str0m Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 btw the backlit screen transforms it even if it is smaller! A full size is getting nearer to being available 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SainT Posted July 9, 2020 Author Share Posted July 9, 2020 4 minutes ago, str0m said: I know the power led flashes when the coin cell battery is dead/missing/low but not sure on the main AAs. The snapshot feature would be good as that would then allow games like Turf Master saving to work? That has the option to save the state and it turns off but doesn't work with your cart as I'm sure you know as presumably it boots the menu on next power on and so ignores what the game has set. Perhaps you could implement a feature where if you held down say the option button as you turned it on, it would go straight into the last game so in this example the Turf Master save would work. Ok it would be lost if you went to the menu and another game. Wonder why the game saves like that anyway, why not just do it like the others ie Puzzle Bobble do and simply have it's own "resume last game" feature in the menu cheers It might be the LED starts doing dim when the AA's are low. I do remember something happens! Neo Turf Masters is one of the few which uses the SRAM save for instant on game state saves. Unfortnuately there's nothing I can do about this, I dont think. When the cartridge is turned on the NGP checks if the same cartridge is inserted as when it was turned off, if it is, it carries on and does the quick boot. I know I started digging into this before, but I dont remember if I decided it was just getting too evil, or it was just not possible. The "SRAM" itself I seem to rememeber is just the NGP internal RAM (which there isnt much of), so I'm pretty sure it will have been trashed to some degree by the time execution is passed to me, so there's no chance of saving and re-instating it. Something to investigate again at some point though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
str0m Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 15 minutes ago, SainT said: It might be the LED starts doing dim when the AA's are low. I do remember something happens! Neo Turf Masters is one of the few which uses the SRAM save for instant on game state saves. Unfortnuately there's nothing I can do about this, I dont think. When the cartridge is turned on the NGP checks if the same cartridge is inserted as when it was turned off, if it is, it carries on and does the quick boot. I know I started digging into this before, but I dont remember if I decided it was just getting too evil, or it was just not possible. The "SRAM" itself I seem to rememeber is just the NGP internal RAM (which there isnt much of), so I'm pretty sure it will have been trashed to some degree by the time execution is passed to me, so there's no chance of saving and re-instating it. Something to investigate again at some point though. Understood Does sound like it would be impossible. If you somehow modified your cart so it acted like a real one on initial turn on then it would be in a loop for that one game only unless you removed your cart and powered it on once with nothing in I expect so it lost that SRAM data. The option to do a manual backup would be good. As I'm back at my desk and not sat in my car as I was at lunch (lol), when you want to remove a file from the initial/quick launch menu, the only option is to delete it? Perhaps add the option when you have pushed B to write a copy of it back to the SD cart but with an incrementing character on it, puzzlebobble_1.rom or something if you follow then you can always revert back to that at a later point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hastor Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 Save games across all classic consoles are tiny compared to the SD cards we're using. I don't see why they can't all keep the last 3 saves just to be safe, loading most recent by default, but allowing you to use the PC to rename a different one to load instead (at least unless some interface is made). Doesn't seem like there would be any harm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SainT Posted July 9, 2020 Author Share Posted July 9, 2020 20 minutes ago, Hastor said: Save games across all classic consoles are tiny compared to the SD cards we're using. I don't see why they can't all keep the last 3 saves just to be safe, loading most recent by default, but allowing you to use the PC to rename a different one to load instead (at least unless some interface is made). Doesn't seem like there would be any harm. Could do, yes. With the NGP the save could be anywhere on the FLASH, so I have to save the whole ROM out. So the biggest user experience issue here would be the time taken to write this file out, rather than storage space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SainT Posted July 9, 2020 Author Share Posted July 9, 2020 29 minutes ago, str0m said: Understood Does sound like it would be impossible. If you somehow modified your cart so it acted like a real one on initial turn on then it would be in a loop for that one game only unless you removed your cart and powered it on once with nothing in I expect so it lost that SRAM data. The option to do a manual backup would be good. As I'm back at my desk and not sat in my car as I was at lunch (lol), when you want to remove a file from the initial/quick launch menu, the only option is to delete it? Perhaps add the option when you have pushed B to write a copy of it back to the SD cart but with an incrementing character on it, puzzlebobble_1.rom or something if you follow then you can always revert back to that at a later point. Certainly could be a V2 cart option. I'll revisit the NGP design again one day and see if I can improve it. It would certainly require a physical button of some kind on the cart to let it know you wanted to stay with the current game as there's no way to tell software side. There is a manual backup option already. I cant remember the button combo off hand, but it does as you describe as I remember. