Coleco Chameleon .... hardware speculations?

[phoenixdownita]

The problem with the FPGA thing is that there is stated in this thread to the general knowledge only one person in the world who has managed to make a fully working SNES-capble FPGA, and he's selling it at about 50$ a pop to the public.

...

Small correction, there's one known working implementation that would require at least an FPGA chip that costs around 50US$ (the FPGA chip), the guy that made the SNES core is NOT selling it at 50US$ (or at all afaik). The board he used to develop the SNES core cost around 300US$ (it's a DE2-115 from Altera).

Edited February 14, 2016 by phoenixdownita

[Raticon]

Small correction, there's one known working implementation that requires an FPGA chip that costs around 50US$ (the FPGA chip, the guy that made the SNES core is NOT selling it at 50US$ (or at all afaik). The board he used to develop it cost around 300US$ (it's a DE2-115 from Altera).

Thank you. Shows what i know...

 

Now it would be even more fantastic if Mike and his cronies managed to develop an equal product and sell it for 150$ complete with case, controller and pack-in game to us.

[supercoupe91]

I don't think there's a palm big enough for me to bury my face in after reading this...

 

Mike is banking on people like you who are trying to wish magic retro consoles into existence.

 

Ever wonder why Nigeria has so many princes who are separated from their money?

I know shame on me right? I was excited at the idea of a new console without all the BS you get with modern gaming such as digital-only games, updates, DLC, and patches. Not necessarily because its "retro." It could run modern games for all I care. Just get rid of the internet connection and sell complete physical copies of games that don't rely on being online.

[triverse]

Okay, hear me out, now

 

So, if it's got:

A coleco badge

jaguar case

and snes board

 

Then, to be complete all it needs are:

saturn controllers

famicom cartridges

turbo grafx power supply

and the soul of an unbaptized child

 

My logic cannot be denied.

Frankenstein's monster must live.

 

You don't know how close you are with that little comment...

[bretthorror]

Do you honestly and truly believe that's all that's going on here? That all of these people who have perhaps not a ton in common except for a love of video games, are unfairly railroading your friend on the "hate train?" That we're trying to impress each other? "I hate Retro VGS more than you!" "No way, dude, I hate it WAY more!"

 

There's way more going on here than mere bandwagon jumping.

 

If that is a SNES mini in that shell or if there is no prototype that works without editing or any of that bullshit, I have no reason to believe Mike is anything but a complete and utter liar willing to fuck people out of their money by lies to try to make his vision come true. If my friend did that, I'd tell him he was a fucking piss poor excuse for a human being.

 

The IGG campaign was a poorly planned failure, it made no sense and people shit on it. You can forgive buffoons for this. They made a mistake, they weren't on the same page, shit just didn't go well for them. Mike asked for forgiveness and amid the jokes I think everyone kind of did to a degree. I'm not saying we rolled out the red carpet for him, but we still hypothesized about how he could get this system out cheap and we all put our ideas out there basically for him to steal if he wanted to. He came on here two days ago saying his team had "worked miracles" and he said this knowing full well he had a SNES in a Jag shell to show us in two days. He promised a working proto and this is definitely not the system they're going to sell on KS. After going back on his prototype promise, he asks us to wait 10 more days for specs. And in that 10 days, I'm assuming, a real proto is gonna pop up out of thin air, or he, in fact, is going to try this shit a second time... without one.

 

I gave Mike the benefit of the doubt as much as I laughed at him to be able to impress me with his new system in the second go round. At the end of the day, he totally lied to everyone and is misleading the randoms on his Facebook to give him their money without providing full details. This has gone, for me, to the point where I am starting to think he is a legit scammer. It's obvious with the way he words his replies that he's no idiot, he is intentionally spreading false information or at the very least leaving out key details. In a crowdfunded project, when a guy does this to potentially rip people off, I think the retro gaming community has every right to knock this guy's dick in the dirt to any extent they can to protect people from, if not being outright scammed, but from contributing to a project that simply can't come to fruition under this guy's lead. If Kevtris and the inevitable AA fallout had never came out about the bullshit (and their price point was totally ridiculous), I could very well have backed it without knowing any better.

