FPGA Based Videogame System

[Enragedwhale]

5 hours ago, Steven Pendleton said:

 

 

I've heard that the AVS NES cart slot deathgrips your carts, though, and you definitely can't close the lid with something in the Famicom slot.

Yeah it does, can’t say it makes for the most satisfying experience but it reads every time.
 

The NT mini has the opposite problem doesn’t it? 

 

[Steven Pendleton]

Just now, Enragedwhale said:

Yeah it does, can’t say it makes for the most satisfying experience but it reads every time.
 

The NT mini has the opposite problem doesn’t it? 

 

Supposedly they have improved the cart slot according to the accidentally leaked store page.

[atmn]

The one issue I have with my NtM is the cart slot. It can take a few tries.

 

Think there was "problems" with dreath grips on clone consoles back then and I think Analogue over comensated to this to the point the problem was the opposite.

 

My NES2 have a perfect balanced cart-slot, never a problem with any cart.

 

[Enragedwhale]

2 minutes ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Supposedly they have improved the cart slot according to the accidentally leaked store page.

Yes you are right! Should have read it.

 

I’m trying my best to talk myself out of spending $500 on one. Especially as I’m still waiting on a resolution of the GG cart adaptor debacle. I’m pretty confident my SG was damaged by that and I’m still waiting to see if Analogue will sort it without costing me anything.

 

I really want it though........

[Steven Pendleton]

9 minutes ago, Enragedwhale said:

Yes you are right! Should have read it.

 

I’m trying my best to talk myself out of spending $500 on one. Especially as I’m still waiting on a resolution of the GG cart adaptor debacle. I’m pretty confident my SG was damaged by that and I’m still waiting to see if Analogue will sort it without costing me anything.

 

I really want it though........

I've gone back and forth a few times just today deciding if I want the Nt Mini. I mentioned before that I have no carts and did the math on costs, but I'm interested in getting one despite having a MiSTer.

 

What did the GG adaptor do to your Mega Sg? I saw the announcement that Analogue made about them potentially damaging the Mega Sg, but I don't have the adaptors myself. I wanted to buy the set but then insta-noped when I saw the price.

Edited February 27, 2020 by Steven Pendleton

[Andromeda Stardust]

19 hours ago, Slipard said:

And Nt Mini was designed by Kevtris, AVS wasn't.

I do NOT mean to bash AVS's engineer. Just, I follow Kevtris' work almost since he started to post on Internet (yep, am that old...) while I don't know at all AVS's engineer; basically, it is a selling point to many people to rather buy something from someone you know than something else from someone you don't.

 

But, to be fair, I have only seen very good reviews for the AVS, so I wouldn't say it is in inferior product in quality, especially since I never tried it. I just express my personal and non-flaming feeling, adding that I keep the AVS as a replacement option if I never can get an Nt Mini.

I have no loyalist nor am any member of a "good old boys/girls" club.

 

When the AVS debuted, I had been following the creator of that project (Brian Parker of RetroUSB aka "BunnyBoy") on now defunct NintendoAge since He posted his "I have a dream" post on Jan 1st 2013. And yeah been following this development nearly as long since it's inception.

 

The AVS is an amazing product in terms of quality and price. It makes a wonderful spiritual predecessor to the Super NT and Mega SG in terms of feature set and price point and I am happy with mine. Paired with a Powerpak or Everdrive, AVS is capable to play ROMs.

 

When Analogue announced the NT Mini debut at $450+, I immediately put in my preorder for the AVS. I have what I consider to be the trifecta of HDMI consoles, NES/SNES/Genesis.

 

With the N64 UltraHDMI internal modded N64 and my adapters for Game Cube and Turbografx, I now have an HDMI for every console I collect for except the Ataris.

[Steven Pendleton]

1 hour ago, Andromeda Stardust said:

I have no loyalist nor am any member of a "good old boys/girls" club.

 

When the AVS debuted, I had been following the creator of that project (Brian Parker of RetroUSB aka "BunnyBoy") on now defunct NintendoAge since He posted his "I have a dream" post on Jan 1st 2013. And yeah been following this development nearly as long since it's inception.

