Flojomojo Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 How well does Stella run on it? I see that the GP2X community recommends users to not buy the GP2X if you only intend to play games on it - is that statement valid if your only intention is to use it as a portable 2600 emulator? (Or would I be better off getting a GP32 instead of a GP2X...?) 1030195[/snapback] I'll let you know as soon as I get mine -- but what's this about "only intend to play games"? It's what it's for, after all. One need not be a coder to enjoy their work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stephena Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Mike Stulir from Back in Time got a GP2X a month or so ago, he's had MAME, VICE, STELLA and one of the Atari 800 emulators running on it, oh also a Sega Genesis emulator as well. He says they all play fantastic, he's now been tinkering with playing DVD movies on the unit. I just got mine mid of last week, its beauty of a device, I am hoping to start playing around with it this week. Curt How well does Stella run on it? I see that the GP2X community recommends users to not buy the GP2X if you only intend to play games on it - is that statement valid if your only intention is to use it as a portable 2600 emulator? (Or would I be better off getting a GP32 instead of a GP2X...?) Regards, Moderntimes99 1030195[/snapback] I think the recommendation means that some software is rough around the edges right now, and that non-technical people would be better served by waiting for the platform and apps to mature. However (and I may be a bit biased), Stella on the GP2X is improving by leaps and bounds, and has had at least 2 tweaked releases since last month (when the guy mentioned above tested it). A number of people have said that it's the best portable 2600 emulation ever. I can't comment on that, since I don't have much experience with portable devices. The Stella port for GP2X supports everything from the mainline codebase, except for cheatcode support. And the only reason that's not supported is because one would need a keyboard to input the codes. It works full-speed without overclocking, and is improving every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JagFan422 Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 it is not the best portable 2600 emulation ever, pocket VCS is extremely good. But yes, the GP2X is maturing quite nicely, much faster than the GP32 did when it first came out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stephena Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 it is not the best portable 2600 emulation ever, pocket VCS is extremely good. But yes, the GP2X is maturing quite nicely, much faster than the GP32 did when it first came out. Well, PocketVCS was based on the Stella codebase, but the author never did release the code (as was required under the GPL license). So had that been done, we might have had some features much sooner. Also, I'm interested to know what it would take to make Stella on the GP2X a better experience. Since I've never used a portable emulator, I don't really know where to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonie Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 IPOD Fempto anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JagFan422 Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 it is not the best portable 2600 emulation ever, pocket VCS is extremely good. But yes, the GP2X is maturing quite nicely, much faster than the GP32 did when it first came out. Well, PocketVCS was based on the Stella codebase, but the author never did release the code (as was required under the GPL license). So had that been done, we might have had some features much sooner. Also, I'm interested to know what it would take to make Stella on the GP2X a better experience. Since I've never used a portable emulator, I don't really know where to start. Emulation on a portable like the GP32 or the GP2x is the same as a PC. You download an emulator that can be ran on the system and then add your roms. The roms are the same that you would use on a PC. The GP32 and the GP2x is a hobby system, not to well known but does have a loyal fan base of independent coders. How the program functions is up to the coder and how he codes based upon the hardware given. The only real thing that can be done to help performance by the individual is that if an option to overclock is present, you can always do that. It will not harm your machine and could get you a few more frames per second out of the emulator making it run smoother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stephena Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 it is not the best portable 2600 emulation ever, pocket VCS is extremely good. But yes, the GP2X is maturing quite nicely, much faster than the GP32 did when it first came out. Well, PocketVCS was based on the Stella codebase, but the author never did release the code (as was required under the GPL license). So had that been done, we might have had some features much sooner. Also, I'm interested to know what it would take to make Stella on the GP2X a better experience. Since I've never used a portable emulator, I don't really know where to start. Emulation on a portable like the GP32 or the GP2x is the same as a PC. You download an emulator that can be ran on the system and then add your roms. The roms are the same that you would use on a PC. The GP32 and the GP2x is a hobby system, not to well known but does have a loyal fan base of independent coders. How the program functions is up to the coder and how he codes based upon the hardware given. The only real thing that can be done to help performance by the individual is that if an option to overclock is present, you can always do that. It will not harm your machine and could get you a few more frames per second out of the emulator making it run smoother. Maybe I wasn't being clear I maintain the Linux and Win32 versions of Stella, and am in constant contact with the GP2X Stella maintainer. I was wondering what features you/others think would improve the Stella experience on that platform. I ask because I don't actually have a GP2X, but I'm in a position to make those changes happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JagFan422 Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 since I don't have a GP2x, to improve for me would be a port to the GP32. Our 2600 emu for the GP32 sucks, what games it does run it runs good, but the compatibility is veeeeerrrrryyyyy low. Compatibility is a big issue. You don't need flashy menus or 10,000 options, just good compatibility and full speed with sound, which shouldn't be a problem with the GP2x's hardware capabilities. I don't know how hard it is to code between the two systems, but i know i'm not the only one that would appreciate a port to the GP32. