FPGA Based Videogame System

[kevtris]

the Super NT and upcoming Mega SG both run on a Cyclone V, do they not? How does the included FPGA compare pricewise?

So exactly how does Analogue, RetroUSB get around using HDMI on their devices? Last I checked, anyone can go to Mouser or Digikey and buy HDMI connectors in bulk.

 

Maybe getting the HDCP license is only to use the HDMI logo (which isn't featured on the AVS or Super NT AFAIK) or to generate and/or display protected video streams requires the ten grand per year?

 

Or if the FPGA already has the HDMI driver built into it, or some other IC chip within the console has a built in encoder, than the chip manufacturer has already paid the HDMI license.

 

I really don't know if the license can apply to a circuit on the device and not the device itself. But there is no general protection against using HDMI ports for other uses which do not meet the standard.

 

One company did a kickstarter for a universal controller converter, to allow to plug everything into a PC. The pentagon shaped dongle had a USB on one side and four HDMI ports that plugged into custom controller adapters.

cough cough. something something check the adopter list :-)

[Great Hierophant]

Both Kevtris and Sorgelig are amazing, and it is absolutely childish to argue which one is more talented than the other (yeah, I know that you didn't). They just seem to have very different styles.

 

Kevtris developed twenty-two retro video game console FPGA cores and has released twenty of them. Sorelig has ported several open source FPGA cores written by others to the MiSTer hardware. To compare the achievements of the former to the latter is to compare a star to a telescope. The first is luminous, the second merely a conductor of light.

Edited December 4, 2018 by Great Hierophant

[cacophony]

From my understanding only some of the PC cores might be. None of the console cores are better in terms of accuracy than the best software emulators.

The console distinction hardly matters when a lot of the computers had superior game libraries like the Amiga.

[phoenixdownita]

the Super NT and upcoming Mega SG both run on a Cyclone V, do they not? How does the included FPGA compare pricewise?

Kevtris said he uses the E edition (no Arm cores, my guess is something like 5CEFA4F23C8N ) those are on the 60US$ range and I believe he stated he uses a PIC32 as microcontroller (but my memory may make shit up so ....)

Note that in terms of pure LEs count they sport 20% more than the analogous SE A4 version.

 

So exactly how does Analogue, RetroUSB get around using HDMI on their devices? Last I checked, anyone can go to Mouser or Digikey and buy HDMI connectors in bulk.

 

Maybe getting the HDCP license is only to use the HDMI logo (which isn't featured on the AVS or Super NT AFAIK) or to generate and/or display protected video streams requires the ten grand per year?

 

Or if the FPGA already has the HDMI driver built into it, or some other IC chip within the console has a built in encoder, than the chip manufacturer has already paid the HDMI license.

 

I really don't know if the license can apply to a circuit on the device and not the device itself. But there is no general protection against using HDMI ports for other uses which do not meet the standard.

 

One company did a kickstarter for a universal controller converter, to allow to plug everything into a PC. The pentagon shaped dongle had a USB on one side and four HDMI ports that plugged into custom controller adapters.

https://www.hdmi.org/learningcenter/adopters_founders.aspx#A

Search for Analogue in the page and they (Analogue Enterprises Limited) are there since October 2018 .....

 

cough cough. something something check the adopter list :-)

QQ: were NtMini and SuperNt freerides?

EDIT: don't answer, stupid question!

[SegaSnatcher]

The console distinction hardly matters when a lot of the computers had superior game libraries like the Amiga.

 

LOL, you must be from Europe where microcomputers ruled.

[phoenixdownita]

 

LOL, you must be from Europe where microcomputers ruled.

I grew up in Europe with a C64 first and then an Amiga, laughing at the SNES/Genesis .... boy how wrong I was.

All of the arcade ports were pretty much terrible in comparison (OutRun anyone !?!), the single button joystick made them no favor, they did have good titles as well (I loved the Cinemaware productions but by today's standards they are so boring).

I think the excuse was so you can do homework with them plus piracy was rampant and floppy disk quite cheap in the late '80s early '90s.

[cacophony]

 

LOL, you must be from Europe where microcomputers ruled.

No. You must not be familiar with the Amiga library lol.

 

To be clear I'm not arguing that the Amiga games are superior to comparable titles on SNES, just that there were a lot of great Amiga games, and as a gamer that's all that should matter. The console vs computer distinction is kind of arbitrary if they're both available and easily playable.

