EricBall
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Blog Comments posted by EricBall
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There are two separate tasks:
1. Hardware - make a PCB which will host the microcontroller and any other required components (like a voltage regulator to drop the +9V to +5V or +3.3V as required) which then replaces the PCB in an existing "cartridge". Size shouldn't be an issue as chips etc have gotten smaller over the years and the Microvision PCB looks fairly large.
2. Software - program the microcontroller to read the input from the keypad & dial and generate the output to the LCD controller and the speaker. Depending upon the microcontroller you use will determine what languages you will need to use. For the Parallax Propeller you would probably use assembly for the interface drivers and SPIN (a high level language similar to C, Pascal etc) for the game code.
Assuming you can get enough information about interfacing to the LCD controller, I don't see any reason the project wouldn't be possible given sufficient time, money & effort.
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You can use any CPU to program it as the main unit has no brains. Personally, I'd use the Parallax Propeller, but there are probably other modern microcontrollers which could do the job.
Check out Dan B's Microvision page: http://atarihq.com/danb/Microvision.shtml see also http://www.handheldmuseum.com/MB/MicrovisionFAQ.txt
The cartridge connector is a 24 pin edge connection including 9V (battery) power and interfaces to the LCD controller, speaker, keypad & dial.
The trick is the LCD controller. As a custom part there isn't a lot of info on how it should be programmed (or even what voltage level the data lines need). But you might be able to get in contact with Gregg Woodcock or Dan Boris and see what they can give you.
However, programming this beast is going to be very, very low level as you are working basically at the hardware level. This is one reason I'd go with the Parallax Propeller: it has 8 CPUs on a single chip so you can dedicate a CPU to each task rather than trying to multiplex everything through interrupts. So one CPU would "read" the dial, a second would read the keyboard, a third would drive the LCD and a fourth would generate sound effects. A fifth CPU could handle the game logic and a sixth could be used to provide debug output via USB serial. You could even put on a microSD reader (CPU seven) so you could load games that way.
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You may want to call your PBS station to check they will be continuing with the current series.
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As you noted, much of the information provided in magazines is now available on the Internet - often for free and typically in a more timely manner (as the Internet doesn't need to wait for the magazine to be printed and delivered on a monthly schedule). And while you may be willing to spend $$ on dead trees, many other people will take the free option. This then reduces the number of readers, which then impacts the $$ advertisers will spend to include their messages in the magazine. This loss of reader & advertiser revenue makes most magazines unprofitable.
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Many BASIC also allow for multiple commands on a single line, e.g.
110 if a = 10 then a = 20 : b = 30 : c = 40
120 REM endif
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The original game had a training area, maybe this one does too.
GB & DS gamemakers are between a rock & a hard place when it comes to instructions. ROM storage costs so they can't put much in the game itself, but there isn't much space in the case either. Not only is the case small, but Nintendo adds in some required pages and then you have to handle multiple languages.
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The games would load more faster than from disks.Yes, and many games already do that - copy chunks of code & data to local storage for faster access & patchability. But there's still chunks of content (e.g. pre-rendered video & music tracks) which could stay on the optical disc - saving both hard disk space and reducing the install time.
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I smell used games control in here somewhere. Too bad MS and Sony are smart enough not to reveal at launch..
That is certainly how the industry is going. Publishers look at each used game sale as a lost new game sale. I don't think it's a one-for-one per title, but it might be dollar-for-dollar.
However, the used market isn't always about buying something for less. My Rock Band instruments were written off in the fire and the only way to replace them was via the used market.
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Yesterday I had a flash of the obvious and hooked my netbook up to the 39" 1920x1080 HDTV in the bedroom. (Yes, it's stupidly big for a bedroom TV. And it cost me less than C$300 - Insignia model on sale at Best Buy.) After I configured Win7 to scale the display by 150% it became surprisingly usable sitting on the edge of the bed.
So now that that test is successful, I'm thinking the next step is to buy the Mac mini and hook it up in the bedroom.
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No, games will still be delivered on and installed from Blu-Ray discs (presumably in addition to the download option), but they won't be played from the disc.
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I was looking at some monitors last night, when I realized that since I'm basically restricted to 1920x1080 and will be using HDMI anyway there's no reason I can't use an HDTV instead of a monitor. (Plus HDTVs have built-in speakers.)
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Once you have a wall as your screen nothing else matters.
Hmm... a nice idea if I had an empty wall (ideally in a darkened room).
I have an HP ZR2440w and I'm happy with it. It has the LED backlight and my previous monitor was flourescent and had banding issues pretty much from day 1.
There are 20 1920x1200 monitors on Newegg.ca, all of them 24", including your HP (C$400). The cheapest is a C$300 Samsung.
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Unfortunately I'm north of the border so the FCC's CableCard requirements don't exist and my cableco doesn't support CableCard. I used to have a couple of TiVos (S2DT & S1), but my cableco is aggressively transitioning even analog SD channels to digital only. So I've picked up a couple of used cableco HD PVRs. They don't have TiVo wishlists, but they otherwise satisfy my needs.
But whether it's a TiVo or another cableco PVR, it's another box which has to be dealt with. When CableCard first came out, there were TVs with CableCard slots. I don't think any new TVs have that option.
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"I think the irony for me is that "next-gen console" is mostly playing catch-up with PCs". More to the point, that within a very short time after its release, PCs will again leapfrog the performance the PS4 will be stuck with for years to come.I'm not sure any console has ever outperformed PCs of the same era. When each major component of the PC costs as much as the console, I would hope the performance is better. However, it's tough to buy a PC which costs the same as the console but delivers similar performance.
