A promising new gadget; Ben Heck is involved. . .

[Texasmame]

http://www.gameport.tv/specs.html

Certainly one to keep an eye on!   Reminds me of the GP2x. . . 

[Kremmit]

Dangit!  My list of toys to buy keeps getting longer.

[ChadTower]

Okay, I've read BenHeck's book, been a fan of his website for a long time... but WTF does "synthesized hardware" mean if it's not emulation?


EDIT:  reading through it, I don't see that BenHeck is involved, I see that they got a comment from him on it.

EDIT2:  There it is... he did the case.

[RandyT]

It looks interesting, but to be honest, how much "fidelity" does one really need with an 8-bit game that originally ran at 1mhz..or less.

To me, the project looks like a non-starter, and the case design is less than inspired. 

If this kind of thing gets you going, do yourself a favor and pick up a GP2X.  It's still software emulation, but it's also a lot more capable.

Just my opinion.

RandyT

[shorthair]

They obviously went for the retro, gameboy element. And it sounds like they're doing the same as digital music device companies have done, all following Line6 I might add, of hardware modeling.

[ahofle]

If this kind of thing gets you going, do yourself a favor and pick up a GP2X.  It's still software emulation, but it's also a lot more capable.

Just my opinion.

RandyT

Agreed.  Although I'm still waiting for the day a handheld device like the GP2X has enough horsepower to run most emulators and systems, including MAME.

[DarkBubble]

the case design is less than inspired.

I agree.  While Ben's technical knowledge is great and projects should serve as an inspiration, I've never liked his case designs, particularly after he got ahold of CNC equipment.  They look completely uncomfortable and/or unwieldy and sometimes some features in the controls go bye-bye.  He's got these the tools and ability, but for some reason doesn't seem to apply them, making sure that at least the front looks clean, with some rather important things taking a backseat.  Take a look at his portable SNES and PS1 if you want to see what I'm talking about there.  On the SNES, you'd think that he'd have moved the cartridge port into a Gameboy-like position, rather than leaving the cartridge hanging out of the ass end.  And don't get me started on the disc door of the PS1 that's only held on by magnets.

[RandyT]

Agreed.  Although I'm still waiting for the day a handheld device like the GP2X has enough horsepower to run most emulators and systems, including MAME.

MAME is doing pretty well on the GP2X if your focus is mostly on the classics and there are a bunch of console emulators that are already up to speed.  They are still works in progress, but are maturing quickly.  They have also recently released a "docking station" that allows the unit to be attached to a large screen, as well as USB Keyboards, gamepads, etc.  Worth a look in any event. 

RandyT

[SavannahLion]

the case design is less than inspired.

I agree.  While Ben's technical knowledge is great and projects should serve as an inspiration, I've never liked his case designs, particularly after he got ahold of CNC equipment.  They look completely uncomfortable and/or unwieldy and sometimes some features in the controls go bye-bye.  He's got these the tools and ability, but for some reason doesn't seem to apply them, making sure that at least the front looks clean, with some rather important things taking a backseat.  Take a look at his portable SNES and PS1 if you want to see what I'm talking about there.  On the SNES, you'd think that he'd have moved the cartridge port into a Gameboy-like position, rather than leaving the cartridge hanging out of the ass end.  And don't get me started on the disc door of the PS1 that's only held on by magnets.

Oh thank you! I thought I was the only one that really felt that way. I thought his early designs were brilliant, but I noticed brilliancy was lost when he created the first portable PSX with the exposed drive around the back. After that, I stopped visiting his website until he made a huge "splash" with that God awful Xbox360 laptop and again with the Wii. (Why the Wii? It's already so damn small and he sure as hell didn't top the sexy case.)

The only reason he's wowing anybody these days is the existence of Digg. A huge mass of bored halfwits clicking on random links put on a page by other bored halfwits all day long would generate the kind of traffic that supposedly made him famous. Those guys will hump anything that appears different, whether or not it was done well.

Bleh, I never made the connection between the CNC machine and the quality of his handiwork, but I see what you're saying.

[Crowquill]

The hardware project might be interesting, but the case is pretty god-awful. It looks like a mutated original gameboy put into one of those protectecive rubber cases that add a half-inch to every side of a PORTABLE system.

I don't think any of his designs for cases have been that inspired. They get the job done, but hardly a work of art. Granted he's working around existing hardware and trying to make it all fit into a tiny space, but a portable system should at least be comfortable to hold.

[ahofle]

Can someone explain how this is going to be better than software emulation?  I'm not sure what "synthesized versions of the original hardware" means?  The only way I could imagine it being better is if it actually housed each of the CPUs used by the emulated systems.

[vidmouse]

Agreed.  Although I'm still waiting for the day a handheld device like the GP2X has enough horsepower to run most emulators and systems, including MAME.

MAME is doing pretty well on the GP2X if your focus is mostly on the classics and there are a bunch of console emulators that are already up to speed.  They are still works in progress, but are maturing quickly.  They have also recently released a "docking station" that allows the unit to be attached to a large screen, as well as USB Keyboards, gamepads, etc.  Worth a look in any event. 

RandyT

Another portable system is/was the Tapwave Zodiac, although the company folded, there's still a second-hand community.  Plays MAME (v0.36), all Palm games, SNES, NES, GBC, Genesis, some DOS, and even a PSX emulator (albeit really slow there), C64, Amiga (again, slow), and movies, photos, mp3's no problem.

Easier to get than the GP2x and lighter/smaller; only downside (?) is that like most palms the Li battery is not removable/replaceable easily.

[SavannahLion]

Can someone explain how this is going to be better than software emulation?  I'm not sure what "synthesized versions of the original hardware" means?  The only way I could imagine it being better is if it actually housed each of the CPUs used by the emulated systems.

From what I could gather from my cursory reading, ie without reading the actual specs, I think there's a slaved FPGA being used. When you select a game console, the primary CPU selects and loads the FPGA with the hardware specification of the original console. I suppose if the FPGA is powerful enough, it could literally act like the original CPU + Hardware of the original console reconfiguring itself for every console you want to run.

I can see where the appeal for that comes in. You use the same FPGA to become either a 68XXXX, 6402, or a Z80 and the associated hardware and you essentially have your own console-on-a-chip. Even better, if there's an annoying bug in the FPGA programming, you can download updates and place them on the SD card to be used by the game system.

I wouldn't really go so far as to say it's exactly like the true hardware. It does mention that the microcontroller does (amongst others) decryption, software emulation and pre-processing. At first I thought this meant that it supported that bastard DRM (which it probably does), but now that I think about it, it probably works to offload some little used functions. Like decrypting ROMS the first time they're loaded (why waste FPGA space for that?) or emulating the hardware validation in some consoles.

[ahofle]

Wow, very interesting.  Thanks for the link.

[DarkBubble]

The only reason he's wowing anybody these days is the existence of Digg. A huge mass of bored halfwits clicking on random links put on a page by other bored halfwits all day long would generate the kind of traffic that supposedly made him famous. Those guys will hump anything that appears different, whether or not it was done well.

Exactly.  I've been on a few other forums where people just gush over his work.  I mean, hey, it's great that he knows what he's doing and I found his early work to be informative and inspiring, but his love for the CNC has replaced any talent that he may have had.  I'm sure it saves a lot of work and makes some things easier, but it's not worth it if you're trading convenience and practical, logical design for clean lines.  Besides, if he got down with a little hand shaping or custom molding, he could charge double.

Bleh, I never made the connection between the CNC machine and the quality of his handiwork, but I see what you're saying.

Yup.  Heckendorn's work is one of the best of examples of breeding weakness by overspecializing.