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RetroN 77


jeremiahjt

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Do you have any idea what the Coleco Chameleon was? Or the RetroEngine Sigma? Or the Oton X?

I've heard about the Chameleon debacle. I have faith in Opcode's Project Prometheus though but that's for another thread. I had to look up the other 2 and frankly, they look dodgy as hell. No wonder they never saw the light of day. The Polymega looks so superior and legit in comparison to those, they shouldn't even be uttered in the same breath. Both the Sigma and Oton look like they are or were indiegogo funded whereas the Polymega has managed to aquire industry investment to fund the project without resorting to any kickstarter type funding. That in itself should speak volumes about the legitimacy and viability of the project. Yes there's been some scams in the past and some people don't seem to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff and lump them all together. The Polymega is clearly a realistically feasible machine unlike the ridiculous sounding Oton X and I still have faith in it. I just hope the rampant cynicism in the retro gaming community isn't enough to kill it off.

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I've heard about the Chameleon debacle. I have faith in Opcode's Project Prometheus though but that's for another thread. I had to look up the other 2 and frankly, they look dodgy as hell. No wonder they never saw the light of day. The Polymega looks so superior and legit in comparison to those, they shouldn't even be uttered in the same breath. Both the Sigma and Oton look like they are or were indiegogo funded whereas the Polymega has managed to aquire industry investment to fund the project without resorting to any kickstarter type funding. That in itself should speak volumes about the legitimacy and viability of the project. Yes there's been some scams in the past and some people don't seem to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff and lump them all together. The Polymega is clearly a realistically feasible machine unlike the ridiculous sounding Oton X and I still have faith in it. I just hope the rampant cynicism in the retro gaming community isn't enough to kill it off.

So you're willing to overlook the fact that they lied about their prototype at SoCal and have given completely conflicting stories about how close the project is to completion?

 

Okay then.

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I've heard about the Chameleon debacle. I have faith in Opcode's Project Prometheus though but that's for another thread. I had to look up the other 2 and frankly, they look dodgy as hell. No wonder they never saw the light of day. The Polymega looks so superior and legit in comparison to those, they shouldn't even be uttered in the same breath. Both the Sigma and Oton look like they are or were indiegogo funded whereas the Polymega has managed to aquire industry investment to fund the project without resorting to any kickstarter type funding. That in itself should speak volumes about the legitimacy and viability of the project. Yes there's been some scams in the past and some people don't seem to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff and lump them all together. The Polymega is clearly a realistically feasible machine unlike the ridiculous sounding Oton X and I still have faith in it. I just hope the rampant cynicism in the retro gaming community isn't enough to kill it off.

There's a difference between cynicism and critical thinking. You shouldn't have to "have faith" in a prospective electronic device; the burden of proof is on the company to show you why it's a viable project and why you should spend your hard earned cash. Sure, I like the SOUND of Polymega's idea (mostly), but what little they've shown and the far bigger amount of hand waving they've done so far makes me leery.

 

Everyone is trying to get our retro themed dollars; if they want our money, they should make it clear why we should give it to them.

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There's a difference between cynicism and critical thinking. You shouldn't have to "have faith" in a prospective electronic device; the burden of proof is on the company to show you why it's a viable project and why you should spend your hard earned cash. Sure, I like the SOUND of Polymega's idea (mostly), but what little they've shown and the far bigger amount of hand waving they've done so far makes me leery.

 

Everyone is trying to get our retro themed dollars; if they want our money, they should make it clear why we should give it to them.

 

Except the comments expressed by Godslabrat are more the former and mine is more the latter. Just because I'm not being pessimistic doesn't negate it from being "critical thinking". At least I include examples of why the Polymega is in a league different from the previous retro systems that Godslabrat tars with the same brush. All he has in his latest comment is a vague accusation towards Polymega that they have lied and contradicted without specifying exactly what they lied about and when and where these contradictions were made and by whom. More like a petulant teenager's tantrum than "critical thinking".

 

I agree that there is a burden of proof on the part of any company wishing to part us from our money BUT Polymega have not made any requests for money from Joe Public yet. No kickstarter campaign and no pre order. When they do then yes, they will have that burden of proof but until they start requesting actual money from us, maybe people should stop acting so entitled as if Polymega has already taken money from them.

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Except the comments expressed by Godslabrat are more the former and mine is more the latter. Just because I'm not being pessimistic doesn't negate it from being "critical thinking". At least I include examples of why the Polymega is in a league different from the previous retro systems that Godslabrat tars with the same brush. All he has in his latest comment is a vague accusation towards Polymega that they have lied and contradicted without specifying exactly what they lied about and when and where these contradictions were made and by whom. More like a petulant teenager's tantrum than "critical thinking".

I agree that there is a burden of proof on the part of any company wishing to part us from our money BUT Polymega have not made any requests for money from Joe Public yet. No kickstarter campaign and no pre order. When they do then yes, they will have that burden of proof but until they start requesting actual money from us, maybe people should stop acting so entitled as if Polymega has already taken money from them.

I put my reply to this in the PolyMega thread where it belongs:

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/261689-retroblox/?p=4000158

 

I apologize for my part in the thread derailment.