 

The AVS is an amazing product in terms of quality and price. It makes a wonderful spiritual predecessor to the Super NT and Mega SG in terms of feature set and price point and I am happy with mine. Paired with a Powerpak or Everdrive, AVS is capable to play ROMs.

 

When Analogue announced the NT Mini debut at $450+, I immediately put in my preorder for the AVS. I have what I consider to be the trifecta of HDMI consoles, NES/SNES/Genesis.

 

With the N64 UltraHDMI internal modded N64 and my adapters for Game Cube and Turbografx, I now have an HDMI for every console I collect for except the Ataris.

The two biggest problems with the Nt Mini are the aluminum and the lack of interpolation (don't see why this can't be added now that it's going back into production). AVS is less than half the price (without shipping) and has interpolation. AVS has truly insane shipping prices, at least if you live outside the USA (way worse than Analogue from what I have seen), but even with those prices included, it's still just over half the price of the Nt Mini (not including shipping for Nt Mini).

 

With the Nt Mini you are paying for a huge block of machined metal with a (very capable) video game system as a bonus. If I'd learned earlier that the Nt Mini does not have interpolation (I only learned this a few weeks ago after Analogue announced this new Nt Mini run), I would have bought the AVS without worrying too much about the Nt Mini getting produced again. I don't have either of them but want one or the other. Some people say the AVS is better and some say the Nt Mini is better.

 

I can't say which is better, as I don't have either of them, but I do know that my Mega Sg has more hours of time spent actually playing games than my PS4, which I got on Japanese launch day (it's almost exclusively a BD player now), and it's solid. It's not without problems, but good enough to recommend to others. SNES/SFC really isn't my thing at all, but I am also pleased with my Super Nt. I'd like to complete the FPGA Analogue set with the Nt Mini, but that price, the Analogue 8 (whatever it is. PC Engine would be nice), and my MiSTer make me very hesitant. The cost to get the AVS running with games, which is roughly equal to the price of the Nt Mini, makes me equally hesitant to buy that, though.

Edited February 27, 2020 by Steven Pendleton

[atmn]

Think HiDefNES had interpolation up to 3.0, then it was removed.

Think the scaler is give or take equal to NtM.

 

This is the mentioning in the 3.0 HiDef changelog regarding this. Are there not enough gates left in the FPGA to implement interpolation properly or why?

Quote

* Removed interpolation and associated menu. I needed the logic gates in the FPGA to fix the other things.

 

[Steven Pendleton]

30 minutes ago, atmn said:

Think HiDefNES had interpolation up to 3.0, then it was removed.

Think the scaler is give or take equal to NtM.

 

This is the mentioning in the 3.0 HiDef changelog regarding this. Are there not enough gates left in the FPGA to implement interpolation properly or why?

 

This might be why the Nt Mini has no interpolation, but I can only guess. We all know who does know, though, so asking kevtris would be the best way to find out, provided he's allowed to say. No interpolation doesn't kill the thing and it's still an attractive product, but the AVS seems quite comparable and competitive and offers it. At present, though, it seems that the best FPGA NES/FC clone could be the MiSTer, provided you don't mind not being able to use real carts. MiSTer even supports FDS, as well, although I am not sure if the Nt Mini can do that from the SD card (forgive my ignorance). Without a flash cart, the AVS needs a real FDS attached for FDS games, though, and the FDS and FDS games are very fragile.

[dj_convoy]

8 hours ago, Steven Pendleton said:

And there it is! How is the Famicom cart slot, if you have tried that?

 

I'm not sure if I want the Nt Mini. I have no carts and I already have a MiSTer, but I like and want some real carts. I am also not sure about the AVS for the same reasons. AVS is cheaper, but with shipping + cost of games or the Everdrive, it will come out to have a similar price (maybe slightly cheaper) either way.

 

AVS has interpolation, though, and Nt Mini doesn't, unless that is getting added. Nt Mini would make a better home defense weapon, though, seeing as it's a solid block of metal while the AVS is just wimpy plastic.