The real question for the PS4 is whether developers can create games which leverage eight lower horsepower processors along with any available GPGPU capabilities.
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Beats me. All I know is, I won't be buying one for years, if at all. For the amount of console gaming I do these days, my PS3 will do just fine, thanks.Word.
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Very interesting Nathan.
However, it sounds like the idea of using iDevice + aTV as a console already exists. So why hasn't that combination shown up as a viable competitor to the current consoles (much less the PS4)? Maybe it's just a matter of marketing, but I have to suspect there's other pressures at work - whether it be limitations of the current iDevices compared to the consoles, or people's willingness to pay console prices for iOS games, or maybe the TCO of the iDevice + aTV versus a console, or something else entirely.
Note: I am not denying that the iOS & Android game market has had a significant impact on the console (and PC & handheld) game industry. However, even after 30+ years of battle the PC and console game industries still exist. So maybe, just maybe, consoles, handheld, PC and mobile device games all will continue to exist for the foreseeable future. (Although consoles & handheld, being more dedicated gaming devices, will be more affected by lost market share.)
Personally, I bought my PS3 to play Blu-Ray first and games second. Thus the attraction of the PS4 (and NextBox) is whether it will bring enough must-have games for me to justify buying one.
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More analysis: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/02/inside-the-playstation-4-a-balanced-approach-to-building-a-game-console/
I agree that going with a more traditional multi-core CPU + GPU architecture is a plus for developers. However, the actual instruction set (x86-64 vs ARM vs Power) is less relevant to developers (who use C++), although it might be more significant to engine programmers.
I'm not surprised with the lack of backwards compatibility. Because console games are so tightly tied to the specific console, compatibility almost always means including extra hardware. So would you rather:
A. pay $200 more for the PS4 to include PS3 compatibility
B. not pay more, but have a PS3 compatible less powerfull PS4
C. have a PS3 incompatible PS4 and keep your existing PS3 or buy one for <$200
The original XBox was a locked down PC, and it seemed to sell fairly well.... Locked down has benefits for content creators, which then benefits us content consumers.
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I bought the Act and managed to play it though (although I think I had to resort to a walkthrough). Like DL, it's beautifully drawn but the controls are weak. The idea of changing the character's actions by swiping left & right is good, but for some of the scenes it's simply not intuitive what you need to do. And there's a whack of timing too - the right move a little early or a little late fails too.
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Which device is better to get many channels? HD Homerun Dual or a TV set? How many channel can you get with a TV set?
It depends... There are two challenges - signal strength and signal to noise ratio. Different receivers have different sensitivities (signal strength) and add noise. You might be able to get the specs from the manufacturer or luck out that someone else has done a side by side comparison with the TV you are interested in.
Note: signal strength is mostly a function of how close you are to the transmitter and your antenna. Bigger antennas (for the correct band) typically provide higher signal strength at the cost of being more directional. (So a high gain antenna aimed incorrectly may be worse than a less directional lower gain antenna.) Noise is added to the system at every step - before the antenna (interferernce, reflections & multipath), at each connector, by the pre-amp, by the cable (which also reduces signal strength & is proportional to length), by splitters (which halve signal strength) and finally by the receiver itself.
For ATSC receivers there's a minimum required signal strength. More strength doesn't gain you anything, but it does tend to increase the signal to noise ratio. OTOH SNR is more critical to HDTV. As the SNR goes down, the error rate goes up. And like FM radio there's a harsh knee once the SNR gets to low and you very quickly go from uncorrectable decoding errors to an unusable signal.
Antenna mounted pre-amps are great for boosting the signal received at the antenna so long cable runs and splitters don't put the signal strength or SNR into the danger zone. However, they do little if your antenna isn't getting a usable signal already or in cases where you have very strong signals. (Although the Wingard HDP-269 is a low gain preamp which works better in these cases.)
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IIRC I stopped playing somewhere in the goblin mountains. I just got tired of fighting hordes. I also found the game to be quite linear. Although the world looks vast, there is only one path with only the occasional side branch.
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Yeah, it'd be one thing if they had a pan&scan version on the SD subchannel, but doing a letterbox doesn't make much sense.
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Not in Buffalo though... Of course, via cable I already get more HD movies than I can watch already.
And I wonder how much the lower bandwidth is due to (re)encoder improvements, and how much is due to decreased picture quality.
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Sure a PC could do the job, but as I said, "I'd prefer something smaller, cheaper & quieter than a HTPC"
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I know in the Toronto area there are a bunch of people who buy, sell, repair & collect arcade games, pinball machines, and related items and they hang out on a couple of forums. If you can find your local equivalent, you might be able to pick up a machine or the boards for a lot less than you think. Sometimes your local operator (the guy who owns the machine in the movie theater / bar etc) can put you in touch with the collectors who buy his older stuff.
Although I haven't been active in many years, the forum on arcadecontrols.com was where the MAME cabinet builders hung out.
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Microvision homebrew? (part 2)
in atari2600land's Blog
A blog by atari2600land
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"Easy" is a relative term. I'd classify this more as "possible with significant TM&E".
I think also most people would look at the Microvision and see a very limited game system - 16x16 LCD (might be able to get 4 levels of grey), 4x3 button grid, paddle dial, speaker; and then compare that with the difficulty of creating new cartridges / games and arrive at the answer "too much effort to bother". But hey, that's not to say you can't do it. Just recognize that you're going to have to supply sufficient drive to do (nearly) everything yourself. (However, people have done amazing things as a "labor of love".)