eightbit Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 I ordered one of these today. We'll see how the joystick really is, but some of the other negative reviews I have read are pretty unfair. I have read negative comments on some websites because the keyboard was not functional, because it was too difficult to side load d64 images, and even knocks on it because the keyboaRd keys do not have the graphics printed on them. Come on now... There is an upcoming firmware that will allow easy d64 selection, but either way pretry cool you can do that at all. They could have just left it with the 64 games and that's it...so using it as a "real" C64 is a plus. First thing I will try are some of my group's old demos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amiman99 Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 I was thinking about it and decided not to get it. I have C64c with SD card which works great, and I have 2 C64TV joysticks which are converted and working. One of them have disk drive port and other SD card. So I'm good. Oh, and I don't play them very often. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hwlngmad Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 With that kind of equipment, I would think you don't need it unless it is for collector purposes as you seem to have the ability to play any C64 game you want by now. I was thinking about it and decided not to get it. I have C64c with SD card which works great, and I have 2 C64TV joysticks which are converted and working. One of them have disk drive port and other SD card. So I'm good. Oh, and I don't play them very often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swami Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 So, can this use whatever-to-usb PnP HID controllers or controller adapters, like the Vision-dapter for Sega controllers on PC or does it only work with the USB stick they sell for it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amiman99 Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 With that kind of equipment, I would think you don't need it unless it is for collector purposes as you seem to have the ability to play any C64 game you want by now. Sometimes you need to know when to stop. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 If anyone wants to know where I am getting mine: https://www.shop4megastore.com/retro-consoles/the-c64-mini-system-console $109.99 with free shipping to the USA. As I have ordered dozens of items from them in the past I know they are legit. This was out of stock for a while now but I received the notification today and jumped on it. They are still in stock (for now) so if you want one right now here is your opportunity! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 So, can this use whatever-to-usb PnP HID controllers or controller adapters, like the Vision-dapter for Sega controllers on PC or does it only work with the USB stick they sell for it? Well, someone said they sort of got a PS4 controller to work, but the button scheme was messed up somehow. I dunno. I guess trial and error and we'll find out. But the great thing is that this is getting firmware updates, so I would imagine hardware compatibility will increase over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swami Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Well, someone said they sort of got a PS4 controller to work, but the button scheme was messed up somehow. I dunno. I guess trial and error and we'll find out. But the great thing is that this is getting firmware updates, so I would imagine hardware compatibility will increase over time. It seems odd that you can use a usb keyboard but not a usb gamepad, like the buffalo usb snes pad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 I would imagine there are fewer schemes how USB keyboards operate than there are schemes how USB gamepads work. After all, it is a serial protocol so it is up to the receiver to detect which data is sent and how to parse it. Remember that even a full sized PC doesn't know how to handle a gamepad without a driver or at least configuration which type of pad it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgeld Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 (edited) no there's a hid class for controllers, and most generic one's require no drivers or setup as its all in the usb discriptor which is sent when the device is plugged in but even if it did work with a usb snes pad, the software is still single button, I bet the device is just setup to use their joystick for the sake of simplicity on their end when people complain they cant get the touchpad on their 96 button ps18 controller working exactly how they want or it probably works with a plane jane generic no name device, its always xbox or playstation controllers which have their own magic going on inside anyway Edited June 9, 2018 by Osgeld Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetick1 Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 no there's a hid class for controllers, and most generic one's require no drivers or setup as its all in the usb discriptor which is sent when the device is plugged in but even if it did work with a usb snes pad, the software is still single button, I bet the device is just setup to use their joystick for the sake of simplicity on their end when people complain they cant get the touchpad on their 96 button ps18 controller working exactly how they want or it probably works with a plane jane generic no name device, its always xbox or playstation controllers which have their own magic going on inside anyway Assuming they are using a Linux derivative.. they likely do not have the drivers needed or an update device id mapping file so the OS knows which device driver to use for a given device id. