Question - FB2 Portable?

[werejag]

yeah something non paper so i dont have to recreate the label after i modify it

 

The same people read the different threads in the AtariAge forums.

 

But I assume that the need to hack the FB2P is not there. It seems to be a very nice piece of hardware.

 

--

Karri

 

everything can be improved err modded

[Flojomojo]

Sweet! Glad to see this thing becoming a little bit more real.

 

I'd prefer to have it as small as possible and leave the controller ports out of it (hope it comes with some rubber endcaps so the pins don't fill up with pocket lint), but I'm not going to complain about something so cool. Just please make sure there's plenty of room on the flash drive for tons of ROMs, please!

[Asaki]

I think 2 megs is fine. That is still 64 32k games.

 

2 separate 1MB flash ram systems, one for housekeeping, memory schema's and high-res graphic images/menu. The other is binary storage for the games, and their companion resource files.

 

So it looks more like 32 32k games...though I'm not sure how that's practical, since I just looked in my collection and I only see fatalrun.bin. I've got 44 16k BINs, 5 ~12k BINs, a bunch of 8ks, and the rest are all 4 or smaller. Dunno if there's any homebrew in here, maybe a lot of those are 32k, Idunno. Either way, 256 4k ROMs is probably way more than I would even play.

 

Also, it depends on if the storage is going by the TRUE megabyte definition (1024KB) or by the bogus hard drive definition (~976KB)

[Jess Ragan]

I just saw this on Joystiq. They complained about the design, but I think it's very faithful to the design aesthetic common in the early 1980s. I've got a Mattel handheld called Star Hawk that looks a lot like the Flashback portable, right down to the black plastic ridges on the top.

 

More importantly, the specs are pretty encouraging. Two joystick ports, one USB port for quick game uploads, fifteen hours of battery life, a high-resolution screen... this sounds like it has major league potential. I never bought either of the last two Flashback systems but I would seriously consider this one if it were priced right. Neither the Game Boy Advance or the PSP get the job done when it comes to playing 2600 games on the go, and I'm eager to find a system that CAN.

 

JR

[jboypacman]

I already add one to my wish list(My wife now groans and rolls her eyes,lol).

[jbanes]

I just saw this on Joystiq.

Alright, who's the wiseguy who spilled the beans?

 

They complained about the design, but I think it's very faithful to the design aesthetic common in the early 1980s.

Did you see Heckendorn's comment? "I find the design very uninspired. [...] Curt, I'd glady do a polish on this and lend some branding for a very reasonable fee." Ben, if you're reading this, sorry but please leave it as-is. The Gameport's design (IMHO) is far less inspired and more clunky than necessary. Curt's design has a lot more 80's style to it, even if it lacks a faux woodgrain. (Which was only present on the original 2600, anyway. Then it went Darth Vader on us before ending up looking like a mini-7800. None of Atari's later consoles or computers had a woody. )

[antron]

Looking good so far. If it's possible to use a Mac (or other USB-capable non-Windows systems) to load games onto the unit, it's pretty much perfection. (If not, still pretty darn good)

 

this was answered early in the thread. it is a standard USB drive supported by Linux/Mac.

i am so stoked!

[herr professor]

Heckendorn is being a prat. All his mods are pretty cool, but I would hardly call his designs eloquent. Sucker acting like the Eames of portable mods design or something.

 

Just subscribing o this thread. Synthcart lives for me with this product

[antron]

Where will everyone get new joysticks from? Will they be in the aisle right next to the FB2p? You can't expect the average consumer to have some laying around like we do.

[werejag]

benheck knows anything about asics? as far as ive seen he just knows how to cut and make cnc boxes

[+LS650]

I've seen those pictures of the Gameport - it's a total ripoff of the original B&W Gameboy.

Yuck! How the heck can anyone say that that has nicer esthetics??

 

I think the FB2600p looks far better!

[Flojomojo]

They complained about the design, but I think it's very faithful to the design aesthetic common in the early 1980s.

Did you see Heckendorn's comment? "I find the design very uninspired. [...] Curt, I'd glady do a polish on this and lend some branding for a very reasonable fee." Ben, if you're reading this, sorry but please leave it as-is. The Gameport's design (IMHO) is far less inspired and more clunky than necessary. Curt's design has a lot more 80's style to it, even if it lacks a faux woodgrain. (Which was only present on the original 2600, anyway. Then it went Darth Vader on us before ending up looking like a mini-7800. None of Atari's later consoles or computers had a woody. )

Heckendorn is being a prat. All his mods are pretty cool, but I would hardly call his designs eloquent. Sucker acting like the Eames of portable mods design or something.

I'm 99.9999% certain that comment was not made by the real Heckendorn. There's no reason to think that it was him, and if it were, he would sign it "BenHeck" with a link to his page. No need to jump on the guy without any more information; for all we know, he had a hand in this design.

[Retro Rogue]

Apparently Ben didn't bother to actually read the full Joystiq blurb before writing that, where it clearly shows the actual woodgrain concept and artwork direction for the production version.

 

As Curt stated, this is just a proto (sample) case for testing. No coloring, etc. and not even the full layout (difficulty switches, final usb connector). Not much different than Ben's answer when people called him on using the same old gigantor vcsp case design for his GamePort demo - "Its not the final case".

Edited June 28, 2007 by wgungfu

[Retro Rogue]

for all we know, he had a hand in this design.

