FPGA Based Videogame System

[spoonman]

I'm very happy with the Super Nt. The audio/video quality looks perfect.

 

I am wondering if there is any downside to leaving External Cartridge Audio enabled as default. Does it add noise when regular games are played?

 

My favorite settings (so far) are

1080p/60fps

4:3 on 16:9

5x video

Interpolation: Off

Scanlines: 200

Gamma boost: off

 

With these settings, it fills the screen nicely, with very little pixel cutoff on the top/bottom. I also don't see any visible shimmering on fast, side to side scrolling.

 

Here's a few sample photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One feature I'd love to see added is the ability to "power cycle" the inserted cartridge from the Nt menu.

 

I've tried loading one of the internal Super Turrican games, and then restarting the inserted cartridge (Super Game Boy 2 / Game Boy EverDrive), but it stays on the same game it was running before doing all of that. The only thing that clears it is to physically power it off and on again.

 

Also, would it be possible for the Super Nt to read the rom header, and have the ability to display the title of the inserted cart?

So something like "Start SUPER MARIO WORLD cartridge"? Not a big deal, but I just thought it might be a nice touch.

[Schizophretard]

He said porting the cores over would be "easy" but even that takes time. Then there's the elephant in the living room expansion chips. Not sure what he tackles next. One thing is that rom loading with zero frills makes a nice "hello world" gesture. I'm sure we get more features sooner or later if it goes remotely like the nt mini launch. I kinda lol at the theories by some in this thread that some anonomous third party (ie not kevtris) "hacked" the firmware in one week for sd loads without any source code. Gimme a break.

 

But if Kevtris is releasing it this way then he must believe it is possible to hack in a week. I mean, if it is not possible for it to be anyone but Kevtris then he isn't really hiding the fact.

[Mattelot]

 

 

you and i both know who the author is. it doesnt take a genius to figure out why he cannot discuss it. its not a hack, it was planned. our anonymous author happens to be under an nda contract and working for company who cannot condone or support unofficial firmware due to legal issues. therefore the author cannot himself discuss it. smokemonster acted as a third party to disclose its existence, basically the wikileaks of analogue. but if you believe someone other than kevtris is responsible, you are deluding yourself.

 

 

Unless you have evidence, it's still assumption. Nobody said they "believe someone else other than kevtris is responsible." People are saying there is no evidence to prove he IS responsible.

 

I don't get the worry that the jailbreak is not from Kevtris. Seems like people would be more worried that it is from Kevtris because it would lower the chances of getting the Core Store. Releasing the Core Store in the same way would remove any doubt that it is him.

 

Some people may feel that way. Even if a kevtris-made jailbreak did not have additional cores (they're just icing on the cake), I would prefer it because I have the utmost confidence in his work. I have no evidence to give me confidence in someone else's work on such a fine product. Maybe it's my occupation in the field of Quality and ISO that drive my mindset. If this were just some random cheap clone, I really wouldn't care as long as it "worked" but I spent my money on a NT mini and soon, one of these because I want perfection. I trust kevtris to deliver perfection as his history has proved.

Edited February 16, 2018 by Mattelot

[spoonman]

I was told that I should use heat sinks, or active fan cooling on the Super Nt, due to the heat it generates.

 

I was also sent this:

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/fpga_nugga/status/963922400428601345?ref_src=twcamp%5Eshare%7Ctwsrc%5Eandroid%7Ctwgr%5Egmail%7Ctwcon%5E7090%7Ctwterm%5E0

 

I have to say though, I've had my Super Nt on for 12 hours straight, running the burn in test rom, and it was still cool to the touch.

So is there any reason to add cooling solutions to the FPGA board in the Super Nt?

[Mattelot]

If the Super NT needed those things, they would have been installed by stock. Who told you that you needed them?

[atmn]

One thing I really like is that the game isnt affected by keypress while in the menu.

 

That's a thing I would like to see in the Nt mini. Or an option.

[Schizophretard]

Unless you have evidence, it's still assumption. Nobody said they "believe someone else other than kevtris is responsible." People are saying there is no evidence to prove he IS responsible.

Wouldn't the source being anonymous be strong evidence? It isn't too hard to think of reasons for Kevtris to try to hide that it is him but it is hard to think of why others would hide it. It seems like the person who did it would want credit for it. It also seems like by now Kevtris would have said something like,"Wow! I'm impressed that someone hacked it and this quickly!" Instead Kevtris doesn't even seem to be acknowledging it.

[Mattelot]

Wouldn't the source being anonymous be strong evidence? It isn't too hard to think of reasons for Kevtris to try to hide that it is him but it is hard to think of why others would hide it. It seems like the person who did it would want credit for it. It also seems like by now Kevtris would have said something like,"Wow! I'm impressed that someone hacked it and this quickly!" Instead Kevtris doesn't even seem to be acknowledging it.