[TheClassyGamer]

Do you honestly and truly believe that's all that's going on here? That all of these people who have perhaps not a ton in common except for a love of video games, are unfairly railroading your friend on the "hate train?" That we're trying to impress each other? "I hate Retro VGS more than you!" "No way, dude, I hate it WAY more!"

 

There's way more going on here than mere bandwagon jumping.

 

 

Yes, can't get behind the hate train idea either. Also, I feel to even think that is what is going on is to really down play the whole matter and is quite disrespectful to the community. Just to blow the whole thing off as a bunch of haters is basically the same thing we've seen through the whole misadventure.

 

There should be a hate train though. The entire community should be upset at stupidity of this level.

 

Not just because it makes all all look bad as a whole.

Not just because we've seen we are being lied to.

Not just because be are being treated like we are stupid.

 

But because this hurts the entire community. It's not like some guy in his basement came up with some product and couldn't deliver. This is a project out in the open, high profile being shown to people in the business world. When this flops, there are a lot of suits that are going to sit back and say stuff like, "There is not enough interest in classic gaming, or retro gaming for it be to be profitable or worth our time." It's crap like this that will keep real legitimate projects from finding funding or getting brought to market as a real product. When this fails, its going to set the gaming community back.

 

Maybe just one in a million people who dream of releasing a new classic, or retro gaming product will ever attempt such a thing, but after this high profile scam fest failure, its just going to be that much harder for anyone who does try to act on their dream to get a company to take a risk and back something like this.

 

This kind of crap makes everything worse for the hobby and Anyone with any love for the hobby should be upset.

 

I can't have respect for people who pull this kind of stunt, nor anyone willing to support them, because I do care about the hobby. I want to see it prosper, I don't want the things I enjoyed in my youth to fade and be forgotten and I do want new exciting things to continue to be developed for the gaming I love.

 

Looking back on this whole mess, its quite clear now it was never about the hobby. What it is about is a matter for debate still I think.

 

If there is a hate train, the tracks were laid and the train was built by those responsible for this farce and they should be ran out of town on it.

[toiletunes]

Another update, you haters:

 

Edited February 14, 2016 by toiletunes

[thevnaguy]

And the twisting continues............ never fails

[+madman]

Mike not only is doing things backwards by starting with the shell, but also seems bound and determined to put as little real work into creating this system as possible. He didn't design his own shell; he used someone elses.

Didn't you read the original RVGS thread? The shell is like 90% of the work! Simple as that.

[goldenegg]

And the twisting continues............ never fails

 

 

If you honestly can't see some major issues with what Mike has been showing and saying today, then I think you're letting your friendship cloud your judgement here. It's fine if you don't want to jump on your friend in a public forum, but there's good reason for people to continue being upset with how this project is being run.

[thevnaguy]

Do you honestly and truly believe that's all that's going on here? That all of these people who have perhaps not a ton in common except for a love of video games, are unfairly railroading your friend on the "hate train?" That we're trying to impress each other? "I hate Retro VGS more than you!" "No way, dude, I hate it WAY more!"

 

There's way more going on here than mere bandwagon jumping.

Nope, if you read my post you would see I understand the situation and the concerns. I can separate the business from the friendship. Just because I am friends opens me to attacks apparently

[thevnaguy]

 

 

If you honestly can't see some major issues with what Mike has been showing and saying today, then I think you're letting your friendship cloud your judgement here. It's fine if you don't want to jump on your friend in a public forum, but there's good reason for people to continue being upset with how this project is being run.

I see the issues, I choose not to comment on them as they are not value added posts. I am keeping the friendship separate from the business.

[thevnaguy]

 

It's okay to have friends. It's okay to be Mike's friend. But to many of us here Mike is not a friend, he's just a guy trying to start a business and he wants the public's money to do it while he promises them the moon.

