BladeJunker

As I delve into low resolution LCD displays of keypad overlays I think of another possible option built into the modern homebrew cart which is an onscreen reference image of the overlay. What can you say about collecting loose carts and playing without an overlay, sure the interwebs fill that hole now but even your present day human considers it a lot of work to look up anything that isn't Beyonce or porn lol. A good example would be my cousin who graciously helped me and my nieces progress in Ecco the Dolphin but when it came time to look up a walkthrough he didn't do so with his phone despite him using it at the time to play other games so I went and used my desktop. I'm not calling my cousin lazy but I am demonstrating just how little of an obstacle it takes to prevent people from not looking up things on a regular basis when prompted to IE. apathy, other interests, the "burden" of typing on a tiny touch screen. The sort of same impulses that cause a person to watch bad television when the remote is not within arms reach. ^_^ People are lazy especially with leisure activities so having the overlay image to look at in-game is useful and worth the ROM space. These days I wish my loose INTV carts had an in-game reference because I still haven't learned how to print to scale to make my own overlays and I often don't look up overlays online despite flying blind as the alternative lol, I'm lazy too. Old Screen VS. Overlay. ------------------------------ The hardest aspect is the extreme difference between a low resolution display when compared to the high resolution of a silk screened graphic print. The smooth lines, the fine text, the multi-colored illustrations are things the first game consoles wish they could have rendered. Those graphics do serve a purpose though, the assumption is a person's imagination fills in the details not seen in early video game graphics but some people don't have much imagination thus things like cabinet art fill in the blanks. Argh they sure varied the designs and layouts a lot on overlays which makes them hard to approximate into pixel art form. I did my best but some differences have to exist while some designs just can't be replicated within the graphics limitations of the INTV. I guess it doesn't matter since it isn't like I can patch them on to every cart, mostly with the reference examples its been hard to recreate them in few pixels. It could be something added to a flash cart like a ROM onto itself, sort of a demo index of overlays you could display on the actual hardware in compact form. Breakdown: There is 16 colors in the system palette and a lot more used in overlays so some color changes and compromises in image approximation are needed as applicable. I experimented with dither mixed colors for more range but that pretty much messes with the kind of border shapes you can produce with 1-bit color tiles. It is pixel art optimized rather than exacting replication so it can't match things like the font styles seen on the printed overlays or the exact shape of the icons. At the very least it matches the aspect ratio better than Intellvision Lives on the DS which had to squash the overlay height severely to fit on the touch screen losing there original appearance in most cases. The best maximum any system can do is maximum resolution in the smallest dimension of the image and for the Intellivision that is 160(159) pixels wide. At 16:10 that works out to an overlay resolution of 160X256. In contrast 96 pixels tall fitted to the screen height you'd have 60X96 which would be useless. As a tall image you pan or scroll up & down to see as much as you can through the window of the screen. You can't see it as a whole but there is enough reference information there to learn what each key is labeled as. Pretty basic bitmap division of width divided by 3 which at 160 wide comes to 48x48 per keypad with a total of 144 wide with 8 wide side strips equalling 160 together. 48X48 isn't much but its usually enough for most basic icon graphics seen in many overlays. The "big picture" EG. He-Man images don't make too much of a difference because regardless of similiarities in icons you can't tilemap construct them at such small resolutions and still have a 144X192 bitmap to render any overlay. The keypad graphics are double(triple?) layered to better approximate the real color schemes and despite a vertical stacking layout there isn't enough sprites in width to cover them all with the default of 64 pixels total. It will either have to multiplex/flicker 15 sprites or all 8 are used on one keypad graphic at a time and you just toggle between them for there full color appearance. There is some tile component efficiency in the overall image but not much because of the cramped space for information display, most often the best I could do was stay within 8X8 pixel block border lines keeping at least each piece separate from each other. I think to make it any better I'd have to display one keypad image at a time IE. 96X96 resolution to get the tile components fine enough to construct a complex image with smaller pieces. The only areas I managed to build in some heavier tile reuse was the title banner border plus font, also the trademark copyright text which has clean 8X8 seams. The banner area is fairly tall too so it can handle shorter banner options where legal text is crammed in below it too. Fire button text didn't tile because the width of character needed to fit enough text in doesn't fall between grid map seam lines. Did manage to standardize the Fire button arrows to the center position of the keypad area. I could have shrank it to legal script size but the font scale contrast seemed to be more visually important IE. Keypad Numerals, Fire Button Text, Legal Script, and Keypad Text at different sizes. Options. ----------- #1 Initial design went smaller as to have some on screen prompts but it seemed like overkill when all you do is scroll, enter, and exit images. Not a bad first try but the text scale contrast was pretty low at this size. Drew it, might as well show it. #2 Second version which fills as much screen as it can while still keeping the most relavant information visible which became my default in the breakdown. This came a lot closer to approximating the look of the original printed overlays. *Had some trouble matching the Red Orange of the original print overlay so I tried a few options, Orange, Orange/Magenta dither, and Magenta. Still not sure which looks best but overlays are harder to manage than solid colors. #3 Came up with this after I became concerned about image memory needs for large bitmaps being too high particularily with layers. You got the "mini-map" on the side which you toggle between keys to see the related portion of overlay image. This is the largest scale possible but it is also the most efficient in terms of tilemap savings as more components repeat especially any text at the center of the keypad images which is large enough to use the GROM characters in most cases. As said bigger so it does more of a bankswitch/streaming approach as you move the view-finder around, loading portions as you move and offloading others outside the viewing radius. *I used Astrosmash as an example but it comes in dark grey or black background thus the split to test both options.

