PS2 architectural path, incomplete coverage.

Consequences

  • Early milestones may validate only parts of the machine.
  • Some subsystems can remain stubbed or reduced while others become real.
  • The project preserves continuity with the rest of the retroDE family by staying on current hardware.
  • The project explicitly does not promise full-title compatibility on the current platform.
  • Contracts and milestones should optimize for progressive integration instead of "all-or-nothing" completeness.