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Retron77 is real. Retron5 and Retrofreak are real. Like them or not, they have their place. Atgames Atari and Sega plug and plays are real. Nintendo and Super Nintendo Classic Minis are real. Retrousb AVS is real. Analogue NT Mini and Uper NT are real.

 

Wanna know something in common with all of those products? They all came from reputable established companies and did not require crowdfunding, or promises undelivered. Ouya I think was the one crowdfunding succees story for actual game consoles. And they went bankrupt. Crowdfunding is great for games, great for retro inspired novelty products, but a bad idea for funding actual console development.

 

Chameleon shows all the hallmarks of the Polymega, Ataribox, Lythium, etc that followed: fancy renders, pie in the sky promises, crowdfund campaigns that failed or didn't happen at all, fake or mocked up prototypes, etc etc. Even the Ataribox was pretty much paperweights on display with no internals.

 

So I think it is fair to say that comparing these fly by night products to Chameleon is a valid argument. Retron77 will probably be a dumper/emulator and have high compatibility with period games, poor compatibility with homebrew, and I'm okay with that. It's the first attempt at producing a mainstream console capable of playing Atari carts since Atari quit selling them in 1990. It will bring awareness to the Atari legacy.

 

Someone will eventually market a high quality fpga clone. Let Hyperkin be the first out the door with an actual functional clone. Then someone else will make one that doesn't suck. I plan on getting the Retron77 upon release to how support, even if it don't workwith Draconian or Super Cobra.

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Best way to describe our communication on this project - we have learned from our mistakes in the past and announce features to early on and don't deliver - that's why only small amounts of info have been released.

As to the previous post about "Draconian or Super Cobra" - We do not have Super Cobra to test.

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Best way to describe our communication on this project - we have learned from our mistakes in the past and announce features to early on and don't deliver - that's why only small amounts of info have been released.

As to the previous post about "Draconian or Super Cobra" - We do not have Super Cobra to test.

 

That's always a good policy. When it's out, it's out.

 

That's an early development version of Draconian. Will the latest final release work? ..because it has a different BS scheme. And Super Cobra was also made available, so it should be tested.

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What version of Draconian is that? It seems to be pretty outdated. Most of the options are missing, the score display is from a debug version and I wonder why no bases are shown.

 

Do you fully support DPC+ and/or CDF?

Edited by Thomas Jentzsch
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Unaware - to be honest - we will need to get the latest final release.

If anyone is willing to share the files - I can get them tested.

 

 

Super Cobra Arcade is in the first post here: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/272632-super-cobra-arcade/

 

Draconian is in this post: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/225044-draconian-2600/page-20?do=findComment&comment=3867156

 

They may have had one more revision right before they were released at PRGE, but I don't think they were posted. Certainly you could PM Darrell (Draconian) and John (Super Cobra Arcade) and ask them. I'm sure they'd be glad to help you out.

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Best way to describe our communication on this project - we have learned from our mistakes in the past and announce features to early on and don't deliver - that's why only small amounts of info have been released.

As to the previous post about "Draconian or Super Cobra" - We do not have Super Cobra to test.

I respect this, thank you.

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These latest posts and the photos of a working but early build of Draconian look promising. Not entirely there but definitely a step in the right direction. Can some more technically proficient person explain to me about the testing of the homebrews? Is the testing of a homebrew merely to see if it works or is it a process to ensure it will work? If the latter, will there be a way of ensuring homebrews released after the Retron 77 also work? Not just later versions of the console for purchase but Will I be able to download an update for my Retron 77 so I can play newer homebrews on it?

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I suppose as long as it is sold, updates might become available. After that, why should anyone bother?

 

That's the difference to using open source which can and will be maintained even if there are no commercial interests anymore.

These latest posts and the photos of a working but early build of Draconian look promising. Not entirely there but definitely a step in the right direction. Can some more technically proficient person explain to me about the testing of the homebrews? Is the testing of a homebrew merely to see if it works or is it a process to ensure it will work? If the latter, will there be a way of ensuring homebrews released after the Retron 77 also work? Not just later versions of the console for purchase but Will I be able to download an update for my Retron 77 so I can play newer homebrews on it?

In both cases, we need to know how they resolved the issue of using Stella. On that, we'll just have to wait and see.

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If their cart port is simply a dumper, then it's impossible for it to run DPC+ games with an old version of Stella. So parts of the recent code must have been used, and would be in violation of the license. If their cart port is indeed reading from the cart just like a real console (and running the ARM CPU within the game cartridge), then that is a feat I would really like to see.

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They have said earlier that if they use GPL software that they will share the changes as required. It becomes more than academic at the time that they distribute their product - they will be obligated to share their source changes at that time.

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Can't we all just be excited to get a clone console that supports HDMI from a company that actually produces products and as such has cash flow? I know I am and will be an early adopter.

If you refuse to see the whole picture, only act selfish and do not care for the community as a whole, then of course you can be just excited. :roll:

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Best way to describe our communication on this project - we have learned from our mistakes in the past and announce features to early on and don't deliver - that's why only small amounts of info have been released.

As to the previous post about "Draconian or Super Cobra" - We do not have Super Cobra to test.

Holy crap that's awesome! :o

 

It must be using real time bus level cart interface or have a powerful emulator... :thumbsup:

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