[FPGA Based Videogame System]

Just now, Toth said:

Limited quantity is a bummer. I understand limited time but limiting quantity seems weird on something like this.  An open preorder would give them a good idea of how many they need.

If I were being cynical, I'd say they want there to be limited supplies to create buzz.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

1 minute ago, CZroe said:

3 minutes ago, jamon1567 said:

So there's a lotta things to be excited about here, but we can't order yet and supplies will be "limited" when we can. On top of that, there is no ETA on the dock....I dunno....I'm a lot less excited all of a sudden, especially with how long it took for the DAC to finally appear.

I'm guessing that preorders are more important this time than ever due to the custom screen.

There are no preorders, that's the problem. I don't really feel like getting screwed on purchasing one because some assholes scoop them all up to scalp.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

So there's a lotta things to be excited about here, but we can't order yet and supplies will be "limited" when we can. On top of that, there is no ETA on the dock....I dunno....I'm a lot less excited all of a sudden, especially with how long it took for the DAC to finally appear.

 

Edit: I guess I should say they have the price for the dock as TBA, not the date, because of course we have no date. That said, no reason to believe they won't release simultaneously I suppose.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

4 minutes ago, CZroe said:

I think the Nt Mini users might have a bigger gripe about that.

 

From what I can see, they don't multitask with the side projects and focus on the next main project once the ball gets rolling. Understandably, there wasn't much time with the DAC and Analogue Pocket in development simultaneously but I think an 18-month release cycle would suit them better anyway, giving them six months in between their usual year which they can use to focus on products for existing customers.

 

Well, there were never any promises made by Analogue on that, so you can't really complain. As for the Pocket though, I would have to imagine the logistics involved with producing a handheld device are a helluva lot more complicated than anything they've produced thus far, so major kudos on making it happen. Pretty damn impressive. 

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

Not that I really need them, but Analogue does have some balls pimping cartridge adapters again when we still haven't gotten the promised adapters for the Mega Sg. I anticipate much bitching....

 

Other than that, if it does GBA and is dockable to play on a TV, I'm in, and very excited!

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

I will say one thing....if the prices on eBay lately for the Nt Mini (and the number of them that've been sold) are any indication, it sure seems everyone thinks an Nt Mini re-release is coming. 

 

As for the Pocket, I don't know the technical hurdles to recreating a GBA in FPGA, or if it's possible to do so on hardware that is cheap enough to release one right now, but I don't know that I'd be into it if it's just GB and GBC. If it's limited to just that then there I'm not seeing what, aside from portability, it would really bring to the table over a Super Game Boy in an SNt. And at least for me personally, I was never into portable gaming and played Game Boy almost exclusively on the Super Game Boy and Game Boy Player anyway. Considering how many they sold though I'm sure there are plenty of people that would be into it regardless, and if that's the way they go I wish them well, but man I hope it has a GBA core and can be played on a TV...

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

1 hour ago, derFunkenstein said:

the color scheme reminds me of the Game Boy DMG, but I'm hoping it's a little bit more than that. 

Think you're onto something here....If they make a portable system I would hope for a couple things. First, that whatever is discovered through building those cores is implemented back into the Nt Mini GB cores (although I'm not going to hold my breath unfortunately), and also, if they make something that can handle GBA (at which point I'd be in on purchasing one) that it is dockable to play on TV.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

Question for Kev. Has the DAC been tested on the Nt Mini? I know it seems kinda silly to ask since the Nt Mini already has analog, but if someone were already using an HDMI switch into the DAC for their SNt and MSg for instance, you could cut down on cabling by just plugging the Nt Mini in via HDMI to the switch, and then into the DAC as well.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

10 hours ago, ErebusMaligan said:

This makes sense, it's just something I never considered ?, which is why I was genuinely curious about what others were planning on using the DAC for.

 

I guess in my mind I would expect the same people who are adamant about CRT gaming to be the same way about only using original hardware for it, and original cartridges in extreme cases.  It seems that is not the case though.  Interesting.

 

Well, if/when they die I figure it'll be a long time from now when original replacements are much harder to find. If it happens tomorrow, then prob a different scenario. Of course my CRT's may be the first to go though lol.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

22 hours ago, Sneakyturtleegg said:

You probably aren't missing anything. Its just a preference. Maybe you aren't familiar with a high quality CRT picture for retro gaming? I am a bit older and grew up playing older systems via RF and composite on CRTs. Most CRT picture quality wasn't very good back in the day. But CRT inputs and video quality did substantially improve.

