CDi Fan Appreciation Thread

[+chicgamer]

On 1/16/2022 at 10:31 PM, sixersfan105 said:

Looks like a SNES2CD-i controller adapter is in the works! If you're interested, you can fill out their interest form.

I ordered a few of the PCBs. I had some Arduino Nanos that I bought a while back to do this adapter as well as a mouse adapter, but I never got around to it.

[+sixersfan105]

Exciting news in the CD-i scene. The WIP homebrew Nobelia is nearing its completion (being play tested on various CD-i players by volunteers from the community) and the developer is planning both a digital and physical release!

A trailer, some screenshots, and some additional info on the game can be found here. 
 

Also, the developer created a Google Form to gauge the market on a physical release but it looks to be happening. 
 

Certainly a Day One purchase for me!!

[Leonard Smith]

I've strangely enough, always had an interest and fascination for underdog platforms (ie: Nuon and Mac shareware gaming).  The CDI was always one of those platforms that intrigued me, but I never pursued it beyond playing a few in-store games like snippets of that golf title or the Zelda game at Sears.

That F1 speedway racing game always looked good to me in screenshots, but years later I saw it on Youtube and maybe it hasn't aged so well.

 

Glad to see there's still some interest out there and a good fanbase keeping things alive.

[+sixersfan105]

@Leonard Smith I totally hear you on that and I'm the same way - why else would I have a NUON, Arcadia 2001, Bally Astrocade, Mattel Aquarius, CD-i, etc. 

 

There are some CD-i games that have aged better than others, to be sure. The Apprentice and Christmas Crisis are the two best platformers. Burn:Cycle and Voyeur are two unique titles that manage to integrate FMV pretty well, believe it or not. The Nintendo games (officially licensed!) are not as bad as people make them out to be. Caesar's World of Boxing is also done well. People also need to remember that for much of the CD-i's lifecycle (which extended several years longer in Europe than in the US), Philips fought emphasizing the CD-i as a "games machine," instead pushing the "home media center" aspect, pumping out lots of edutainment for kids and art/music/reference and VCD movie titles for adults. In essence, games were largely an afterthought, so framing the CD-i as a failed video game console, like so many do, isn't very fair.

 

I'm very impressed with the worldwide CD-i community and preservation efforts. It definitely sold better in Europe so it's truly a worldwide scene these days. We'd love to have you join us if it's something you're considering. 

[derSammler]

15 hours ago, sixersfan105 said:

People also need to remember that for much of the CD-i's lifecycle (which extended several years longer in Europe than in the US), Philips fought emphasizing the CD-i as a "games machine,"

True. While Philips had games in mind too, these were mostly board games, not arcade/action. However, releasing the 450 later to compete on the console market didn't really help...

 

The sad thing about the CD-i is that people judge it by the bad games ONLY. Yes, it had many bad games. Some systems like the PS1 for example, however, had a much worse share of bad games. But no one cares. You judge the PS1 by games like Ridge Racer, Tekken, Gran Turismo, etc., not by crap like Schnappi. ?

 

I once said that in the comments to a YT video about the CD-i and got a shit storm.

 

Show someone Chaos Control on the CD-i and then on PC (1st stage especially). Like with most FMV games from that era, the PC looks like ancient tech compared to CD-i.

Edited February 3, 2022 by derSammler

[+sixersfan105]

6 hours ago, derSammler said:

While Philips had games in mind too, these were mostly board games, not arcade/action. However, releasing the 450 later to compete on the console market didn't really help...

Right, and they even managed to botch the 450 by bundling it with a wired remote control instead of one of their gamepads. Really?! So dumb.

[derSammler]

Oh yeah, that thing... I had the 550 back then, which was a re-badged 450 with the DVC pre-installed and the gamepad instead of the wired remote. Still have the gamepad.

[+sixersfan105]

@derSammler The 550 is what the 450 should have been from the start! Though it probably should have also come with two controller ports. That splitter nonsense is ridiculous.

[Leonard Smith]

I find it awesome that the ubiquitous Gravis game controller even made it to the CD-i!
That thing was everywhere in the 90's!

[+sixersfan105]

It did, indeed, @Leonard Smith! With a sleek, somewhat professional black/gray color scheme. Gravis had a large European hub in The Netherlands for most of the 90s, so the partnership/licensing deal between Gravis and Philips on the controller made sense.

