hex65000

Taking a page from Longhorn Engineer and trying to keep this effort mostly on track... I'm going to TRY to do regular meaningful installments on this project. Some of you might find this a little boring, but questions are always good. Episode Zero: Hex. [ "Yeah! It's my birthday too yeah!" --The Beatles ]

I'd go with his ROM has bit rot, and the label has some serious Actiplaque. Hex. [ .... and that's three before I get hit with the clue hammer! ]

I think that's a Gemini Controller. Or perhaps a relabeled one. Nice idea in a way. Execution... Eeh. Not so good. Hex. [ Two one liners in two minutes... a touch disturbing that. ]

You might want to add a picture of the top (component) side of the board. On these big ticket items, good documentation is key. Hex. [ It also helps if you talk to your cartridges like Austin Powers when you photograph them; makes the plastic look more 'randy'... ]

Interesting. This game looks ideal for the DS. I'm not totally sold on it for the Wii. Yes, it's approximately like using a stylus on a DS. Just not sure if I can justify the purchase for the Wii or not. At the very least, I'll grab the DS version. The DS is my late late-night with Craig Ferguson pal. Hex. [ Has almost finished A Witch's Tale... took long enough and then I guess I should review it or something. ]

<Taps on monitor glass> Hex. [ Be glad I didn't break out the "Knoblock SMASH" for the occasion... ]

That would likely be a very bad plan. Just find someone who's reasonably honest looking on EPay. Looked okay at a glance (double check that bit I was after an example more than anything) eBay Auction -- Item Number: 370425283760 I'm not familiar with how they have the batteries set up to charge, but I'm willing to bet it's not 12VDC Hex. [ Should just sleep in and be done with it... ]

The DRM will come. Having a fairly good understanding of the hardware will prove useful for those who aren't just all 'about the warez'. I'd like to get a gander at the schematics and mech drawings myself. I know it's out of my league of knowhow, but educational just the same. It's just such a complex system and my skills aren't that mighty. There's also the assumption that the schematic is a bunch of custom ASICs and that documentation didn't get leaked. Now that would be a boon for everybody BUT Sony. Hex. [ Is mostly brute force and bubblegum... ]

Getting games in a box always makes me happy. However, you have to account for the fact that gamers tend to be... ahhh.... cheap. I fall into that category too at times... When I sell, I give the buyer an option of a bubbleope or a box. Since they're paying shipping, they get what they request. My basic fear is that some item shipped in an envelope will not survive the experience and it's a downhill run from there. Of course, who's to blame? Me because I shipped something out in a bubbleope, or the buyer because they are the ones who requested it? I don't chase boxed games typically, but I would expect anything that had a cardboard box involved to be shipped in a box. DVD/CD media, small cables, one or two loose cartridges I can cope with in a bubbleope. I always worry a bit though. I've had boxes from Amazon that looked like a forklift was involved in its destruction. Imagine what that would do to a bubbleope. As a side note: when I order sample parts from chip mfgrs., they will package the heck out of the things. My samples from Analog Devices were four ICs about 1/4" square, they arrived in a package that could hold a thin 8 1/2 x 11 book. Yes they survived the trip. Hopefully, they even work after I soldered em' down... Hex. [ More than you want... but you get what you need. ]

You are not alone. Well, I guess noScript killed most of the seriously obnoxious material. (like that flash thing at the front page.) The game list page made me cockeyed though. Like being shot in the face with a shredded white-house document... Hex. [ Ooo... drama when I have a headcold... ]

How can I put this? Good. A closed system like this is such a waste and will help the retrogamers of the future. Could you imagine the nightmare if reverse engineering the 2600 had the same level of obfuscation? Bleah. Hex. [ Guns to the people baby! ]

