Newsdee Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 Consolized arcade games beyond the MVS - hey thats a great idea! And they could add an expansion port to connect real boards via JAMMA to get HDMI upscaling (bypassing emulators). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 Something just occured to me... You know what I would do if I were in Mike's place? I would design a motherboard to put inside the Jag enclosure that would essentially be the cartridge-based console equivalent of a MAME cabinet. Each cartridge would contain the actual arcade ROM dump, and the console would run a faithful reproduction of the original arcade game via HDMI output. So it would be like a NeoGeo console, but with a wider library than just SNK titles. The beauty of this proposition is that all Mike would need to do software-wise is score licenses for old arcade games, so that he can release them legally on cartridges. No new software to develop, just use the arcade ROMs as-is. I guess these ROMs could be slightly modified so that the high score tables would somehow be stored on the cartridges (using an EEPROM or whatever). That would be a nice feature. The price of a cartridge would depend on the game: An old arcade game like Congo Bongo would sell for something like 10 bucks, while some of the more advanced arcade games (like Street Fighter II for example) would sell for around 30$ each. I'm not sure what form the console hardware would take (a Linux machine running MAME would probably be best, although custom emulators would need to be programmed if MAME cannot be used because of legal issues) but I can't imagine this hardware being too costly to develop given's today's technology. An FPGA setup could also be devised, but then custom cores would have to be coded to cover the subtleties of each arcade game, and that would increase development costs. But each core could be stored on the cartridge and loaded into the FPGA at boot, and that could be an elegant solution. I know this idea may sound rather lame, especially for those who already have a MAME cab or have MAME fully installed and running on their PCs, but it still think it's a better idea than trying to shoehorn "modern" indie games into a cartridge format like Mike wants to do. Won't work. Licensing is too expensive compared to the relative market. Most people already have PCs or Raspberry πs stuffed into MAME cabs and you also have the issue that MAME cannot be distributed commercially as per contract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 Did the RVGS campaign get some troll pledges at the end? It's showing: Or are those overall numbers including canceled pledges? I think it was probably fake pledges because it screwed up crowdcharts too. Their final numbers read: Okay now that it's over, where is my $10 Paypal refund? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triverse Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 likes and comments can be bought. not saying that is the case, just throwing it out there... i wouldn't always trust social media. You mean like this? https://www.fiverr.com/search/gigs?utf8=✓&search_in=everywhere&source=top-bar&locale=en&query=facebook&page=1&layout=auto Full disclosure here. I offer many services on Fiverr (just search "triverse") such as press release writing, advertising on my sites, writing and more. I know how Fiverr works because I have made quite a bit of money off of it (and other similar services sites). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
some_canuck Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 Fiverr no, more like http://imgur.com/cCkORFk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StopDrop&Retro Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 (edited) Won't work. Licensing is too expensive compared to the relative market. Most people already have PCs or Raspberry πs stuffed into MAME cabs and you also have the issue that MAME cannot be distributed commercially as per contract. It's not really that licensing is too expensive. It's that Mike has zero market share right now. Remember back when Mike started this journey with questions to Facebook like "Hey! We found the people who hold the licenses to Data East games! Which games do you guys want?" Then in the latest podcasts his tone switched to needing to show that he has a user base in order to have any chance to get those games licensed on the RVGS. In a way, these licenses don't "cost" anything, they don't want your money, they want a share of the profits from game sales. That's why they want to know your market share, expected profits, etc., etc... For every Mike Kennedy, there's a dozen other guys who woke up in the middle of the night, shouted "EUREKA!!! I can make an OUYA with licensed retro games!" and then started cold calling these rights holders trying to secure licenses to their IPs. And Mike is a textbook example of why they keep such a tight grip on their IPs. Mike screwed this thing up badly but can you imagine if Capcom or Konami jumped on board that sinking ship? They have their own corporate imagine to preserve and maintaining it also preserves the value of their IPs. Also, the MAME in a Jag case is doomed from the start: http://mamedev.org/legal.html License Redistribution and use of the MAME code or any derivative works are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: Redistributions may not be sold, nor may they be used in a commercial product or activity. .... Common QuestionsQ. Can I include MAME with my product? A. No. MAME is not licensed for commercial use. Using MAME as a "freebie" or including it at "no cost" with your product still constitutes commerical usage and is forbidden by thelicense. This is why MAME cabinets are born in the garage, not on a production line. Edited November 5, 2015 by StopDrop&Retro 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 This is why MAME cabinets are born in the garage, not on a production line. Quoted for truth. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