 

You can even swap out the internals of a Mac/PC Gravis pad and throw it into a CD-i version just for kicks, like this guy did... https://cdii.blogspot.com/2019/09/with-classic-gravis-pc-gamepad-you-can.html

[Austin]

I'd love to see a Gravis PC pad to CD-i adapter. That would be totally fitting!

[Leonard Smith]

Just now, Austin said:

I'd love to see a Gravis PC pad to CD-i adapter. That would be totally fitting!

What sort of input jack does the CD-i use?
I ask because the Mac version of the Gravis has a ADB connector (which I think is the same pinout as an S-Video cable)

 

[derSammler]

Mini DIN as well. But not compatible with ADB, if that was the reason for your question

 

But why convert the Gravis PC pad when a native CD-i version exists?

Edited February 4, 2022 by derSammler

[+sixersfan105]

1 hour ago, derSammler said:

But why convert the Gravis PC pad when a native CD-i version exists?

Gravis PC/Mac gamepads are much more inexpensive and plentiful compared to the CD-i version, but I certainly see your point. 

[Austin]

Yeah, Gravis game pads are significantly cheaper. And some of us already have a few.

[bwestdpm]

Cdi question

 

so I bought one from the netherlands

 

works great

 

but after every time I end a game and it goes back to the main cdi menu the screen is black

 

I have to switch of my tv source of “video” and click on say Tv mode or hdmi mode then when I click back to video the main screen is on fine and can load another game and play it and when done same thing

 

any ideas??

[derSammler]

I'm currently maintaining my CD-i gamepads. Fun fact about the "Gravis" one: it's actually made by Logitech, not by Gravis.

 

 

Edited February 5, 2022 by derSammler

[+sixersfan105]

39 minutes ago, derSammler said:

I'm currently maintaining my CD-i gamepads. Fun fact about the "Gravis" one: it's actually made by Logitech, not by Gravis.

 

 

Yes, I was aware of this, as it's documented elsewhere. The gamepad is fully licensed from Gravis but it was cheaper for Philips to have Logitech make it for them. 

[+sixersfan105]

2 hours ago, bwestdpm said:

Cdi question

 

so I bought one from the netherlands

 

works great

 

but after every time I end a game and it goes back to the main cdi menu the screen is black

 

I have to switch of my tv source of “video” and click on say Tv mode or hdmi mode then when I click back to video the main screen is on fine and can load another game and play it and when done same thing

 

any ideas??

That's odd. Do you know if the CD-i player you got has had its timekeeper chip replaced? When things start to go awry, a faulty timekeeper is *often* the culprit. 

[bwestdpm]

It did about 5 years ago

 

saves games fine

 

its weird I can play for two hours no problem but it’s when we end the game instead of going back to cdi screen it goes black

 

then two presses ok the tv remote to cycle through input options and it refreshes and back in business

 

im wondering if it’s something to do since it’s in European PAl and this is a US tv here in states could it be the difference causing that odd glitch that goes away by changing inputs on the tv remote?

[+sixersfan105]

Gotcha. Yeah that could be. Almost like perhaps your TV is errantly sensing the CD-i shutting down or something even though it's not, so it cuts off the A/V feed. Could be worth sharing in one of the Facebook groups or discord servers referenced in the first post, as perhaps others have seen this behavior from one of their players.  

[Austin]

Is this a CRT or a modern LCD? The later usually has a scaler built in and they can struggle with resolution changes, causing it to get hung up.

[bwestdpm]

Hi LCD tv

 

yeah I hate to blame the cdi it seems fine but definitely need to click the input on tv remote every time I end a game 

 

wondering if one of those pal to US switch boxes might help?

 

[bwestdpm]

Also anyone know if those white demonstration disks ….if the game requires digital video cartridge and one is not installed it will it not play the disk abs just show ERR on display? 

[+sixersfan105]

1 hour ago, bwestdpm said:

Also anyone know if those white demonstration disks ….if the game requires digital video cartridge and one is not installed it will it not play the disk abs just show ERR on display? 

You should get a message on the screen that says something like "Sorry. To play this disc your cd-i player must be equipped with a CD-i Digital Video Cartridge"...Where did you get your demonstration discs? I ask because there are a TON of them on the market and most of them are actually just burned CD-Rs that random people have made over the years by burning the full copy of the game to disc and slapping a "demo" label on it, pretending they are "RARE" demo discs, but they are not. Sounds like simply a bad burn to me.