Retroblox

[RandomRonn]

At least they copped to licensing emulators instead of claiming they wrote them from scratch.

 

True, but it's not like anyone even slightly familiar with emulation was ever going to believe them if they said they did.

[godslabrat]

At least they copped to licensing emulators instead of claiming they wrote them from scratch.

 

Still a rather big discrepancy. They said it was "in-house". That's like Amy's Baking Comapny selling the cheesecake of the place next door, at a $5 markup. No sane person would say that's even slightly honest.

 

The rubber is hitting the road, and it's smelling really funny.

[Sho]

I personally gave them the benefit of the doubt to see what they would push.

 

Everything I've seen today is highly suspect now. Would not recommend to anyone. Not sure why every company has to over-promise on the details.

[Keatah]

Reading the last two pages makes this seem too complicated to actually work. And full of exceptions and conditions.

[godslabrat]

Okay, I think it's time to drop this. I've been sitting on it for months, and felt that since it didn't really change the map at all when it came to the system (merely reinforced my existing suspicions) that it was best left until after pre-orders started. I wanted to give Polymega every chance it could to handle this the right way, before they started taking money. Now that their hand is out, it is what it is.

 

Bryan decided to hit me up on Facebook a while back, after not liking what we were saying on AA, and REALLY not liking that I asked a question on the FB page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are my takeaways:

 

• Playmaji is reading this forum, but apparently don't think it's worth their time to comment here.
• I definitely see some dialing back of expectations
• Criticism or skepticism of the project is NOT appreciated
• If I had to characterize the project as a whole, it would seem that the lawyers and marketers are running things. Engineers (if there are any) are on a short leash.

I'll leave the rest to you. A few other good observations to be made, but you're smart tacos, you'll see 'em.

 

 

Edit: for some reason, the files didn't upload correctly.

Edited September 5, 2018 by godslabrat

[RampantOctopus]

Havent been able to see the site myself but someone on Facebook was groaning that there is only a $500 bundle up today... that aint cheap.

 

Update: Well, I was finally able to see it, and for those who dont want to bother looking for themselves, looks like the base unit is roughly $250, a bundle with the whole enchilada is $599, and individual add on modules are priced individually. I think nes or SNES was like $60. Eh. Its certainly not an impulse buy but its also not as egregious as I initially thought.

Edited September 5, 2018 by RampantOctopus

[Flojomojo]

The pre-order site doesn't load for me. Maybe they'll try again tomorrow? As I said after their flop yesterday, not being able to work out hosting logistics does not bode well for a complex technical product.

 

I know Aaron/godslabrat to be a reasonable person, and the "just you wait" from the Skype discussion doesn't speak well of this project.

 

Is the internet comprised of ravenous jackals who love to laugh and point at failure? YES

Is the best communication strategy one of evasion and attempts to control the narrative? NO

 

I think Aaron said it well that if you can't answer simple questions from the public, you've already failed.

 

[Keatah]

Hey fellas! Did you hear that? AtariAge is an echochamber! They also say there are rules to conversations, then they say the rules of conversation don't matter.

 

Anyhow.. Real talent will makes headway in the industry. And doesn't put infighting on public display. Or "fighting" between customers and developers. This project has had many twists and turns and I'm not sure WHAT to believe.

 

All I remember is when I got the VCS in 1977 I was told of a cool revolutionary form of entertainment and that I could get it FOR REAL right away at TurnStyle or Venture department stores. Like as in now, tonight, let's go get it! And so we did. I don't recall hearing of all the decisions that were hashed out to bring the product to my living room. IT JUST KINDA HAPPENED!

[kevtris]

Okay, I think it's time to drop this. I've been sitting on it for months, and felt that since it didn't really change the map at all when it came to the system (merely reinforced my existing suspicions) that it was best left until after pre-orders started. I wanted to give Polymega every chance it could to handle this the right way, before they started taking money. Now that their hand is out, it is what it is.