 

Oops, forgot controller. AVS = need to buy a controller separately, which is additional cost. Assuming I buy the AVS and its controller and an Everdrive, that comes out to $185 + $62 for cheapest shipping option available + $65 for controller + $169 for Everdrive + $6 for Everdrive shipping = $487. Yes, I could save some money by buying a different controller, but it's just an example. Might as well pay the extra money and get the Nt Mini at that point.

you know, I actually haven't tried the Famicom slot yet. I intend to try my FDStick and the Disk Drive adapter at some point.

[Toth]

15 hours ago, jamon1567 said:

I really wish they'd release a dogbone one as well. I ordered the DIY kit for the dogbone and I don't have any issues, but if 2.4ghz was an option too, that'd be even better 

Is the charge port plug really loose on your dogbone?  I ordered one of those too and that little white circular charge port can be moved around really easily on mine. It doesn't affect much other than it's just a little annoying.

[Enragedwhale]

5 hours ago, Steven Pendleton said:

What did the GG adaptor do to your Mega Sg? I saw the announcement that Analogue made about them potentially damaging the Mega Sg, but I don't have the adaptors myself. I wanted to buy the set but then insta-noped when I saw the price.

The SG locked up whilst I was using it. I rebooted it and it was acting strangely, cycling through the menu itself and then it hung again. After that it refused to boot with a GG cart in it, just displayed a red or sometimes yellow light. Obviously this was all before they told us not to use them.

The notice Analogue put out said:

2. I've already used my Mega Sg Game Gear Adapter (v1.0) - has my system been damaged?

No, your Mega Sg is not damaged UNLESS your Mega Sg Game Gear Adapter has stopped functioning or will not function at all.

 

Contacted Analogue support and they first told me to send the SG back for repair. I asked if they would cover shipping (I’m in the U.K.) and they changed their minds and said we’ll wait until the new adaptor ships to see if indeed the SG is damaged.

 

Thats where we left it. The SG seems to be working fine but as I understand it the damage only relates to its ability to use the GG adaptor.

6. How can Mega Sg Game Gear Adapter (v1.0) damage my Mega Sg?

If the Game Gear Adapter is a defective one, there is a chance it can cause a small part failure on Mega Sg. The part fail will stop any Game Gear Adapter from working (defective or not). All damage is Game Gear adapter related.

 

Edited February 27, 2020 by Enragedwhale

[Steven Pendleton]

13 minutes ago, Enragedwhale said:

The SG locked up whilst I was using it. I rebooted it and it was acting strangely, cycling through the menu itself and then it hung again. After that it refused to boot with a GG cart in it, just displayed a red or sometimes yellow light. Obviously this was all before they told us not to use them.

The notice Analogue put out said:

2. I've already used my Mega Sg Game Gear Adapter (v1.0) - has my system been damaged?

No, your Mega Sg is not damaged UNLESS your Mega Sg Game Gear Adapter has stopped functioning or will not function at all.

 

Contacted Analogue support and they first told me to send the SG back for repair. I asked if they would cover shipping (I’m in the U.K.) and they changed their minds and said we’ll wait until the new adaptor ships to see if indeed the SG is damaged.

 

Thats where we left it.

What happens if you run a non-GG cart in it? I wouldn't blame you if you haven't tried anything since then, though.

  

14 minutes ago, Enragedwhale said:

The SG seems to be working fine but as I understand it the damage only relates to its ability to use the GG adaptor.

6. How can Mega Sg Game Gear Adapter (v1.0) damage my Mega Sg?

If the Game Gear Adapter is a defective one, there is a chance it can cause a small part failure on Mega Sg. The part fail will stop any Game Gear Adapter from working (defective or not). All damage is Game Gear adapter related.

 

 

 

...and that's what I get for replying before your edit.

