Lynx / Handy on the 3DS

[Turbo Laser Lynx]

Just wanted everyone to know that a lot of emulators are getting pretty good on the 3DS now, and to get homebrew running you just have to move some stuff to the sd card and then scan a QR code with the camera. The latest version of the Handy port runs nicely even though the audio isn't perfect yet. If the person who ported it is on this forum too, a BIG thank you!

 

Just to get it of my chest (might contain subjective opinions): I really love the 3DS XL hardware so it's awesome playing Lynx games on it. The D-pad is much stiffer than on the psp (which was my last handheld retro-emulator-console) so it really reminds me of the Lynx D-pad, and the screen is obviously super nice. Nothing beats a real Lynx but this is second place for me at the moment. Also the Game & Watch styled multi screen design is awesome! When I bought the 3DS I thought the 3D was such a stupid gimmick, but I love it now after getting used to it, some games look really awesome, for example layered 2D platformers.

 

(I did try buying a controller for my Android phone as well, but the feeling is completely off and it sucks having to use the touch screen in-between. Also bluetooth seems to pair without problems only 1/100 times).

Edited August 27, 2016 by Turbo Laser Lynx

[Jess Ragan]

They've got a Lynx emulator running on the Vita as well, and I tend to think that that system feels a little more like the Lynx than the 3DS. The Lynx emulation on Vita is surprisingly strong... Roadblasters has issues but everything else I've tried (even demanding games like Blue Lightning) work beautifully.

[Turbo Laser Lynx]

Yeah I guess the psp / vita physically looks more like a Lynx but my wrists start hurting playing psp, but not playing lynx or 3ds, and at least on the old psp the D-pad wasn't very good for lynx games for me (I haven't tried a vita), but of course everything comes down to personal opinion. I admit I've become a Nintendo fan at "old age".

[Level42]

Interesting as my son still has a DS and a 3DS which only gather dust......

 

But honestly....emulation will never beat the real thing and for me.....the Lynx I has always been the most comfortable portable games system ever because of it's wide body (hands are relatively far apart which is more natural) and excellent and large d-pad and controls, so at the moment "going the other way" has even more interest from me......I mean, building a raspberry pi into a Lynx case

[Turbo Laser Lynx]

Yeah I agree that playing on an emulator is never really the same as having the real hardware, and I also think that both Lynxes are the most comfortable handhelds so far, but sometimes I wanna play some Lynx games without having to use the AC-adapter and get to play with a better screen (I don't have the McWill screen yet).

 

I guess a perfect Lynx for me personally (like in your topic) would be a Lynx with a lithium rechargeable battery, the McWill screen, the new flash card (which I have) and new capacitors so I wouldn't have to be afraid that my Lynxes would break everytime I turn them on. There seems to be a worrying amount of reports of broken Lynxes lately here on the forum and prices are really rising on ebay so I guess the capacitors have really begun to fail by now. Also a raspberry pi in a lynx shell would be really cool!

 

But all of these things are really quite impossible unless you know electronics and soldering. I guess perhaps someone here on the forum would be willing to install all of the stuff for a payment. But sending your Lynx from place to place to get all the upgrades sounds a bit risky, it would be best that one single person could do all of the upgrades at the same time.

 

Btw. does anyone know if it's safe to change the capacitors at this point? I thought I read in another thread about some unexpected side-effects.

Edited August 28, 2016 by Turbo Laser Lynx

[Flojomojo]

I've got a lot of purchased stuff on my Vita and 3DS, so jail breaking them at this late stage of their life is unappealing to me. I've got a GPD XD that runs Lynx via Retro Arch like a champ. I still adore the Lynx ports of APB and STUN Runner.

[+karri]

@Flojomojo, is your avatar from Space Channel 5? Ulala perhaps? I bought the game many years ago from Osaka. It was a great dancing game.

 

I even tried to create a dance game for the Lynx at that time. There may still be some stuff floating around named Swingbirds from a Songbird Lynx contest.