I'm agreeing with Mendon on this. The entire exercise is just plain and simple greed. I use a car purchase as a favored example, I've used it before... [-[ Rant mode: ON! ]-] (best said like in an anime episode) So this guy, let's call him "Mr. game publisher exec X" buys a new car from a dealership and he gets bored with it after a few days and trades it in to the dealership. The car sits on the lot with a price tag on it, until "Mr. not rich enough or too cheap to buy a new car Y" decides that they can swing the cost of the used vehicle. In reality, the car is paid for, "The MAN" gets their cut, the dealership makes some money and the car is rolling along in society. End of story until the car dies from use, is traded back in, or is wrecked. In the game publisher exec reality, the car won't go off the lot for some reason. Oh, if you pay 12% of the new value of the car to the auto maker, it'll be compatible with the streets outside of your driveway or the dealer lot. Swap car with software and the argument of "used game buyers should support game publishers too" sounds pretty stupid. I'm at a total loss on how anyone buys into the steaming load these people spout. OTOH, people still buy extended warranties. <shrug> In short: - Only one person can use a legitimate game at any given time. - Since there is a lot of effort in copy protection and digital signing, the load on any servers could be projected on the number of NEW units sold. - If the number of users exceeded that value, it would be possible to assume that some piracy occurred, or you need a better projection model. - The money to run one or more servers is very likely built into the cost of the game, or should be. - If you did it wrong, you need a better projection model. Sorry about your luck, I'm told capitalism has some inherent risk. While I have bought lots of newer stuff as of late, that behavior looks like it's due for a change. I'm already missing out on a lot of the DLC content, and while some of it looks good, I'm not going to encourage a business model that I don't approve of. Or at least, not often, and when my live and points run out. That's it. I'll take my toys elsewhere -- especially since they'll eventually expire anyway. Jess also made the very good point that when the 'powers that be' decide that the server(s) they are running aren't profitable, they shut em' down and you get a coaster -- if that. I can appreciate the economic aspect there, and it's a real and fair concern. If it were my decision, I'd just release a final patch that enables the game to be used without the server's existence and shut em' down. Of course, the problem with that is then the publisher has to come up with some original content in the next version, because they can't sell the same thing to you over and over again. Although that does kinda work out for Sega; how many Sonic compilations are there again? Also FWIW, there are still some modern platforms that currently do not have this model easily put in place. The Wii and the DS spring immediately to mind. I'm sure that'll change in the upcoming generation. We all pretty much saw this one coming folks, the question really is: Are you gonna take it because you want the latest shiny thing, or are you gonna walk on? At this juncture, my stance is that when I use up the fake money I have sunk into it, I'm gonna walk on. Hex. [Managed to scare a student a touch by distilling this rant down for him... I got the FIRE baby! ]

That's a bloody mess on there. I just reported it to the drones. For all the insane reasons they come up with for violations of their policy, I'm sure they can make one up for this one. Hex. [ Does not typically report auctions, this one made me think that it needed to be done. ]

Is this still on track? I occasionally remember that I'm in on this, and just wanted to check in. Hex. [ Has a bad habit of saying the thing that nobody wants said... ]

I'm in for the full blown version as well... Kurt, Just wake me up when you need some up front money. I'll also go on the record saying that keeping costs down on a design is a real PITA. I'm fighting that battle as well and the end result is that I'm going to have to make some decisions and trade offs if I want to sell any units. That said, quantity typically can equal a price break, so buying a bunch of parts is cheaper, but that is typically a larger initial outlay. I haven't even investigated a custom case like Curt is, and know that to just break even he's gonna have a ton of shells sitting around the workshop. For my own effort, I will be happy and amazed if I break even -- excluding the bits I have bought to prototype everything, and I'm still not done prototyping. Hex. [ Now if I can keep my office empty for more than 20 min. stretches I'll be good to go... ]

Is it worth collecting for the PS1/PS2? Oh yeah. I'm not a big fan of many things Sony does, but I cannot knock the fact that the library is so mind-numbingly huge that if you can't find something that floats your boat, I'd be inclined to say that you need a new hobby. My collection has pumped up in spurts, but I'm still finding things that I've never seen before. Also, what's nice is that some titles have made it to become revised updates that are a bit more accessible. Especially RPGs. Mind you, there is a lot of CRAPware on the PS1/2 as well. There have been titles that were so annoying to play that I was thankful that I didn't pay much for that muffler (game). Phix was perhaps the first true offender for me. Also, the 3d hasn't aged that well, but you kinda saw that coming on the PS1. Hex. [ To pull up or not to pull up, only time will tell. ]

I'm also tempted by the n64 labels. I'm curious, would it be easier to generate a 'sheet' with a series of endlabels on them or not? Such as a collection of mario titles, a sports game sheet, etc... All the while keeping the overall format consistent. My n64 collection is pretty comprehensive, and if I were to do this, I'd want to do them all in one swell foop. Heh! it could be like a collectors sheet -- Peel off the endlables of the titles you have so you know what you need to look for. Seriously though, nice stuff. Hex. [ Hasn't considered labeling options yet for the Everdrive, but RBI baseball '94 is not staying where it is... ]

