FPGA Based Videogame System

[NE146]

...the Raspberry Pie (which costs what? $10)

 

Lol that's be awesome!

 

But RPI3 (mobo only) is about 30-40 bucks depending. 'Course you also need a power supply if you don't have one, as well as other little extras if wanted, like a case.

[Pal251]

Maybe they made less of the grey models. I don't want to pay the $50 extra for the black, heck I don't even want the Bluetooth controller

[Keatah]

 

Lol that's be awesome!

 

But RPI3 (mobo only) is about 30-40 bucks depending. 'Course you also need a power supply if you don't have one, as well as other little extras if wanted, like a case.

 

$10 is a far cry from the $100 needed to get all the supporting materials. That's right.

[cacophony]

Yup my order number was #3000 something so I didn't think I was that far down the list. Maybe they were worries about sitting on too much product

 

FWIW, that order number does not track the number of Nt Mini orders specifically. I think that's all orders that they've processed across all current/past products. I know this because I got my Nt Mini preorder in very early (Aug 2016) and my order number was only a few hundred less than yours.

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

FWIW, that order number does not track the number of Nt Mini orders specifically. I think that's all orders that they've processed across all current/past products. I know this because I got my Nt Mini preorder in very early (Aug 2016) and my order number was only a few hundred less than yours.

So, only a few hundred NT Minis have been sold? That seems small, especially since presumably well over a thousand of AVS have shipped. Judging by my order numbers, 307XX being the AVS and four games, and 333XX being 8-bit Xmas 2016, there were 3000 orders placed at RetroUSB, and I imagine probably half of them were AVS. In the first couple days since preorders went live, Order IDs reported by other users jumped by nearly a thousand. One the consoles got out to youtube reviewers, more people likely ordered AVS.

 

And yet time and again I see youtube reviews featuring the NT Mini that seeming don't even acknowledge the AVS even exists as a cheaper option with 40% of the cost. Analogue definitely hired better marketing, but I imagine a lot of the hardcore collector crowd went with the NT while many more casual fans picked up the cheaper AVS. I have no idea which system actually sold more units though, but AVS was technically the first to market.

 

Also if you have a Nintendoage account, the AVS scoreboard app is the bees knees. However I think a lot of people on the fence about springing for an NT Mini likely jumped at the opportunity to buy one once Kevtris unlocked his "core store"

[theboy181]

I have been having issues with connectivity on the NES30 and other 8bitdo controllers.. Anyone else?

 

I wrote Anolog-NT and wait for their reply.

 

"Firstly I want to say that the NES30 looks good in pictures but it is the worst of the 3 controllers I have own from 8bitdo. the D-pad is not precise, and that combined with poor connection issues has me worried that it makes the Analog-NT mini look bad.

I have been troubleshooting a connectivity issue with these controllers, and I have been experiencing intermittent input lag (delayed input). I have tested multiple FW's, and reverted back to the ones offered on your site. At this point I am unsure if its the controllers, or the receiver, but I know that its happening on all 8bitdo controllers.

They are all fully charged, and I am about 6 feet away from system. I have tested this in 3 different rooms too. I noticed that its often worse when I hold the controller next to my body. This has me believe that this somehow mutes the signal.

Can you please tell me if I have a defective receiver, and if there have been any other reports like mine?

I would life to get this fixed soon..

Thanks"

[phoenixdownita]

Aside from being a thread about the Z3K and now the Nt Mini Jailbreak FW I surely hope this thread does not become the 8bitdo support thread.

For that there should be an official forum on their website or even on AtariAge, I don't think kevtris signed up to support anything else but the firmware (JB or otherwise) and maybe the adaptors once ready.

[theboy181]

I'm not asking for support from kevtris on this, I'm asking other users if they are having issues too. If there is a problem, and since the controller was shipped with the unit I see value in finding out if the users here are having issues as well.

 

I have taken the support question to the Anolog-NT mini team first, as it was sold by them. I quoted the email I sent, and have not found another sites to voice this type of issue.

 

hope this is ok..

Edited March 1, 2017 by theboy181

[cacophony]

So, only a few hundred NT Minis have been sold?

...

 

And yet time and again I see youtube reviews featuring the NT Mini that seeming don't even acknowledge the AVS even exists as a cheaper option with 40% of the cost. Analogue definitely hired better marketing, but I imagine a lot of the hardcore collector crowd went with the NT while many more casual fans picked up the cheaper AVS. I have no idea which system actually sold more units though, but AVS was technically the first to market.

 

I have no idea how many Minis have actually sold. I was mainly just trying to point out that it's not equal to the order number. Maybe we can learn more if others share order numbers from earlier Analogue products...

 

I've heard various people mention that Analogue has better marketing, but I'm not sure I buy that. AVS had quite a few reviews in major publications. If the Nt Mini got a few more it's likely b/c a $500 aluminum NES is likely to generate a lot more general interest clicks than something like the AVS. Many reviews I've seen have mentioned the AVS as a far more cost effective option and didn't even really point out the major advantages of the Mini, such as in game menu, 5x height option, analog output, etc. Reviews such as the Unbox Therapy one always focus on premium type products and never mention competitors. That's just the nature of that channel.