I think he probably just saw one selling for that price somewhere probably in the box mint but everybody remembers the big number lol. That's why he was going to try getting it running, if it worked it fetches more than a paperweight does. It has some good features here and there but I heard that price and backed away. When listening to the Intellivisionaries I heard someone say they had only seen one at conventions so I underestimated how privileged I was to see it ever, there are a lot of add-ons for other systems but I didn't realize how few there were at 4000 and the troubles with the Federal Trade Commission where they were forced to produce them.

Could be? Non-working stuff can get passed around till it gets to someone that can fix it. Canada is a big place but the Keyboard Component is a small world as I understand with so few units made. I couldn't see the Facebook page, I'm not signed up for that, sometimes I can see FB pages other times it asks me to log in , idk why?

I am a INTV novice so when I saw these items I had no idea how rare they were. Well out of my wheel house but I thought I should mention them if you're looking for them. On my search for my 7800 I found one at Press Start in New Westminster in B.C. Canada but I also saw an Intellivision Keyboard Component. The guy working there told me it didn't work but if he could get it running it could fetch $10,000. If I had known just how rare I probably would have looked at it more and brought a camera but so many things to see lol, like a Hit Bit MSX. That store didn't have any 7800 carts but I did stop at Mostly Music in Port Coquitlam and found 3. My brother in law was giving me a ride and I tried to entertain him a little showing him the boxed Castle Greyskull and Snake Mountain there but behind those was a Big Box Aquarius. It was huge and only He-man set boxes came close to its sheer hugeness. ^_^ Anyway I thought I should mention it here just in case you're looking for one and you have the means. That was about a month ago but I can't see many people coming in often that could afford them so they are likely still there.

Oh sure, that's why I'm using a double cord system but I guess I'll have to emboss them 1&2 to distinguish one from the other. Not going to fuse them together like the NES Advantage plug did since that overrides any option for 2 players.

