FPGA Based Videogame System

[LewisD]

2 minutes ago, CZroe said:

Two FPGAs according to the updated Analogue site.

Looks like Analogue has MiSTer in its sights. One FPGA for public development of cores....

[jamon1567]

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.

Edited October 16, 2019 by jamon1567

[CZroe]

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.

[jamon1567]

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.

[Jagasian]

Love the Analogue portable.  A few things I’d like to see:

1. Turbo Express cart support
2. port of Mister cores to the auxiliary FPGA (especially the Neo Geo core)
3. wired controller ports for eliminating the lag introduced by wireless controllers
4. DAC support, for eliminating lag

[Toth]

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.

[Enragedwhale]

Wasn’t excited for the pocket as I’m super happy with my modded GBA but they’ve knocked it out of the park imo. The ability to play NGPC and lynx games on the TV (which I can’t currently do) is the cherry on top. 
 

Only slight reservations are the ergonomics and the unannounced dock price. Oh and I’m still waiting for my mega SG cart adaptors which was what pushed me to preorder the SG a year ago!

[jamon1567]

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.

[jamon1567]

3 minutes ago, Jagasian said:

Love the Analogue portable.  A few things I’d like to see:

1. Turbo Express cart support
2. port of Mister cores to the auxiliary FPGA (especially the Neo Geo core)
3. wired controller ports for eliminating the lag introduced by wireless controllers
4. DAC support, for eliminating lag

There is DAC support, and there is support for wired controllers (via dock) over USB. Not sure what if any lag USB introduces though....

Edited October 16, 2019 by jamon1567

[Jagasian]

1 minute ago, jamon1567 said:

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

Nintendo was using the limited supply to create buzz trick since the mid 1980s and the Famicom.

[CZroe]

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.

This is just the announcement/reveal. I still expect a preorder.

[Intense.Mark]

The vertical form factor is disappointing. Most GBA gamers prefer the landscape form factor. The Revo K101 got famous because of the better screen and horizontal form factor. 

[jamon1567]

Just now, CZroe said:

6 minutes ago, jamon1567 said:

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.

This is just the announcement/reveal. I still expect a preorder.

Their site says to sign up to be alerted to when it's available (not available for pre-order) and that there will be limited quantities. I'm just going by what they say. 

[Enragedwhale]

6 minutes ago, jamon1567 said:

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.

I suspect there will be preorders as some point

[Jagasian]

1 minute ago, jamon1567 said:

There is DAC support, and there is support for wired controllers (via dock) over USB. Not sure what if any lag USB introduces though....

If implemented right, USB can be implemented in a way that it introduces under 1 millisecond of lag.  So not exactly zero lag, but still great.  Even the lowest lag HDTVs add 10 milliseconds of lag, which is a big reason why people like CRTs for classic gaming.

[Enragedwhale]

2 minutes ago, CZroe said:

9 minutes ago, jamon1567 said:

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.

This is just the announcement/reveal. I still expect a preorder.

Beaten to it ?

[Intense.Mark]

5 minutes ago, Enragedwhale said:

Wasn’t excited for the pocket as I’m super happy with my modded GBA but they’ve knocked it out of the park imo. The ability to play NGPC and lynx games on the TV (which I can’t currently do) is the cherry on top. 
 

Only slight reservations are the ergonomics and the unannounced dock price. Oh and I’m still waiting for my mega SG cart adaptors which was what pushed me to preorder the SG a year ago!

Actually they would've knocked it out if the form factor is the same as that modded GBA

[Kaide]

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

The display looks to be a low-quantity part (615 ppi LCDs in this aspect ratio aren’t exactly common), and it’s going to eat a number of FPGAs. I’m curious what FPGA it uses, since they can be small or large. Knowing which one would tell us what cores are even possible to port to the second FPGA.

It’s also hard to say if “limited” in this case means “at launch” (Super NT) or “ever” (NT Mini). But if they aren’t doing pre-orders, they’ll get yelled at if it’s limited at launch if they warn us or not. I’d rather they be forward about launch availability, IMO.

Honestly, if it is possible to port something like the MISTer Neo Geo core to this thing, I’ll be super, super happy. Even then, being able to take some stuff on the go like NES/Master System would be a killer feature to enable with the second FPGA. Even if you have to use ROMs for it.



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[jamon1567]

6 minutes ago, Intense.Mark said:

The vertical form factor is disappointing. Most GBA gamers prefer the landscape form factor. The Revo K101 got famous because of the better screen and horizontal form factor. 