 

No, that's still assumption and does not prove anything. Kevtris may have not even commented on anything due to specifics in a NDA. In my field of work, I control several NDA and they're very elaborate. So many things you cannot talk about in any way, including certain things that COULD lead up to leaking information.

 

I too am assuming there is a NDA involved but when I see people saying "would have commented by now" or "no reason not to comment", NDA is the first thing I think about that prevents people from speaking about things. They're the reason why you don't hear about a lot of things like this.

[Schizophretard]

No, that's still assumption and does not prove anything. Kevtris may have not even commented on anything due to specifics in a NDA. In my field of work, I control several NDA and they're very elaborate. So many things you cannot talk about in any way, including certain things that COULD lead up to leaking information.

 

I too am assuming there is a NDA involved but when I see people saying "would have commented by now" or "no reason not to comment", NDA is the first thing I think about that prevents people from speaking about things. They're the reason why you don't hear about a lot of things like this.

But what about the possibility of it not being Kevtris? That person wouldn't be under an NDA and Analogue also wouldn't have an issue with someone hacking it.

[kevtris]

 

 

Yeah, it's really unfortunate. I would love to be able to have just one controller that works with everything on the Nt Mini and Super Nt, but there is just too much stuff that rejects input from the NTT Data Pad. As far as I can tell you can't navigate the SD2SNES menu with it either.

in the future I might add an option in the menu to force compatibility. I can "lie" to the game a little and make it think it's a regular controller. The only downside is this function will need to be disabled to use the multitap or mouse on port 1. (port 2 would be unaffected and all the commercial games use the multitap on port 2)

[kevtris]

I was told that I should use heat sinks, or active fan cooling on the Super Nt, due to the heat it generates.

 

I was also sent this:

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/fpga_nugga/status/963922400428601345?ref_src=twcamp%5Eshare%7Ctwsrc%5Eandroid%7Ctwgr%5Egmail%7Ctwcon%5E7090%7Ctwterm%5E0

 

I have to say though, I've had my Super Nt on for 12 hours straight, running the burn in test rom, and it was still cool to the touch.

So is there any reason to add cooling solutions to the FPGA board in the Super Nt?

DWCJ7UmW4AANX3I.jpeg

The super nt only draws 2.5W during operation, so it does not need active cooling. That picture doesn't really tell much other than where heat is generated- it does not say how much. The scale might only be 10C or 1000C, it just shows the contrast between cooler/warmer and no absolute value of temperature.

[Mattelot]

But what about the possibility of it not being Kevtris? That person wouldn't be under an NDA and Analogue also wouldn't have an issue with someone hacking it.

 

"Assuming" that's the case. My point is that everything stated thus-far is all speculation, theorycrafting and rumors. If someone wants to go on faith and believe it to be true, that's your opinion and nobody should try and sway you. It's when "faith" people push that upon others. Kind of like when those guys in suits knock at my door and ask "Would you like to meet Jesus today!?"

[DadsGlasses]

Total ignorance here, why does everyone love the NTT Data Pad?

The controller is GREAT for the ColecoVision core on the NT Mini. Hopefully it will also be great for the yet to be released Intellivision core as well.

 

Also its just a cool looking controller!

[Andromeda Stardust]

I was told that I should use heat sinks, or active fan cooling on the Super Nt, due to the heat it generates.

 

I was also sent this:

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/fpga_nugga/status/963922400428601345?ref_src=twcamp^share|twsrc^android|twgr^gmail|twcon^7090|twterm^0

 

I have to say though, I've had my Super Nt on for 12 hours straight, running the burn in test rom, and it was still cool to the touch.

So is there any reason to add cooling solutions to the FPGA board in the Super Nt?

DWCJ7UmW4AANX3I.jpeg

Unlikess we get some actual temps to go ith those colors, it is moot. Suppose the yellow areas are 100 F. Not a problem. Suppos it's 200F. Then it becomes a huge problem. I left the Super NT on for two hous the night I played with it, and could not feel any warmth at all on the case, which tells me it's cooler than I am. If the hottest spots are slightly over body temp, that is normal. Electronics are happy running a bit warm. None of the consoles this contraption emulates had heatsinks either. 5th gen was when they started adding passive sinks to stuff, and by 6th gen, they were active.

 

That said, the image is beautiful...

[Atariboy]

Would it be practical to allow the swapping of controller ports? Or perhaps a better question, would it be useful to enough people to bother implementing it?

 

I like to use an arcade stick regularly. It would be great if I could just keep it plugged into the second controller port and just flip the mapping of the two controller ports at the menu to make port #2 act as if it were player #1's controller port, rather than physically swapping them out whenever I fire up something I like to use an arcade stick with.

 

Of course if that never comes to pass, I think I can continue to manage the effort to physically unplug and plug in a different controller.

