[FPGA Based Videogame System]

1 minute ago, Pixelboy said:

I don't have any insider info or anything, but one other possible reason for the "secrecy" (aside from pandemic-related issues) could be that they're trying to see if they can release the Pocket and the Dock on the same date. That alone would greatly boost sales, but it would also make their production schedules more complex, let alone putting more pressure on the development side of things. Under such circumstances, it would be understandable to delay making announcements until they're sure that they can deliver both the Pocket and the Dock simultaneously.

 

I think it was a pretty stupid idea to not release them together to begin with, so hopefully this is part of it.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

The other baffling thing is that they've standardized their hardware now too, so there is really no reason that they shouldn't have these things in stock, or at least do regular batches of them.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

I don't think it's much of a secret right now. I noticed they just posted a Game Boy gif now too, so at the very least we'll be getting some Pocket news, but likely a pre-order/order IMO. Why they aren't keeping their products in stock though, I can't figure on that....

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

Just now, Steven Pendleton said:

They haven't "announced" anything; they've shown a date and time and nothing else. At most, they have announced an announcement. What's happening on that date and time? It could be the date and time that preorders are beginning, but it could be something else. Only Analogue knows for sure.

Correction: at LEAST they have announced an announcement. I think it's pretty fair to say though that they'll be doing pre-orders.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

That was a few months after the initial announcement, so I guess they changed their mind, or clarified anyway. I think we all expected it to be released by now though (when initially announced) from prior timelines. I don't expect them to go on sale (no pre-order) next Monday, but I wouldn't be shocked if they did.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

They did say originally they wouldn't be doing pre-orders (or so I seem to remember anyway....), so I wonder if they're gonna actually be ready to go right out the gate. I do find it interesting that Kev, who no doubt has been working on the Pocket for quite some time, had time to also rewrite the NES core for the Noir....here's hoping!

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

Not that it would be a terribly elegant solution, but couldn't you just use one of these with that adapter and call it a day?

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

Kev, question about the Noir if you're able to answer. Will it act like the old Mini in that it stays in a kind of standby mode to power the controller port so you can start it with a controller, or will it function like the Super Nt and Mega Sg and require a physical power on? Hoping for the latter, but wanted to know nonetheless.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

5 hours ago, kevtris said:

yeah I was going to add it in on the snt at some point

Awesome, thank you! That's a nice but easily overlooked feature since it affects so few people, so really happy to see it!

 

Edit: I'd also ask that if you ever do get a chance to revisit the current Nt Mini firmware to port back any of these new changes/fixes (of the ones that can be anyway), please consider adding this to your list. I was planning on retiring my current Nt Mini to my CRT room, so this would be a big bonus!

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

Question for Kev. I noticed while I was watching the video Analogue put out that outlined the new features on the Noir and noticed there was an option to enable dejitter. The current Nt Mini and the Super Nt through the DAC both have the jitter issue on my Ikegami HTM monitor(their multiformat line, but I also think this may be an issue on some of the multiformat JVC monitors as well), so this is a welcome feature. However, I was wondering if this fix was going to find it's way into the Super Nt firmware as well since it too suffers from this problem if using the DAC?

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

BTW, that part about Kev rewriting it because he got better is just a typical Kev thing to do lol. Also part of the reason I pre-ordered the Noir even though I have a Mini. It isn't surprising at all that he just couldn't help himself 

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

6 minutes ago, SegaSnatcher said:

Passthrough Mode: Basically makes the controller speak directly to the FPGA without and processing so in theory you get less latency, how much, don't know, also some peripherals might need pass-through mode to work.

Is it something that is going to be enabled by default then? I guess I kinda just assumed this was how the original Mini worked if using OEM controllers, so wasn't sure what this would change.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

4 minutes ago, Sho said:

Can see my last post to see an answer to some of those questions lol

Yup, just got done reading, thanks!

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

So moving past all the speculation and controversy, I'm not really sure what some of these improvements actually mean from the end user perspective. A few questions I have below if anyone can answer.

 

NES 2.0 ROM support. What will that allow that the previous Mini didn't?

 

300 mappers supported. How many were there for the original? Are these additional mappers new ones that are used in indy games and homebrew, or was there missing support for certain games in the original Mini?

