Jump to content
Have You Played Atari Today?
2600|5200|7800|Lynx|Jaguar|Forums|Store  

Sneakyturtleegg

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    326

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Sneakyturtleegg

  1. Posted

     

    Probably 95% of the people who purchase the Super NT will not want to pay another 60-80$+ for analog functionality that they will never use. This is Analogue's mass market FPGA solution, and HDMI is the future, like it or not. Be on the lookout for an upgraded version about 9-12 months from the release if you really wanna wait for that functionality. The Zimba is never gonna come out, Super NT has cannibalized it (and kevtris). But I'm sure there are many who will disagree...

     

    Best GBA is an SP-101 screen in the original body imo. SP is cramped as hell.

     

    I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with you, but I am curious how you know these things. Market research? Do you work for Analogue? Are you Kevtris?

  2. Posted · Edited by Sneakyturtleegg

    Unfortunately the Super NT isn't a no compromise system like all of the previous Analogue systems. Sacrifices had to be made to keep the price point below $200 and attempt to hit the mass market. I completely understand why this was done an I am not knocking this decision. It may not be for me, thats all.

     

    With that being said, like many of you, I am willing to spend more money on a premium product that doesn't have the Super NT compromises as compared to the NT Mini. I am holding off at this point to see if an external DAC is released for an analogue solution. If not, I'll stay with original equipment and pick up an OSSC to play on a modern flat panel television. Id be able to use that with other systems too. There are a lot of us analogue video purists still out there. Analogue has already got a lot of our money.

  5. Posted

    Of course Kevtris is going to use any tools possible to ensure 99.9% compatibility with his console. I wouldn't expect anything less. Why not use flash carts? He may still need to buy a few one-off to ensure special chip or fringe case support, but with an SD2SNES, SED, or Super PowerPak, the vast majority of games don't need to be individually purchased for compatibility testing.

     

     

    I completely understand that and it goes without saying. I think you are missing the point of my post relative to the implications and speculation of Kevtris using the SD2SNES.

  6. Posted · Edited by Sneakyturtleegg

    Not all SD cards are built equal. Likewise NAND memory (flash) gets slower over time. There are some quite agonizingly slow usb flash drives out there. At least SD cards you know what you are getting. My 3DS's card feels really slow, but that's because I bought the largest fastest card available, and the actual way the 3DS communicates with the card is slow when you just browse what's on the device. It doesn't affect game play.

     

    At any rate the SD2SNES, or some more capable follow up is still the solution if the SuperNT doesn't play chip games in JB mode. So let's not get ahead of ourselves and assume anything about the SuperNT's capability beyond what kevtris already said (A6 Cyclone 5.) I've done the math a few times and I think the SuperNT might have the space for it, but that is very largely dependent on how much is used for the HDMI scaler. It is not unreasonable that plugging in some kind of bare second FPGA Cyclone V into the cartridge slot to act as an expansion chip could be done. We know it can be done, because that's what the SD2SNES does on top of emulating a cart. It just doubles the investment cost if that's the way things have to go.

    Also to keep in mind, is that Kevtris did admit to using the SD2SNES as a tool during the development of the Super NT. As far as we know, it was used for game testing and to insure flash cart compatibility. Can we use this nugget of information to further speculate about special chip emulation? I don't see why not.

  8. Posted

    A) Those games, the games it can support in the future, the Msu audio enhanced games, the Bs-x games, the better build quality, the instant loading, the auto region patching, the real time clock, and the increased max rom & memory size so you can run more complex homebrew/hacked games add up to be one hell of a difference well worth the $90.

    B) You're talking out your ass. The last time it was updated in was in May 2017 and before that in October 2016. Updates are still coming out for it and while they are not the fastest because he works on so many projects at once the updates are still coming.

    C) If you actually believe that then you're just wrong. He shows the stuff he is talking about in the article and explains it why it matters. If you're going to call something that was just proven to you a lie you're going to need to provide proof it is incorrect or else the only person lying is you. Even Kevtris commented on how the article was correct and how he was curious about some of the same things regarding ED build quality.

     

    Concur.

  9. Posted

    What's the point of paying top dollar for an SD2SNES when it can't, or doesn't currently support SA-1 and FX? Most of the others (besides the megaman one) are obscure Famicom RPGs or Strategy games. So I got an Everdrive for like 40% the price and added a DSP1.

    Well, the SD2SNES supports the following chips: BS-X memory map / Satellaview base unit registers (clock), DSP1/1b, DSP2, DSP3, DSP4, ST-010, Cx4, MSU-1, S-RTC, and OBC1. It didn't support a lot of those from the beginning. It has routinely been updated and compatibility has consistently increased. Development still continues for it too. I know everyone wants SA-1 and Super FX/FX2. It may or may not happen but is possible. I really enjoy the MSU-1 and Satellaview stuff. I do understand the value of the Super everdrive, but for me, it was worth the extra money for the SD2SNES.