Detailed thread, should prove useful. Yeah I was all gung ho for 8-way on INTV initially because I like D-pads but so many games actually make use of all 16 directions and mechanical motions in the Disc. Have you had a CV before? I recommend Ladybug, I'm usually playing that or Donkey Kong most of the time. Speaking of Jaguar I'm not sure how I'll test on the Jaguar, fairly rare and pricey in lot size here, usually a whole collection rather than entry level price. I think with the 5200 it is just a matter of time, maybe this year. I think I'll have to simulate some consoles just because I don't have them but also I have been concerned about using some of my consoles for tests, Colecovisions don't grow on trees lol. Some kind of plug board probably with mock signals. At least the Jaguar and 5200 port have a standard shape to there connectors as components are available unlike a lot of console proprietary shapes. I only have 3 to deal with, wouldn't want to have to do them all, parts nightmare unless you can get new/old stock components. http://blissbox.freeforums.org/first-impressions-t22.html I was thinking about project goals like the initial question of why with other options present, I guess one aim is streamlining and shrinking such a controller which would help those with limited storage space. For example if I removed a shelf I could hold 1 arcade cabinet in my apartment total and even Wii accessories are proving bulky to store in my limited space. I'd love to get a Steel Battalion controller but where would I put it, in my Alamo basement lol? I think the other goal that was always present is generational bridging of retro gamers where more often than not younger players don't go any later than the NES because of the controller divide mid 80s as a factor, with the "standard gamepad" remaining the same basic shape/layout for many years after while 70-80s console controllers are much more eccentric(Don't get mad. ^_^). In this regard I think the 2600 fairs the best, no confusion with that joystick. I think with a familiar grip more would play and would contribute to the health of every supported platforms following into the future. I just don't think there is enough patience in the world(especially now) to get over the learning curve in pre-NES controller operation. You've probably seen it happen, comparisons to phones, rejection, complaints, bewilderment, if you can get them past graphics and sound then control is usually what makes or breaks continuous playing. Initially I don't think I payed enough homage to the past in my first designs like removing the keypad entirely on CV lol so it is probably for the best I didn't build one right away. Also I think it was a mistake to address each system individually when it is a struggle for me to build one controller, I can't R&D 8+ differing controllers when much of it is so similar to each other.

I just started listening to that podcast, a lot to catch up on, 2013 so they are talking about the upcoming INTV Flashback. ^_^ Glad to have such information posted, I wasn't an INTV kid so you have to hear it from the people that were there to make sense of it. Thanks I'll keep Nurmix in mind when I get to that stage. I don't like to cannibalize either, thought about getting a Flashback on sale and sacrificing one for the cause but that is like more than half of it cut off and thrown away. I'll see what I can do about making my own mylar, would be nice to have a custom layout with a nice clean connector and a minimized footprint. I don't have the slot dimension finalized yet but the keypad is likely to be the deciding factor in the total scale of the controller.

Thanks for the basics on the how that could work, it would be nice to have something approximate to the INTV through the analog stick using just the default controller. That would solve the stacking problem with modules at least in one case for those that can live without the Disc or just don't like it. Oh neat Jaguar controller on Intellivision, I could see that being helpful and it has 3 face buttons like the INTV, early keypad controller Fire buttons are not exactly ergonomic, large, or highly visible. With the 7800 I'm actually enjoying the joystick a lot but the "side button" concept doesn't work for me much.