Edited December 4, 2018 by cacophony

[phoenixdownita]

No. You must not be familiar with the Amiga library lol.

I was up until but excluding the '020 onward, and I do not revisit it that often. Maybe I got it out of my system back then.

[cacophony]

I was up until but excluding the '020 onward, and I do not revisit it that often. Maybe I got it out of my system back then.

As someone who is just discovering it now I'm finding it a lot more interesting than many of the consoles, especially the older ones.

[phoenixdownita]

As someone who is just discovering it now I'm finding it a lot more interesting than many of the consoles, especially the older ones.

I walked the exact reverse path ... guess it's all a matter of perspectives

[F34R]

I got the email yesterday; looks quite badass. However I would question the merits of buying this model over the standard flare Super NT if you already own one, unless you're buying it for collectability or the "cool" factor.

 

One thing that concerns me however: will the custom boot screens get overwritten if the firmware is upgraded or replaced? Because I imagine fans would be disappointed if this were the case.

 

If the stock firmware does not overwrite the custom boot screen, then the firmware upgrade would have to have the Ghostly boot code already present (assuming it overwrites everything in the console), and some hardware identifier would determine the console type and resultant boot screen.

 

Thus, it may be possible to hack a standard issue Super NT to display the Ghostly boot menus.

Maybe Kevtris can answer that... otherwise, I'll ask Analogue. I bought it to collect it for sure, but I still might be using it.

Edited December 5, 2018 by F34R

[SegaSnatcher]

No. You must not be familiar with the Amiga library lol.

 

To be clear I'm not arguing that the Amiga games are superior to comparable titles on SNES, just that there were a lot of great Amiga games, and as a gamer that's all that should matter. The console vs computer distinction is kind of arbitrary if they're both available and easily playable.

I've always preferred console gaming. I own a C64 and it has some solid games, but I play it far less than my consoles.

 

Amiga's library seems interesting, but most of the good stuff was released on PAL. I need a new TV as it can't handle PAL.

Edited December 5, 2018 by SegaSnatcher

[Newsdee]

 

Kevtris developed twenty-two retro video game console FPGA cores and has released twenty of them. Sorelig has ported several open source FPGA cores written by others to the MiSTer hardware. To compare the achievements of the former to the latter is to compare a star to a telescope. The first is luminous, the second merely a conductor of light.

Let's get the facts straight, Sorgelig has written a few cores from scratch even before MiSTer and still contributes to other core projects besides his own.

Anybody is free to dislike the MiSTer for not being a commercial clone that takes carts (which it never aspired to be), but let's not dismiss the efforts of developers like Sorg who have contributed to the whole community in their free time.

 

Nobody (at least not me) is detracting merits from Kevtris, he is just operating in a different area.

As far as I can tell he is one of the few people doing commercial retro gaming products who care and strive for high quality (just look at how bad the new PS Classic is).

 

It's unfortunate that we let the cult of personality get in the way of things, I suppose our media drives us to be this way.

I am certainly glad both men are active in their fields and I appreciate their respective work. And I hope we see others following in their footsteps.

Edited December 5, 2018 by Newsdee

[SegaSnatcher]

Let's get the facts straight, Sorgelig has written a few cores from scratch even before MiSTer and still contributes to other core projects besides his own.

Anybody is free to dislike the MiSTer for not being a commercial clone that takes carts (which it never aspired to be), but let's not dismiss the efforts of developers like Sorg who have contributed to the whole community in their free time.

 

Nobody (at least not me) is detracting merits from Kevtris, he is just operating in a different area.

As far as I can tell he is one of the few people doing commercial retro gaming products who care and strive for high quality (just look at how bad the new PS Classic is).

 

It's unfortunate that we let the cult of personality get in the way of things, I suppose our media drives us to be this way.

I am certainly glad both men are active in their fields and I appreciate their respective work. And I hope we see others following in their footsteps.

Which ones? I've always been curious if he actually has written his own cores before.

[Newsdee]

Which ones? I've always been curious if he actually has written his own cores before.

I don't remember all of them but there is at least:

• SAM Coupe
• BK0011M (retro russian computer)
• Vector06
• Specialist
• Apogee BK-01

He was also very involved in improving the ZX Spectrum core for MiST.