Edited March 1, 2017 by cacophony

[phoenixdownita]

...

hope this is ok..

...it's ok obviously but I wish there was a better outlet for that kind of support requests.

[rezb1t]

Interesting bit about the 8bitdo controller + receiver, I tried mine out at a friend's house and it worked perfectly for multiple hours, didn't notice any dropped inputs. Then I tried it back at my house and it would intermittently drop inputs. I haven't been able to test another controller, but I suspect that wireless interference in the area can make a difference.

[veelk55]

"Firstly I want to say that the NES30 looks good in pictures but it is the worst of the 3 controllers I have own from 8bitdo. the D-pad is not precise

 

My thoughts exactly, I bought 8bitdo controllers a year ago. To quote myself:

 

 

I find it a bit frustrating how nothing I've had from 8bitdo has satisfied me enough.

I mean, the NES30 and the Pro are both really well made, except for one thing that ruins it all: the D-pad.

I can't play any MegaMan game from 3 to 6 on this controller, as the dpad is a bit sensitive in a way that makes MegaMan slide into a pit rather than jump over it (because it thinks im pressing down + left / right instead of just left / right)

Both controllers did this, and I've heard complaints from people online about this too. So I gave up completely, but I sure would love it if they fixed it.

I would buy an SNES model for shoulder buttons though, because the NES30's and the Pro's shoulder buttons aren't that comfy.

 

Is the problem like this?

[z3razerviper]

Hello Kevtris,

 

Would it be possible for you to add button mapping support to the NT Mini itself? I would love to be able to assign turbo to say the shoulder buttons or X & A on my Nes 30 pro. It would be even cooler of I could assign the speed of the turbo by for each button. So say I could have a one button for a four bullet burst in mega man and one for a more even constant stream. Also what are the benefits of using the analogue firmware for the retro receiver vs the stock 8bitdo one?

 

[Keatah]

Conceptual and tech discussion of FPGA games has moved to the retroblox thread while this has become the official support thread.

[theboy181]

 

My thoughts exactly, I bought 8bitdo controllers a year ago. To quote myself:

 

 

 

Is the problem like this?

 

With the NES30 there are D-pad issues.. the issue that I am describing is that the receiver will often go through bounds of delayed input strokes, often resulting on the screen about a second later..

 

I just synced my PS4 controller and played a bit without issue, then synced my SNES30 and tested without issue. I will have to do further testing as the issue seems intermittent.

 

I downgraded the receiver FW to the latest on 8bitendo's site for testing, and found that when you do this you get RAPID FIRE. However the button mappings of the NT mini are wrong when you do this.. reverted back to NT mini FW and it goes back to normal, but you lose rapid fire.

 

I want to say that I had 1.22 installed on the receiver when it arrived, and now they have 1.23 available. I hope this fixes the issue.

 

https://support.analogue.co/hc/en-us/articles/115001657087-Using-the-Retro-Receiver-for-NES-with-the-Nt-mini

[Newsdee]

Conceptual and tech discussion of FPGA games has moved to the retroblox thread while this has become the official support thread.

Maybe we should make an FPGA thread instead of giving free bumps to retroblox?

[Keatah]

Maybe..

 

I'm only skimming this thread now. It seems diluted with controller and video format technicalities. I don't mind a little diversion here and there, but this thread is off course. I think it is now tech support for a controller or something.

Edited March 1, 2017 by Keatah

[cacophony]

 

Also what are the benefits of using the analogue firmware for the retro receiver vs the stock 8bitdo one?

 

 

According to Analogue the only difference between the stock 8bitdo firmware and their custom one is the disabling of the two extra buttons (which are normally mapped to turbo a and turbo b). Yes, that makes no sense no me.

 

I hope Kevtris adds a way to enable turbo on a regular OEM controller, similar to what the AVS does.

[kevtris]

It create a save file and it working as long the unit is on I can load another rom and then load startropics again and the saves work.

But if I turn of the unit and load startropics again I can se it is trying to load the ram file but it does not work, but if I remove the nes 2 header the save file work...

 

I did a little work on the save stuff tonight. I am clearing the RAM now before loading a game. This could cause a problem with some games, like star tropics 1 and 2. If you play star tropics 1, then load 2 it will use the same RAM from 1 (because I don't clear it). This causes... issues since the two games have the same game format / checking it seems. I am clearing it now before loading or when running the game for the first time so this can't happen any more.

 

A bunch of NES hacks seem to think save RAM is cleared to all 0's the first time you play them, too which causes problems with i.e. the english port of lagrange point, at least it did for me. This fixed that too.

 

Remember to play star tropics 1/2 you must set the submapper to 1. If you don't, the music won't work and the save ram backup to SD won't either. If the music is playing you should be OK.

[kevtris]

Aside from being a thread about the Z3K and now the Nt Mini Jailbreak FW I surely hope this thread does not become the 8bitdo support thread.

For that there should be an official forum on their website or even on AtariAge, I don't think kevtris signed up to support anything else but the firmware (JB or otherwise) and maybe the adaptors once ready.