Went to the Intellivision section to get some help with how that controller works, very unique the Disc, doesn't approximate well even with analog joysticks. Mechanically it can act in an analog fashion with finger rolling but it is still a digital control electronically. http://atariage.com/forums/topic/249364-disc-functions/ Keypad Version 2. Adjusted the 4 color default palette to a more contrasted shift from Black to White. Might change, even 3-bit monochrome is dramatically better than 2-bit in gradient quality. Changed from 4:3 to 16:10 in aspect ratio to get the title marquee space, I like how the INTV and 5200 overlays had the games name at the top like arcade cabinets. The keypad area itself still remains 4:3 as that seemed to be roughly the shape most keypad overlays took. Might have to physically clip the screen with a facade plate as 4:3 is easier to find in the proposed standards. No final pick on screens yet, mostly have a 30$ CAD budget to stay in. Added some controls because touch controls are stupid for games played independently on the module, no matter how many times they try it doesn't work to cover the game graphics with your digits just because Apple is too cheap to give you buttons. ^_^ The atmega 328 seems fast enough to run some games like those on the Wonderswan IE. basic monochrome 2D graphics. It is so cheap these days for screens, what you can get now versus back in 2000 is dramatic. Going to need a graphics chip if it will mimic Lynx type scaling and rotation graphics output. The unit can be played 4 ways including Standard gamepad, Reverse gamepad, Vertical, and Dual D-pad. Took what I liked about the Wonderswan and Lynx and got rid of what I didn't. Also a 2 player Pong style game could work on one unit if the second player didn't mind using a left handed layout. Action Buttons are undecided between 2 or 4 button clusters because they will be so tiny it might be worth reducing the number to increase there size. Unit scale is not certain but bigger than a Game Boy Micro, smaller than a Nintendo DS Lite. Also a couple Option style buttons. Trying to work a speaker into the "bottom" of the unit so sound can be heard while plugged into the base. This unit is pretty much a project in itself lol but I think it will have a lot of versatile uses and with a battery I don't have to worry about console based limits. Should probably have an AC option to plug into wall sockets when the battery is drained. *In May of last year I was asking about analog joysticks on the Genesis or Mega Drive which actually had one only in Japan, more of a flightstick than general purpose so I made my own design proposal. Same deal though in layout to differing genres that I think I'll just add Ub support for that too since it is another sibling in the D9 family. http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?29815-Genesis-32X-Analog-Joystick

I think the last thing I can say about the INTV functions through my controller is the dual cord allows for independent use of the Disc & Keypad at the same time on the same controller if both ends are plugged in. This behavior is afforded by the 2600/7800 support which has to have the keypad in port 2. Thank you to all for help on this matter, I hope the compromise I described sounds decent enough with the module approach for the Disc. The Ub has to cover many systems so some aspects will only be decent rather than perfect approximation. I'm moving back to the original post so progress updates will be over there, I will link to this thread for anyone curious of INTV support over there. When I mod my INTV with controller ports I'll probably post any recordings here.

Those are pretty good, just came across Thunder Castle the other day and was like "Wow this game has a lot of music for an INTV game.". Found this compilation of some music of the platform, sounds good enough that it deserves more recognition. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF-mRp-VXr8

Flickering was something people liked about not seeing on INTV so any instance will stand out poorly. Well you know, music wasn't a strong suit of the first consoles, been thinking of asking what INTV games have the best music. Lol no matter how bad you think a gaming platform is there is somebody out there that loves it, like I can't imagine CD-i having fans. ^_^ Actually speaking of the ZX Spectrum I'd say its a good example of how to do isometric graphics on the Intellivision and Colecovision, making the most out of an 8X8 pixel 1-bit color block.

Lol that gave me a good laugh. Yeah its quite unrecognizable with those color choices.

I guess there isn't much interest in a version 2.0 of the INTV Disc, I'm making more work for myself and should just go with a regular Disc I can buy. Can't help myself lol, I always think about what else something can do. At the very least I can cordon it off as module work just like the keypad and trackball as sub projects so the whole doesn't overwhelm me. Whether or not anybody cares about trackballs or other devices on INTV or not I'm adding it regardless if it can be supported, the process of building it causes it to happen inherently. I mean I can't make software for it but I can at least connect it dormantly in way that doesn't catch fire lol. As far as the Disc itself I don't think I have much choice other than the center module position, ergonomically its a bit like the N64 controller in how you move your hand over to the center stalk to operate it. This won't be as ambidextrous as the original but I could possibly make the left D-pad mirror the 4 face buttons, well 3 buttons technically plus the duplicate. That should make for a more comparable INTV experience than those blue plug and plays at least. http://www.intellivisionlives.com/retrotopia/direct2tv.shtml I have a couple of these, they work just fine but it sure doesn't feel like playing an INTV. I didn't think I'd miss the original layout till it was removed completely lol. It also makes me think of the finger gymnastics necessary for INTV games on the PS2 to get keypad functions. The keypad continues to be ergonomically weird when paired with another device, like some kind of tail. The INTV, 5200 trackball, and Colecovision trackball setups are breaking my Swiss Army knife design. I think the best I can do is dongle it off with some cord so it rests on a table top because I don't think it will stack well. I appreciate the advice but I'm not concerned with flopping yet, right now its a question of wasted personal money if it doesn't work in major ways. It will take some careful shopping and spending for parts that will have to be planned out to the nickel, no pennies in Canada anymore lol. It is still a long ways from second party mass production or crowdfunding stages.

