FPGA Based Videogame System

[brentonius]

I ordered a few days ago, the Super Famicom version. It will probably not get to me for a very long while. Ah well.

 

Alas, I just got a PVM and have been playing my SNES on it. It's a wonderful experience and will hold me over no prob.

[DadsGlasses]

Thanks. I appreciate it.

 

I checked Analogue website. I registered for UPS. No shipping information on either. I sent Analogue an email and also tried to contact them via social media.

 

Oh well. Im sure Ill get a notification soon. Just excited.

 

 

 

They're using a separate company for the shipping, so the order here has nothing to do with when you bought. Most likely it's related to destination. Or just random.

 

Every single order shipped on either the 6th or the 7th but many tracking numbers were not sent out (mine included). But I was able to get the tracking number by registering at the UPS site with my address. You could also send an email to Analogue's support to ask for the tracking number.

[cacophony]

Thanks. I appreciate it.

 

I checked Analogue website. I registered for UPS. No shipping information on either. I sent Analogue an email and also tried to contact them via social media.

 

Oh well. Im sure Ill get a notification soon. Just excited.

 

 

 

Not sure it will make a difference, but you can also try tracking by the order/reference number:

 

https://wwwapps.ups.com/WebTracking/reference

In the Shipment Reference box put your Analogue order number with a "#" at the start: #XXXX

You'll also need to put in the destination country and zip code

[DadsGlasses]

Thanks. Unfortunately that just yields a message that says No Recent Tracks

 

 

Not sure it will make a difference, but you can also try tracking by the order/reference number:

 

https://wwwapps.ups.com/WebTracking/reference

In the Shipment Reference box put your Analogue order number with a "#" at the start: #XXXX

You'll also need to put in the destination country and zip code

[cacophony]

Thanks. Unfortunately that just yields a message that says No Recent Tracks

 

 

That's too bad. Well you can always guesstimate arrival date based on the UPS ship time to your destination (the package started in Las Vegas, NV and shipped out UPS ground)

https://www.ups.com/maps

[mrnarse]

I think I mentioned it a few pages back, but the Polygon feature seemed to hint at possible future collaborations between Analogue and game publishers. You’d think Sega would be at the top of that list. I don’t think we’ll get 32X/Sega CD support right away with a Analogue MD. Maybe 32X can be supported later on with a lock on cartridge (ala Game Genie Or Sonic & Knuckles) that has its own FPGA chip on it (if the current one can’t handle a Genesis and 32X at the same time). Sega CD seems like a much more difficult proposition if real CDs are involved.

 

On another note, I took my SF30 controllers apart and replaced the D-Pad and rubber pad with ones from an original SNES controller. I also swapped the rubber pads for the L and R buttons out with originals. I only tested it out on Puyo Puyo Tetris and Blaster Master Zero on Switch, but it feels absolutely wonderful. The D-Pad on the SF30 was way too stiff, and the L and R were too clicky, but they’re perfect now. I tried replacing the rubber pad for the face buttons, but the X button had problems (tried both the SNES and asciiPad rubbers). But I like the feel of the SF30 face buttons with the included rubber pads, so it’s not a problem.

 

Side fact: the SNES controller and asciiPad’s circuit boards were both made by the same manufacturer, Mitsumi.

[LewisD]

Note to Analogue: Focus on bringing your logistics/shipping in house before the next product launch in order to cut down on the cost of shipping to the consumer and to better roll out product. There is no reason why customers shouldnt be receiving product at roughly the same time. East coast and international orders should have been shipped out in advance of west coast orders.

[Keatah]

I can't believe shipping time distribution (east vs west) is an issue.

[F34R]

I can't believe shipping time distribution (east vs west) is an issue.

Heck, I can't believe that the shipping charges change, increase, from day to day, even if it's the same address. /shrugs Pathetic really.

[Thomas83Lin]

Just watched a review\stream on the Super Nt that brought up a good question.

 

When changing games is it recommend to completely power down the console every time or is going to the menu\ booting up turrican sufficient to change games? Whats the proper procedure without doing damage. btw I'm also still curious if there is any plans to allow dumping saves from carts. thanks!