  10. Posted · Edited by Sneakyturtleegg

    You can't just run a single core twice as fast (or quad in this case) and get two CPUs out of it. The SA-1 have address bus and registers independantly from the SNES core, so you'd need to have a totally separate state machine for each CPU. Perhaps some components could be shared but it would ultimately get in the way compared to doing separate cores. We just don't know how big the snes core is and how much free space there is for expansion hardware.

     

    Give me SA-1, FX, DSP1, and maybe the Megaman chip, and I'll be happy.

     

    I agree that we do not know how big the SNES core is and what left over resources will be available for special chip emulation. From a business perspective, I would think the FPGA used in the Super NT was as inexpensive as possible to get the job done with original carts. Because of this, I don't believe there will be many resources available after the main SNES core is loaded. Unfortunately I don't think we are going to see special chip emulation without added help. I hope I am wrong about that. A guess would be to see something like a SD2SNES with custom firmware for the special chips. Ikari has already coded several SNES special chips for the SD2SNES. I'm not sure that would all be possible on the Super NT.

  11. Posted

    I believe the work Kevtris is doing for Analogue (NT Mini, Super NT, and future projects) is for sure, the foundation for his Zimba 3000. It is likely an intermediate to long term project. The Super NT may get a few more bells and whistles, but I don't think it is going to be the Zimba 3000. I would guess Kevin wants to design and tailor that from the ground up. He would implement the cores he would have already been paid to develope. This would likely be after his work with Analogue is done and the systems he worked on were no longer in production. I would also think that FPGA technology needs to mature a bit more and become less expensive for a feasible "all in one" system like the Zimba 3000. I guess it would be determined by the cut off point for the systems the Zimba 3000 would support.

  13. Posted

    Look at Analogue's bottom line. NT Mini sold like gangbusters over AVS not because of slightly higher resolution or an attractive case, but due to the jailbreak firmware. It doesn't matter how many Super NTs Analogue can sell without jailbreak firmwares. If Kevtris releases his awesome sauce "jailbreak" firmware on the Super NT, it will be double that.

     

    Once Super NT is released, there won't be much keeping the NT Mini attractive pricepoint wise, so I'm going to predict that NT Mini will be discontinued, and a streamlined "NT Lite" or "Slim" or whatever the heck you want to call it, minus the aluminum brick and analog outputs, will eventually take it's place. Even if not, then it would make all the more sense to release the Super jailbreak firmware in concordance with the NT Mini's discontinuation.

     

    And yes, I believe more consoles such as Genesis / Atari will follow. 9-pin connectors built in? Yes please! Where will it stop? Who knows? But for the time being, Analogue only seeks to profit from increased Super NT sales if they allow Kevtris to release the JB firmware on it.

     

    I PREDICT, HERE AND NOW, THAT WITHIN 7 DAYS OF RELEASE OF THE SUPER NT, AN "UNOFFICIAL" FIRMWARE WILL BE RELEASED, ALLOWING AT MINIMUM THE ABILITY TO PLAY VANILLA SNES ROMS OFF THE SUPER NT, BUT MOST LIKELY A WHOLE LOT MORE... 8)

     

    Now taking bets to prove me wrong, starting at 500 Galactic credits. Anybody in? :grin:

    Disclaimer: Galactic credits are a purely fictional currency and contain zero monetary value. 1 Galactic credit = $0 USD.

     

     

    500 Galactic credits is too rich for my blood, but I will surely bet you 1.21!

    • Like 1

  14. Posted

    Kevtris spoiled all of us with the free cores for the NT Mini. Lets not take that for granted and expect it to continue. I for one am very thankful. He deserved to be compensated for the years of work he put into the cores for the NT Mini. He didn't ask for a penny. No Patreon. No nothing. I would have gladly donated or paid for each core that he released. He has his reasons for not charging, and to that I say thank you Kevin!

    • Like 3

  15. Posted · Edited by Sneakyturtleegg

    No, your point isn't a point, it's broken. If Analogue planned to keep marketing the nt mini they would make a version with a cost effective case because the super nt is literally the exact same hardware without a dac and a better fpga chip in it for literally $320 less.

     

    At the pricepoint the Super Nt is at they will sell a hundred or more per nt mini they sell. So why in the name of god would they try to hold on to a share of the market for the nt mini when they could instead contribute to super nt sales?

     

    The NT Mini and Super NT are for 2 completely different markets. No reason they can't sell both. There is nothing wrong with respectfully agreeing to disagree, which is fine. I do want to thank you for your work with the Analogue NT Mini rom pack with Smokemonster. It is awesome and one of the reasons I bought the console. Also, Smokemonster just updated the rom pack to 1.8 and added some fixes by Great Hierophant. He wrote a few great NT Mini articles in his Nerdly Pleasures blog that are worth reading. It is worth upgrading to the new rom pack if you haven't in a while.