 

Edit: Ha! I even found the link to it http://songbird-productions.com/alpe.shtml

Edited August 28, 2016 by karri

[Turbo Laser Lynx]

@flojomojo You don't loose your bought stuff on the 3DS at least, you just go to a different homebrew menu via the browser hack. You can't play 3ds roms that way, but you can use emulators and some homebrew.

[Level42]

 

Edit: Ha! I even found the link to it http://songbird-productions.com/alpe.shtml

Is any of the stuff on that page available for download ?

[+karri]

Is any of the stuff on that page available for download ?

 

I don't think so.

 

Password is in MegaPak I as a minigame. Thomas Harte's code went into Stardreamer that is still work in progress. The dancing game was just an experiment. The same technique is in the credits in Solitaire. And Distant Lands may or may not be released. But I believe that Wyvern Tales is much closer to release.

[Flojomojo]

@flojomojo You don't loose your bought stuff on the 3DS at least, you just go to a different homebrew menu via the browser hack. You can't play 3ds roms that way, but you can use emulators and some homebrew.

That's good to know. Maybe I'll try it on my kid's 3DS someday. Pity I just ebay'ed away our launch Glossy Black machine.

[PFG 9000]

*crap, duplicate post. Please delete...sorry*

Edited August 30, 2016 by PFG 9000

[PFG 9000]

But all of these things are really quite impossible unless you know electronics and soldering. I guess perhaps someone here on the forum would be willing to install all of the stuff for a payment. But sending your Lynx from place to place to get all the upgrades sounds a bit risky, it would be best that one single person could do all of the upgrades at the same time.

 

 

This is exactly how I feel. There's a small chance I could figure out some of the mods, but only if I had vastly more free time than I actually do. I'd be willing to send a Lynx off to somebody to get all the upgrades in one go, for a nominal fee of course.

[RARusk]

Handy on the PSP runs well enough but I wish there was a way to fix the sound issues. Masterboy 2.10 (Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Gear, Sega Master System) is a fantastic emulator. One of the best I've seen yet. BTW, how difficult is it to softmod Vitas right now? I may get a Vita at some point and want to keep an eye on the softmod front.

[Lynxpro]

As a big fan of ComLynx, I really want to see the emulators be able to use the USB ports - on those systems that have them - in order to use ComLynx to connect to other handhelds with emulators as well as real Lynxes. I mention this because on this website, there's been USB-to-ComLynx cables created in the past. I'd love to be able to connect PSPs and Lynxes together - Raspberry Pis too - for ComLynx matches. I'd really love to be able to do an 8-player Slime World match at the 2017 Davis Atari Party*. This would also be a compelling reason for people with more-modern handhelds [who might've never been exposed to the Lynx previously for whatever reasons] to check out the Lynx scene.

 

*Granted, at the recent 2016 Davis Atari Party, I didn't even get around to playing any Lynx stuff. I got too obsessed with 2-player 7800 Centipede-TB with 2 Trak-Ball controllers as well as Dan Kramer's hackery of getting the arcade Tempest spinner controller working with 5200 Tempest. But there were at least 2 Lynxes there with McWill LCD upgrades and connected to flat screens.

[Level42]

Any links to the USB - Comlynx cable ?

[Level42]

Uh....never mind....

 

https://atarilynxdeveloper.wordpress.com/2013/10/21/creating-a-comlynx-to-usb-cable/

[Turbo Laser Lynx]

As a big fan of ComLynx, I really want to see the emulators be able to use the USB ports - on those systems that have them - in order to use ComLynx to connect to other handhelds with emulators as well as real Lynxes. I mention this because on this website, there's been USB-to-ComLynx cables created in the past. I'd love to be able to connect PSPs and Lynxes together - Raspberry Pis too - for ComLynx matches.

 

That would be pretty amazing no doubt!

[Lynxpro]

 

That would be pretty amazing no doubt!

 

 

Definitely.