Also adapating other cores to a new system isn't a small feat; since every developer writes things a bit differently. It's a skill too.

 

Now maybe you haven't heard of most of those systems before and may not care, but I find it very cool to have working cores for them and try retro games from the eastern block.

Edited December 5, 2018 by Newsdee

[kevtris]

Maybe Kevtris can answer that... otherwise, I'll ask Analogue. I bought it to collect it for sure, but I still might be using it.

no, the Ghostly unit has unique boot screens, you can only see them on that model.

[Atariboy]

I think you overthink this stuff a bit too much, Kosmic. When the Super NT first launched, I remember you being real worried that the Turrican games would disappear when updating as well.

 

I'm sure these guys will have all their bases covered. Wouldn't go over well if part of the allure of this unit was erased just by the act of updating the firmware.

Edited December 5, 2018 by Atariboy

[ijor]

Kevtris developed twenty-two retro video game console FPGA cores and has released twenty of them. Sorelig has ported several open source FPGA cores written by others to the MiSTer hardware. To compare the achievements of the former to the latter is to compare a star to a telescope. The first is luminous, the second merely a conductor of light.

 

Let's get the facts straight, Sorgelig has written a few cores from scratch even before MiSTer and still contributes to other core projects besides his own.

Anybody is free to dislike the MiSTer for not being a commercial clone that takes carts (which it never aspired to be), but let's not dismiss the efforts of developers like Sorg who have contributed to the whole community in their free time.

... It's unfortunate that we let the cult of personality get in the way of things, I suppose our media drives us to be this way.

 

I think Sorgelig's main contribution is creating and developing the MiSTer framework that involves hybrid FPGA core and Linux software. You must check deep inside the framework to realize the work it involves. There is lot of stuff behind the scenes that even most developers don't see.

 

But please, let's not start making personal comparisons. Comparing systems is fine. Comparing persons is not in good taste.

[F34R]

no, the Ghostly unit has unique boot screens, you can only see them on that model.

So upgrading the firmware won't change that for my Ghostly unit?

Edited December 5, 2018 by F34R

[SegaSnatcher]

I don't remember all of them but there is at least:

• SAM Coupe
• BK0011M (retro russian computer)
• Vector06
• Specialist
• Apogee BK-01

He was also very involved in improving the ZX Spectrum core for MiST.

Also adapating other cores to a new system isn't a small feat; since every developer writes things a bit differently. It's a skill too.

 

Now maybe you haven't heard of most of those systems before and may not care, but I find it very cool to have working cores for them and try retro games from the eastern block.

Those are some rather obscure devices.

[Newsdee]

Those are some rather obscure devices.

It's popular computers of the Soviet block, some even with 16 bit architecture. I think it's awesome to have a peek at retro computing from that side of the world. I love how one has a DOS screen that is red on black.

 

The SAM Coupe is a british computer though, it was interesting for the time but didnt survive faced with competition.

https://youtu.be/jbByuu51gtE

 

Obviously MiST and MISTer were first focused on computing rather than console gaming. That gap has closed quickly though.

Edited December 5, 2018 by Newsdee

[atmn]

no, the Ghostly unit has unique boot screens, you can only see them on that model.

 

Will there be another firmware branch... or is it a if(serialnumber>X){fancyboot(} ?

[kevtris]

 

Will there be another firmware branch... or is it a if(serialnumber>X){fancyboot(} ?

nope, it's the same. It's just firmware x.x or greater.

[atmn]

nope, it's the same. It's just firmware x.x or greater.

 

Make sense.

 

Got a feature request in general for the SNt for a future release. I would be nice if there was a way to hide the Turrican games.

Since they are played like once every 200 boots, it would be nice to not have them plotting down the main menu.

 

Sure, many Turrican fans would like them as is, but a show/hide feature somewhere in the settings menu will do it.

Dont know annoying this is for others, but... for me it is.

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

https://www.hdmi.org/learningcenter/adopters_founders.aspx#A

Search for Analogue in the page and they (Analogue Enterprises Limited) are there since October 2018 .....

 

 

 

Analogue Enterprises Limited

www.analogue.co

Manufacturer

Adopter Since October 2018

Awesome. For some reason, I don't see RetroUSB listed though (AVS NES-on-an-FPGA).

 

What about all the mod hardwares? Game Tech's HD NES? UltraHDMI N64? Game Cube Dongle?