 

Bryan decided to hit me up on Facebook a while back, after not liking what we were saying on AA, and REALLY not liking that I asked a question on the FB page.

 

bryan1.PNG

Bryan2.PNG

 

 

Bryan3.PNG

 

 

Bryan4.PNGbryan5.PNGBryan6.PNGBryan7.PNG

 

Here are my takeaways:

 

• Playmaji is reading this forum, but apparently don't think it's worth their time to comment here.
• I definitely see some dialing back of expectations
• Criticism or skepticism of the project is NOT appreciated
• If I had to characterize the project as a whole, it would seem that the lawyers and marketers are running things. Engineers (if there are any) are on a short leash.

I'll leave the rest to you. A few other good observations to be made, but you're smart tacos, you'll see 'em.

 

 

Edit: for some reason, the files didn't upload correctly.

Thanks for that. I guess they didn't like my comment. Oh well. Sorry 'bout that. I don't want to see their project fail, or wish them ill will, but so far they haven't really produced much in the way of evidence that hybrid emulation is going to work. I stand by what I said about their FPGA board: it's just a development thing and is not anything you'd ever ship in a product. Not that there is anything wrong with this- you need to make dev boards- but they seemed to be showing it off like this was the guts. Also, going by their FAQ, there's not even an FPGA inside it now, and hybrid emulation isn't either.

 

I will quote their FAQ here since people seem to be having issues with their site:

 

 

 

IS POLYMEGA™ 100% EMULATION?

For now, standard modules use standard emulation with low latency controller inputs. Certain modules in the future will release with an embedded FPGA that will allow extended compatibility with hardware accessories.

 

WILL EVERDRIVES, GAME GENIES AND MULTI-GAME CARTS WORK WITH POLYMEGA™?

Yes, and no. The team at Playmaji has spent a good amount of effort on a piece of technology called Active Cartridge Reading, an experimental subset of Hybrid Emulation that allows you to use any games or peripherals that work on a real classic console using a live blend of software-based emulation and memory mapped hardware. This technology, while it exists, is not yet fast enough for some of Polymega’s supported systems, and would result in a degraded overall experience if launched prematurely.

Now, support for game cartridges with on board DSP chips such as Everdrives, Starfox, or live-reading of devices like Game Genies is blended.

First, we’ve licensed standard DSP-compatible emulators for systems with those types of cartridges, which will allow games with special chips to be played via software emulation. That means you can now play backed up games such as StarFox and others regardless of whether you have the cartridge inserted, a convenience that most gamers will appreciate. We’ve also added a software-based Game Genie and Pro Action Replay as a reward level for supporting the console beyond its initial funding goals. The Super Game Boy is no longer compatible with the EM02 SNES SFC module, however, we have set up a GB / GBC / GBA module as an additional reward tier if reached.

Second, certain systems are going to be FPGA based. The first example of this is going to be the dedicated Famicom module, which will be released after the launch of the system. Famicom is particularly important to be implemented in this manner as it included accessories such as the Famicom Disk System (FDS), which was a critical part of its library and one that we will not be creating a dedicated module for. The tech to support FPGA modules is built in to the launch version of the Polymega™ Base Unit, and we may continue to release other FPGA modules in the future. FPGA modules will have a slightly higher price point than standard modules.

This decision / change overall has freed up our team to focus on matters that more factually push the needle in terms of overall system compatibility, as evidenced by our recently-announced support for the Sega Saturn, adding over one thousand new compatible games to Polymega™. What made this possible is that by removing the larger size FPGA from the base unit, we were able to opt for a higher clock-speed dual core chip rather than a slower quad-core chip for the main CPU, which now opens up the door to more demanding systems like Saturn, N64, Dreamcast, and more — which is what many people have expressed to us that they want.

Multicarts will be tested on a game by game basis and a compatibility list will be produced for all systems prior to the launch of Polymega™, but we only can confirm compatibility with officially licensed games at this point in time.

What hardware does Polymega™ use?