I've seen inside during cleaning a while ago but at the time I didn't get it lol "How does this thin plastic work?". That good huh, well that sounds like they could at least fill in for my purposes. Yeah a lot of new stock is always questionable in durability, time will tell. I've heard that about the buttons. The INTV II looked different enough that I thought it might feel different. I'm glad they can be adapted to work. It still doesn't make sense why they switched it around when the Flashback port could be made to line up with the original pinout of the INTV controllers. The only thing I hope with revisions or new models is they stop doing that on all Flashbacks. Well since I'm building from scratch why not consider adding some features to the Disc that don't interfere with what it does already, if there had been a second generation Intellivision what might have been added to the Disc to improve it. I'd probably need a different Disc shape at least on the underside of it to make it detect differing rings where you press. I admit I don't have the idea completely designed, maybe something like the NES Max. I was just wondering if anybody wanted such functions for future homebrews while we have the design exploded into pieces. I guess with speed ramp up you could make a sprite move at different speeds like analog thumbsticks do just based on how far you move the Disc in one direction. Actually I think the 16 directions might have fixed the problems found with the NES Max in that it didn't have enough detection gradation. The slider sounds alright, reminds me of the Speed Roller on the Super Action Controller.

How does the mylar contact sheet work, is it the squeezing of the 2 layers together that gets detected? Are all models of Intellivision controllers comparable to each other or is one better? How is the Flashback controller, any good? Could probably get a Disc off one rather than gutting a real INTV controller. I know there pinout differs which for the life of me don't know why they did that, can't even use them for replacements. Lol you can buy a Flashback from Bed Bath & Beyond, so that is widely sold. ^_^ Do you think if the Disc could detect its angle would that be useful in INTV games? I do think concentric ringed contacts might work for speed ramp up.

Yeah you're right, it's the 90 degree right angle on the sides of the shape. Gamepad "handles" flared out to more angle as things evolved, this aspect is actually what makes the Dreamcast controller uncomfortable to grip for long periods because it pinches the wrists rather than keeping them straighter. I'll change that in the next revision of the drawing. If you mean size or bulk that is a concern that could change things when put into practice, can't use a gamepad properly with too much weight. It does impress me having 16 direction in 1980 even if digital. Right 3 Action Buttons not 4, ambidextrous support I'm guessing. Okay so the keypad can only work by itself without interfering with the other controls? I kind of expected that from the pinout specs as everything seems to crisscross a bit and all keypads have to overlap in input just to get more keys using limited pins. So the feel of it is more ergonomic than analog in nature. I have done the rolling thing sometimes, its a comfortable maneuver, a thumbstick comes close to that. I can see the type of game that this is shown off best in, wide open arenas with a player sprite surrounded by adversaries. I think this will take some practice to wrap my head around, much like trackballs the Disc is a bit of blindspot in my perception of controls. I have Tron Deadly Discs but I should probably get Golf and some Bi-Plane titles to try this angle thing out. In some ways the floating aspect of the Disc is good since it did allow modders to augment that part more easily than if it were attached. It does seem to be heading in that direction of stored software inside to deal with the eccentricities of all the platforms. Hard to say how close it will get in approximation but as software it is at least malleable. I didn't come to disappoint INTV fans but it is a smaller demographic in the big picture that its hard to justify that specific hardware. I mean what other platforms have a Disc with 16 directions other than the Intellivision? The keypad in comparison is a generality as the 2600, 5200, Intellivision, Colecovison, and Jaguar have 12 button keypads so I can't not include it in some way. The only thing coming to mind is the middle slot of my controller as an INTV Disc could be put into that port as an accessory just like the trackball. Of coarse it runs into the same problem I walked into of where the keypad goes if not in the middle, 2 items stacked?

