FPGA Based Videogame System

[D0gPoundGaming]

Im waiting on the analogue version of the ps1 and hopefully they make a ps2 version as well but I'm not sure if the ps2 is possible ?

[jamon1567]

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.

[derFunkenstein]

41 minutes ago, D0gPoundGaming said:

Im waiting on the analogue version of the ps1 and hopefully they make a ps2 version as well but I'm not sure if the ps2 is possible ?

Kevtris told My Life in Gaming when the Mega Sg released that the PS1 was technically possible, but also unaffordable for the foreseeable future. Apparently it would only fit in larger FPGAs, which of course have both a higher price AND a longer development cycle. 

[Atariboy]

I'd be interested in a console GBA system. I'm happy with my backlit SP though for my handheld Game Boy needs.

[D0gPoundGaming]

Ahhh ok that makes sense well maybe someday they'll make it. They'll probably sell it at like 300 or so. 

[dj_convoy]

c'mon consolized GBA

[Ashenshards]

I'm thinking handheld too, but a PVM line from Analogue would be phenomenal and make sense with the recent DAC.  

[CZroe]

Wow! Way to think outside the box, but the economics of high-end CRT manufacturing only make sense with economies of scale... economies of scale that you simply can't have with a niche CRT product after CRTs themselves are no longer mainstream.

[SegaSnatcher]

Nobody is going to manufacture CRTs.   Like lets use common sense here lol.  

Its gonna be Pocket, 8 or possibly both.  I'm leaning towards pocket because of the green color scheme in that announcement date.

[CZroe]

Trying to think of something similarly pie-in-the-sky sooo... what if it's not a straight FPGA console and we get something more in line with the original Analogue Nt? Like, transplant N64 CPU and/or RCP to a board engineered by MarshallH? I've seen the dude design a PCI-X card for transplanting those chips. He and Kev are acquainted.

 

Transplanting is not at all like moving two 40-pin DIPs and you'd get something barely different from a PIF-modded console with UltraHDMI, so it's obviously not going to happen. Still, I feel it's more likely this way than an FPGA N64.

 

 

[F34R]

Can you imagine the shipping for a CRT from Analogue!!! LOL

[GarrettCRW]

9 hours ago, CZroe said:

Trying to think of something similarly pie-in-the-sky sooo... what if it's not a straight FPGA console and we get something more in line with the original Analogue Nt? Like, transplant N64 CPU and/or RCP to a board engineered by MarshallH? I've seen the dude design a PCI-X card for transplanting those chips. He and Kev are acquainted.

 

Transplanting is not at all like moving two 40-pin DIPs and you'd get something barely different from a PIF-modded console with UltraHDMI, so it's obviously not going to happen. Still, I feel it's more likely this way than an FPGA N64.

 

 

The issue would be getting Marshall to actually mass-produce his board, or to allow someone else to mass-produce his boards, because everything I've read implies that he's SUPER picky about the UltraHDMI, perhaps excessively so, and the availability of units continuing to be wildly inconsistent and limited bears this out.

[Jagasian]

Hopefully it is a consolized Gameboy Advance that also has the SGB functionality built-in.  The Gameboy franchise was the longest reigning and last great sprite-based game console.

 

I’d also be very happy if it was a less expensive revamp of the NT Mini.  For godsakes, the core for the Famicom is already complete.

[Razzie.P]

Could someone dumb this down for a me a bit, please --- what exactly does the "Analogue DAC" do?  I've almost bought it a few times already since I've loved the other products I've gotten from them, but figured I'd bite the bullet, show my ignorance, and ask the dumb questions first. 

 

Is it just to allow me to play "HDMI systems" like the Mega SG and Super NT on CRT screens?   Will there be a benefit to doing this as appose to simply playing them on the Genesis and SNES that already works on those screens?  Will it work for other HDMI systems?  AVS, Flashback, Rasberry Pi, etc?

 

Finally, the site lists Component, S-Video, and Composite, but the labeled pic doesn't have any of those listed.   Will this include an adapter for those not listed in whats in the box)?

 

Thanks!  I'm sure the answers to those are somewhere in this massive thread, but I've not been able to track 'em down.