 

Today, I have my NT Mini hooked into a late model 27" Philips CRT via component through an Impact Acoustics switch. My Sega Genesis model 1 tower of power and SNES are also hooked up via component with HD Retrovision cables. Older games were designed and intended for CRTs, so that is how I like to play them. To me, fake scan lines, filters, and crazy video settings are compromises for retro gaming on flat panels. I could never get the picture to look the way it should with any of my analogue consoles on a flat panel.  Also, I would like to retire as much of my original hardware as soon as possible. It is old and will likely fail sooner rather than later. I'd rather have modern replacement FPGA consoles instead of having to mod or maintain original hardware. The analogue picture quality of these FPGA systems is/will be superior to original hardware. Plus light guns.

 

I do want at least one Analogue DAC to hook up my SNT and Mega SG to the same CRT as my NT Mini. I think the Analogue DAC may be the last gasp of air for CRTs and quality analogue video for retro gaming. Don't get me wrong, I know I need the ability to play my Analogue consoles on modern flat panels. Someday my CRTs will fail. I do like having the best of both worlds. I know most people don't bother with CRTs and prefer the pixels of flat panels. So retro game with the hardware and display type that makes you happy.

 

 

I would just add to this by outlining my own situation. I game on CRT's and have a lot of money invested in them. I prefer playing original systems on them (and prefer playing on my CRT's in general), and when I do, I generally only use games I own, except for some of the more obscure systems I never collected for like NeoGeo and PC Engine for instance. I have another setup in my living room where I have my jailbroken Nt Mini, SNt and MSg. I don't plan on moving any of them into my CRT setup (except possibly the Nt Mini if they rerelease it in a cost reduced HDMI only format, which I'd then use on my flatscreen), but I do plan on buying a DAC or two. I'll probably buy them, test them on my CRT's and then put them away. It's future proofing more than anything, because if any of my original systems die, I won't be replacing them with another original system, I'll replace them with the Nt Mini, SNt or MSg. And if I thought the DAC's would be available forever, maybe I'd hold off, but this is all enthusiast stuff and I don't think you can count on that. When I consider how much I've spent on monitors, obscure systems, mods, cables, switches, scalers etc etc, buying a couple DACs as an insurance policy is at least something I can kinda justify. On top of that, I don't mind supporting Analogue. I had a couple run ins with them on some support issues, but they've made good on them and I of course love what they're doing with recreating these classic systems in a format that makes them accessible to the modern world. All that said, as Sneakyturtleegg said, it comes down to preference and need (or perceived need ?) based on individual setups.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

5 hours ago, ErebusMaligan said:

While I can agree wholeheartedly that the conversation should return to FPGA stuff and less about whining about the inequities of life, is Kevtris really looking to break away from analogue?  While you might view analogue as the devil for reasons that are suspect at best, the rest of the community seems to appreciate the products that have come out of that partnership.  Kevtris has not been particularly vocal one way or another about what he thinks about the relationship other than that he can get paid to do this stuff which is a plus.

Pretty sure Kevtris has said on this thread a few times that the partnership with Analogue has worked out in his and everyone elses favor. Kevtris sticks to the engineering, Analogue handles the business side. This is what has allowed all of his products to come to market. All the people here that complain about EVIL CORPORATIONS really just need to stop. Its childish and embarrassing. 

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

So, if I want to emulate the grunge RF audio from my stock Model 1 VA7, which filter setting do I use? I assume 0/0 on the panning, but what else?

 

The stereo headphone jack on my old Model 1 VA7 does sound great and gets exclusive use on my sound system, but suppose I want to emulate the VA7 exclusive "grunge" filter from the rear mono/rf using the Mega SG?

 

Still a huge improvement over Atgames!

 

The way I read those settings was that you use 100/100 panning on all of the settings, for Genesis anyway.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

Per FirebrandX:

 

Was made aware of a Sega Technical manual that has very precise measurements of the Game Gear screen, so the actual AR is 1.3348:1. Below are my new recommended Mega Sg GG settings:

 

1080 mode:

 

1345x1008 enable H, disable V

 

720 mode:

 

961x720 enable H, disable V

 

Does he have his recommended settings for everything else posted somewhere? If so, I must've missed it, but if you could share that would be great!