[Wolf_]

 

From a legal perspective the only justification for Analogue, or anyone really to do a FPGA NeoGeo console would be if they could at least licence one of the games.

 

Edit: You don't need to own the rights to a game to make a device that can play those games. Do you think all the crappy retron5s and game boy knock offs own the rights to any of those games? Do you see any of them getting sued? No? Well that's because as long as you don't violate any copyrights you can make whatever you want and it is 100% legal.

Edited February 9, 2018 by Wolf_

[Shadowgate]

Dang the power cord is short. It's just a micro USB cable so i recommend leaving it in the box and using your own. The system itself is great. I enjoyed the scanlines on the Nt Mini but for whatever reason I am finding the no scanlines option my preference on the Super NT.

[RabidWookie]

 

Little bit of padding of the price never hurt anyone. Especially if they're willing to pay it. And from the looks of it I don't know of anyone that's decided NOT to buy because of inflated shipping cost.

 

I was all set to make an impulse purchase last week and didn't when I saw the crazy shipping cost. The shipping cost should be the shipping cost, not hidden business expenses.

[Kismet]

 

Edit: You don't need to own the rights to a game to make a device that can play those games. Do you think all the crappy retron5s and game boy knock offs own the rights to any of those games? Do you see any of them getting sued? No? Well that's because as long as you don't violate any copyrights you can make whatever you want and it is 100% legal.

 

Just because you stick your fingers in your ears and scream "Nothing to see here" doesn't mean it's not happening. It's a lot easier to shut down a Japanese or an American clone than it is for any of the rubbish that is sold directly from hong kong.

[Wolf_]

 

Just because you stick your fingers in your ears and scream "Nothing to see here" doesn't mean it's not happening. It's a lot easier to shut down a Japanese or an American clone than it is for any of the rubbish that is sold directly from hong kong.

Plenty of US retailers stock those products. Do you honestly think if they were breaking the law no one would come after them?

[Kismet]

Plenty of US retailers stock those products. Do you honestly think if they were breaking the law no one would come after them?

 

Type "Walmart counterfeits" into google and get back to me.

[Wolf_]

 

Type "Walmart counterfeits" into google and get back to me.

And those get taken down, they pop back up again because the distributors just change their name and open a "new" store and it is impossible to keep up with how fast they change and how many are doing it. The clone console market doesn't get taken down because it isn't illegal. Point to me at any law in any lawbook on the planet that says "It is illegal to make a console that can play the games of a company unless you own the rights to one of those games". I'll wait.

 

[RabidWookie]

The problem of releasing the 32X add-on seems high mainly due to the fact that not many people have or care about the 32X. It's so niche, it may just be out of the realm of financial sense. I think it would be less popular than the Neo Geo actually. You'd essentially have to pay a bit for that add on, and it only gives you approx. 40 games, all of which are not super high quality. I'd like to see something for the preservation of gaming history, but honestly, the 32X is just the dud of my collection, and the only "console" I keep packed away in a closet.

 

The 32X gets a bad reputation because it was such a historic, horrifically executed business decision by Sega that killed console add-ons forever and was dropped so quickly for the Saturn. It has some fantastic games and has become highly sought after. Afterburner and Space Harrier are insanely great arcade ports. Virtua Racing Deluxe and Virtua Fighter were incredible and even superior to the initial Saturn versions. Knuckles Chaotix is a great game once you accept that it's experimenting with new co-op gameplay ideas rather than trying to be Sonic 4. Blackthorne is the definitive version of a classic game, and Tempo is a really fun and inventive platformer. Kolibri is a fantastic mashup of Ecco The Dolphin's style and themes with shooter mechanics and is a must-play. Star Wars Arcade was mind blowing when it first came out and is still really fun as a simple Star Wars dogfighting game. NBA Jam TE is the best home port of the game (aside from possibly the Jaguar version, it's a toss-up), and Mortal Kombat 2 is the best home port as well. Then there are fun shooters like Zaxxon's Motherbase 2000 and Shadow Squadron, Metal Head is a fun early 3D mech game, and Wrestlemania Arcade is the best home version of the most fun 2D wrestling game ever made. World Series Baseball Starring Deon Sanders is the best straight 2D baseball game ever made (Super Baseball 2020 is better for quick arcadey fun). Toughman Contest was the best version of the best non-Punchout 2D boxing game ever made. Fred Couples Golf is a fun little golf game.