Processor: Intel® CM8068403377713

Memory: 4GB DDR4 RAM

Connectivity: HDMI, 802.11G WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0, Polymega™ Expansion Bus

On-board Storage: 16GB eMMC Flash Memory

Expansion Storage: Up to 512GB MicroSD via SD Card expansion slot

Optical Drive: 8X CD/DVD Slot-in Optical Disc Drive

 

What Software does Polymega™ use?

Architecture: x86

OS: Proprietary Linux-based.

User Interface: Richter (Proprietary)

Emulators: Mix of Proprietary & Licensed.

 

CAN I STILL TWITCH / YOUTUBE STREAM DIRECTLY FROM THE SYSTEM?

While Polymega™ has vastly increased its single core performance clock speed, we’ve reduced the number of cores available for non-emulation system processes such as encoding video for streaming. That means the previously planned streaming features will now move back into the experimental column until we can determine that it is fully compatible when the machine is running computationally demanding emulators such as Sega Saturn, Dreamcast, and N64 in the future. With Polymega™’s current set of supported systems, we believe this feature can be optimized enough to deliver it as a post-launch update, but depending on the systems unlocked during the pre-order rewards, the testing requirements may change. We will keep you posted after the completion of the pre-order campaign.

 

 

(sorry about the formatting, for some reason it got all screwy when I pasted it in)

[goldenegg]

There's so much about this project that makes me uncomfortable. The April 1st release date doesn't help either. I had been remaining cautiously optimistic about the project, but now they're definitely not getting my money for a preorder.

[Keatah]

If they have gimmicky launch dates, they are also likely to be selling gimmicky stuff.

[Fluxgra]

I do find it amusing that in the correspondence between Bryan and godslabrat they claim to be delivering on everything they promised when they simply are not.

 

At the end of the day this is just an x86 box (Intel Pentium Gold G5500T processor is listed in the FAQ) running Linux pre loaded with licensed emulators.

 

The thing that really irks me is if they had come out at launch and said exactly what they are doing, making a better Retron 5 that has modules to support the exact systems you desire I would have bought the bloody thing. Now I feel I can't trust anything they claim.

[goldenegg]

If you believe their site, they've somehow sold nearly $22,000 worth of hardware so far. Not sure how, since you can't check out. They're also treating this like a fake Kickstarter campaign.

 

 

 

f the $500,000 USD initial goal is not met within 35 days time, we will immediately refund all pre-orders and halt additional sales of Polymega™ until we can assess a reason for the lack of interest in the pre-order campaign, and attempt to correct it.

 

If that's the case, why aren't they just using Kickstarter? It would get them so much more exposure, that the extra sales would more than cover Kickstarter fees. None of this makes any sense.

Edited September 5, 2018 by goldenegg

[RandomRonn]

I do find it amusing that in the correspondence between Bryan and godslabrat they claim to be delivering on everything they promised when they simply are not.

 

At the end of the day this is just an x86 box (Intel Pentium Gold G5500T processor is listed in the FAQ) running Linux pre loaded with licensed emulators.

 

The thing that really irks me is if they had come out at launch and said exactly what they are doing, making a better Retron 5 that has modules to support the exact systems you desire I would have bought the bloody thing. Now I feel I can't trust anything they claim.

 

This is supposed to emulate the Saturn? Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I thought such an endeavor required a bit more horsepower.

[godslabrat]

If this is just software emulation with Rube Goldberg trim, there's no reason to buy it. I can either save myself $300 and get a Retrofreak, or spend the same amount of money and get FPGA clones that run everything without disclaimers.

 

In other words, NOPE.

[dj_convoy]

Labrat, I am blown away by what you posted there. Man o man.

The contempt for any level of critical thinking from their potential customers is palpable. Don't ask, just buy it.

Edited September 5, 2018 by dj_convoy

[goldenegg]

If this is just software emulation with Rube Goldberg trim, there's no reason to buy it. I can either save myself $300 and get a Retrofreak, or spend the same amount of money and get FPGA clones that run everything without disclaimers.