[AtariNerd]

^If you're happy playing Megadrive/Genny games or the CD games (through the Mega SD or stock drives) on an LCD, there is no real need. However, classic Light Gun games don't work on the new screens (they track based on the position of the scanning beam relative to refresh) or if  you want to play 32X games, which will need to feed through and mix the video, somehow, you'll need one to output in analogue. (If someone is more knowledgeable, please correct any errors I've made.)

Edited October 11, 2019 by AtariNerd

[cacophony]

6 hours ago, malrak said:

Could someone dumb this down for a me a bit, please --- what exactly does the "Analogue DAC" do?  I've almost bought it a few times already since I've loved the other products I've gotten from them, but figured I'd bite the bullet, show my ignorance, and ask the dumb questions first. 

Allows you to connect a newish Analogue system (Mega SG, Super Nt, or whatever comes next) to a CRT.

 

6 hours ago, malrak said:

 

Is it just to allow me to play "HDMI systems" like the Mega SG and Super NT on CRT screens?  Will there be a benefit to doing this as appose to simply playing them on the Genesis and SNES that already works on those screens?  Will it work for other HDMI systems?  AVS, Flashback, Rasberry Pi, etc?

Benefit is that you get the features of the Analogue system (customization, rom loading, etc) with high quality analog output. It won't work with non Analogue products.

 

6 hours ago, malrak said:

 

Finally, the site lists Component, S-Video, and Composite, but the labeled pic doesn't have any of those listed.   Will this include an adapter for those not listed in whats in the box)?

No, it doesn't include any adapters, but they're pretty cheap at a place like monoprice

 

 

[vanfanel]

Hi,

 

I have updated the Super NT to the latest JB firmware (6.9 I believe) and I have observed that saved video settings like width/height, scanlines, etc... are NOT applied on boot: I have to enter the video menu and activate or change the scanlines setting for example, or any other setting, and only then are the saved video settings applied!

This is a major bug, IMHO. Does it happen to you guys, too?

 

EDIT: The included games (Turrican Directors Cut) work well, screen settings are automatically applied to them on boot. So this bug is only affecting SD-loaded games.

Edited October 13, 2019 by vanfanel

[bruwirz]

Hi,   I have updated the Super NT to the latest JB firmware (6.9 I believe) and I have observed that saved video settings like width/height, scanlines, etc... are NOT applied on boot: I have to enter the video menu and activate or change the scanlines setting for example, or any other setting, and only then are the saved video settings applied! This is a major bug, IMHO. Does it happen to you guys, too?  

EDIT: The included games (Turrican Directors Cut) work well, screen settings are automatically applied to them on boot. So this bug is only affecting SD-loaded games.

 

 

 

 

 It does. Its a known bug introduced by this firmware AFAIK.  

 

EDIT: the following link describes this exact behavior, and at this point im sure the jailbreaker is aware. https://github.com/SmokeMonsterPacks/Super-NT-Jailbreak/issues/143

 

 

[vanfanel]

@bruwirz: Thanks! I see now its a known issue and theres a workaround...

[Intense.Mark]

I would like to predict what Analogue is going to be releasing soon (October 16, 2019). I'm not employed by them nor in contact with their employees. This is just a speculation as a fan of the company and their products. FPGA is Analogue's way of the future. Trademarkia shows that they trademarked for 2 products in 2019 (Analogue 8 and Analogue pocket). I think it's hard for Kevtris to work on 2 products in a such a short time. He's the only engineer working these new products for the company and fixing bugs to the current released products. I believe he's working hard on one of them which is the rumored handheld device.

 

My first prediction is that Analogue 8 is a re-release of Analogue NT Mini with all 8 bit cores and a lower price tag. It will probably retail for the same price as the Super NT and Mega SG. It will have the same FPGA chip, a plastic shell, a single NES 72 pin cartridge slot, 2 controller ports, an HDMI port, SD card slot and usb port for power. It may include a Famicom 60 pin cartridge adapter. They would probably now offer cartridge adapters for other 8 bit systems and it will also be backward compatible with the NT mini. This adapters are originally teased by Kevtris when the NT mini was initially released. It should also work with the upcoming Analogue DAC. If this is true then this product should be very competitive in the current market against other FPGA systems like Mister and RetroUSB AVS.

 

My other prediction is that the Analogue Pocket is a handhed FPGA version of the Gameboy Advance. I believe the form factor is similar to the first GBA version which is popular to everyone. Cartridge port should work on GB, GBP, GBA, and GBC just like the original did. I think it will have an SD card slot, IPS display, HDMI out (probably mini HDMI), built in battery, built in bluetooth connection for 8bitdo controllers, additional face and trigger buttons. It will be the ultimate GBA clone.