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

That just further confirms that Analogue didn't change anything drastic in 4.3 and his rage was misplaced.

 

I found it especially amusing that he even said in his own video that Analogue would be fixing things and that that was a good thing. So what do they do? They fix things and then he gets all butt hurt .

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

 

I guess the answer to that is "which one" - the video demonstrates the 3.8 firmware that YouTubers got to test was a brick wall kind of LPF where nothing got through, but 4.2 (the release-day firmware) corrected that. And because the video is dated 3/31, it's BEFORE the 4.3 update released on 4/1, presumably.

 

So yes and no. Probably to answer your question, yes. Your question is probably about 4.3

 

So now we have on one hand, Joe Redifer from GameSack ripping Analogue publicly saying that their video is wrong, and on the other hand we have SegaSnatcher saying these same settings that John Linneman used are basically perfect (not to mention that I used something pretty close and was very happy). So wast the audio changed in 4.3 or not? The firmware release notes indicate that only default balance was changed. Maybe?

 

I don't know what to think. I'll let someone else tell me what to think and think like that. Also, I need someone to tell me if this matters beyond the fact that Joe looks like a complete asshat calling out Analogue over nothing if the sliders work as they did in 4.2.

 

This is where we need actual experts to give good answers, but the actual experts like to tweet that forums are just worthless, so they will never see these questions.

 

The guy from Gamesack was complaining about viewers of his complaining to him that his settings sucked. But......who knows what they think is proper? Who knows what anyone thinks is proper for that matter, but he himself said he hasn't touched it since he did the video, so he doesn't even know if his own recommendations are still good or not. As you said though, the change log from Analogue just says they changed default values, so all of his settings should still produce the same results. I guess it's easier to just bitch and moan though than to actually take a look at it.

 

Edit: one thing I noticed in the change log was that the ladder effect affects both channels equally now, so I guess maybe that could affect some things? I dunno, I like to think I have a pretty discerning ear, but I think it sounds fine as is and when I actually changed some things I noticed no change at all, and that was through my stereo system where I thought I would have picked up on it.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

They should be able to get much darker at 720p. Try dropping the height to 719 and then adjust the scanline intensity and they will go much darker. That suggests to me that they are broken even at 720p and this seems to be the case for both normal and hybrid scanlines.

 

I just tried this myself and got some interesting results. It seems that the scanlines closer to the center of the screen are much more defined in 720p when you move the height to 719. They actually look pretty awesome, like the scanlines on my BVM. But when you get further to the edge of the screen they're less defined. This is the case for normal and hybrid. Looking at a 240p test grid for instance, when height is set to 720, you see no scanlines in the white using hybrid scanlines. You switch to 719 and at the highest intensity, even the white has very defined BVM like scanlines. Odd....

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

So I have a few things to report. First, I got my new SMS adapter today and it is working as it should, so we can put that issue to bed. However, I'm seeing odd behavior with Wonder Boy III FM. First, I'll start by saying that the hack in the Smokemonster pack works fine played through the jailbreak. Finally! I still cannot get the same ROM to work in any configuration on my Nt Mini though, so I'm stumped as to what the issue there is. Has anyone been able to get FM sound to work for Wonder Boy III on the Mini?

 

With that said, I then tried to get it to work with my cart, but no matter what I do I can't get it to work with the cartridge. I tried all 4 of the BIOS files that I transferred over from my Nt Mini pack, but none work. In fact, I don't see any difference at all. When you load the different BIOS files on the Mini the startup behavior changes for some of them. Can anyone else confirm this behavior? Lastly, maybe I just have this whole thing wrong (since I had spent a lot of time and had a few different modders look at the FM mod on my SMS which wouldn't work for Wonder Boy III either), but is it not possible to get FM sound from a US Wonder Boy III cart? From what I remember reading it is, but I can't get it to work on my modded SMS, nor can I get it to work on the Mega Sg. All that said though, I was finally able to find a way to get it (ROM hack through the Mega Sg jailbreak), but it seems odd to me and I'd still like to get it working on my actual SMS at some point.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

Any hints of what system to come next. I remember cosmic hinting on the sega system coming next around this time.

From what I read people think another nes nt coming maybe a cheaper version. Maybe with those adapters I saw on youtube.

