If my qualia were actually those of a computer chip, then rather than feeling hot I would feel purple (or rather, some quale that no human language can describe), and if you asked me why I went back indoors even though I don't have any particular objection to purple and the weather is not nearly severe enough to pose any serious threat to my health, I wouldn't be able to answer you or in any way connect my qualia to my actions.

If a simulation allowed life to evolve within it, and was not just an attempt to replicate something which already exists, would you expect natural selection within the simulation to produce beings with qualia that "match" the functional purpose?

If so, it seems like that would leave much of the simulation argument in tact.