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstulir Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Mike Stulir from Back in Time got a GP2X a month or so ago, he's had MAME, VICE, STELLA and one of the Atari 800 emulators running on it, oh also a Sega Genesis emulator as well. He says they all play fantastic, he's now been tinkering with playing DVD movies on the unit. I just got mine mid of last week, its beauty of a device, I am hoping to start playing around with it this week. Curt How well does Stella run on it? I see that the GP2X community recommends users to not buy the GP2X if you only intend to play games on it - is that statement valid if your only intention is to use it as a portable 2600 emulator? (Or would I be better off getting a GP32 instead of a GP2X...?) Regards, Moderntimes99 Moderntimes99, I'm in the process of writing a very thorough review of the GP2X. The problem is that the emulators are updated so frequently, that every time I get a good set of notes together, they are immediately obsolete. I know I am completely hijacking this thread, but let me give you some extended impressions.... Atari 2600 emulation is quite good. Not perfect, but good. I have had no major problems to speak of, although there is the occasional minor glitch. I was even able to play the FB2 version of Caverns of Mars. I have been extremely impressed with the GP2X port of the Atari 800 emulator. I had mentioned to Curt a while back that I completely drained a set of batteries playing Eastern Front and Getaway! in bed one night. The only major issue I have had with it is with Galahad and the Holy Grail, which has some audio/graphic issues. I know I have a good dump of the game as it plays fine on my laptop, so it must be something with the emulator. Heck, I even played a game of Star Raiders, although the keyboard emulation was less than easy. The MESS/Atari 7800 emulator needs some work yet, as do the other components of MESS such as Colecovision. I am anxious to see how this all comes together. I think the emulator that has impressed me the most is the DrMDX emulator for the Sega Genesis. MAME is really hit and miss, although the author of the port (Franxis) is doing a kick-ass job of updating it every 10-14 days. The biggest problem we are dealing with is that it is based off of the much-older 0.34 core. There are a lot of very good reasons for doing this, but unfortunately, it is impacted the emulator severely with sound. Games from that revision that are heavily dependent on sound samples (Donkey Kong, Galaga, Star Trek, etc.) all play just fine, but the sound is affected in many different ways. Star Trek has no audio whatsoever although it is completely playable. Galaga sounds great until you need the sampled audio for when your ship is destroyed. The sampled audio in Donkey Kong isn't there, and the rest of the audio sounds nothing like the original. Having said that, most games sound great. Dig-Dug, all of the "Pac-Man" games, Crystal Castles, Defender, etc. all seem very close to the originals. You can forget about NeoGeo games in MAME. The support for many of them is there, but they run way too slow. There is a very good NeoGeo emulator that works nicely for some of the "lower resource" games like NeoTurfmasters or League Bowling. Even Metal Slug will work in this emulator, but it is slightly sluggish. The TG-16 emulator is very nice. MAME doesn't have support for Galaga '88 yet, so I just fire up Galaga '90 on the TG-16 emulator when I need my "fix." SNES emulation needs a lot of work, but it is getting better. Same goes for NES, although a brand new NES emulator just appeared on the scene in the last week or so, and it is a very good first effort. I have had good luck capturing movies for viewing on the GP2X. A few nights ago, I too my Blues Brothers 25th Anniversary DVD and encoded it for the GP2X and it came out pretty good. So what is bad? Well, as has been pointed out in many other places around the web, the control stick is horrible. I have gotten used to it over time, but there was a point right after I bought the GP2X where I was wondering if I had wasted my money due to poor controls. I have heard people swear by the "DaveC" replacement stick cap, and I do need to order one. I'm told it will make a 100% difference. Battery life is also a problem. Forget using regular off-the-shelf cheapo AA batteries on this unit. Anyone looking to buy a GP2X should invest in some high quality rechargable (2500mAH or higher) AA batteries. (Avoid the ones that claim 15-30 minute recharge times -- they are worthless on this unit.) I am using the Energizer rechargables from Best Buy. It takes a good 4 or 5 full charge/drain cycles before they reach peak capacity, but I have been pleased with them. The other real problem is the firmware updates. Gamepark Holdings has (in my opinion) come up with a bizarre way of upgrading the firmware, and it has resulted in countless "bricked" units. Do a Google search on bricking a GP2X to see what I am talking about. My unit came with firmware rev. 1.2.1 and the most current is 1.4.0. Frankly, I am afraid to run the upgrade. I work with networks, routers & file servers all day and I am never worried about trashing those -- but the GP2X firmware update "horror stories" have be terrified to try it. This most recent upgrade is supposed to address some issues with battery life, but I do not want to risk killing my unit. The bottom line is that the GP2x is NOT for everyone. You need to have decent computer knowledge to set up your secure digital card properly to run this stuff. Many of these emulators wants to be located in a specific place, and won't function if you don't put them right where they want to be. Setting up a common organized structure has been a real bitch. If you want a simple device to play classic games/watch movies with little to no effort, this isn't it. Getting the GP2X running requires some work, but the payoff is huge once it is all configured. Overall, I am very pleased with the GP2X. Having games like Caverns of Mars, Zoo Keeper, and Pitfall in a portable format has been awesome. It is also awesome to be able to play the games that I want and use the unit the way I want to use it, and not have to deal with