some_canuck Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 I'm sure there is a clever way of getting around that, such as selling the cabinet ready-to-go, except mame isn't installed. customer installs it himself and boom, arcade cabinet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roland p Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 (edited) An FPGA setup could also be devised, but then custom cores would have to be coded to cover the subtleties of each arcade game, and that would increase development costs. But each core could be stored on the cartridge and loaded into the FPGA at boot, and that could be an elegant solution.I found an interesting blog about a cheap fpga from a (hardware) developers point of view. If I read correctly, he uses a cheap fpga ($10) which connects to a ($0.67) 4M PROM with only 4 wires! I'm not sure (educated enough) what you'll need more to run a game but I guess this has possibilities. https://tcengineering.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/how-do-i-fpga/ Edited November 5, 2015 by roland p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 I found an interesting blog about a cheap fpga from a (hardware) developers point of view. If I read correctly, he uses a cheap fpga ($10) which connects to a ($0.67) 4M PROM with only 4 wires! I'm not sure (educated enough) what you'll need more to run a game but I guess this has possibilities. https://tcengineering.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/how-do-i-fpga/ Why is that test lead clamped to the heatsink? I'm sure there is a clever way of getting around that, such as selling the cabinet ready-to-go, except mame isn't installed. customer installs it himself and boom, arcade cabinet. But then it wouldn't be ready-to-go, would it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roland p Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 Why is that test lead clamped to the heatsink?It probably is connected to the ground pin of the regulator, so it connects to the ground of the board. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newsdee Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 Unless you plan to make your own board like Kevtris, I'd recommend you get something like the BeMicro CV for 50 bucks: http://www.loomcom.com/blog/2015/03/15/do-you-want-to-build-an-fpga-part-one/ It has pins, edge connectors, SD card slot, RAM, etc... not too shabby for that price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newsdee Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 philscomputerlab posted a nice video explaining the benefits of an FPGA console vs. emulators, and a demonstration of the MiST box. Check it out: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 I'm excited about the potential of the MiST box, and will watch it. I think it's still a bit too early for me to jump into the FGPA pool. Call me shallow, but I need for it to have a casing with a little more style than the beige box it lives in now. No, I don't need it to be a translucent candy-colored dental camera jaguar shell, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newsdee Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 Actually there *is* a translucent case for it since the guys doing a kickstarter for Amiga1200 added mounts for the board: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/a1200housing/new-amiga-1200-cases-made-from-new-molds But I like the small size and so far the only option is to makr a skin for it (which you can get printed on any site that sells custom laptop skins) . Here's a template with some pics of the result: http://www.atari-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=101&t=24583&start=1650#p278484 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 I'm excited about the potential of the MiST box, and will watch it. I think it's still a bit too early for me to jump into the FGPA pool. Call me shallow, but I need for it to have a casing with a little more style than the beige box it lives in now. No, I don't need it to be a translucent candy-colored dental camera jaguar shell, either. Wait for Kevtris. His will blow the Mist away... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 Okay now that it's over, where is my $10 Paypal refund? Got my $10 back from IndieGoGo today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 I got my refund today, too. I "contributed" $1 to the campaign so I could get in on backer updates. Just in case the campaign got to be in danger of succeeding, I also wanted to be able to post warnings to potential backers in the comments section; the one post I did make (with a link to Kevtris's original bombshell post in this thread) was promptly deleted.I was 100% certain that the campaign wouldn't make it and that I'd eventually get the money back, but I still wasn't willing to send in any more. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StopDrop&Retro Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Another update today. Just plugging a game, comments say they want to bring it to the RVGS but needs to get funded first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 RETRO VGS November 1 at 10:54am · Edited · Just a short note letting you all know we are still here and working diligently on our playable prototype. The great news is we are continuing to make great strides in engineering the eventual price down considerably so that it will be well within reach of all of you. Sit tight for more future announcements and thanks again for your continued support and excitement to help us bring cartridge gaming back to the forefront. Anthony... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 They don't give up do they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bretthorror Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 If this game gets funded and if we get funded and if you like cartridges and if you pay us enough to start our own business for us and if you want to take all that risk with your hard earned money and if you like cartridges and if you're ok with us lying to you every second day and if you like cartridges and if you wanna pay 4 times the digital price and if you like cartridges, YOU'RE GONNA LOVE DARK FLAME ON THE RETRO VGS! The game looks cool. Would like to see it come out via IndieBox if it ever gets released. That's my mantra for everything that looks cool these days. Shitty thing is it's gonna stop me from buying the digital versions so I don't end up with the same game twice. So many cool indie games out there, I need to make a wishlist. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leods Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Another update today. Just plugging a game, comments say they want to bring it to the RVGS but needs to get funded first. This Project has a playable demo. I sugest you guys Play it. They called it an Alpha, but I don't think that's what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 So we have to kickstart the games too? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 They don't give up do they? The update in 4145 seemed pretty normal and just a reminder they're rolling along. Nothing wrong in not giving up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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