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hastor Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 3 minutes ago, SainT said: Could do, yes. With the NGP the save could be anywhere on the FLASH, so I have to save the whole ROM out. So the biggest user experience issue here would be the time taken to write this file out, rather than storage space. Ah yeah I forgot that the NGP doesn't create a separate .sav file like most flash carts. I don't know if copying the whole rom on sav would make sense or just slow it down too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikebloke Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 Sorry if this is a really daft question, I've been eyeing up this for awhile, is Germany the closest place to the UK to buy it from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SainT Posted July 9, 2020 Author Share Posted July 9, 2020 For the moment, yes. Although I do intend to sort out a uk retailer soon... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 I remember there was the original firmware for the NGPC kit, then sometime later there was like one update and I don't believe once since. I don't recall there being notes on the site there now (ever?) about it and not on SAG's site either other than it exists. Do you remember what all got updated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SainT Posted July 10, 2020 Author Share Posted July 10, 2020 There have been two updates. The first fixed a bug with backing up games and the second an issue with reading of memory cards. Although the memory card reading issue was weird, you could fix the issue be reflashing the same firmware. I never quite figured out what was going on, but fixed it such that the issue never happened again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattroid Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 16 hours ago, str0m said: The option to do a manual backup would be good. As I'm back at my desk and not sat in my car as I was at lunch (lol), when you want to remove a file from the initial/quick launch menu, the only option is to delete it? Perhaps add the option when you have pushed B to write a copy of it back to the SD cart but with an incrementing character on it, puzzlebobble_1.rom or something if you follow then you can always revert back to that at a later point. 15 hours ago, SainT said: There is a manual backup option already. I cant remember the button combo off hand, but it does as you describe as I remember. We talked early on in testing about the possibility of having multiple saves per game in the way you describe, @str0m. I'm not aware that numbering multiple saves automatically was ever implemented, but you could handle it manually by creating multiple copies of the same game with different names (*_01, etc). Currently you manually back up a game with save intact before you want to remove it from flash. You do this from the flash menu by holding B and pressing Right on the stick. To copy the game back with that same save, you need to flash it again later from the saves folder as opposed to your main roms location. 14 minutes ago, SainT said: There have been two updates. The first fixed a bug with backing up games and the second an issue with reading of memory cards. Although the memory card reading issue was weird, you could fix the issue be reflashing the same firmware. I never quite figured out what was going on, but fixed it such that the issue never happened again. Thanks for this @SainT - I've been wondering about this for a while actually (I may have sent you a PM about it a while back I think?). My cart from SAG seemed to have a different version than my last prerelease version from a couple years back and I couldn't find any info out there about what may have changed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
str0m Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 Thanks @Mattroid I will do that in future. Most games don't matter, just Puzzle Bobble took a while to clear all 99 levels lol. Gives me something to do at lunch times anyway 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikebloke Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 9 hours ago, SainT said: For the moment, yes. Although I do intend to sort out a uk retailer soon... Ta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 Same here at Mattroid I have one of your very early off the line NGPC SD Kits that came out a few years back so it's probably got the original firmware on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg2600 Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 The one and only Adam Koralik has reviewed.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 How does someone make a 20min video and say nothing of any value about the product until 12 1/2minutes into a 21 minute clip?? Even then the first minute of it turned on was more rambling about file setup preference on the card. I wish he had at least mentioned the reason behind the long slow loads and added storage was a limitation of the system hardware in how it handled games and save data. It makes it sound almost unnecessarily slow when it wasn't really a choice. Not that good of a review, didn't even dig into some of the menu functions for copy, delete, etc. On the up side, he got a free one and added goodies by SAG so I don't that changing as he wasn't negative about it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SainT Posted July 13, 2020 Author Share Posted July 13, 2020 It’s a fair layman’s review I think — people don’t care about details or why things happen, they just want everything NOW with NO WAITING. ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 Only took him 13minutes to get to 'now' just to start I see the humor in your comment in people not wanting details and wanting it now, now took awhile. Thankfully you have a scroll bar. Remember a few years back I did type up a solid review on the thing after I had it for a bit to tinker around with the kit. It would be nice to get it in that new shell, but I saw it requires some very precise sanding of the PCB which given how close one trace is appears to be a bit risky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+eebuckeye Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 You could say his reviews are not the 'best'... for certain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Clae Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 20 hours ago, Tanooki said: How does someone make a 20min video and say nothing of any value about the product until 12 1/2minutes into a 21 minute clip?? Wow, you must be new to Youtube. It's all about the clickz and subs, yo. I'm all about the clickz. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hastor Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 (edited) I guess actual % of video viewed doesn't matter much? I find myself skipping to the end of 45 min 'how-to' videos all the time, as they spend 35 minutes telling you the story behind every screw they are removing on something I know how to open and there's a million other videos for just taking them apart in general. The other day I was trying to determine my Dreamcast revision and found a video about an easy way to tell. Goes through opening and explaining the differences on boards to look for etc for 3 whole Dreamcasts, then at the end is like 'you can also just look for a number on a sticker without opening it'. Argh! Not that the other info wasn't useful, but they could have started with 'if all you need to know is your revision, look here'. - Still would have gotten a click... Edited July 14, 2020 by Hastor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 2 hours ago, DJ Clae said: Wow, you must be new to Youtube. It's all about the clickz and subs, yo. I'm all about the clickz. Nah just like to take a dig now and again at fishing time wasters. YOU, you do it right and should be applauded for it as such. That dink wasted like 75% of the video blowing hot air or more. 2 hours ago, Hastor said: I guess actual % of video viewed doesn't matter much? I find myself skipping to the end of 45 min 'how-to' videos all the time, as they spend 35 minutes telling you the story behind every screw they are removing on something I know how to open and there's a million other videos for just taking them apart in general. The other day I was trying to determine my Dreamcast revision and found a video about an easy way to tell. Goes through opening and explaining the differences on boards to look for etc for 3 whole Dreamcasts, then at the end is like 'you can also just look for a number on a sticker without opening it'. Argh! Not that the other info wasn't useful, but they could have started with 'if all you need to know is your revision, look here'. - Still would have gotten a click... Same here, it's like get to the point, or I usually will find another that talks little, perhaps uses a lot of inline text, and just shows you what to do step by step as it's far easier to follow and better to get the job done. I did that earlier this year when I needed to figure out a bit of a job working on a certain Game boy I was having issues with. Funny but annoying about your DC look up. I've figured out years ago to first look for text/picture based stuff, when I realize what I need and I would like to see the process, then I fish for a video and I'll drag and skim it to make sure actual effort is used and not a lot of senseless rambling. And as you said, easily could just have done the same to get their click points for getting paid either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg2600 Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 16 minutes ago, Tanooki said: Nah just like to take a dig now and again at fishing time wasters. YOU, you do it right and should be applauded for it as such. That dink wasted like 75% of the video blowing hot air or more. Same here, it's like get to the point, or I usually will find another that talks little, perhaps uses a lot of inline text, and just shows you what to do step by step as it's far easier to follow and better to get the job done. I did that earlier this year when I needed to figure out a bit of a job working on a certain Game boy I was having issues with. Funny but annoying about your DC look up. I've figured out years ago to first look for text/picture based stuff, when I realize what I need and I would like to see the process, then I fish for a video and I'll drag and skim it to make sure actual effort is used and not a lot of senseless rambling. And as you said, easily could just have done the same to get their click points for getting paid either way. Adam has been doing this exact kind of video for over ten years, and remains popular so this "dink" must be doing something right. Also, you once again sidetrack a topic into a discussion that is completely off topic, and wonder how you got banned from multiple forums? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 Oh you're charming as ever, someone needs a hug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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