VideoGame_Discussion

I love my Mega SG. I'm on the email list for when the Duo comes out. Not much of a handheld guy but I agree the screen looks fantastic on the Pocket

The Duo looks sweet. I just signed up. Why is everything they sell out of stock? Supply chain issues still a problem?

I don't think supply chain is the only issue. They've long had issues with supply before the pandemic.

At least now, the pre-ordering is not prone to bots just buying up everything.

I was able to snag a Pocket pre-order in the most recent round thanks to their new queue system.

I'm hoping they do the same for Duo.

Re: Pocket Unchained

So far, these cores have been unlocked on the Pocket: GB/C/A, SG1000, SMS, GG, NES, SNES

Genesis/Neo Geo are in the works.

The cores will work with a dock so essentially, the Pocket can be Mega SG, NT mini and Super NT in one.

It's hard to understate my glee in having a portable FPGA-based NES and SNES. The fact that Jotego has his sights on the platform too is really reassuring news for lots of awesome arcade ports.

Renaissance2K wrote:

Yea, I don't think people realize how good this is. I took it for a test drive, it is excellent.

Only other feature I really want would be the sleep/resume(suspend) function.

The Spiritualized cores (GB/C/A, SMS) do support it, so I think it's only a matter of time.

Sleep/Wake requires save state support.

Most of these user-submitted cores are based on the MiSTer versions. If MiSTer has save support, the Pocket eventually will as well. If not, one of the bigger MiSTer contributors - either the PlayStation core or GBA core guy - said it's really hard to retrofit save state before if you didn't have it in mind from the start.

Wow, these are pricey

Admiral wrote:

They are pricy but fpga is the best emulation technology out there.

benstylus wrote:

Quizzle! Can anyone name lone Analogue console that doesn't use FPGA technology?

Analogue NT

Lunar wrote:

I'll certainly accept that since it is correct. Though, I was actually looking for another answer. Any other guesses?

That wooden Neo Geo console they made used actual MVS guts, correct?

Renaissance2K wrote:

Yup! That's it! That's the one!! But, bonus points to @Lunar for remembering what I'd forgot.

I haven't had time to look into the light mods for the NGPC yet, so looking forward to the NGPC adapter. Duo would be lovely too.

I think it's only a matter of time for NGPC to be unlocked as a core

For my money, I'd prefer to spend $100 on an emulation handheld vs $1000 for an FPGA.

Granted, I should have preordered the Pocket NT when I had the chance at regular price...but in the market today, that's simply too much for a video game handheld.

Admiral wrote:

Enjoy your imperceptibly inferior gaming.

Admiral wrote:

Where are you getting $1000?

benstylus wrote:

Lunar wrote:

There were a couple that went for that much, but you are right I'm seeing more like $500-$700 depending on condition. Point is still the same

benstylus wrote:

Ignorance is bliss, as they say.

But hey, enjoy what you enjoy, no judgment here.

None of them cost 1k. I prefer to use the price analogue sells for to cite what they cost. Though the fact that they go for over that in the aftermarket says something about the quality. A shame that they can't keep up with demand.

Lunar wrote:

Thanks, I shall. Just poking some mild fun at gaming snobs who sneer at using anything less than the 100% best equipment available.

People who talk about their setup like most people would talk about their children.

To this I say... many of the folks who developed for older consoles did so with the understanding that their games would be viewed on crt screens through standard AV cables or even (GASP) an RF switch.

Who are we to say that blurriness and interlacing wasn't the intended way to play these games (especially N64 games hahaha)

1. It's ok to love your set up as well as your children.

2. re: developer intent: who are you, or anyone to say what they intended?

3. You don't use RF the same reason you don't use sundial anymore to tell time, or a typewriter anymore to type a word document, or a horse carriage to commute, or go to the outhouse to take a piss.

Lunar wrote:

I'm benstylus.

In all seriousness though, there are visual tricks developers used with interlacing and dithering and stuff that isn't really noticeable until you play it on the so-called better equipment, and it looks markedly worse on modern TVs. I would posit that the developer's intent was for those visual tricks to work correctly or they wouldn't have programmed them.


I use fountain pens, so I can still lay claim to old fashionedness thank you very much.

You're talking about upscaling. But the RF vs composite example makes no sense. You still wouldn't use RF because composite is better, and you should really use S-video because that's better still. But then you can use component(best) with most systems out of the gate on a CRT with component outputs.

Why do you prefer suffering?

The analogue pocket does not use a CRT screen as far as I know. Why would you want to suffer through playing SNES games like that when they were made for CRT?

Note I'm making pointless arguments just to show saying how silly being a hardware snob is. The games are fun either way, almost no matter what your setup may be.

It's actually better on a smaller screen such as the Analogue Pocket truth be told.

Man, a "hardware snob" must have left some deep scars within you.

Lunar wrote:

Not specifically hardware snobs, but any kind of snobby/gatekeeping behavior just immediately gets me into ocular gymnastics.

😂 kinda like telling people the right way to emulate?

Anyway, liking better hardware doesn’t mean I need to convert you to the same dedication level as me. No one is like “Hey you should only be playing on Analogue Pocket, because it’s the best.” It’s more like “Hey Analogue Pocket is an excellent device to play older games portably.” There’s no gatekeeping of any kind. You’re swatting at ghosts.

Lunar wrote:

Sorry, but I don't see being anti-piracy as gatekeeping or snobbery.

You could argue that the companies themselves are gatekeeping by not keeping their games in print (either physically or digitally), and I would probably agree with that to some extent

Especially because I am very much for companies re-releasing their older titles via emulation on modern systems.

I want all games to be affordable and available to anyone. Well, almost all games. There's a whole genre I wish would just go away and I will be extremely snobby about that if pressed.

It's not gymnastics when it's very apparent. All you have to do is plug in two side by side. Not everyone will care and people can play how they want but it is very apparent.

NESC and cheap emulation handhelds being trash doesn't mean people won't enjoy them it just means I won't buy them.

benstylus wrote:

That's the irony here.

Anyway, to wrap up this pointless debate, no one said you NEED to play FPGA, but better and higher quality hardware exist.

Lunar wrote:

The real irony is thst for the longest time people were snobs about playing on original hardware compared to cheap emulation machines.

Now that FPGA exists and is way more expensive than original hardware in most cases, people can't get enough of it.

benstylus wrote:

I guess we are continuing. Who are we talking about here?

Original hardware is still good. As far as people in my retro circle, everyone who has Analogue machines still have most of their original hardware.

Original hardware rules. I use it for everything except Sega Genesis. I use the Mega SG there because collecting Genesis carts does not spark any joy.

I mean if the argument is, well look at all those OG hardware snobs flocking to FPGA, then yes, whatever it is you’re claiming, you’re right. Cheap emulation machines still suck.

My point is only this - the cost/benefit of FPGS makes it not worth it for me. Yes, I have multiple mini consoles, but I also like them for the look of the unit.

Emulation is REALLLLY good right now. Almost not noticeably different than FPGA...but the cost is 5x as much.

Admiral wrote:

It should be clear by now, this varies from person to person. It's hugely noticeably different to some people. So there you have it.

If it's the same for you, that's good for you. Feel free to keep using the Mini consoles. Nothing wrong with that.