It's kinda interesting because they seem to be selling it as more of a traditional Game Boy. Like playing Game Boy games is the big thing. And it is I guess, but the biggest deal of all (at least to me) is that there is now a GBA core. I understand why they did it being that Game Boy is the OG, but if you did plan on using this to play on the go, as mentioned up thread, those shoulder buttons may be an issue for GBA games. Personally, I'll be using it (assuming I can get one when they release) on my TV and it won't matter either way, but I could see this design as being a let down if I was more interested in playing GBA on the go.

Edited October 16, 2019 by jamon1567

[Flojomojo]

THIS is the fancy Gameboy I've wanted for a long time. That screen looks dope and I am fully in the mode of Shut Up And Take My Money. 

 

https://www.analogue.co/pocket/

[Kaide]

It's kinda interesting because they seem to be selling it as more of a traditional Game Boy. Like playing Game Boy games is the big thing. And it is I guess, but the biggest deal of all (at least to me) is that there is not a GBA core. I understand why they did it being that Game Boy is the OG, but if you did plan on using this to play on the go, as mentioned up thread, those shoulder buttons may be an issue for GBA games. Personally, I'll be using it (assuming I can get one when they release) on my TV and it won't matter either way, but I could see this design as being a let down if I was more interested in playing GBA on the go.

With the extra face buttons and mapping support, I’d probably be looking to see if it works with moving the shoulder buttons to the two extra face buttons.


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[jamon1567]

4 minutes ago, Kaide said:

 

The display looks to be a low-quantity part (615 ppi LCDs in this aspect ratio aren’t exactly common), and it’s going to eat a number of FPGAs. I’m curious what FPGA it uses, since they can be small or large. Knowing which one would tell us what cores are even possible to port to the second FPGA.

It’s also hard to say if “limited” in this case means “at launch” (Super NT) or “ever” (NT Mini). But if they aren’t doing pre-orders, they’ll get yelled at if it’s limited at launch if they warn us or not. I’d rather they be forward about launch availability, IMO.

Honestly, if it is possible to port something like the MISTer Neo Geo core to this thing, I’ll be super, super happy. Even then, being able to take some stuff on the go like NES/Master System would be a killer feature to enable with the second FPGA. Even if you have to use ROMs for it.



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I would imagine it'll only be limited at launch (I mean, they want to make money right?), but the question then is how long until they restock. Time will tell I suppose.

Edited October 16, 2019 by jamon1567

[Intense.Mark]

5 minutes ago, jamon1567 said:

It's kinda interesting because they seem to be selling it as more of a traditional Game Boy. Like playing Game Boy games is the big thing. And it is I guess, but the biggest deal of all (at least to me) is that there is not a GBA core. I understand why they did it being that Game Boy is the OG, but if you did plan on using this to play on the go, as mentioned up thread, those shoulder buttons may be an issue for GBA games. Personally, I'll be using it (assuming I can get one when they release) on my TV and it won't matter either way, but I could see this design as being a let down if I was more interested in playing GBA on the go.

GBA compatibility is actually listed. There are trigger buttons at the back but the form factor will give me cramps.

Edited October 16, 2019 by Intense.Mark

[CZroe]

It's kinda interesting because they seem to be selling it as more of a traditional Game Boy. Like playing Game Boy games is the big thing. And it is I guess, but the biggest deal of all (at least to me) is that there is now a GBA core. I understand why they did it being that Game Boy is the OG, but if you did plan on using this to play on the go, as mentioned up thread, those shoulder buttons may be an issue for GBA games. Personally, I'll be using it (assuming I can get one when they release) on my TV and it won't matter either way, but I could see this design as being a let down if I was more interested in playing GBA on the go.

Everything I've read says it plays every GB game including GBA. Are you saying GBA is handled differently from the others, like emulation instead of an FPGA core?

 

Edit: Caught your edit. Thanks for clarifying!

[Kaide]

I would imagine it'll only be limited at launch (I mean, they want to make money right?), but the quest then is how long until they restock. Time will tell I suppose.

So would I, but the lack of stock of the NT Mini for ~2 years, despite demand says they aren’t acting like a publicly traded company which has a responsibility to make money for the owners/shareholders. And it’s not as if companies haven’t made products that only get a single production run.

I’m mostly just saying that Analogue’s wording isn’t clear which is the intended meaning. And I’m not going to speculate, knowing that they have communication issues with their customers.