Im hoping for a neogeo personally. Damm systems cost so much and there flashcarts are just as expensive as a console. A turbo graphics would be nice also but will not need as much power as the super nt or the analogue sg. I guess they can save some money. Wonder if there is a way to still get digital out for hdmi if you attach a ssd3 to it. I guess the cd drive would still be cool if you can attach like the analogue sg. I hear burning copy's is a chore and annoying.

A ps1 could be a possibility. I remember a interview him stating that ps1 is as far as fpga tech can go at that time.

Do you guys think he will dish out systems every year. There are so many consoles that need to be made for retro.

 

Anyways people who have the analogue sg how are you liking it, how is the capability, better then the MiSTer Sega Genesis we have now? any problems playing sega cd games?

Hope he dishes out more filters like horazonal scanlines or the filter like i saw the polymega had. that was pretty cool

Kevtris seams to make these with almost perfect capability.

 

If they were to rerelease the Nt Mini, I wonder if with a larger FPGA like is used in the Super Nt and Mega Sg would allow for 4k support. If they're going to revisit the NES, I'd like to see that.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

The assumption is that they “need” to sell those. They need to sell the console and a JB sells the console. They didn’t even bother producing the adapters for the Nt Mini even though Kev designed them.

 

I felt like from Kev's prior comments that the adapters were more of a service to the customers as opposed to something that is going to generate a lot of money for them at prices they'll be selling. So I don't think they should affect any possible jailbreak.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

For anyone interested, Analogue finally got back to me this morning and will be sending a new SMS adapter. We'll see how long it takes them to ship it out.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

 

Nostalgia is a heavy burden to bear. The red/white model 1 is what everyone in NA thinks of when they think of the Genesis, unless for some reason (like me) the model 2 was their first Sega system. Even then I still got the US version. The only difference between the two is the color of the power button so I'm sure Analogue can make more very easily.

 

What surprised me is just how many people have white ones on Twitter. I thought about white but my goodness it would dirty up in a hurry.

 

Hey, I totally get that too. There's no wrong choice to make here

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

Welp, just got sumptin' in the mail - wrong button color (ordered the Japanese blue/red scheme, but got white/gray, instead), but I think, at least as far as I can tell, in person, I might like this just as well, compared to how I felt looking at it on the 'net. Anyways, it's such a small detail, which overall for the sysyem, is better in person than the pics on-line, attest to, that I'm not bothered in the least, and I can be picky. Won't get to play until later today, but yeah, it's here!

 

Cheers!

 

I'm a little surprised to hear that the EUR version was the one which they made the least of. I would have figured more people would like the look of that with all of their other TV/stereo/newer video game equipment. At least in my case the only game systems I have hooked up to my flatscreen using HDMI are my Nt Mini, Super Nt, Mega Sg and newer systems like PS4, Switch etc. I think the EUR version looks best next to all of those, but that's just my preference of course.

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

Not at all. Other than a little leftover flux on two pins, they are all poking up, with no damaged pins like yours has.

 

Well I went ahead and forwarded that pic to Analogue support as well. Seems pretty cut and dry to me. At the very least, the next step in troubleshooting this is using another adapter anyway, so I'd have to assume they'll be sending a new one....

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

 

 

I think you're right. Although in that case, I'd imagine that even if the tip of a pin breaks, it's still "good" as long as you get a good solder joint.

 

Knowing that, Pin 7 looks pretty suspect now that I get a better look at it. It looks a bit like a bodge.

 

I assume that the same pin on your adapter doesn't look like mine right?

[FPGA Based Videogame System]

Not supposed to happen with the right temperatures and flux. Perhaps the temps were too high so the flux burned away before retraction. Could cause other issues too, like cold solder joints. Might explain a lot!

 

Edit: Looking at the pics myself, I’m not so sure those are solder spikes. It almost looks like the pins are bent/formed into springy terminals that slot onto the board with tension before they are soldered down with the tips of the pins pointing up off of the board.

 

Yes, this. In the second pic the one that has less solder on it you can tell that the spike is indeed the pin. It's not easy to tell from the pic I provided, but take a closer look at your own. You can see where the solder ends and the rest of the pin is sticking up off the board. Which would mean that the pin I pointed out on my first pic is indeed snapped off and they just threw a bunch of solder on there in it's place.