Newsdee

Creatrd a new thread for it: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/247050-retro-freak-firmware-update/ Hope that helps!

The Retro Freak can be switched to English (it's an option on first install) but the developer's website remains in Japanese, so it isn't obvious how to update the firmware. Here's how to do it: 1) you need an SD card in the system 2) in the menu go to system settings them select "write firmware update request to SD card" 3) shut off the console, remove the SD card and plug it in a PC 4) on the PC go to Cyber Gadget's website: http://www.cybergadget.co.jp/retrofreak/ 5) the support page is the third line under the title image: http://www.cybergadget.co.jp/support/retrofreak/ 6) the first box (blue) is the update page: http://www.cybergadget.co.jp/support/retrofreak/update/ 7) now this is where it gets a bit tricky. The link for the update is buried in step three of the instructions, in a burgundy box with a backgound that says "update" in English. The link will have the date of the latest firmware ao it should stand out. 8 ) the next page will prompt you to uplade the update request .dat file that you dumped earlier. One button should say "choose file" in English (at least on my phone) and the other is the upload button 9) when you click upload, the website will send you a .bin, save this ti the SD card 10) safely eject the SD card then put it back on the Retro Freak 11) the console should recognize the .bin file on startup and update itself That should be it. Retron5 owners will notice its exactly the same procedure.

I have one of these consoles. SMS/MKIII ROMs are recognized from the SD card; the adapter is only if you want to run/dump original carts. It does not run flash carts, but it would be redundant since you can dump roms in the SD card. Xbox 360 controllers do not work but I'm hoping they will release a patch for it (they release firmware updates from time to time). Also you can switch the menu to English. The XML file for cheats and the webpage for firmware updates are still in Japanese but you can fiddle with a translator to figure things out. Edit: the adapter for legacy controllers is a bit pricey but is very good. It works on Windows and each controller comes up as a separate device, meaning you can use it as a "multitap" for several players.

A Coleco flashback with HDMI output would be nice, but without the original controllers and overlays it would lose a lot of the experience.

Not sure; I mean in theory we have an upgraded PC Engine (the supergrafx) yet there isn't much homebrew for it. Of course there the problem can be rarity of the hardware. With an FPGA version anybody with a base unit could run the upgrade as a simple reconfiguration. Whether that brings developers will depend on how successful the base unit is...

They're possible but the problem is getting developer support for them. An old example is the Spec256 project, where I think only the original writer did the work to adapt all available games: http://www.emulatronia.com/emusdaqui/spec256/juego-jetpac-eng.htm

If I'm not mistalen the Jaguar cart slot has 104 pins, that's enough to support JAMMA/Neogeo MVS (54 pins) plus extra buttons and two additional players. Maybe even enough to provide direct HDMi input to have digital video as an option.

The RPi is an example; you could also put a SoC in a cart to get an instant on experience. Yes its not cheap, but these guys were planning to sell carts at $60 for some titles anyway. As a precedent many TV games (e.g Genesis/Megadrive) used to sell at ~$30; here you'd have better video and audio than those because the A/V hardware would be in the base unit.

I think I've figured out how to make something like the RGVS work; although it wouldn't be what these guys are planning because it wouldn't give them the control of the cartridge distribution channel. Two things bothered me: how do you future proof your machine without updates, and how, at the same time, prevent piracy (since anything on the console would be useless once defeated). Only major constraint: you have to use the Jaguar and cartridge shells, otherwise buying the molds was a waste. My solution: put the brains (CPU/RAM/ROM) of the console in the cartridge, and keep the console body as a "dumb" connector to controllers, TV, etc. that is reused across games. Each game can be customized to its needs, and as time goes on there will be more powerful hardware that can be plugged in. Encryption can be unique to each game so a pain in the ass for any would-be pirates. The downside? Anybody could make games for a machine like that - so you better plan to make money only on selling the bodies. I was also concerned about cost, but then today I saw this: https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/raspberry-pi-zero/ ... that's plenty of power for any "retro" experience. Plus if you design the interface to accept raw RGB+Sync you'll have people plugging their consoles to it for HDMI upscaling

So their hardware guy leaves and they hire... another marketing guy? This saga just keeps getting better. Maybe they're hoping their combined reality distortion fields will make a prototype appear out of thin air.

