Andromeda Stardust Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 I want to thank everyone for welcoming us coming forward with the details, and embracing its open-source nature as the right step on our part. In spite of all the concerns, I am quite confident in this product, having my own 2600 memories and this community's feedback as the very compass of right and wrong. To answer your questions, yes - it does work with the original joysticks and paddles. From what my E3 guests could tell, with no noticeable input lag. Also, simultaneous joystick input (up+down / left+right) is possible. There are no hardware limitations to that. Generally, the system plays everything you'd expect Stella to run. We went for homebrew files support because of all the developers out there who might need a system with actual controllers and flexible testing environment at their fingertips; we fully understand that sometimes you need to test more than just one binary, so it's possible to load multiple binaries onto the SD card for convenient debugging. FPGAs are cool, and we did look into this solution. Honestly, there is no benefit to use it for this platform whatsoever. We went for a well-optimized junk-free core instead, and in our tests, with most games the hardware actually runs at 20-25% of its full potential. The system powers up and boots in seconds, there are no loading screens. While is true that any emulator experience (including FPGAs) will inevitably result in certain infidelities, let's face it: sticking to the original system has its inconveniences as well. Another thing that I think many people will hopefully like about this system is its overall build quality. Our Supa Retron HD is already quite firm and solid, but this one takes it to a new level. Perhaps because of the emulator core we cannot re-create 100% gameplay fidelity, but we wanted this product to feel just like back in the old days when things were made to last. Again, thanks for your support. It means a lot, and while I fully agree that it's impossible to satisfy everyone, we are truly glad to finally be able to make it happen. Andrew, you have my full support on this. While I still long for a full fledged hdmi solution eventually (I love my hdmi powered avs and super nt consoles), your transparency speaks volumes and I am so glad you decided to go the open sourced route. Stella is a fabulous emulator and worthy of high regard. Far better than that crap Atgames is peddling. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guppy Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 I just want it to support the AtariBox "Atari VCS" retro joystick, just because it's a cool looking controller. If the Retron77 has USB ports on it, can we plug a USB gamepad/joystick in and expect to be able to play on it? I am so looking forward to this coming out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewHyperkin Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 guppy, no USB interfaces out of the box because we wanted for this system to stay true to the concept of a retro console. But there is a readily available USB host breakout on the PCB for those who need this feature and want to tinker with it. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jstick Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 (edited) From what my E3 guests could tell, with no noticeable input lag. Nice, I remain cautiously optimistic. The system powers up and boots in seconds, there are no loading screens. This is so important, and a big reason why I have been moving back to original/upgraded consoles lately. Also, maybe it’s just me, but I’m hoping that the onscreen interface is basic and 2600-like rather than slick high-tech whizzbangery Edited May 11, 2018 by Jstick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewHyperkin Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 (edited) User interface is fully customizable, you can simply replace .bmp files (background, game icons etc) on the SD card if you don't like the way it looks. We encourage the community to get on board and create new cool themes together after this thing's released. Sneak peek at the current GUI version: This GUI shows up when the cartridge is removed or when you turn the system on without a cartridge. Edited May 11, 2018 by AndrewHyperkin 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jstick Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 User interface is fully customizable, you can simply replace .bmp files (background, game icons etc) on the SD card if you don't like the way it looks. Being skinnable is perfect, thanks for the sneak peek. It’s also great that you are not forced into an interface if a cart is inserted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+swlovinist Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 Great news to hear. Cant wait to get my hands on one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah98 Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Well, this is a must buy for me. As long as it plays Stay Frosty 2 and Space Rocks, Im sold! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iesposta Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 What percent of games fail on Stella 5.1.1? 1%? I thought it plays everything, and recently with the new TIA rewrite it has improved sound (E.T. Spaceship landing sound was always shown to be way off) and fixed graphic glitches that have been in some games for a long time like Pole Position now shows a not glitched 0 for speed, Meltdown now has all circles the same size, games that use RSYNC correctly or incorrectly now display properly. The latest bin file games that now have ARM code in them (where Stella ignored it before for DPC+) Stella now has the Arm emulated. Whenever someone creates a new bank switching format the newer versions of Stella get that added. Many old cards were programmed without the recommended 262 scanlines, and Stella handles all of those cases. Star Castle Arcade in Stella shows 270 scanlines and 58fps (like a homebrew I made), and LCD's handle it okay and also Framemeister XRGB-mini. The problem with streaming is the capture card records at 60 frames a second causing the Flicker in Star Castle Arcade to be not a perfect 30/30. Capture cards seem to have trouble with odd frame rates that aren't exactly 60fps or 30fps, etc. when it comes to flicker, but not as bad as upscalers. Stella even has a phosphor persistence setting that makes the flickering more like you see on a CRT and modes customizable and built in for RF style, Svideo style, RGB style, with or without scan lines, etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifan88 Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 To be able to play Atari 2600 games in crystal clear HD with no RF interference is a dream come true! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+swlovinist Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 I also think that this product will promote more to collect for the wonderful console. Hard to believe that it has taken this long for cart collectors to have an affordable clone console for their Atari games. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewHyperkin Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Thanks for your support, guys! Just to be clear, we had some porting difficulties with the latest version of Stella (lots of new modules so it would take longer to refine everything), so we decided to roll back a bit (about one year), and to use a slightly older build for the consumer release. Technically there's nothing wrong with using the latest version, but on our end it makes more sense to have a stable build shipped with the system rather than an unoptimized / experimental one. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+swlovinist Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Thanks for your support, guys! Just to be clear, we had some porting difficulties with the latest version of Stella (lots of new modules so it would take longer to refine everything), so we decided to roll back a bit (about one year), and to use a slightly older build for the consumer release. Technically there's nothing wrong with using the latest version, but on our end it makes more sense to have a stable build shipped with the system rather than an unoptimized / experimental one. Is there a planned release window that you are looking at for this product? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+xucaen Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Andrew, does Hyperkin have a list of cartridges that are not supported? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Muddyfunster Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Andrew, does Hyperkin have a list of cartridges that are not supported? I have over 400 PAL carts I can test if Hyperkin want to hook me up as a tester over here in the UK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHairy Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Thanks for your support, guys! Just to be clear, we had some porting difficulties with the latest version of Stella (lots of new modules so it would take longer to refine everything), so we decided to roll back a bit (about one year), and to use a slightly older build for the consumer release. Technically there's nothing wrong with using the latest version, but on our end it makes more sense to have a stable build shipped with the system rather than an unoptimized / experimental one. Too bad, I guess this mans that you are sticking with Stella 4, so you are missing out on the new TIA core. As of version 5.1.1, Stella 5 is neither experimental nor unoptimized; it simply requires more CPU resources because the new core is a very accurate cycle-by-cycle simulation of the TIA, and it fixes many known defects in several games and demos, including e.g. Meltdown and Pole Position. DPC+ audio in Stella 4 is off as well, and you need Stella 5 in order to run CDF games (Draconian, Super Cobra Arcade and Mappy). The next version of Stella will contain a new, cycle accurate audio implementation that fully matches real hardware (including E.T., Ms. PacMan and many other games). There are tons of other improvements as well. While it is possible to backport the DPC+ and CDF changes, the new TIA core (including audio once we release it) cannot be backportet piecemeal; it is a rewrite of considerable parts of the old code. Do you plan to upgrade the console to Stella 5 in the future, or are there more fundamental issues? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewHyperkin Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 (edited) Release date, we hope for it to be symbolic. Sorry can't tell you more just yet. We don't have a list of incompatible cartridges / games, but I tested Space Rocks last Friday, it works. xucaen, that sounds great, could you reach out to us at developer@hyperkin.com? As for the latest Stella build, we think it might be a good idea to simply set up a support page on our server with experimental revisions in the future. Also, since it's a community-friendly project, we expect people to make their own "unofficial" builds with whatever extra features they might consider useful. P.S. Also, by experimental / unoptimized I was referring not to Stella 5x per se (we know it's good and stable), but to running it on the R77. Edited May 13, 2018 by AndrewHyperkin 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godslabrat Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 So it'll be released On February 6, 2100 (2/6/00)? Damn... a bit of a wait, but more promising than AtariBox. My needs are modest. If it supports my games, I'm in. My collection is homebrew-heavy, but they're all old titles. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHairy Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 (edited) As for the latest Stella build, we think it might be a good idea to simply set up a support page on our server with experimental revisions in the future. Also, since it's a community-friendly project, we expect people to make their own "unofficial" builds with whatever extra features they might consider useful. P.S. Also, by experimental / unoptimized I was referring not to Stella 5x per se (we know it's good and stable), but to running it on the R77. Sorry for being so obnoxious, but did you get Stella 5 to run on the R77 at full framerate, or are there performance issues? I am asking because I wrote most of the new TIA code, and if there are issues other than performance, I (and possible other developers as well) could possibly offer advice or even code. I might also be able to give advice on performance issues as well, but I honestly don’t think there is much room for optimizations left. Thanks for being so open about what is in the box btw. I don’t want to cause the impression of attacking your product - this is not my intention Edited May 13, 2018 by DirtyHairy 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Release date, we hope for it to be symbolic. SWAG: July 7 (7/7) or August 26 (A26) 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toiletunes Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 September 11 (2600 launch date) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrogoober Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 SO ready to buy, thank you! Just awesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 ..and no need for miasmatic kickstarters or indiegogos.. heh! They did awhh by themselves! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uglyclone Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Hyperkin dudes, Thank you for building this thing. I will be buying one once it is available. Stay Rad, -random guy on the internet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+xucaen Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 xucaen, that sounds great, could you reach out to us at developer@hyperkin.com? Andrew, I'm not sure what you mean. I think maybe you meant to direct this to someone else... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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