FPGA Based Videogame System

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

Hehe, I don't know if it makes sense to create a "Mega Nintendo" unless it plays both Sega and Nintendo. It would better be branded the Analogue MD or something like that if we are talking about the base Megadrive/Genesis.

I had a feeling this would come up. NT could just as easily have meant "New Tech." Or an old dinosaur Windows variant. Fact of the matter, Analogue has the "NT" moniker as part of their branding now, so Analogue = NT. It would be wise to continue the NT branding whether or not it the console is cloning a Nintendo system or not. Analogue MD would also work, though I wasn't aware they were in the medical profession!

[keepdreamin]

Kolibri is a fantastic game,

 

Compared to other Hummingbird based shooters, maybe. But when compared to core Genesis based shmups like MUSHA, Thunder Force IV, Gley Lancer etc.. not so much.

 

Again, Virtua Fighter and Space Harrier are better enjoyed on Saturn.

 

The problem with Virtua Racing is it isn't Outrun, Super Hang-on, Sega Rally, or Daytona USA.

[retro_fan]

Kevtris, is the missing interlaced video mode (720i [EDIT: this mode does not exist, my mistake], 1080i) due to some technical issues, or just the lack of time/low priority?

 

Since you've got the secret recipe for hybrid scanlines from the creator of the UltraHDMI, maybe you could ask him about this Retro Mode mentioned in the overview of the device by RetroRGB as well. Of course, it's more of an artistic expression of how the CRT should look than a perfect recreation of the real thing but I would argue that people would use it on the Super Nt more often than these hqx filters (BTW, I have nothing against the users who like hqx filters! I'm just trying to think of an argument. ). Of course, I understand that this filtering stuff means nothing to the lovers of the crystal clear pixels (that's fine too, and I'm happy for you).

Edited February 10, 2018 by retro_fan

[SegaSnatcher]

Kevtris, is the missing interlaced video mode (720i, 1080i) due to some technical issues, or just the lack of time/low priority?

 

Since you've got the secret recipe for hybrid scanlines from the creator of the UltraHDMI, maybe you could ask him about this Retro Mode mentioned in the overview of the device by RetroRGB as well. Of course, it's more of an artistic expression of how the CRT should look than a perfect recreation of the real thing but I would argue that people would use it on the Super Nt more often than these hqx filters (BTW, I have nothing against the user who like hqx filters! I'm just trying to think of an argument. ). Of course, I understand that this filtering stuff means nothing to the lovers of the crystal clear pixels (that's fine too, and I'm happy for you).

Ummm, why do you want interlaced resolution?

[retro_fan]

Ummm, why do you want interlaced resolution?

 

I've read the comment by a guy who would like to use the Super Nt with his CRT HDTV which only accepts 720i [EDIT: this mode does not exist, my mistake]/1080i. And now I'm just curious too.

 

EDIT: Someone also has mentioned the problem with this game under the Mad Little Pixel video: "I have a similar problem to your Star Fox 2 with my PAL copy of "Street Racer". When it boots up it says "not compatible with Super Scope".

Edited February 10, 2018 by retro_fan

[RabidWookie]

 

Compared to other Hummingbird based shooters, maybe. But when compared to core Genesis based shmups like MUSHA, Thunder Force IV, Gley Lancer etc.. not so much.

 

Again, Virtua Fighter and Space Harrier are better enjoyed on Saturn.

 

The problem with Virtua Racing is it isn't Outrun, Super Hang-on, Sega Rally, or Daytona USA.

Kolibri is not a traditional shooter, so comparing it to traditional sci-fi shooters is like comparing Ecco to Metroid. It's an exploration heavy nature game with shooter mechanics. It's not MUSHA.

 

Virtua Fighter and Space Harrier games being great on Saturn is irrelevant to a discussion of great games on the 32X. Your logic is like saying the NES Mario games can be ignored or aren't great games worth playing because Mario All-Stars exists on SNES. It's silly.

 

Virtua Racing is Virtua Racing, and it's a great game. There's room for lots of different great Sega racing games. Your logic is especially ironic considering you're in a thread about preserving great old games arguing that great old games can be ignored if something better came along later.

[keepdreamin]

 

I've read the comment by a guy who would like to use the Super Nt with his CRT HDTV which only accepts 720i/1080i. And now I'm just curious too.

 

EDIT: Some also has mentioned the problem with this game under the Mad Little Pixel video: "I have a similar problem to your Star Fox 2 with my PAL copy of "Street Racer". When it boots up it says "not compatible with Super Scope".

 

720i? That isn't a thing From what I recall of most HDCRTs they would accept 480i, 480P, 720P, and 1080i. 480P would display as progressive, while 720P was upscaled to 1080i. That person should set their SuperNT to 720P.

