The Nintendo GameCube Appreciation and Collecting Thread.

Chacranajxy said:
PS1 games look significantly better behind scanlines. You are definitely not alone on that one.
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That tends to depend on other factors IMO. PS1 games with lack of Z buffer, HUD elements that rely on scan lines, and of course only run @ 240p... Yeah there's definitely a case to be made. Hell, I make that case. However when a 3D game runs in higher res with no errors and no distortions, there's nothing to really gain from scan lining it. It becomes no different to me as taking a 1080p game and choosing to run it at 720 just for the hell of it

Sometimes I think people... Go a bit overboard with the whole "scanlines = good" mindset. Not saying that's what socks is doing but it might contribute to that sort of mentality among the more impressionable visitors of the retro threads.

Scanlines are good, but like most things, they aren't absolute. Anyway, I don't want to be a huge downer. Just thought I'd add a little valid contrarian point into the mix.
 
televator said:
That tends to depend on other factors IMO. PS1 games with lack of Z buffer, HUD elements that rely on scan lines, and of course only run @ 240p... Yeah there's definitely a case to be made. Hell, I make that case. However when a 3D game runs in higher res with no errors and no distortions, there's nothing to really gain from scan lining it. It becomes no different to me as taking a 1080p game and choosing to run it at 720 just for the hell of it

Sometimes I think people... Go a bit overboard with the whole "scanlines = good" mindset. Not saying that's what socks is doing but it might contribute to that sort of mentality among the more impressionable visitors of the retro threads.

Scanlines are good, but like most things, they aren't absolute. Anyway, I don't want to be a huge downer. Just thought I'd add a little valid contrarian point into the mix.
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I see and understand your opinion. Hell there's people who really like the crisp look of 240p sprites on a modern tv.

The beauty of this is there is a choice that you can make based on personal preference. In the case of re2/3 they are just ports. Forgive me if I'm wrong but they are still using all the same assets as the ps1 and rendering it at 480p. The textures to me look like lifeless blobs. Just look at the faces.

Would I use scan lines on REmake? God no. But I do prefer 480p on a crt over a modern tv ( I use a high end vga monitor for 480p)
 
Scanlines on (early) 3D games on a HDTV reminds me of playing Time Crisis on one of those large tv's you had in the arcade hall. Definitely a fan of the look even on 3D games, but I also like them turned off. I honestly cannot choose between turning them on or off. Love both looks.
 
Went to a retro game convention last weekend, and found factory sealed (with Nintendo ribbon) copies of Doshin The Giant and Wave Race: Blue Storm for €5 each. Didn't own either of these games yet, so I grabbed them. Can't go wrong for that kind of money.
 
foobarry81 said:
Went to a retro game convention last weekend, and found factory sealed (with Nintendo ribbon) copies of Doshin The Giant and Wave Race: Blue Storm for €5 each. Didn't own either of these games yet, so I grabbed them. Can't go wrong for that kind of money.
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What convention was that? FACTS?
 
foobarry81 said:
Went to a retro game convention last weekend, and found factory sealed (with Nintendo ribbon) copies of Doshin The Giant and Wave Race: Blue Storm for €5 each. Didn't own either of these games yet, so I grabbed them. Can't go wrong for that kind of money.
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nice! i picked up Doshin when i was in the EU for like a few bucks as well...it's neat for what it is but man is it a memory card hog
 
IrishNinja said:
nice! i picked up Doshin when i was in the EU for like a few bucks as well...it's neat for what it is but man is it a memory card hog
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I have one of those 1019 blocks memory cards, and two 251 blocks cards (and the 59 blocks Animal Crossing one), but if you own a number of games for the GC you're running out of save space fast in my experience.

Like my sister has a The Sims game, which I believe needs around 100 blocks already.
 
socksfelloff said:
I see and understand your opinion. Hell there's people who really like the crisp look of 240p sprites on a modern tv.

The beauty of this is there is a choice that you can make based on personal preference. In the case of re2/3 they are just ports. Forgive me if I'm wrong but they are still using all the same assets as the ps1 and rendering it at 480p. The textures to me look like lifeless blobs. Just look at the faces.

Would I use scan lines on REmake? God no. But I do prefer 480p on a crt over a modern tv ( I use a high end vga monitor for 480p)
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I remember reading on many differences between versions of RE3. I can't quite remember if there are differences in texture res on char models. However background assets were always originally 480p assets. Those were files pulled directly out of the GC version. The PC, DC, and GC versions do in fact have higher fidelity character models in a sense that they have more polygons. The GC version goes an extra step and actually removes self clipping in joints of the models. I believe the movies also run at a noticeably higher quality and resolution on either DC or GC... can't remember which. Anyway, there are added details regardless of texture quality that one would be obscuring with the use of scan lines.
 
RE2 looks wrong on DC and GCN to me. The backgrounds are blurry (upscaled 240?) while the models are sharp. PS1 is more visually consistent.