 

Again these are all speculation and these are all cool stuff if it turns out to be true. More power to Kevtris and Analogue.  

[SegaSnatcher]

21 minutes ago, Intense.Mark said:

I would like to predict what Analogue is going to be releasing soon (October 16, 2019). I'm not employed by them nor in contact with their employees. This is just a speculation as a fan of the company and their products. FPGA is Analogue's way of the future. Trademarkia shows that they trademarked for 2 products in 2019 (Analogue 8 and Analogue pocket). I think it's hard for Kevtris to work on 2 products in a such a short time. He's the only engineer working these new products for the company and fixing bugs to the current released products. I believe he's working hard on one of them which is the rumored handheld device.

 

My first prediction is that Analogue 8 is a re-release of Analogue NT Mini with all 8 bit cores and a lower price tag. It will probably retail for the same price as the Super NT and Mega SG. It will have the same FPGA chip, a plastic shell, a single NES 72 pin cartridge slot, 2 controller ports, an HDMI port, SD card slot and usb port for power. It may include a Famicom 60 pin cartridge adapter. They would probably now offer cartridge adapters for other 8 bit systems and it will also be backward compatible with the NT mini. This adapters are originally teased by Kevtris when the NT mini was initially released. It should also work with the upcoming Analogue DAC. If this is true then this product should be very competitive in the current market against other FPGA systems like Mister and RetroUSB AVS.

 

My other prediction is that the Analogue Pocket is a handhed FPGA version of the Gameboy Advance. I believe the form factor is similar to the first GBA version which is popular to everyone. Cartridge port should work on GB, GBP, GBA, and GBC just like the original did. I think it will have an SD card slot, IPS display, HDMI out (probably mini HDMI), built in battery, built in bluetooth connection for 8bitdo controllers, additional face and trigger buttons. It will be the ultimate GBA clone.

 

Again these are all speculation and these are all cool stuff if it turns out to be true. More power to Kevtris and Analogue.  

1. 8 will include both 60 pin and 72 pin cart connectors.  The reason being is for the FDS.  You do not want to plug an FDS into a 60 to 72 pin adapter.  You want the FDS sitting flush with the top of the console, so this is why 8 will have both.

2. I doubt Pocket will have a GBA core.  

[Intense.Mark]

52 minutes ago, SegaSnatcher said:

1. 8 will include both 60 pin and 72 pin cart connectors.  The reason being is for the FDS.  You do not want to plug an FDS into a 60 to 72 pin adapter.  You want the FDS sitting flush with the top of the console, so this is why 8 will have both.

2. I doubt Pocket will have a GBA core.  

1> I would like to have both famicom and nes cartridge ports like the nt mini. I'm just basing it on what they did on the previous 2 releases to lower the price of the system

 

2>I originally thought about GB and GBC core only at first but since Kevtris already have these already, I imagine that he'll challenge himself and try to do a GBA core. The other thing is the price. I don't think it will come cheap but having a GBA core should justify the price tag. 

 

If it doesn't have a GBA core then I hope the price is reasonable

 

Edited October 14, 2019 by Intense.Mark

[SegaSnatcher]

1 minute ago, Intense.Mark said:

1> I would like to have both famicom and nes cartridge ports like the nt mini. I'm just basing it on what they did on the previous 2 releases to lower the price of the system

 

2>I originally thought about GB and GBC core only at first but since Kevtris already have these already, I imagine that he'll challenge himself and try to do a GBA core. The other thing is the price. I don't think it will come cheap but having a GBA core should justify the price tag. 

 

The AVS has both cart connectors, so I can't see Analogue coming out with a new NES system that removes the famicom slot.   I mean you could be right, but I still think the FDS justifies it.

[Intense.Mark]

41 minutes ago, SegaSnatcher said:

The AVS has both cart connectors, so I can't see Analogue coming out with a new NES system that removes the famicom slot.   I mean you could be right, but I still think the FDS justifies it.

Yeah I prefer having both cartridge slots built in. I hope you're right in that one  

[Slipard]

On 10/11/2019 at 2:21 AM, F34R said:

Can you imagine the shipping for a CRT from Analogue!!! LOL

That and the customs' fee. ?