the nonsense Sony is shoving down everyones throats with the PSP. I bought a PSP last fall hoping to use it for emulation, and it was much more trouble than it was worth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstulir Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 I'd like to amend one statement I made above. Not 15 minutes after I posted that message about GP2X emulation, I noticed that a new version of MAME had been released. This new version makes a major optimization changes, which has resulted in big leaps in speed for many games that were previously too slow to be playable. Even many of the NeoGeo titles, like Aerofighters 2 and League Bowling seem to be running at full speed with sound support. There is still a lot of work to be done in this emulator, particuarly with sound, but I think Franxis is doing an incredible job. I look forward to seeing how MAME for the GP2X evolves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stephena Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Mike Stulir from Back in Time got a GP2X a month or so ago, he's had MAME, VICE, STELLA and one of the Atari 800 emulators running on it, oh also a Sega Genesis emulator as well. He says they all play fantastic, he's now been tinkering with playing DVD movies on the unit. I just got mine mid of last week, its beauty of a device, I am hoping to start playing around with it this week. Curt How well does Stella run on it? I see that the GP2X community recommends users to not buy the GP2X if you only intend to play games on it - is that statement valid if your only intention is to use it as a portable 2600 emulator? (Or would I be better off getting a GP32 instead of a GP2X...?) Regards, Moderntimes99 Moderntimes99, I'm in the process of writing a very thorough review of the GP2X. The problem is that the emulators are updated so frequently, that every time I get a good set of notes together, they are immediately obsolete. I know I am completely hijacking this thread, but let me give you some extended impressions.... Atari 2600 emulation is quite good. Not perfect, but good. I have had no major problems to speak of, although there is the occasional minor glitch. I was even able to play the FB2 version of Caverns of Mars. What problems/glitches are you noticing? Please forward all bug reports either directly to me, the GP2X Stella maintainer, or in this forum. Remember, we can't fix the bugs if we don't know about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstulir Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 What problems/glitches are you noticing? Please forward all bug reports either directly to me, the GP2X Stella maintainer, or in this forum. Remember, we can't fix the bugs if we don't know about them. I will do so. Thank you very much for all of the work you are doing. People like you are making the GP2X a great platform for classic gamers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moderntimes99 Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 Moderntimes99, I'm in the process of writing a very thorough review of the GP2X. The problem is that the emulators are updated so frequently, that every time I get a good set of notes together, they are immediately obsolete. Thanks for your very exhaustive review! The firmware and joypad issues makes me hesitate a bit. Installing software on the other hand does not make me afraid though... :-) If it only had a joypad just like the classic NES controller - then I would most likely go out and buy one straight ahead! Now it seems as if the best thing is to sit back and wait a little bit longer. Are there any news and/or rumours about future hardware revisions of the GP2X? Regards, Moderntimes99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JagFan422 Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 (edited) you can buy a cap for the joystick for $10 that makes it much much better, just read the reviews of it, DaveC's joystick cap on Gp32x.com also don't forget that the GP2x hasn't even really been officially launched yet Edited March 17, 2006 by JagFan422 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstulir Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 Thanks for your very exhaustive review! The firmware and joypad issues makes me hesitate a bit. Installing software on the other hand does not make me afraid though... :-) If it only had a joypad just like the classic NES controller - then I would most likely go out and buy one straight ahead! Now it seems as if the best thing is to sit back and wait a little bit longer. Are there any news and/or rumours about future hardware revisions of the GP2X? Regards, Moderntimes99 I wouldn't let the controller hold you back. As I pointed out in my message, and as JagFan422 mentioned, there is a replacement cap that deals with the problem quite well. Since I posted my message, I did order the cap, and I will post some impressions here once I have had a chance to use it. If you are willing to put some work into the setup, you will be very happy with the GP2x. Heck, I have been so addicted to emulators and movies, I haven't had the time to try other things like Duke Nukem 3D, Quake, .MP3's, etc. Nothing "official" has been issued regarding any hardware changes/future revisions, as far as I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 Wait, I'm confused. Is that new tiny system supposed to play GP32 games or not? I've heard conflicting reports. JR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZylonBane Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 Which tiny new system? The Cenix or the GP2X? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 The latter system... the GP2X. JR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JagFan422 Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 The XGP mini, IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH GP32 SOFTWARE...NOOOOT CCCCOOOMMMPPAATTTTIBBLLLEE.. The Cenix system has nothing to do with any Gamepark system whatsoever, The GP2X is it's own system split off from Gamepark, they are called Gamepark Holdings. It is also not compatible with the Gp32, at least not yet, there is a programming system that was designed by one of the best coders that is "Supposed" to make it easy to code between the 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathanallan Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 Curt, did you get to look at any of the Cenix devices? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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