Yah maybe we need to make an 8bitdo thread or something, because I have no control over it. I am only doing the firmware / hardware for the nt mini, and have no relationship with the 8bitdo people. I don't know much about how it works or how to resolve problems with it. Nothing personal, but I just am not the person to ask :-)

 

updates: I might make a video this week about the controller adapters, showing off the connectors and things. Should get those soon!

[phoenixdownita]

Conceptual and tech discussion of FPGA games has moved to the retroblox thread while this has become the official support thread.

How did that happened? Thanks for the info.

 

Also is it me or a few members got banned recently? Like that kidgamerSomethingSomething .... what in the world?

[Andromeda Stardust]

Kevtris is a guest on the My Life In Gaming live stream, starting now if anybody is interested:

 

I watched the whole thing. Very informative. Kevtris, you are amazing. And do create a Patreon. I might toss you a Lincoln. If all of your followers did likewise, it would be a lot of money.

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

Hello Kevtris,

 

Would it be possible for you to add button mapping support to the NT Mini itself? I would love to be able to assign turbo to say the shoulder buttons or X & A on my Nes 30 pro. It would be even cooler of I could assign the speed of the turbo by for each button. So say I could have a one button for a four bullet burst in mega man and one for a more even constant stream. Also what are the benefits of using the analogue firmware for the retro receiver vs the stock 8bitdo one?

 

I was wondering this same thing. Especially, would this modified firmware have any effect on performance should I decide to use it on my AVS?

 

I downgraded my 8bitdo firmware to an older version so I could get B/A support which feels closer to the original Dog Bone or Game Boy. Pet peeve of mine but I HATE Y/B layouts. Which layout do the NT version use?

 

The old firmware for the 8bitdo recievers used B/A mapping for the NES buttons, with Y/X being used for Turbo. The new firmware for the 8bitdo controllers remapped them to Y/B per request of a bunch of gamers who felt the button layout needed to be changed, as well as add compatibility for SNES receivers.

 

The newer firmware maps to Y/B such that the first 8 bits the controller sends are identical for NES/SNES. If the console sends 16 bits or more, the controller maps Y/A/L/R to the remaining bits. If the console sends 8 bits only, the 8bitdo receiver maps turbo function to buttons Y/A.

 

I am curious if the NT Mini custom 8bitdo firmware maps the 8bitdo controllers differently to how the original new and old 8bitdo firmwares operate. Specifically, I want to know which button mapping the Analogue custom firmware uses and if it allows turbo function or other usage of the Y/A/L/R buttons. I may have to test it myself...

 

EDIT: If anyone wants the old beta firmware that maps NES B/A to 8bitdo B/A, I have attached it here:

8Bitdo_RR_Firmware_V1.10_Beta4.zip

 

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 2016-05-21 8Bitdo_RR_Firmware_V1.10_Beta5（Retro Receiver Firmware）

1. Make the led light strobe quicker when Bluetooth is scanning.

2. Change the button layout.

 

 

8Bitdo_RR_Firmware_V1.10_Beta5.zip (405.06 KB, Downloads: 32)

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 2016-05-11 V1.10beta4 （Retro Receiver Firmware）

1. Fixed the button mapping issue for Retron 5 console.

 

8Bitdo_RR_Firmware_V1.10_Beta4.zip (404.86 KB, Downloads: 71)

Edited March 1, 2017 by Kosmic Stardust

[rezb1t]

 

I did a little work on the save stuff tonight. I am clearing the RAM now before loading a game. This could cause a problem with some games, like star tropics 1 and 2. If you play star tropics 1, then load 2 it will use the same RAM from 1 (because I don't clear it). This causes... issues since the two games have the same game format / checking it seems. I am clearing it now before loading or when running the game for the first time so this can't happen any more.

 

A bunch of NES hacks seem to think save RAM is cleared to all 0's the first time you play them, too which causes problems with i.e. the english port of lagrange point, at least it did for me. This fixed that too.

 

Remember to play star tropics 1/2 you must set the submapper to 1. If you don't, the music won't work and the save ram backup to SD won't either. If the music is playing you should be OK.

I noticed the save thing as well, there's a Super Mario Bros 3 save hack that doesn't work since it expects SRAM to be 0'd out. Neat to hear that that is being worked around.

 

The weird thing is that submapper is set on my StarTropics rom as instructed (I used Nintendulator to do it), and music works, but if I save the game, go to menu to dump the SRAM to a file, then power off + power on the console and load up the game again, the save doesn't work. But if the iNES 2.0 header isn't present, it saves yet won't play music.

 

Sorry if I'm just repeating what you already know! Just want to make sure

Edited March 1, 2017 by rezb1t

[Andromeda Stardust]

I noticed the save thing as well, there's a Super Mario Bros 3 save hack that doesn't work since it expects SRAM to be 0'd out. Neat to hear that that is being worked around.

That is indeed troublesome because if you burn it to a cart and get it working, then later you change the battery or some shenanigans, you'd get a borked save. I was under the impression real SRAM chips return to a pseudo random state after total power loss.