> The laserdisc is an analogue to a hard drive, so it feels to me like extending this > means that MAME should simulate the cylinders and head(s) of a hard drive, the IRQ's > generated, the ISA/PCI bus, memory controller, etc. The laserdisc player isn't really > that different from the hard drive as it is just the medium that reads out the bytes > stored on a "Storage platter".
We do currently emulate the IRQs, the ISA bus, and the memory controller (two 8237s or equivalent on an AT-compatible system). For floppy drives, we convert your favorite image formats to a series of magnetic pulses, like you'd get from a Catweasel or Kryoflux, and go from there. Why do you assume harddisks will always be higher level?