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[VGEsoterica]

and yes before you say it...MiSTer Pi? odd name indeed!

But for the longest time the only real barrier of entry into the MiSTer FPGA ecosystem has been the price. A full triple stack will run you near to $500 USD...which for what FPGA gaming offers is economical...but not "cheap". Which def limits the install base as not everyone has an expendable 500 in cash just chilling out...and add VAT to european countries and shipping...gets steep!

So Taki Udon, the YT handheld reviewer founded a company with some people and decided they could clone the Terasic DE-10 Nano (the "brains" of MiSTER) and ship a full triple stack for $160 USD...so basically $340+ cheaper than the next solution with Terasic made DE-10 boards...and they are putting the finishing touches on the site to start selling in the next couple days

So I did a full build and review. Unincentivized...I have nothing to do with the company, their success or their revenue...I am just the dude who does FPGA stuff online haha

So if you were waiting to see if its worth it....worth it!

 

[Dacvak]

I’m really excited for everyone who will have a chance to get one of these at a decent price. I paid $600 for my MiSTer setup, and I absolutely LOVE it. For ~$150, it’s a no-brainer.

 

[squidilix]

And where I can find this?

 

[VGEsoterica]

And where I can find this?

Retro Remake

We create gaming consoles, handhelds, and DIY solutions for gaming devices.

retroremake.co

 

[kruis]

And where I can find this?

 

[NeverYouMind]

Just out of curiosity how commonly used are the Reset, OSD, and USER buttons? I don't think the A/V attachment is something I would ever use, but the bundle without it lacks those buttons and the LED indicators.

 

[squidilix]

Retro Remake

We create gaming consoles, handhelds, and DIY solutions for gaming devices.

retroremake.co

Thank you!

 

[jshackles]

Someone @ me when the store goes live.

Also - does this "triple stack" thing have any sort of case or enclosure options? It looks like over the long term this would wear down quickly just all exposed like that.

 

[VGEsoterica]

Someone @ me when the store goes live.

Also - does this "triple stack" thing have any sort of case or enclosure options? It looks like over the long term this would wear down quickly just all exposed like that.

Cases will become available yes. But I’ve had a raw dogged triple stack for four years. Still good to go

 

[NeverYouMind]

Cases will become available yes. But I’ve had a raw dogged triple stack for four years. Still good to go

Are dimensions of Taki stack different from the original? There are already a handful of cheap cases for those. Would they be compatible?

 

[Dacvak]

Just out of curiosity how commonly used are the Reset, OSD, and USER buttons? I don't think the A/V attachment is something I would ever use, but the bundle without it lacks those buttons and the LED indicators.

I never use mine. I kinda forgot those were even on the thing.

 

[VGEsoterica]

Are dimensions of Taki stack different from the original? There are already a handful of cheap cases for those. Would they be compatible?

IO is in slightly diff places so no not compatible

 

[VGEsoterica]

I never use mine. I kinda forgot those were even on the thing.

They can be useful in some instances

 

[Dacvak]

They can be useful in some instances

Yeah that’s true. I remember needing those buttons during some kind of setup, but that might be because I didn’t have a keyboard connected b

 

[VGEsoterica]

Yeah that’s true. I remember needing those buttons during some kind of setup, but that might be because I didn’t have a keyboard connected b

Yes if you don’t have a keyboard and you need to skip bindings in controller configs they are V useful

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

Packaging is killer.

Will grab one for sure...11 hours to go I guess.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Gonna try and grab one. At this price it’s definitely in my impulse buy range.

 

[Dr.D00p]

Bah..I'm not doing this mad rush, everything sold out within 0.002 nano seconds of launch.

It's undignified at my age.

I'll wait until the FOMO suckers have had their fill, gets restocked in 6mths and then peruse the site at my leisure whilst wearing my smoking jacket and slippers, drinking a nice cup of hot chocolate.

 

[West Texas CEO]

Nice.

 

[VGEsoterica]

Bah..I'm not doing this mad rush, everything sold out within 0.002 nano seconds of launch.

It's undignified at my age.

I'll wait until the FOMO suckers have had their fill, gets restocked in 6mths and then peruse the site at my leisure whilst wearing my smoking jacket and slippers, drinking a nice cup of hot chocolate.

what no pipe that blows bubbles? and you call your self dignified!

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

OK, I secured one!
2:00 AM here, hope it’ll be worth the wait and the expense.
Shipping and taxes adds almost 50% of the thing’s price, but what can you do? If I ordered a Mister from the UK it’d be much worse, anyway.

 

[KungFucius]

Sold out completely within 15 minutes. Cool for them... or not because they might have seriously misjudged the demand.

 

[diffusionx]

Ill get one when I can log in and buy it.

 

[Jonny Rizzo]

Sold out completely within 15 minutes. Cool for them... or not because they might have seriously misjudged the demand.

This first run was never meant to be the main batch to satisfy demand. There are multiple different models currently in development as well.

The other DE-10 Nano clones from QMTech looks are in stock on AliExpress for those who don't want to wait for the one from Taki to be available again... very small quantity available left though.

 

[VGEsoterica]

Sold out completely within 15 minutes. Cool for them... or not because they might have seriously misjudged the demand.

from what I know there will be multiple batches beyond batch 1 and 2 so I am sure stock will eventually regulate

 

[StereoVsn]

This first run was never meant to be the main batch to satisfy demand. There are multiple different models currently in development as well.

The other DE-10 Nano clones from QMTech looks are in stock on AliExpress for those who don't want to wait for the one from Taki to be available again... very small quantity available left though.

QMTech isn’t bad but the board design doesn’t quite match.