 

Your post is written as if there's a written rule that you must stand by a friend in any business move. That is not the case. I've had plenty of friends who wanted to get involved in dumb business schemes and I did not stand beside them. I once had a college friend who was sure he found a guaranteed way to beat the house in Las Vegas and of course I didn't support him. In fact- as his friend I felt the onus was on me to talk some sense into him and explained to him why it wouldn't work. I had to tell him the hard facts because no one else would and without it he was about to find himself in a bad situation. Because that's what a friend does, friends protect each other from harm when they see a bad situation like that coming up.

 

You know what Mike probably needs right now? A friend. A real friend who won't lead him down the wrong path because it's a fun ride. Do you think is healthy for him? Because from that first video he posted today it looks like he's about to stroke out. A friend should tell him "look Mike, you're putting yourself through a lot. You're having a hard time delivering on your promises and if you can't cross all your t's and dot all your i's by the 26th, then maybe you should shelve the idea for now."

Did not state I must stand by a friend in a business move. Thanks for the Advice

[thevnaguy]

 

 

Yes, can't get behind the hate train idea either. Also, I feel to even think that is what is going on is to really down play the whole matter and is quite disrespectful to the community. Just to blow the whole thing off as a bunch of haters is basically the same thing we've seen through the whole misadventure.

 

There should be a hate train though. The entire community should be upset at stupidity of this level.

 

Not just because it makes all all look bad as a whole.

Not just because we've seen we are being lied to.

Not just because be are being treated like we are stupid.

 

But because this hurts the entire community. It's not like some guy in his basement came up with some product and couldn't deliver. This is a project out in the open, high profile being shown to people in the business world. When this flops, there are a lot of suits that are going to sit back and say stuff like, "There is not enough interest in classic gaming, or retro gaming for it be to be profitable or worth our time." It's crap like this that will keep real legitimate projects from finding funding or getting brought to market as a real product. When this fails, its going to set the gaming community back.

 

Maybe just one in a million people who dream of releasing a new classic, or retro gaming product will ever attempt such a thing, but after this high profile scam fest failure, its just going to be that much harder for anyone who does try to act on their dream to get a company to take a risk and back something like this.

 

This kind of crap makes everything worse for the hobby and Anyone with any love for the hobby should be upset.

 

I can't have respect for people who pull this kind of stunt, nor anyone willing to support them, because I do care about the hobby. I want to see it prosper, I don't want the things I enjoyed in my youth to fade and be forgotten and I do want new exciting things to continue to be developed for the gaming I love.

 

Looking back on this whole mess, its quite clear now it was never about the hobby. What it is about is a matter for debate still I think.

 

If there is a hate train, the tracks were laid and the train was built by those responsible for this farce and they should be ran out of town on it.

A figure of speech taken out of context, yep never fails here on AA. It was meant as, I dont plan on jumping in this as it is already being discussed at length already. Appreciate being thrown in as being "disrespectful" to the community just because I dont want to participate in this heated discussion.

[jaybird3rd]

If you don't want to participate, why have you written four posts in a row, saying the same thing over and over?

 

We get it. You and Mike are friends. I don't think anyone expects you to say anything bad about him in a public forum, and I don't think anyone here has either asked you to do so or "attacked" you for not doing so. I would submit, however, that as a general policy, it is unwise to be so blindly loyal to a friend that ANYTHING they do in the conduct of their business, anything at all, cannot possibly affect your view of them as a friend or as a person, just because you're determined to "separate business from friendship." Anyone who would demand that kind of loyalty from their friends is demanding that they be DISloyal to their own notions of right and wrong.

[RupanIII]

I just realized another giant ass Elephant in their booth....

The Prototype Cart from the first video, the only jaguar shelled cart shown, Mike Kennedy said had 5 games on it. He plugged that in and then cut to him playing Jim Power.

Quite a while later, Mike Kennedy then reports that Piko Interactive had just come by with one of their boards with both Legends and Jim Power on it , the bare PCB cart that they showed plugged into a the demo, and that was the one he described as running perfectly on their FPGA.

 

So, he's got 2 Diff carts and All i ever seen played are Jim Power and Apocalypse 2?