[Andromeda Stardust]

720i does not exist (dammit keepdreamin beat me ). Many early model and/or budget flat panels only supported up to 720p / 1080i, but 720p modes generally work fine on these sets. My 2007-ish 26" Sanyo LCD is one of them. Some very early rear projection sets or CRTs only handle 480i/p and 1080i, making them incompatible with any progressive only HD resolution. Most of these early sets lacked HDCP making them useless for watching modern BluRay movies, and many of them were DVI only, which means you cannot pass sound through a DVI/HDMI adapter.

[konradklaus]

 

720i? That isn't a thing From what I recall of most HDCRTs they would accept 480i, 480P, 720P, and 1080i. 480P would display as progressive, while 720P was upscaled to 1080i. That person should set their SuperNT to 720P.

 

Keepdreamin is correct

The term assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, thus implying a resolution of 1280×720 px (0.9 megapixels). 720i (720 lines interlaced) is an erroneous term found in numerous sources and publications. Typically, it is a typographical error in which the author is referring to the 720p HDTV format.

720p - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/720p

[retro_fan]

TIL, my bad then, sorry about the confusion, so the question is about 1080i.

Edited February 10, 2018 by retro_fan

[keepdreamin]

My bad then, sorry about the confusion, so the question is about 1080i.

 

You wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a 720P source vs a 1080i source on one of those CRTs. I had one of the last tube WEGAs Sony made in the early 2000's. I recall changing back and forth between 1080i and 720P. There was no discernible difference between the two, which makes sense. None of those consumer grade sets could actually display a 720 line progressive image. Again, that HDCRT owner should set the super NT to 720P.

[cacophony]

Just got my Super Nt

 

I ran into kind of a funny issue where I was messing with the "select" and "back" button assignments and ended up in a state where I think they were both assigned to the same key. This prevented navigation in the menu. I flashed the 3.9 firmware to get things back to a workable state. I guess the lesson is be careful how you order your button assignments! If you're swapping "select" and "back" you'll need to utilize a third temporary button assignment.

 

@kevtris, any chance we can get the ability to turn the system on/off using the controller? This was one of the features I used all the time on the mini. If it makes a difference I'm just using an original wired controller.

Edited February 10, 2018 by cacophony

[Kismet]

I had a feeling this would come up. NT could just as easily have meant "New Tech." Or an old dinosaur Windows variant. Fact of the matter, Analogue has the "NT" moniker as part of their branding now, so Analogue = NT. It would be wise to continue the NT branding whether or not it the console is cloning a Nintendo system or not. Analogue MD would also work, though I wasn't aware they were in the medical profession!

 

There is one person in this thread who insists that NT means Nintendo, when NT is more commonly known to be "New Technology". Nobody would assume NT means Nintendo except someone who bought the original Analogue NT. From trademark perspective they would never want to suggest that anyway. The 8-bit system in Japan was called Famicom (Family Computer). The system on this side was called NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). It just so happens that Nintendo's product names for the NES, SNES, and N64, have the N mean Nintendo. There's no T in there.

 

I keep calling a potential mega drive, MegaNT because that is the next logical progression of both Mega being > Super and Mega Drive > Super Nintendo. Microsoft does not have a claim on "NT" by itself, only "Windows NT", if you go through the TESS trademark database you'll only find "NT" used as stylized logos.

 

Meanwhile Analogue:

 

Goods and Services IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S: Arcade games; Controllers for game consoles; Joysticks for video games; Video game consoles. FIRST USE: 20110104. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20110104

 

Registration Number 5086599

Registration Date November 22, 2016

Owner (REGISTRANT) Analogue, LLC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY WASHINGTON SUITE 210 110 Cherry Street SEATTLE WASHINGTON 98104

(LAST LISTED OWNER) ANALOGUE, INC. CORPORATION DELAWARE 110 CHERRY STREET, 210 SEATTLE WASHINGTON 98104

Edited February 10, 2018 by Kismet

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

@kevtris, any chance we can get the ability to turn the system on/off using the controller? This was one of the features I used all the time on the mini. If it makes a difference I'm just using an original wired controller.

It appears the Super NT has properly designed power and reset buttons unlike the NT /NT mini. Assuming the power switch is a push on / push off and the reset is a momentary contact, then the entire console powers down when powered off. This is the appropriate behavior for a real console. The RetroUSB AVS operates in this manner, and I don't understand why it's a detraction to have wired controllers and a physical power / reset switch. I would rather know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my console is off when I turn it off. In fact I consider the lack of discrete reset / power switches on the NT Mini as a flaw in design. You cannot for instance hold the reset button to do a "long" reset on the Powerpak when running it on the NT Mini. Besides, you claim that you don't want to get up and turn the console on, but you still need to physically get up to change the game cart, don't you?

[DadsGlasses]

I never go anywhere near my NT. I pick up my controller and power it on. Then I power on the NT with hot keys. I choose my core and I choose my game. I cycle through games. I cycle through cores. When Im done I power off the console with hot keys and power off my controller.

 

Depending on personal setup, it is definitely a nice option to have.