 

FDS audio core and N163 audio core. Wasn't support for the FDS on the original Mini that you could actually plug one in and use the original hardware? If so, why would there have even been an audio core for the FDS? Does the enhanced audio core suggest that FDS will work fully through the jailbreak now? And just what is N163? Never heard of it....

 

What is controller pass-through and why would I want it?

 

What was optimized on the composite output?

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

1 minute ago, turbo87 said:

Also I just noticed that on their website they are now stating Nov as the preorder delivery date instead of July. I never got an email notification about the delay. I wonder if this due to the virus or they need more time to work on all the changes that they highlighted. 

It's due to the virus, they explained it on Twitter. And no, they didn't send out any emails....something that you would expect, but....well....this is Analogue, and they have their own way of doing things....

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

1 minute ago, Sho said:

I did question myself how much of a profit they truly make from an Nt Mini run.  However, the Nt Mini (and NT before it, as well as the CMVS & NEO) all came during a time when the productions were all tilted towards being works of art vs functionality.  So I'm willing to guess there really isn't much profit to be made despite all of them being very beautiful creations.

Yup, I'm int he same boat. So I really feel like they did another run because either A) this is truly the last time they plan on revisiting the NES, or B) it's just a Taber vanity project and/or a misguided marketing effort to appeal to collectors before they release the Analogue 8.

 

Now I know people will probably point to the "100% rewritten" core as proof that there will be a future Analogue 8 (or whatever it will go by), but until I see some further details, I really just think it's typical Analogue marketing. If they were going to put it on the new FPGA platform they're using, it was going to have to be rewritten regardless. That doesn't necessarily mean Kev went back and started from scratch, it just means it needed to be translated to the new hardware. And this may have even been a necessity if the old hardware could no longer be sourced, or they got a better price on the newer FPGA etc. If anyone has any further info on this from Discord or otherwise I'd be interested to hear it, but that's what I'm suspecting.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

13 minutes ago, CZroe said:

Inflated price is the textbook definition for demand outstripping supply, so when you said "the demand was for a cheaper version" it was demonstrable that there was plenty of demand for a more expensive one too (people paying thousands on eBay)... and if you are going to do both it only makes sense to do that one first.

Yes, the aluminum housing adds complexity, expense, and is probably even what limits supply. The thing is, people were more than willing to pay for the extra expense and effort and Analogue was more than willing to let them, hence the Noir before the Analogue 8.

 

There was obviously demand for the Mini, but I think the far larger demand is for the cheaper version. Every time the Mini is even mentioned it's just a bunch of people bitching about "CHEAPER VESION PLZ!!!" Maybe that's just Twitter being Twitter, but it's the same thing here and on YouTube as well.

 

It's not just the aluminum housing either, but also the analog audio/video components that add to complexity and cost. Now I have no way of knowing this, but I doubt that they're making much more if any additional profit off of the Mini than they could/would from the 8 and it's cheaper less complex design. So again, why waste the time going through all of that if you plan on releasing the 8 down the road anyway? It just adds more headaches on your part and you have to deal with everyone bitching about it for one reason or another. Just release the 8 and get on with it.

 

Edit: I would also add that the decision to re-release the Mini and all the headaches that go along with it has also now led us to where we are today. An additional 4 month delay because of manufacturing, and a bunch of unhappy people. If their plan was what you outlined, they're probably regretting it right about now.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

15 minutes ago, CZroe said:

Not according to the eBay prices on Nt Mini (THOUSANDS!). That's real demand, and there are obviously a lot more people willing to spend $500 (a fraction of that).

I don't think it would have taken much additional effort to continue making what they had never officially discontinued but, well, it was definitely extra effort the way they ultimately went. As you rightly point out, it isn't wasted when much of that effort is also going into the Analogue 8.

Just because people are willing to pay more doesn't mean that it's more profitable for Analogue. As for the effort involved, I'm pretty sure they've said on multiple occasions that it was difficult to source the aluminum shells. Couple that with covid throwing a wrench into even the most basic things, re-releasing the Mini was probably the most difficult thing for them to do. Which is what leads me to believe that it was a last second decision because covid also destroyed their plans for the Pocket (similarly to the Mini's aluminum shell, the Pocket was going to rely on a very hard to source screen which is no doubt now much harder to source) and they didn't have a ready made design for a cheaper Mini, aka Analogue 8. 

 

Either that or the Noir is just a Taber vanity project, which I suppose is possible as well....