2 COPIES OF JIM POWER ON DIFFERENT CARTS??? I doubt it, like so much else.

[TheClassyGamer]

A figure of speech taken out of context, yep never fails here on AA. It was meant as, I dont plan on jumping in this as it is already being discussed at length already. Appreciate being thrown in as being "disrespectful" to the community just because I dont want to participate in this heated discussion.

 

That is an interesting misconception you have there. Just to be clear, I was addressing the concept that there was just a hate train rolling out for no reason other than just to hate on the project. Its the same thing we had during the IGG, no different anyone with a different opinion, any concerns or questions were all lumped into being haters. It really didn't have anything to do about you, but I'll be happy to address that now. Also, thank you for your value added post. I doubt really any of my posts have added any actual value to the conversation. They have just been my personal feelings and thought on the matter.

 

I also appreciate you taking the time to make a point that totally had nothing to do with what I was saying. I wasn't even directing my post at you. If you want to lump yourself in with this BS artist, then by all means be my guest. That's your business. If you're in business with this Chameleon outfit, that's something I don't know anything about, but hopefully you will be a stand up person.

 

I am curious though if you can honestly say everything officially released from the IGG on has been totally 100% on the up and up, that there has been no misinformation put out, no deception in any way, and in all ways everything put forth about the project totally factual. Also, if the answer is no, then why is that? That would be something that may add some value to the conversation.

[RupanIII]

Kev, do you have a working FPGA core for SNES?

What cores do you have working for your project?

Just wondering, i've never quite been sure, but I know you at least have several.

 

Thanks.

I seriously thought about making one too actually, since I have a snes mini here. I don't have a jaguar for a shell though. This is probably a blessing in disguise because I really should be working on some more productive endeavours :-)

[RupanIII]

The reason we are all angry is WE REALLY WOULD LOVE THIS THING...

 

Basically, FPGA Arcade, officially licensed games, no bugs, and maybe arcade perfect no lag versions of classics.
FPGA Arcade with commercial backing would be pretty cool, a perfect target for the retro audience.

 

But....

So far, they aren't showing me that. Plug in a multi cart that goes from a Genesis to an NES to a Sega System 16 Arcade Game to a Coleco game.

[RupanIII]

A better demo would be an empty case showing what it will look like and a real dev board with a real custom cart or PCIE connector for the cart running a real FPGA. Here's real hardware, and later it'll be in this box, we need your help, it's working and we are showing you.

 

That would be a much healthier thing to see. I think most people at a trade show would know that your dev stuff almost never fits in your final case.

[TheClassyGamer]

Well, its upsetting for a wide range of reasons.

It's not my goal to spread ill will, and looking back, even though there is ample reason for there to be plenty to go round, I'm not helping matters.

I'm just going to call it done and quit posting unless something new comes to light to change things.

[thevnaguy]

If you don't want to participate, why have you written four posts in a row, saying the same thing over and over?

 

We get it. You and Mike are friends. I don't think anyone expects you to say anything bad about him in a public forum, and I don't think anyone here has either asked you to do so or "attacked" you for not doing so. I would submit, however, that as a general policy, it is unwise to be so blindly loyal to a friend that ANYTHING they do in the conduct of their business, anything at all, cannot possibly affect your view of them as a friend or as a person, just because you're determined to "separate business from friendship." Anyone who would demand that kind of loyalty from their friends is demanding that they be DISloyal to their own notions of right and wrong.

I meant to make a single response to all but it did not work out that way wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

 

oh rats, theclassygamer responded to, so thats what this edit button is for Nope classy, not a official part of the Chameleon team

Edited February 14, 2016 by thevnaguy

[Newsdee]

That thing is a proof-of-concept at best. Perhaps they felt the need to prove that cartridges can be done in a modern system... I can see that being an easy rebuttal/objection from a business-type guy to make.

[phoenixdownita]

Kev, do you have a working FPGA core for SNES?

What cores do you have working for your project?

Just wondering, i've never quite been sure, but I know you at least have several.

 

Thanks.

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/242970-fpga-based-videogame-system/?do=findComment&comment=3326314

[shawnphase]

ARMOR OF GOD = EMPERORS NEW CLOTHES