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Newsdee

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  2. Posted · Edited by Newsdee

    7 hours ago, Bill Loguidice said:

    I note there's also a SCART cable for the MIST, which would be ideal for my XRGB-mini. Does that give the same overall quality as the VGA connection?

    Yes. The XRGB-Mini can even accept 31khz over SCART, I've used it like that for a while.

     

    It also allows converting 50hz (PAL) content into 60hz (NTSC) since the XRGB has a framebuffer.

    • Like 1

  4. Posted · Edited by Newsdee

    4 hours ago, Austin said:

    Pardon my ignorance, but what are the advantages to using a MiST these days compared to the MiSTer?

    Pros:

    - MIDI ports

    - a mature Atari ST core that is not yet ported elsewhere

    - works natively with Atari and Amiga controllers

    - analogue video out as standard

    - nice metal box

     

    Cons:

    - Price. For the money you can get a full MiSTer.

    - The FPGA is much smaller than MiSTer (so some cores of MiSTer wont fit at all)

    - USB controller mapping is manual

    (firmware limited to 256kb so can't add too many extra features)

     

    It's a good system, and I still use my 2 MiSTs sometimes, with older VGA monitors that I have. But it is no longer my main setup, I have 2 MiSTer that I use with HDMI both at home and when traveling.

     

    I wish Lotharek made a smaller version at a cheaper price (he mentioned it on a group long ago). But maybe some parts are harder to source.

    • Like 1

  5. Posted · Edited by Newsdee

    I should add that currently only 128MB is supported by all cores, and there are no plans to support more for now. So using dual 128MB boards for 256MB won't give you any benefits.

     

    Bear in mind the DE10 Nano has 1GB of DDR RAM as well, and cores use that if possible. Only cores with ROMs that require very fast access timings use SDRAM, and Neogeo are probably the biggest chip based ROMs out there (CD/optical media are slower and can work with other typed of storage).

  6. Posted

    3 hours ago, RabidWookie said:

    I'd heard a dual ram slot board was in the works in case future cores need multiple banks in parallel.

    You can already install 2 SDRAM boards. There is also a new feature to output native 240p video from the HDMI port, so you can connect an HDMI to VGA converter instead of the IO board.

    • Like 1

  8. Posted

    On 9/26/2019 at 11:44 PM, derFunkenstein said:

    It doesn't have to be all or none. I can accept the <1 frame of lag from my TCL TV (according to RTings) but I'm doing things to reduce lag in other areas. 

    True, there is room for experimentation and find what works best for you.

     

    But what I'm trying to highlight is that it is possible to achieve a true lag free setup with a MiSTer, whereas that is not the case with a RPi (if anything, because its CPU can't emulate a cycle accurate SNES, for example), or an Analogue NT/SG until the DAC comes out (as it can't connect to CRT yet).

     

    Anyways this is a false dichotomy. Analogue devices are a superb choice for cartridge gaming, and the RPi remains the cheapest option if you are on a budget. It's all a matter of what tradeoffs you are willing to do.

  10. Posted

    There are two separate solutions being worked on (by different groups) to connect native controllers and bypass the USB stack. 

     

    So the hardware can use native controllers and behave exactly like the original machine, but at a certain premium since you need a custom addon.

     

    It's like for video. Either you accept a certain lag from an LCD and use HDMI, or you need both a CRT and a board add-on for analog video.

     

    I think those extensions are fair enough, not all users will want them, but they exist for those who do. 

  13. Posted · Edited by Newsdee

    For some reason I never found RPi emulation appealing, but I did like using the Retro Freak.

    Mostly, it was the ease of use and that I did not have to think much about setup. But I did notice lag issues compared to real hardware.
     

    Then I got into FPGAs and as cores matures, lag stopped being an issue and I found myself using real hardware less and less.

    I still own the originals (and don't plan on selling for now - I do like to have them on the shelf) but I can't be bothered with RGB and upscalers when I have a solid alternative.

     

    I sometimes wonder if I could make a system to use RFID tags on carts to load games.

    That way we can still use our cart collections as "game selector" for added nostalgia, but with much less mechanical issues (dirty contacts etc).

    • Like 1

  14. Posted · Edited by Newsdee

    13 hours ago, Burt_Lancaster said:
    1. One of the main developers does not seem to have lag issues among his main priorities (to say the least).
    2. It seems that the I/O board may not even be necessary for analog output?
    3. Some cores never get to the point, etc.

    The post you link to is many months old. The reason 2 is on the table is because the developer for 1 is experimenting an alternative way to output native video frequencies from the HDMI port,

    so that people are not forced to buy an I/O board if they want to connect to a CRT and bypass the HDMI scaler (giving a completely lag free experience).