 

There also needs to be a central hub with info on the features of the various emulators. The SourceForge page for Handy has about jack for information and it looks abandoned from doing a cursory review of it. And on the PLynx homepage, I can't even find a link to dload the mofo. Maybe such a thing could be done here at AtariAge.

 

Yeah, I don't care about highfaluting talk of WiFi or Bluetooth multiplayer connections; I think ComLynx-to-USB is the way to go. In this household, there's now 2 Lynxes - because I bought another Lynx 2 a couple of weeks ago - and 2 PSPs. Yes, I prefer playing on original hardware but this would be great for impromptu LynxUps or public events. PSPs are definitely more plentiful and cheaper than Lynxes, and that's even without bringing in the cost of McWill screens - which I aim to get for at least 1 of my Lynxes eventually - and SD Card adapters [which I own one].

[Turbo Laser Lynx]

Handy on the PSP runs well enough but I wish there was a way to fix the sound issues. Masterboy 2.10 (Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Gear, Sega Master System) is a fantastic emulator. One of the best I've seen yet. BTW, how difficult is it to softmod Vitas right now? I may get a Vita at some point and want to keep an eye on the softmod front.

 

I tried Masterboy 2.10 on my old psp today and I agree that it's one of the best emulators I've tried. I wish all emulators were that good! Vita probably has a nicer screen (and obviously better harware) than the old psp but I don't know of the status of emulators on that one. About the hardware look and feel of consoles I guess it's that personal feng shui feeling. I was playing around with my wife's 3DS XL and I noticed it doesn't feel at all as nice as my new 3DS XL ^^

 

*I have to clarify here that I noticed today that pretty much only the C64 emulator ran nicely on the old3DS, I had forgotten that the new3DS has better hardware and pretty much all emulators run much better on it. Also comparing to e.g. masterboy all the retroarch-ports are still really basic (no savestate or anything) but working. The best emulators so far on 3DS that I have tried is actually the handy port and the c64 breadbox emulator.

 

**Also getting homebrew to run is not necessarily easy if the usual browserhack doesn't work (on newer versions) .

Edited September 15, 2016 by Turbo Laser Lynx

[Lynxpro]

 

I tried Masterboy 2.10 on my old psp today and I agree that it's one of the best emulators I've tried. I wish all emulators were that good! Vita probably has a nicer screen (and obviously better harware) than the old psp but I don't know of the status of emulators on that one. About the hardware look and feel of consoles I guess it's that personal feng shui feeling. I was playing around with my wife's 3DS XL and I noticed it doesn't feel at all as nice as my new 3DS XL ^^

 

*I have to clarify here that I noticed today that pretty much only the C64 emulator ran nicely on the old3DS, I had forgotten that the new3DS has better hardware and pretty much all emulators run much better on it. Also comparing to e.g. masterboy all the retroarch-ports are still really basic (no savestate or anything) but working. The best emulators so far on 3DS that I have tried is actually the handy port and the c64 breadbox emulator.

 

**Also getting homebrew to run is not necessarily easy if the usual browserhack doesn't work (on newer versions) .

 

 

 

Problem with the Vita is it isn't cheap. PSPs are cheeeeeeeeeeeepppppp; even if you have to buy a replacement battery. Luckily, there now seems to be some decent options for them on Amazon...ones with 4 stars that aren't DOA out of the box.

 

Funny how many of us have "Lynx" in our user names/handles. I've been using this name on BBSes and later the net since a few months after the Lynx debuted. I remember I had heard about this awesome BBS in Arizona that had all sorts of Lynx info on it so I got permission from my mom to call it LD late one Saturday night and since it required a user name, I came up with this obnoxious one. Actually, it might've been "ProLynx" but it got reversed and I've stuck with it through thick and thin ever since. Especially on so many online battles in the TalkBacks on AICN.

 

By the way, speaking of cheap and Vitas, the Playstation TV is discontinued. I bought one earlier last week on a Target special for $50 for the Lego Movie edition. It can play all Vita games and best of all, you can download Jeff Minter's TxK from the Playstation Store and play it on your big screen.