Edited February 27, 2020 by Steven Pendleton

[Jagasian]

2 hours ago, Steven Pendleton said:

This might be why the Nt Mini has no interpolation, but I can only guess. We all know who does know, though, so asking kevtris would be the best way to find out, provided he's allowed to say. No interpolation doesn't kill the thing and it's still an attractive product, but the AVS seems quite comparable and competitive and offers it. At present, though, it seems that the best FPGA NES/FC clone could be the MiSTer, provided you don't mind not being able to use real carts. MiSTer even supports FDS, as well, although I am not sure if the Nt Mini can do that from the SD card (forgive my ignorance). Without a flash cart, the AVS needs a real FDS attached for FDS games, though, and the FDS and FDS games are very fragile.

The Mister is inferior to the Nt Mini on 4 main areas: lack of cart support, less accurate and laggy controller polling, less faithful analogue AV output reproduction, and finally, a less accurate FPGA reproduction of the core Famicom/NES circuitry.

[Enragedwhale]

4 minutes ago, Steven Pendleton said:

What happens if you run a non-GG cart in it? I wouldn't blame you if you haven't tried anything since then, though.

It seems to be totally fine in every other way, working 100% normally, hence the wait to see if the new GG adaptor works or not. 

[Steven Pendleton]

8 minutes ago, Jagasian said:

The Mister is inferior to the Nt Mini on 4 main areas: lack of cart support, less accurate and laggy controller polling, less faithful analogue AV output reproduction, and finally, a less accurate FPGA reproduction of the core Famicom/NES circuitry.

I meant specifically in terms of FC/NES recreation, not the other stuff. I didn't phrase that very well and it seems I'm wrong anyway, so who really cares?

Edited February 27, 2020 by Steven Pendleton

[NE146]

 To me, Kevtris' 2600 core on the NT-Mini is a pretty big part of why I like it. However it's kind of a glass half full thing since you can only use NES controllers (so no driving/paddles, etc.), and switch settings (difficulty, color/bw, select, reset) is a pain.

[jamon1567]

1 hour ago, Toth said:

Is the charge port plug really loose on your dogbone?  I ordered one of those too and that little white circular charge port can be moved around really easily on mine. It doesn't affect much other than it's just a little annoying.

It moves around if you touch it, but it doesn't hang out if that makes sense, so I'm good with it. Could be better, but better than nothing 

[Toth]

31 minutes ago, jamon1567 said:

It moves around if you touch it, but it doesn't hang out if that makes sense, so I'm good with it. Could be better, but better than nothing 

Cool, thanks.  Yeah, mine doesn't like come out but it wiggles around, lol.  Thanks ?

[Jagasian]

1 hour ago, NE146 said:

 To me, Kevtris' 2600 core on the NT-Mini is a pretty big part of why I like it. However it's kind of a glass half full thing since you can only use NES controllers (so no driving/paddles, etc.), and switch settings (difficulty, color/bw, select, reset) is a pain.

Atari 2600 was my first gaming console.  Support for 2600 is a huge plus for me.

[RetrogamerX]

27 minutes ago, Jagasian said:

Atari 2600 was my first gaming console.  Support for 2600 is a huge plus for me.

My first console as well.   Damn I'm old ?

[Jagasian]

21 minutes ago, RetrogamerX said:

My first console as well.   Damn I'm old ?

When I hear kids use the phrase “Nintendo hard” to express extreme video game difficulty... I roll my eyes because the phrase should be “Atari hard”.

[CZroe]

When I hear kids use the phrase “Nintendo hard” to express extreme video game difficulty... I roll my eyes because the phrase should be “Atari hard”.

...except Atari games were mostly hi-score challenges and it's not exactly "hard" to get a low personal best.

[jamon1567]

1 hour ago, CZroe said:

...except Atari games were mostly hi-score challenges and it's not exactly "hard" to get a low personal best.

My first system was a ColecoVision and as far as I'm concerned the hardest thing about those games is trying to figure out how to play the damn things!! I've no doubt kids today feel the same way about the 8 and 16 bit era stuff too though 

[Drunk_Caterpillar]

Is there any way to even attach a Paddle controller to the Nt Mini? I feel like it’d be a pretty sad Atari 2600 experience if I couldn’t play Breakout the way it was intended.