    It is experimental and not yet supported by all cores, but is an attempt to simplify the setup since it's easier to source HDMI to VGA adapters than IO boards.

     

    The litmus test for lag has very often been whether Tyson in Punch-Out was beatable, and as you can see in this thread, he is beatable on HDMI using a wired USB controller.

    If that is not enough, the DE10 can be connected to a CRT (via adapter or IO board) and connect to original controllers for some cores (e.g. NES and SNES, via some extra expansion hardware).

    Those extensions are optional, so I'd recommend first trying the lag-free video modes of HDMI (i.e. no framebuffer) and making your own opinion first.

     

    In terms of core maturity, my advice has always been to buy based on the current state of the device, not some hypothetical future state.

    You are free to decide to not get a DE10 if you find a specific core is lacking, but that does not detract from all the cores that are already excellent (SNES, NES, Genesis, Neogeo, Amiga, etc.)

     

    I totally respect if you feel it's not for you. At the same time, I believe the concerns that you raise are already addressed by the current state of the project.

     

    • Like 1

  16. Posted

    4 hours ago, phoenixdownita said:

    I bought the 32MB all-in-one just 3 weeks ago, hadn't had the time to even try it ... lol ... time for a new one with 128MB I guess.

    You can use all the cores with 32MB; you would only be missing out on a few games for Neogeo.  It's up to you, but you can always explore everything else before upgrading.

  17. Posted

    On 2/2/2017 at 2:55 AM, dj_convoy said:

    Man, people really just buy into ideas, huh? Execution of said ideas doesn't matter... just as long as the idea is cool.

     

    Why would you be so psyched before there are any concrete details? I don't get it. I, too, like the IDEA of this, but there is ZERO to get excited about at this point.

    The same could be said of all religio... er... marketing schemes. :D

     

    I wonder if these guys are behind another retro "modern remake" with their tech but not advertising it. That may explain how they survived so far...

    • Like 1

  18. Posted

    1 hour ago, phoenixdownita said:

    With the disappearance of the SmokeMonster MiSTer pack (well all packs to be fair), where do you get updated setups?

    Those packs were mostly useful for games. The cores themselves are all available on Github, and there is an updater script that will grab the latest cores for you on demand.

     

    The WIP cores are not yet part of that script, but they are posted in forums and the discord server for those who want to try and help with feedback.

  23. Posted · Edited by Newsdee
    youtube links not rendering

    I brought my MiSTer on a long trip and it's been a great summer with it.

     

    The NeoGeo core has matured incredibly well, courtesy of furrtek, sorgelig and jotego. There are some minor audio issues being worked out, but most games sound great.

    Some games require more SDRAM than the standard board, so I expect a new SDRAM expansion board design being released when the core is officially out.

    (the current 32MB board runs 82% of the Neogeo library well, there are some 19 other games that need 64MB, and 8 that need 96MB).

     

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgq_ZTznnFk

     

    In other news, Grabulosaure is about to release an Intellivision core, which you can see in action here:

     

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTtWxIOOa8Y

     

    There's other things going on but it would be hard to list them all.

     

    A Commando arcade core is out by Jotego, the NES core received a lot of love by many developers and is almost perfect, an Apple I core has been ported courtesy of alanswx,

    and a direct video mode is in being experimented on with SNES and Genesis.

     

    This latter feature is to allow using an external DAC from HDMI to use analog out.

    It's a different technique than the Analogue DAC, but it achieves a similar goal to use CRTs and VGA displays with an aftermarket adapter (i.e. not having to rely on a custom I/O board).

    • Thanks 2

  24. Posted · Edited by Newsdee

    5 hours ago, pacman000 said:

    Galaxy Game?

    Yes! Thank you, I couldn't remember it.

     

    The Wikipedia article is telling, explaining how they were driven by having a game superior to Spacewar (and it was), but simple economics doomed them. A Spacewars PCB costed $100 to make vs. the thousands needed for a PDP computer.

    • Like 1

  25. Posted · Edited by Newsdee

    Some of the early successes were not because of technical availability, but because somebody figured out how to save costs on producing the game machines. That in turn enabled decent margins for a business to run with.

     

    I forgot the exact name, but there was a prototype of Space Wars prepared for arcade / coin-op, but it ended up not being used after Bushnell and co. came up with Computer Space which was much cheaper to produce by an order of magnitude.

     

    Its possible for an idea to live as prototype or on paper for a very long time. A very extreme example would be Babbage's Difference Engine...

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