 

In other words, NOPE.

 

 

I personally don't mind if a system like this is just emulation wrapped up in a nice package. I just have no confidence that this team is able to pull off the kind of quality they've been going on and on about. I have no idea how they intend to get full speed emulation of Saturn and Dreamcast games on that hardware. Also, not support ROM loading for 'legal' reasons is just complete BS at this point.

 

If it releases next year and somehow turns out to be a solid product, they'll get my money at that time. Otherwise, my interest in it is done.

[dj_convoy]

 

Edited September 5, 2018 by dj_convoy

[derFunkenstein]

I will quote their FAQ here since people seem to be having issues with their site

 

Oh my goodness. 100% backtracking. Is it 100% emulation? We've gone from absolutely not to yes absolutely. Will Everdrives and other special carts work? We've gone from totally to totally not. Can you stream from the device? We've gone from yeah man to no way.

 

The shift (in the quoted conversation) from "we're doing everything we've announced and more" to "everything we've announced is more than we can do" is just too much to take.

 

It's not hybrid emulation. It's worse than that; it's dead, Jim.

Edited September 5, 2018 by derFunkenstein

[Flojomojo]

If you believe their site, they've somehow sold nearly $22,000 worth of hardware so far. Not sure how, since you can't check out. They're also treating this like a fake Kickstarter campaign.

 

 

If that's the case, why aren't they just using Kickstarter? It would get them so much more exposure, that the extra sales would more than cover Kickstarter fees. None of this makes any sense.

 

Because Kickstarter (or IndieGogo, which would be a better fit for their lack of transparency), would take a cut and would add a thin veneer of accountability.

 

Either of those sites are significantly more likely to remain up under traffic (AtariBox day 1 silliness notwithstanding)

[dj_convoy]

Oh my goodness. 100% backtracking. Is it 100% emulation? We've gone from absolutely not to yes absolutely. Will Everdrives and other special carts work? We've gone from totally to totally not. Can you stream from the device? We've gone from yeah man to no way.

 

The shift (in the quoted conversation) from "we're doing everything we've announced and more" to "everything we've announced is more than we can do" is just too much to take.

 

It's not hybrid emulation. It's worse than that; it's dead, Jim.

Quit echoing in your chamber, you armchair lawyer! Etc.

Edited September 5, 2018 by dj_convoy

[derFunkenstein]

If you believe their site, they've somehow sold nearly $22,000 worth of hardware so far. Not sure how, since you can't check out. They're also treating this like a fake Kickstarter campaign.

 

 

If that's the case, why aren't they just using Kickstarter? It would get them so much more exposure, that the extra sales would more than cover Kickstarter fees. None of this makes any sense.

This is a great question. That $500k goal on kickstarter would protect everybody. If they make it, great. Start production. If they didn't make it, oh well.

[derFunkenstein]

Quit echoing in your chamber, you armchair lawyer! Etc.

Sorry I'll get back into the groupthink at Polymega.

[goldenegg]

 

We upgraded to a new server with much higher specs yesterday but we are still receiving errors, likely due to one malicious user, who's IP address we've traced to Missouri who is opening hundreds of connections at a time in order to prevent others from accessing the site (2/3)

 

Ya .. someone from Missouri is launching a DDOS attack. Sure.

Edited September 5, 2018 by goldenegg

[derFunkenstein]

For something that comes out supposedly in Q4 it sure does seem to be changing a lot. They moved from a (presumably ARM-based) quad to a "faster" dual-core that is capable of emulating the Saturn. That has to mean they've switched to x86, right? Are there any ARM-based systems that can emulate a Saturn at full speed without dropping frames? That's a pretty big swap this late in the game, if that's the case.

Not that this post was rocket science or anything, but it feels good to be right once in a while. LOL

 

 

 

Ya .. someone from Missouri is launching a DDOS attack. Sure.

If "hundreds" of connections take down their server, then I don't want to be their hosting provider.

Edited September 5, 2018 by derFunkenstein