And I unfortunately was a few min late so didn’t get the board. Here is hoping batch 2 will work better, but kind of doubt it since available unit numbers will be the same.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

VGEsoterica you have videos on setting up the Mister, or do you mainly review cores and go over updates?
When my Mister Pi gets here I’ll be needing a lot of guidance!

 

[West Texas CEO]

VGEsoterica you have videos on setting up the Mister, or do you mainly review cores and go over updates?
When my Mister Pi gets here I’ll be needing a lot of guidance!

Just get a Raspberry Pi, bro.

 

[daffyduck]

OK, I secured one!
2:00 AM here, hope it’ll be worth the wait and the expense.
Shipping and taxes adds almost 50% of the thing’s price, but what can you do? If I ordered a Mister from the UK it’d be much worse, anyway.

Which shipping, DHL or 4PX? Or are they both high?

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Just get a Raspberry Pi, bro.

I have several devices than can handle emulation pretty well, mate. No need for an additional (and pretty puny at that) one.
And this one also has analogue video out.

Which shipping, DHL or 4PX? Or are they both high?

DHL for additional peace of mind (I know, it’s no guarantee).
DHL cost me double ($35 vs $18), but I told myself, at this point, what’s twenty more bucks in the grand scheme of things?

 

[jshackles]

from what I know there will be multiple batches beyond batch 1 and 2 so I am sure stock will eventually regulate

I hope so! I missed the first batch and hope I don't miss the second one, though it seems that one is likely to also sell out quickly.

 

[intheinbetween]

Tried to grab the 160$ bundle and got stuck at the processing queue, this was around 8:00

 

[shoplifter]

Had one in my cart at 8pm and balked on it, should have just bought it since it seems to so far have the VGEsoterica and PCN seal of approval . Guess I'll try tomorrow morning.

 

[VGEsoterica]

literally did a setup for software vid this morning

 

[VGEsoterica]

part 2

 

[Killer8]

Getting one of these. The MiSTer was just too expensive for me but this is priced perfectly. Way more elegant way to play retro games on my CRT than emulation or having a dozen consoles modded and hooked up.

 

[VGEsoterica]

Getting one of these. The MiSTer was just too expensive for me but this is priced perfectly. Way more elegant way to play retro games on my CRT than emulation or having a dozen consoles modded and hooked up.

def streamlines the process

 

[VGEsoterica]

Had one in my cart at 8pm and balked on it, should have just bought it since it seems to so far have the VGEsoterica and PCN seal of approval . Guess I'll try tomorrow morning.

Hope you got one in batch 2!

 

[shoplifter]

I sure as shit didn't because I had a puking kid! Guess I'll shoot for the next batch. If nothing else I guess that lets me see how many units are faulty and any other potential issues that haven't been seen yet.

 

[VGEsoterica]

I sure as shit didn't because I had a puking kid! Guess I'll shoot for the next batch. If nothing else I guess that lets me see how many units are faulty and any other potential issues that haven't been seen yet.

Damn. Well hope the kid is ok!

 

[Bitstream]

CPS3 ever coming for the mister?

 

[West Texas CEO]

I'm in for batch 4

 

[jshackles]

In for whatever batch is required for me not to have to camp out at my computer at weird times and hope I catch it in the 10–15 minutes it takes to sell out.

 

[West Texas CEO]

In for whatever batch is required for me not to have to camp out at my computer at weird times and hope I catch it in the 10–15 minutes it takes to sell out.

NeoIkaruGAF , what exactly do you do all day?

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

NeoIkaruGAF , what exactly do you do all day?

I guard my lunch closely.

 

[VGEsoterica]

CPS3 ever coming for the mister?

still in the works from what I know

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

So. I’ve been toying and playing with my Mister Pi for a few days. A few points. If I’m missing something, Mister experts are heartily encouraged to give me tips!

- it’s a thing for nerds. Tons of options, setting it up takes time and it’s far from intuitive. Once you learn some of the ropes it gets more streamlined, yeah. I should definitely consider a wireless mini keyboard, the thing is quite messy with cables attached and I already made it fall on the floor once yanking the keyboard’s cable.

- the accuracy seems absolute. I’ve played only a few systems so far, but everything works as promised. The feel is definitely different than using emulators. I swear some of the games I tried felt easier with emulation, I don’t remember sucking so badly!

- the absence of a system-wide savestate system can be a dealbreaker, and makes the Mister a device for real purists. I can’t see myself playing long, hard games on the Mister. Stuff like PS1 Tomb Raider would be a nightmare to go back to without savestates, accuracy be damned.

- loading times for CD-based systems are pretty annoying, too. I’ve been playing some PC-Engine CD games, and even with fast loading enabled I’m pretty sure that emulators beat the Mister every time in that respect.

- I just can’t find a set of video settings that satisfies me completely. I’m looking for the best CRT look possible, and I’ve watched a video explaining some of the options, but I can’t find the perfect settings. There’s way too many shadow masks available, and when they don’t cause some nasty shimmering, they’re a bit too obtrusive. Most of them are simply horrible too, I can’t believe anyone really likes some of the wider grilles. Yes, I could play on a real CRT, but I’d like to get something that looks like the best Retroarch CRT shaders for playing on modern screens.


In summary, the Mister is excellent for playing arcade games with great accuracy. Actual arcades, plus all the shooters and sports games and run-and-guns and platformers and beat-em-ups, are great on the Mister. But if you want to play something longer and more complex, emulators definitely have the edge because of savestates and rewind. Plus, emulators have a lot of options that I don’t think are available on the Mister.

 

[Omnipunctual Godot]

This is great. I'd love to see more people get into FPGA gaming.

VGEsoterica On a side note, I saw your video about the Morph 4K and pulled the trigger on one since it's exactly what I wanted without the steep price of the RetroTink 4K. I was wondering, have you tried using it for video, like upscaling DVD output? Do you think it would make a difference? Looking forward to the analog board.