Looks like I'm in the third wave -- which is fine, I'm in no huge rush. Ax, out of curiosity, when you told Igor how many units you wanted, what was his initial reaction? Gotta admit, from the photos that is some fine pitch solderwork there, not to mention a nice job on the layout. There's a ton of wires running around on there that's for sure. More excited to put one under a microscope than to drop it into a shell right now. I kept a couple of extra shells before I cashed in a ton of undesirables to Stoneage. Also glad to see these starting to cycle back too. It's the biggest problem with the Internet, there is very little lag time in many respects so we find ourselves saying "want it now!" a lot more often. I've found myself wanting to do that at times when I paypal the money along and I then instinctively want to get up, walk to the door, and have my package. That's not realistic, and I've gotten a bit more patient in my old(er) age. Hex. [ Wishes he could find some MIA equipment... ]

Between Bit Rot and media degradation, coupled with having a working system at that point in time. It's unlikely that a valid original copy will exist. A slab of plastic isn't the end-all be-all that it's marketed as. Your statement also assumes that we humans as a society/race don't manage to collapse/destroy ourselves before that point in time. Let's hope not, but our priorities/interest in the topic may be long faded by then. If you want to keep a boxed game nice, fine. Get some ESD (electrostatic discharge) bags, comic bags, and plastic tub or two and have at it. The results are roughly the same other than you can't beat the graders to death with this more 'flexible' solution. Also for the record, I have ESD bagged my N64 collection, some of my atari 2600/7800s, and some other small size collections. It's pretty awesome. Especially since they come in clear plastic with ziplock style openings. Hex. [ Would be more OCD, if he wasn't being OCD about other things... ]

Eep! No pressure... Hex. [ hopes that it all works out for the best... ]

It could be done. In fact, what you're describing is kind of a derivative of this.... Note the speckles on the trackball. I think that's how it figures out that the ball is moving around without mechanical x/y rollers. Heh!. Perhaps an undrilled bowling ball would work... Hex. [ From the left field to the right, my ideas just are not quite right... ]

Dude, wait... what? Hex. [ "Remember Arthur, always wear your wings, and don't take off your pants... " --The Tick ]

I look at that image and can't help but think of the Xzbit meme... "Yo dawg, we graded your graded game so you can slab your slab while you look at your slab..." Oh, and for the record, IMO, grading is a market that was created to make themselves important. Oh and to make money off of people who think of this as an 'investment'. Hex. [ ... OoooOh! Don't get me started! ]

Oh, hey. Stuff is ending tomorrow night. Still lots of stuff that's wide open. Hex. [ Defends the Earth from the "Potatoe Monster" ... ]

Essentially what you're already pondering Groovybee. A psx -> 5200 adapter that takes advantage of both analog sticks on the playstation controller. I didn't know classics had gotten as far as prototyping one until CPUWiz clued me in a few weeks ago. I have found a male db-15 connector worked out within reason. It's not a good fit, but it doesn't suck. It's a solid nylon/black fiberglass connector so it has a bit of flex to it. I do expect that the thing would eventually crack though. Another possibility is to notch out the nylon where the clips are ahead of time. It's additional labor, but I'm already looking at the labor options to get a serviceable female connector. Sourcing old 5200 cables isn't great either. It may be a good option, but I'm lukewarm since it's a limited resource and the price would likely spike (as hinted at above) as soon as those who have the new old stock figured out they could start scalping connectors. I'm already scrapping stuff to get the PSX connector. Although my method of sourcing them has been inexpensive, which is the good news. As for demand, I think it's there. Heck, I want one, and I've seen a few requests pop up in the marketplace/wanted area. I take that as a hint. In terms of cost, I haven't worked that bit out yet. obviously keeping the cost down is important, at the same time you want something robust enough to meet the needs of a user and capable of being resistant to ID-10t errors. That's the balancing act, and when your'e hand soldering your time is still part of the cost. I can stuff a board in a couple of hours, but cabling takes longer, and so does packaging, etc. What's my time worth and when do you just say 'screw it' and farm it out you know? I'll send out a PM shortly with details... Hex. [ Not how I planned on going public with this, but hey... ]