There is Super Road Blaster: http://www.destructoid.com/super-road-blaster-the-impossible-laserdisc-to-snes-port-228189.phtml And a few games had their soundtracks fully upgraded (e.g. Rock n Roll racing using the original songs with voices). Thats quite a bit more than a tech demo On the NES there's The Legend of Link, using the underutilized MMC5, but which unfortunately does not fit into an Everdrive (too large ROM size). http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/2136/

A system that can accept original carts (directly, not dumping them) would be able to run MSU-1 for the SNES. Check out this patched Zelda with CD-quality music and FMV intro:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AKSoDFUSKA . Of course, such extension is already possible in original hardware; so it's not a SNES2... more like what the SNES could have been. Here's more detail on the MSU-1: http://helmet.kafuka.org/msu1.htm

Even their cartridge idea will only work as long as nobody defeats their encryption. Then they're going to have to update the base machine to fix it... or maybe release a new console? To top it all off, it looks like anybody pointing this put is a drunken naysayer. Way to alienate some of your potential early adopters. But hey - they have plenty on comments in forums. If they truly listen and present a solid product they could pull this off. It will all depend on how well they present the prototype.

I think they still fail at the concept. Mike mentions in that article the IGG campaign was to start a company, not just one console. That doesn't seem the right approach to crowdfunding, I'd think yoh need a very strong product first. Then the entire company orbits around having a piece of hardware which is obsolete by design, with benefits that you can get already by buying a 3DS and never updating its firmware. The Raspberry Pi, Retron 5, and Retro Freak also give you manual firnware upgrades, so you don't have to worry about an evil company pushing upgrades without your consent.

Is there a good LCD that can handle a wide array of frequencies including 15khz? Or are we doomed to XRGBs, which can be hit and miss with sync? (even fiddling with settings)

The Retro Freak came out. Its better than the Retron 5 but the PCE feels laggy compared to the PCE FPGA core by Torlus and AMR. I guess it's in par with RPi emulation, but I greatly anticipate FPGA improvements such as this project or newer cores on the other platforms.

I'm not sure if it was Pong (one of the many TV game clones), Mattel Soccer (handheld), or Sneakers on the Apple II. Arcade it was Pacman, I was watching somebody and when he left he put one extra quarter for me to play...

Actually there *is* a translucent case for it since the guys doing a kickstarter for Amiga1200 added mounts for the board: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/a1200housing/new-amiga-1200-cases-made-from-new-molds But I like the small size and so far the only option is to makr a skin for it (which you can get printed on any site that sells custom laptop skins) . Here's a template with some pics of the result: http://www.atari-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=101&t=24583&start=1650#p278484

philscomputerlab posted a nice video explaining the benefits of an FPGA console vs. emulators, and a demonstration of the MiST box. Check it out:

Unless you plan to make your own board like Kevtris, I'd recommend you get something like the BeMicro CV for 50 bucks: http://www.loomcom.com/blog/2015/03/15/do-you-want-to-build-an-fpga-part-one/ It has pins, edge connectors, SD card slot, RAM, etc... not too shabby for that price.

Consolized arcade games beyond the MVS - hey thats a great idea! And they could add an expansion port to connect real boards via JAMMA to get HDMI upscaling (bypassing emulators).

It doesn't have the funky controller though Back on topic, HDL is pretty tough... it takes both some programming and EE knowledge. I can read the code but I'm at a loss at to how to put things together. Anybody has a good book to recommend for EE but applied to FPGAs?

One system I'd like to see is the V-Tech V-Smile (console for kids) since there aren't any emulators. But it seems 16-bit so might be too much work.

By "core" I mean the binary file that configures the FPGA into a system. Earlier I didn't mean inventing new systems, but rather implementing an existing machine (say the Astrocade) in open source HDL code. This shows other developers how to port their cores to the Z3000, if they want to do so. And it removes any licensing issues from porting a core from somebody else. But I get that publishing one's code is not everybody's cup of tea. Maybe release it under a pseudonym then :-)

Have a look at the MiST Git repository, it has the source for plenty of cores (and links to more): https://github.com/mist-devel/mist-board/wiki