Edited February 16, 2018 by Atariboy

[Andromeda Stardust]

in the future I might add an option in the menu to force compatibility. I can "lie" to the game a little and make it think it's a regular controller. The only downside is this function will need to be disabled to use the multitap or mouse on port 1. (port 2 would be unaffected and all the commercial games use the multitap on port 2)

Wouldn't this also cause mouse games not to function properly? Or any nonstandard controller type? (And Super Scope if it supported analog).

[Atariboy]

He just said it would, so if he did it and you had enabled this compatibility mode, you'd have to disable it to properly play a mouse game.

Edited February 16, 2018 by Atariboy

[Andromeda Stardust]

"Assuming" that's the case. My point is that everything stated thus-far is all speculation, theorycrafting and rumors. If someone wants to go on faith and believe it to be true, that's your opinion and nobody should try and sway you. It's when "faith" people push that upon others. Kind of like when those guys in suits knock at my door and ask "Would you like to meet Jesus today!?"

Leave religion out of this please. Nobody here is forming a "cult" based around Kvtris' products or petitioning anyone to join a secret society. I have my own beliefs and prefer not to disclose them here.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Of course if that never comes to pass, I think I can manage the effort to physically unplug and plug in a different controller.

Word. I really don't understand the modern convenience issues with physically getting up and interacting with the console to do any of the following:

 

(A) pressing power or reset.

(B) inserting or removing a cart.

(C ) plugging or unplugging the controller cable.

 

I have nothing but respect for physically disabled people, but if you are able-bodied, fussing about the need to get up in order to interact with a retro entertainment device is a bit silly. Of course, option D

 

(D) hitting switches on an Atari console during a game

 

can be a bit much at times if you're called to act upon the switches during actual gameplay. But this is no Atari, though I would expect an Atari clone to have them on the body itself and not a menu or controller button (just like the original). My two cents.

[Mattelot]

Leave religion out of this please. Nobody here is forming a "cult" based around Kvtris' products or petitioning anyone to join a secret society. I have my own beliefs and prefer not to disclose them here.

 

I'll compare to whatever I wish, thank you. Why did you quote the word "cult" when nobody said anything about a cult? That's the use of quotation marks... to show something that somebody stated, verbatim. It sounds like you're going off on a tangent.

[Atariboy]

Fussing?

 

You're putting way more importance into my request/question than I am, if that's what you think I was doing.

[Thomas83Lin]

I can confirm the sram saving bug, played and beat dkc 1 and it only registered the first save point. I saved at every save point before beating the game and it only registered the very first save point. This got me thinking about a feature request I'd like to make. A menu selection to manually save sram either from rom or cartridge. This way I don't have to rely on a automatic function that I can't see if its working or not.

[Schizophretard]

"Assuming" that's the case. My point is that everything stated thus-far is all speculation, theorycrafting and rumors. If someone wants to go on faith and believe it to be true, that's your opinion and nobody should try and sway you. It's when "faith" people push that upon others. Kind of like when those guys in suits knock at my door and ask "Would you like to meet Jesus today!?"

I'm not talking about faith but looking at what evidence is provided and trying to figure out where that likely points. For an example, the source being anonymous is a piece of evidence. So, which seems more likely? Someone wishing to remain anonymous because Nintendo's lawyers may be watching the company he works for or similar reasons like that or a customer doing something with their Super Nt that doesn't get them into legal trouble, void their warranty, or negatively affect them in any way by being publically known?

[spoonman]

The super nt only draws 2.5W during operation, so it does not need active cooling. That picture doesn't really tell much other than where heat is generated- it does not say how much. The scale might only be 10C or 1000C, it just shows the contrast between cooler/warmer and no absolute value of temperature.

 

Thanks Kevin, that's pretty much what I told him. (I responded with a thermal image of a cat, which had the same color levels ) He has a computer science background, so I figured I'd at least give him the benefit of the doubt.

 

 

For anyone who might know thew answer....

Is there a way to power cycle the Super Nt from the menu/setting?

 

Maybe I'm missing something. It seems like it would be handy for flashcarts, or multi-carts, where you might want to use a wireless controller, and reset to the game list without having to get up.

 

As I mentioned, with the Super Game Boy, if you have a GB EverDrive in the SGB, and start Supee Turrican from the Super Nt menu to use a reset. Then choose "Start cartridge" it goes right back to the same game that was previously running on it. Only powering it off, then on, will bring you back to the SGB + GB Everdrive game list.

[Schizophretard]

 

I'll compare to whatever I wish, thank you. Why did you quote the word "cult" when nobody said anything about a cult? That's the use of quotation marks... to show something that somebody stated, verbatim. It sounds like you're going off on a tangent.

 

Those guys in suits that knock at your door are in cults. So, you didn't use the word but brought them up.