 

 

LOL, Ben has nothing to do with the FB-P. He's a "GamePort guy".

[herr professor]

I'm 99.9999% certain that comment was not made by the real Heckendorn. There's no reason to think that it was him, and if it were, he would sign it "BenHeck" with a link to his page. No need to jump on the guy without any more information; for all we know, he had a hand in this design.

 

I can see your point, and reserve my judgment about da heck if he made those comments or not. His designs do leave a lot to be desired though.

 

PORTABLE!

[mos6507]

benheck knows anything about asics? as far as ive seen he just knows how to cut and make cnc boxes

 

What's the battery life like on his VCSps? I would assume it sucks balls when using the old NMOS chips vs. a modern ASIC. This to me is the dealbreaker (beyond cost) for using his portables as practical items.

[+Nathan Strum]

Some of Ben Heck's designs are nice, but some are quite ungainly. It's rather hit or miss. The concept pic of the FBp looks really cool. Presumably, the pre-production unit may not have final coloring. Reality is probably going to be somewhere in-between. Besides, with cost being a factor, you can't put on tons of fancy details. It all costs money.

 

And anyway, Ben always puts the fire button on the wrong side, too.

 

My main issue with the VCSps, is while those systems are portable, who wants to carry around a bunch of 2600 cartridges with it? I can see having a VCSp as a novelty item, or even for around the house, but I couldn't imagine taking it on a trip someplace.

[Gregory DG]

My main issue with the VCSps, is while those systems are portable, who wants to carry around a bunch of 2600 cartridges with it? I can see having a VCSp as a novelty item, or even for around the house, but I couldn't imagine taking it on a trip someplace.

Which is why we need a 7800p with a built in Cuttle Cart 2.

[Longhorn Engineer]

My main issue with the VCSps, is while those systems are portable, who wants to carry around a bunch of 2600 cartridges with it? I can see having a VCSp as a novelty item, or even for around the house, but I couldn't imagine taking it on a trip someplace.

Which is why we need a 7800p with a built in Cuttle Cart 2.

 

 

>_>

 

 

<_<

 

......

Edited June 28, 2007 by Longhorn Engineer

[+remowilliams]

this was answered early in the thread. it is a standard USB drive supported by Linux/Mac.

i am so stoked!

So, unless I'm missing something the FB2P won't have a media slot, and only will use internal memory? I'm very glad to see this project moving forward - but that's a drag

 

My main issue with the VCSps, is while those systems are portable, who wants to carry around a bunch of 2600 cartridges with it? I can see having a VCSp as a novelty item, or even for around the house, but I couldn't imagine taking it on a trip someplace.

I have a Phoenix, and you are correct it's great for around the house but I wouldn't actually be carrying it around mobile with a bunch of 2600 carts.

[King_Salamon]

Curt... amazing stuff! I'll be getting two of them... the wife and I can play some Atari on the bus. The wife requests a paddle controller on the unit to play Circus Atari. LOL!

 

AV out is awesome... everything about this little unit is awesome!

 

FB2 was amazing and we've enjoyed it... the FBP looks like another winner!

 

I wonder what new homebrews will debut on this little beauty... I know there will be some new releases on this thing. Woo hoo!

[nathanallan]

I wonder what new homebrews will debut on this little beauty... I know there will be some new releases on this thing. Woo hoo!

 

An idea occurred to me, some kind of gravity switch for motion controls. There's no game for it, but I had a toy F-18 that had a gravity switch in it, though pretty simple it was a fun toy (made sounds when it pointed up, down and to the sides). Wouldn't it be neat to have a game that responded when you tilted the FB2P? Just a random thought (inspired by the FB2P!!). It would be some kind of hardware add-on probably on the bottom of it.

 

But I still can't wait to get my two or three!

[+karri]

I wonder what new homebrews will debut on this little beauty... I know there will be some new releases on this thing. Woo hoo!

 

An idea occurred to me, some kind of gravity switch for motion controls. There's no game for it, but I had a toy F-18 that had a gravity switch in it, though pretty simple it was a fun toy (made sounds when it pointed up, down and to the sides). Wouldn't it be neat to have a game that responded when you tilted the FB2P? Just a random thought (inspired by the FB2P!!). It would be some kind of hardware add-on probably on the bottom of it.

 

But I still can't wait to get my two or three!

 

The "gravity switch" can be created as an add-on. After playing Wii in my brothers place I actually went to a shop and grabbed a Nunchuck controller - the one with two fire buttons, an analog joystick and a built in accelerometer. It costs around 25 euros. The FB2P could not handle it directly but with an AVR controller chip it would be easy to connect one or two Nunchucks to the joystick ports of the FB2P. The protocol is 6-byte twi. Easily handled by the Atmel chip.

 

While waiting for the FB2P to become reality I will do the same mod to my Atari Lynx and see how well it works with driving and flying games.

 

--

Karri

[Ze_ro]

I'm really looking forward to this thing. Unless something terrible happens along the way, I pretty much guarantee I'd buy one!

 

I already have a GP2X with a great port of Stella on it, but I'd still use this

 

--Zero

[nathanallan]

Y'know, I read through the different threads and have seen a trend: every new retro console is being referred to as a "flashback." Colecovision flashback, Commodore flashback, all around the place. I do believe that some kind of mark has been made with Atari's Flashback! Anyhoo, just a random thought. On topic so I figgered I would share.

 

I'll have to look into the nunchuck. Your idea is pretty neat!