Darn was hoping the contact rings might have acted like a radius of detection.That would have been nice to have Paddle like control on INTV. Was thinking how it's never been a good idea to wire controllers directly into a console as it really closes off peripheral futures, like how do you plug a NES Advantage into a Famicom. Strange for the first model of INTV because there are many pre 80s consoles with controller ports, thought it was an era thing but its just a poor company decision. I will try to get those titles and experience that for myself. I'm familiar with Commando so I can understand how a little more directional control could help with dodging the dangers. Two speeds in Bump'N'Jump, interesting. Yeah its an approximation at best with a thumbstick, some devices just don't have enough historical recurrence to become part of the controller I'm making, another good example is the rotary joystick found in a dozen or so arcade games. I've been trying to approximate that through a combination of D-pad and Paddle or maybe just 2 D-pads.

Hello I am working on a multi-system controller that I hope will support the INTV, mostly 9-pin console varieties. http://atariage.com/forums/topic/248136-controller-questions/ I don't want to dismiss the unique features of the INTV Disc but on the other hand I don't understand what it does or how it is used well in games without some help. I have a INTV but I don't have enough play time mileage or games to understand the nuances like a true fan has so thus why I ask here. -What can you do with 16 directions over 8 and which games are good examples of using 16 directions? -How does the contact plastic detect the 16 directions, I'm not seeing segments and the Disc part seems smooth and featureless? -Can it detect how much I'm tilting it in one direction? The aim is to approximate the Disc through an analog thumbstick since it has more than the 8 directions of a D-pad. I can't really replicate the INTV Disc on the controller because I have other considerations like the 5200 and adding analog joystick support to the Jaguar. For the INTV I'm introducing trackballs into the mix along with some other input devices through a central slot in the controller.

Was looking over INTV and noticed it didn't have a trackball or much of any common gaming devices. Keyboard, tape deck, synthesizer, and networking but not controllers of different types. Guess it doesn't help that the first model has not controller ports lol. Going to have to mod my INTV to have 9-pin ports to test this. Kind of seems like a system that would have a trackball but I guess they figured the Disc thing covered that aspect. Figured the best way to include a trackball was an optional unit where you pull out the keypad and plug in a trackball. Doesn't effect the 2600 or 7800 much because those devices are separate by port but the 5200 and Colecovision have configurations with keypads and trackball together so hmm. Maybe if the trackball unit had a pass-through to plug the keypad underneath in a stacking formation like Dreamcast VMUs. Probably the ball will be as big as average trackball mice sizes,not hard to find components of these cheap. Weight could become an issue if I'm not careful or at least balance pitch offsets. Actually the pass-through concept sounds alright as you can combine different input device pairs together. Would be kind of nice to plug in a microphone for some Famicom style voice action like the DS managed, probably easier to take advantage of that more on the Jaguar side. Also good for segmented prices too if not everything and the kitchen sink were included in the base unit price lol. Basically you're gripping with the left hand using your index finger to tap the left shoulder button to fire while you move the trackball with your right hand or thumb. Or you could just place it on a desk directly in front of you too using a non-skid mat as a stay for smooth table surfaces and work it like existing trackball units. Was thinking of calling this controller The Ub maybe? Working title anyway.

