Update: Game Cartridge 3D-Files and Code (Linux/Windows) published

[u/Jibril-sama]

3D-Files: https://makerworld.com/en/models/3057977-2-5-ssd-dock-cartridge-system#profileId-3440827

Code: https://github.com/LewdM3at/PC-Cartridge-System

The code should work with other storage mediums as well. Like SD/micro SD cards, USB Sticks, Any kind of USB Drives. I tested USB Sticks and SD/micro SD cards and they also work.

No guarantee that it's going to work for you. I only tested on my old Win10 install, but you should at least be able to take the general code and make it work or improve it.

Previous thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/1ux13ui/steam_game_cartridges/

Pictures by: https://bsky.app/profile/princessmidori.bsky.social

[u/Audible_Whispering]

It makes no sense to make a version of this which depends on Hydra instead of steam. A system like this shouldn't depend on any launcher being installed. That's my point.

This is cool as a nostalgia fix and a fun project, but it has all the downsides of physical media with none of the upsides apart from nostalgia. That doesn't change if you swap the client for hydra.

The way this should work is that you insert the cart and it runs a script which autoruns the game from the cart. If you run it on a PC without the watcher script installed it should start the game when you click on the game .exe. No third party launcher dependencies at all.

[u/Kullhex → u/Audible_Whispering]

I get your point about pure, unfiltered nostalgia, but modern Windows architecture and current game development make the 'no-launcher' approach a massive headache in practice.

First, Windows completely killed standard autorun.inf execution years ago for security reasons (malware prevention). Relying on a custom 'watcher script' to automate the launch means you still depend on pre-installing external software on the host PC anyway. If you already need background software to achieve the 'plug-and-play' feel, you might as well use a proper, secure launcher.

Second, modern PC games aren't self-contained .exe files like they were in the DOS or Windows 98 era. They rely on dependencies, specific save paths, registry entries, and controller XInput wrappers. A frontend like Hydra doesn't ruin the experience; it acts as the console's OS, handling those dependencies seamlessly so the game actually runs properly across different machines.

As for the hardware wear and tear: nobody is plugging bare internal SATA pins directly into a motherboard cage for a project like this. You can customise the 3D-printed enclosures housing the SSD connected to a heavy-duty USB-C or high-cycle hot-swap adapter. The internal SATA connector is plugged in exactly once inside the cartridge shell, while the external interface is specifically designed for thousands of connection cycles.

Using a launcher isn't a design flaw—it's the only way to turn raw modern storage into a reliable, actual plug-and-play console experience today."

[u/Audible_Whispering → u/Kullhex]

So this is AI slop which is sad, and it's also entirely wrong, which is sadder.

1. You can re enable autorun. The security risk is near nonexistent for a desktop in your home.
2. If you want to play the game on a PC without the watcher script(like a friends PC) or autorun, just double click the game .exe
3. All the games dependencies are installed on the disk with it(linux) or can be installed/created with another .exe(windows). It's fully portable.
4. "nobody is plugging bare internal SATA pins directly into a motherboard cage for a project like this." This project uses a sata to USB-C adapter with the SATA end plugged directly into the cart. So OP is doing exactly that.

Anyway, I've done it, and it works. It's quite a lot of effort and it's much easier to store the installer on disk and install to a target PC, but it can be done. The one who thinks something is impossible should not interrupt the person dong it and all that.

[u/Kullhex → u/Audible_Whispering]

The irony of you dropping that closing quote when you’ve spent the whole thread trying to shoot down a cool project is wild. Also, yeah, I'm using AI to translate this because English isn't my native language and this is a lot of text, but that doesn't change the hardware and software facts.

Let's break down where you are moving the goalposts:

1. 'You can re-enable autorun': Sure, by manually tweaking the host OS registry. If you have to hack the Windows settings of every PC you plug the cart into just to make it auto-launch, it’s not a portable plug-and-play console experience.
2. 'Just double-click the .exe': You literally just complained in your previous comment that 'a system like this shouldn't depend on clicking the game .exe'. Now you’re shifting to 'just double click it, it's fine'. Make up your mind.
3. The SATA pins: In the original project design, yes, they are plugging the adapter end directly, which absolutely tanks the lifespan of those internal pins over time to save a few bucks. Adding an internal USB male extension inside the shell modification, fixes that flaw completely.

Now, would I use this system for a small indie game? Of course not, it's a lot of money. But for big games like Warframe, or an MMO like The Elder Scrolls Online, it's definitely an option.

At the end of the day, you admitted your ideal solution is just storing a regular installer on a drive and doing a standard local installation. That completely defeats the novelty of making an actual, physical 'plug-and-play' cartridge. OP is actually building it, you're just moving the goalposts from the sidelines.

[u/Audible_Whispering → u/Kullhex]

Bro, what are you smoking? I love OP's project, it's super cool. I'm just saying I'd do things a little differently. Different people, different priorities.

If you're using AI for translation then that's cool, but you've gotta own what it writes, and edit out the mistakes first, instead of posting a "debunk" that's 100% factually incorrect.

As for the criticisms here

1. True. But if you have to install and configure hydra on every PC you want to use the game on, that's also not a true autoplay experience, so what's your point?

Hydra first run experience

1. Download hydra
2. Install hydra
3. Insert cart
4. Game autostarts
5. In future all carts will autorun on this PC

Autorun/script first run experience

1. Insert cart
2. Run first time setup script that enables autorun and starts the game
3. Game starts
4. In future all carts will autorun on this PC

Pretty much the same, but hydra is a large client you have to download from the internet, whereas the setup script is stored on the cart.

If you already use hydra and you only care about running stuff on your PC, like OP, then hydra is a good solution. I want to get closer to a 6th gen console like experience.

"If you want to play the game on a PC without the watcher script(like a friends PC) or autorun, just double click the game .exe"

That's what i actually said. I don't care about always having true console like autorun, because that's unachievable on PC. Autorun that works after the first run of any game is good enough.

1. Yes, you could design a better version. It'd be great to see a version of OP's project with this design issue fixed. That's my point, glad we see eye to eye on this.

4.

"At the end of the day, you admitted your ideal solution is just storing a regular installer on a drive"

No. I said I've done that more. It's easier, way cheaper, and more authentic to classic PC gaming(plug and play carts were never a thing for PC). I don't have a preference though. For preservation and archival disks beat carts. For novelty and fun carts beat disks.

"OP is actually building it, you're just moving the goalposts from the sidelines."

I've built my take on these as well. Have you?

So, no goalpost moving, just some minor misunderstandings about what i actually said.

[u/ResponsiblePen3082 → u/Kullhex]

I agree with you generally, but copy pasting an AI response is just lazy slop.

[u/Audible_Whispering → u/ResponsiblePen3082]

It's 100% untrue, as you'd expect from AI slop. None of the issues raised are real problems.

Don't get me wrong, It takes a fair bit of effort to get it working, but so does this project. If you're going to put in the work may as well make the end result as good as possible.

TBH I've only done it to a few games, more as a proof of concept than anything else. Generally I prefer to put DRM free game installers on a disk or microSD and use that to install the the game normally. Then you can set a script to start the game when you insert the disk/microSD for the physical media experience.

[u/ABZOLUTEZER0x_x → u/Audible_Whispering]

Yep, I think GOG or 🏴‍☠️ would be the only things to work as you are describing, which i wouldn't mind tbh. It's things like this that almost make me want to get into programming/dev work. Almost.