 

 

 

It appears the Super NT has properly designed power and reset buttons unlike the NT /NT mini. Assuming the power switch is a push on / push off and the reset is a momentary contact, then the entire console powers down when powered off. This is the appropriate behavior for a real console. The RetroUSB AVS operates in this manner, and I don't understand why it's a detraction to have wired controllers and a physical power / reset switch. I would rather know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my console is off when I turn it off. In fact I consider the lack of discrete reset / power switches on the NT Mini as a flaw in design. You cannot for instance hold the reset button to do a "long" reset on the Powerpak when running it on the NT Mini. Besides, you claim that you don't want to get up and turn the console on, but you still need to physically get up to change the game cart, don't you?

[Loukey]

I never go anywhere near my NT. I pick up my controller and power it on. Then I power on the NT with hot keys. I choose my core and I choose my game. I cycle through games. I cycle through cores. When Im done I power off the console with hot keys and power off my controller.

 

Depending on personal setup, it is definitely a nice option to have.

 

 

 

 

Seeing as the feature would be more useful to those with multiple cores, maybe it would be a request for jailbreak firmware (presuming that happens) rather than the official firmware.

[mrpopsicleman]

They would have to have a way to go back if you accidentally chose this and didn't have a compatible monitor. Even making you confirm the choice could end up bad if you confirmed the choice while your monitor was black/off. I could see this maybe being in a jailbreak but I am not so sure Analogue would want that in an official product.

According to GameXplain's video https://youtu.be/xoZOE2WUY3E?t=2m29s, setting changes don't automatically save, you have to manually select "Save Settings". So if a theoretical 60.08 Hz mode didn't work on somebody's display, couldn't they just turn off the console to revert to previous settings?

Edited February 10, 2018 by mrpopsicleman

[Andromeda Stardust]

Finally got my ship notification email, 9:33pm CST (friday night).

[Andromeda Stardust]

According to GameXplain's video https://youtu.be/xoZOE2WUY3E?t=2m29s, setting changes don't automatically save, you have to manually select "Save Settings". So if a theoretical 60.08 Hz mode didn't work on somebody's display, couldn't they just turn off the console to revert to previous settings?

Yeah seems like the UltraHDMI does this as well. I borked my hdtv display in the settings, unusable signal, pushed a bunch of buttons in a panic (why a screen that you can't read sayin "press a to confirm setting" is a bad idea). Hit the power switch, and my n64 display came back on again.

[Toth]

Well I got my classic system. It's so cool. I love it.

 

Kevtris, if you happen to see this and happen to be thinking about it sometime when you're working on updates I think it would be awesome to have the color Cyan as a menu highlight color. That's the color I use on the Nt Mini and like it a lot. Not a huge deal of course but just thought I would throw the request out there.

 

Anyway, awesome job on the system. It's so crazy playing my actual games on an LCD but having it be such high quality.

Edited February 10, 2018 by Toth

[Toth]

Kevtris, I just remembered my 8bitdo wireless reciever lights remain lit up and flashing when the NT mini is powered off. Because of this I used stock controllers most of the time. Does this occur on the Super NT also? On an original NES or SNES they turn off when the system turns off. I hate having to unplug them after each use. My NT mini also buzzes if they are plugged in when the power is off.

 

Thanks

 

No, on the Super Nt there appears to not be power to the controller port when the system is off. Though, this may be nice in your situation it means that you will never be able to turn the Super Nt on using a controller the way you can with the Nt Mini unless Kevtris can implement an option in a future update to keep the controller ports powered when the system is off.

Edited February 10, 2018 by Toth

[Jagasian]

I got my Super NT. The 240p test suite is a great SNES ROM for testing visual quality, sound, and lag. The manual lag test shows an input lag reading that is purely the lag caused by my old Samsung flatscreen TV (35ms). On a lagless HDMI flatscreen, Id expect to be able to get around 8ms, the time it takes to draw half a frame. An original SNES hooked up via composite to this TV has an 80ms lag due to the TVs laggy built-in upscaler.

 

Edited February 10, 2018 by Jagasian

[Jagasian]

One cool thing about the Super NT is it is very heavy for its size and has a very large rubber foot covering the entire bottom of the console. This keeps the Super NT from sliding around.

[RabidWookie]

32x has the best port of Virtua Racing. Virtua Fighter is actually quite decent as well.

The 32X port of Virtua Fighter was considered the best home port of the first game by the team that developed them all due to it's arcade-perfect gameplay. At the time it came out it blew everyone's mind that it was better than the Saturn version.

[cacophony]

I would rather know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my console is off when I turn it off. In fact I consider the lack of discrete reset / power switches on the NT Mini as a flaw in design.

 

That's what the power light is for

 

The power switch on my Super Nt seems to occasionally get a bit stuck. It still works fine, it's just a bit harder to press sometimes and the click feedback differs somewhat. It's pretty subtle and maybe some people wouldn't even notice this. But I plan on keeping it for a long time and would rather not have to use the mechanical switch if I don't have to.

 

Anyways, I'm super happy with the purchase so far, but I'm going to give it more time before I post specific impressions.

Edited February 10, 2018 by cacophony