Not to stop you but here's hoping I can get this controller to be compatible with the INTV, fingers crossed. ^_^ Well here's the thing about overlays, the 5200 cartridges had a handy little slot to store them on the back but people still lost them. The Sega Genesis had durable plastic clam shells with a tab to hold in the instruction manuals but you still have loose carts, no manuals, and trashed shells. We have center holes to grip with in our optical discs and still we scratch them and leave fingerprints where the data is. People are hopeless, can't really blame kids because it is like destructive ownership IE. "Its mine now and I'll abuse the shit out of it." they say while spitting & peeing on their games to mark their property. ^_^ The overlay system wasn't without its own faults too like how the keypad could be a soft membrane and the overlay a thin plastic that with heavy use you'd get finger rut gouges, have a few with that issue. A few people have also said that sometimes the keypad can often work better without the overlay in place because it can compound problems with mushy key presses. Lastly it was mostly a remedy on how to fit overlays to the controller when all applicable consoles have differing physical dimensions and tab placement or securing methods for there overlays. I actually love the physical overlay concept as it dressed up the keypad with artwork that can 'harken back to' the silk screened stuff you'd see on the sides of arcade cabinets. The full keyboard ones on the Odyssey2/Videopac for games like the Quest for the Rings were very neat, probably the most extreme example. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/inside-the-magnavox-odyssey2/6/ I've seen homebrewers be quite successful at replicating overlays on controllers, Vectrex screens, however those are a labor of love and often have to be optional or sold separately for the sake of having a few price models. In some ways I'm afraid to use my overlays if they are in good shape because I like the artwork on them and they can be fragile sometimes from age EG. plastic rot that cracks. If they are messed up I just use them, can't make them any worse than they are. Whether or not any particular game needed an overlay or a keypad for that matter, well that is an entirely different thread.

While I still have the option to just use a standard keypad in the controller that could run off of +5V like standard 2600 keypads I've found the higher tech approach appealing of a touch screen. As mentioned on a screen you could upload bitmap versions of overlays stored on a small amount of internal memory that could be updated with newer overlays. It would be kind of like the Dreamcast VMU if it didn't suck, better graphics than a first generation flip phone and battery life that doesn't drain like a leaky boat lol. I'm buying off the shelf so it's hard to say how big it will be or whether I can fit small controls on it like the VMU or PocketStation, if it has controls I'd like to aim for some unit rotating options like the Lynx and Wonderswan had. With internal memory it may be possible to save high scores along the same lines as the Atari Vox, the score saves, not the voice. Haven't put much thought into its sound hardware yet other than something cheap, one tiny speaker, and a headphone jack. Touchscreen would be Capacitive as its cheaper and can be applied directly over any kind of small screen relatively. Still aiming for monochrome if it keeps costs down but even limited color might be welcome for approximating printed overlays more accurately. My minimum standard is 2-bit color to get some aliasing or shading in as 1-bit color screens were very crude even for simple text fonts. So far aspect ratio is 4:3 at 320X240 but would like it a little taller except that cheap small screens tend to be too wide than tall, too low res, or both. Mostly getting the screen resolution moderately high is meant to help with overlay graphics replication, if I went lower in resolution the basic keypad shapes could be visualized but I'd need a printed overlay to even come close to the originals IE. SSDD. It wasn't hard to figure out such a touchscreen wasn't going to run on a +5V line so a powercell is mandatory. Took a design feature of the Jaguar cartridge handle and turned it into a housing for a battery. Seen Ben Heck split and rewire them into long tube like shapes. In the grand scheme its a fancy overlay for the older systems but to the Jaguar it could be used as a fully utilized cross platform peripheral much like Sega, Sony, or Nintendo did with such things. Being a modular unit it can be replaced with a cheaper standard keypad for those looking for a cheaper option or those that have no use for its Jaguar functionality.