I haven't played RE3 on anything except PS1 so perhaps it was done better?

I almost always prefer to play on the original console anyway, unless there is a crippling flaw. It's the more genuine retro experience!
 
D.Lo said:
RE2 looks wrong on DC and GCN to me. The backgrounds are blurry (upscaled 240?) while the models are sharp. PS1 is more visually consistent.

I haven't played RE3 on anything except PS1 so perhaps it was done better?

I almost always prefer to play on the original console anyway, unless there is a crippling flaw. It's the more genuine retro experience!
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I can understand that stance a bit better, now that we ain't talking about ports to more powerful systems.

Your eyes don't lie on RE2. Unfortunately we are stuck with 240 res on backgrounds so it looks funky on DC and GC.

For those interested in more detail about port differences in RE games, here's a pretty good and tragically short thread dedicated to that. http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1040104&page=1
 
*shrug* i havent done a side-by-side (now that i got it all in rgb/vga) but RE2 on DC looks great to me, felt like the definitive version
 
Just got Pro Skater 3 & 4; £10 for the pair. Should probably have checked their Dolphin compatibility beforehand but never mind. Didn't really need Pro Skater 4 as well, but 3 is ~£8 on its own so whatever. Both seem in very good condition.

GameCube feels like the absolute best platform from that generation to be playing now because of the state of backwards compatibility, homebrew and Dolphin. Just a shame there's not many titles circulating the 2nd hand market in the UK.
 
Looking to get a few replacement cover art sleeves for a few GameCube games. Is there a place that sells such a thing? I got Luigi's Mansion sleeve from that Bre-software site a few years ago. They don't have anything I'm looking for atm though.

I also just recently came across a seller on eBay that is selling printed copies of gamecube (and other) game covers in the $5-8 range. They looked identical to OEM in the photos, but nope. Figured I get one just one to give them a shot: The text was blurry, and printed on regular matte printer paper, lol.

I don't have a printer right now. Staples might do it depending on the store and person.

Any other suggestions?
 
You can probably find case + covers without the game on Ebay if the games you are looking for are relatively common.

Some stores won't print covers over potential legal issues. Many don't have a problem with it though. Just something to think about if you try that option.

If you do get access to a printer, paper generally matters more than the quality of the printer itself (good printer helps too, though). Use good paper.
 
^more options are always good!

local buddy's trying to get GC BBA's or something together and a 16-player Double Dash game going sometime, can't wait to see how that madness pans out
 
IrishNinja said:
^more options are always good!

local buddy's trying to get GC BBA's or something together and a 16-player Double Dash game going sometime, can't wait to see how that madness pans out
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Options ain't the problem. People make a fuss when "HD" gets thrown around on marketing for cables... As it stands, the GC only does YUV2 which isn't really RGB so I think it'd only be a good thing to be clear about how a mod claims to achieves RGB. Does it convert from YUV like a SCART capable cube or is it doing something else entirely? Or are we simply tossing the phrase "RGB" to incorrectly mean "analog connection" again?
 
So, I made my own SNES to GameCube controller adapter yesterday. It was surprisingly simple, I just made use of a couple of controller extension cables + an arduino microcontroller (Atmel Atmega328P) plus a bit of code from Raphnet's adapter.

The Raphnet one uses an Atmega8, but all I had on hand were newer Atmega328Ps, so I had to update a bit of the assembly code for the newer AVR assembly for Atmega88 using this very helpful PDF. Thankfully only a few lines and some slight bitwise logic change for the existing code. I would have just bought an Atmega8 (ridiculously cheap on ebay, direct from China oc) but I wanted to have this done soon since I'm in the middle of Harmony of Dissonance and the GC controller was driving me nuts.

Since I had taken the time to set up the avr compiler to get everything working, I also decided to add in my own code to re-arrange the buttons to what is honestly my dream face button layout.

By default the Raphnet code lets you go into "NES mode" on a SNES controller by holding Start when you plug it in. This maps B/Y to A/B, but shuts off A/X/L/R, which is kind of a bummer for GBA on GameCube (my main use for this). I disabled the NES mode checks and had holding Start map to "rotate the face buttons clockwise", so B=A, Y=B, X=Y, A=X. L and R are still enabled. This is totally perfect for GBA, so I should get a lot of use out of this for GameBoy Interface. It also maps fairly nicely to the GC's layout, seeing as B, Y, and X are all in the right place.

What's funny is that one of Nintendo's prototype SNES controllers had my "correct" layout on it before they went with their final layout:

2qfrVoa.jpg
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It also seems like Nintendo made the switch kinda late since the arrangement of data on the line has B and Y in place of A and B relative to the very similar data for the NES controller spec.

It was nice to finally have a practical reason to code in assembly, and something useful to do with my spare Atmega328Ps.
 