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

4 minutes ago, CZroe said:

"Why not both?"

He and I are saying that they wanted to do both but they can't sell the old Nt Mini if they already announced the upgraded ~$190 unit. They had to do one final run before mentioning the Analogue 8. The Analogue 8 name getting out from the trademark filing or whatever it was is probably much to their chagrin since it prompted all this speculation and made it more difficult to sell the old Nt Mini in volume. Granted, we didn't exactly get another run of the old Nt Mini but I don't think they had committed to an upgraded one back when preorders started.

 

Because the demand was for a cheaper version, it's a PITA for them to have the Nt Mini shells built, it was gonna piss people off (either the current frustration, or if they release a cheaper version, the people that are inevitably gonna be pissed they spent $300 more than they "needed to") and it's just all around wasted effort to both if they were planning on the cheaper version anyway.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

3 minutes ago, cacophony said:

They've expressed in the past that manufacturing the Nt Mini is kind of a pain, so they probably need a fair amount of advance notice on the quantity desired before doing the production run.

Since you brought this up, it does kind of make the case for them NOT doing a cheaper version. It likely would have been much easier for them to just release something in the mold of the Super Nt and Mega Sg, yet they didn't. On top of that, a cheaper Nt Mini is actually what most people were clamoring for, so I'm not really sure what to think anymore. Maybe they just knew the Pocket wasn't gonna be happening any time soon due to covid or whatever else, and they made a last second decision to just do another run of the Nt Mini in the interim since they already had the design. 

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

14 minutes ago, CZroe said:

The difference is that the Analogue 8 doesn't break the promise of the Nt Mini Noir being "limited," though it may break this promise about not revisiting the NES. Making more Nt Minis when they had never officially officially ended production is neither revisiting nor breaking a promise.

I'm ok with everything, just pointing out anyone can find a reason to be upset. Granted it is pretty easy to do so the way Analogue operates, and I've pointed out my share of their inadequacies as well, but nobody is ever gonna be happy so they may as well just keep doing what they're doing I guess.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

35 minutes ago, CZroe said:

...and THAT would get all the owners banking on the "limited" aspect to cry "foul!"

And when/if they release a cheaper version, people will cry about that too. Not that I don't disagree that this was pretty shitty on Analogues part, but whatever they do, people will find a way to be upset. I mean, as an owner of the original Nt Mini, I should be mad they're even making this again since it will (for sure now that the new one has better features) kill the value of my original. Taber even said at some point that they weren't revisiting the NES, so WTF?! I might be even more upset if/when they release a pared down version of the NES because at least the original Nt Mini would have been unique with it's analogue output built in, but doing another release of the upgraded Mini just makes the original a flawed version of itself. Honestly, now that I think about it a lil more, I am kinda upset 

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

Maybe everyone who's upset about this should just start another petition to have them reopen pre-orders. Perhaps it'll work a second time around, and will be more constructive than bitching about it on a message board anyway.

 

Edit: It would at least be interesting to see how they respond. I think some people thought the petition was a ruse to begin with, so I'd be very curious to see what happens if a similar petition was started and received a similar amount of signatures. I pre-ordered one myself (even though I own an original Mini) because I thought there was a good chance we would get a few added bonuses, but I'd still sign it. I can see why people are upset about it and I'd like to see them have a chance at one now that the news is out.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

1 hour ago, Toth said:

I just hope the "old" nes core is 100% accurate to the original nes.  If it wasn't I am not sure we can expect the new core to be any more accurate regardless of what they tell us as we were told the old core was "absolute accuracy" to the original nes.  Hasn't the Nt Mini been allowed for speedruns?  If the accuracy of that core is in question I doubt it will be allowed for speedrunning in the future nor would the Noir.

My assumption (without reading anything Kev said on Discord) is that the core needed to be rewritten to work on the new hardware. Which would also require whatever fixes were implemented (and not just for the NES core, but all the jailbreaks as well) to also be rewritten to back port to the original Mini. It's still disappointing that won't happen, but not surprising.

[Trade: GDEMU modded custom smoke shell Dreamcast for Virtual Boy]

I have a GDEMU (clone) modded, custom smoke shell Dreamcast w/Noctua fan and new battery that I would like to trade for a working Virtual Boy in good condition. If you are interested or would like pics etc, please reach out.

 

Thanks!