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Chimera Hybrid Game System

mos6507

By mos6507
in Hardware

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Chimera Hybrid Game System  

106 members have voted

  1. 1. Would you be interested in an all-in-one Chimera 2600+ Console?

    • Yes
      84
    • No
      23
  • Please sign in to vote in this poll.

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MausGames Dragonstomper

MausGames

Posted
Posted
If the SD interface will work, then yes, one could release games that way. It may not be practical unless the Harmony developer's cart becomes ubiquitous. We've also talked about a "mini-cart" which would be a serial EEPROM on a tiny board, roughly the same size as an SD card. A blank mini-cart would probably cost less than an SD card, and the mini-carts could also be programmed with a Harmony developer's cart.

 

It's not clear if either would appeal to game buyers - my impression is that they would prefer a standalone cart than a tiny "cart" that only works with a Harmony developer's cart.

 

 

I would prefer SD to mini-carts, but it surprises me that they could be made for less than $2.75. Can they hold more than one bin? If so, how does the player select which bin to run? If there is only one, would it auto-start?

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batari Quadrunner

+batari

Posted
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If the SD interface will work, then yes, one could release games that way. It may not be practical unless the Harmony developer's cart becomes ubiquitous. We've also talked about a "mini-cart" which would be a serial EEPROM on a tiny board, roughly the same size as an SD card. A blank mini-cart would probably cost less than an SD card, and the mini-carts could also be programmed with a Harmony developer's cart.

 

It's not clear if either would appeal to game buyers - my impression is that they would prefer a standalone cart than a tiny "cart" that only works with a Harmony developer's cart.

 

 

I would prefer SD to mini-carts, but it surprises me that they could be made for less than $2.75. Can they hold more than one bin? If so, how does the player select which bin to run? If there is only one, would it auto-start?

I thought you were referring to your $5 initial estimate. It would be hard to beat $2.75. At those prices, SD cards would be a cheaper medium, but that is of course assuming that I can get them to work. The interface will talk to SD cards and a "mini cart" alike. What I am unsure of is how large the driver would need to be to access the SD card's filesystem, which is the only reason that it might not work (or will work only with a custom filesystem on the SD card requiring special software on the PC side.)

 

It could auto-start if the SD card was set up that way.

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selgus Dragonstomper

+selgus

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What I am unsure of is how large the driver would need to be to access the SD card's filesystem, which is the only reason that it might not work (or will work only with a custom filesystem on the SD card requiring special software on the PC side.)

This sounds overly complex for what I thought this board is designed for. Simple is probably better at this point, as it sounds like what you already do have designed/working has a lot of interest already.

--Selgus

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batari Quadrunner

+batari

Posted
Posted
What I am unsure of is how large the driver would need to be to access the SD card's filesystem, which is the only reason that it might not work (or will work only with a custom filesystem on the SD card requiring special software on the PC side.)

This sounds overly complex for what I thought this board is designed for. Simple is probably better at this point, as it sounds like what you already do have designed/working has a lot of interest already.

--Selgus

That's why I'm leaning toward a custom filesystem on SD cards. Ideally the firmware to read SD cards should be tiny to maximize the space available for game and bankswitching code. It will of course require software on the PC side to read and write but I doubt too many will mind that.

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selgus Dragonstomper

+selgus

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That's why I'm leaning toward a custom filesystem on SD cards. Ideally the firmware to read SD cards should be tiny to maximize the space available for game and bankswitching code. It will of course require software on the PC side to read and write but I doubt too many will mind that.

How complete is the hardware design at this point? Would you mind posting the schematics of the current design?

--Selgus

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batari Quadrunner

+batari

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That's why I'm leaning toward a custom filesystem on SD cards. Ideally the firmware to read SD cards should be tiny to maximize the space available for game and bankswitching code. It will of course require software on the PC side to read and write but I doubt too many will mind that.

How complete is the hardware design at this point? Would you mind posting the schematics of the current design?

--Selgus

The board itself is finished as long there is no problem with the next prototype, and I should know in a couple of weeks. The daughterboard for the programmable version is not finished, but all the daugterboard does is provide a USB connector and SD card interface, so it won't be too difficult to design.

 

I'm not ready to post schematics yet, but maybe someday.

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selgus Dragonstomper

+selgus

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The board itself is finished as long there is no problem with the next prototype, and I should know in a couple of weeks. The daughterboard for the programmable version is not finished, but all the daugterboard does is provide a USB connector and SD card interface, so it won't be too difficult to design.

 

I'm not ready to post schematics yet, but maybe someday.

Thats cool, good luck with the design.

--Selgus

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  • 2 weeks later...
batari Quadrunner

+batari

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So does this mean we'll be getting Chimera carts in our hot little hands soon?!

 

Those are Harmony carts. Don't hold your breath for Chimera.

Yes, and sorry that I've sort of hijacked this thread. I'd say that a mod should split this into two threads, but that would be a bit of work.
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lapetino Dragonstomper

lapetino

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So does this mean we'll be getting Chimera carts in our hot little hands soon?!

 

Those are Harmony carts. Don't hold your breath for Chimera.

 

 

Oh, that's right. Sorry. Loooong thread, and I guess I get confused. A Harmony cart in my hot little hands, then? What's the next step for this project, then?

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batari Quadrunner

+batari

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Look what came in the mail today!

BTW are those connector fingers gold or bare copper ?

 

I know it racks up the price, which is why I use smooth tinned instead.

 

Some PCB places offer 'hard gold' and 'chemical gold'. I think it's something to do with the plating thickness.

They are tinned - the color you see must be an artifact of the lighting.

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