Oh no way, the actually bothered with programming a chip instead of just using an Arduino or other off the shelf product, that is more work but better results. Seen some of that in Kevtris's work on NES, large portions of hardware replaced with replicated technology. Hah I love that, torrent or buy a DVD instead, well KISS I guess. ^_^ Nintendo had a lot of varying cartridge types over the years where supporting all of them is a real chore in clone engineering EGs. all those mapper variations on the NES or the Super FX 1&2 chips on SNES. Also the pirate carts are there own special headache too. Yeah DVDs are watchable which is why I site it as getting it right finally with optical disc movies, I tried lots of things before that like Video CDs(saw a demo), screwing around with my ATI-All-in-Wonder, and even bought a couple Movie CDs bitd. http://www.hometoys.com/article/2006/10/classic-home-toysinstallment-6what-in-the-world-was-the-sirius-movie-cd/784/ None of it was any good so DVDs were a welcome change except for all the excessive menu transition animation they don't use any more. A lot of the Video CDs I've picked up are Chinese bootlegs and although the cases look slick most of them are just bad VHS rips rather than captured from a film source, yeah I saw a film rating board mark from a country I'd never heard of on one Video CD I saw in thrift. Most of my small Blu-Ray collection is second hand copies in decent shape since the format is still too expensive even after being around so long, for example with Walking Dead I like the show but didn't feel like shelling out 10-15$ more per season. Looking into game related FMV none of the modern codecs work with the slower bandwidths but we do know more about it collectively in hindsight so I think its something that could be done better with a second run of development of homebrew. As a Sega CD fan I've wanted to have a go at making a good FMV game that wasn't pure garbage IE. Digital Pictures.

Right wider because the C64 height resolution is smaller. Yeah I played that one quite a bit and its not the best the C64 could do, that needs a redux. Nice sprite, pose and form look good but the face is a little muddled, that pipe makes it hard and its difficult to incorporate into small resolution. I think 160 mode looks just fine, I played a lot of good games with double wide pixel sprites, I thought 320 mode might spark some inspiration for a would-be programmer with something to prove lol. Actually was hoping Schmutzpuppe might chime in with thoughts on the feasibility of Popeye in 320 mode. ^_^ Hope nobody on this forum thinks that the 7800 has to outperform the [insert console name here] whenever a new game is proposed because that will just slow down the prospect of more games in the long run IE. not every game can be 320X240. That's what I'm really appreciating about the 7800 over the A8 or 5200 is the sprite width being able to get as wide as it does, so often width is a bitch to achieve on most 8-bit systems and it just ends up looking like people walking and fighting inside a phone booth. ^_^

I don't know why its not better yet for clones except costs in manufacturing, if there was one thing I'd hope to get from a clone console running through emulation is superior video output. They should all be there Composite, S-Video, Component, SCART, and HDMI no matter the unit or adapter. For lack of a better term the output is "fake" so why they can't perfect that when it molds like clay idk. Although on those arcade compilations for consoles over the years, how they couldn't perfect the emulation on a fixed hardware spec boggles my mind, yeah the systems emulated varies but the console itself is static so you're not making a general purpose platform like MAME that runs on all kinds computers. It matters, you said it yourself its cringeworthy, the compression is too high, the cartridge too small, and why they passed a QA test for sale idk. GBA carts probably seemed big at first that somebody thought to run FMV on it but much like CDs before it, nothing is really big enough for FMV except DVDs barely and Blu-Rays beyond hard drives. There's tons of old FMV from the past that looks bad and barely runs well through emulation like Sega CD games or DOS/Win 3.1, somebody figure out most of the kinks in Win3.1 emulation through virtual machines but it doesn't make it look any better mostly because it can't. The die is cut when it comes to FMV compression on old systems. I guess if you can keep them short IE. not Kojima long lol so the compression doesn't have to get so high it might have turned out better but nobody was considering the future and it sounds like they were working by the skin of their teeth in GBA development. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9IYGRkYplM