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgeld Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 (edited) again if its generic enough it will show up as an HID device and the USB discriptor that is sent will handle everything else, we know its got HID support since a keyboard works so its a simple matter of if the developers want to accept it or not, this is your only potential holdback (for instance device reports joystick and they just ignore it, or they accept its a joystick but its device and maker ID do not match what they set) you only need drivers when things get fancy or proprietary (ie a dualshock 4) Edited June 9, 2018 by Osgeld Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 USB game controllers are pretty standardized. I have been able to use numerous different USB-based controllers with my Windows machine with the expected button results, including the arcade controller from the NeoGeo Gold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 (edited) So I received it today, excellently packaged and arrived safe and sound thanks to Shop4MegaStore No, I have no affiliation with them...just order a lot from them. They are more reliable than Amazon...no joke Anyhow, what do I think? Ehhhh...well.... NOT! This thing is awesome! It is even tinier than I expected. Really nice mold. It is a spitting image of the bread box...just shrunk down and very cute I must say. The build quality is excellent. Right on par with stuff like the SNES mini (which I also own). It does not come with a USB power adapter, but since I have tons of these around from various cell phones that was no problem. I am using a 5V 750mA I believe. I connected a USB extension cable from the unit which is connected to a non-powered four port Targus USB hub. I connected a keyboard, the included joystick and a USB flash drive with the latest firmware download all to the hub. All work perfectly fine. The firmware it shipped with was v1.0.0 and the latest is v1.0.8, so I immediately updated before testing any games. The latest version is supposed to fix some joystick input lag. I tested Super Cycle, both Mission Impossibles, Jumpman and some others. Sound is excellent and the picture over HDMI is dynamite. I don't think they have the 4:3 NTSC aspect ratio right...it just looked too squished. But, the default Pixel Perfect mode seems right on the money so I am leaving it there. There are CRT modes for those who prefer scanlines, but that seemed to wash out the colors a bit. I don't prefer that mode anyway so Pixel Perfect is where I will stay. There are options to choose different region keyboards. It was default to UK (as this is the UK model) so I simply changed it to US and gave it a go in basic. I was happy to see that everything is mapped perfectly. In other words stuff like quotes work where they are on the PC keyboard. No hunting around for the C64 mapped keys. The full color pallet is accessed with the CTRL + number keys and the Windows + number keys. Really easy to use. The character set is accessible as well of course, but for that you just don't know where they are as you do not have Commodore characters printed on your PC keyboard The joystick is not nearly as bad as people said it was. I was fine with ever game I played. It is stiff...so maybe that is the issue. People are just not used to that. I am fine with it. It seems like the joystick is tough and can take a beating. Overall, I love this thing! I will have to investigate loading some D64 images over the weekend on it but I suspect that will work as expected as well. I know it is emulation, but it really doesn't feel like it. It feels like...well...a Commodore 64. Just smaller with a much better screen output. I highly recommend this device if you love the C64 even a little! Edited June 14, 2018 by eightbit 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 I was just thinking -- would be cool if it supported the XU1541. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgdgagdae Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 (edited) If anyone wants to know where I am getting mine: https://www.shop4megastore.com/retro-consoles/the-c64-mini-system-console $109.99 with free shipping to the USA. As I have ordered dozens of items from them in the past I know they are legit. This was out of stock for a while now but I received the notification today and jumped on it. They are still in stock (for now) so if you want one right now here is your opportunity! They're $82.99 now, with free shipping to the US (and Canada). Tempting... Edited August 2, 2018 by dgdgagdae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 They're $82.99 now, with free shipping to the US (and Canada). Tempting... If I am going to do it I will wait for the US release. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgdgagdae Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 (edited) If I am going to do it I will wait for the US release. That's where my mind was too, but if the only difference is between a PEGI and ESRB logo on the box, then I don't care. I can't imagine they'd make any product changes between regions. Edited August 2, 2018 by dgdgagdae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgdgagdae Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 (edited) Delete. Edited August 2, 2018 by dgdgagdae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 For some reason the first batch didn't work well with US sold HDMI TVs, but perhaps that was a matter of a firmware upgrade so all units will be equal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 That's where my mind was too, but if the only difference is between a PEGI and ESRB logo on the box, then I don't care. I can't imagine they'd make any product changes between regions. Is that the only difference? I hoped it might have more U.S.-recognized titles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgdgagdae Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Is that the only difference? I hoped it might have more U.S.-recognized titles. Truly, I don't know. I just don't have any reason to expect any differences. I'm sure they licensed what they could. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zylon Posted August 4, 2018 Share Posted August 4, 2018 I'll pass and stick with my C64c, 1571, and SDIEC setup. Just nothing I'd want to play on this new model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 I'll pass and stick with my C64c, 1571, and SDIEC setup. Just nothing I'd want to play on this new model. I admit to two somewhat compelling aspects of the 64 Mini: portability augmented by the apparent ability to load alternate games but the requirement of an external keyboard as a negative, and the native HDMI output. Both interesting if you want a physical and dedicated console to carry around, but then at some point you cross the threshold to emulation and might as well do so on whatever converged technology you carry with you, already, like your phone, tablet, or laptop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToddL Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 The full size version with a working keyboard is still coming in 2018, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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