     

    Check it out

    http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/

  16. Posted · Edited by Sneakyturtleegg

    Doubt it. They said they wouldn't be making a cheaper version of the nt mini so I can't imagine they intend to keep trying to market it at $500 when they are selling a twice as powerful model for $180. Not to mention when asked about if the console will get a jailbreak they said they want users to be able to do whatever they want with it.

     

    You are making my point. Analogue will want to keep selling the NT Mini for however long they intend. And Analogue won't allow Kevtris to JB the Super NT and release a NES core until the NT Mini is done. Keep in mind, Kevtris is an employee of Analogue. They paid him for the work and own certain rights to it, NES and SNES that we know of. Working for a business usually means signing a contract, non-disclosure agreements, and non-compete clauses. So you better believe Analogue has a say as to what cores Kevtris can release for free and when. And he is likely the only one with the ability to program cores for the NT Mini and Super NT. I'd like to see others try. Analogue is going to protect its own interests first. According to the article, Analogue has plans for a Genesis console. Why would they allow an employee (Kevtris) to release a free Genesis core for the Super NT? It doesn't make logical or business sense.

    • Like 1

  17. Posted

    Had this article/link been posted before? Bit different to the others, shows a couple of real pictures, the Super NT is tiny!

    http://www.scmp.com/culture/arts-entertainment/article/2118165/retro-gaming-gets-21st-century-boost-analogue-consoles

     

    Article talks about Sega Genesis/Mega Drive (and other consoles) being made in the future which is not surprising. Mentioned before but it really does make me think the jailbreak will be more restrictive this time, of course Kevtris could make a Mega Drive or NES core for the Super NT but this could hit sales, it certainly will be interesting to see if we get other cores and if we do, which ones? Maybe it will just be limited to the less comercial systems and for loading SNES roms?

     

    I've been of the opinion that we will not see cores for other 16-bit and later systems for the Super NT. Analogue is in business to make money. You can't make money by giving away your future business plans for free. The 2nd to last paragraph from that article reaffirms my belief. I will be happy if the Super NT is just the Ferrari of SNES/SFC systems. If it is jailbroken to any degree, that will be gravy. What cores the Super NT may get is speculation. My guess is the Super NT gets jailbroken with the ability to play most SNES/SFC roms off of the SD card. If Kevtris is nice, and Analogue doesn't have a problem with it, the Super NT will get the older cores that are on the NT Mini JB firmware, the ones which aren't part of Analogue's future business plans. Meaning, we may not get a NES core until the NT Mini is out of production.

  19. Posted · Edited by Sneakyturtleegg

    Space Invaders has never been near the top of my list to begin with. Game 6 isn't helping much and is trying my patience. I may play a few more games, but then I'll have to cool it. Not having as much fun with it as the other games so far. I know a lot of you have played some of these games for years and are veterans of the high score club, but I prefer starting on a medium or easier game that ramps up at a steady pace. My games are only lasting a few minutes if I'm lucky. Game 6 literally $hits on you!

    post-40283-0-94477800-1510629886_thumb.jpg

    • Like 2

  21. Posted · Edited by Sneakyturtleegg

    I believe there already is a version for the NES that has the cement factory level. I think it was only released on the European virtual console for some anniversary. It's included in the Smokemonster rom pack for the Analogue NT Mini. I've played it several times. I don't think arcade strategies work with it. I will have to check this new hack out and keep an eye on it's development.

  23. Posted

    I know we are on an Atari forum, but some of you seriously would take the A2600 version of Pac-Man over the NES? Wow. A2600 Pac-Man is one of the 2600's unholy trinity. Even as a kid, I knew I got ripped off. Munch Man on my TI-994A got way more play that A2600 Pac-Man. I get the whole d-pad thing with the NES, but still. With a NES Advantage joystick, the NES home port of Pac-Man is one of the best of its era. I know there is some great homebrew out there, but for me that is in a separate category. The Pac-Man Collections on A7800 and Colecovision are great in their own right.

  24. Posted

    S. Baz, you need to deduct some points for that dusty Atari!! Bonus points for cleaning it! Keilbaca, you get some bonus points for using that sweet Commodore monitor!! I haven't seen any IFART console stacking violations since week 1 by Northcoastgamer, so we're good in that department for now.

  25. Posted

    I appreciate that the great players are sharing their secrets about Berzerk, but I'm not comprehending the timer thing. Maybe another time I'll try to figure that out. I got my score the old fashioned way, just by using my slow reflexes and some standard Atari pattern recognition. I'm done with this game for a while. Whats next?

    post-40283-0-99988300-1510536234_thumb.jpg

    • Like 2
AtariAge
Forums
Store
General
Follow AtariAge

Copyright ©1998-2021 AtariAge

×
×
  • Create New...