To me the greatest controller belongs to the Gamecube. The concave nature of the triggers is comfortable and responsive. Ergonomic design and never gave me cramps.

Can't play Smash any other way.
 
televator said:
Options ain't the problem. People make a fuss when "HD" gets thrown around on marketing for cables... As it stands, the GC only does YUV2 which isn't really RGB so I think it'd only be a good thing to be clear about how a mod claims to achieves RGB. Does it convert from YUV like a SCART capable cube or is it doing something else entirely? Or are we simply tossing the phrase "RGB" to incorrectly mean "analog connection" again?
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From what I can see he is making a board with rgbhv terminals as well as component. Considering you can mod the stock component cables for rgbs I imagine it's the same setup. Besides once you have rgbhv you have rgbs easily enough.

Here's the picture he teased of his new product.

https://mobile.twitter.com/badassconsoles/status/656977857390903296
 
socksfelloff said:
From what I can see he is making a board with rgbhv terminals as well as component. Considering you can mod the stock component cables for rgbs I imagine it's the same setup. Besides once you have rgbhv you have rgbs easily enough.

Here's the picture he teased of his new product.

https://mobile.twitter.com/badassconsoles/status/656977857390903296
Click to expand...

Seeing as how the component cables are using a DAC, this mod also seems to achieve RGB through conversion. It intercepts the YUV2 signal and that's what it's working with. It may enable you to use a VGA connector or other traditional RGB carriers, but it starts with a compression type in the vein of component signals just like the official component cable. How well it does that conversion will be important, but it isn't really RGB.
 
televator said:
Seeing as how the component cables are using a DAC, this mod also seems to achieve RGB through conversion. It intercepts the YUV2 signal and that's what it's working with. It may enable you to use a VGA connector or other traditional RGB carriers, but it starts with a compression type in the vein of component signals just like the official component cable. How well it does that conversion will be important, but it isn't really RGB.
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Sure it's not "true" analog RGBs but according to retroRGB it outputs a better picture anyway
 
televator said:
Better picture, relative to the not so good vanilla SCART output on a GC, sure. I'll give it any credit it deserves, but it ain't RGB.
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You're a tough man to please.

Given that RGB can't do 480p there is never a moment in my life I will ever use that over component/vga on a GameCube.
 
^ehhhh i might, depending on

for instance, i use RGB on PS2 over component; i have a number of games that support 480p, but even with a good cord, i like the image quality of RGB for it, personally

if the same was true of the GC i'd consider leaning in that direction, maybe keep the expensive cable about for F-Zero, haha
 
IrishNinja said:
^ehhhh i might, depending on

for instance, i use RGB on PS2 over component; i have a number of games that support 480p, but even with a good cord, i like the image quality of RGB for it, personally

if the same was true of the GC i'd consider leaning in that direction, maybe keep the expensive cable about for F-Zero, haha
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I think I should start using RGB more for my PS1 and PS2 games, it's like a hunt just to try to find 480p PS2 games since around 200 supported it anyways.
 
I'd say SCART > Component (given cost of component) if you're using a nice upscaler, since typically the lag introdruced is a frame or less (between 480i/480p), and the deinterlacing makes the IQ difference pretty minor.
 
NormalFish said:
I'd say SCART > Component (given cost of component) if you're using a nice upscaler, since typically the lag introdruced is a frame or less (between 480i/480p), and the deinterlacing makes the IQ difference pretty minor.
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But what if you don't use a upscaler like me?=O Though I wouldn't mind using an upscaler, I tend to avoid it and go direct connection as much as possible. And I deinterlace with my capture card.=p

Umibozu said:
Guys, I have a confession. I used to play my gamecube through RF....
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Ew, even I used svideo on Gamecube.=O
 
socksfelloff said:
You're a tough man to please.

Given that RGB can't do 480p there is never a moment in my life I will ever use that over component/vga on a GameCube.
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My friend... RGB is not limited to resolution. RGB has been a PC standard in high resolution PC monitors for decades. RGB is standard in VGA, DVI, HDMI, and Display port from 240p all the way to 4K resolutions. In the case of the GC there is an arbitrary hard limit in the way the GC copies over information into video output memory. That is to say the GC doesn't put a native RGB signal under any resolution or connector type. The PS2 and DC on the other hand, put out RGB @ 480p just dandy.

Edit: And don't take me the wrong way, please. I'm not displeased about the mod in any way in terms of function. I'm just challenging the use of the term "RGB" in your description of it. RGB is not a resolution. RGB is not SCART or any other cable. RGB is not analog. RGB is a color space that can be analog or digital and carried by various connection types in limitless resolution caps.
 
Timu said:
But what if you don't use a upscaler like me?=O Though I wouldn't mind using an upscaler, I tend to avoid it and go direct connection as much as possible. And I deinterlace with my capture card.=p
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Then I'd look in to component, honestly. Interlacing is rough.
 
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