 

It has some awful games (Cosmic Carnage and Spiderman Web of Fire being the worst) and some half-assed ports (BC Racers, Pitfall, Doom) but it's just not accurate to say it had no great games. I'm actually shocked by how many underrated great games it has, considering it essentially had a 6 month lifespan.

[RabidWookie]

I dont think well get 32X/Sega CD support right away with a Analogue MD. Maybe 32X can be supported later on with a lock on cartridge (ala Game Genie Or Sonic & Knuckles)...

Just like the real 32x! If they made an attractive looking FPGA 32X to go on their FPGA Genesis I'd buy 5 of them just on principle to support such a perfect execution.

[Wolf_]

Just like the real 32x! If they made an attractive looking FPGA 32X to go on their FPGA Genesis I'd buy 5 of them just on principle to support such a perfect execution.

If the 32x could put a nail in the coffin of a company like Sega I think Analogue should learn from history and not release it as an addon.

 

If Analogue could support 32 bits that includes things like the Game Boy Advance and some other big name systems. Considering we are at the peak of price to performance with current fpga technology just covering the snes and maybe some expansion chips, and that it would take at least a year to do a Genesis core and then the 32x would have to be figured out after that (and that it is a real clusterfuck of engineering). I think by the time something like that could go into production we will be a hell of a lot better off releasing a more powerful console with it than releasing it as a less popular addon.

[+kevtris]

Just watched a review\stream on the Super Nt that brought up a good question.

 

When changing games is it recommend to completely power down the console every time or is going to the menu\ booting up turrican sufficient to change games? Whats the proper procedure without doing damage. btw I'm also still curious if there is any plans to allow dumping saves from carts. thanks!

I highly suggest powering it down between game changes, just like a regular system. Your save games might not live through the experience. The giant bombcast guys lost their metroid save hot-swapping the cartridge on that stream. (and I made a comment to this effect in the chat on said stream)

[+kevtris]

Dang the power cord is short. It's just a micro USB cable so i recommend leaving it in the box and using your own. The system itself is great. I enjoyed the scanlines on the Nt Mini but for whatever reason I am finding the no scanlines option my preference on the Super NT.

If you use your own usb cable, make sure it is a good one. Cheaper cables won't have big enough wire on the power, and it will cause excessive voltage drop. One of the crappy cables I used originally during testing had over 1V of drop at 500ma.

[Kismet]

If the 32x could put a nail in the coffin of a company like Sega I think Analogue should learn from history and not release it as an addon.

 

If Analogue could support 32 bits that includes things like the Game Boy Advance and some other big name systems. Considering we are at the peak of price to performance with current fpga technology just covering the snes and maybe some expansion chips, and that it would take at least a year to do a Genesis core and then the 32x would have to be figured out after that (and that it is a real clusterfuck of engineering). I think by the time something like that could go into production we will be a hell of a lot better off releasing a more powerful console with it than releasing it as a less popular addon.

 

The 32X doesn't need to be "figured out", there are already SH-2 cores for FPGA's.

http://j-core.org/

 

 

J2 is a nommu processor because sh2 (the processor in the Sega Saturn game console) was, and the last sh2 patent expired in October 2014.

[RabidWookie]

I highly suggest powering it down between game changes, just like a regular system. Your save games might not live through the experience. The giant bombcast guys lost their metroid save hot-swapping the cartridge on that stream. (and I made a comment to this effect in the chat on said stream)

Is there any other downside to not powering down the Super NT or NT Mini between cart changes?

[Thomas83Lin]

I highly suggest powering it down between game changes, just like a regular system. Your save games might not live through the experience. The giant bombcast guys lost their metroid save hot-swapping the cartridge on that stream. (and I made a comment to this effect in the chat on said stream)

That's the one, must have missed the comment I only watched about half, its a super long.